Monday, August 13, 2007

Books reviewed

Adios Hemingway ~ by Leonardo Padura Fuentes, 2005, mystery, 5/10

Agape Love: A Tradition Found in Eight World Religions ~ by John Templeton, 1999, religion, 10/10

Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream ~ by Tanya Lee Stone, 2008, YA history, 8/10

An Altar in the World: A Geography of Faith ~ by Barbara Brown Taylor, 2009, spiritual life, 8/10

Amanda/Miranda ~ by Richard Peck, 1980 and 1999, fiction, 9/10

The American Heiress ~ by Dorothy Eden, 1980, fiction, 6/10

Anansi Boys ~ by Neil Gaiman, 2005, fantasy, 8/10

And Tango Makes Three ~ by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell, 2005, children's book, 8/10

Animal Farm ~ by George Orwell, 1945, fiction, 9/10

Annie Freeman's Fabulous Traveling Funeral ~ by Kris Radish, 2006, fiction, 9/10

The Art of Racing in the Rain ~ by Garth Stein, 2008, fiction, 10/10

Barefoot in Baghdad ~ by Manal M. Omar, 2010, memoir, 8/10

Beneath a Marble Sky: A Novel of the Taj Mahal ~ by John Shors, 2004, historical fiction, 8/10

The Blackwater Lightship ~ by Colm Tóibín, 1999, fiction, 8/10

The Blue Cotton Gown: A Midwife's Memoir ~ by Patricia Harman, 2008, memoir, 7/10

Blueberry Girl ~ by Neil Gaiman, 2009, children's, 10/10

The Book of Names ~ by Jill Gregory and Karen Tintori, 2007, fiction, 8/10

The Book on the Bookshelf ~ by Henry Petroski, 1999, history, 8/10

Booked to Die ~ by John Dunning, 1992, mystery, 9/10

The Breadwinner ~ by Deborah Ellis, 2001, YA fiction (Afghanistan), 10/10

Bridge to Terabithia ~ by Katherine Paterson, 1977, children's fiction, 9/10

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao ~ by Junot Díaz, 2007, fiction, "nah"

The Camel Bookmobile ~ by Masha Hamilton, 2007

A Canticle for Leibowitz ~ by Walter M. Miller Jr., 1959, speculative fiction, 9/10

Chains ~ by Laurie Halse Anderson, 2008, YA fiction, 9/10

Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith ~ by Deborah Heiligman, 2009, history, 9/10

Children Make Terrible Pets ~ by Peter Brown, 2010, children's, 10/10

The Cougar Club ~ by Susan McBride, 2010, chick lit, "nah"

The Dance of the Dissident Daughter: A Woman's Journey from Christian Tradition to the Sacred Feminine ~ by Sue Monk Kidd, 1996, memoir, 9/10

Dancing at the Harvest Moon ~ by K. C. McKinnon, pseudonym for Cathie Pelletier, 1997, fiction, 7/10

Daughter of God ~ by Lewis Perdue, 2000, fiction, "nah"

The Day After Tomorrow ~ by Whitley Strieber, 2004, fiction, 8/10

Disobedience ~ by Jane Hamilton, 2000, fiction (Illinois), 7/10

Dogsong ~ by Gary Paulsen, 1985, YA fiction, 9/10

Donut Days ~ by Lara Zielin, 2009, YA fiction, 8/10

Dream When You're Feeling Blue ~ by Elizabeth Berg, 2007, fiction, 6/10

Eats, Shoots and Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation ~ by Lynne Truss, 2004, a humorous look at punctuation, 9/10

End of Grace ~ by K. Thomas Murphy, 2009, fiction, 8/10

The Evangelical Universalist ~ by Gregory MacDonald, 2006 and 2008, religion, "nah"

Evensong ~ by Gail Godwin, 1999, fiction, 10/10

Every Last One ~ by Anna Quindlen, 2010, fiction, 8/10

Eve's Diary: Translated from the original MS. ~ by Mark Twain, 1906, fiction, 8/10

Extracts from Adam's Diary: Translated from the original MS. ~ by Mark Twain, 1904, fiction, 8/10

Falling Angels ~ by Tracy Chevalier, 2001, fiction, 7/10

Family Matters ~ by Rohinton Mistry, 2002, fiction, 8/10

Father Melancholy's Daughter ~ by Gail Godwin, 1991, fiction, 9/10

Fever 1793 ~ by Laurie Halse Anderson, 2000, YA fiction, 9/10

The Fiction Class ~ by Susan Breen, 2008, fiction, 9/10

Field Notes from a Catastrophe: Man, Nature, and Climate Change ~ by Elizabeth Kolbert, 2006, NF, 9/10

The First Paul: Reclaiming the Radical Visionary Behind the Church's Conservative Icon ~ by Marcus J. Borg and John Dominic Crossan, 2009, religion, 9/10

