The A to Z Encyclopedia of Serial Killers by Harold Schechter and David Everitt

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Pocket; Rev Upd edition (July 4, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416521747
• ISBN-13: 978-1416521747
• List Price: $16.00
• I finished this book on July 30

Okay, so I picked this book up at the end of the school year one day, meaning to just peruse it briefly. That, by the way, is the way that many of my students pick it up. It's a great D.E.A.R. book for that reason, because you can read it for 10 to 40 minutes and then put it down and never look at it again.
Anyway, I brought the stupid thing home with me and I've been reading it on and off for weeks. My boyfriend thinks it's morbid, and, of course it is. But it's interesting too. It's especially interesting if you watch as many horror movies as I do (I love 'em!).
It's set up as a traditional encyclopedia with alphabetical entries and 'see alsos' embedded in the topics. What makes it so readable is the lurid and graphic writing style. It's written in dime store novel prose that makes it seem like you're getting gossip from that neighborhood lady who knows too much about (and rejoices in) other people's misfortunes and maybe likes a nip of sherry from time to time. It's also peppered with real life pictures, reproductions of notes, and photos of serial killer trading cards. Yes, that's right, there's serial killer trading cards, showing here:As with most encyclopedias, it's not meant to be read beginning to end, which is mostly what I was doing. It becomes a bit boring and repetitive that way, so I would say just jump around to what interests you. Another reason it becomes boring is because lots of the crimes are the same. Kill some folks, rape 'em, eat 'em. There's apparently lots more necrophilia and cannibalism than I realized. So, you know...yuck. The cool part is that it really goes beyond your Bundys and your Mansons and talks about lots of icky killers that aren't as well known.
Bottom line: is it sick? Yep. But you still know you're a little interested, you dirty bird.
Soundtrack: Psycho Killer by The Talking Heads.
Please enjoy this student-film-tacular video for the song. Oh the things you find on youtube. It's a little cheesy-graphic if you're weak tummied (but if you're weak tummied, why are you reading my blog?). This video reminds me how much I can't wait for my boyfriend Dexter to come back on. Sigh...Michael C. Hall. Yum....Oh, um..yeah, the video:

Boy Toy by Barry Lyga

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin; 1 edition (September 24, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0618723935
• ISBN-13: 978-0618723935
• List Price: $16.95
• I finished this book on July 28

Okay, so, I read Mr. Lyga's other book The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Gothgirl way back when. I also saw Lyga speak and very much enjoyed his presentation on the History of Geekery. So, when this finally showed up at my library (why do book orders take so long to come in? It's like having perma-blue balls. Ugh) I knew I had to read it.
So, Josh was the victim of sexual abuse at the hands of his female teacher when he was 12. Very Mary Kay Letourneau. Anyway, the abuse eventually comes out and the story follows the life of an older Josh, who is still dealing with (or not so much dealing with) his abuse. High school Josh is applying to colleges and trying to get a baseball scholarship. He is also trying to repair a fractured relationship with his former b/f and possible love interest. Oh, and his parents are douches. And he thinks he is a sex-pervert and that the abuse was his fault. Oh, one more thing: his abuser is getting out of prison. Frickin awesome. As if this kid doesn't have enough problems.
This abuse in the story is told little by little in flashbacks, it's honest and frank, but it isn't kitty porn. The guilty party is a 24-year-old teacher. This really skeeved me out because she's obviously bonkers and I'm a 25-year-old high school teacher and I can't even fathom how this happens. The cool thing about the book is that it isn't just about this abuse, it's really more about Josh's life now and how his past is influencing his present. It was all really artfully handled, really. Josh's character is well written and the story wraps up pretty nicely. Oh, and the baseball stuff wasn't too much for a non-jock like me to handle. It was actually pretty well done. I followed it and I was interested. All in all I think I like this one better than Fanboy and I will continue to keep an eye out for Lyga.
Sountrack: Hot for Teacher by Van Halen. Because it's totally inappropriate and there's nothing funny about this book book's abuse. And I love inappropriatness (and making up words).

