1. Fortune and Fate by Sharon Shinn. Last book in her Mystic & Rider fantasy series, but it almost feels like a stand-alone, telling Wen’s story after the kingdom’s civil war is over.
2. Echoes of Distant Thunder: Life in the United States, 1914-1918 by Edward Robb Ellis. One of my favorite kinds of history books—it tells a great story with a cast of fascinating characters.
3. A Million Miles in a Thousand Years: What I Learned While Editing My Life by Donald Miller. I picked up this book because it was being mentioned in so many of the blogs I read. I started reading it and yawned. What was the big deal? But … I’m so glad to have read it. Roughly, sort-of, kind of memoirish, the author is working on turning an earlier memoir into a movie and in the process of finding a good “Story” for the movie’s character, decides to try to live a better Story for himself. All the while, there are great tips about what MAKES a good story, but also about how to convert that into a good life. Fascinating.
4. I am a Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I Want to be Your Class President by Josh Lieb. A book for the kids, but a hoot and a half. Our 12-year old protagonist has a reputation for being fat and stupid, but in fact is an evil mastermind with a business empire that not even his parents know about. Then one day he realizes that he needs to run for class president and brings all his resources to bear … hilarious, fun, and a whole lot more creative than any book I’ve read written for adults lately.
5. The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa. Calm and elegiac, this is a beautiful little story. Told by the housekeeper hired to look after a math professor who, years earlier, had been in a car accident and received a brain injury that doesn’t let him remember more than 80 minutes at a time, forcing the housekeeper and her son to reintroduce themselves like strangers every morning. Sweet, gentle little story.
6. Wishing for Tomorrow: The Sequel to A Little Princess by Hilary McKay. Exactly what it says—a sequel to A Little Princess. What DID happen at Miss Michin’s Select Seminary for Girls after Sara Crewe left?
7. Charmed Life by Diana Wynne Jones. This was our “trip book,” this year—the book Mom and I read to each other on our vacation. A MG fantasy book about how young Cat and his sister Gwendolen end up living at Chrestomanci Castle. It’s been a favorite book of mine since my best friend gave me a copy on my 12th or 13th birthday.
8. The Pinhoe Egg (Chrestomanci Books) by Diana Wynne Jones. Naturally, I had to follow it up with the next book that tells more about Cat’s life after he’s, um, settled into to life as a 9-lived enchanter.
9. Conrad’s Fate (A Chrestomanci Book) by Diana Wynne Jones. And I still wasn’t quite ready to leave the Chrestomanci world, so I reread this one, too, about how Conrad goes to work as a servant, but really has a secret mission to counteract his dreadful karma, and who makes friends with a young man named Christopher.
10. Great House: A Novel by Nicole Krauss. A beautifully written book by an incredibly talented author. (Her The History of Love: A Novel is one of my favorites.) This book tells about a multi-drawered desk and how it affected the lives of several generations, all told in vignettes from four characters whose stories all intertwine. I didn’t love this like her “History of Love,” but am still blown away by how good her writing is. Thrilled that this came out just in time for my vacation so I could spend the day reading it.
11. London Holiday by Richard Peck. This is a sweet book by an author who usually only writes for kids. Here, three old friends decide to take a London vacation and find themselves looking at their lives from a new perspective. It’s charming.
12. The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything by Ken Robinson. Do you love what you do? Do you ever wish you could find what you truly love or are truly gifted at, and then devote your life to it? Here’s a book full of anecdotes and stories from and about people who have done exactly that—and have changed the world because of it. I picked this up in the first place after hearing the author’s talk at the TED conference (thank you YouTube) and love it.
13. 97 Orchard: An Edible History of Five Immigrant Families in One New York Tenement by Jane Ziegelman. What a fascinating book. The author decided to explore the culinary history of her building on 97 Orchard Street, and thus details not only the different waves of immigrants over the 150+ years since the building was constructed, but what they ate and how they lived—with recipes included. Really amazing and interesting … and it made me hungry!
14. Overthrowing Heaven (Jon & Lobo) by Mark L. Van Name. Sci-fi about Jon Moore trying to save the world, or something like that. Perfectly okay book, kept my attention, I wanted to see how the story ended, but ultimately kind of forgettable. It was a decent way to spend a few hours, though.
15. Scout’s Progress by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller
16. Mouse and Dragon (The Liaden Universe) by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller
17. Fresh Fashion Knits: More than 20 Must-Have Designs from Rowan’s Studio Collection Edited by Kate Buller
18. Wild Color, Revised and Updated Edition: The Complete Guide to Making and Using Natural Dyes by Jenny Dean
19. Warm Knits, Cool Gifts: Celebrate the Love of Knitting and Family with more than 35 Charming Designs by Sally Melville & Caddy Melville Ledbetter
20. Wrapped in Lace: Knitted Heirloom Designs from Around the World by Margaret Stove
21. Knitting Block by Block: 150 Blocks for Sweaters, Scarves, Bags, Toys, Afghans, and More by Nicky Epstein
22. The First Five Pages: A Writer’s Guide to Staying Out of the Rejection Pile by Noah Lukeman. Writing book on what you need to do to get your first five pages READ.
23. Sunshine by Robin McKinley. The one and only vampire book I’ll read, basically, and really only because it’s Robin McKinley
24. Madam, Will You Talk? by Mary Stewart. A kinder, gentler mystery from a kinder, gentler time, but still a treat. Beautiful descriptions, and it always makes me hungry.

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