Robin reads: Everyone worth knowing, Iron orchid, and Dixie Riggs

Dixie Riggs by Sarah Gilbert : I picked this one up at book sale for 50 cents. Now I know why. According to Amazon it's YA (Young Adult). Knowing that it is meant to be a Young Adult book also might explain why I didn't think it was very good, but honestly, I wouldn't really recommend it to anyone. ;-) The story is that Dixie Riggs wants to get married to Buck Speed, who is a body builder/auto repair/evangelist wannabe. In order to try to advance her career, she enters modeling school along with her friend Sparkle. She and Sparkle get into all sorts of situations including creating some nude "modeling" photos. Along the way Dixie gets pregnant but is uncertain as to the father. Various confrontations and situations occur and the story is mostly resolved. There are no truly positive characters in this book. No one has any sort of accountability or even real concern for the various characters involved. As this is written about the south (South Carolina) it seems to wallow in making fun of "trailer park trash". I think it's supposed to be teen chicklit, but it's not even close.


Iron Orchid Iron Orchid (Holly Barker Novels) by Stuart Woods Stuart Wood's books are generally fairly solid mystery/thrillers and this one is really no exception. There are two stories interwoven: the story of Teddy Fay, ex-CIA, who has decided to take on the role of vigiliant (this time taking on "enemies" of the US who have diplomatic immunity), and the second story, of Holly Barker, an ex-MP who has recently joined the CIA and is now assigned to Teddy's case. This story has enough high tech gizmos, enough interesting characters, and enough plot to help keep the story on track through the various plot twists and turns. There are a couple of unresolved minor threads regarding Fay and Teddy, but nothing to the point of weighing down the story.


Everyone Worth Knowing by Lauren Weisberger Well, if you've read the Devil wears Prada (the previous novel by Lauren Weisberger), then you know the drill, bad/mean/demanding boss + a worker trying to make it in a trendy industry + love interest. Bette leaves her "boring" job and gets a job as an event planner, which means she parties all of the time. Her coworkers are all superthin and superficial. In spite of the limitations of this novel and the familiarity of the story, it is a light and fun read, albeit a little silly.


Seven Deadly Wonders: A Novel by Matthew Reilly Seven Deadly Wonders is part of the Sigma Force novel series. As I haven't read any of those, I really didn't know what to expect. This title seems to be sort of Indiana Jones + X Files + Alias + Steven Seagal movie. The pacing is very fast, lots of action, harrowing situations, etc.
Parts of this book have many illustrations, but I am not sure if they actually added or detracted from the actual story. The basic plot is that the Seven Wonders of the World still exist in some form and that each of them holds a small piece of the Capstone of the Great Pyramid. When the Capstone is reassembled, at a certain astronomical time, the power generated can affect the world. It is up to a multinational team led by Jack West, to save the day. Doesn't that sound like a Steven Seagal movie to you? ;-)