Polite Paradise

I just started Severance, by Ma, Ling.  It is about the apocalypse where a virus turns people into robotic "zombies".  The zombies don't eat people, they just go about their business at first feeling like they have the flu.  Eventually they deteriorate into mindless zombies. 

So far it is pretty good, but I'm only 10% into it.

I am reading "Etiquette and Espionage," by Gail Carriger. It's set in a steampunk Victorian world where a teen girl is sent to "finishing school" but it seems like they will actually be teaching her how to be a secret agent and assassin, or something like that. It's pretty good so far, although the one graduate of the school we have seen is not exactly a sterling example of the program, as she's whiny and useless in a crisis.

I recently finished "Daughter of Smoke & Bone," by Laini Taylor. The first third was so good! Then the second third was dull and angsty, and the final third was a giant flashback to a totally different story. There's obviously been a lot of thought put into this world, but by the end I wasn't interested in reading more about it.

I also recently finished "The Mortal Instruments Book 1: City of Bones," by Cassandra Clare. I enjoyed it. It seems like a lot of people thought it was bad or derivative of other things (or maybe that was just the movie version?) but I liked it enough to add Book 2 to my list. As I am going back over it the main problem seems to be a lack of in-depth characterization. Also, people in the story keep criticizing the main character for rushing into dangerous situations, but the book literally would not exist if she hadn't, and she seems to be acting well within the parameters of this kind of story, so I'm not sure why people complain.

I love witch/elf books, similar to the Charlaine Harris (sp?) ones.  "Would be Witch" and "Barely Bewitched" by Kimberly Frost are what I'm currently reading.  Finished the first one and am almost done with the second.  It is a series and I'll most likely be able to borrow the rest of them soon.  If you are into that kind of easy reading (and fae!) then you would like the these.

Just finished "Captivate" and it was really great.  It is a self help book about how to talk to people.  It is by Vanessa Van Edwards and she studies people and runs seminars, websites, etc.  I actually only made it halfway through before it expired on my kindle loan from the library and they "stole" it back.  So I now have to wait to get it again.  Worthwhile reading for anyone who wants to make better first impressions, talk to people, or just understand better why some people seem to be liked immediately while others just don't seem to fit in.  I really like the section about how you can figure out why you aren't able to get along with someone at work!!  I wish that I'd have known a lot of this when I was young!