The Foreign Student ~ by Susan Choi, 1998, fiction, 8/10

Forgive Me ~ by Amanda Eyre Ward, 2007, fiction, 8/10

Four Souls ~ by Louise Erdrich, 2004, fiction, 7/10

Full, Full, Full of Love ~ by Trish Cooke, 2003, children's, 10/10

Garden Spells ~ by Sarah Addison Allen, 2007, magical realism, 9/10

The Gate to Women's Country ~ by Sheri S. Tepper, 1988, fiction, 8/10

Genesis Revisited ~ by Zecharia Sitchin, 1990, nonfiction, 9/10

The Gnostic Gospels ~ by Elaine Pagels, 1979, religion, 10/10

Go Out in Joy! ~ by Nina Hermann (Donnelley), 1977, memoir, 10/10

The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ ~ by Philip Pullman, 2010, fiction, "nah"

The Great Transformation: The Beginning of Our Religious Traditions ~ by Karen Armstrong, 2006, religion, 10/10

The Hair of Zoe Fleefenbacher Goes to School ~ by Laurie Halse Anderson, 2009, children's

Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide ~ by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, 2009, women's studies, 8/10

Have You Got My Purr? ~ by Judy West and Tim Warnes, 1999, children's, 8/10

The Heart of Christianity ~ by Marcus J. Borg, 2003, religion, 10/10

The Hidden Diary of Marie Antoinette ~ by Carolly Erickson, 2006, historical fiction, 8/10

The Higher Power of Lucky ~ by Susan Patron, 2007, YA fiction, 9/10

Home Safe ~ by Elizabeth Berg, 2009, fiction, 8/10

Honest to God ~ by John A. T. Robinson, 1963, religion, 10/10

The Hours ~ by Michael Cunningham, 1998, fiction, 7/10

Hummingbirds ~ by Joshua Gaylord, 2009, fiction, 6/10

I Am Nujood: Age 10 and Divorced ~ by Nujood Ali, 2010, memoir, 8/10

If I Had Long, Long Hair ~ by Angela Elwell Hunt, 1988, children's, 10/10

Independent Dames: What You Never Knew About the Women and Girls of the American Revolution ~ by Laurie Halse Anderson, 2008, children's, 7/10

The Invisible Mountain ~ by Carolina de Robertis, 2009, fiction, 8/10

Islam: A Concise Introduction ~ by Huston Smith, 2001, religion, 9/10

The Jerusalem Scrolls ~ by Bodie and Brock Thoene, 2001, fiction, 6/10

Jim the Boy ~ by Tony Earley, 2000, fiction, 7/10

Julie and Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously ~ by Julie Powell, 2005, memoir, "nah"

Junie B. Jones and Some Sneaky Peeky Spying ~ by Barbara Park, 1994, children's, 7/10

Kersplatypus ~ by Susan K. Mitchell, 2008, picture book, 9/10

Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded: August 27, 1883 ~ by Simon Winchester, 2003, history, 10/10

The Lacuna ~ by Barbara Kingsolver, 2009, fiction, 8/10

The Language of Threads ~ by Gail Tsukiyama, 1999, historical fiction, 8/10

Latitudes of Melt, by Joan Clark, 2000 in Canada, 2002 in the US, fiction, 9/10

Leaving Church: A Memoir of Faith ~ by Barbara Brown Taylor, 2006, memoir, 9/10

Life as We Knew It ~ by Susan Beth Pfeffer, 2006, YA fiction, 9/10

Lissy's Friends ~ by Grace Lin, 2007, children's, 9/10

Little Black Sambo ~ by Helen Bannerman, 1899, children's, 10/10

Look Again ~ by Lisa Scottoline, 2009, fiction, 9/10

Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen ~ by Susan Gregg Gilmore, 2008, fiction, 8/10

The Lorax ~ by Dr. Seuss (Theodor Suess Geisel), 1971, children's picture book, 10/10

Luncheon of the Boating Party ~ by Susan Vreeland, 2007, fiction, 2/10 for now

Mademoiselle Victorine, by Debra Finerman, 2007, historical fiction, 8/10

The Madonnas of Leningrad ~ by Debra Dean, 2006, fiction, 10/10

Margaret Knight: Girl Inventor ~ by Marlene Targ Brill, 2001, children's, 9/10

The Measure of All Things: The Seven-Year Odyssey and Hidden Error That Transformed the World ~ by Ken Alder, 2002, history, 8/10

The Memory Keeper's Daughter ~ by Kim Edwards, 2005, fiction, 9/10

Merle's Door: Lessons from a Freethinking Dog ~ by Ted Kerasote, 2007, memoir, 9/10

Midwives ~ by Chris Bohjalian, 1998, fiction, 8/10

Mind's Eye ~ by Paul Fleischman, 1999, YA fiction, 10/10

Miss Rumphius ~ by Barbara Cooney, 1982, children's fiction, 10/10

The Mists of Avalon ~ by Marion Zimmer Bradley, 1982, fantasy, 10/10

More Than You Know ~ by Beth Gutcheon, 2000, fiction, 8/10

Mud City ~ by Deborah Ellis, 2003, YA fiction, 9/10

My Cat: The Silliest Cat in the World ~ by Gilles Bachelet, 2004, children's, 10/10