Looking for Alaska by John Green

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Puffin (December 28, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0142402516
• ISBN-13: 978-0142402511
• List Price: $7.99
• I finished this book on Feb. 9

Okay, I will give you the shortest review of this book ever so that I may talk about what's really pissing me off: the shenanigans surrounding it right now.
Review: Miles asks his parents to go to a boarding school so he may search for the "Great Perhaps." Miles collects famous last words (awesome). He meets a diminutive boy with anger management issues (The Colonel) and a gorgeous free spirit (Alaska) who is the kind of girl boys like Miles fall in love with in books like these. What makes it unique is that the characters are amazing and interesting and flawed. Reading Miles' thought provoking essay at the end is enough of a gift to take away with you and you're just lucky you get to have the rest of the book. It's beautiful and sad and important and that's all I'm going to say because you should just go read it.
The shenanigans: It began with me seeing this:

First of all: that's big time bad ass. Huge. I, of course, 100% agree with this and I am rightly fired up over it. Also: Depew is in my neighborhood-ish but no, I couldn't go to the meeting (which is probly a good thing, because I believe I would have been kicked out due to cursing at people or thrown up because this makes me so angry I could puke).
Go here to read the write up of the meeting in the Buffalo News (this link won't be good forever because the archives aren't free). Seriously: the cancer quote makes me want to stab out that guy's eyes and piss in his ocular cavity.
Yes, there is swearing it the book. There is swearing in shitty rap music too, and I promise the kids listen to that. Yes, there is talk of a blowjob. I personally do not think the scene in question is that graphic and Mr. Green is correct in saying that it is not in the least titillating.
I work in a high school and I have ears. Therefore I think I am qualified to say that the things they say to each other are a hundred times more obnoxious than anything printed here. And I know plenty of them who would benefit from/appreciate/love this book. Kids are smarter than we think, folks, and pretending they aren't is a shitty plan (and yes, the view is nice from my soapbox, thanks).
Not to mention that this book is an ALA Printz award winner and that they actually hand out teaching guides to go along with them (though they contain hateful spoilers).
In searching more for info about John Green I have discovered that his awesomery goes even further. Exhibit one: his website. Cool links to anagrams, book info and his blog. You should stop reading this blog and add his to your RSS feeds. Go ahead, I'll wait. Exhibit two: Nerdfighters, and Brotherhood 2.0. Brotherhood 2.0 is a year long vlog exchange between Green and his brother (Oddly, I had heard his brother's Accio Deathly Hallows before and not known the story behind it). This vlog also inspired an entry into Urban Dictionary, another badge of coolness. DFTBA, which means, "Don't forget to be awesome."
Extra thanks to Eli for letting me in on all of this via Twitter :)
Moral of this blog:
I loved Looking for Alaska, and I have a crush on John Green. Also: book banners can suck my balls.

The Dark Horse Book of Witchcraft edited by Scott Allie

• Hardcover: 96 pages
• Publisher: Dark Horse (June 30, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1593071086
• ISBN-13: 978-1593071080
• List Price: $14.95
• I finished this book on Nov 11

So, this little collection was on the "Shelf of Shame" at my school. Meaning that, some other esteemed librarian in the past had found it to be inappropriate for our students. I took it home to investigate.
So, what we have here is a collection of what appears to be a smattering of different animated stories about witches and witchcraft. For example, there is a tale about a toad-like witchie poo who by force of potions gets a young man to have creepy toad sex with her. Note to attractive young men (or anyone really) it is very unwise to drink any concoction cooked up by a crone who you expect to be a witch. Honestly. It's as bad as Ofelia eating the grapes. There was also a comic book treatment given to the witches from Shakespeare's Macbeth as well as a little Hellboy action. Of course, don't forget a story about Tituba and the Salem Witch Trials. That one actually had the illustrations I liked the best.
Now, crammed in the middle of all this is an interview with a Wiccan laywer Phyllis Curott who talks about the actual religious practice of witchcraft. Including something like this is a good idea, however, the questions and answers that make up this particular interview did not particularly do it for me. I feel this book would be aimed at school age kids, and this interview would go right over their heads. If you're really interested in reading about Wicca I recommend trying Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner by Scott Cunningham, or if have goth-leanings then maybe Nocturnal Witchcraft: Magic After Dark by Konstantinos is for you (Konstantinos also has a good Vampire book out there, in case you're interested.)
Anyway, the moral of this whole story is: I didn't find anything in this book that I would think is totally out of hand for my high school students to read. There's a little sex talk in the toad-lady story, but nothing overly graphic (and, thankfully, no in your face picture of toad-boobs). However, there is something of a mixed message in here. The forward and the interview with the real witch trying to dispel the stereotype of old gross crone doesn't really jibe with the wart covered old ladies of questionable hygiene portrayed within. Then again, getting rid of witch stereotypes is about as simply done as getting rid of librarian stereotypes, so what can you expect. (Very few people can refrain from making a crack about my specks when I tell them I'm a librarian.)

