THE ALCHEMIST, by Paulo Coelho.

Dreams, symbols, signs, and adventure follow the reader like echoes of ancient wise voices in "The Alchemist", a novel that combines an atmosphere of Medieval mysticism with the song of the desert. With this symbolic masterpiece Coelho states that we should not avoid our destinies, and urges people to follow their dreams, because to find our "Personal Myth" and our mission on Earth is the way to find "God", meaning happiness, fulfillment, and the ultimate purpose of creation. The novel tells the tale of Santiago, a boy who has a dream and the courage to follow it. After listening to "the signs" the boy ventures in his personal, Ulysses-like journey of exploration and self-discovery, symbolically searching for a hidden treasure located near the pyramids in Egypt. When he decides to go, his father's only advice is "Travel the world until you see that our castle is the greatest, and our women the most beautiful". In his journey, Santiago sees the greatness of the world, and meets all kinds of exciting people like kings and alchemists. However, by the end of the novel, he discovers that "treasure lies where your heart belongs", and that the treasure was the journey itself, the discoveries he made, and the wisdom he acquired. "The Alchemist", is an exciting novel that bursts with optimism; it is the kind of novel that tells you that everything is possible as long as you really want it to happen. That may sound like an oversimplified version of new-age philosophy and mysticism, but as Coelho states "simple things are the most valuable and only wise people appreciate them". As the alchemist himself says, when he appears to Santiago in the form of an old king "when you really want something to happen, the whole universe conspires so that your wish comes true". This is the core of the novel's philosophy and a motif that echoes behind Coelho's writing all through "The Alchemist". And isn't it true that the whole of humankind desperately wants to believe the old king when he says that the greatest lie in the world is that at some point we lose the ability to control our lives, and become the pawns of fate. Perhaps this is the secret of Coelho's success: that he tells people what they want to hear, or rather that he tells them that what they wish for but never thought possible could even be probable.

THE THIRTEENTH TALE, by Diane Setterfield

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield is a rich story about secrets, ghosts, winter, books and family. The Thirteenth Tale is a book lover's book, with much of the action taking place in libraries and book stores, and the line between fact and fiction constantly blurred. It is hard to believe this is Setterfield's debut novel, for she makes the words come to life with such skill that some passages even gave me chills. With a mug of cocoa and The Thirteenth Tale, contentment isn't far away.

Pros
The writing is poetic.
The characters are unique.
The story is interesting, imaginative, exciting.
Cons
You will want to drink lots of cocoa while reading (this is only a con for the weight conscious).
Description
Margaret Lea works in her father's book store and is haunted by a loss in her past.
One night Margaret is summoned to the home of the most famous author in England's house to record her autobiography.
Vida Winter, the author, tells a layered tale, with stories within stories, keeping Margaret (and readers) curious.
Guide Review - The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield - Book Review
The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield is reminiscent of classic British novels, like Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre. It has tragedy, romance, moors, and dark, stormy nights. In a way, The Thirteenth Tale is a homage to these and all other great works of literature. The power of books and stories is foremost in the novel, and as the main character gets lost in one story, you'll find yourself lost with her in the story within a story (as well as the story surrounding the character's story).
This is not a realistic book. It isn't meant to be. The aura of fairytale lends power and mystery to the writing. While place is utterly important to the book, time is not. I did not try to figure out when the novel was supposed to take place, but it could just as easily have been now as a hundred years ago.
Perhaps all this talk about place, time and story seems roundabout to you. Perhaps you want a synopsis of plot and a straightforward review that tells you what to expect so that you can decide whether to read this book. For those of you who want that from this review...here's what to expect: A good story written by a very good writer about a good story told by a very good writer. Not clear enough? Pick up the book. Setterfield can tell it much better than I can.

THE ROAD, by Cormac McCarthy.