My Heart's in the Lowlands: Ten Days in Bonny Scotland ~ by Liz Curtis Higgs, 2007, travel, 10/10

The Mythmaker: Paul and the Invention of Christianity ~ by Hyam Maccoby, 1986, religion, 8/10

The Namesake ~ by Jhumpa Lahiri, 2003, fiction, 8/10

Napoleon's Pyramids ~ by William Dietrich, 2007, historical fiction, 8/10

Nasreen's Secret School: A True Story from Afghanistan ~ by Jeanette Winter, 2009, children's, 8/10

Netherland ~ by Joseph O'Neill, 2008, fiction, 8/10

The Night Bookmobile ~ by Audrey Niffenegger, 2010, graphic novel, 7/10

Nineteen Minutes ~ by Jodi Picoult, 2007, fiction, 9/10

A Northern Light ~ by Jennifer Donnelly, 2003, YA fiction, 9/10

The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency ~ by Alexander McCall Smith, 1998, fiction, 9/10

The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals ~ by Michael Pollan, 2006, nonfiction, 7/10

On My Honor ~ by Marion Dane Bauer, 1986, YA fiction, 10/10

On Tap ~ by J. Frances Alexander, 1989, fiction (Tennessee), 8/10

One ~ by Richard Bach, 1988, fiction, 9/10

One Thousand White Women: The Journals of May Dodd ~ by Jim Fergus, 1998, historical fiction, 9.5/10

Open House ~ by Elizabeth Berg, 2000, fiction, 7/10

Other Goose: Recycled Rhymes for Our Fragile Times ~ by Barbara Klunder, 2007, activist rhymes on the environment and culture, 8/10

Out of My Mind ~ by Sharon M. Draper, 2010, YA fiction, 9/10

The Paper Bag Princess ~ by Robert N. Munsch, 1980, children's, 9/10

Parvana's Journey ~ by Deborah Ellis, 2002, YA fiction, 9/10

Paula Bunyan ~ by Phyllis Root, 2009, children's, 7/10

The Penelopiad ~ by Margaret Atwood, 2005, fiction, 7/10

Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood ~ by Marjane Satrapi, 2003, graphic novel, 7/10

Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return ~ by Marjane Satrapi, 2004, graphic novel, 7/10

Physics of the Impossible: A Scientific Exploration Into the World of Phasers, Force Fields, Teleportation, and Time Travel ~ by Michio Kaku, 2008, physics, 9/10

Place Last Seen ~ by Charlotte McGuinn Freeman, 2000, fiction, 9/10

Point Last Seen: A Woman Tracker's Story ~ by Hannah Nyala, 1997, memoir, 8/10

The Postmistress ~ by Sarah Blake, 2010, fiction, 8/10

Property ~ by Valerie Martin, 2003, fiction, 10/10

Princess Smartypants ~ by Babette Cole, 1986, children's, 8/10

The Pull of the Moon ~ by Elizabeth Berg, 1996, fiction, 8/10

Quest for the Tree Kangaroo: An Expedition to the Cloud Forest of New Guinea ~ Sy Montgomery, 2006, children's (New Guinea), 8/10

Quotidian Mysteries: Laundry, Liturgy and Women's Work ~ by Kathleen Norris, 1998, nonfiction, 10/10

Raining Cats and Dogs ~ by Jane Yolen, 1993, children's, 7/10

Read All About It! by Laura Bush and Jenna Bush, 2008, picture book, 7/10

Reading Judas: The Gospel of Judas and the Shaping of Christianity, by Elaine Pagels and Karen L. King, religion, 2008, recommended even before reading it

The Red Thread: An Adoption Fairy Tale ~ by Grace Lin, 2007, children's, 9/10

Remarkable Creatures ~ Tracy Chevalier, 2010, fiction, 9/10

Remembering the Bones ~ by Frances Itani, 2007, fiction, 9/10

The Report Card ~ by Andrew Clements, 2004, children's, 9/10

The Rest of Us: Dispatches from the Mother Ship ~ by Jacquelyn Mitchard, 1997, essays, 9/10

The Road ~ by Cormac McCarthy, 2006, speculative fiction, 8/10

The Road Taken ~ by Rona Jaffe, 2000, fiction, 7/10

A Room of One's Own ~ by Virginia Woolf, 1929, women's studies, 9/10

Ruined by Reading: A Life in Books ~ by Lynne Sharon Schwartz, 1996, biography, 7/10

Scout, Atticus, and Boo: A Celebration of Fifty Years of To Kill a Mockingbird ~ by Mary McDonagh Murphy, 2010, nonfiction, 7/10

