The Bookseller of Kabul by Asne Seierstad, 288 pages

"This mesmerizing portrait of a proud man who, through three decades and successive repressive regimes, heroically braved persecution to bring books to the people of Kabul has elicited extraordinary praise throughout the world and become a phenomenal international bestseller." -Back Cover

The author, a journalist, lives with Sultan Khan and his family for three months. She lives as a traditional Afghan woman would, yet is allowed to follow the men and observe things that other Afghan women would not be able to. She writes that there were times when Sultan made her so angry she wanted to hit him. I felt that same way.

I admire Sultan for his love of books and his desire to see Afghanistan return to the arts and culture it once enjoyed before the Russians invaded and before the Taliban. He goes to great lengths to protect his books, even spending time in jail. He is a successful businessman and provides better for his family than most. However, as forward-thinking as he is in some ways, Sultan is also steeped in tradition and adheres to the idea that he is king in his family and household. His word is law. No one dares contradict him or argue with him and as a result several of his family members lead oppressed lives, with crushed dreams and hopes, particularly his youngest sister Leila. Her story was heartbreaking.

The chapter titled "Suicide and Song" was all about the heartache and anger of women. They are forced to marry whomever their family chooses for them. Most of them are denied an education. They must put aside all feelings and opinions. They are to be seen not heard, and often times not even seen. They rebel through their poetry and song.

This book was also a good look at the Taliban. The religious restrictions they imposed upon the people were stifling. To read about how life is now (or at least how it was in 2002) versus how it was when they had a king and music, dance, and culture reigned is depressing. You feel like these people have lost all hope and merely exist from day to day. They are steeped in the traditions of their fathers, most of which are not good. It makes you grateful to be a woman in America, yet wishing there was something you could do to help the women of Afghanistan.

The Host by Stephenie Meyer, 619 pages

"Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away. Our world has been invaded by an unseen enemy. Humans become hosts for those invaders, their minds taken over while their bodies remain intact and continue their lives apparently unchanged. Most of humanity has succumbed.

When Melanie, one of the few remaining "wild" humans, is captured, she is certain it is her end. Wanderer, the invading "soul" who has been given Melanie's body, was warned about the challenges of living inside a human: the overwhelming emotions, the glut of senses, the too-vivid memories. But there is one difficulty Wanderer didn't expect: the former tenant of her body refusing to relinquish possession of her mind.

Wanderer probes Melanie's thoughts, hoping to discover the whereabouts of the remaining human resistance. Instead, Melanie fills Wanderer's mind with visions of the man Melanie loves - Jared, a human who still lives in hiding. Unable to separate herself from her body's desires, Wanderer begins to yearn for a man she has been tasked with exposing. When outside forces make Wanderer and Melanie unwilling allies, they set off on a dangerous and uncertain search for the man they both love." -Jacket

I had decided when this book came out that I wouldn't read it until I was done with the Twilight series. I wasn't sure if I would like it as much as I liked Twilight. Twilight is a guilty pleasure for me. This book is not. This book is written for adults and I think I like it better. Some of the reviews I'd read said that the beginning was boring and that the book was too long. I didn't find that to be the case. I was sucked in from the beginning and couldn't put it down. The dilemma for me: how was the story going to resolve itself in a way that benefited both Melanie and Wanderer? I wanted Melanie to get her body back, but not at the expense of Wanderer.

Wanderer, later called Wanda, is a gentle soul. She is kind, compassionate and gentle. She makes it hard to hate her and her alien race. The human complexities that arise when Wanderer makes it to where the humans are hiding had me captivated. Ian falls in love with Wanderer and Jared is still in love with Melanie. It makes for an interesting situation. Jeb is a fantastic character. He is wise, discerning, and knows how to keep crazy situations under control.

I really, really liked this book. I was so happy with its conclusion. I thought it was well-written, engaging, hard to put down, and thought-provoking. It's a story about the power of love and the beauty of being human. 

Artemis Fowl: The Time Paradox, 391 pages

"After disappearing for three years, Artemis Fowl has returned to a life different from the one he had. Now he's a big brother, and spends his days teaching his twin siblings the important things in life, such as how to properly summon a waiter at a French restaurant.

But when Artemis's mother contracts a life-threatening illness, his world is turned upside down. The only hope for a cure lies in the brain fluid of the silky sifaka lemur. Unfortunately, the animal is extinct, due to a heartless bargain Artemis himself made as a younger boy.

Though the odds are stacked against him, Artemis is not willing to give up. With the help of his fairy friends, the young genius travels back in time to rescue the lemur and bring it to the present. But to do so, Artemis will have to defeat a maniacal poacher who has set his sights on new prey: Holly Short.

The rules of time travel are far from simple, but to save his mother, Artemis will have to break them all...and outsmart his most cunning adversary yet: Artemis Fowl, age 10."

The Time Paradox got Artemis Fowl back on track for me after The Lost Colony. The story was more believable, even though the whole premise of the books is fairy tale. I loved that he had to go up against his younger self and finds out he doesn't really like him! The time travel was a bit complicated to explain/understand but I thought the story was better this time around. I'm looking forward to #7.

Artemis Fowl: The Lost Colony, 385 pages

"Thousands of years ago, fairies and humans fought a great battle for the magical island of Ireland. When it became clear that they could not win, all of the fairies moved belowground - except for the 8th family, the demons. Rather than surrender, the yused a magical time spell to take their colony out of time and into Limbo. There they have lived for decades, preparing to exact their violent revenge on humans.

Now the time spell is unraveling, and demons are beginning to materialize without warning on Earth. If humans were to find out about them, all fairies would be exposed. To protect themselves, the fairies must predict when the next demon will materialize. But in order to do so, they will have to decipher temporal equations so complicated, even a great brain like Foaly can't understand them. But he knows someone who can: Artemis Fowl.

So when a very confused demon imp appears in a Sicilian theater, Artemis is there to meet him. But he is not alone. There is someone else who has unlocked the secrets of the fairy world and managed to solve complex mathematical problems as only a genius could. And she is just twelve years old..."

I thought this storyline was a bit out there, more so than the other books. The other stories have kind of built upon each other and made sense, but this one starts off with Artemis waiting for the demon to materialize and you have no idea how he's figured that out or why he's doing it. As far as I can remember, there's never been any mention of the 8th family before. Still, once you get into it it's a fun story. Holly and Artemis team up yet again and have to save themselves from an amusement park filled with trolls.