Glass Castle

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls is very good. I have heard about it like crazy and finally got around to reading it. It is the true story of Walls' childhood. Walls' father was a raging alcoholic and her mother is an "artist" who couldn't be bothered with work. Walls has one brother and two sisters. They managed to scrape by and eventually got themselves out of the horrible living situation with their parents. It's very inspiring. I think this would make a great book for a book club. I wouldn't describe it as a page-turner, but it is worth reading.

Innocent Traitor

Innocent Traitor by Alison Weir is about Lady Jane Grey and her 9 day stint as the Queen of England. Alison Weir usually writes non-fiction, but this story is historical fiction. I'm not sure if it's that I've read so many historical fiction stories that take place during this time period or what, but it just seemed to drag on and on. It was a very interesting story. I don't think I would have understood very much had I not read about this time period before. You have to have some idea of the events that lead up to her being put on the throne and what comes after to pull it altogether. If Weir wrote about all that, the book would be a thousand pages long. As it is, it is full of detail and goes on too long for my taste. With that said, I bet I'll read another book by Weir.

The Girl with the Pearl Earring

I liked this one.   I think just about everyone has read it already.  It's about Vermeer's life from the point of view of his maid.  Tracy Chevalier is a great writer.  Even though not that much happens in the story, I was very happy to read about the everyday things.  I really loved all of the characters.  This was a nice, smooth read.  

The Last Empress

Don't read this one. Bleck. Oh so boring...