Title: Game of Thrones
Author: George R.R. Martin
Genre: fantasy

Hello, guest poster today... My name is S'mores (see picture above) and my mommy has been so busy with work and Thanksgiving that she asked me to update the blog for her. My mommy started reading the Song of Fire and Ice series after watching the Game of Thrones series on TV. She was pretty obsessed with the book and impressed by the depth of Mr. Martin's writing. Mommy was also impressed by how closely HBO followed the book in Season 1. Hopefully, this will continue in the following seasons...
As you can see from the above picture I managed to sneak in a bit of reading time myself. Normally, Mommy and I don't read fantasy but what's not to love about dragons, medieval-type battles, deceit, family feuds, runaway children, a smartass dwarf and a few direwolves?

Title: This Republic of Suffering: Death and the Civil War
Author: Drew Gilpin Faust
Genre: non-fiction, American history, Civil War

I first heard of this book last month when NPR replayed an interview with author Drew Gilpin Faust on September 17, 2012- the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Antietam. Suffering was published in 2008, but the interview was very interesting to listen to. You can listen or read about it here: http://www.npr.org/2012/09/21/161544181/civil-war-historian-drew-gilpin-faust-on-pbs

While most Civil War books and historical groups focus on Civil War strategy and Civil War generals'  personalities, Drew Gilpin Faust looks at how the Civil War touched the individual and changed the American culture. Americans had never seen mass slaughter on such a huge scale before the Civil War and unfortunagely the immense loss of life would be a foreshadowing of World War One. The Civil War also brought about the national cemetery system and the next-of-kin notification system- out of necessity to deal with the numerous amounts of unmarked graves and unknown whereabouts of soldiers who had "disappeared" due to being blown up or buried in mass graves or unmarked graves.

But most of all, the Civil War changed the way Americans viewed death. Before the Civil War, a "good death" consisted of dying at home surrounded by family. Dying on the battlefield or from an amputation far from home changed the way Americans perceived and dealth with death. Some Americans' spiritual beliefs would never recover from the events of this war.

Title: The Truth About Style
Author: Stacy London
Genre: nonfiction, fashion & style

Not your normal style manual...
Stacy London introduces us to nine "normal" women who having clothing issues due to various life experiences. Stacy looks into the psychology of why we hide behind our clothes, why we let ourselves go, etc. Sassy, sarcastic and non-judgmental, Stacy looks back on her childhood and college years- years that were filled with painful psoriasis and eating disorders. Recommended for all women in various stages of style in their life who need to be reminded how special and unique they are.

Title: Turtle in Paradise
Author: Jennifer L. Holm
Genre: juvenile fiction

Turtle (so named for her tough emotional exterior) is a preteen sent to live with her aunt, uncle, and cousins in Key West in 1935. Turtle's mother never told her about her extended family so she is surprised to learn she has so many cousins. Unfortunately, in her eyes, they are all boys. In this quiet gem of a book we get a glimpse of Key West during the Great Depression and before commercialism and tourism changed the Keys' way of life forever.
Kids will learn about pop culture in the 1930s- Shirley Temple, The Shadow, etc. While dealing with her pesty cousins, Turtle learns more about her mother's past, goes sponge fishing and searches for buried treasure, and experiences her first hurricane! A quick and enjoyable read if you want to travel back in time to Old Florida.

Title: The Case of the Deadly Butter Chicken
Author: Tarquin Hall
Genre: mystery

Tarquin Hall's mystery series featuring Vish Puri keep getting better and better. In this third book in the series, the reader must wade through a more complicated storyline while envisioning the colorful food and cultural mashup that is modern day India.
Vish Puri takes on a case that really doesn't suit his private detective reputation-the world record holder for the longest mustache is in need of Puri's detective skills when he wakes up one morning to find half of his mustache gone. While ruminating over the silliness of the case and possible motives, Vish Puri is witness to a dramatic death/murder of a visiting Pakistani while at a dinner party. While not officially investigating this case, curiosity and the behavior of his Mummy-ji at the dinner party compel Vish Puri to seek out justice. Vish Puri soon finds connections between his Mummy-ji and the murdered man- a connection that goes back 60 years!
When you are done with this book, you will want a heaping plate of Indian food!  Contains a glossary which defines the food and slang mentioned throughout the book and some recipes too. If you want a mystery that's not graphic, yet not saccharine sweet, you need to check the Vish Puri series by Tarquin Hall.

Title: City of Dark Magic
Author: Magnus Flyte
Genre: fiction, a wee bit of paranormal, sci-fi and some time traveling too

Wow! What a great book! I actually stayed up until midnight one night reading this book- it was that good. Sarah Weston is a P.h. D. candidate in musicology who grew up on the tough streets of South Boston. She is hired to work at the Lobkowicz Castle in Prague to catalog and perform archival work on sheets of music penned by Beethoven. While in Prague, she learns of her beloved professor's "suicide" and vows to look into the circumstances of his death. While performing her job duties, she is surrounded by the drama of Czech politics and history and falls hard for the prince of Lobkowicz Castle. Alas, the castle has secrets of its own- a conniving U.S. senator with ties to the KGB, a 400 year old dwarf, and a drug that lets you see into the past. Read and you'll agree with me and the book jacket: "one of the most entertaining novels of the year."

Title: Roanoke: Solving the Mystery of the Lost Colony
Author: Lee Miller
Genre: American history, non-fiction

Most Americans are familiar with the legend surrounding the Lost Colony of Roanoke: a small group of English settlers attempts to create a colony in the New World only to vanish under mysterious circumstances. Unfortunately, most history books gloss over Roanoke in a paragraph and it's on to the next fact.
Lee Miller digs deeper and comes up with a complicated, yet interesting theory. She theorizes that the Roanoke colonists were a Separatist group seeking asylum and a fresh start in the New World. Unfortunately, they were sabotaged by a member of the royal court who was the archnemesis of Sir Walter Raleigh. Lee Miller also theorizes that the colonists were kidnapped by the local Native American tribes, enslaved by them, and intermarried with them. She based this theory on reports of explorers in the late 1500s and early 1600s that came across "Indians with beards," "Indians with grey eyes," and sightings of Native Americans in English-style houses.
This is a fascinating aspect of American history and Lee Miller spent much time researching this, but the only fault with this book is her writing style. I had read other reviews online that criticized her writing style and I thought the reviewer was being harsh. Now I know what they were talking about. She sprinkles fragmented sentences throughout her paragraphs, like they were quick notes and ideas that were jotted down but not fleshed out. I don't know how this passed by an editor, but it drove me crazy and it took me longer to read this book because of it.