84. "Red Knife" by William Kent Krueger

Red Knife

83. "Aunt Dimity Goes West" by Nancy Atherton

Aunt Dimity Goes West

82. "Shark Life" by Peter Benchley

Shark Life by Peter Benchley

81. "Sweetsmoke" by David Fuller

Sweetsmoke

78. Another entry in the "life's too short" list

I thought this mystery, set in a region of the United States about which I've read nothing, looked promising. However, 30 pages in, I decided that life is too short to waste on the awkward dialogue, clumsy descriptions, unrealistic aspects (a law enforcement officer goes fishing without a cell phone? Really??), and cliched characters.

79. "What Moms Can't Do" by Douglas Wood

My sister-in-law received Douglas Wood's What Moms Can't Do as a baby shower gift, so I leafed through it after the party. It's a very cute, fun book with great illustrations by Doug Cushman. I think the story and pictures would appeal to most children, with humor that adults will also enjoy. Wood has also written What Dads Can't Do, and I'm now curious to read that as well.

80. "Hard Row" by Margaret Maron

I'd never read Margaret Maron, but I've wanted to ever since a long-ago bookstore customer raved about her books. Hard Row is mid-series, I think, so I might have a different impression if I'd started earlier. The mystery is reasonably entertaining and suspenseful, the North Carolina setting almost cliched (although, having lived in the South, I realize there's a good amount of realism within some of the cliches). The print is enormous, which made me suspect the book might be a lightweight. It is, rather--reasonably entertaining if you're looking for something to kill time, but not compelling enough to make me seek out other Maron books when there are so many far more urgent titles on my list.

65. "The Girl Who Played with Fire" by Stieg Larsson

The Girl Who Played with Fire continues the stories of Lisbeth Salander, Mikael Blomkvist, and their friends, lovers, and coworkers. Blomkvist and his colleagues at Millennium magazine purchase an article and book about sex trafficking, but before the drafts are finalized, the journalist who wrote the pieces and his girlfriend/fellow researcher are killed. Evidence at the crime scene implicates Salander, who goes into hiding, mistrustful of the authorities. Blomkvist refuses to believe she's guilty, and his parallel investigation uncovers information about her past, including her reasons for that mistrust. 

The cliffhanger ending definitely left me eager to read the final installment in the trilogy. Kudos to Stieg Larsson for his casual gender equality--unlike too many American authors (who use male characters' last names and female characters' first names), he uses most of the characters' last names consistently. On the other hand, he doesn't seem to be quite clear about which events from The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo happened when, or how long ago.

Like its predecessor, this book isn't for those who prefer their books without excessive violence and disturbing depictions (albeit for the purpose of highlighting the disturbing reality) of rape. It's also a bit longer, at 700-plus pages, which is not so great for people like me who get sucked into Larsson's books to the point that we can't do anything else until we finish them. :)

64. "Home Tonight" by Henri Nouwen

I talked about this book and what it means for my life right now on my other blog, the Literary Gargoyle. So I'll just say, here, that if you have any interest in spirituality, especially if you feel sort of marginalized or excluded by traditional evangelical Christianity, you need to read Nouwen.

Home Tonight is taken from tapes of a workshop Nouwen did before his death. He revisits themes from The Return of the Prodigal Son and many of his other works, but he adds fresh insights and perspectives.