Fiction/Literature
This is a great book to read at this time of year. Everyone knows the story. It's a surprisingly small book - each chapter is reserved for the three different ghosts. It's also part of the BBC Top 100 (number 47). As for the actual book itself, I'm glad that I knew the story previously because at times it was hard to follow. Dickens sometimes went too far into his explanations - and lost me in the middle of it.
But still, the story itself is fantastic. The last chapter - where Scrooge finally comes to his senses - is definitely the best. It really does display the Christmas spirit quite well, and is a great bit of enthusiasm to read at this time of year!
Rating: 
(3.5/5)
This book was a nice story of the loss of a family member and how those "left behind" cope with the changes. However, there were parts of the book I found really annoying. Obviously, Clare was annoying (she was ment to be so), but really, there were a couple of times when Nikki should have put her in her place. There is only so much she should have allowed herself to be pushed around.
Ask Again Later is a light-hearted funny book. The book centres on Emily and how drastically her life changes when her neurotic mother is diagnosed with breast cancer. Emily re-connects with her father, leaves her perfect boyfriend, and completely changes her career path. Although the problems are kept very tension-free in the book, Davis manages to convey Emily's neuroses very well. This book is perfect for a quiet Sunday afternoon read
This book is a bit of history, a bit of travel and a bit of memoir. From where I have travelled the information is spot on. The history is fascinating and the memoirs are definitely quirky. This should not be viewed as the definitive travel book but as a quirky memoir/travel book of Will Ferguson 
This is a interesting story told in 2 voices - a century apart. Ella moves with her husband to a small town in France. Life is not easy as the towns people will not accept her. She then starts to research her family's history. Meet Isabelle from the 1500s. A woman who beleives in The Virgin and must keep quiet. She is a Hugeonot. The manner in which Ella finds out about her history is neat. In turn,Isabelle's story is interesting as she must emigrate from France due to her religion 
Marc Sidman awakes in the hospital to find his wife murdered and his child kidnapped. What ensues is a great mystery. Marc fumbles two ransom attempts and eventually teams up with his former girlfriend and ex-FBI agent Rachel.
With Red Hands is the second book in 'violet' series from Stephen Woodworth. This one has Natalie, and her now 6 year old daughter Callie, coping on their own without Dan (Callie's father). Natalie gets called by a friend to help with a case and from that point on a lot goes wrong. A serial killer start inhabiting the bodies of other violets and murdering more people. 
This book is #2 in A Series of Unfortunate Events. It's really quite cute, even though absolutely miserable for the children. You sort of wonder why a publisher would publish this for kids when the kids are always in such miserable circumstances!
What an interesting book!. I have lost my Mom this year and some of the passages were so poignant. The process of thinking through and finding out about one's parents happens at any time but especially after their death. Nikki misses her Mom's special touches; from baking bread to visiting. I liked the way Oates had Nikki 'grow up' throughout the book 
This book took me a while to get through but it was very interesting. Koff tells about her journies to Rwanda, Bosnia, Croatia, and Kosovo where she helps dig up mass graves and process the bodies (and their clothes). Not only did I learn a lot about human anatomy, but also about the history of these nations and the horrible things that happened there. It's pretty depressing, but really something that should be read as a reminder of how bad things can get when government (and the general population) gets corrupted by the need for power.