Midwife's Apprentice by Karen Cushman

I read this to the boys; it was worth reading but not extraordinary.

The Vitality of Worship : A Commentary on the Book of Psalms by Robert Davidson

This was disappointing; I wish I had gotten Robert Alter's psalms commentary instead.

Otto of the Silver Hand by Howard Pyle

This was a pre-read for Simon. I liked it. It would also make a good read-aloud. But you'd probably want to either skip the preface or discuss the nineteenth century view of the "Dark Ages." In any case, a fun book.

Plain and Simple: A Journey to the Amish by Sue Bender

I liked this--it was a calm, simple book.

It's All Too Much : An Easy Plan for Living a Richer Life with Less Stuff by Peter Walsh

I'm pretty organized and clutter-free, but this book made me want to PURGE.

The Revolution : A Manifesto by Ron Paul

I'm not sure if this was largely unpersuasive because the ideas are largely unpersuasive, or because Ron Paul isn't the person to do the persuading. Or because he was trying to keep it to a reasonable length. Or because he was only preaching to the choir.

Bury the Chains : Prophets and Rebels in the Fight to Free an Empire's Slaves by Adam Hochschild

meh

Kite Fighters by Linda Sue Park

I read this to the boys; it was great.

Cross-X : The Amazing True Story of How the Most Unlikely Team from the Most Unlikely of Places Overcame Staggering Obstacles at Home and at School to

The author annoyed me, but the story was interesting.

I Rode a Horse of Milk White Jade by Diane Lee Wilson

I read this out loud to the boys. It bored me.

Triangle : The Fire that Changed America by David Von Drehle

This is the first good book I've read in a looooong time. I wish there was a word for the genre of history-ish books that take one pivotal event and trace all that led up to it (from the pogroms in Russian villages and agricultural disasters in Italy that resulted in specific young women working at this factory) and all that came from it (such as new safety laws). Recommended.

Spirit and Flesh : Life in a Fundamentalist Baptist Church by James M. Ault

The ethnographic parts of this book were a little dull, but his sociological discussions were fascinating--I've never heard a liberal describe conservative beliefs with such charity and clarity.

Proverbs by Tremper Longman

I liked this.

Psalms, vol. 3: Psalms 90-150 by John Goldingay

More of the same.

A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park

A pre-read for Simon; it was excellent.

Psalms, Vol. 2 : Psalms 42-89 by John Goldingay

Another title for my class. It is pretty good, but not exceptional.

Catherine, Called Birdy by Karen Cushman

I read this to the boys. They absolutely loved it. I had mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, it was very engaging and funny and it had a lot of historical detail in it. (We stopped frequently to talk more about daily life and customs of the middle ages, so that was a big plus.) On the other hand, there was a good bit of scatological humor, and I consider it my role to discourage--not contribute--to that. (Of course, the boys loved it.) Also, I had to edit out a little bawdiness from time to time.

The Geographer's Library by Jon Fasman

I didn't get this. What were all of those objects for?

The Birth House by Ami Mckay

I like this.

A Proud Taste for Scarlet and Miniver by E. L. Konigsburg

This was a pre-read for Simon. I absolutely loved it.

Boomsday by Christopher Buckley

This was really funny.

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides

review in haiku:
funny Greek hermaphrodite
genetics and fate

Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff

I read this out loud to the boys. It was pretty good.

Augustine Came to Kent by Barbara Willard

This was a pre-read for Simon. I was disappointed. This book is such a classic in the classical ed. homeschooling world, but I thought it was flat.

Oh well.

We can use it as a springboard to discuss what it was missing that makes a book interesting.

Garbage Land : On the Secret Trail of Trash by Elizabeth Royte

This was interesting. The first part made me feel guilty about contributing the landfills. The second part made me think recycling is a waste of time.

So there you go.

Psalms, Vol. 1: Psalms 1-41 (Baker Commentary on the Old Testament Wisdom and Psalms) by John Goldingay

I'm reading this series for the class I'm teaching. I really like it.

The Forgotten Man : A New History of the Great Depression by Amity Shlaes

I listened to this as an audio book with the dh. Honestly, if I had been reading it, I probably would have deemed it too boring to finish.

