A Little Something Different: Fourteen Viewpoints, One Story by Sandy Hall

It's a college meet-cute, will-they-or-won't-they kind of story but what really makes it "something different" is all the outside perspectives we get on this not-quite-a-relationship.

Lea and Gabe's lives circle the same places and people. Their trajectories keep crashing into one another, and everybody sees how they're destined to be together - except the couple themselves. So we see their relationship through the gossip of the Starbucks baristas, through the matchmaking of their creative writing instructor, through the Chinese food delivery driver, and even through a squirrel (and the damn bench!) in the greenspace where they frequently sit.

It's a fluffy book. And while it's not high art, it's certainly not the worst either. Hall gets extra points for trying a unique approach in the storytelling narratives (but the bench was a bit too far, just saying). You want to cheer for these two characters to get together, and yet you see why they're hesitant or what's pushing them away. It's pretty funny how so many other people are emotionally invested in these two getting together, and it makes you wonder if someone is "shipping" your life that you don't know about!

A Dublin Student Doctor by Patrick Taylor

I'm back to reading this "Irish Country" series. I got a few behind.

This one is told mostly in flashback - the "modern" 1960s story (about knock on the noggin for a familiar regular) is mostly a framing device for the reminiscence about Fingal's days in med school and his first romance with the pretty young nursing student Kitty O'Halloran.

I liked that this one shifted less back and forth, and left me longer in the storyline. It also filled in a lot of backstories, not just on the romance with Kitty, but with Fingal's dislike of the doctor in the next town over and also how he decided to become a general practitioner.

The Nix by Nathan Hill

A struggling college English professor finds the jolt of writing inspiration he needs when his estranged mother is very publicly arrested for assaulting a Senator.

The novel juggles several storylines: grown men stunted by their addiction to an online quest game, a childhood friendship's long-lasting impacts, the radical 70's story of his mother, childhood tales of folklore and fantasy.

I really enjoyed the story - the hopping between time periods and characters kept it fresh, yet every divergence presented characters you felt strongly about (sometimes pity, other times irritation and even hatred). The overall theme that everyone's haunted: by the past, by expectations, by a decision made or an action not taken.

Dear Committee Members by Julie Schumacher

You'd think you only get half of a story if you're given only one person's letters, but in the case of college professor Jason Fitger we get a more-than-complete story reading only his hilarious, twisted, and sad outgoing correspondence. Trust me.

Through his rants, recommendations, and personal letters of reference we learn all about Professor Fitger's ex-wife, ex-girlfriends, ex-students, college friends, and coworkers. We know all about the building's remodeling project gone wrong, about Fitger's love life gone wrong, and about his career gone wrong.

It's a story of office politics, university backstabbing, and one insufferable man's attempts to do right by a promising young writer. I laughed out loud on several occasions. It's a very good pick-it-up-and-put-it-down book, and make sure you stick around for the end.

Roomies by Sara Zarr & Tara Altebrando

When freshman dorm assignments are sent out, immediately Jersey-girl Elizabeth sends an email to make contact with her San Francisco roomie Lauren. Over the summer they build a long-distance relationship, but written communication leaves a lot of gaps open to interpretation: Will they be friends in real-life? What did she mean by THAT response?

The girls are very different and face dramatically different (and yet also very similar) struggles in launching into adulthood. Going away to college is a scary enterprise on its own, and both girls are worried about the changes in their long-standing relationships that leaving will bring. Will their friends still be the same come Thanksgiving? What about long-distance love?

For each, it's nice to have an unconnected sounding board and confidante in this time of turmoil, but maybe it's not wise for that to be your yet-unmet future roommate. Their relationship begins at a lightning pace, with notable misunderstandings and misinterpretations. Since the book alternates points of view for each chapter we get both sides of the exchange, with the added benefit of all the background that isn't relayed by their messages.

It's a well-done, fun and relatable book that many teens will find hits very close to home. For adults, it's a look back - or a reminder in their future letting-gos.

Mary and O'Neil by Justin Cronin

Looking for a great literary novel to discuss with bookclub? This may be the answer.

The novel's actually a series of stories which deal with the sort of everyday occurrences that make up a life: college love and lovers, the bond between siblings, uneasy imperfect relationships between people who love one another, children and change.

While the book is titled after one couple, the story actually encompasses the lives of an entire family - parents, two children, their spouses, and the eventual grandchildren. It's a literary novel, but accessible and relatable to anyone who's ever wondered where they should be going in life, or if they're ever going to figure things out.

This was Cronin's debut novel (2001), and if you're looking for the vampires found in his newer books, you'll be disappointed. But the same wonderful writing is here, and the same pull of strong characters about whom you care and want to see triumph.

The Magicians by Lev Grossman

An angsty New York teenager is swept down a strange back alley, invited to take a special test, discovers a latent capacity for magic, and as a result gains entry to a secret university. Harry Potter much? Well, not quite - this one takes place in New York, and the students are in college. Also, the book is written for an adult audience.