The Secret History of the Mongol Queens: How the Daughters of Genghis Khan Rescued His Empire ~ by Jack Weatherford, 2010, history (Mongolia), 8/10

The Secret Life of Bees ~ by Sue Monk Kidd, 2002, fiction, 10/10

The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives ~ by Lola Shoneyin, 2010, fiction, 8/10

The Secret Scroll ~ by Ronald Cutler, 2008, fiction, "nah"

The Secrets of Judas: The Story of the Misunderstood Disciple and His Lost Gospel ~ by James M. Robinson, religion, 2006, "nah"

A Separate Country ~ by Robert Hicks, 2009, historical fiction, 8/10

The Septembers of Shiraz ~ by Dalia Sofer, 2007, fiction (Iran), 8/10

Serena ~ by Ron Rash, 2008, fiction, 7/10

Shadows on the Rock ~ by Willa Cather, 1931, historical fiction, 7.5/10

Shanghai Girls ~ by Lisa See, 2009, fiction, 7/10

A Short History of Myth ~ by Karen Armstrong, 2005, religion, 9/10

The Smoke Jumper ~ by Nicholas Evans, 2001, fiction, "nah"

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan ~ by Lisa See, 2005, fiction, 9/10

The Social Construction of Reality ~ by Peter L. Berger and Thomas Luckmann, 1966, sociology, 10/10

Sophomore Switch ~ by Abby McDonald, 2009, YA fiction, 8/10

The Soul Genome ~ by Paul Von Ward, 2008, speculative science, 8/10

Speak ~ by Laurie Halse Anderson, 1999, YA fiction, 8/10

Staircase of a Thousand Steps ~ by Masha Hamilton, 2001, fiction (Jordan), 10/10

Stitchin' and Pullin': A Gee's Bend Quilt ~ by Patricia C. McKissack, 2008, children's, 7/10

A String in the Harp ~ by Nancy Bond, 1976, YA fiction, 8/10

Summer's End ~ by Audrey Couloumbis, 2005, YA fiction, 8/10

The Tea Rose ~ by Jennifer Donnelly, 2002, historical fiction, 8/10

Teacher Man ~ by Frank McCourt, 2005, memoir, 8/10

The Tenth Circle ~ by Jodi Picoult, 2006, fiction, 8/10

Thank You, Amelia Bedelia ~ by Peggy Parish, 1964, children's, 7/10

Thank You, Sarah: The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving ~ by Laurie Halse Anderson, 2002, children's, 10/10

This I Believe: The Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women ~ edited by Jay Allison and Dan Gediman, 2006, essays, 9/10

This I Believe II: More Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women ~ edited by Jay Allison and Dan Gediman, 2008, essays, 9/10

A Thousand Sisters ~ by Lisa Shannon, 2010, women's studies, "nah"

Three Women ~ by Marge Piercy, 1999, fiction, 7/10

The Time Traveler's Wife ~ by Audrey Niffenegger, 2003, fiction, 9/10

The Uncommon Reader ~ by Alan Bennett, 2007, fiction, 8/10

The View from Saturday ~ by E. L. Konigsburg, 1996, YA fiction, 9/10

The War Against Women ~ by Marilyn French, 1992, women's studies, 8/10

We Are Our Mothers' Daughters ~ by Cokie Roberts, 1998, memoir, 8/10

We Just Want to Live Here ~ by Amal Rifa'i and Odelia Ainbinder, 2003, nonfiction, 8/10

A Whack on the Side of the Head: How You Can Be More Creative ~ by Roger von Oech, 1983 (revised and updated 2008), nonfiction, 10/10

When Everything Changed: The Amazing Journey of American Women from 1960 to the Present ~ by Gail Collins, 2009, women's studies, 10/10

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon ~ by Grace Lin, 2009, children's, 9/10

Whirligig ~ by Paul Fleischman, 1998, YA fiction, 9/10

Why Women Should Rule the World ~ by Dee Dee Myers, 2008, women's studies, 9/10

The Widow of the South ~ by Robert Hicks, 2005, historical fiction, 9/10

The Witch of Cologne ~ by Tobsha Learner, 2003, fiction 8/10

Women's Rights ~ by Janet Stevenson, 1972, women's studies, 7/10

Worlds in Collision ~ by Immanuel Velikovsky, 1950, nonfiction, 9/10

A Wrinkle in Time ~ by Madeleine L'Engle, 1962, YA speculative fiction, 10/10

Authors reviewed

Ainbinder, Odelia ~ We Just Want to Live Here, 2003, nonfiction, 8/10

Alder, Ken ~ The Measure of All Things: The Seven-Year Odyssey and Hidden Error That Transformed the World, 2002, history, 8/10

Alexander, J. Frances ~ On Tap, 1989, fiction (Tennessee), 8/10

Ali, Nujood ~ I Am Nujood: Age 10 and Divorced, 2010, memoir, 8/10

Alison, Jay, and Dan Gediman, editors ~ This I Believe: The Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women, 2006, essays, 9/10

