The Road to Wellville by T.C. Boyle

Rating: 5.0

What it's about:
Welcome to Wellville--Battle Creek, Michigan, in the age of ragtime. Join the rich and the famous who flock to Dr. John Harvey Kellogg's celebrated spa to cure all life's ills--including death. Meat is forbidden, sex is verboten--but rules are made to be broken when the strong of mind find how weak the flesh can be. This furiously funny novel shows how bad what's good for you can get when you put yourself in the monstrously manipulative hands of the man who invented corn flakes. -taken from back of book

My thoughts:
This is one fantastic, highly entertaining story! It's full of wit, humor and energy. T.C. Boyle is a wonderful writer and his style shines in The Road to Wellville. Dr. John Harvey Kellogg is larger than life in these pages and a bit of an eccentric. The book seems well researched and put together and makes for a very lively read!

Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris

Rating: 4.0

What it's about:
HOLIDAYS ON ICE collects six of David Sedaris' most profound Christmas stories into one slender volume perfect for use as a last-minute coaster or ice scraper. This drinking man's companion can be enjoyed by the warmth of a raging fire, the glow of a brilliantly decorated tree, or even the backseat of a van or police car. It should be read with your eyes, felt with your heart, and heard only when spoken to. It should, in short, behave much like a book. And, oh, what a book it is! -taken from Barnes&Noble.com

My thoughts:
I enjoyed reading these holiday stories. It's not your typical Christmas fare though. A couple of these stories were pretty disturbing. Whether I was chuckling to myself or shuddering I was entertained by this book and would recommend it to anyone who wants a unique holiday read.

Cane River by Lalita Tademy

Rating: 5.0

What it's about:
On a Creole plantation on the banks of Louisiana's Cane River, four generations of astonishing women battle injustice to unite their family and forge success on their own terms. They are women whose lives begin in slavery, who weather the Civil War, and who grapple with the contradictions of emancipation through the turbulent early years of the twentieth century. There is Elisabeth, who bears both a proud legacy and the yoke of bondage...her youngest daughter Suzette, who is the first to discover the promise--and heartbreak--of freedom...Suzette's strong-willed daughter Philomene, who uses a determination born of tragedy to reunite her family and gain unheard-of economic independence...and Emily, Philomene's spirited daughter, who fights to secure her children's just due and preserve their dignity and future. -taken from back of book

My thoughts:
This is a very powerful story. It speaks of courage and strength and especially the irrepressible spirit of these four generations of women and their respective families. I was drawn to the characters in this novel and easily lost myself to this absorbing story. I was in turns amazed and appalled, saddened and hopeful. It was interesting to watch this family evolve as they went from slavery to freedom and the struggles that ensued. Tademy did a fantastic job with this novelization of her family's history.

Anne's House of Dreams by L.M. Montgomery

Rating: 5.0

What it's about:
Gilbert is finally a doctor, and in the old orchard, among their dearest friends, he and Anne speak their vows. The first year of marriage brings them new friends and their own dream house on the misty purple shores of Four Winds Harbour. -taken from Barnes&Noble.com

My thoughts:
Anne's House of Dreams is book number five in the Green Gables series. Anne's first year of marriage is filled with perfect happiness. But with the happiness comes tragic heartbreak. Life at Four Winds Harbor is never dull and Anne takes life as it comes. The Anne of Green Gables series is beautifully written with stunning descriptions. I am really enjoying re-reading these books!

Dracula by Bram Stoker

Rating: 5.0

What it's about:
Jonathan Harker, a solicitor's clerk from London, travels to Transylvania to settle some business with the mysterious Count Dracula. In England, Harker's fiancee, Mina, receives a visit from the Count as does her friend Lucy. Harker returns from his traumatic journey and joins Dr. Van Helsing on a "vampire hunt" in an attempt to rescue his beloved Mina.