A Clockwork Orange: film review

• Based on the book: A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
• Directed by Stanley Kubrick
• Written by Anthony Burgess (book) and Stanley Kubrick (screenplay)
• Warner Bros. (1971)
• rated R
• 136 min
• I watched this film on Oct 8

Alright, kiddos, I read this one way back when, near the beginning of this blog. (Actually, my review of it kind of sucks, I'm much funnier now, I feel) So, anyway, I'd never seen the flick. I think for some reason in high school my male pals didn't want me to watch it cause they though it was gonna be too violent for me or something. Hee. Pussies.
So, our young ne'er-do-well, Alex, is a total violent nutbar. He gets into trouble, gets cured and gets un-cured again. I've got to say, I dig their outfits and the milk bar is super cool looking. I totally want to drink my diet pepsi with lemon at a bar with creepy white naked mannequins, effin rad. It was nice to hear that crazy made up language being spoken and I felt all kinds of smart because I had sort of memorized it when I read the book. I totally want to start calling people my droogs and referring to my head as my gulliver. Think that will fly?
Also: let's talk about Malcolm McDowell for a second, k? Linderman was looking kinda good in this, a bit like Ewan McGregor, I feel. All I'm saying is, I might have wanted to make out with him a little. Either way, he had fantastic hair. Also, why I do I remember him from Milk Money so much? Really, why do I remember that movie at all? Ack.
Back on task: so this film followed the book pretty well, but why leave out the last chapter? Boo that. (if you're interested in reading a super in depth synopsis check this out, but really, if you're that interested just watch it) Either way this one followed the story a lot more faithfully than Kubrick's adaptation of my boyfriend Stephen King's The Shining. All in all, I didn't really find this movie all that violent. Maybe with today's standards of gorno movies I am desensitized. Either way, extra points for lots of gratuitous breastages and a giant ceramic boypart.

The Tooth Fairy by Graham Joyce

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Gollancz; New Ed edition (March 14, 2002)
• ISBN-10: 1857983424
• ISBN-13: 978-1857983425
• List Price: $15.99
• I finished this book on August 29

Okay, I bought this book for three reasons. Now, mind you, they are not particularly good reasons, but here they are: because I had a gift card, because the cover reminded me of the cover of Speak, which I liked, and because the blurb on the back said the fairy seduces the boy. So, I'm all: Seduced? I'm in!
But let me just tell you: this shit is weird. I'm all: Baroo? Even until tonight, when I only had a little bit left of the book, I never felt like I knew what was going on. Now that it's over, and I've let it marinade a bit, I have decided what happened. Weirdness, that's what. But not entirely unpalatable weirdness.
Okay, here goes: It's 1960's England and Sam, Terry and Clive are friends. Get ready for my favorite line the the book: "But power in this group, true power, rested in the hands of the one who had the stamina to say "Fuck off" more times and more vigorously than the next man." Squee! I love cursing! Anyway: so they are friends and then they meet Alice and they all love her and oh by the way, Sam sees the Tooth Fairy, they maybe kill a dude and someone looses a body part (more than one, actually). Also: sexing the Tooth Fairy is weird. I would say this book is one half coming of age tale, one half weird fantasy and two thirds LSD trip. And, yes, I know that those things do not add up but that seems to be fitting for this book.
The prose is good, everything is interesting and strangely dark and beautiful. There is a great sense of foreboding throughout which adds a lot without saying much. Very mysterious. I'm seriously not sure how I feel about this at all. My thumb is wavering in the middle. I'm pretty sure I liked it, but...seriously, wtf? Holy cats, I wish someone else would read it and talk to me about it. That is your mission, if you choose to accept it....

bee's random ramblings

So, my astute lovelies, you've probably noticed that this post isn't a book review. And you'd be right. It's a love note from me to tell you that I will be out of town a lot during the rest of the month. I'm going on two separate trips to Florida, and will have only sporadic internet access.
I mention this because I like to think you'll miss me. The real moral of the story is that I won't be on my meebo chat so if have something really important to say you can e-mail me (check out my profile for the address).
In other news: I have been asked several times lately how I choose what to read next. Mostly, I choose based on two things: recommendations from friends/colleagues, or book reviews. I read lots and lots of book reviews at my job. Anywho: up till now I have collected titles of books I wanted to read on little post it notes (have I mentioned that I'm a school supply junkie? check out this cryptic quiz of movies made out of office supplies. it's good times.) Because the post it's have been taking over my life I have begun to make an actual list that I won't loose. You can peek at it here, please note that it's just a random listing of some of the post its I've collected with titles i want to check out. Also note that I hate capitalizing things. I'm not sorry. Feel free to give me more suggestions, I'm always looking.
Okay, one last thing to share with you: I totally stalk where people come from to get to my site and what search terms lead people here. Some of them are hysterical and I will now share them for your amusement.