Alison, Jay, and Dan Gediman, editors ~ This I Believe II: More Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women, 2008, essays, 9/10

Allen, Sarah Addison ~ Garden Spells, 2007, magical realism, 9/10

Anderson, Laurie Halse ~ Chains, 2008, YA fiction, 9/10

Anderson, Laurie Halse ~ Fever 1793, 2000, YA fiction, 9/10

Anderson, Laurie Halse ~ The Hair of Zoe Fleefenbacher Goes to School, 2009, children's

Anderson, Laurie Halse ~ Independent Dames: What You Never Knew About the Women and Girls of the American Revolution, 2008, children's, 7/10

Anderson, Laurie Halse ~ Speak, 1999, YA fiction, 8/10

Anderson, Laurie Halse ~ Thank You, Sarah: The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving, 2002, children's, 10/10

Armstrong, Karen ~ The Great Transformation: The Beginning of Our Religious Traditions, 2006, religion, 10/10

Armstrong, Karen ~ A Short History of Myth, 2005, religion, 9/10

Atwood, Margaret ~ The Penelopiad, 2005, fiction, 7/10

Bach, Richard ~ One, 1988, fiction, 9/10

Bachelet, Gilles ~ My Cat: The Silliest Cat in the World, 2004, children's, 10/10

Bannerman, Helen ~ Little Black Sambo, 1899, children's, 10/10

Bauer, Marion Dane ~ On My Honor, 1986, YA fiction, 10/10

Bennett, Alan ~ The Uncommon Reader, 2007, fiction, 8/10

Berg, Elizabeth ~ Dream When You're Feeling Blue, 2007, fiction, 6/10

Berg, Elizabeth ~ Home Safe, 2009, fiction, 8/10

Berg, Elizabeth ~ Open House, 2000, fiction, 7/10

Berg, Elizabeth ~ The Pull of the Moon, 1996, fiction, 8/10

Berger, Peter L., and Thomas Luckmann ~ The Social Construction of Reality, 1966, sociology, 10/10

Blake, Sarah ~ The Postmistress, 2010, fiction, 8/10

Bohjalian, Chris ~ Midwives, 1998, fiction, 8/10

Bond, Nancy ~ A String in the Harp, 1976, YA fiction, 8/10

Borg, Marcus J. ~ The Heart of Christianity, 2003, religion, 10/10

Borg, Marcus J., and John Dominic Crossan ~ The First Paul: Reclaiming the Radical Visionary Behind the Church's Conservative Icon, 2009, religion, 9/10

Bradley, Marion Zimmer ~ The Mists of Avalon, 1982, fantasy, 10/10

Breen, Susan ~ The Fiction Class, 2008, fiction, 9/10

Brill, Marlene Targ ~ Margaret Knight: Girl Inventor, 2001, children's, 9/10

Brown, Peter ~ Children Make Terrible Pets, 2010, children's, 10/10

Bush, Laura, and Jenna Bush ~ Read All About It!, 2008, picture book, 7/10

Cather, Willa ~ Shadows on the Rock, 1931, historical fiction, 7.5/10

Chevalier, Tracy ~ Falling Angels, 2001, fiction, 7/10

Chevalier, Tracy ~ Remarkable Creatures, 2010, fiction, 9/10

Choi, Susan ~ The Foreign Student, 1998, fiction, 8/10

Clark, Joan ~ Latitudes of Melt, 2000 in Canada, 2002 in the US, fiction, 9/10

Clements, Andrew ~ The Report Card, 2004, children's, 9/10

Cole, Babette ~ Princess Smartypants, 1986, children's, 8/10

Collins, Gail ~ When Everything Changed: The Amazing Journey of American Women from 1960 to the Present, 2009, women's studies, 10/10

Cooke, Trish ~ Full, Full, Full of Love, 2003, children's, 10/10

Cooney, Barbara ~ Miss Rumphius ~ by Barbara Cooney, 1982, children's fiction, 10/10

Couloumbis, Audrey ~ Summer's End, 2005, YA fiction, 8/10

Crossan, John Dominic, and Marcus J. Borg ~ The First Paul: Reclaiming the Radical Visionary Behind the Church's Conservative Icon, 2009, religion, 9/10

Cunningham, Michael ~ The Hours, 1998, fiction, 7/10

Cutler, Ronald ~ The Secret Scroll, 2008, fiction, "nah"

Dean, Debra ~ The Madonnas of Leningrad, 2006, fiction, 10/10

de Robertis, Carolina ~ The Invisible Mountain, 2009, fiction, 8/10

Diaz, Junot ~ The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, 2007, fiction, "nah"