Lies My Teacher Told Me : Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong by James W. Loewen

I thought I would hate this as a PC screed, but it wasn't like that at all. It was wonderful and interesting and really made me think and certainly gave me lots of fodder for discussion with the dh. I imagine that some of his critique is out of date now; I may actually pick up the revised edition.

We don't use history texts in our homeschool, but I still felt that there was a lot of beneficial thought here. I highly recommend this for all readers, but especially for anyone homeschooling.

Pope Joan by Donna Woolfolk Cross

This was such trash.

I loved it.

The State Boys Rebellion by Michael D'Antonio

At the intersection of twentieth-century eugenic theory, attitudes towards the disabled and other "undesirables," and state schools lies one of the saddest books I've ever read. It did drag a bit at the end as it followed the former inmates as adults, but it was still a compelling, amazing story.

The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent

I really liked this.

The Almost Moon by Alice Sebold

I bought this because I loved The Lovely Bones (even tho it was scary!), but this was pretty lame.

Shadow Spinner by Susan Fletcher

I read this out loud to the boys; it is a good but not exceptional back story to The Arabian Nights. There's some good language, strong female characters, interesting plot twists, and age-appropriate but intriguing explorations of serious issues, but it just didn't rise to excellence. (NB: Be prepared to explain to your kids what "eunuch" and "lover" mean.)

Traffic : Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What It Says about Us) by Tom Vanderbilt

This was fabulous--all sorts of interesting observations from the intersection (ha!) of engineering and psychology. Highly recommended.

The Giver by Lois Lowry

I read this out loud to the boys; it was pretty good.

The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry

This was a wonderful light read--I can't think of how to say anything without giving the story away, so I won't. But this is an innovative plot with interesting social commentary and was very well written. Highly recommended.

Massacre at Mountain Meadows : An American Tragedy by Richard E. Turley, Glen M. Leonard, Ronald W. Walker

I was very impressed with how interesting this book was--I thought it might be dry but it definitely wasn't. Highly recommended.

The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher : Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective by Kate Summerscale

This was an excellent book--kind of like a Victorian murder mystery except that it was true. Great details from everyday life and a well-told story.

Rats: Observations on the History and Habitat of the City's Most Unwanted Inhabitants by Robert Sullivan

This was great . . . in a completely disgusting sort of a way.

Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer

People seem to either love or hate this book but I thought it was kinda middling. Someone said that Meyer writes terrible sentences but great stories and I think that's exactly right--some sentences in this book were so horrible I re-read them just to gawk.

Close to Shore: The Terrifying Shark Attacks of 1916 by Michael Capuzzo

This was pretty good. And it's been a long time since I've read a book that was even just "pretty good." It may seem that I'm not reading much because I'm not blogging much, but what I'm doing is reading the first 20-50 pages of a book, deciding that it stinks, and then moving on. I think I've done that a dozen times in the last month. Where are all the good books?

The Twenty-One Balloons by William Pene du Bois

I read this to the boys; a good, creative story with a smidge of science in it. Recommended.

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

Let me preface: the last book that my husband read to the boys was actually Around the World in Eighty Days. I was so annoyed with the writing style that I left the room after the first few pages. My husband convinced me to give it another try the next night and so I did and ended up running screaming from the room with my ears bleeding.

Anyway, this book was much better. It has a lot of fun word play and therefore is better for older children.

Angel Falling Softly by Eugene Woodbury

Did nothing for me.

The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart

I read this out loud to the boys. It started out very strong and then petered out. (The boys loved it. I was sick of it by the end.)

Hershey : Milton S. Hershey's Extraordinary Life of Wealth, Empire, and Utopian Dreams by Michael D'Antonio

eh.

The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss

My husband read this out loud to us; it was an ideal family read-aloud. Highly recommended.

Mark of the Horse Lord by Rosemary Sutcliff

I read this out loud to the boys. I kept thinking that they would hate it because the prose was so dense and the story so complicated and subtly stated, but they loved it. I did, too. Historical fiction at its best.

Alexander the Corrector : The Tormented Genius Whose Cruden's Concordance Unwrote the Bible by Julia Keay

This was mildly interesting.

The Dive from Clausen's Pier by Ann Packer

This book made me terribly sad but I liked the ending.