THE AWAKENING (L.J. Smith) - November 30/09

Well, it's not exactly Twilight. This first installment of The Vampire Diaries is basically entertaining, but it's just not as enthralling as one might've hoped. Hopefully further books will be a little bit more exciting, now that the various characters have been introduced. **1/2 out of ****

IF I STAY (Gayle Forman) - November 24/09

This brisk little book, though basically plotless, held my interest pretty much from start to finish and even got me a little choked up once or twice. And though I found the open conclusion a little frustrating - ie did Mia stay with Adam? did she go to Julliard? etc - If I Stay is a superb debut from a promising writer. ***1/2 out of ****

THE HUMBLING (Philip Roth) - November 23/09

Though it takes about 40 pages (out of 140) to get interesting, The Humbling does become a fairly intriguing portrait of an aging actor's unconventional relationship with a lesbian and the downfall it eventually brings him (culminating in his suicide). Well written and brisk. **1/2 out of ****

TWILIGHT DIRECTOR'S NOTEBOOK (Catherine Hardwicke) - November 19/09

This scrapbook of the making of Twilight is interesting and intimate. I could've used a few more technical details and some peeks into the actors' day-to-day processes, but this is otherwise an intriguing look behind-the-scenes into the movie's production. *** out of ****

HOLLYWOOD MONSTER (Robert Englund) - November 18/09

This incredibly breezy autobiography is not without its flaws - Englund doesn't seem to have anything bad to say about anybody or anything - yet there's little doubt that the book is packed with interesting tidbits. And as interesting as the early stuff is, Hollywood Monster really cooks when Englund talks about his various movies - including his trials and tribulations as Freddy. *** out of ****

CATCHING FIRE (Suzanne Collins) - November 14/09

This disappointing sequel to The Hunger Games ultimately feels like a stepping stone into the final book, with the "gossamer thin" plot (as another review has put it) stretched well past the breaking point as Collins attempts to set up the finale. Throwing Katniss back into The Hunger Games isn't inherently problematic, but matching her up with a series of underdeveloped allies is (ie there's never a point at which the reader cares about any of these people, except for Peeta, of course). The book is ultimately entertaining but far from the enthralling work that its predecessor was. Hopefully the third installment will fare better. *** out of ****

MRS WHIPPY (Cecelia Ahern) - November 7/09

This super-short story - 75 pages - about a put-upon housewife who finally decides to stand up for herself is incredibly entertaining and surprisingly vivid, as Ahern effectively establishes a fully fleshed-out central characters and tells a compelling tale using very few pages. A true winner. (And a reminder that Ahern, the author of the engrossing P.S. I Love You, is a genuinely talented writer whose books I seem to have overlooked. I'll be correcting that mistake shortly.) ***1/2 out of ****

CIRQUE DU FREAK (Darren Shan) - November 6/09

This serviceable teen fantasy book certainly has its moments, but the whole thing never quite adds up to much - with Shan's ongoing attempts at mimicking a teenager's voice exacerbating the book's various problems (ie it's just not convincing and kind of needless). **1/2 out of ****