You don't have to be a child to love this book!

Title: Everything I Need to Know I Learned from a Children’s Book: Life Lessons from Notable People from All Walks of Life by Anita Silvey


The Plot: There isn’t any plot. This is a delightful coffee table sort of book that you can open and just begin reading. More than 100 notables from all walks of life including politics, the arts, and business leaders remember a children’s book they loved. They explain why and how the particular title had an enduring and profound impact on their life.
Each essay is accompanied by a short excerpt from the book as well as some delightfully selected illustrations.

Why You’ll Love It: Many readers began their personal love affair with books in their childhood. This book will most likely entertain as well as bring back some fond memories.

Who Should Read It: Anyone who spent their childhood summers engrossed in Treasure Island, Little House on the Prairie, Little Women, or Goodnight Moon will find this book a delight. It will also make a wonderful graduation gift as each of the selections gives readers a wealth of advice and insight.

Take this book home with you!

Today’s Book: Almost Home, Pam Jenoff


The Plot: American State Department employee, Jordan Weiss, maneuvers a new work assignment to England. In reality she wants to be geographically closer to her friend Sarah who is suffering with ALS. When Jordan arrives she is called upon to investigate the Albanian mob and a money laundering scheme. Complicating her return are unresolved feelings about her college lover Jared who died in an apparent drowning ten years ago.

Why you’ll Love it: Jenoff does a masterful job of blending romance, friendship, loyalty, and political mayhem along with a shady bit of World War II history into a suspenseful and multi-layered novel.

Who Should Read it?: Readers who enjoy suspense stories with a good deal of character development will find much to appreciate here.

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*Look for Jenoff's follow-up to this novel, Hidden Things, coming July 2010!

Read This Book: White Cat, by Holly Black

Today’s Book: White Cat (The Curse Workers #1) by Holly Black


A Little Background: The setting is something of a parallel universe - our world, but not exactly - in the modern era of computers and the like. Where it differs, of course, is in the inclusion of a section of people who can work curses simply by touching you with their bare hands. In this book, we learn about emotion workers, body workers (who can break bones with a touch), luck workers, memory workers, dream workers, and two rarer groups: death workers and transformation workers. In the United States of this America, Working is a crime, which means that criminals do the Working - the top crime families (like the mob) all have big Worker populations. To protect oneself against "the touch," everyone wears gloves and you can buy amulets against curses along with a pack of smokes at the gas station, though there's no guarantee it'll be as good as one purchased from a psychic's tent at a dirt mall.

The Meat of the Story: Cassel Sharpe, youngest of three brothers in a Worker family, has no power of his own. His eldest brother, Philip, works for the Zacharov family, and bears a necklace of scars to prove it, which is likened to the Yakuza practice of counting prison years (look it up.) Three years ago, Cassel killed his friend Lila Zacharov, and now can only remember standing over her bloody body with a knife and a satisfied smile. Now, he's taking after his mother's con-man (con-woman) roots by running a numbers game out of his room at his private boarding school.
When he gets temporarily kicked out for sleepwalking, and sent home to work with his brothers and his retired death-worker Grandad, things start to spiral out of his control, and he finds that his life isn't what he thought it was.
What you’ll Love About It: It’s interspersed with great asides about what Cassel loves about the con, and enough background on the Workers and their history, so that you feel like even though this isn’t your world, you know enough about it that it makes sense to you. You’ll be drawn in by veteran writer Black, and eagerly await the other books in this series; the next is Red Glove, which is likely due out sometime next year.


Bonus: To advertise the books, the Curse Workers website offers banners like these, that might actually show up on billboards and subway signs in Cassel's world.

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You won't rue reading this book!

Today’s Book: Rosemary and Rue, Seanan McGuire


The plot: October “Toby” Daye, once both a Knight (who prefers to be called “Sir Daye”) and private detective, finds her life as a changeling infinitely more difficult when she tries to rebuild it fourteen years after being turned into a fish by a rival of her liege lord, Sylvester. Toby’s lost everything – her boyfriend, Cliff, who thought she was human; her daughter, Gillian, who is now 17 and angry, refusing to see her; and her lord, Sylvester, whom she’s been afraid to see since her return. She’s thrown back into the world of rites to royalty and magical mysteries when her “worst friend and best enemy,” Evening Winterrose, is found murdered in her warded home.

