Eclipse; Breaking Dawn; The Kids Are All Right; Hell Gate

I reread two of Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight" series over the weekend because I was sick in bed, "Eclipse" and "Breaking Dawn". I enjoyed both more than I did last time I reread them, so that was something.
"The Kids Are All Right" by the Welch siblings: Diana, Liz, Amanda, and Dan. They took turns telling their story of what happened to the four of them after their parents died and they were split up among friends to be raised. This is going to sound mean, but it wasn't nearly as sad as I thought it would be. I've read much worse, like Dave Eggers "Heart Breaking Work of Staggering Genius". Not that it wasn't awful for them to lose their parents within a few years of each other, but their mother set up a trust fund that paid for their private schools, and they all pretty much survived all right.
"Hell Gate" by Linda Fairstein is her latest Alex Cooper mystery. Alex and her partners, Mike and Mercer, are hunting down human traffickers, people who bring in women from other countries to be sold into the sex trade. At one point it looked like the entire City Hall was in on it: the mayor, the D.A., half the city council. It was okay. Alex and Mike's bantering got on my nerves, and Alex's blase treatment of her boyfriend just rubbed me the wrong way.

The Tudors

G. J. Meyer's all-encompassing biography of the most notorious rulers of Britain was utterly brilliant. Witty and sharp and interesting, I truly enjoyed it. Unlike most historians, who are pretty good about not interpreting or casting judgment on their subjects, Meyer was quick to call out King Henry's hypocrisies. I thought he was a bit harsh on Queen Elizabeth, but his cutting remarks about Henry were so great I forgave him. Here's my favorite, from pg. 301: "The king meanwhile soldiered on with the thankless and unending task of showing his people the way to salvation, to all appearances unaware that he could have spent his time more productively by trying to herd cats." When was the last time I laughed out loud while reading nonfiction? I hope he writes more in the future!

The Walking Dead Book 3

Continuing the story of the survivors of the zombie apocalypse, Robert Kirkman's third installment finds the group safely ensconced in a prison. When they witness a helicopter crash, a group of them go to see if there are any survivors they can help. Turns out there's another group nearby, led by a sadistic man, who kidnaps the rescue party and tortures and maims them before they are able to escape. Back at the prison, they determine they must fortify their position so they can be ready for the inevitable attack coming from the other group. Well, surviving an apocalypse tends to either bring out the best or the worst in people, and it was nice to see this dichotomy. It was also a nice change from the second book in the series, which seemed to focus more on the relationships forming between the last remaining members of society. It was good to get back on track and realize what's important--surviving and taking out as many zombies as you can.

Asleep

After reading Oliver Sack's "Awakenings" a few weeks ago, I was curious about other books on the sleeping sickness epidemic, and discovered this new one by Molly Caldwell Crosby. It wasn't quite as depressing as Sack's book, mostly because she wrote less about individual patients and more about the phenomenon as a whole. She also told of people who survived the sickness relatively unscathed. It just seems so sad that so many had to suffer, and that scientists and doctors still really don't have a clue as to what causes it or how to treat it if it comes back.

Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang

Chelsea Handler's previous two books, "My Horizontal Life" and "Are You There, Vodka, it's Me, Chelsea", were both pretty hilarious. This one not so much. First off, it was way too short, barely over two hundred pages, and there were pictures and lots of white space and the font was really big. As I was reading one story I could have sworn she told of something similar in a previous book. I guess she's running out of funny things to entertain us about, which is unfortunate. Like the old Janet Evanovich books, I count on Chelsea to make me laugh. Also, she spent a good portion of the book making fun of her boyfriend (they recently split up, after the book went to press). It just didn't sit right with me, her making him out to be a fool. Making fun of her dad is one thing, but I didn't like it in regards to Ted.

V for Vendetta; Goddess of the Market: Ayn Rand and the American Right

Alan Moore and David Lloyd team up for the graphic novel "V for Vendetta", which was pretty good. I liked "Watchmen" better, and I think it was because of the artwork. I wasn't crazy about the way Lloyd illustrated it. It wasn't horrible, but it wasn't as nice as other graphic novels I've read, and I think, obviously, half the point of reading a graphic novel is for the illustrations. The plot was pretty decent, if somewhat unbelievable and paranoid, but Moore did a good job of making us understand the main characters motivation.
"Goddess of the Market: Ayn Rand and the American Right" by Jennifer Burns was a well done biography of Rand that examined not only her personal life but her long term affects on American culture and politics. It's obvious that even though Rand has been dead for nearly 30 years, she still inspires, fascinates, and infuriates. Reading all these biographies of Rand make me wish I had more time right now to reread "Atlas Shrugged" and "The Fountainhead". It's been years! Much too long.

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

So Seth Grahame-Smith, author of the hilarious mash-up "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" is back with a fictionalized account of the life of one of our greatest presidents, Abraham Lincoln. I really enjoyed this book up until the last three pages: I thought it was clever and funny and that if Abe Lincoln were around today to read it he might get a kick out of it (although I did catch an error--he killed off a character who was then back twenty pages later. Hello, editor? WTH?). The ending totally killed it for me. Just like that, dead. I read the last bit and wanted to toss the book across the room, preferably through something, like my sliding glass doors. I restrained myself, because it's a library book. It's unfortunate, because it really was a very interesting spin on Lincoln's life and what motivated him to get so deeply involved in the abolitionist movement. It even seemed remotely plausible, unlike Jane Austen's heroines killing zombies.