Dietrich, William ~ Napoleon's Pyramids, 2007, historical fiction, 8/10

Donnelly, Jennifer ~ A Northern Light, 2003, YA fiction, 9/10

Donnelly, Jennifer ~ The Tea Rose, 2002, historical fiction, 8/10

(Donnelley), Nina Hermann ~ Go Out in Joy!, 1977, memoir, 10/10

Draper, Sharon M. ~ Out of My Mind, 2010, YA fiction, 9/10

Dunning, John ~ Booked to Die, 1992, mystery, 9/10

Earley, Tony ~ Jim the Boy, 2000, fiction, 7/10

Eden, Dorothy ~ The American Heiress, 1980, fiction, 6/10

Edwards, Kim ~ The Memory Keeper's Daughter, 2005, fiction, 9/10

Ellis, Deborah ~ The Breadwinner, 2001, YA fiction (Afghanistan), 10/10

Ellis, Deborah ~ Mud City, 2003, YA fiction, 9/10

Ellis, Deborah ~ Parvana's Journey, 2002, YA fiction, 9/10

Erdrich, Louise ~ Four Souls, 2004, fiction, 7/10

Erickson, Carolly ~ The Hidden Diary of Marie Antoinette, 2006, historical fiction, 8/10

Evans, Nicholas ~ The Smoke Jumper, 2001, fiction, "nah"

Fergus, Jim ~ One Thousand White Women, 1998, historical fiction, 9.5/10

Finerman, Debra ~ Mademoiselle Victorine, 2007, historical fiction, 8/10

Fleischman, Paul ~ Mind's Eye, 1999, YA fiction, 10/10

Fleischman, Paul ~ Whirligig, 1998, YA fiction, 9/10

Freeman, Charlotte McGuinn ~ Place Last Seen 2000, fiction, 9/10

French, Marilyn ~ The War Against Women, 1992, women's studies, 8/10

Fuentes, Leonardo Padura ~ Adios Hemingway, 2005, mystery, 5/10

Gaiman, Neil ~ Anansi Boys, 2005, fantasy, 8/10

Gaiman, Neil ~ Blueberry Girl, 2009, children's, 10/10

Gaylord, Joshua ~ Hummingbirds, 2009, fiction, 6/10

Gediman, Dan, and Jay Alison, editors ~ This I Believe: The Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women, 2006, essays, 9/10

Gediman, Dan, and Jay Alison, editors ~ This I Believe II: More Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women, 2008, essays, 9/10

Geisel, Theodor Seuss Geisel (Dr. Seuss) ~ The Lorax, 1971, children's picture book, 10/10

Gilmore, Susan Gregg ~ Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen, 2008, fiction, 8/10

Godwin, Gail ~ Evensong, 1999, fiction, 10/10

Godwin, Gail ~  Father Melancholy's Daughter, 1991, fiction, 9/10

Gregory, Jill ~ The Book of Names 2007, fiction, 8/10

Gutcheon, Beth ~ More Than You Know, 2000, fiction, 8/10

Hamilton, Jane ~ Disobedience, 2000, fiction (Illinois), 7/10

Hamilton, Masha ~ The Camel Bookmobile, 2007

Hamilton, Masha ~ Staircase of a Thousand Steps, 2001, fiction (Jordan), 10/10

Harman, Patricia ~ The Blue Cotton Gown: A Midwife's Memoir, 2008, memoir, 7/10

Heiligman, Deborah ~ Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith, 2009, history, 9/10

Hermann (later, Donnelley), Nina ~ Go Out in Joy!, 1977, memoir, 10/10

Hicks, Robert ~ A Separate Country, 2009, historical fiction, 8/10

Hicks, Robert ~ The Widow of the South, 2005, historical fiction, 9/10

Higgs, Liz Curtis ~ My Heart's in the Lowlands, 2007, travel, 10/10

Hunt, Angela Elwell ~ If I Had Long, Long Hair, 1988, children's, 10/10

Itani, Frances ~ Remembering the Bones, 2007, fiction, 9/10

Jaffe, Rona ~ The Road Taken, 2000, fiction, 7/10

Kaku, Michio ~ Physics of the Impossible: A Scientific Exploration Into the World of Phasers, Force Fields, Teleportation, and Time Travel, 2008, physics, 9/10

Kerasote, Ted ~ Merle's Door: Lessons from a Freethinking Dog, 2007, memoir, 9/10

Kidd, Sue Monk ~ The Dance of the Dissident Daughter: A Woman's Journey from Christian Tradition to the Sacred Feminine, 1996, memoir, 9/10

Kidd, Sue Monk ~ The Secret Life of Bees, 2002, fiction, 10/10

King, Karen L. and Elaine Pagels ~ Reading Judas: The Gospel of Judas and the Shaping of Christianity, nonfiction, 2008, recommended even before reading it

Kingsolver, Barbara ~ The Lacuna, 2009, fiction, 8/10

Klunder, Barbara ~ Other Goose: Recycled Rhymes for Our Fragile Times, 2007, activist rhymes on the environment and culture, 8/10

Kolbert, Elizabeth ~ Field Notes from a Catastrophe: Man, Nature, and Climate Change, 2006, NF, 9/10

