Books Read in January

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Eragon---Christopher Paolini (A+)

When Eragon finds a polished blue stone in the forest, he thinks it is the lucky discovery of a poor farm boy; perhaps it will buy his family meat for the winter. But when the stone brings a dragon hatchling, Eragon realizes he has stumbled upon a legacy nearly as old as the Empire itself. Overnight his simple life is shattered, and he is thrust into a perilous new world of destiny, magic, and power. With only an ancient sword and the advice of an old storyteller for guidance, Eragon and the fledgling dragon must navigate the dangerous terrain and dark enemies of an Empire ruled by a king whose evil knows no bounds. Can Eragon take up the mantle of the legendary Dragon Riders? The fate of the Empire may rest in his hands....

 

Harry Potter and the Scorcerer's Stone---J.K. Rowling (A+)

Harry Potter has never played a sport while flying on a broomstick. He's never worn a cloak of invisibility, befriended a giant, or helped hatch a dragon. All Harry knows is a miserable life with the Dursleys, his horrible aunt and uncle, and their abominable son, Dudley. Harry's room is a tiny closet at the foot of the stairs, and he hasn't had a birthday party in eleven years.

But all that is about to change when a mysterious letter arrives by owl messenger: a letter with an invitation to a wonderful place he never dreamed existed. There he finds not only friends, aerial sports, and magic around every corner, but a great destiny that's been waiting for him...if Harry can survive the encounter.

 

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets---J.K. Rowling (A+)

The Dursleys were so mean and hideous that summer that all Harry Potter wanted was to get back to the Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. But just as he's packing his bags, Harry receives a warning from a strange, impish creature named Dobby who says that if Harry Potter returns to Hogwarts, disaster will strike.

And strike it does. For in Harry's second year at Hogwarts, fresh torments and horrors arise, including an outrageously stuck-up new professor, Gilderoy Lockheart, a spirit named Moaning Myrtle who haunts the girls' bathroom, and the unwanted attentions of Ron Weasley's younger sister, Ginny.

But each of these seem minor annoyances when the real trouble begins, and someone — or something — starts turning Hogwarts students to stone. Could it be Draco Malfoy, a more poisonous rival than ever? Could it possibly be Hagrid, whose mysterious past is finally told? Or could it be the one everyone at Hogwarts most suspects...Harry Potter himself!

 

Ruby Slippers, Golden Tears---Various (B-)

"Once upon a time ..."So begin the classic fairy tales that enthralled and terrified us as children. Now, in their third critically acclaimed collection of original fairy tales for adults, World Fantasy Award-winning editors Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling bring us twenty-one new stories by some of the top names in literature today.

Joyce Carol Oates, Gahan Wilson, Gene Wolfe, Tanith Lee, Neil Gaiman — these are but a few of the accomplished literary sorcerers who have gathered here to remold our timeless myths into more sensuous and disturbing forms. Like the fabled ruby slippers, there is powerful magic here. Rich witches in trendy resorts cast evil spells ... beautiful princesses age and wither in sleeping worlds ... terrible beasts reside beneath flawless skin.

Dark, disturbing, delightful, each story was written expressly for this superb collection of distinctly grown-up fantasy — a brilliant companion volume to Datlow and Windling's acclaimed anthologies, Snow White, Blood Red and Black Thorn, White Rose.

 

Plum Lovin'---Janet Evanovich (B+)

From #1 blockbuster bestselling author Janet Evanovich comes a Stephanie Plum novel that takes adventure, action, suspense (and maybe even true love?) to new heights.

Watch your back…
Look both ways…
Because love is in the air…
And that means big trouble!

Mysterious men have a way of showing up in Stephanie Plum's apartment. When the shadowy Diesel appears, he has a task for Stephanie -- and he's not taking no for an answer. Annie Hart is a "relationship expert" who is wanted for armed robbery and assault with a deadly weapon. Stephanie needs to find her, fast. Diesel knows where she is. So they make a deal: He'll help her get Annie if Stephanie plays matchmaker to several of Annie's most difficult clients. But someone wants to find Annie even more than Diesel and Stephanie. Someone with a nasty temper. And someone with "unmentionable" skills. Does Diesel know more that he's saying about Annie Hart? Does Diesel have secrets he's keeping from Stephanie and the two men in her life -- Ranger and Morelli? With Stephanie Plum in over her head, things are sure to get a little dicey and a little explosive, Jersey style!

 

Lethal Justice---Fern Michaels (A)

A gripping new novel in the Sisterhood series from the New York Times bestselling author. Alexis was a successful broker whose career was on the rise. But that was before she was wrongly imprisoned for fraud. Suddenly her life was destroyed: thrown into prison for a year while the true criminals, Arden Gillespie and Roland Sullivan, spent the profits from the scam on themselves. It is time for the next revenge mission of the Sisterhood a vigilante organization whose aim is to avenge crimes not punished by the legal system.

 

Rebecca's Tale---Sally Beauman (A)

For anyone who has ever dreamed of going to Manderly again...

Though Rebecca de Winter has been dead for 20 years, her memory still haunts those who loved her. Her old friend and ally, Colonel Julyan, was the local magistrate at the time of her death. He had the painful task of investigating its circumstances. And though the secrets he learned during the inquiry have stayed with him, the burden of that knowledge is heavy, and there are things he has yet to find out.

Julyan enlists the help of his daughter, Ellie, and Tom Gray, a young scholar with a mysterious past of his own. With the discovery of Rebecca's diary, they each, for their own reasons, pursue the truth about the enigmatic woman's death, and try to piece together the mysterious story of her life.