The Best School Year Ever by Barbara Robinson

I read this to the boys because it is the follow up to the absolutely delightful Best Christmas Pageant Ever. But this was lame.

Group: Six People in Search of a Life by Paul Solotaroff

I never would have picked this up--I only own it because some doofus from half.com shipped the wrong book to me and then told me to keep it. I decided to give it a whirl before I got rid of it and . . . it was fabulous. The author played fly-on-the-wall for a year at a group therapy. The stories are fascinating. The best part, however, is the surprise twist at the end (which then changes the tenor the reader's impression of everything that came before) but I don't want to give it away . . .

Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo

I read this out loud to the boys. They really enjoyed it but it didn't do much for me.

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

At first I thought that this book was going to do for time travel what Twilight did for vampires. But about half way through the story kind of sputtered and by the end I was just vaguely annoyed.

The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson

I normally like Bill Bryson quite a bit, but I think he shot himself in the foot by writing a book that is, to paraphrase, true except for the parts that aren't. It wasn't as funny this way--it was just mindless.

The Mummy Congress by Heather Pringle

Exceptionally intriguing, The Mummy Congress ranks as one of the best books that I have read this year. It reads more like a collection of essays on different topics, all somehow related to the practice of mummification. I honestly don't want to describe it too much for fear that I won't do it justice, but I will say that her picture of Chilean women digging through handfuls of sand for pigment with which to paint their deceased children seven thousand years ago will probably be with me for a long time. Highly recommended.

Dr. Spock: An American Life by Thomas Maier

It is hard to overestimate Dr. Spock's influence--he taught all those hands how to rock the cradle. Maier's book did an excellent job of exploring his life and exploding the myth of his "permissiveness" (which I had always believed accurate but now see as a political attack raised not by his book but by his opposition to the Vietnam war before it was cool). Maier deftly elucidates the failures of Spock's personal life in a way that makes him seem not a hypocrite but rather a flawed man. Highly recommended.

Case Histories by Kate Atkinson

Didn't live up to the hype ("Best mystery of the decade"--Stephen King) and was kinda vulgar. Ugh.

The Tale of Despereaux by Kate diCamillo

I read this to the boys and we all adored it--a book nearly perfect in every way. Highly recommended.

The Young Joseph Williams Trilogy by Dean Hughes

I read these to the boys because they were the only juvenile historical fiction about Church history that I could find. They weren't that good: the plots plodded, the characterization was flat, the writing was lame. The third volume was slightly better in that it took on some heavy issues of Mormon culpability in Missouri (my five year old knows about Danite excesses now), but I still can't recommend these.

Skipping Christmas by John Grisham

I needed some mind candy on Sunday; this fit the bill.

A Death in Belmont by Sebastian Junger

When the author was a baby, the Boston Strangler worked in his home. (Fortunately, his mother ignored his invitation to join him in the basement.) This book is fascinating (and, of course, unpleasantly graphic at certain points)--nothing like a good mystery.

Year of Wonders: A Novel of the Plague by Geraldine Brooks

To me, novels either "work" or they don't: they either succeed in creating a world--or they don't. This one worked and it was a joy to read even though the topic was horrific and the details graphic. (The only sour note was the revelation at the end of the rector's character.) This is the kind of book that would lead to excellent book group discussions (although it might have a smidge too much sex and violence for some book groups). Recommended.

Thunderstruck by Erik Larson

Erik Larson is one of my all-time favorite writers: Isaac's Storm and The Devil in the White City rank along with Thunderstruck as three of the best non-fiction books I have encountered. I did think the pacing was a little off on this one, but it was still very good.

The Life of Pi by Yann Martel

Hmmm. I'm not sure about this. It was a quick read, it kept my attention, it was funny and horrifying. I'm still playing around in my mind with the ending. I may need to get back to you on this one.

The Gospel According to the Simpsons by Mark Pinsky

This book was pretty lame. Very little analysis--just plot summaries from The Simpsons.

Orrin Porter Rockwell by Harold Schindler

This book is an excellent example of what I consider to be an overriding problem with early Mormon history: every source is either Mormon or virulently anti-Mormon. Schindler makes liberal use of some of those anti sources in this book and so I found it difficult to determine how likely the various reports of Rockwell's evil deeds were. He was more myth than man and I can't say that I trust all the stories of his nefariousness. At the same time, he wasn't a choirboy. This was an interesting read, but it was also almost as frustrating as I find historical fiction since I just couldn't decide what to believe.

Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife by Mary Roach

I loved Roach's first book and this one was equally weird and wonderful. She explores all sorts of paranormal phenomena in a light-hearted, Dave Barryesque sorta way. Recommended.

Secret of the Andes by Ann Nolan Clark

We read this because we were covering Peru in history; the boys liked it but it didn't do much for me.

The United States of Arugula by David Kamp

This was a good history of the creation of "American food" over the last fifty years--not life-alteringly good, but good.