Konigsburg, E. L. ~ The View from Saturday, 1996, YA fiction, 9/10

Kristof, Nicholas D. and Sheryl WuDunn ~ Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, 2009, women's studies, 8/10

Lahiri, Jhumpa ~ The Namesake, 2003, fiction, 8/10

Learner, Tobsha ~ The Witch of Cologne, 2003, fiction 8/10

L'Engle, Madeleine ~ A Wrinkle in Time, 1962, YA speculative fiction, 10/10

Lin, Grace ~ Lissy's Friends, 2007, children's, 9/10

Lin, Grace ~ The Red Thread: An Adoption Fairy Tale, 2007, children's, 9/10

Lin, Grace ~ Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, 2009, children's, 9/10

Luckmann, Thomas, and Peter L. Berger ~ The Social Construction of Reality, 1966, sociology, 10/10

Maccoby, Hyam ~ The Mythmaker: Paul and the Invention of Christianity, 1986, religion, 8/10

MacDonald, Gregory ~ The Evangelical Universalist, 2006 and 2008, religion, "nah"

Martin, Valerie ~ Property, 2003, fiction, 10/10

McBride, Susan ~ The Cougar Club, 2010, chick lit, "nah"

McCarthy, Cormac ~ The Road, 2006, speculative fiction, 8/10

McCourt, Frank ~ Teacher Man, 2005, memoir, 8/10

McDonald, Abby ~ Sophomore Switch, 2009, YA fiction, 8/10

McKinnon, K. C. ~ Dancing at the Harvest Moon, 1997, fiction, 7/10

McKissack, Patricia C. ~ Stitchin' and Pullin': A Gee's Bend Quilt, 2008, children's, 7/10

Miller, Walter M., Jr. ~ A Canticle for Leibowitz, 1959, speculative fiction, 9/10

Mistry, Rohinton ~ Family Matters, 2002, fiction, 8/10

Mitchard, Jacquelyn ~ The Rest of Us: Dispatches from the Mother Ship, 1997, essays, 9/10

Mitchell, Susan K. ~ Kersplatypus, 2008, picture book, 9/10

Montgomery, Sy ~ Quest for the Tree Kangaroo: An Expedition to the Cloud Forest of New Guinea, 2006, children's (New Guinea), 8/10

Munsch, Robert N. ~ The Paper Bag Princess, 1980, children's, 9/10

Murphy, K. Thomas ~ End of Grace, 2009, fiction, 8/10

Murphy, Mary McDonagh ~ Scout, Atticus, and Boo: A Celebration of Fifty Years of To Kill a Mockingbird, 2010, nonfiction, 7/10

Myers, Dee Dee ~ Why Women Should Rule the World, 2008, women's studies, 9/10

Niffenegger, Audrey ~ The Night Bookmobile, 2010, graphic novel, 7/10

Niffenegger, Audrey ~ The Time Traveler's Wife, 2003, fiction, 9/10

Norris, Kathleen ~ Quotidian Mysteries, 1998, nonfiction, 10/10

Nyala, Hannah ~ Point Last Seen, 1997, memoir, 8/10

Omar, Manal M. ~ Barefoot in Baghdad, 2010, memoir, 8/10

O'Neill, Joseph ~ Netherland, 2008, fiction, 8/10

Orwell, George ~ Animal Farm, 1945, fiction, 9/10

Pagels, Elaine ~ The Gnostic Gospels, 1979, religion, 10/10

Pagels, Elaine and Karen L. King ~ Reading Judas: The Gospel of Judas and the Shaping of Christianity, religion, 2008, recommended even before reading it

Parish, Peggy ~ Thank You, Amelia Bedelia, 1964, children's, 7/10

Park, Barbara ~ Junie B. Jones and Some Sneaky Peeky Spying, 1994, children's, 7/10

Paterson, Katherine ~ Bridge to Terabithia, 1977, children's fiction, 9/10

Patron, Susan ~ The Higher Power of Lucky, 2007, YA fiction, 9/10

Paulsen, Gary ~ Dogsong, 1985, YA fiction, 9/10

Peck, Richard ~ Amanda/Miranda, 1980 and 1999, fiction, 9/10

Pelletier, Cathie ~ Dancing at the Harvest Moon, 1997, fiction, 7/10

Perdue, Lewis ~ Daughter of God, 2000, fiction, "nah"

Petroski, Henry ~ The Book on the Bookshelf, 1999, history, 8/10

Pfeffer, Susan Beth ~ Life as We Knew It, 2006, YA fiction, 9/10

Picoult, Jodi ~ Nineteen Minutes, 2007, fiction, 9/10

Picoult, Jodi ~ The Tenth Circle, 2006, fiction, 8/10

Piercy, Marge ~ Three Women, 1999, fiction, 7/10

Pollan, Michael ~ The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals ~ 2006, nonfiction, 7/10

Powell, Julie ~ Julie and Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously, 2005, memoir, "nah"

Pullman, Philip ~ The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ, 2010, fiction, "nah"

