Inferno by Dan Brown

This book was good, but not as good as I was hoping (based on the first three Langdon books).  I was starting to get frustrated with how heavily the story relied on memory loss, and although everything was tied up and explained to my satisfaction, I still had to suffer through the beginning.  The story does have the vivid descriptions of art and scenery that Brown is a genius at, and the puzzles to be solved and the clues given are interesting.  Without giving any spoilers, I did find the ending a little shocking, in a good way, so that being said perhaps I did enjoy the book more than I thought (the second half is far better than the first half, so be patient).

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 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.

The Gingerbread Girl by Stephen King

A short and intense story by the master Stephen King.  It was almost like a mix between Misery and Duma Key, with the description of scenery and torment.  Very few characters, and the ones that were there you did not really get a chance to connect with, but at the same time you were still hoping for the best scenario.

Candide by Voltaire

A philosophical journey of cause and effect, with a somewhat demented love story thrown in for good measure. The story was fast paced and jumped around all over the place, but it was entertaining and amusing nonetheless.

I, Michael Bennett by James Patterson

Michael Bennett may be one of my favorite of Patterson's characters; his sarcastic wit gets me every time.  This book picks up where the others leave off as far as the progressing story and love struggle between cop and nanny, but for me the story moved very quickly and lacked some of the action of the rest of the series.  Having the main villain working from the sidelines was an interesting twist, and I was somewhat let down up until the very end, when I was in shock.  Now I can't wait for the next book, and I applaud James Patterson for always keeping me on the edge of my seat.

The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas

The telling of the story was very disjointed and I later learned that it was originally released in parts, which explains that, but as a whole it was just lacking something. For me, I may be unfairly judging the book because I wanted it to be just as good as The Count of Monte Cristo, but it still held its own on the entertainment scale. Also, one problem I found while reading was that the characters of the Three Musketeers, Athos, Porthos, and Aramis, started to blend together into one person. Sure each one had their own background which made them unique, but how they responded to situations and conversations, one of them could have easily been replaced with any other and the story would still read the same.

Private: #1 Suspect by James Patterson

Good, but not great.  Jack Morgan as a character is not all that interesting, but his company is, so Private is more of a main character, but with three unrelated cases being told, each with its own investigators, something was lost.  Worth the time to enjoy the story, but not one I would highly recommend.

Have Space Suit—Will Travel by Robert A. Heinlein

The book started off a bit slow and the dialogue was a little campy and dated (but then again so is my sense of humor so I cannot hold that against the book), but then it really picked up. The story was an interesting and unique tale of space and aliens, and humans part in it all.  I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to get an idea of some of the prominent roots to modern day science fiction.