• schmoozing geek
• what happens in the champagne room (no sex, that's what, son!)
• gay bum sex (heehee! I can't imagine why!)
• how to get an awesome ponytail (I'm number 2 - that cracks my shit up!)
• werewolf sex room (okay, that's too weird even for me)
  
• foxy librarian (that's me!)
• naughty greek gods
• homosexual priests
• inappropriate behavior
  

There are actually tons of ones about these two things: gay porn and man ponytails/80s hair.
So, if you've come here accidentally while looking for porn please stick around even though there is no boobage or naked men (but you know, there are some books about gay sex) If you've come here trying to find how to have an awesome 80's man-shag maybe, um, you should reconsider that look. Just sayin' So, lovely reader...how did you get here? (perv)
The moral of this post: I'll be on vacation but I promise I'll be reading a lot (finishing up my challenge books!) and I'll post when I can! p.s. pretend like you miss me!

My Horizontal Life by Chelsea Handler

• Paperback: 213 pages
• Publisher: Bloomsbury USA (May 12, 2005)
• ISBN-10: 1582346186
• ISBN-13: 978-1582346182
• List Price: $13.95
• I finished this book on April 2

Alright, kiddies: the subtitle of this one is: A collection of one-night stands. If you don't know Chelsea Handler is a comedian who's been on a bunch of different things. This book is basically her tales of drinking and debauchery.
I think I mentioned that often I find it necessary to talk to the books I'm reading. I also laugh out loud on occasion, as I did with this one. But you don't understand. I was not politely laughing to myself. I was not chuckling. I was not giggling or snickering. Friends: I was guffawing. Seriously. There were times when I had to put the book down and walk away, laughing so hard I was weeping. That's all I'm saying. Here's what I say to you: there are midgets. There are dogs stealing underwear and there is an M&M costume. Just let that marinade for a second. In the immortal words of Richie Tozier, it is chuckalicious.
The book isn't a laugh out loud romp all the way through, in fact, some chapters were more pathetic than funny. But the funny parts definitely outweigh the lamer parts. Mostly her exploits end embarrassingly, and hilarity ensues. One of my favorite parts is where a sleazy guy says to her "You don't need to drink to make yourself more interesting" and she's like "I have to drink to make you more interesting." Good times.
Thanks to Bridget (best GA co-worker ever) for recommending this one to me. For more info on Chelsea Handler check out her website or her myspace page.

The Dream-Hunter by Sherrilyn Kenyon

• Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks (February 6, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312938810
• ISBN-13: 978-0312938819
• I finished this book on Feb. 27
  

I will admit something, this was one of those books in the checkout aisle at the supermarket, and I had to get it. With this face staring out at me, how could I not? Anywho, it was actually surprisingly cooler than I was expecting.
Arikos is a dream god called a Scotos, a god who has no emotion, except those that he gleans from humans in their dreams. Skoti are a lower class god and they are beaten and abused by the higher classes. The only thing they can feel is physical pain from this. Arikos becomes infatuated with a human woman, whose dreams intrigue him. But when she wakes up he can't feel anymore. So he makes a deal with Hades to become human for two weeks to be with her in real life, but the catch is that he has to kill her and bring her soul to Hades upon his return. He makes the deal without understanding at first, but feels no real remorse because, well, he has no feelings. Megeara, the human Arikos is infatuated with is obsessed with finding Atlantis. So he comes to Earth as a human and tries to help her. It turns out that every other Greek God has a stake in whether or not Atlantis is found, and they come to play having crazy god-brawls all over Greece.
I liked all the stuff about the different Gods, it was neat to see them personified in this story. The writing was clumsy at times, but the story was interesting. All in all, it was cooler than I was expecting. It was not the goofy sexy fluff I was expecting, so that was good. Kenyon obviously has an expansive knowledge of Greece and Greek myths, which she put to good use here, and it gave substance to her story. And wow, her website and myspace that doesn't look like myspace are more crazy nerd goth chick than I am in my wildest dreams. Good times. The best part, kids? She writes vampire books, so yeah...I'll probably read one of those in the future, but I have to read some respected literature pretty soon, or they will revoke my library card.

