The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

This story needed to be told, and Rebecca Skloot was absolutely up to the task. Henrietta Lacks died of cervical cancer decades ago, but her cells, taken without her knowledge or permission, have lived on in laboratories around the world ever since. Researchers have shot them into space and blown them up with nuclear bombs. Their production and sale has made millions of dollars, and caused billions of dollars in damage by contaminating other cell culture. Henrietta's family had no idea her cells lived on after her death - and Skloot expertly delves into the consequences of their finding out and the ethical issues that all human cell research presents.

I'm still donating my body to science, though. I'm definitely not getting into space any other way.

4 dividing cells out of 5 (so, 8 cells out of 10).

Hell House

Hey, let's go spend the week at this place called Hell House. Sure, it's called Hell House, but it's a really nice mansion and this old guy will pay us some money if we stay there for a week. Don't let the name Hell House freak you out! Haha, yeah the windows are all bricked up, that's weird. I think the last people who lived in HELL HOUSE were kind of eccentric. What's that? Murders? Insanity?

Oh yeah, maybe that happened...

...Hey, look how much air I can get jumping on these great feather beds! At HELL HOUSE! Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

3 groping disembodied hands out of 5.

Naamah's Kiss

Jacqueline Carey writes sexy books about sexy people. Sometimes these people sleep with everyone but it's ok because they're part of a sexy religion and they have sexy gods. It's a big sex-positive party up in here. And there's a dragon in this one! This book is fun. It's about a girl whose bear god (not one of the sexy gods, unless you're into bears) sends her on a quest to find her destiny!!! that takes her all around the world. This is one of those books that has a map at the beginning. It's basically a map of our world, but everything has a different name (Britain = Alba, China = Chi'in...etc). Does that makes this an alternate history? Or alternate geography? Maybe the author just didn't want to draw a new map. I'm cool with it.

3 heaving bosoms out of 5.

The Wave

Two giant ships are lost every week in the ocean. As Casey points out, if 747s were disappearing at that rate there would be some considerable hubbub. I know what you're thinking: That's the price we pay for trespassing in the territory of the Great Kraken. Well, get ready to have your mind blown, because it's not giant squids bringing these ships down - it's waves. Water, dawg! And no one knows exactly what causes them or where they're going to appear. Oh, and just in case I haven't melted your brain yet, there are people out there trying to surf these 100+ foot tall monsters. Laird Hamilton, you crazy son of a bitch. This book is a non-stop adrenaline fueled thrill ride.

4 broken surfboards out of 5.

The Living Dead 2

Zombies are best enjoyed in short bursts. There's only so much gore and running and watching a loved one get bit that can happen before you get bored. When the real zombie apocalypse happens am I going to yawn and go back to bed? If guess I only have myself to blame for o.d.'ing on zombie fiction if so. Quality ghouls over quantity! Which is kind of funny when you're talking about zombies.

P.S. This collection does have the distinction of containing the most disgusting story I have ever read. It is about a zombie gigolo. It was entered into a disgusting story competition and did not win. I never want to read the story that did.

2 rotting limbs out of 5.

Mini Shopaholic

There comes a point in this book when the main character (the original shopaholic, now mother of the title "mini") has an inner monologue that goes like this "She's looking like me like I'm crazy. And maybe I am. But I have to keep doing this. I have to." But, you know what crazy lady? You don't. The crazy has ceased to be cute, or funny, or even the slightest bit relatable. In the first book, ok, who hasn't tried to hide their entire wardrobe by shoving it in vacuum bags and shoving it in a closet, only to have it explode everywhere? Uh, no, just me? Anyway - maybe it's the post-recession me, but Becky Bloomwood needs to get her act together. Maybe if there were consequences to her nutbar behavior beyond eye-rolls, she would, but in her reality everyone loves her anyway. Must be nice! Ugh. I'm shopaholic-ed out.

1.5 overdue credit card bills out of 5.

World Made By Hand

In a lot of post-apocalyptic novels, the world ends in a ridiculous explosion of explosions and vampires and zombies and vampire zombies and then the narrative is about the normal people left over trying to fight off zombie vampire explosions. This quiet book takes a different tack, imagining a world that, ok, ended in a couple of big explosions and then just slowly churned on. Basically everyone is forced to become Amish, except people still fight back when they get ice cream cones shoved in their faces.

I liked this book but I wished for a bit more drama. Also the food descriptions got a little pornographic. I guess when there's no electricity you embrace the simple pleasures but I got a little tired of reading about creamed chicken stew and pullet eggs.

An enjoyable but forgetful 2.5 handmade beeswax candles out of 5.