“Despite Cormac McCarthy’s reputation as an ornate stylist, The Road represents both the logical terminus, and a kind of ultimate triumph, of the American minimalism that became well-known in the 1980s under the banner of ‘dirty realism’ . . . The Road is a much more compelling and demanding book than its predecessor . . . The new novel will not let the reader go, and will horribly invade his dreams, too . . . The Road is not a science fiction, not an allegory, and not a critique of the way we live now, or of the-way-we-might-live-if-we-keep-on-living-the-way-we-live-now. It poses a simpler question, more taxing for the imagination and far closer to the primary business of fiction-making: what would this world without people look like, feel like? These questions McCarthy answers magnificently . . . [His] devotion to detail, his Conradian fondness for calmly described horrors, his tolling fatal sentences, make the reader shiver with fear and recognition . . . When McCarthy is writing at his best, he does indeed belong in the company of the American masters. In his best pages one can hear Melville and Lawrence, Conrad and Hardy. His novels are full of marvelous depictions of birds in flight, and The Road has a gorgeous paragraph like something out of Hopkins . . . The writing [is] often breathtaking.”–James Wood, The New Republic

I AM LEGEND, by Richard Matheson.

I am Legend is arguably the greatest short horror novel ever written, and its influence on the horror genre has been profound. Stephen King and many other of today's masters rank this book highly in their personal top ten lists of favorites. It is a short novel that can be read in one sitting; it is hard to put down, building in intensity from start to finish. Matheson creates an entirely new type of vampire fiction herein. Transcending the traditional vampire tale, he adds science fiction elements to produce a refreshing new interpretation of Stoker's legend. The most fascinating part of the story is the protagonist's (Richard Neville's) attempts to explain the legendary aspects of the vampire myth in scientific terms. His discovery of a bacterium, which he dubs vampiris, as the true source of vampirism struck me anew reading the novel again after the events of September 11, 2001. Although we only get pieces of the story regarding the outbreak of the vampiric plague, including a reference to bombings, it can easily be seen as the fruits of germ warfare. Neville even conjectures that the Black Death of the Middle Ages was caused by this same vampiris germ, and he extrapolates facts and ideas from that history in his attempts to understand why such defenses as garlic, crosses, and stakes driven into the heart actually are effective against the hordes of undead creatures menacing his own time. He studies academic texts and conducts experiments with the blood of these creatures, which is the means by which he identifies the bacterium. The essence of garlic has no effect on the germ when injected into a blood sample, which initially he is unable to explain, but he later is able to explain garlic's effectiveness. Less scientific tests lead him to conclude that crosses are only effective against "Christian" vampires; the cross has no meaning to for vampires who were once Jews and Moslems, but sacred symbols of those religions, such as the Torah and the Koran, do. All of these scientific tests and speculations are just fascinating.
Neville is essentially the last man on earth, and the loneliness of his situation is the central part of the story. Matheson is able to communicate Neville's emotional feelings vividly, making him very real. We gradually acquire the story of the deaths of Neville's wife and daughter, essentially experiencing the pain he goes through when these memories overcome him. We watch him drink himself into a stupor as each night finds him besieged in his fortified house, surrounded by vampires, including his old friend and neighbor, calling for him to come out. We watch him slowly lose his grip on sanity and come very close to giving up. Then, however, we watch him overcome his depression and courageously fight to live in the nightmare world he is trapped in. The scenes with the dog he finds are full of emotion and really gripped this reader. This is Neville's first contact with nonvampiric life, and his attempts to befriend and help the poor creature (at the same time finally finding a companion) touched me greatly and brought tears to my eyes. His eventual discovery of another human being like himself is also powerful and emotional, although to speak more about this aspect of the story is to risk giving something away to the future reader.
This is a story of one man overcoming all obstacles and fighting to defend his way of life and his very humanity. The novel deals with the human condition, the essential ingredient to effective horror writing. Neville struggles constantly with his doubts and fears, particularly as he commits acts that he would have condemned as barbarous in the time before the plague. His needs for companionship of any kind offer us a clear image of the inner soul of man. By the end of the story, he does indeed become legend, both in his world and in ours.

