I finished reading "Year Zero" by Rob Reid last night.  Parts I enjoyed quite a bit, others I thought were a bit overdone.  The premise is that aliens discovered music from Earth, fell in love with it and copied everything.  Then they found out about copyright laws and penalties.  It has humorous things to say about the music industry, politics, celebrity and other cultural affectations.  And the humor does come through well.  I just felt that there were times that it went a bit too far for not apparent reason, added one too many target for satire, and therefore had plot elements that went nowhere or weren't fully developed.  So, I would give the book a 3 out of 5, or just say check it out if the story sounds like one you'd enjoy.

I really liked the extended first look video for Les Miserables (http://www.lesmiserablesfilm.com/videos.html).  I am now much intrigued and hopeful about the movie.

Patrick Rothfuss is an author I really like (except that he doesn't write fast enough!!!!!!!!).  He also has a monthly podcast called "The Storyboard" in which he talks with other writers about different topics.  The most recent one was about blogging and memoirs, and was quite good.  Check it out here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFO50chkSDg