The Casual Vacancy

by J.K. Rowling
512 pages

Barry Fairbrother, a town councilman and leading citizen in the community has died suddenly.  This leaves a seat open on the town council and a huge gap in the hearts of many citizens of Pagford.  However not everybody is upset by Fairbrother's passing; his opponents on the town council see it as an opportunity to find a more "suitable" replacement.  Rowling portrays the  effect one person can have on a community, as well as they darker side of humanity.

This is definitely grittier than any Harry Potter novel.  The teenagers portrayed are far more "real" than Harry and his friends.  Drug use, bullying, welfare, and computer hacking play a prominent role in this novel.  This being said, I really enjoyed this novel and hope that Rowling writes more novels for adults in the future.

"In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin" by Erik Larson

464 pages

In 1933, a mild-mannered professor named William Dodd was appointed US ambassador and moved from his home in Chicago to Berlin, bringing with him his wife, son, and daughter. At first, it seemed that the vicious rumors about the new chancellor, Hitler, were exaggerated. The Dodds found Germany to be lovely, and daughter Martha especially began integrating into Berlin's social scene. Before long, however, evidence of Jewish persecution became more troubling and more frequent. Dodd expressed his increasingly alarming concerns to the State Department back home but found it to be, for the most part, indifferent. As the atmosphere grew more tense, the Dodds began to see Hitler's true character and ambition come to light.

I thought this story was interesting, but not as fascinating as I expected. I was hoping for more griping first-hand accounts of the Nazis atrocities and an inside look at how such a madman as Hitler could rise to power. I thought this book had too much of Martha's social life and not enough of the real stuff. Larson certainly did his homework on that front, and perhaps Martha's correspondence and such is the bulk of what's still around from the Dodd family at this point (meaning that Larson was forced to make that his focus). Still, I was disappointed. 

"A Faith of Our Own" by Jonathan Merritt

224 pages

Christians have a reputation for making their faith political. Statistics and studies show that Americans, especially young Americans, are put off by the strong ties between churches and partisan politics, usually right-wing politics. Here faith and culture writer Jonathan Merritt examines these perceptions and proposes that Christians live a different way. This requires thinking about politics and faith in a new light. He suggests that Christ followers look to prayer and Scripture to determine how God wants them to engage in politics without being swayed by what politicians claim is what God intends. He asks Christians to consider that other people--believers and nonbelievers alike--will have different perspectives and that everyone's opinions are valid. Most importantly, Merritt calls Christians to stop the yelling and engage in respectful conversation with those whom with they disagree. 

I read this book at the perfect time--right as the 2012 election campaigns were kicking into high gear. Among all the political mud-slinging out there, Jonathan Merritt's voice is a refreshing break from all the negativity. I am thrilled to see a Christians advocating rationality and respect when it comes to politics. I love that he recognizes that you don't have to belong to a particular political party to be a Christian. He makes good arguments for his proposals, too. He not only has the Scripture to back up what he says but he's done the research too. There is a good selection of wisdom from other prominent Christians weaved in as well. This is a solid, well-written, and thought-provoking book that I'll recommend to anyone who's tired of hearing Christians bicker about politics and other divisive topics. 

Dead Reckoning

Charlaine Harris
325 pages

Merlotte's is fire-bombed, putting the bar at risk of going under.  On top of that, Sandra Pelt reappears and seems determined to kill Sookie once and for all.  Eric is hiding something from Sookie, and Pam is mad at Eric for doing so. On top of all of this, Victor, the new vampire regent of Louisiana, seems determined to ruin or kill Eric, putting Eric at great risk.  Sookie also learns more about her family's past.

Overall, this is an interesting one.  I was a big fan of the ending, though many things are left up in the air, including Sookie's relationship with Eric.  I, for one, am still rooting for Sam, but I don't know that Sookie will ever get rid of the vampires.

Decision Points

George W. Bush
491 pages

This is Bush's autobiography, and it mainly deals with the major decisions he faced before and during the presidency.  The decisions he made about Afghanistan, Iraq, Hurricane Katrina, and the financial meltdown. He also highlights his administrations work on Medicare reform and HIV/AIDs prevention in Africa.  Overall, this was insightful.  Bush made the politics and issues he was discussing easy to understand, which I appreciated.