THE MEMORY KEEPER’S DAUGHTER, by Kim Edwards

Read with both understanding and understatement film and stage actress Martha Plimpton delivers a first rate performance of Kim Edwards's debut novel. Stage trained voices tend to have an added richness, a resonance not found among other audio book readers. Such is the case with Plimpton in this story of a Down's Syndrome child and the two families she binds together. When Dr. David Henry's wife goes into labor during a paralyzing winter storm he is forced to deliver his child. His wife, Nora, is under heavy sedation and he is assisted by Caroline, his nurse. Henry's joy is boundless when he delivers a healthy son and also discovers that he is to be the father of twins. With the birth of his second child, a daughter, he makes an immediate and fateful decision. The child is born with Down's Syndrome so believing that he will spare his wife pain he tells Caroline to immediately take the child to an institution and never reveal what she has done. He tells Nora that their son's fraternal twin died at birth. Caroline is far too kind hearted to obey Henry's orders, so she flees to another city where she raises the daughter, Phoebe. We can never know whether some decisions we make are for good or ill or what effect they will have upon the future lives of those we love. Author Edwards traces the story of this particular family over 25 years as Nora mourns the loss of her baby girl, and a long kept secret is revealed.

NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, by Cormac McCarthy

'It's a mess, aint it Sheriff?' 'If it aint it'll do till a mess gets here.' "Sheriff Bell's deputy says to him. And, yes, what a hell of a mess. 305 pages of a riveting book that I read in almost one sitting. I could not stop reading. The "old man" of the book if there is one, is Sheriff Bell. And his wife, Loretta, is the calming influence. Bell's voice is heard through out this book, in italicized version; we recognize that his down to earth common sense views are sure to calm down the violence that starts on page 4. The first murder, and then the second on page 5 and... The setting is Texas, and the title of the book may be a simile for what is happening in our world and in Texas. Llewellyn Moss, a young cowboy, who works hard for a living and is out hunting antelope, stumbles upon millions of dollars, drugs and 8 dead men in the Texas desert and highland. He does what many of us would do, he takes the money. He understands that his life will never be the same, but it is worth it, isn't it? Money is trouble and Moss is in for as much trouble as anyone could imagine. He has his wife move from their trailer to her mom's to keep her safe. And, Moss, well Moss goes looking for that trouble. And, Zagnorch? Well, find out for yourself. The character that I am intrigued with is Anton Chigurh. We meet him via a murder in which Chigurh goes from being handcuffed by a West Texas county deputy to driving away in his patrol car, splattered with blood. The telling of the murder is so gory, your heart stops but for a second. The heartlessness of Chigurh is burned into our memory, he will allow some of his victims to flip a coin for their life, but that is just as grizzly as the murders. The dignity and honor of Moss is contrasted with the heartlessness of Chigurh. We are rooting for Moss, and we understand this may be a little foolishness on our part. As Sheriff Bell says,the problems with our society now starts with the lack of manners. No one says, yes sir, anymore and it is all down hill from there. The lessons stated and learned in Cormac McCarthy's new book are many. We understand we are in the presence of a literary genius. Such a well written and played out novel. As Sheriff Bell states, "I think if you were Satan and you were settin' around tryin' to think up somethin' that would just bring the human race to its knees what you would probably come up with is narcotics." Money is the root of all evil. Millions of dollars may be equitable to evil, but wouldn't we all like to have a chance to experience it? Anton Chigurh may be likened to evil; will we look evil in the face again? Highly recommended.

PINKALICIOUS, by Elizabeth Kann and Victoria Kann.

Pink. Pink. Pink. Is there any such thing as too much pink? ("NO WAY!" says the reviewer who had a hot pink wedding in the late 80s!) Pinkalicious loves pink. She especially loves yummy cupcakes with pink frosting. But, when she eats too many...she turns pink and comes down with a horrible case of pinkititis. The doctor says the cure is to stop eating pink and to eat a steady diet of green foods. YUCK! Can Pinkalicious resist the pink cupcakes sitting on the refrigerator? This picture book sings! The words are delicious and the pictures are gorgeous. Full of pink and lace and crowns, this book is a girly-girl's dream.

