Dead End Gene Pool by Wendy Burden

For anyone who thought extreme wealth was the answer to the good life- read this and feel awesome about your strapped check book and loving family.
For anyone who has a teen who thinks you are a bad parent because you have a curfew, they have to do chores, you didn't buy them the latest ____, this might be a reality check.
The author, Wendy Burden, is the great, great,blah blah blah granddaughter of Cornelius Vanderbuilt, whose eventual heir married a Burden, also of extreme wealth. As the title implies, this ancestry does not seem to ensure a prosperous and happy life. Suicide, alcoholism, neglect, drug abuse, yikes! All there. No one is unscathed, but the author seems to have a sense of humor that has allowed survival in a family with a worse than average guarantee. Her mother is a complete void, although at least still occasionally present between tanning trips to the islands, marrying an arms dealer and being a drunk. Dad committed suicide. Grandparents, enormously, gratuitously wealthy are also alcoholics and eccentric, if not insane. This book can be very funny, in a sad sort of way, and certainly proves the "wealth does not bring happiness" adage. I don't think a good choice for kids, but for your older teens, perhaps.....but probably not. And if you're a mother, you can feel like an Academy of Motherhood award nominee after reading. If you are a Dad, all you have to do to improve on Mr. Burden's performance is to not kill yourself. Pretty low standards.

Chelsea, Chelsea, Bang, Bang by Chelsea Handler

Not for kids, not for kids.
I think I was not old enough to read this book, and perhaps am scarred for life.
And it was a little hilarious.

The Naming - First book in the Pellinor Series, by Alison Croggan

In FB lingo; "like"! This is the first book in a series that definitely reminds me of other fantasy series of the ilk, like the series by Terry Goodkind and the more kid friendly Eragon Series by Christopher Paolini. The difference in this series is the "chosen one" that will save the world is not a young, untested, flawed and secretly powerful male wizard. It is a girl. I had not felt slighted by the other heroes being heroes, but now that I've found a heroine, well, it is kinda fun. It is a longish book, mostly traveling around encountering good folks, and bad things, and you get a bit exhausted by all the travel, even if you are just lying in the tub. But I'm definitely looking forward to getting the second book in the Pellinor series and finding out what happens to Maerad, Cadvan and Hem. Love? Darkness? Adventure!

Stranger in Paradise by Robert B. Parker

For years I have enjoyed sharing a bathtub with Spenser, Jesse and Sunny. Robert Parker's heroes/heroines are flawed and funny, and until his recent demise, the author was prolific enough that there was always an unread Goodguy/Badguy novel to pop open while I soak. None of these novels are for kids, but if you're looking for a fast moving, easy, entertaining book, you know, kinda fluff? Look here. This isn't romance, and not really whodunit, but tougher romance and Iknowwhodunit. Just, well, fun.
Guess I'm in the mood for fun! We'll see what I pick up next...

Ruby by Francesca Lia Block and Carmen Staton

Ruby has had a bad life. Correction: Ruby's Dad is a very bad man, and has made her life dark. This makes this book unripe for childhood reading. But the book is somehow not too dark, and somewhat predictable. Ruby is infused with some sort of pagan mythicism, that makes her"know" things, and she does some majick...I'm not sure. I think I liked this book, but in a "was I sleeping when I read it?" kind of way. Oddly, I believe I have read this book before. Don't know when, but evidently since 2006- it's pub. date. So.... either I have a bit of "knowing", or the book isn't very memorable. I read it again with a deja vu feeling, but couldn't tell you how it turned out. Now I can, as I just finished it. Give me a year and maybe I'll pick it up and it will seem vaguely familiar again?
Really, it seemed kind of like an outline to a larger novel, or a trippy "did someone put something in my drink?" evening in Bogata.
Either way, can't really say "skip" or "read", but don't give it to the kidlets.

Sizzling Sixteen by Janet Evanovich

This is the sixteenth book in a series about bumbling bounty hunter, Stephanie Plum. These books are not quite ready for childhood consumption, but there isn't a more entertaining series available between two covers. I laugh aloud at every one of these books. If you are one of the rare skips that hasn't heard of Evanovich, go take out One for the Money. It will take you all of an evening to read, and you may not be able to quit until it is done,but you will have a lot of fun.
Character I most resemble in this series? Rex.

The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing by Melissa Bank

This is an odd book. It is about dating, and relationships. Adult ones, so not a book for the kiddies, or even the teens.
But it is a bit odd. It is mostly told from the perspective of Jane. Chapters jump a bit through her life, and tell the story of her loves. In the middle of the book is a chapter from the perspective of Nina, who doesn't know Jane, although they live in the same building. Nina has a grown son who announces he has impregnated two different women- and is about to be a double father. I kept thinking somehow this chapter about Nina and her children (and eventual grandchildren) was somehow going to tie in with Jane's life. I don't think it ever did. Just a random chapter in the middle of the book.
But, it is a fast, fun read. Perfect for a subway commute or waiting in the parking lot for soccer practice to be through. Not a book to stay with you, I don't think. But, hopefully the moral has better sticky stuff; Be Yourself.
Okay?