A COLD MIND (David L. Lindsey) - January 28/12

This frustratingly, unreasonably overlong book is certainly well written and quite captivating in spots, as Lindsey effectively establishes a story revolving around a killer of prostitutes (he kills his victims with rabies!) and the grizzled detective attempting to track him down. But Lindsey bogs the narrative down in mind-numbing details that quickly grow oppressive. The author spends a ridiculous amount of time describing the minute routine of the investigation, and the book often feels like a procedural in the most cold, clinical sense of the word. (Did we really need pages devoted to the killer's scientific method of extracting rabies from the head of a dead dog?) *1/2 out of ****

LIESL & PO (Lauren Oliver) - January 23/12

I don't really have much to say about this one. It's fine for what it is, but I feel like I'm about 25 years too old for this sort of thing. Oliver is certainly a good writer, though, and I did come to like the protagonists. It got a little too descriptive towards the end, what with all the magic and other side stuff, but all in all, it's an entertaining (if somewhat overlong) read. Oh, and the drawings are nice, too. **1/2 out of ****

A SEMESTER IN THE LIFE OF A GARBAGE BAG (Gordon Korman) - January 16/12

Gordon Korman strikes again with this absolutely insipid book revolving around a smartalecky teen's efforts at winning a trip to Greece. Korman has suffused the novel with hopelessly quirky characters and an emphasis on dull plot twists, including an ongoing subplot about the school's faulty power supply. Who cares?? It's relatively well written, but gosh, I was just bored from start to finish. *1/2 out of ****

HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS (J.K. Rowling) - January 12/12

The Harry Potter series improves immeasurably with this installment, as Rowling has all but dropped the overly kid-oriented atmosphere and embraced the serialized nature of the story. As such, the book doesn't feel quite as episodic as the first one, and there are a number of unexpectedly exciting passages (eg Harry and Ron are saved from enormous spiders by a sentient car). The inclusion of several nifty twists - Riddle is Voldemort! - ultimately elevates the whole thing, and I have to believe that the series is just going to get better and better. ***1/2 out of ****

RABBIT, RUN (John Updike) - January 4/12

Wow, what an ordeal. This absolutely interminable book, which I started months ago, details a few months in the life of Rabbit, as he leaves his pregnant wife and takes up with a floozy. It's a fine idea for a premise but Updike's almost astonishing incompetence ensures that there's hardly a page here that isn't completely overwritten and incoherent. Updike's stream-of-consciousness style is nothing short of infuriating, and it's ultimately impossible not to wonder what his fans like about his prose. Rabbit, Run is truly one of the worst books I've ever read. no stars out of ****

THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF KAVALIER & CLAY (Michael Chabon) - January 1/12

Man oh man. This unreasonably overlong and overwritten novel has a few admittedly decent stretches, but for the most part, Chabon bogs it down in frustratingly descriptive flashbacks and the like. The decent middle gives way to an absolutely interminable final 40%, with the stuff involving Joe's exploits during the war especially dull and pointless. I honestly don't understand the praise for this book. It's got strong characters and a few good twists, but it just goes on and on and on. It's like, we get it, Chabon; you're a good writer! Now how about entertaining us instead of yourself? When they refer to self-indulgent works as masturbation they could use this as a dictionary definition. *1/2 out of ****