Dracula. By day he sleeps in a tomb beneath his desolate castle. By night he stalks the countryside, driven by a supernatural and deadly hunger. His quiet smile hides canine teeth. His seemingly delicate, white hands are in fact coarse and broad with hairy palms and nails cut to a razor-fine point. His touch yields an uncontrollable shudder. His sustenance is the life-blood of others. His victims become helpless under his hypnotic spell. There is no escape from this evil being who inhabits the shadows of the dark and dismal night. Beware of the "ever-present blackness" and "shadows of the evening": Dracula is a vision of your "ghostly fears" coming to life.

My thoughts:
Dracula is classic horror story at it's best. It's creepy, thrilling and sensual. I enjoyed how it was written entirely in diary form with each of the main characters writing their own perspectives. Dr. Van Helsing, in particular, was a bit long-winded but all of the characters were compelling. I recommend this book to those looking for an atmospheric and eerie tale of vampires and those that hunt them.

Naked Pictures of Famous People by Jon Stewart

Rating: 4.0

What it's about:
He's the MTV generation's master of modern humor, a star of film, TV, and the comedy stage. This sultan of savvy serves up a whip-smart, utterly original collection of comic essays in Naked Pictures of Famous People. And as of January 11, 1999, you can enjoy the intelligence and self-deprecating charm he brings to contemporary comedy on Comedy Central's "The Daily Show." In his first book, he translates that unique talent to the page, with humorous forays into a vast array of subjects: fashion, urban life, fast cars, cocktail culture, modern Jewishness, politics, and dating. A seethingly irreverent wit, Stewart has a genius for language and brilliant timing that makes his up-to-the-minute collection a must-have for humor lovers in search of a Woody Allen for the 90s. -taken from Barnes&Noble.com

My thoughts:
I really enjoyed this collection of short essays by Jon Stewart. I'm not familiar with Jon Stewart's other endeavors so I can't compare the humor in this book to, say, his t.v. stuff. I can say this book was sarcastic, witty, and brought a smile to my face. A couple of my favorites out of this book are: The Last Supper, Or The Dead Waiter, about, well....the supposed Last Supper of Christ. I also really got a kick out of Adolf Hitler: The Larry King Interview. Funny stuff. Another good one is Breakfast At Kennedy's, written from the perspective of a boarding school chum of the teenage John F. Kennedy. The only thing I was left wondering at the end of the book was, where are those naked pictures of famous people?

The Buffalo Soldier by Chris Bohjalian

Rating: 5.0

What it's about:
In northern Vermont, a raging river overflows its banks and sweeps the nine-year-old twin daughters of Terry and Laura Sheldon to their deaths. In the aftermath of the tragedy, the highway patrolman and his wife, unable to have more children, take in a foster child: a ten-year-old African-American boy who has been shuttled for years between foster families and group homes. Young Alfred cautiously enters the Sheldon family circle, barely willing to hope that he might find a permanent home among these kind people still distracted by grief.

Across the street from the Sheldons live an older couple who take Alfred under their wing, and it is they who introduce him to the history of the buffalo soldiers--African-American cavalry troopers whose reputations for integrity, honor, and personal responsibility inspires the child.

Before life has a chance to settle down, however, Terry, who has never been unfaithful to Laura, finds himself attracted to the solace offered by another woman. Their encounter, brief as it is, leaves her pregnant with his baby--a child Terry suddenly realizes he urgently wants.

From these fitful lives emerges a lyrical and richly textured story, one that explores the meaning of marriage, the bonds between parents and children, and the relationships that cause a community to become a family. But The Buffalo Soldier is also a tale of breathtaking power and profound moral complexity--and exactly the sort of novel readers have come to expect from Chris Bohjalian. -taken from back of book

My thoughts:
The Buffalo Soldier is a complex tale of morals and emotions. I loved it. I loved how the book was written with the chapters alternating between the main characters so the reader gets to see the whole picture. I was able to sympathize with each character and understand why they did the things they did. Bohjalian did a wonderful job creating his characters; Terry, the sterotypical macho highway patrolman. His fragile wife Laura, who is still grieving the loss of her children. Alfred, the somewhat troubled foster child who is seemingly the only black person in miles. And probably my favorite character, Paul, the retired professor who is the first to bond with Alfred. The Buffalo Soldier is a journey of frail and fractured lives trying to grasp the roots to form a family. I couldn't put the book down.