Why You’ll Love It: It’s a gripping mystery with a lot of urban fantasy thrown in to the mix, and as Toby delves into the dark side of her past and present (and maybe even future), you’ll learn about the world of the fullblooded fairies and the halfblooded changelings that inhabit the California coast. You’ll cheer for “Sir Daye” as she tries to find the murderer without getting murdered herself.


Who Will/Should Read It: Fans of any urban fantasy will do well here, but maybe the best audience for Toby’s mystery would be readers of Laurell K. Hamilton’s Merry Gentry series who find the graphic sex there a little too bawdy. Newcomer McGuire manages to get the point across with innuendo, rather than explicitness. There’s also a lot to like for devotees of Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files series; if you’re eagerly awaiting April’s “Changes,” pick this noirish novel up.

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Outside of a Dog, #69

"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read." - Groucho Marx.

It’s getting cold outside in Michigan, even though it’s been Fall since September. While we still have a few days left of sunshine and 50-degree days, check out one of these Michigan-set novels; come back for more before you hide under your blankets for winter!

Please Don’t Come Back from the Moon – Dean Bakopoulos

Written an “an elegy” to the working class men of Detroit (and America) in this quiet, almost heartbreaking novel of growing up without a father. Building a family in Michigan is the theme here, and there’s more than a few biographical touches to this tale, as well as threads of magical realism.

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Mr. Paradise – Elmore Leonard

Famous the world over for gritty noir novels, Elmore Leonard is a New-Orleans-born Michigan native who lives in Oakland County. This novel of crime gone wrong involves a high-priced call girl, authentic dialogue and places (the very first chapter places the protagonist at the posh Rattlesnake Club restaurant), and a satisfying murder mystery.

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Poison Blonde (An Amos Walker novel) – Loren Estleman

Classic cars and classic clothes are hallmarks of Amos Walker novels. Written for fans of 40s and 50s noir, this 19-book series by native Estleman hits these private detective stories right on the nose, where classy dames and real gone hipsters abound. Set in Detroit’s backyard of Hamtramck, this is the 17^th book in the series. If you want to start at the beginning, try 1980’s Motor City Blue.

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[Motor City Blue – Fic Estleman WMB]

A Stolen Season (An Alex McKnight Mystery) – Steve Hamilton

Winner of both the Edgar and Shamus awards for mystery and private eye novels, respectively, Hamilton is another local talent who turns his eyes to whodunits in Michigan – usually in the cold upper regions of the state. In this Alex McKnight novel (the seventh – and newest - in the series), plot crossovers and double-crosses surround the ex-cop while he deals with Bay Mills Indians and drug dealers.

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The Chocolate Cat Caper (A Chocoholic Mystery) – Joanna Carl (a.k.a. Eve Sandstrom)

Michigan seems to be a popular place to set series mysteries – such as these Chocoholic books, featuring Texan Lee McKinney, who moves up to a Michigan resort town on the lake to help her Aunt Nettie’s chocolate business get back up and running. Lee and Nettie end up accidentally solving mysteries in this fictional resort town, and all of the mysteries involve chocolate! These are a good suggestion if you’ve finished the Joanne Fluke novels and are looking for more tasty page-turners.

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For kids who want some local fun, try the Michigan Chillers series by Jonathan Rand – featuring titles like Dinosaurs Destroy Detroit and Poltergeists of Petoskey.

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Read this book on Purpose!

Today’s Book: American on Purpose: the improbable adventures of an unlikely patriot, by Craig Ferguson

The plot: The subtitle of this witty autobiography is “the improbable adventures of an unlikely patriot,” and that only just begins to describe this hilarious, honest story of Glaswegian Ferguson and his epic trip to becoming an American citizen. Starting as a Glasgow native with a punk-rock soul, the now-famous late-night host waxes poetic on his "ridiculously attractive" parents and tells the hard, forthright truth about being a drunk and a drug addict for chunks of his life, and how he, with the help of friends, managed to rise above it, raise a son, and become the rollicking and uproarious comedian he is today - all while chasing the dream of being an American (on purpose).

Why You’ll Love It: If you're already a fan of The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, you don't need any more reason than his nightly shenanigans to pick up this book. If you don't stay up late, or never watched The Drew Carey Show, you'll love this book for the laughter it will inspire in you; it's full of read-aloud quips, like when he speaks of his late-night-show colleagues and predecessor Johnny Carson: "A little bit of cool goes a long way; it lands on you if you are a late-night talk-show host. Consider the other guys: if Dave (Letterman) wasn't the king of late night he'd be just a cranky old man who drives too fast. Jay (Leno) would be a weirdly needy mechanic, and Conan (O'Brien) would have kids following him down the street calling him names. Without his show, Jimmy Fallon is just a thirty-five-year-old giggly adolescent; and Jimmy Kimmel is a good guy, but he'd be the first to admit he's not cool - in another life, he'd be a genial maître d'."

