February ~ 2010

14. Bones of Betrayal...Jefferson Bass

This one had a lot of interesting historical info in it (in addition to all the cool anthropology stuff.) I had never really read anything about the Manhatten Project and it was very enlightening. Can't wait for the next in this series (March!)

Quote:
The latest Body Farm novel finds forensic anthropologist Bill Brockton looking into an unusual death. A man’s body is pulled out of a swimming pool in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The autopsy reveals that he appears to have died after ingesting a highly radioactive pellet. When Brockton discovers that the victim was a key player in the Manhattan Project—that, in fact, he designed a reactor that was instrumental in the creation of the first atomic bomb more than 60 years ago—he realizes that to solve the crime, he must penetrate the secrets-laden history of the Manhattan Project itself. This series, written by forensic anthropologist Bass (the creator of the real Body Farm in Tennessee) and Jefferson, just keeps getting better. The latest installment features both the most compelling story and the best portrayal yet of Brockton, who has completed the transition from fictional representation of coauthor Bass to fully realized protagonist. Expect bigger and better things from this point on.

15. Death's Acre...Dr. Bill Bass & Jon Jefferson

This is a non-fiction book that goes into lots more depth about the Body Farm.

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In this memoir, Bass, a premier forensic anthropologist, recounts how a life spent studying dead bodies led to the creation of "The Anthropolgy Research Facility" (aka the Body Farm), a plot of land near the University of Tennessee Medical Center where Bass and his colleagues monitor the decomposition of human corpses in various environments. The book is structured around the 1981 creation of the Body Farm, and the early chapters focus on some of Bass's trickier cases to demonstrate his need for more information about the science of forensics. The later chapters take a closer look at how the scientific analysis of Body Farm corpses has helped Bass and other anthropologists solve some of the toughest and most bizarre cases of their distinguished careers. Though professional and conscientious when describing the medical facts of each case, Bass, writing with journalist Jefferson, proves to be a witty storyteller with a welcome sense of humor. He also does a nice job balancing accounts of death and decomposition with decidedly not-so-morbid tidbits from his personal life. Furthermore, the poignancy of how he reacts to the deaths of his first two wives reflects the compassion he feels for the dead and their surviving family members he encounters in his working life. Bass may deal with the dead, but he has a lust for life that comes across in his writing.


16. Beyond the Body Farm...Dr. Bill Bass & Jon Jefferson

The second non-fiction book by the authors.

Quote:
A pioneer in forensic anthropology, Dr. Bill Bass created the world's first laboratory dedicated to the study of human decomposition—three acres on a hillside in Tennessee where human bodies are left to the elements. His research has revolutionized forensic science, but during a career that has spanned half a century, Bass and his work have ranged far beyond the gates of the "Body Farm."
In this riveting book, the renowned bone sleuth explores the rise of modern forensic science and takes readers deep into the real world of crime scene investigation. Beyond the Body Farm is an extraordinary journey through some of the most fascinating investigations of Dr. Bass's career—and a remarkable look at the high-tech science used to crack the most perplexing cases.


17. 206 Bones...Kathy Reichs

I liked this book, but it wasn't as good as some of her earlier ones.

Quote:
At the start of bestseller Reichs's outstanding 12th thriller to feature Dr. Temperance Brennan (after Devil Bones), Brennan finds herself bound and injured in an underground tomb. In flashbacks, Reichs fills in the how and why of the forensic anthropologist's deadly predicament. When Brennan and Andrew Ryan of the Sûreté du Québec arrive in Chicago on business, she's accused of botching the autopsy of Rose Jurmain, a Canadian heiress. Knowing only that an anonymous caller instigated the investigation, Brennan is determined to uncover who's out to sabotage her. Back in her Montreal lab, Brennan soon realizes that not only is Jurmain's death possibly linked to the brutal murders of other elderly women but that whoever is out to tarnish her reputation refuses to back off. With her usual blend of cutting-edge forensic science and a stubborn, compelling heroine, Reichs manages to juggle several story lines without losing an ounce of momentum.


18. My First Year as a Lawyer...edited by Mark Simenhoff

19. NextGen Librarians...Rachel Singer Gordon


20. Real People Working in Law...Blythe Camenson


21. The Patron Saint of Liars...Ann Patchett

I liked the storyline, but I didn't like the ending. There was no real resolution; the book just ended.

Quote:
Unanticipated pregnancy makes liars out of young women, this thoughtful first novel shows, as they try to rationalize, explain, and accept what is happening to them. When she arrives at St. Elizabeth's, a home for pregnant girls in Habit, Kentucky, Rose Clinton seems as evasive and deceptive as the other unwed mothers. But Rose is different: she has a husband whom she has deserted. Unlike most St. Elizabeth's visitors, she neither gives up her baby nor leaves the home, staying on as cook while her daughter grows up among expectant mothers fantasizing that they, too, might keep their infants. The reader learns from Rose how she came to St. Elizabeth's, but it is her doting husband and rebellious daughter who reveal her motives and helpless need for freedom. Together, the three create a complex character study of a woman driven by forces she can neither understand nor control.

