The Big Over Easy - Jasper Fforde (Regular Strength Book Club)

Or "Humpty Dumpty Was Pushed".

A murder mystery from the perspective of the Nursery Crimes Division. I enjoyed the extra dimension of picking out the bits of nursery rhymes and figuring out the ones I missed. The twists and turns of the murder mystery I just never saw coming.

I look forward to reading more Jasper Fforde.

Jingo - Terry Pratchett

Jingo has got to be one of my top five favorite Pratchett novels - one of the Watch books. An island is discovered between Ankh-Morkpork and Klatch. Of course the two countries have to fight over who owns this strategically important piece of land.

Pratchett pokes fun at racists every where, gently pointing out the error of their ways by making them laugh at themselves. The book also features the absentminded genius Leonard of Quirm, one of my personal favorites.

Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden

I was both excited and intrigued by this book, since I saw the trailers for the movie and I knew nothing about geisha and next to nothing about Japan. I found every part of this book fascinating, not just the story (beautiful poor girl becomes rich and powerful after overcoming many obstacles and struggles) but the insights into the culture and examples of such different ways of thinking. I was enchanted by the rich tapestry of Japanese life, and my life was enriched by learning more about it. I look forward to seeing the movie, to see how accurate the images in my mind were or if I need to readjust my perceptions yet again.

Girls in Pants: The Third Summer of the Sisterhood - Ann Brashares

Fluffy and girly YA fiction. Just what the doctor ordered (I read the entire book in the middle of the night when I was coughing too much to sleep). If you've read the first two books, this is more of the same. I don't feel like I need to say any more about it.

Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West - Gregory Maguire

A fairy tale for grownups, this book gives you the Witch's Eye view of the story of Oz. Starting before her birth, it explains how the Wicked Witch came to be, her family, her friends and her part in the underground rebellion against the Wizard of Oz. While travelling off the beaten Yellow Brick Road, she examines Animal Rights, the nature of good and evil, god, the afterlife, love and forgiveness.

I highly recommend it, and I plan on reading more Gregory Maguire as soon as possible.

Eragon - Christopher Paolini (Regular Strength Book Club)

Written by a fifteen year old, and you can tell. The best thing I can say about this book is that I can see how kids would love it. The only other good thing is that it does get better as the book progresses. I wanted to take a red pen to the entire book and fix it.

It's a mish mash of characters and plot stolen from Anne McCaffrey, Robert Jordan, and Tolkien (among others) and then watered down. It has the required dwarves, elves, dragons, kings and shades. The words "bad fantasy" were created for this book. If I didn't have to read it for my book club I would not have finished it. I thought the main character was a bit of an idiot.

In summary: Boy finds dragon egg, dragon egg hatches and (instead of biting his idiot fingers off) befriends him. They have an adventure. The End.