Book List - January 2012

So here is the start of the my 2012 book list. I have two rules:

1. If I don't finish the book it doesn't go on my list.
2. Every book I read will go on the list. You may be surprised by some of the things I read.

Here is what I read in January:

1. The Next Aways by Nora Roberts - I'm a sucker for Nora Roberts Trilogies. I don't know why. They are always the same - three characters (sometimes four - usually a trio of brothers, sisters or girlfriends) and each book in the trilogy is one character's story of finding true love and each book ends with a marriage proposal (sorry if I spoiled it for you). But I started reading this book during my Christmas vacation and was a light, easy read.

2. Death Comes to Pemberley by P.D. James - I am a big fan of Jane Austen. I've read all six of her books (some more than once) and have read my fair share of contemporary re-makes and possible continuations of her stories. And while this book very much captured the essences of Pride & Prejudice, as a mystery it totally lacked intrigue and tension.


3. Remarkable Creatures by Tracey Chevalier - This was an interesting work of fiction about two woman who really existed in the English seaside town of Lyme in the 1800s. They were fossil "hunters" in a time before evolutions was a fully flushed out theory (before Darwin's On the Origin of Species was published) and the field of fossil collection and examination was dominated by men.

4. Still Missing by Chevy Stevens - I was enjoying this book (fiction) about a woman who was abducted and held for almabout a year, locked in a cabin in the mountains. The man holding her not only raped and beat her on a regular basis but control everything about her life: when and what she ate, when and how she bathed and even when she went to the bathroom. But a little more than 2/3 into the book the plot took a weird and kind of unbelievable turn. I found the ending contrived and a little disappointing,

5. High on Arrive by Mackenzie Phillips - Poor Mackenzie, she never really had a chance with such a sad and totally screwed up father. This book was exactly as I expected, full of drug abuse, sex, drug abuse, hedonism, drug abuse, incest, drug abuse, mental abuse, drug abuse, rape, drug abuse, physical abuse, drug abuse, kidnappings and more drug abuse.