THE TURN OF THE SCREW (Henry James) - October 31/15

Barf! Yet another unreadable Victorian novel. The language is closer to Shakespeare than to contemporary English, so I found this to be an impossible slog. There was one scene that I liked, where the main character sees an apparition in the window, but the rest was garbage. 1/2* out of ****

DAUGHTER'S KEEPER (Ayelet Waldman) - October 29/15

This is a simple story told exceedingly well by Waldman. Her descriptive tendencies aren't terribly problematic here, and there's little doubt that Olivia and Elaine are incredibly vivid and sympathetic characters. ***1/2 out of ****

THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN (Michael Crichton) - October 22/15

There's just so much damn science stuff in this one. I found myself glazing over passages and for much of the first half, I wasn't sure I was even enjoying it. But things pick up towards the end and I liked how the science was used to find an actual solution (ie the reason the old man and the baby were immune was explained by science). *** out of ****

FURIOUSLY HAPPY (Jenny Lawson) - October 18/15

My love/hate relationship with Jenny Lawson continues. Like her last book, Furiously Happy is full of super wacky tales that aren't funny and feel as though they were written in one feverish stream-of-consciousness jaunt. But the book also contains a few heartfelt moments that I really enjoyed. I wish it contained more of that stuff. **1/2 out of ****

TELL NO ONE (Harlan Coben) - October 13/15

This blisteringly paced thriller hooked me right from the get-go and basically held my interest throughout, although the investigation-oriented middle did occasionally threaten to become tedious. *** out of ****

I WAS HERE (Gayle Forman) - October 10/15

A very average teen book. This really took a while to get going, and although I liked the main character, the narrative surrounding here just wasn't terribly compelling. Forman often has trouble justifying the book's already short length, as there are plenty of time-wasting interludes (eg a trip to a hippie church). **1/2 out of ****

THE NEXT BEST THING (Jennifer Weiner) - October 6/15

Jennifer Weiner clearly has a problem with endings. The Next Best Thing basically arrives at a point where a bittersweet ending could ensue but Weiner keeps things going for another 50 pages and offers up an unconvincingly happy conclusion that feels like the sort of thing that would've been tacked on by one of the producers the main character hates. But still, I quite enjoyed this book. Ruth is an engaging protagonist and I enjoyed the behind-the-scenes stuff involving her TV show. And her romance with Little Dave was cute, too. *** out of ****