Who Will/Should Read It: Fans of Ferguson's turns on The Drew Carey Show as British boss Nigel Wick, of the host of the Late Late Show, or his favorite movies (written and starring him) - Saving Grace, The Big Tease, and I'll Be There, or anyone who enjoys a good laugh while reading a story of growing up Glaswegian and striving for the states. Also, as Ferguson mentions a few times in the book, those who "choose adventure."

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[Saving Grace is available at Warren Civic Center library on DVD and at Roseville and Shelby Township on VHS. The Big Tease is only available through Melcat requests, and I'll Be There can be ordered from Lenox Township and Roseville.]

Soon to be available as an audiobook read by the author!

Read this book, fast as lightning!

Today’s Book: The Lightning Thief, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #1


The plot: Perseus Jackson, troubled New York kid who gets kicked out of school regularly, finds out that he’s actually a demigod, and that all the Greek gods and goddesses are real (and lots of them are related to him!) In this first book, he’s accused of stealing Zeus’ original lightning bolt, and sent on a dangerous quest with his best friend Grover (a satyr who’s searching for the god Pan) and Annabeth (a demigod daughter of Athena, the goddess of wisdom) to retrieve it and prove himself innocent.

Why You’ll Love It: As epic as Harry Potter, but with a little more real world, and a lot more attitude. Riordan creates a world alongside ours that makes a lot of sense (the entrance to the Underworld is in Los Angeles, and the entrance to Mount Olympus is at the top of the Empire State Building), all the while including chunks of Greek myth; Percy meets Medusa, who sells garden statuary out of the people she turns to stone. And Percy, while a hero very much like the wizard Potter, is a little less tragic, and little more sarcastic. Part of the fun is reading his reactions to all of the new things his new world has to offer.

Who Will/Should Read It: While the Percy books are classified as juvenile/children's, readers of all ages can find delight in his stories. Chapters are short (only about ten pages each), so it makes for a great read-before-bed book. Read if you loved Harry or Charlie Bone, and especially if you have an interest in Greek mythology.

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Also available as an e-audio book!

Get Vamped for this book!

Today’s Book: Vamped, by David Sosnowski


The plot: Humans are nearly extinct and vampires are the ruling species in this alternate-reality book from local Michigan author Sosnowski. The main character is vampire Marty, who’s been dead for eighty years, drinks blood manufactured from stem cells out of juice boxes, and collects human food like Count Chocula bought at auctions on eBay.
While planning to end his boredom by killing himself, he runs into little blond Isuzu Trooper Cassidy, a child who was being raised on an illegal human-hunting farm. His immediate plans include making a snack of the six-year-old, but after she busts into his antique breakfast cereals, she wins him over. Vamped is the comical tale of how a vampire raises an illegal human in an all-vampire world.

Why You’ll Love It: Told with humor and warmth, Vamped is a vampire novel for people who aren’t fans of the typical vampire novel. It features great characterizations (like the “Screamers” – children turned into vampires, who usually become quite disturbed) and reads fast and funny.

Who Will/Should Read It: Fans of the Sookie Stackhouse series will find similar wit in Sosnowski’s warped story. If you’re a fan of vampires, any vampires, then pick this one up, too!

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You'll freak for this book!

Today’s Book: Candyfreak: A journey through the chocolate underbelly of America, by Steve Almond


The plot: A nonfiction winner of the Alex Award (given to 10 adult books with special appeal to young adults), Almond’s odyssey of rediscovering the candies he loved as a child is funny and touching all at once. It’s a road-trip adventure to see how candies are made, and gives great detail on the machines and hand-done confections. Almond also goes into the politics and price of getting older candies made and sold.

Why You’ll Love It: Described by many reviewers as tantalizing, Candyfreak will make your mouth water for old classics like the Twin Bing, the Peanut Chew, the Goo Goo Cluster, and the Idaho Spud (which doesn’t contain potatoes, by the way.)

Who Will/Should Read It: Food lovers, candy lovers, chocoholics, and anyone who likes humor and a road trip rolled together in caramel and nuts!

Little Brother is watching!

