The Help by Kathryn Stockett

This is a best seller for a reason. It has a compelling story and takes place in a time of great change and emotion. One can only hope had you lived in the same time you would have had the same courage and insight to break free of the social norms you were raised with. That all said I didn't love it. It was good- the story interesting, the character inspiring (or revolting) but is just didn't touch me. I can't point to anything in particular it just failed to touch me.

I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith

I recently reread this as it is one of my all time favorites. I still love it. This is about some impoverished sisters living in a castle in England during the 30s. It is brilliantly written- the sister dynamic is so compelling. Also the difficulty in loving a brilliant and yet essentially selfish parent. I love this book- but not enough to bring myself to read 101 Dalmatians.

Alice Waters and Chez Panisse by Thomas McName

This is a good book if you are a foodie- into California cuisine. But otherwise give it a pass. It isn't particularly written well enough to appeal to anyone who isn't already a fan of the fresh food movement who wants to know more about it's genesis. Anyways I liked it but defiantly did despite its flaws.

Ranger's Apprentice Seriece By John Flanagan

I loved these!!!! Maybe my favorite middle reader. Kathy- these are great for both of your kids. My friend Andrea's family likes them so much they have ordered the ones you can't get here from Australia (and even sent them to the cousins in Austria). I am trying to wait patiently for them to come out in the United States. I love an adventure book with and unlikely hero, one that celebrates the power in every ones individual talents, add in spunky kids saving the country and a couple of powerful strong girls and I am a fan! I keep looking at them on the shelf and anxiously await the day Coen and Becket can read them with me (I am thinking 7-8). Andrea is your Cowen reading them?

The Hunger Games Series by Suzanne Collins

I really liked these books- a fun fast read. Good for discussion topics. I was not in love with how the trilogy ended but I still liked them overall and recommend them. Kathy- I think that Genevieve. might like them but I am not sure of suitability- you should definitely read them first. I would say they are ideal for 13 and older. Good for boys and girls. These would be good books to read at the same time and use as a tool for philosophical discussions. Moral dilemma questions abound- how do you decide what is right? The Conley and Clove Families devoured these this summer and the handful of copies were making fast rounds around the big groups of readers. Some one always seemed to be reading one during the family reunion and there was many debates of who had priority reading in my family.

Musicophilia by Oliver Sacks

Oliver Sacks is another author I will read anything by- but thinking about it I don't think I have ever really read Awakenings- the book that made him famous. (Well I read it in Jr High but that was before I really discovered Sacks and therefore don't count it.) I also recommend anything written by him. He is a neurologist who writes about the wonders of the mind and the amazing feats and defects it is capable of. this particular book is about the mind and music- There are all kinds of facinating chapters- why the Chinese have many more people with perfect pitch, musical hallucinations, people who see a different color for every note, musics relation to movement disorders like Parkinson's, music and depression. This is just a s mall sampeling of the topics. I highly recommend this for anyone who loves music or whi is interested in the workings of the mind. But if you could only read one Oliver Sacks I would have to say try An Anthropologist on Mars.

A Sense of the World; How a Blind Man Became History's Greatest Traveler by Jason Roberts

Well the title pretty much covers the book. James Holman (1786-1857) was a blind man who traveled all over the world and wrote about his time. It is an amazing account of a life lived in a time of change and discovery- by a man who observed more than many sighted individuals in the same places. It is fascinating and inspiring and I want to read it again now that I am thinking about it. I shall add it to the mountain on the side of my bed.