Running Blind - Lee Child

Okay, so I figured this one out within the first 100 pages, but it was still fun to read to the end to see if I was right (I was). Reacher ends up over his head a bit after helping out a restaurant owner by "fixing" a few protection racket personnel. The FBI doesn't show the same level of appreciation and pulls Reacher in as an involuntary consultant to find the person that is killing women, a group of women that had a common thread of withdrawal from the army after filing harassment charges. Two early lines gave it away for me, but miss those and the story gets pretty complex. Like most of this author's books, there is a fair bit of misdirection, some of it purposeful as Reacher toys with his FBI captors. This may be the last book for 2008, and if so, it was a good one!

Happy Hour is for Amateurs - The Philadelphia Lawyer

You might guess at what that profession is by looking at the author's anonymous nom de plume. This was an interesting book, as it started off tracking the author's journey through law school and into the practice of law, usually focusing on his reliance upon alcohol and pharmaceuticals to get him through the day. By the end of the book, though, the author reaches a certain realization - behind the "prestige" of the law are a lot of unhappy people, worker bees that will never get out off the rut of billable hours. The author graduated law school and passed the bar about the same time as I did, and maybe it struck home a but more for this reason, but if you're doing something you hate everyday, take some initiative and change it! This book isn't for sensitive audiences, but ultimately has a good message and is an entertaining read.

The Charlemagne Pursuit - Steve Berry

This is not a gentle weekend read, as its 504 pages will take some time to push through, but the journey is worth it. Cotton Malone is back, searching for clues to his father who died in a top-secret nuclear submarine in 1971. Once the classified file is shared, others go on alert as well, including a matriarch whose husband died on the sub and an admiral who was involved in the search party and can't allow the truth to get out. The journey winds through several ancient sites before winding up in Antarctica, and the ending definitely allows for a reappearance of Cotton next year. A new reader will not want to start with this one, but will definitely want to schedule this one in for 2009!

Inferno: Indigo Book Two - Louise Cooper

Not a bad follow up to the series opener Nemesis. Book 2 in the Indigo series, finds our heroine Indigo in a mining time transformed by an evil cult. Her job of course is to destroy the demon, one of the many that she released in book 1. Of course by story end, she has done so (or perhaps others have done that for her) and we move on to book 3. 

Nothing special about this book. An enjoyable read that doesn't take much time. Does the series standout as one of the greats in the world of fantasy? No, but a decent read nonetheless. On to book 3.  5/10

The Christmas Sweater - Glenn Beck

All I can say is wow. This book is so much more than I expected. I love Glenn and listen to him regularly on his radio show and while he has strong political opinions, I've known him to have a good heart. This shows through in this book.  What a great story of the trials and heartache of a young teenage boy only to find atonement in the end. No political message in this book, just a great story. This is not the type of book I typically read, but I made an exception for this one.  This book is a very quick and easy read. It won't take up much of your time, but the time spent is oh so worth it. I don't say this often, but go out, buy this book and read it this Christmas season.  10/10

The Tales of Beedle the Bard - J.K. Rowling

As did many others, I missed the Harry Potter books as soon as I read the final words, and I was pleased when the release of this book was announced. The book is a collection of wizarding fables, with Beedle taking the role of the Muggles' Aesop, and there is a commentary provided by Dumbledore (18 months before the events of Deathly Hallows). This is a short book, but the stories are good additions to the Potter world and it is difficult to argue that this was just a money grab, as the proceeds are going to The Children's High Level Group, a charity founded by Rowling. It may take you an hour at most to read, but well worth the time and money!

Chainfire - Terry Goodkind

For me, book 9 of the Sword of Truth series started off real slow. In fact it stayed slow until the last 4 or 5 chapters. This was a tough one to keep moving through, but I've made it this far into the series and need to finish it up. Having said that, the last 4 or 5 chapters were superb and really moved the story along, in fact it made the rest of the book worthwhile reading, I just wish it would have gotten this far sooner. Unfortunately I'm not sure Terry could have done much more to make the book more riveting without decreasing some of the effectiveness of the plot. I've left this book looking forward to the final two books, but hoping they are more like the last 100 pages of this one instead of the first 700. 7/10

In the Eye of the Storm - Max Lucado

This was a good inspirational book. It did seem like a collection of short essays instead of a cohesive book. Great truths in here so well worth the read. 6/10

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon

I'm not sure why I picked this book up. Perhaps it was the interesting cover that first grabbed my attention. Reading the cover notes, it sounded interesting enough. In a nutshell, Christopher, an autistic boy investigates the murder of the neighbors dog and writes a book to tell his story. This book is that book. An interesting concept and in fact Mark Haddon pulls it off quite well. I completely believe that this book was written by an autistic child. That is also where it fails for me. After the first few chapters it got old. I'm sure this is exactly how it would be written if it were true, but goodness, the side paths that are taken just get old before too long. Many times I just wanted to put his one down, but it was short so I finished, though I did skip over paragraphs and whole chapters when it went off story. Some people may really enjoy this, but it's just not my style. 4/10 

Your Heart Belongs to Me - Dean Koontz

I didn't have the highest hopes for this book, as the guy-haunted-by-girl-that-donated-his-heart has been done before. It was better than I hoped, but far from my favorite Koontz story. Ryan Perry, a wealthy dot-com developer, suffers a heart attack while surfing and theorizes that his servants or girlfriend may have poisoned him. After a few Learjet hops, private eyes, and a donor heart, Ryan begins to experience "odd" happenings. I enjoy most of the characters that Koontz brings to life, but everyone in this novel was flat (and please, no more Golden Retrievers - we get that you love them!). Again, this isn't a bad book, but less than expected from this master.