Today’s Book: Little Brother, by Cory Doctorow


The plot: Marcus, a.k.a. w1n5t0n (pronounced “Winston,” not “double-you-one-en-five-tee-zero-en”), is a 17-year-old high school student in San Francisco, California. He’s also a hacker who has learned how to fool the video cameras, gait recognition software and RFID (called ‘arphids’) technology to skip classes. Usually, he’s going out with his friends Vanessa, Darryl, and Jolu to play their favorite ARG (Alternate Reality Game), Harajuku Fun Madness.
The group just happens to be on the streets one day when a group of terrorists blow up the Bay Bridge. They all get taken captive by the Department of Homeland Security, and held for several days. When they return, the world as they know it has changed – and not for the better. Marcus and his friends find new ways to retain their privacy with new technology and hacked versions of old technology, and some everyday paranoia and ingenuity. Can they get their city and their lives back?

Why You’ll Love It: Doctorow’s vision of a modern-day 1984 is thrilling and exciting, and in parts, a little bit sad. There’s a some romance, and espionage, of course, and while the book was originally intended for the Young Adult crowd, adults who enjoy a good technology thriller or suspense tale will enjoy it, too. It’s a frightening vision of a post-9/11 world that will entice you and make you think.
Also a draw are the explanations of the technology that Marcus uses; if you don’t understand Linux or Cryptography, there are short descriptions and histories included in the flow of the text.

Who Will/Should Read It: Young Adults, especially boys (the book is written from Marcus’ point of view), wannabe techno-wizards, aspiring activists, and anyone who wants a good modern thrill.

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Little Brother is also available as an electronic audiobook, and as a variety of online files (including .lit, .pdf, and .mobi) from Doctorow’s website.

Get Bitten by this book!

Today’s Book: Bitten, by Kelley Armstrong

The plot: Elena Michaels is the only known female werewolf. After being bitten (which is what turned her into a werewolf in the first place), she spent her time with The Pack, an organized family of mostly hereditary werewolves, run much in the way of a real wolf pack. At the beginning of the book, she’s been gone from the Pack for a year, trying to live among humans, most notably Philip, her live-in boyfriend. When the Pack Alpha calls her back from Toronto to New York to help with an uprising of ‘mutts’ (werewolves, usually bitten, who aren’t affiliated with The Pack), she goes because she feels she owes them. That’s, of course, when the story gets really interesting, since she left her werewolf ‘brothers’ and more than a few matters unsettled.

Bitten is the first of Armstrong’s “Women of the Otherworld” series, though they can be read out of order, due to the large cast of characters. The series involves werewolves, like Elena and The Pack, as well as witches, demons, and vampires.

Why You’ll Love It: The series began as a short story influenced by an X-Files episode about werewolves, and now enjoys status as one of the brightest and best urban fantasies. Bitten is a new take on an old favorite in werewolf books, and once you’ve met headstrong Elena, you’ll want to keep reading about her in the books that follow – Stolen and Broken, and you may even branch out into the other Otherworld books, short stories, and novellas, some available online at the author's web site.

Who Will/Should Read It: Fans of the Urban Fantasy genre, or anyone who enjoys a good otherwordly murder mystery. There’s a little gore and some sex scenes, though they’re mostly tame as compared to other authors in the genre.

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Take this book to the Graveyard with you!

Today’s Book: The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman


The plot: Bod, or Nobody Owens, was only a baby when he stealthily escaped from his crib and went crawling the streets of London. As luck would have it, he also barely escaped being killed with the rest of his family. He manages to get across the street, to a graveyard, where the ghostly Mistress and Mr. Owens decide to care for him, and give him the Freedom of the Graveyard – meaning he can come and go where only the dead usually are allowed. As Nobody grows up between the worlds of the living, the dead and the not-exactly-dead, he finds out why he's only safe in the graveyard.

Why You’ll Love It: Gaiman is a master storyteller, there’s no doubt about that. In this children’s book, released September 30 of this year, he visits a graveyard he once lived near, where his son liked to play, and plays, himself, with what might have been behind those gates. If you’d like to stretch your imagination to the spooky (but not-too-spooky), try this book!

Who Will/Should Read It: Gaiman enthusiasts (it’s no surprise that the writers of this blog are big fans!), kids who like a good spooky story, and even adults reading to kids (or to themselves) should pick up The Graveyard Book!

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Testimony-al: This book is good!

Today's Book: Testimony by Anita Shreve


The Plot: This is a behind-the-headlines story dealing with a sex scandal at a prestigious high school in Vermont. The novel unfolds as various individual characters slowly share their own unique viewpoints of the events. We are relentlessly pulled into the story and quickly become conflicted as to what really happened and why.

