Books I read in January 2010

1. To Seduce a Sinner by Elizabeth Hoyt
2. To Beguile a Beast by Elizabeth Hoyt
3. Organizing from the Inside Out by Julie Morgenstern
4. Danny Dunn, Scientific Detective by Jay Williams
5. Bachelor Prince by Debbie Macomber (manga)
6. My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult – post 1, post 2
7. We Gotta Have It by Esther Iverem
8. Empowered vol. 1 by Adam Warren (graphic novel)
9. Sandman Companion by Hy Bender
10. Coraline by Neil Gaiman
11. Ideal Wife by Mary Balogh
12. Beast by Donna Jo Napoli
13. In Odd We Trust by Queenie Chan & Dean Koontz
14. Pharaoh’s Daughter by Julius Lester

Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz

Cover of Odd Thomas

My sister urged me to read Dean Koontz’s Odd Thomas. I have read Watchers and other books by Koontz and had seen Odd on bookshelves but I had not read it. I couldn’t place. Friends and reviews used terms like “quirky” “charming” “sweet” but told me it’s about a thriller about a possible shooting. The blurb on the back didn’t help, “Odd sees dead people but then he does something about it.” Humph.

But I started reading it and now I understand why I couldn’t place it. Odd Thomas himself is innocent in that he has a good heart and an uncompromising sense of right and wrong, though he attributes his conscience to his girl friend Stormy. Odd does his best to think well of people and he risks himself repeatedly to find justice for the murdered dead. So, the quirky, charming, feel-good part is true.

The thriller part is true too. Odd can see ghosts and help them leave, usually by exposing their murderer. He can’t talk to them though. This time, he must hope his psychic abilities come through because he finds himself hunting down a very live mass murderer.

I liked Odd’s girlfriend and his boss – the manager of a diner. He spends as much time discussing his job as a fry cook at the diner as he does on the supernatural events that surrounds him.

It’s worth reading, though a bit rough in places.

Queenie Chan and Dean Koontz

In my last post, I mentioned that I wanted to read something else by Chan. I got a notice today in my email that she is making a graphic novel based in the world of Dean Koontz’s Odd Thomas series. Previews are available on the site and I think it’s is a good match for the 2 creators.

On a side note, before I see their photos, I typically envision creators as resembling their personalities. But in the photos or films, the intense ones look completely relaxed and the ones with cute personalities look fierce and so on. I kind of pictured Queenie Chan as looking rather no-nonsense and in her photo she looks glamorous. It always surprises me.