Buddha or Bust, by Perry Garfinkel

Did it worry me that the blurbs on this book's dust jacket were polite but ambiguous, no one risking their personal credibility to suggest that is it worth reading? No, of course not! First off, it was borrowed from the library - no economic loyalty to the author. Secondly, it was vacation reading - if it was really bad, I'd just have another drink.

Now that you have an idea of my expectations: it was alright. But I wouldn't recommend it; nothing particularly insightful, entertaining or noteworthy here.

The Bradbury Report, by Steven Polansky

The concept is a future state in which clones exist to provide spare parts for their "originals." Although no one actually sees the clones, an underground protest group exists. A clone somehow makes it out of their compound and is united with its original.

You'd think perhaps that with this as a premise you could enjoy a really good novel. Think again: this book was about nothing.

Foreign Influence, by Brad Thor

This follows the "Navy SEAL turned spy tortured by relationship concerns" formula. If you're on a mini-holiday sitting at the water taking a break from fishing, it is just about perfect.

Private, by James Patterson & Maxine Paetro

My expectations are low with James Patterson; usually I find his plots simplistic and dialog corny. But this was reasonably enjoyable vacation reading, so much so that I was pleasantly surprised.

The Lion, by Nelson DeMille

I really enjoyed this novel; my flight went by quickly because of it. I was occasionally annoyed by the author's style of putting snarky asides in the mouth of his hero, but overall it is a fine thriller.

My Horizontal Life, by Chelsea Handler

This was a good choice for a backup book on a short flight: it is a fast read, and surprisingly amusing. It made me smile several times, and I even chuckled out loud at one point. Who would have thought?

The Last Jew, by Noah Gordon

This historical novel (taking place in Spain during the Inquisition) is one of the best books I've read.

Highly recommended.

The Lonesome Gods, by Louis L'Amour

I wouldn't say I'm a big reader of westerns, so when I saw this at Half Priced Books, I thought it would be worth trying one.

Wow, did I make a fortunate choice -- and wow, this was not what I expected!

This novel held my interest throughout, with solid writing, plot and character development and a reasonable amount of suspense. I'd heard that Mr L'Amour is famous for his western fiction, and with this novel as an example, I'm not surprised.

Even if you are sure that a western is not for you, you might take a shot at this one.

Eyes of a Child, by Richard North Patterson

Think of this book as though it was an airline meal: of course it isn't very good, but if your flight takes 11 hours, you'd might as well eat something.

Really, there's no point in amplifying that thought for this mystery novel.

The Italian Secretary, by Caleb Carr

This Sherlock Holmes detective novel, in the voice of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, had everything going for it in Mr Carr, who's previous book (also set historically) delighted me.

At first, when things went wrong for me, I thought: maybe I should imagine it as a film.

But the writing was like cobblestones: amusing for a few steps, but after walking a few chapters on them, just annoying.

Bottom line: I got to page 120 out of 316 before pulling the plug.