I did not read this book because I am a huge Bush supporter.  I read it to gain insight on this period of time.  I think it's important to hear both sides before you make judgments about what really happened, and this book allowed me to hear the other side of the story.  A president's shoes are hard to fill, and I don't envy anyone who attempts the job.

Waltz with Bashir: A Lebanon War Story

by Ari Folman and David Polonsky, 177 pages

A friend's dream about vengeful dogs triggers a surviving Israeli soldier's search for the truth of what happened during his service in the war with Lebanon and his memories of the massacre of Palestinian civilians his mind has sealed off to protect him.

This story is powerful and I'm sure the animated film from which this graphic novel is adapted is harrowing and visually arresting; but static as it is here, one aspect of the artwork kept me from investing in the story and characters as much as I'd have liked.  Largely consisting of altered photography from the war, the images have built-in realism that works great for backgrounds (crumbling buildings, burning tanks, low-flying fighter planes) but clashes with the way the creators chose to portray the modern-day characters (their remembered younger selves look more drawn and less photo-like).  Their designs look like drawn-and-air-brushed-over photographs that have been enlarged or shrunken or flipped to fit the needs of the various panels and then pasted on top of the more realistic backgrounds.  They almost never alter the expressions, so pages are filled with the same flat, lifeless faces over and over again, cutting the characters off emotionally and visually from their deep, painful conversations and the terrible events around them.  This could be intentional, to show how they've distanced themselves from the trauma and are just going through the motions, but I mostly found it distracting, lazy-looking, and a drain on the emotional umpf.  Some of the other imagery, though, is haunting and the story's questions about memory and trauma and guilt are important ones.  If only those few bland, frozen faces were different!

I'd say watch the film, instead, but only if you're prepared to be presented with frames of harsh reality, as I assume it does as this book and ends with a handful of unaltered photographs of the massacre's victims.  I was not ready and had to shut my eyes and close the book.

The Complete Persepolis

by Marjane Satrapi, 341 pages

The author recounts her childhood and coming-of-age before, during, and after Iran's Islamic Revolution.

The first half of this memoir focuses on what's happening in the country around her, the second on how those experiences continue to shape her as an individual.  Satrapi is precocious, curious, outspoken, blunt, and fiercely independent, none of which make her safe in her home country and none of which help her adapt to her adopted ones when her liberal, loving family sends her away for her own protection.  Despite the frightening events and personal struggles portrayed, there's still a wonderful, snarky sense of humor that surfaces when needed and that exemplifies the author's bitter refusal to give in and knuckle-under.  With her simple yet powerful artwork, Satrapi manages to convey the joys and fears and hope and anger of a side of Iran that Westerner's don't even know is there--the familiar, complex, human one.  When the animated film adaptation came out a few years ago, Stephen Colbert interviewed Satrapi and warned viewers of the film's dangerousness--it made the enemy look no different than us.  A wonderful, powerful book that will give you a very personal history lesson in the form of a mirror held up from the other side of the world.

Killer Weekend

by Ridley Pearson
336 p.

                This is the first of Pearson's Walter Fleming novels. Walter Fleming is a sad and recently divorced sheriff in Sun Valley, Idaho. It is a playground of the rich and famous and in one crazy weekend he has to stop an assassin of a future presidential nominee he has saved before when she is about announce running at a big business conference.
                   It is not my usual kind of book, but it was alright. There were some exciting moments in it and a disturbing assassin.
     

Sex With the Queen

Sex With the Queen: 900 Years of Vile Kings, Virile Lovers, and Passionate Politics
by Eleanor Herman
322 pages

The title pretty much says it all. This is a book  that goes behind the closed doors of the queens of Europe. It talks about Anne Boleyn, Catherine the Great, and some other lesser known queens and royalty.  It discusses how some queens took a lover looking for love, and how some queens accused of adultry (mainly Anne Boleyn) were actually innocent but other factions of court wanted to get rid of them.

This was a pretty interesting read, especially since it discussed queens that I had never learned of.  I'm obsessed with royal history so I found this book fascinating.