fourteen/seventy-five through thirty-one/seventy-five

I'm cheating a little because otherwise I'll never catch up . . . briefest reviews ever, with stars for rating purposes (on a one-to-five scale).

14. Astonishing X-Men: Gifted by Joss Whedon
good and catchy! I definitely want to read the rest. (****)

15. Magical Witch Girl Bunny by Elizabeth Watasin (interview with Watasin here)
hard to follow sometimes, but cute. definitely a fluffy read. (***)

16. Close Range by Annie Proulx
definitely gives you a feel for Wyoming. (****)

17. Goodnight Nobody by Jennifer Weiner
chick lit, but WELL-WRITTEN chick lit. (*****)

18. To Have and to Hold by Jane Green (BARF)
cemented my loathing for Green. (*)

19. Love and Country by Christina Adam
okay, but Adam is WAY too fond of wordy flourish-filled metaphors. (***)

20. Passage by Connie Willis
one of those reads that takes a little while to catch on, but sticks with you forever. (*****)

21. As Meat Loves Salt by Maria McCann
hot but brutal. (****)

22. The Blue Castle by LM Montgomery
so delicate and pretty, even though it's a little dated. (****)

23. Holy Cow: An Indian Adventure by Sarah Macdonald
started out annoying, with Macdonald whining a lot and seeming xenophobic, but ended up in a better place. (***)

24. The Last True Story I'll Ever Tell: An Accidental Soldier's Account of the War in Iraq by John Crawford
gritty, truthful, sad. (****)

25. How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff
very nice YA alternate-reality read with likeable characters. (****)

26. The Three Incestuous Sisters by Audrey Niffenegger -- 9/3/06
pretty novel told in pictures (what a depressing story, though). (****)

27. Sunday Money: Speed! Lust! Madness! Death! a Hot Lap Around America with NASCAR by Jeff MacGregor -- 9/9/06
fun, and even more fun when you read it right before attending a race. (*****)

28. Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder -- 9/16/06 (good review)
great little fantasy read. (*****)

29. The Mercy of Thin Air by Ronlyn Domingue (sniffle) -- 9/24/06
sad and beautiful. (*****)

30. Not a Girl Detective by Susan Kandel -- 9/28/06
mediocre, which was disappointing considering Kandel's credentials. (***)

31. House Magic: The Good Witch's Guide to Bringing Grace to Your Space by Ariana -- 10/1/06
cute read, very open to interpretation. (****)