Carrie by Stephen King

This book is a perfect example of why Stephen King is a household name.  It was so original and the story was so tormenting for all involved; to the point where I almost feel ashamed for liking it so much.  The story is told from the accounts of those involved, from scientific journal entries, legal proceedings from after the main timeline.  This book is low on the creepy level you would normally associate with King tales, and I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to get a true feel for Stephen King as an author or just read something flat out awesome.

Sundays at Tiffany's by James Patterson

I have heard that the perfect man is imaginary, and in this book that is entirely true, but also to main character Jane, he is also real.  This book was such a surprise, as I am a Patterson fan and familiar with his twisted murder suspense novels, and even his jump into fantasy works; but who knew romance was up his sleeve?  The story was so original and as suspenseful as everything else he releases.  Good writing is good writing regardless of genre it appears.

The Restaurant at the End of the Universe by Douglas Adams

For some reason this book took me forever to read and I credit this to the fact that the plot was not all that captivating. The book jumped around a good deal (as did the first book, just more so with this second in the series), and some of the "episodes" were a little boring and drawn out. The positives were that the book was full of great characters (both returning and then some new side characters who were fun), riddled with humor, and the conclusion of this book makes me ache with anticipation to read the next; I am just hoping it is a little better than this one.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

Quite amusing indeed.  The story was somewhat random, but that was all part of its charm.  The characters, and the scenarios were original, and it is clear that Douglas Adams was half part genius, and half part insane.  I think everyone should at least give this book a shot to see if it suits their fancy.

Robopocalypse by Daniel H. Wilson

This book started off a little slow and very disjointed, hoping around different stories from different perspectives, more like a history lesson.  Then things started to get connected as the timeline progressed on the robot uprising and the book went from a little boring to phenomenal.  My words of advice for anyone wavering like I was and considered passing on this after trying to keep awake, is stick with it; it gets great.  Fantastic characters, exciting plot, great moments of suspense, and surprises; this book has it all…and robots.

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest by Stieg Larsson

The third and final book of the interesting and exciting Millennium trilogy wraps things up nicely for those who stuck it out to the end.  I have to admit that the main plot of this book was nowhere near as intriguing as the prior two, but that is not to say that it is not great; and in fact in compliments the others perfectly.  Again with this book as was with the others, the namesake for the series, Lisbeth, seems to take a back seat and is not featured all that much throughout the story amongst all of the other characters, but rather her actions and history are in the forefront, and all of the twists and turns of the tale keep the reader wanting to know how it will all end.  If you have read the first two books, you will likely enjoy this one, and you owe it to yourself to see how it all ends.

Out of Oz by Gregory Maguire

To be perfectly honest if this book was not the last of the series I likely would have not bothered finishing it and I would have abandoned the series. It is slow and not very entertaining, and it just takes the already established characters and just draws out their lives to wrap things up.  This book is really only worth reading if you want to close the lid on the series that started off amazing with Wicked, and then gradually tapered off towards mediocrity.

Misery by Stephen King

Stephen King has an ability unlike any other to create two extreme characters; one who you love and feel the pain of and share their every emotion, and then the one who is the epitome of evil, that you hate more than anything.  Every terrible thing that happened to Paul as he slowly broke mentally and gave up hope just filled me with more rage for retaliation over Annie, but being a Stephen King novel, you really never know what to expect and a happy ending it not always guaranteed.  The other amazing aspect of this story is how King was able to write a story within the story which mimicked the main story, and at the same time talking in the main plot about the difference between things that happen in books and those that happen in real life; it was pretty genius.