Blood Brothers by Michael Schiefelbein

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Alyson Books (October 1, 2002)
• ISBN-10: 1555837298
• ISBN-13: 978-1555837297
• I finished this book on Feb. 21

Let me paint a picture for you, boys and girls. Imagine me (diminutive librarian wannabe) looking for fun vampire books to inter library loan. Blood Brothers comes up and the way I understand it is that it's a vampire book about gay boys. Now, I heart vampires, and I love the gays, in other words, I'm so there. So, I order it. Now imagine me going to pick it up and getting a load of the gayest cover ever!!! I mean, really kids, this cover is not joking around at all. The title might as well have been Gay Porn. Needless to say, I was embarrassed to check it out, and I am never embarrassed about stuff like this. Folks, I chuckled about this one all the way home. Which I feel is healthy, because everyone should have a laugh at their own expense once in a while.
So, okay, now let me tell you this: I get it home and start to read (how can you not?) and...it's not about vampires. I was a little annoyed at this, but I must say that the plot was really not bad, even though there was no creatures of the night. Turns out that every other book by this guy is a vampire book and I'm an idiot. What it is about is Spanish monks. Seriously. Their names are Juan Ramon and Bernardo. No, really. So anyway, Juan Ramon's parents were brutally killed in front of him when he was a wee boy. The guy behind the killing is his father's business partner Esteban (seriously). Juan Ramon lies out a Count of Monte Cristo style revenge plot, centered around getting to Esteban through his monk son, Bernardo. Things don't turn out the way he planned, of course, because they fall in love.
The book is written from the points of view of both men, in alternating chapters. Juan Ramon's chapters reminded me a little bit of the narrator Frank, from The Postman Always Rings Twice, not big on emotion and a bit vulgar, but sort of likable. In my head I kept trying to set this book in the past, but then a computer would show up and it would ruin my mojo. I guess I don't think of monks running around on trains in Spain in 2007.
To be honest, the book also raised some interesting ideas of God and chastity and sin. The problem of sexuality for the monks was more about temptation and celibacy, not the fact that they were homosexual. I did have a little problem with the end because one of the characters does something so against what the previous 200 pages has told us about him. But I can't really dog it too much, I was, after all, expecting vampires.
I wouldn't recommend this for anyone offended by man love (obviously) and if you are new to gay literature, I wouldn't start here. This is more a gay harlequin romance than literature, per se. There are a lot of good gay YA books out there that aren't too graphic. Those interested should read Geography Club by Brent Hartinger or Rainbow Boys by Alex Sanchez. The latter is written in the same style as Blood Brothers, with different characters narrating in different chapters. For the latest gay news online check out The Advocate or AfterElton.com.

The Postman Always Rings Twice by James M. Cain

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Vintage; Reprint edition (May 14, 1989)
• ISBN-10: 0679723250
• ISBN-13: 978-0679723257
• List Price: $10.95
• I finished this book on Feb. 18
  
• This book is number 98 on the list.

I wanted to read this one anyway, and finding it on the list was really just an added bonus. I've seen both the John Garfield/Lana Turner version of the movie and the JackNicholson/Jessica Lange one as well. As for those, I like the older one better, though the new one was sexier and had a better poster. Anywho, having seen those films I was surprised at how short the book was.
This one is called one of the original thrillers, and it does not disappoint. A young man takes a job at a restaurant run by an older man and his femme fatale wife. They begin a torrid/borderline violent affair and decide to kill him. It doesn't work. So they decide anything worth doing is worth doing twice and give it another go. This time they succeed. Then they go to court. And get away with it...for a while.
The story is narrated by the young man, in his sort of poor English tramp speak. There is added bonus 1940's slang (stinko = drunk) and good use of the phrase 'hell-cat'. The story really has an in depth plot and it flows along surprisingly fast. I was impressed with the naughty bits, they were not all that graphic but they were very racy for their time. I was pleasantly surprised on that count.
I also really like the title, and was disappointed not to have an explanation of it in this story (the Lana Turner movie has an explanation, while the Jessica Lange one does not). I suppose I sort of assumed it would be there and it wasn't. Then, in doing research, I read conflicting opinions on what it meant. I'd like to give my take on it, because, well, it's my blog. The title refers to the idea that if you are expecting a letter or package, even if you miss it the first time it comes, the postman will always comes around a second time. Eventually, you will get it. The same is true of fate, even if you manage to dodge it once it will come back around and get you in the end. That is what this story is about, and what makes the ending so perfect and kind of oddly sad at the same time.
My final thought on this one is that it should have been higher on the list, if for nothing else, the appeal it has. It's racy, it's a crime story. It is fun, some of the others on the list...not so much. That's all I have to say about that.

