Bitten by Kelley Armstrong

Better than expected 8/10

I had not expected much from this story of a woman turned werewolf when I grabbed it of the 50 cent cart of my used book store. I thought it would be a Halloween read and nothing more but it was a fun book and well done for a first novel. I found the characters engaging and believable, the story was fast paced and straight forward. I will definitely look for more books in the series (Women of the Otherworld) and by this author.

Where to get great bookmarks and more

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Good Halloween reads for kids

Some of my favorite Halloween stories to read to the kids each year.

Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson with pictures by Azel Scheffler, a great story to read aloud with wonderful illustrations of a witch and her friends she meets.

The Hallo-wiener by Dav Pilkey, a very cute story about an embarrassed wiener dog that gets a cute hotdog bun custume from his well meaning Mom for Halloween.

Affinity by Sarah Waters

Nicely done Victorian suspense 7/10

This is one of those books I picked up because of the interesting cover and took home with no clue of what it was about. I did recognize the author's name from the Booker prize list this year for her book the Night Watch, but had read nothing by her.I thought Affinity was pretty good, I was wanting to know a bit more about many of the lesser characters but I think she did a very good job of building the relationship between the 2 main characters. The setting (a Victorian women's prison) was very detailed and my favorite part of the book. I just wish the lesser characters had been filled in a little more, especially in relation to the key characters, while much was hinted at there was never a sense of knowing for sure how they tied in.

The God Of Small Things by Arundhati Roy

A beautifully written tragedy 8/10

This book is hard for me to summarize. I had heard very good things and it was a Booker Prize winner, I had very high expectations. When I started the book it was a bit confusing and I had a brief stirring of disappointment but then I realized how beautifully the story was being told, as I let go of trying to figure it all out and let the story unfold for itself at it's own pace, I began to really enjoy it. I can see why some readers gave up on it but I'm glad I didn't and I think it was well worth it.

She Flew the Coop by Michael Lee West

This was chick lit but good. 7/10

Any gal that's lived in a small town will be able to identify with the characters in this book. I liked the way the story was told to you by different people in the town and they shared a recipe, too. While some of the topics were heavy and depressing (the book dealt with spousal abuse, infidelity, statutory rape, etc) it was all done in a very straight forward, realistic manner that was liberally seasoned with southern humor.