FANCY NANCY AND THE POSH PUPPY, by Jane O’Connor

Fancy Nancy definitely has a flair for living! She has that kind of independent spirit you hope every kid will develop and hold on to. Her exuberant, dramatic spirit exudes from this book, from the fancy sparkling cover to each fancy page, and until the fancy, heartwarming end.
FANCY NANCY AND THE POSH PUPPY is not just about wearing fancy dresses and acting glamorous. It's about making decisions and living with the consequences, the support of family members, working out differences, and giving people room to be themselves. It's also about enjoying the life that erupts around independent spirits, and having fun, even when things don't work out as you expected. And lastly, of course, it's about the words.
As in the first Fancy Nancy book, new, exciting words are thrown in to glam up the story, and the pages are packed with fancy details that are both frilly and humorous at the same time. Kids will enjoy the word play, the silly scenes, and of course, all of Nancy's very posh outfits. And, everyone will appreciate the way this story turns out.
From The Book
I am ecstatic. (That's a fancy word for happy.) We're going to get a puppy -- a real one. I hope we get a papillon, like our neighbor's dog. You say it like this: pappy-yawn. In French it means butterfly.
Plot Summary:
When her family decides to get a dog, Fancy Nancy has her own idea of what kind of puppy will fit into her posh lifestyle. Naturally, her sensible, down-to-earth family has other ideas. After sitting for her neighbor's very delicate, glamorous papillon, she learns an important lesson about the value of just being unique.

HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL: ALL ACCESS, by N. B. Grace

This book is large and looks like a scrapbook. It is put together like a scrapbook done by someone who goes to East High School. Book can be enjoyed in many ways, one of which would be to cut it apart and decorate a bedroom with it. Chock full of memorabilia, just like what kids collect--ticket stubs, notes in lockers, awards, recipes, etc. Something a little different to give as a gift for the HSM fan in your life

THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS, by Clement C. Moore

There are many different printings of Clement C. Moore's THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS. However, none is as beautifully illustrated as this edition by Mary Engelbreit. Engelbreit has taken the beloved holiday classic, and put a spin on it all her own. Using bright colors, she has created a winter wonderland that takes us through the home of a little mouse, whose house is decorated with various baubles, from jewelry to food, and even pencil stubs. From there we see various depictions of children sleeping in their beds, sugarplum fairies flitting about as they dream; Jolly Old Saint Nick, accompanied by a slew of elves, as he arrives by sleigh to leave gifts for each little boy and girl within the house, and much more. Readers will be delighted to see that Engelbreit has not forgotten the eight tiny reindeer - from Dasher to Dancer, Prancer to Vixen, Comet and Cupid, and Donder and Blitzen - each with their own characteristics, from eye color, to fur color, and even to various decorations adorning their antlers. Clement C. Moore's THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS will always be a classic around the holidays. But now that Mary Engelbreit has decided to embellish the Christmas poem with her illustrations, the poem takes on a whole new life. One of imagination and wonder that will please all readers, as they take in the gorgeous illustrations, and share this classic tale with friends and relatives of all ages. A family heirloom in the making!

THE ALPHABET FROM A TO Y WITH BONUS LETTER Z by Steve Martin

This is an excellent book that will keep Mom and Dad interested during those MULTIPLE readings. Steve Martin and Roz Chast have created an extraordinarily clever treatment of the alphabet. Martin's typically off-the-wall humor is evident throughout. His couplets are saturated with alternative useage of each letter and sound of the alphabet. The vocabulary is engaging and stimulating. Chast takes it to a deeper level through often hilarious illustrations and additional vocabulary. You cannot get it all the first time. This book will prompt questions and comments from your child that will result in true conversation. The references to unusual places, animals and literature will encourage your child to explore new things and exercise his or her imagination and curiosity. What other similar book introduces the beatnik or frijoles? "A" is no longer just for "apple." It is for "appendicitis," "acne," and "ampersand." My only reservation is for some of the content. This book includes references to alcohol, and one character shouts the invective, "That's a lousy lie, you lowlife!" Some readers may choose to exercise caution before introducing these concepts during bedtime story time. All-in-all I highly recommend this book for its intellectual stimulation and creativity. This is probably the most unique book of its kind I have ever seen.