A Distant Soil: Coda by Colleen Doran

• Paperback: 184 pages
• Publisher: Image Comics (March 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 158240478X
• ISBN-13: 978-1582404783
• List Price: $17.99
• I finished this book on Jan. 8

Oh my, boys and girls. Let me tell you a story about A Distant Soil. Here's me on my big comfy chair with a blanket and one to two purring snuggly kitties. I'm reading A Distant Soil: The Aria (Book 3) and I'm starting to get close to the end. I say to the kitties "Gee, I'll bet there's like a cheesy wrap it up quick ending because I'm getting close to the end of the book and there's still a lot going on." The cats nod and go back to sleep. Then they wake in fear at my screams of anguish when I get to the end of the book and it wasn't the end! I had no idea. I had taken books one through three from the library. Since it was all they had I assumed it was a trilogy. Anyway, I had to wait quite a while for my order of the fourth book to come in.
While it definitely sated my hunger temporarily it was not the quenching drink of great graphic novel goodness I was hoping for. This is mainly due to the fact that it's still not the last book and worse...the final book is not out yet. Boo to that.
The story of this graphic novel as best as I can relay it is thus: Seren is the embodiment of a God on his planet, but is at best a figurehead and at worst a slave to the sadistic politicians that make up the hierarchy. He leads a double life, that of the Avatar, and that of a leader of the resistence against the heirarchy. He travels to Earth and recruits two human youths who are the children of one of Seren's teacher. This makes them half of his race, and they turn out to be exceptionally powerful beings. With the help of other human fighters they try to take on the Heirarchy. Craziness goes down, however, and they end up cutting off Seren's beautiful man ponytail.
So the story is amazing, though I realize my description makes little to no sense. This particular volume wasn't my favorite so far though, I must admit. This is probably because the relationship between Seren and D'mer is my favorite part and they were apart for the whole book. I had to take solace in D'mer hitting on the super uncomfortable Kovar. One thing I do like about these books is that everyone is beautiful and almost naked all the time (mmmm, cartoon sex). They are funny and sexy ( I'm totally into man on man action!). I really could cry and laugh on the same page. The illustrations are amazing and I love pretty much everything about it. The only reason this doesn't get the Bee seal of approval-love is because it's not the effin end to the story. The moral of the story is, though, that you should read it.
Check out the site here

Born in Death by J.D. Robb

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Putnam Adult (November 7, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399153470
• ISBN-13: 978-0399153471
• List Price: $24.95
• I finished this book on Jan. 6

Mmmmm, soooo tasty. I heart this series. Born is the 25th book in J.D. Robb's ...in Death Series. I effin highly recommend these books. Robb is the pseudonym for Nora Roberts. I can't tell you why she writes under a well known pen-name for this series and puts a silly pic of herself trying to look like a BA on the back, but I don't even care. This is fluff to the ult, and very satisfying. If you want to check out the series check here, but beware for spoilers!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_Death
So I'll give you a brief: Eve Dallas is a super hardcore cop in the future. She happens to be married to the most beautiful, rich and powerful man in the world Roarke. Yep, I know it's ridiculous, and yes, he only has one name. Deal with it. Anywho, her best friend is this popsinger (obviously, that makes perfect sense) and she's super knocked-up and about to have a baby and to top it all off there's this double murder case to solve. Throw in another missing pregnant broad and that's pretty much the book.
New readers would be able to jump in with this one and go with the flow. But why would you want to when you could start at the beginning and have 25 more books of a delicious calorie-free treat. Plus, it's worth it to read how Roarke and Eve met.
These books are full of plenty of good jokes, excellent cop work, futuristic gizmos and graphic sex fun. Did I mention it totally gets the Bee seal of approval? Because it totally does. That's what the Bee symbol in the top left corner means, highly approvicized by me. I will add this icon to those book that really rock my socks.