Quindlen, Anna ~ Every Last One, 2010, fiction, 8/10

Radish, Kris ~ Annie Freeman's Fabulous Traveling Funeral, 2006, fiction, 9/10

Rash, Ron ~ Serena, 2008, fiction, 7/10

Richardson, Justin ~ And Tango Makes Three, 2005, children's book, 8/10

Rifa'i, Amal ~ We Just Want to Live Here, 2003, nonfiction, 8/10

Roberts, Cokie ~ We Are Our Mothers' Daughters, 1998, memoir, 8/10

Robinson, James M. ~ The Secrets of Judas: The Story of the Misunderstood Disciple and His Lost Gospel, religion, 2006, "nah"

Robinson, John A. T. ~ Honest to God, 1963, religion, 10/10

Root, Phyllis ~ Paula Bunyan, 2009, children's, 7/10

Satrapi, Marjane ~ Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood, 2003, graphic novel, 7/10

Satrapi, Marjane ~ Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return, 2004, graphic novel, 7/10

Schwartz, Lynne Sharon ~ Ruined by Reading: A Life in Books, 1996, biography, 7/10

Scottoline, Lisa ~ Look Again, 2009, fiction, 9/10

See, Lisa ~ Shanghai Girls, 2009, fiction, 7/10

See, Lisa ~ Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, 2005, fiction, 9/10

Seuss (Theodor Seuss Geisel) ~ The Lorax, 1971, children's picture book, 10/10

Shannon, Lisa ~  A Thousand Sisters, 2010, women's studies, "nah"

Shoneyin, Lola ~ The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives, 2010, fiction, 8/10

Shors, John ~ Beneath a Marble Sky, 2004, historical fiction, 8/10

Sitchin, Zecharia ~ Genesis Revisited, 1990, nonfiction, 9/10

Smith, Alexander McCall ~ The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, 1998, fiction, 9/10

Smith, Huston ~ Islam: A Concise Introduction, 2001, religion, 9/10

Sofer, Dalia ~ The Septembers of Shiraz, 2007, fiction (Iran), 8/10

Stein, Garth ~ The Art of Racing in the Rain, 2008, fiction, 10/10

Stevenson, Janet ~ Women's Rights, 1972, women's studies, 7/10

Stone, Tanya Lee ~ Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream, 2008, YA history, 8/10

Strieber, Whitley ~ The Day After Tomorrow, 2004, fiction, 8/10

Taylor, Barbara Brown ~ An Altar in the World: A Geography of Faith, 2009, spiritual life, 8/10

Taylor, Barbara Brown ~ Leaving Church, 2006, memoir, 9/10

Templeton, John ~ Agape Love: A Tradition Found in Eight World Religions, 1999, religion, 10/10

Tepper, Sheri S. ~ The Gate to Women's Country, 1988, fiction, 8/10

Thoene, Bodie and Brock ~ The Jerusalem Scrolls, 2001, fiction, 6/10

Tintori, Karen ~ The Book of Names 2007, fiction, 8/10

Tóibín, Colm ~ The Blackwater Lightship, 1999, fiction, 8/10

Truss, Lynne ~ Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation, 2004, a humorous look at punctuation, 9/10

Tsukiyama, Gail ~ The Language of Threads, 1999, historical fiction, 8/10

Twain, Mark ~ Eve's Diary: Translated from the original MS., 1906, fiction, 8/10

Twain, Mark ~ Extracts from Adam's Diary: Translated from the original MS., 1904, fiction, 8/10

Velikovsky, Immanuel ~ Worlds in Collision, 1950, nonfiction, 9/10

von Oech, Roger ~ A Whack on the Side of the Head: How You Can Be More Creative, 1983 (revised and updated 2008), nonfiction, 10/10

Von Ward, Paul ~ The Soul Genome, 2008, speculative science, 8/10

Vreeland, Susan ~ Luncheon of the Boating Party, 2007, fiction, 2/10 for now

Ward, Amanda Eyre ~ Forgive Me, 2007, fiction, 8/10

Warnes, Tim, and Judy West ~ Have You Got My Purr?, 1999, children's, 8/10

Weatherford, Jack ~ The Secret History of the Mongol Queens: How the Daughters of Genghis Khan Rescued His Empire, 2010, history (Mongolia), 8/10

West, Judy, and Tim Warnes ~ Have You Got My Purr?, 1999, children's, 8/10

Winchester, Simon ~ Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded: August 27, 1883, 2003, history, 10/10

Winter, Jeanette ~ Nasreen's Secret School: A True Story from Afghanistan, 2009, children's, 8/10

Woolf, Virginia ~ A Room of One's Own, 1929, women's studies, 9/10

WuDunn, Sheryl and Nicholas D. Kristof ~ Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, 2009, women's studies, 8/10

Yolen, Jane ~ Raining Cats and Dogs, 1993, children's, 7/10

Zielin, Lara ~ Donut Days, 2009, YA fiction, 8/10