But the parallels are a bit distracting as a reader, and honestly Grossman's writing doesn't hold up well to a comparison with Rowling. The book felt thin, and yet at the same time much too large. It covers six or seven years total - and a lot happens in that time - and yet because there's so much to cover, nothing gets much attention. It felt like we're reading the first run-through of what the author hopes will become a series, but we've gotten it before the writer has taken the time to break it up into more than one book and to flesh out the story and characters.

The final section - where the gang finds a way into the magic land of a favorite children's book series - is anticlimactic in its desultory plotting. It feels impermanently tacked onto the prior three-quarters of the book, which focus mostly on Q's internal struggles.

A friend gave me this book after she just couldn't get into it. While I did read the whole thing, I thoroughly understand her surrender. There is a sequel, "The Magician King," but I think I'll take a pass on that one.

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion

Don's more than a little set in his ways: he has a 7-day meal plan designed for nutritional needs and to perfectly offset his activity level, and his minimal wardrobe is calibrated to his activity level with no concern for fashion or style. He'll make allowances and adjustments as required, but why bother when the calendar is optimized for efficiency?

But Don's also beginning to feel lonely. After a couple disastrous first dates he begins to hone a complicated questionnaire to eliminate time wasted with unsuitable potential partners (smokers, picky eaters). And then a chance encounter and a giant misconception blow Don's whole schedule to bits.

This book is light, funny, and incredibly well written. Don could easily be a bore or a joke or a jerk, but Simsion makes him likeable and sympathetic. You root for him to figure things out, and his endearing challenges make the breakthroughs a glad triumph.

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Going to college is a giant scary step into adulthood for most kids - but for Cath it's nearly unbearable. She just got divorced by her identical twin (who wanted her own - independent - college experiences), her new, older roommate is SCARY, and she can't face the unknown long enough to even find the cafeteria. What's an introverted girl to do? Hole up, eat protein bars, and write fan fiction!

Cath is a famous fan fiction writer online with a following of thousands (the Simon Snow books she's obsessed with are a kind of literary mashup between Harry Potter and Twilight). Away from the internet, Cath's not sure she's got what it takes to be a "real" writer. Or maybe even a real person.

Can I just say I loved this book? LOVED THIS BOOK. I'm not much for love/dating stories - and not only is Cath trying to figure those things out, she writes a gay love story for her online characters. Usually that would be enough to send me running. And still, I loved this book. I couldn't put it down, and I wanted to see what would happen next. The characters are fully three-dimensional with faults and attractions and quirks and annoyances.

Now, excuse me while I backtrack to find and read Rowell's other books ...

Pretty in Plaid by Jen Lancaster

Subtitled: "A Life, A Witch, and A Wardrobe, or the Wonder Years Before the Condescending, Egomaniacal, Self-Centered, Smart-Ass Phase"

Remember the glory days of childhood where your biggest wardrobe concerns were whether you shouldn't wear yellow on Tuesdays (or was that Thursdays?) and if you remembered your sash for the Girl Scout meeting this afternoon?  Jen Lancaster remembers that and so much more.

Lancaster's made a writing career by telling her own life stories with wit and sarcasm. I've read some of her other books (who could forget the story about going to the unemployment office carrying a designer bag?) and they're all really, really funny. This time around, Jen's mining her childhood, teen years, college, and early adulthood - the pre-career Jen, you could call it.

We all have special childhood memories, but in addition to remembering "the lobster birthday" Jen also recalls what she was wearing and why. Framing these great self-mocking memories with significant wardrobe choices gives the stories a connecting thread - and a bit of foreshadowing, in many cases. Also, the luxury of time allows Jen to look back with added wisdom that brings a new depth to the stories: one story's big gay reveal is all the funnier because there are a signs, references and hints sprinkled in the lead-up, to all of which teen-Jen is hilariously myopic.

I listened to the audio, read by Jamie Heinlein, and this is a perfect car-read. It's laugh-out-loud funny and likely to send you on your own mini-nostalgia trip of bad hairstyles and questionable fashion.

Vampire a Go-Go by Victor Gischler

This is the kind of story that got me into vampires in the first place: contemporary, yet historical. Adventure and suspense, with a satisfactory ending. Plus, it's got vampires, zombies, an Indiana Jones-like storyline, and ass-kicking swearing warrior priests. (Although honestly, the vampire element is minor in the grand scheme of the story.)

A college-age research student is unwittingly drawn into the search for the fabled philosopher's stone. What power will it bring to the numerous supernatural beings fighting to acquire it? Will Alan survive the adventure?

The story's narrated by an ancient ghost and the history of the stone unfolds slowly, intersliced with the contemporary search and battles between witches, warlocks, priests and more. The crude, terrible secret our ghost reveals at the end made me actually snort out a laugh. Escapist fiction at it best!

The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch

This month's book club choice - and a good one at that ... although I find we have less interesting conversations when we all enjoyed the book.

I actually listened to this one, and liked it so much I then went online and bought a paperback copy for my own collection. I think it'll be the kind of book to reference back to at a later date, as a refresher on the points you really wanted to implement in your own life.

I won't go into too much summary detail because everybody knows about this one: dying man gives lecture on how to live life. I'd read about it, and purposely avoided it because I was afraid it would be a piece of treacle fluff - but I was pleasantly surprised. I really enjoyed it.