The Midnight Work  by Kassandra Sims. A book that has to be read to be believed just how awful it is. I'm torn between wanting to warn people away and suggesting an MST3K style mock-along. I have a documented soft spot for cheesy paranormal romance – much like my love for teen horror films. The Midnight Work is the worst example of the genre I've found – a book that wants to have a plot but can't decide what it is. The characters are blasé and unlikeable, the transition to Fairyland laughable and insipid, and the ending provokes the book-tossing WTF this novel deserves. Tor Paranormal editors, you should be ashamed of yourselves for accepting this.

It Takes a Family: Conservatism and the Common Good, Rick Santorum. The result of a lost bet, I would only suggest reading this if you like pain. Slogging through the absolute idiocy and hole-ridden arguments of an elected official is more than I'd voluntarily endure.

Forbidden Magic, Cheyenne McCray. Let us subtitle this review "I like my sex with plot, kthanks." I'm not sure where to start here - the plot is so thinly spread it could easily be condensed into 15 pages, not the 400 + of this padded monstrosity. It could have been marginally tolerable if it was a smidgen original, but McCray sticks with the "good witches/bad witches," cliche, throwing in the odd winged Scotsman and sex-addicted demons.

State of Fear, Michael Crichton.  Crichton gets extremely preachy with this thriller that's a follow-up to his speech last year claiming global warming didn't exist. In my opinion, what's more disturbing is that he also tries to counter most post colonialist discourse by portraying 'natives' as cannibalistic savages and claiming a version of the "white man's burden" in an extended statement about the benefits of European civilization.

Codex, Lev Grossman.  A great buildup, but a disappointing ending. This has been compared to other literature-themed bestsellers, Dan Brown's series and The Rule of Four among them (it even references one of the same obscure medieval books). But there's so much suspense surrounding the discovery of the codex, and the integration of the videogame that to wrap it up with the protagonist's loss and exile is ridiculous. No motivational clues, nothing about the meaning of the Easter Egg, and little about the banal historicity of the faux text. I'm almost angry enough to try and write a better ending, but I don't have the time.

Lucy Crocker 2.0, Caroline Preston.  My main complaint is how completely predictable this is as a women's fiction/midlife crisis novel. Nothing unexpected happens, despite the unusual occupations of the characters. And no modern librarian is this technologically inept.

Silent Thunder, Peter Tasker - disappointingly obscure

Sex and the City, Candace Bushnell.  This is far more vapid than I was expecting, and rather choppy and indistinct, as well. As a series of vignettes rather than a 'chapter' plot, the various threads of failed relationships and endless posturing aren't worth the effort of trying to weave together.

The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown. I’ll say upfront that I’ve become a Dan Brown loather over the years since this first hit the bestseller list. It’s just inconceivable how such a poorly written thriller has gained such notoriety on such an old premise. Heresy and bad prose with worse pacing; I have read worse mind you, but none so bafflingly well-sold. Angels & Demons, while not stellar, is markedly better, and may appeal to fans of the throwaway beach genre.

The Tormented Mirror, Russel Edson.  I’m afraid this is a rather disastrous collection, too preoccupied with the minutiae of bodily function in place of any real content.  Rambling odes to vulgarity, with very little substance.