22. World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War...Max Brooks

Wow, this book was awesome! For some reason, I thought it was a comedy, so I had been putting off reading it. It is definitely not a comedy! They never say why (just that it started in China), but zombies start rising and killing and infecting people all over the world. This sets off a mass war called World War Z. This book is a series of interviews and essays years later from people who survived the war.

Quote:
Brooks, the author of the determinedly straight-faced parody The Zombie Survival Guide (2003), returns in all seriousness to the zombie theme for his second outing, a future history in the style of Theodore Judson's Fitzpatrick's War. Brooks tells the story of the world's desperate battle against the zombie threat with a series of first-person accounts "as told to the author" by various characters around the world. A Chinese doctor encounters one of the earliest zombie cases at a time when the Chinese government is ruthlessly suppressing any information about the outbreak that will soon spread across the globe. The tale then follows the outbreak via testimony of smugglers, intelligence officials, military personnel and many others who struggle to defeat the zombie menace. Despite its implausible premise and choppy delivery, the novel is surprisingly hard to put down. The subtle, and not so subtle, jabs at various contemporary politicians and policies are an added bonus.


22. Forest of Hands and Teeth...Carrie Ryan

This book was a quick read...I wanted to finish it in one sitting. The only problem is the ending; you only find out what happened to the main character. You don't learn what happens to the rest of the surviving group. I did read that there is going to be a sequel, so hopefully the author can tie up all the loose ends she left in this book.

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Mary knows little about the past and why the world now contains two types of people: those in her village and the undead outside the fence, who prey upon the flesh of the living. The Sisters protect their village and provide for the continuance of the human race. After her mother is bitten and joins the Unconsecrated, Mary is sent to the Sisters to be prepared for marriage to her friend Harry. But then the fences are breached and the life she has known is gone forever. Mary; Harry; Travis, whom Mary loves but who is betrothed to her best friend; her brother and his wife; and an orphaned boy set out into the unknown to search for safety, answers to their questions, and a reason to go on living.


23. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo...Stieg Larsson

This book took a little while to get into. I didn't really care about all the finacial journalism stuff in the beginning. Once things started rolling on the mystery part, it was really good. I'm definitely getting the next book in this trilogy.

Quote:
Mikael Blomkvist, a once-respected financial journalist, watches his professional life rapidly crumble around him. Prospects appear bleak until an unexpected (and unsettling) offer to resurrect his name is extended by an old-school titan of Swedish industry. The catch--and there's always a catch--is that Blomkvist must first spend a year researching a mysterious disappearance that has remained unsolved for nearly four decades. With few other options, he accepts and enlists the help of investigator Lisbeth Salander, a misunderstood genius with a cache of authority issues. Little is as it seems in Larsson's novel, but there is at least one constant: you really don't want to mess with the girl with the dragon tattoo.


24. Unwind...Neal Shusterman

I totally recommend this book! I read it yesterday and I ended up thinking about it all night. What is scary is that I can totally see something like this happening. In fact, it is already happening in other parts of the world, although, I imagine (hope) it is more adults than children.

Quote:
In a society where unwanted teens are salvaged for their body parts, three runaways fight the system that would "unwind" them. Connor's parents want to be rid of him because he's a troublemaker. Risa has no parents and is being unwound to cut orphanage costs. Lev's unwinding has been planned since his birth, as part of his family's strict religion. Brought together by chance, and kept together by desperation, these three unlikely companions make a harrowing cross-country journey, knowing their lives hang in the balance. If they can survive until their eighteenth birthday, they can't be harmed -- but when every piece of them, from their hands to their hearts, are wanted by a world gone mad, eighteen seems far, far away.


This isn't the best summary. Basically, in order to appease both sides of the second Civil War (pro-life and pro-choice), the law has been made that you can't have an abortion while you are pregnant. You can, however, choose to have a late abortion when your child reaches age thirteen. From ages 13-18, a parent can choose to have their child "unwound." This is where the child is harvested for body parts. They don't call it killing the child because 99.44% of the body is used for transplants, so "technically" the child is still living.


25. Dead(ish)...Naomi Kramer

Not worth the time it took to read it. Thank goodness it was free. It was a good idea, but the author just couldn't deliver.

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Linda's had a bad day. First her boyfriend killed her. Then she woke up, still on this boring plane of existence, and with an odd obsession about her missing body. Mike won't tell her what he did with her body, and she can't find the stupid thing herself. There's only one thing she can do - torment the bastard until he coughs up the information.


26. Dark Lover...J.R. Ward
27. Lover Eternal...J.R. Ward
28. Lover Awakened...J.R. Ward