Here’s a massive multi-book set of mini-reviews for the books I read on vacation, and a guide to approximately what my "star ratings" mean:

***** – Amazing, memorable, makes me think about it after I’m done reading, makes me wish I knew either the author, the characters, or both.
**** – Great story, makes me think about it after I’m done reading.
*** – Good story, enjoyable and interesting while I’m reading, but not especially memorable 2 weeks later.
** – There’s something significant I don’t like about it, but it has some redeeming quality.
* – Unreadable, or horribly irritating to read.

Trickster’s Queen, by Tamora Pierce, ****
Good story, very interesting. Wonderful young female characters, and good, healthy relationships between male and female characters. I like Pierce’s universe. But it hasn’t fully lit up my imagination or made me wish I could hang out with her or the characters.

Operating Instructions, by Annie Lamott, *****
Funny. Witty. Full of bits that made me laugh out loud and read them to Jill. Full of other bits that she read out loud to me when she was reading the book. It was frightening to read at 29 weeks pregnant: Can I really DO this? Be a Mom to an infant?

Dark is Rising, by Susan Cooper, ***
The Chronicles of Narnia, but with only one lucky magic kid in the family, and everything he tries to do to fight evil works. No real conflict, sacrifice, or danger. I don’t get why this was a Newbery Honor Book.

Children of the Storm, by Elizabeth Peters, ***
After WWI, Amelia Peabody and the rest of the Emerson extended clan gathers in Egypt. This is a good, suspenseful addition to the saga of the Emerson family. I do just love these Victorian mysteries.

100 Things I Wish I Knew About My Baby’s First Year, by Randy Dean & Lorri Gorno, ***
Useful, in a limited way. Very easy to read, but bossy in tone.

I liked the feeding/sleeping schedule ideas. But although many of the opinions in the books were backed by some study or another, they were almost never labeled as opinions. Especially those related to disposable diapers and co-sleeping. I’ve read citations of studies on both sides of the diaper issue claiming that the other one is the reason for diaper rash. And the "babies are killed by being smothered if they sleep with adults" study the anti-co-sleeping people cite doesn’t seem to take into account the co-sleeping accessories currently on the market.

Now, Jill and I have formed our own views on diapers (we plan to use a combo of both) and on co-sleeping (not for us), but we KNOW that those are OUR views of what will work for OUR family. YMMV!

Dry, by Augusten Burroughs, ***
I liked Running With Scissors better than Dry, although this book was an interesting insight into the mind of a hardcore alcoholic. It was well-written, funny, and poignant, but I’m just not that interested in the subject matter.

In the Hand of the Goddess, by Tamora Pierce, ***
Book 2 in the Lioness series. Young Alanna is a page and is beginning to learn about love from George and Jonathan. So far, I like both other series’ better.

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, by Ann Brashares, *****
Outstanding! I wish I’d read it sooner! I cried. The 4 girls were loving, self-absorbed, awkward, angry, and uniquely beautiful friends. They were believable teenagers, especially with the book being set in Bethesda, MD. I only hope that Smudge and the many babies being born around the same time he’s due will have the same quality of friendships. And a big THANK YOU to Cindy for haranguing me to read it NOW.

R is for Ricochet, by Sue Grafton, ***
A Kinsey Millhone mystery, but not the best one. Fewer than average plot twists and turns, with more of them relying on romantic complications than criminal activity. Good but forgettable.

Carpe Demon, by Julie Kenner, **
Crap-e Demon, not that the joke is likely original. If Buffy were less well-written, uber-Catholic, and retired into being a soccer mom with a secret past, would this be her story? Depressing to think so. After getting half-way through this book one evening, I woke up annoyed with the homophobic jokes and unwilling to waste any more time reading crap like: "[Timmy, the toddler son was] completely mesmerized by 4 gyrating Australian men. If he were 15 I’d worry. At 25 months, I figured we were okay."

Also, Kenner is writing about a politician’s family, and she CLEARLY has no idea what she’s talking about. Her "awkward politician’s family" moments were completely implausible and ridiculous. They didn’t even work to move forward her main storyline.

Blood Child (Second Edition with New Stories), by Octavia Butler, *****
Butler has a wild imagination, exploring love, slavery, aliens, reproduction, intelligence, race, and spirituality in new and thought-provoking ways. This book is especially interesting because each story is followed by comments from Butler on what the story meant to HER, and in some cases, her thoughts on some of the comments from literary critics and professorial types.

Tapping the Dream Tree, by Charles De Lint, ****
This book of short stories isn’t quite as compelling as Onion Girl or Waifs and Strays, but De Lint writes in a lovely voice, and I love the Newford universe he’s created. If you are new to his work, I would recommend starting with either Onion Girl or Someplace to be Flying.