Eclipse

Eclipse (The Twilight Saga, Book 3)
Reading the third installment in the Twilight series was as satisfying to me as munching through a bag of dark chocolate M&Ms. The big ones.

Because, after all, Eclipse is BIG--629 pages--and in this volume of the story about Bella Swan, a mortal teenager, and vampire Edward Cullen, several big What If questions are explored: What if Bella decides once-and-for-all to become a vampire like Edward; how can she possibly know when she's ready? What if Edward relents and redraws his "many careful lines" for his physical relationship with Bella? What would it look like if something so evil were to terrorize the Olympic Peninsula that Bella's good vampires and her werewolf friends had to try to unite to fight it, despite their ancient animosity? And how would Bella's closest friend Jacob, probably the swiftest of the Quileute werewolves, compete with her supposedly true love Edward for her eternal devotion?

Once again, Stephenie Meyer has written a compelling and often humorous sequel set in the lush environment surrounding the small town of Forks, Washington. Her colorful characters feel like real people rather than types--a big thing for me. And what situations could've been written morosely or indelicately came off instead as, well, as a kind of sensuous elegance. Even though the more private moments of pain or pleasure were described honestly, with realistic detail, they weren't stripped of their intimacy by such telling. That impressed me. And there are lots of these kinds of moments throughout the book. I just ate it up.

One thing that might bog down readers is the tremendous amount of backstory that must be covered in order for the action and some characters' points of view to make sense. It makes for a lot of exposition (as opposed to plain ol' action), even when the stories are coming out of the characters' mouths. But at least the stories are told in varied styles, according to the characters relating them, so monotony is not an issue. It's just a LOT of information to keep straight.

The Trillion Dollar Meltdown

The Trillion Dollar Meltdown: Easy Money, High Rollers, and the Great Credit Crash
I rated this book 5 stars for its timeliness.
In my opinion, most people do not even begin to understand what is going on in the credit market and those who could are either in self-denial or lying to the public. This book is an excellent primer on the subject.
I expect that by the time more in-depth books are written the problem will be evident for all to see.
The last chapter, although well intentioned, is highly opinionated. However, the rest of the book is objective.
I am learning a lot reading this, even though I've followed the economy for years. The preface summarizes the situation and outlines the book, but is maybe slightly dense and technical for the average person. But the first chapter is great for giving perspective on how the US economy has evolved, especially the troubles of the stagflation period and what caused that. The book goes up to November 2007, with a clear understanding that the credit bubble was going to have to unwind, and it was either going to cost $1 trillion, or, if the government tried to paper it over, a lot more.