Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan

I read this to the boys. Lovely.

Perfect Life by Jessica Shattuck

Clumsy.

Hitty: Her First Hundred Years by Rachel Field

I read this to the boys. It is one of my all-time favorite read-alouds.

American Lightning by Howard Blum

Decent.

Ape House by Sara Gruen

My expectations were sky-high after Water for Elephants, but this was just OK.

Family Tree by Barbara Delinksy

meh

The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson

I think this may be the finest book I have ever read.

God's Harvard by Hanna Rosin

Very, very interesting.

The Media Relations Department of Hizbollah Wishes You a Happy Birthday: Unexpected Encounters in the Changing Middle East by Neil MacFarquhar

Best title ever; strong beginning; by the end I was just skimming.

The Air We Breathe by Andrea Barrett

A slow start but then a decent finish.

Freedom by Jonathan Franzen

Dear Every Single Book Critic in the Entire Nation,

Why are you fawning over this yuppie whinefest when it is nothing more than third-rate chick lit?

Dear Unsuspecting Kindle Readers,

The first chapter of this book is witty, interesting, and not vulgar. The rest is the opposite.

Dear Me,

Stop buying books just because everyone is raving about them.

What the Dog Saw by Malcolm Gladwell

I probably wouldn't have picked this up if it weren't for book group because I catch most of what Gladwell writes in The New Yorker. That said, this book contains several fascinating essays, even the ones that were re-reads for me. Highly recommended.

A Bishop's Tale: Mathias Hovius Among His Flock in Seventeenth-Century Flanders by Craig Harline and Eddy Put

Mildly interesting.

Beautiful Lies by Lisa Unger

You know, I bought this expecting it to be a junk type of read (hey, it was less than a buck in the Kindle store and sometimes you just need a little mind candy) but it was quite good: suspenseful, great plot twists, decent (rarely eye-roll-inducing) writing, a great ending, and it explored several very compelling themes. Sometimes I wonder about the line between pulp and literary fiction.

My Brother Sam Is Dead by James Collier

I read this out loud to the boys. I thought the first 90% of this book was slow and dull but the ending was phenomenal in terms of both plot and theme. (We need more books that de-glorify war.)

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

A captivating book with a reasonably satisfying ending. (Although I wanted her to end up with the other boy. But that probably says something--something not good--about me. . .)

The Man Who Made Vermeers by Jonathan Lopez

Mildly interesting.

The Word of God in English by Leland Ryken

Some interesting ideas here, but this might be the most redundantly redundant and poorly organized book I have read in my life.

Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson

A lovely, lovely book. Highly recommended.

My Life in France by Julia Child

Didn't hold my attention. Had this not been for book group, I would not have finished it.

The Story of Science: Einstein Adds a New Dimension by Joy Hakim

A preread for Simon.

I love this series but I have to admit that this book was something of a disappointment. I know Hakim is planning a separate series on life science, but this book had nothing but physics in it--no astronomy (a little astrophysics), no chemistry, no technology/computer science, etc. Did nothing happen in the world of twentieth century science except for physics?

The Last Town on Earth by Thomas Mullen

Nearly perfect in every way; highly recommended.

That's The Way the Cookie Crumbles by Joe Schwarcz

I read this out loud to the boys (with very minor editing for some inappropriate-for-young-ears material) and loved it. I love "living" science books--particularly when they are funny and historically grounded.

Exit Ghost by Philip Roth

meh

Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers

I read this to Truman, but really his older brothers got more out of it--I think much of the humor was lost on him. I thought it was OK, not extraordinary.