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?