The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb

I would never have found this book on my own.  Normally, books about the emotional tribulations of people when bad things happen to them doesn't really pique my interest, nor do inspiring stories of redemption.  But after I reviewed Dave Cullen's Columbine, my dear cousin, the Archduchess of Lambeth-Steinmetz, suggested The Hour I First Believed as something I might enjoy. 

I'm not sure how much I enjoyed it, but I can recommend Lamb's book as compellingly readable.  Enjoyment is not a word one uses lightly when dealing with a plot involving the husband of a high school teacher who barely survives the Columbine massacre in 1999, and who then goes through years of intense PTSD and prescription drug abuse, climaxed by a fatal hit-and-run killing of a teenager. 

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

A caveat first - I have not actually read this book - I'm afraid my native masculinity militates against my perusing books of such overwhelming... girliness.  My beloved sister, the Contessa of Haut-Eigenwald, however, has read this book, and apparently quite liked it.  She appreciated its strong characterization of three women living the deep south of the early 1960s:  Skeeter, a white college student trying to avoid immediate marriage, Abileen, a black housemaid mourning her own son, while raising those of her employers, and Missy, Abileen's free-spirited best friend.

The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

Just the other day, I was out falconing with my good friend and vassal, the 4th Baron of Smyth-Bullard, when he happened to mention my blog.  "You know, Your Grace," said he, "I've been following your electronic journal, and I quite enjoy it.  But I do have a question."  At this point I casually removed my hand from the hilt of my sword, to encourage further candor, and gestured for him to continue.  "Well, it is only that you never seem to dislike any of the books you review - and I for one love to see a bad author savaged in print by a master of vicious sarcasm such as Your Grace." 

"Capital point, Bobo," I replied (for such was his nickname at the Old School), "I shall see to it forthwith!"  And so, without further ado (and a special dedication to my chum Bobo), enjoy the following review of Dan Brown's latest insipid potboiler, The Lost Symbol... 

A Dark Matter by Peter Straub

Peter Straub has been one of my favorite authors for a very long time.  I like the horror genre, within certain limits, but Straub goes beyond mere horror, into the rarely achieved realm of mortal dread, which is so much more effective than a good scare. 

Beyond that, he's a damned good writer in the best literary sense, with a real sense of poetry that manages to convey impressions of the eternal and the sacred, instead of just plot and character.  As such, his novels sometimes be very difficult to review, because their true value is so ethereal.

American Gods by Neil Gaiman

Neil Gaiman is pretty hot right now - The Sandman graphic novels, the children's film (sort of) Coraline, and a brand new biography of the author and his work have been drawing public ardor and critical acclaim for some time.  In my opinion, however, Gaiman's most beautiful, bewitching and rewarding work are delivered by his novels - Stardust, Neverwhere, and most of all, American Gods, a magnum opus on the intersection of global myth and American Culture.

Shadow is an ex-con, just released from prison after serving a due sentence for an instant of bad judgement.  His faithful (he thinks) wife, has just been killed in a spectacular auto wreck with his best friend.  He is utterly alone and drifting, and then he receives a tempting job offer from the very mysterious Mr. Wednesday.

Oryx and Crake, The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood

Here's a double-header.  I recently reviewed Atwood's 1985 best-seller The Handmaid's Tale (at the request of my good friend Mark) and I found it so enjoyable that, when I saw Atwood's latest, The Year of the Flood, at the library, I was enticed.  Unfortunately, I failed to realize until later that this novel is a sequel, of sorts, to 2003's Oryx and Crake, which I read after The Year of the Flood.

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

So, what can you say about another story concerning a post-apocalyptic, misogynistic, murderous, far right-wing theocracy plunging the United States into a new Dark Age.  Not much, you would think - I mean considering the Bush years brought us within a wasp's nipple of that possible future.   But think again!  (Now think one more time - OK that's good, you're there.)  The extremely witty and wonderful Canadian (of course) penned this literate and compelling imagination of an America run by James Dobson, back in 1985!