Why You’ll Love it: The story builds slowly with an ever-growing dose of suspense. It gives readers a chance to see behind a tabloid-like headline. It’s a multifaceted tale that shows how one poor choice or decision can have life-changing consequences we might never have imagined.

Who Should Read it? : Almost anyone who likes character-driven novels will find Anita Shreve’s novel enticing and entertaining. Book clubs especially will enjoy this selection because of the challenging dilemmas and moral questions the characters face as the plot unfolds.
Readers who have enjoyed novels by Jodi Picoult, Chris Bohjalian, Elizabeth Berg, or Alice Hoffman will definitely enjoy discovering author Anita Shreve.

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Thanks to MH for this book review!

Readers are going to love this book!

Today's Book: The Lace Reader, by Brunonia Barry


The Plot: Towner Whitney returns home to Salem, Massachusetts, after several years in California. She is still recovering from surgery, but she must go back home because her Aunt Eva has just drowned there under mysterious circumstances. Towner ends up rekindling relationships with her mother, May, her Aunt Emma, and an old boyfriend. She also begins to relive the traumatic events of her youth that drove her to get as far away from home as she could. A new cop in Salem is assigned to her aunt's case and finds himself entangled with Towner and her secrets. And, by the way, all of the Whitneys have psychic abilities of various degrees. Towner's Aunt Eva was even in the process of writing a guide for learning to "read lace" which allows you to see someone's future. Towner is pretty good at it too - though she struggles against what the readings tell her.

Why You'll Love It: This is a well-written and compelling story. The author skillfully inserts clues about Towner and her past and about her aunt who has drowned. So don't overlook the details - they are all important! And the ending will really shake you up!

Who Should Read It: Mystery and fiction lovers will enjoy this book - also people who are intrigued by psychic phenomena. If you have ever visited Salem (like I did last year) you'll also enjoy reading about places and sites you may have seen while you were there.

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Thanks to KF for this book review!

You'll want to Host this book!

Today's Book: The Host, by Stephenie Meyer


The Plot: In this new science fiction offering, the Earth has been invaded by beings from another planet. To the invaders, it appears as though they have been successful. They have taken a chaotic planet filled with emotional and often violent inhabitants, and created a peaceful, organized community. And this isn't the first time! They've conquered other planets with the same satisfying results. In order to achieve success, the invaders surgically introduce "souls" into people and take over their bodies. Usually the soul of the human is overcome and eventually disappears. But Melanie Stryder doesn't allow the invading soul called Wanderer to take over her body. She fights to regain control and the peace-loving and gentle Wanderer must learn to fight back. But Wanderer becomes so overwhelmed by Melanie's memories of her love for her family and for Jared, a fellow resistor, that she yields to Melanie's wishes to find her family and friends. Then the excitement really begins!

Why You'll Love It: Two people living in the same body - weird! Invaders that are peace-loving, kind, friendly, and only come to improve our chaotic, emotional, and sometimes violent ways - hey the invaders sound like good guys! A huge, many-roomed dark cave with tiny natural skylights enhanced with mirrors to create light inside - cool and inventive. People wrestling with fascinating questions about what makes a person who they are (is the greater good always preference to what is good for an individual? Can altruism ever be evil?) -- Interesting!

Who Should Read It: Science fiction fans, fiction readers, and young adult readers will love this book. (Stephenie Meyer also writes the Twilight series, so if you like her style of writing - and you're waiting eagerly for Midnight Sun to be published! - try this book.)

The Host, by Stephenie Meyer
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Thanks to KF for this review!

This book's not hard to love!

Today’s Book: Hard Love, by Ellen Wittlinger


The Plot: John, a teenager who prefers to keep to himself, starts writing a 'zine (self-made and self-published magazine) to work through issues brought on by his divorced parents, his best friend joining the Drama Club and leaving him behind, and his first love - with Marisol, a fellow 'zine writer who also happens to be a lesbian.

Why you'll love it: The story of first love from an outsider isn't a first in the YA genre - far from it - but Wittlinger's story interspersed with pieces from John's 'zine make it easy and engrossing to read, and helps bring to mind the early days of your first big teenage crush.

Who Will/Should Read it?: Wittlinger is mostly a YA author - most recently famous for the controversial "Sandpiper" - but it was recommended to me by an English professor in college. Also, if you love it, Wittlinger has just released a companion book entitled "Love and Lies: Marisol's Story."

