This book by Augusten Burroughs is about three of his relationships with other people, and his journey to marriage. Most people enter into relationships that shape who we are as adults, and Augusten is no exception. I love Augusten's humor and his writing style. I enjoy reading about different aspects of his life, because of the way he conveys his stories. I can't wait to read another installment from him. 

 In this installment of the Anita Blake saga, we (unfortunately) meet Richard. Richard is the werewolf boyfriend of Anita, who has about the worst attitude possible. I cannot say enough negative things about Richard. Anita works another case involving a series of shapeshifter disappearances, which is an interesting mystery. We learn a lot of about different creatures in the supernatural world, and meet some new characters. Edward make another appearance in this book, working with Anita to put an end to some shenanagins that are occurring. Jean-Claude and Richard make their dislike of each other very clear, though I find it hard to believe anyone could dislike that Richard more than I do. Anita's relationship with both Richard and Jean-Claude continues in the most frustrating manner. 

 The Lunar Society of Birmingham was a British dinner club founded by several prominent men. The club was informal, having no minutes or constitution. There were several notable figures in this group, though they did not all share the same intellectual pursuits. Matthew Boulton was an English manufacturer of steam engines. Erasmus Darwin was an English physician. James Keir was a geologist and chemist. Jonathan Stokes, who created some of the first heart drugs, was also a member. Together, and with the assistance of others, they kicked off the Industrial Revolution and fostered the advancement of certain aspects of medicine. They were complex people in their friendships, business affairs, political affairs, and private relationships.

I had never heard of these men or their accomplishments, nor had I ever heard of the Lunar Society of Birmingham. I ran across this book at my local used bookstore, and picked it up because it seemed interesting and was a good price. I love that this book is essentially a biography of each of these men, though not as detailed as some biographical tomes. It is well researched, and features a lot of information about these men. I also enjoyed seeing how the French Revolution impacted the work that these men were doing. I know I am guilty sometimes of not thinking about things as a whole and only looking at one event or person, without considering mitigating circumstances. This was a great book, and I am glad I found it. 

 I absolutely hated this book. I could hardly force myself to finish it. It was not engaging. It was not interesting. I was not impressed. 

 This book is by the same author of First They Killed My Father, Loung Ung. In the other book, she describes her experiences in Cambodia when the Khmer Rouge took over. She talks about how she was separated from various members of her family, including her siblings. In this book, she recounts some of those experiences. She talks about how she and her older brother moved to the United States, and the struggles she had with a new culture, new language, and new people. The book also follows the life of her sister, who remained in Cambodia, and how different their lives where. It took them fifteen years to reunite, and that was a moving story. There is a third book by this author that I would like to read. I highly recommend these books for people interested in the Khmer Rouge and Asian history. 

 When I got this book, I did not realize it was a true story. I thought it would be a great story like Lovely Bones. It was a deeply moving story that resonated with me in ways I would prefer not to get into. This is the personal account of the rape of the author as an eighteen year old college student. She had a time going through this and recovering and moving on with her life. It was a very personal, inspiring book. 

 This book is about a couple in an illicit relationship who ran away from their families to be together. They went through a lot to fight for their own free will and rights. The story was well told, and it was interesting enough. I didn't think that it was terribly great, nor terribly boring. I appreciate what these two went through to live the life they wanted. I would recommend this book. 

 It always interests me to read about other religions, so I picked this one up. I remember seeing this family on the show Sister Wives, so that was also another point of interest. This was an okay book, but I doubt I would ever read it again. The multiple points of view that overlap the same events kind of got old. It was interesting to see how their family came together though. 

 This book is about an apparently happily married NYPD detective, who gets assigned to go undercover and work on an organized crime case. He was undercover for approximately five years, working on the connection between the Italian organized crime syndicate and the Greek criminal underground. During this time, he wound up falling in love with the daughter of a capo in the Italian crime family. Trouble ensues. I wonder how many times this has happened when detectives go undercover... This was a decent book involving the Italian crime syndicate, and it was thought provoking for me to think about what the lives of undercover police must be like. 

 This the the story of a child who grew up in a family who was hurt and haunted by the loss of six of their family members during the Holocaust. As an adult, the author discovered some letters with shocking information and started a search for the truth about what happened to those missing members and what the ramifications really were for the entire family. I hate to say I like books on this subject, but this was an interesting and moving read. I'm glad that I picked this one up.