"Bats at the Library" by Brian Lies

In a follow-up to "Bats at the Beach," Brian Lies creates another rich picture book about the adventures of those (somewhat less than) adorable and very curious bats. Told in rhymed couplets, the vocabulary is complex enough that the book could be enjoyed by some older readers. It definitely has enough levels to be read again and again -- a major plus when purchasing a picture book. The drawing is detailed and three dimensional. Feeling like collage at some points (it isn't) the images seem like you could reach into them. With a love of all things library, the bats explore every inch and corner of this unusual playground. When they fall into the stories themselves, readers will recognize iconic literary characters re-imagined as bats. This is a great series of books to get younger ones interested in bats. Getting past the rat-like similarities, they are fascinating creatures. And the book is, in a word, delightful.

"Warp Speed" by Lisa Yee

The thing is -- I should have loved this book. A companion novel to "Stanford Wong Flunks Big Time," this is the story of Marley Sandelski's 7th grade year. Marley is an A/V geek who translates everything in his life into Star Trek terms. His best friend Ramen loves Star Wars and their new friend Max loves Batman. This ~was~ my life. I was a Star Trek geek and my friends loved Star Wars and Batman, etc. so when Marley makes a reference to TOS ep 51, I **totally** know what he means. And yet. The book, a very middle school, very typical pre-teen book, just didn't grab me. The characters go through the average trials and tribulations, but the writing just seemed kind of surface -- skimming things instead of looking with any depth. For a fairly tame storyline, there is vicious violence in a couple of places and it is just put out there then things move on. The 61 chapters in 310 pages means a lot of breezing through moments rather than living them. I also wasn't wild about the author's voice, which comes off a little more obvious than intended given the first person narrative. While Marley feels authentic, this seems a lot more like a story told by an adult about a kid than a story told by a kid. There are light touches of moralism here and there ("it's okay to be a geek but it doesn't hurt to clean yourself up" and "you need to stand up to bullies") which give things a stilted "too perfect" feel. Marley's parents are interesting but other adults are stereotypes, particularly the school principal, who is one step to the right of a cartoon villain. When Yee goes for it, the descriptions are great (i.e. "The tragic tree") but the initial setup was murky. Took me a long time to realize this was Los Angeles? I think perhaps there was a sense that the reader could jump in if they had read "Stanford Wong" but since I hadn't, I was fairly lost. The negativism aside, I do think kids would enjoy this book (assuming they can suss out the difference between Kirk and Picard) but to me, it felt more like adult reminiscence than real life.

"The Night Bookmobile" by Audrey Niffenegger

What begins as a gentle, sweet homage to readers becomes a dark and bizarre graphic novel that works as a far-out, trippy tale of "too much love." Audrey Niffenegger, author of "The Time Traveler's Wife" tells a pseudo-biographical tale of her life -- wandering the streets of Chicago after a fight with her boyfriend. She comes across a Winnebago filled with books. The books, she realizes, are a rather "unusual" collection. She reawakens her love of reading and becomes somewhat obsessive about devouring books. Nine years later, she encounters the library again, and again, this creates a new path in her life. After a third visit, she ... well, I won't give it away, but it was a moment of "WTF?" as I read it. After that, there is a bit of meandering about paths and seeking bliss and I'm not sure what. A twisted tale, to say the least. The afterwards are worth reading as they give this strange book some context. Read if you dare.

"Naked Heat" by Richard Castle

Yes, the second book is just as deliciously good as the first, although slightly hotter. Once again, we meet the alter-egos from ABC's "Castle" TV series in a hard-boiled detective novel with enough twists and turns to make your head spin. Things are not easy for NYC Detective Nikki Heat as she attempts to wade through the usual suspects to determine who killed a famous gossip columnist in a particularly gruesome fashion. Line up a coyote, a limo driver, a concierge, a rock star, a baseball player, a "working girl", an actor or two and a bunch of lawyers and handlers and you have more suspects than you can shake a stick at. Like the first book, this one adheres closely to the TV show and maintains the fiction regarding authorship (although I still believe it was penned by Cannell). I did find it a little harder to keep track of the storyline in this book than in the first, but that may have been a result of having to read it in small chunks rather than curling up on the couch over the weekend (which is really the best way to read these). The third title and the Derek Storm graphic novel are on the way, so I look forward to savoring them soon.