How do you spell Tishomingo?

Tishomingo Blues by Elmore Leonard
This book is set in Mississipi and features dare devil, high dive performer, Dennis Lehane as it's main character. He books his act in a small town casino, witnesses a murder and runs afoul of the Dixie Mafia. In true Elmore Leonard style, the character's journey is filled with strange and charismatic criminals and horny women. I especially enjoyed the the parts about the particularities of the Civil War reenactors. This book was a lot of fun but probably won't stay with me long.
origniality 6
characters 7
themes 5

My take on A Case of Conscience by James Blish

When I first checked out this book, I thought it was a new publication. After I got it home I discovered that it is a reprint that was originally published in 1958. This science fiction work won a Hugo Award when first released and raises some interesting plots.
A Case of Conscience tells the story of a unified Earth that is exploring new planets. A four member team is assigned to Lithia, where some of the first new intelligent life in the Universe is discovered. The team of evaluators comes to widely varying conclusions about the planet, its inhabitants and eventually returns to Earth with an infant Lithian.
One of the team members is a Jesuit priest who comes to see the Lithian's creations of the Devil. The priest risks excommunication for his belief but eventually is vindicated as the Lithian, now an Earth citizen encourages human's to revolt against the current world order.
This book was perhaps a little dryer than what I typically read. However it made you think about how your perceptions, and the actions that follow can have unintended results.
Originality 9
Characters 5
Themes 6

Trust in The Bookman,

The Bookman's Promise by John Dunning.
Like other books I have read this one is also part of a series. (All titles have "book"in the title.) It tells the story of Cliff Janeway, an excop turned rare book collector. Even if you do not relish the story you will become more knowledgable about book collecting.
As my description says, I am not a big reader of genre fiction but for Dunning I will make an exception. His characters are good, and you really don't know if it's all going to turn out okay. Dunning also makes his main character very believable. The theme that seems to be explored in this book is the limits of trust, so trust The Bookman's Promise to make the time spent with this one worthwhile
originality 6
characterization 6
themes 8

What the White Rose is not....

I finished reading White Rose by Rodrigo Garcia Y Roberta. I found out rather early on that this is a sequel to two other books by the same author. The series starts with Knight Errant. It is about a modern day actress who, through witchcraft travels back to 15th Century England in the time of the War of the Roses. She starts an action filled relationship with Edward IV who was considered an heir to the throne.
The book was fun but not up to the standards of my favorite time travel romance, Outlander. The sexual content is titillating and there is a fair amount of humor as the author weighs the pros and cons of Midieval life. Apart from many potential rapes, battles and political plots there is no real conflict. The characters lack depth and you always know that the heroine will be saved.
Originality 4
Characters 4
Themes 3

If it was the Last Day...

Okay, here is a book that I did not check out from GPL. A friend, Rose Chenoweth lent it to me. However it is availble at the library so if you want to get it, go there.
The book is Last Day by Glenn Kleier. It is about the possible fullfillment of the apocalypse. I found it fun to read, kind of like a John Grisham novel and definately less slanted than the Left Behind books. You are really left guessing up to the very end.
It would be a fun read for those who are less than organized in their spirituality. The themes are pretty much an exploration of "What does God want from us?" and "How would we know if the end times were here?"
Originality 7
Characters 5
Themes 7

My thoughts on How I paid for college...

This coming of age story is extremly funny. The characters are lovable and fairly realistic. I could totally relate to Edward (the protaganist) and his attempts to prevail. He is the most sympathetic gay character I have read yet.
Even though the story is set in 1980s New Jersey, I actually think it comes off as much more contempory. The sexual encounters in the book seem more like what hight school students are into today than what was mainstream in the 1980s.
The main theme that this book explores is how you can overcome obstacles in unimaginable ways.
Despite this the book was very enjoyable. I
Originality 6
Characters 8
Themes 7