Too Many Cooks ...

You know the saying "too many cooks in the kitchen spoils the broth"? That's exactly what happens with Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris (this is the 11th book in the Sookie Stackhouse series).

I started reading these before the True Blood craze, but I've kept reading them because they're a nice popcorn/potato chip read. They're quick, and they don't require much brain power. The first few or so in the series were decent for the formulaic novel. But, after a while, it became too much. By too much, I mean that there were way too many plot points. The books are all relatively short, so there shouldn't be more than two plot points. However, it's gotten to the point where there are about five different storylines going on - some don't even start until the middle of the book. Because they are short books, these stories don't get flushed out or developed. This results in me not caring about some of the stories, questioning why they're included in the book, or just not paying attention to them. I just wish she'd go back to the old style and simplify the stories. There's no need to smash all of that into such a small amount of pages. It's a series, for crying out loud. If you want to include that storyline, wait until another book and fully flush it out!

That being said, I'll still continue reading these books. They still serve their purpose of being an easy read - but I have to admit when I have a hard time of remembering exactly what happened in the book, maybe it's time to find a new series.

Burn by Nevada Barr

Nevada Barr has been one of my go tos for easy, brainless reading since I graduated from college. I have a weak spot for murder mysteries, and her settings of U.S. National Parks intrigued me. They've actually taught me a lot about parks that I wouldn't have known about otherwise.

So, I was really excited when I saw her latest in paperback at the bookstore a few weeks ago. I got even more excited when I realized it was set in New Orleans (I'll save my lovefest for that town for another time; suffice it to say, I can go on forever about that).

However, when I started it, I wasn't so excited. I am the first to admit that NOLA has its darker, seedier, more menacing side; I'd be a fool to not realize it. But, considering all that city has been through since Katrina (don't fool yourself into thinking it's been fixed), I don't know if I needed to read a book on its sex trade, especially its sex trade of minors (and I'm talking minor minors).

It's not a comfortable subject. No one wants to hear, see, or read about such things happening to kids. I definitely didn't want to read it in one of my no-brainer books.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

So, if you saw my post on Facebook, I absolutely loved this book. Jeremy said he hadn't seen me so engrossed in a book in so long. I'm just sad that I hadn't read it earlier.

I was wary of the book when one of the blurbs on it said that it was one of the most important and must reads since To Kill a Mockingbird. Please. That's a classic and a fantastic one at that. But I was wrong. I was instantly sucked into this story.

It's a three personal narrative that rotates among two black maids and a recent white female college grad. It's set in Jackson, Mississippi, in the early 1960s. I'm sure you can picture the issues that arise, especially since the young woman decides that there is something wrong with Southern society in this time period.

It was so good and so compelling that I've been telling everyone to check it out.

The Body of Christopher Creed by Carol Plum-Ucci

This is one of the books that will be used for small groups in my new strategic reading class this fall. I'm trying to read the "main" books for it so I have an idea of what I'm talking about when teaching it/discussing it with the kiddos.

This was another book I couldn't put down. I started reading it during our SSR time for school, so 18 minutes a day wasn't really enough because the book keeps you wondering from page one.

The premise of the book is trying to figure out what happened to a teenager, Christopher Creed. As the book unfolds, you learn that he was an outcast at school, so a lot of the student body isn't really all that concerned about him or his fate. The book also covers a lot of topics that are very relevant to a high school student: bullying, being the outcast, cliques, parents, drinking, etc.

The point of this class is to help reluctant and struggling readers. I think this book is a perfect fit for that.