Oh, it may look like I finished Duma Key really quickly, but I didn’t. For some reason, I just couldn’t get into it. I put it up on Paperback Swap instead for the 500-something other wishers to fight over. I’m evil like that.

Now, I’m actually into a book I’m finding enthralling and interesting - Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer. I managed to get the whole series, sans The Lost Colony, at Wal-Mart for twenty bucks, so I was pretty happy to nab those. Besides, how can you not like a fairy-hunting, business-savvy, megalomaniacal twelve-year-old? That’s the stuff good stories are made of.

Anyway, another topic: American Idol. I found out that this upcoming week’s theme is songs from the year of the contestant’s birth. Now, this definitely gives a much more expansive variety than the incessant Beatles themes have. You gotta think, the years vary from 1978 (Michael Johns) to 1990 (David Archuleta). There’s over a decade’s worth of songs. This’ll definitely be interesting. Now, based on Idol Mania’s listing of top songs per birth year, here are my picks for the top 10 singers:

1978 - Michael Johns: “Kiss You All Over” by Exile
1982 - David Cook: “Hurts So Good” by John Mellencamp
- NOTE: I would kill to hear David sing “Abracadabra” by The Steve Miller Band just so I can hear him say “I wanna reach out and grab ya.” That would be a priceless moment.
1983 - Brooke White: “Total Eclipse of the Heart” by Bonnie Tyler
1983 - Carly Smithson: “Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)” by Eurythmics
1984 - Kristy Lee Cook: “Owner of a Lonely Heart” by Yes
- NOTE: I believe “Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now)” by Phil Collins would also work, but it’s been done so much on the show, I wanted a little more variety.
1985 - Chikezie: “Dancing on the Ceiling” by Lionel Richie
- NOTE: It wasn’t a top song that year, according to Idol Mania, but I think Cheezit could do really well with it, seeing as it was released in late ‘85.
1987 - Jason Castro: “Don’t Mean Nothing” by Richard Marx
- NOTE: Another not on Idol Mania’s list, but Castro could definitely do Richard Marx.
1987 - Ramiele Malubay: “C’est La Vie” by Robbie Nevil
1987 - Syesha Mercado: “I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)” by Whitney Houston
- NOTE: I wouldn’t have chosen this one for her because it’s been done so much on the show, but it seemed appropriate for her voice.
1990 - David Archuleta: “Another Day in Paradise” by Phil Collins
- NOTE: Archuleta was hard to choose for, but in the end, the slower, melodic song won over a significantly stripped “Blaze of Glory” by Jon Bon Jovi.

We’ll see how it plays out next week. I’m sure I’ll be extremely surprised with the contestants’ choices, but that at least gives myself and others a basic idea of what different varieties of music we’ll be hearing.

Back to the blog front, my buddy, author Mel Odom, just wrapped up the legal thriller Notorious by Michelle Martinez (not to be confused with Tori Spelling’s upcoming memoir, sTORI Telling), and from his review on Bookhound, it sounds pretty juicy. Darque Reviews’ Kimberly Swan just finished the first book in Cheryl L. Brooks’ Cat Star Chronicles series, Slave, with a rather hunky man chest on the front cover. It sounds like it falls under the sci-fi mattress-stuffer category to me. Katie wrapped up Jonathan Barnes’ The Somnambulist a week ago, a book I’ve had on my wish list for a long, long time. Wendy has read a slew of dark goodies lately and is now prepping her first-ever blog contest! Can’t wait for it, Wendy! Scoop just picked up Elijah by Jacquelyn Frank, and as told in the post’s comments, my hormonal self mixed the post up with a mention of Elijah Wood. I can only imagine if she was referring to a “Cook”book. Lastly but not leastly, Ron talks about National Get Caught Reading Month. A whole month of books and reading - you gotta love that.