christianreader | October booklist

1. Leave Me Alone, I'm Reading, Maureen Corrigan

A book about books - good but not stellar.

2. Women and Money, Suze Orman

This month I created a budget for the first time ever (my natural frugality is such that it's never been necessary, but I decided it would be a) good practice, b) a sort of challenge or game, and c) it would be nice to have an accounting for everything coming in and going out) and as such thought that reading a few financial books might be in order. Orman presents good advice in a clear and concise manner, though I found I was following most of it already.

3. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte

Suddenly I decided that a reread of Jane Eyre was an absolute necessity. I love this book SO MUCH.

4. Fragile Eternity, Melissa Marr

Wicked Lovely was interesting and fairly unique. Ink Exchange, its companion novel, was okay. Fragile Eternity ... oy. BORING. I had to force myself to finish it. Everyone sat around whining and nothing ever got resolved - in fact nothing ever really HAPPENED and it seemed like an exercise in frustration. At least until the last chapter or so when things started to get interesting again, but by that time it was too late. I probably won't be reading any future books by Marr.

5. Fullmetal Alchemist Vol. 7, Hiroma Arakawa
6. Fullmetal Alchemist Vol. 8, Hiroma Arakawa
7. Fullmetal Alchemist Vol. 9, Hiroma Arakawa
8. Fullmetal Alchemist Vol. 10, Hiroma Arakawa
9. Fullmetal Alchemist Vol. 11, Hiroma Arakawa

The farther on this series goes the more it becomes my Favorite Manga Evar (in fairness, I've read more than a volume of only four different ones?) But anyway, this is GOOD. Very good.

10. The Knife of Never Letting Go, Patrick Ness

Really glad to see a young adult book written by a guy; male authors seem in short supply. I'm always glad to find something I can really recommend to my teenage boys that they won't immediately deride as "too girly." What I loved: the changes in fonts. The unique (as far as I know) premise. The scary-but-we're-not-sure-why Village-like creepiness. The relationship between the two main characters. What I didn't: good GRIEF could we stop with all the depressing young adult lit already?! Every. Single. Time these kids look like they're going to get a break, something even more terrible than the last terrible things happens. And Mr. Ness, I know this is going to have a sequel but is a semi-happy ending, or heck, even any kind of an ending at all REALLY so much to ask for? And speaking of, why are there so few stand-alone books anymore? Why must everything be part of a series? Still, I liked it.

11. Echo in the Bone, Diana Gabaldon

Certainly the pick of the month. The only problem I have with this book is that it took so long for her to write and publish that I've forgotten many of the things from previous books that would have been helpful to remember (like the circumstances of William's birth). With any other series I would have gone back and reread them in preparation for the new book, but I don't exactly have time to read six 700+ page books right now. *facepalm* (As with all of Gabaldon's books, I recommend this with the caveat that it has adult content.)

12. Emotions Revealed, Paul Ekman

The title makes it sound like this is a self-help kind of book, but it's really mostly about the actual physical signs of emotions and how the slightest tightening of this or that facial muscle can reveal a person's emotional state. As such it is liberally illustrated.