Fiction and non-fiction

Insatiable (audio) by Meg Cabot
Yes, another Vampire Book, but a lighter hearted one. At least the actor who read the book seemed to have a wry sense of humor about the whole thing. It was average, the same plot as always, Average to beautiful young human female courted by dashing, mysterious man who turns out to be a vampire.  At least the ending was a little different than the average vampire book, and for that I was glad.

Dark Lover by J.R. Ward
Yes, another Vampire Book.  Much darker and more mature than Meg Cabot's book.  This one is a guilty pleasure.  It's not for the more conservative reader.  It's the first book of the Black Dagger Brotherhood, which is an elite group of vampire warriors who protect 'civilian' vampires from a small group of supernatural 'humans' who try to hunt them. Violence and graphic romance abound.

Shameless (audio) by Karen Robards
Finally, not a vampire book. The first book in the Banning sisters trilogy.  It's a a period romance, if I remember correctly... vaguely.  I remember the heroine was strong though, and not a shrinking violet, which is nice.

The Forest for the Trees by Betsey Lerner
This non-fiction book was written by Betsey Lerner, a literary agent/editor.  She writes about her experiences with authors, what is typical and what is not.  What an author can expect from an agent and editor. I found this to be a pretty easy read.  I did skim parts.  I found the discussion about authors' neuroses and eccentricities to be both entertaining and ironic. 

The Strangest Secret by Earl Nightingale
A short, read it in an evening, non-fiction motivation book.  Nightingale talks about making a plan for success and the power of our thoughts to create our future.  One of the earliest books of it's kind, first published in the 1950s.

Black Hills by Nora Roberts (audio) I really enjoyed this one.  Set in the Black Hills of South Dakota, it was nice to read about a location that's rarely written about.  A young woman establishes a wildlife refuge and finds there are opponents to her mission.  With the help of a childhood friend, they work to solve mysteries and murders that begin to surround the refuge.

Shattered by Karen Robards (audio) The whole way through I felt like I had read this book before.  It wasn't terribly surprising.  A socialite lawyer returns to her home in Kentucky to be with her terminally ill mother.  Stumbling across a 'cold case' that has odd coincidences to her own life, as the lawyer seeks to find answers, odd 'accidents' begin to plague her and her mother. Luckily, her childhood friend, who is quite handsome, if from the wrong side of the tracks, happens to be the District Attorney, and her boss.  You can guess how it all works out.

Fired Up by Jayne Ann Krentz
The first book of the Dreamlight series, I won't be reading the others.  I chose the book because I have read and enjoyed other books by Jayne Ann Krentz/Jayne Castle/Amanda Quick, all the same author.  This book was abstract and full of imaginative, if complicated magic and psychic phenomena.  I found the plot too complicated.  Complicated isn't bad as long as it is interesting, this wasn't terribly compelling.  I finished the book out of a sense of wanting the author to redeem herself, but really, it was just a blip on her otherwise entertaining list of books.