David Woodger

Third in the Song of Ice and Fire series. And the second time I read it (first time was in 2006). Some big deaths in this one and some serious changes of fortune for Jon Snow, Sansa Stark, Tyrion Lannister, and Jaime Lannister. Why did Tyrion say what he did to his brother at the end of this one? And that final surprise... whoa.

I first heard of this book from my Swedish step-father-in-law. I had asked him who his current favorite author was last August. Stieg Larsson's three books are very popular in Sweden. His second book is due to be published in U.S. this summer. Shortly after handing in the three manuscripts for his mysteries, he died.

This was a very cool mystery about a disgraced journalist hired to investigate the disappearance of a young girl in the late sixties. The characters are all fully-realized, interesting individuals and story takes several interesting twists and turns. Curiously, the book's title in Sweden was Man Som Hatar Kvinnor which translates as The Man Who Hates Women. I like the English title better. Recommended for mystery-lovers.

(There are a few Swedish words that are left in the text, but you'd guess their meaning from the context. Fröken is one example. It means Miss. And it may help to know that the suffix gatan means street.)

This book was found as a finished manuscript after the death of the author. Like just about everything I've read by him, the narrative hums along at a fast clip and deserves to be called a page-turner. Set in 1665, this is a straightforward pirate adventure tale complete with sea battles, treachery, treasure, swordfights, and even an encounter with a kraken! Great for a quick read but not otherwise memorable.

This memoir by cartoonist Roz Chast is about her dealing with her aging parents. As the only child of parents who are advancing into their 90s, Roz has many uncomfortable issues to deal with and she handles it with a healthy dose of humor. It's a fascinating look at someone navigating the issues that arise when dealing with the final months, weeks and days of your parents' lives.