Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, by J.K. Rowling

In this fourth book of the series, Harry Potter arrives back at Hogwarts to discover that the Triwizard Tournament - a battle of the wits between three wizarding schools -  will be taking place. Although only students seventeen years old and older are allowed to submit their names into the competition, somehow Harry's is submitted (without his knowledge), and he is chosen as one of the three students that will compete. The remainder of the book relays the three challenges these students must undergo, while Harry is left to wonder who submitted his name into the competition, or - in other words - who wants him dead? One thing is sure: not everyone will survive the Triwizard Tournament. 

My physical therapist is so excited that I'm into this series now. Last week when I was getting a post-physical therapy massage by another employee, my PT read a bit of this book to me (and then spent the rest of the time silently browsing through the rest of the book, remembering how much she loved it). It has become one of our regular topics of conversation. So I think it has served its purpose well already. 

But really, I am into this series. In this second book, the Strigoi (see book one for more background) have been killing royal Moroi families, raising enough concern that St. Vladmir's Academy takes all of its students to a well-guarded ski resort in order to keep the students safe. As always, however, a few choice students (Rose included) find themselves face to face with the enemy. And, yes, Dimitri makes more than one appearance in this book as well, making it impossible not to read book three. 

Women, Food, and God, by Geneen Roth

Women, Food, and God contains many poignant thoughts and insights for those of us who have, at one point or another, had a rocky relationship with food. The caveat of "reading" an audio book is that it's nearly impossible to find a passage you want to return to, so although there were some statements I thought would be great to highlight in this review, now it seems like too much trouble to pinpoint those selections. The absolute pleasure of listening to audio books, however, is hearing the author's voice, and - in Geneen Roth's case - this was one of my favorite things about the book. Roth's voice had such a calming effect on me that at times I felt like I was listening to a yoga instructor. (In contrast, my current audio book author's voice makes me feel like I'm sprinting...but more on that later!)

Before I recommend the book, I do think it's important to note that Geneen Roth's "version" of God is quite a lot different than mine, but honestly, she hardly even alludes to God until the epilogue, so this didn't bother me a whole lot. 

Another plus? While the audio book took me a couple of weeks (off and on) to finish, the actual paper copy is really quite short and would only take a day or two to read from cover to cover. 

Pray for Silence, by Linda Castillo

This was another good thriller, but was so similar to the first book in the series (with just a slightly different plot) that I was a little disappointed. 

This time, Police Chief Kate Burkholder is investigating the murder of an Amish teenager and her family. There are few clues as to who the murderer might be until Kate finds the girl's diary hidden beneath a floor plank in the family's home, at which point the pieces begin to fall together, incriminating more than just one suspect. 

Vampire Academy, by Richelle Mead

"Get through the first fifty pages, and you'll be hooked," my physical therapist said when telling me about this book (& series). And I had to admit, I liked Twilight when it first came out, so there was a good probability I'd like this series, too, even if it was written for teen girls. Just one more way to connect with my students, right? 

So I trudged through the first fifty pages, not minding the book, but also not really getting into it so much that I couldn't put the book down. But my PT was so excited when I showed her what I was reading that I had to give it a chance, so I kept reading and, yep, approximately fifty pages in, I found myself unable to stop. 

This series is set in a school for vampires, but you wouldn't necessarily know it: they all act just like normal teenagers. Lissa is a Moroi princess, which means she's a vampire, but she's mortal (as opposed to the Strigoi, who never die). Since she's mortal, Rose (a Dhampir, or half human, half vampire) has made it her life's goal to always guard Lissa, protecting her from the Strigoi that are out to kill all Moroi. Sounds very sci-fi, I know, and I usually hate the sci-fi genre. But the plot kept me going all the way to the end. Overall, I rated it with 3/5 stars on goodreads.com.