All Souls : A Family Story from Southie by Michael Patrick MacDonald

Mildly interesting.

Kaaterskill Falls by Allegra Goodman

Excellent characterization; no plot.

Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress : A Novel by Dai Sijie, Ina Rilke (Translator)

meh

Second Mrs. Gioconda by E.L. Konigsburg

I read this to the boys. I wasn't impressed.

The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie

meh

I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith

I think I liked this.

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

I was not real impressed with this.

Last Man Out : The Story of the Springhill Mine Disaster by Melissa Fay Greene

Moderately interesting.

The NIV Application Commentary: Proverbs by Paul E. Koptak

I didn't love this book, but it isn't easy to comment on Proverbs so my expectations may have been too high.

Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

I'd never read any Agatha Christie before this. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and didn't anticipate the twist(s) at the end.

The Private Patient by P. D. James

I enjoyed reading this but found the conclusion vaguely unsatisfying.

Nixonland : The Rise of a President and the Fracturing of America by Rick Perlstein

I'm just young enough to have spent my entire life hearing about The Checkers Speech, Spiro Agnew, and Hanoi Jane without knowing the details. I loved this book for filling in those gaps. I found the stories in it completely amazing. The author had, I think it is fair to say, an anti-Nixon bias, but I'd wager that that is a good bias to have. Highly recommended.

In the Beginning: The Story of the King James Bible and How It Changed a Nation, a Language, and a Culture by Alister Mcgrath

This was pretty good.

Call It Courage by Armstrong Sperry

A pre-read for Simon. I thought this was an excellent book. (Although I'll probably have a conversation with him about the racist overtones in the depiction of the cannibals.)

Door in the Wall by Marguerite De Angeli

A pre-read for Simon; good but not extraordinary.

An Inconvenient Wife by Megan Chance

This was a pretty good novel. And it would be good for book groups--lots of interesting topics to discuss.

World Without End by Ken Follett

I found myself increasingly annoyed with each page. It's like he forgot that these people lived in the Middle Ages--their sensibilities were almost entirely modern. There was actually a dialogue about a character's self-esteem. Ugh.

Little Green Men by Christopher Buckley

meh

No Way to Treat a First Lady : A Novel by Christopher Buckley

All of his books are goofy fun.

The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

Completely engrossing.
Too vulgar in some places.
Somewhat soap-opera-ish.

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.