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A Queenly Title

Today’s Book: First Queen of England: The Myth of “Bloody Mary” by Linda Porter

The Plot: The book begins with King Henry VIII’s struggles to provide England with a male heir. The birth of his daughter Mary was a severe disappointment. Mary’s childhood, her struggles with her stepmother Anne Boleyn, her isolation from her own mother, and the struggle to govern England after her father’s death make for a compelling and well researched story.

Why you’ll love it: Although we all know the basic tale of King Henry VIII and his many wives, Porter writes with an engaging and entertaining style that makes the well known historical events seem suspenseful and certainly intriguing to the reader.

Who Will/Should Read it?: Anyone who is interested in English history or lives of kings and queens will find this book easy to read as well as entertaining. Fans of Showtime’s episodic series “The Tudors” will find much to enjoy here also.

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Thanks to MH for this review!

Woodn't you like to read this book?

Today’s Book: In the Woods, Tana French

The plot: This mystery is a compelling mixture of 'whodunit' and psychological thriller. A 12-year-old girl is found murdered at a local archaeological dig in a suburb of Dublin. The case has some intriguing similarities to an unsolved case of over 20 years ago in which two of three children who were playing in the woods went missing one summer day and were never recovered. Two detectives are assigned to the current case: Detective Rob Ryan and his best friend, Cassie Maddox. Ryan and Maddox have personal problems of their own that get in the way of solving the current crime.

Why You’ll Love It: As a child, Ryan was the one that returned home in the unsolved case, and he continues to be traumatized by that event. Maddox helps him cover up his involvement for reasons of her own.

Who Will/Should Read It: Mystery lovers, fiction readers, and anyone who enjoys a gripping story.

Tana French has just written another book focusing on Detective Cassie Maddox called The Likeness.

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Thanks to KF for this review!

Don't keep this book Confidential!

Today’s Book: Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly, Anthony Bourdain

The plot: Bourdain, best known for his acerbic wit and adventurous tastebuds on A Cook’s Tour and No Reservations television shows, and regular guest spots on Top Chef, talks about how he got started in the restaurant business. Starting on the lowest rung as a summer-stock prep cook at a tacky fish and chowder restaurant, and working his way up to executive chef/chef-at-large at Brasserie Les Halles in New York, Bourdain tells of adventures in cooking, schooling, traveling, and getting high and getting sober in between.

Why You’ll Love It: Even if you’re not a fan of Bourdain’s spiky wit and public persona, you might be hard-pressed to put this book down. He writes with a style all his own, and tells stories that you just know are true, even if the names have been changed. It’s a quick read, at 352 pages, and each chapter is more engrossing than the next. He also includes a chapter on how you can make food like the famous chefs, and makes it sound easy (the trick: a good knife and squeeze bottles of sauce. No, really!)

Who Will/Should Read It: Foodies, wannabe foodies, fans of Bourdain, and anyone who watches the food network more than ten hours a week (guilty, guilty!)

Bourdain has also written novels (Bone in the Throat, Gone Bamboo, The Bobby Gold Stories), and collected some shorter pieces penned for magazines in The Nasty Bits: Collected Varietal Cuts, Usable Trim, Scraps, and Bones.

A few years back, Fox also made a TV series based on the book, starring Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s Nicholas Brendan, but it was short-lived. Curious cooks can order the DVD set from MeLCat.

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Breaking Dawn is hard to do!

Today’s Book: Breaking Dawn, by Stephenie Meyer

The plot: The fourth in Meyer’s astoundingly popular YA series, Breaking Dawn brings to a close the stories of Bella Swan, Edward Cullen, and Jacob Black, three characters in a truly supernatural love triangle.

Beginning with a wedding (fans know which one!) and ending with an encounter with the all-too-frightening Volturi, Breaking Dawn is a massive 756 pages – easy to get through for veterans of the forerunner of YA phenomenons, Harry Potter.

I won’t spoil those still on the 200-plus waiting list, but lots of surprising things happen – things even devoted Meyer fans won’t expect! – and the ending is good and satisfying.

Why You’ll Love It: The Twilight books have become a worldwide marvel with sales that almost rival J.K. Rowling’s successful series. If you’ve just gotten into the series, or if you were a fan from day one, read this to find out how it all ends. Also great for fans of supernatural romance and urban fantasy.

Who Will/Should Read It: Teens who have been caught up in the “You’ve gotta read this!” craze, affectionately calling themselves “Twilighters,” adults who like a good freeform modern fantasy, and any parent who wants to know what the big deal is.