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I've read some terrific books lately....

LUCKY FOR GOOD, by Susan Patron. Middle-grade, library. The last of the trilogy about Lucky growing up in the tiny California desert town of Hard Pan, and to my mind the best. As much as I loved THE HIGHER POWER OF LUCKY, which won the Newbery Medal in 2007, I loved this one even more. Favorite moment (MINOR SPOILER ALERT): the miniature staircase made out of tiny bones extracted from owl pellets, an absolutely delightful image that encompasses Lucky, Miles, children needing their moms, Lucky's love of science, development of Justine's character, imagination, creativity, the desert . . . and how going round and round isn't necessarily staying in one place. One of those rare and perfect moments in literature.


YOUNG FREDLE, by Cynthia Voigt. Middle-grade, library. Animal fantasy, sort of like a cozy Watership Down for the chapter-book set, with mice instead of rabbits. (I do not make the comparison lightly.) Young Fredle, a house mouse, has to face the dreaded outdoors. Started slowly for me--I put it down not once, but twice; after about a quarter of the way through, things started to click and hum, and then I couldn't put it down. I loved Voigt's Tillerman cycle, for slightly older readers (one of which won the Newbery Medal) and am awed that she writes every bit as well for this age group.


THE SOUND OF A WILD SNAIL EATING, by Elizabeth Tova Bailey. Adult memoir, library ebook. Discovered while browsing my local library system's modest collection of ebooks. A small and shining gem of a book. Terrible illness befalls the author; she spends a whole year in bed watching a snail in a terrarium. Proof that a good writer can make even the slimy inching of a snail compelling.


CHIME, by Franny Billingsley. YA fantasy, library. Otherworldly romance and intrigue from a wonderful writer. Read this one by firelight, on a dark cold rainy night... a book to sink into.


More recent reads:

BLOOD, BONES AND BUTTER, by Gabrielle Hamilton. Chef memoir, library. Well-written and very enjoyable, although I would have liked a little more about food to supplement the copious restaurant info.


I've also been on a serious Peter May kick:

The China Thrillers, six books, adult mystery series, library. Chinese detective and American forensic scientist work cases and each other.

The Enzo Files, five books, adult mystery series, library. Forensic scientist Enzo Macleod lives and works in France, solving cold cases.

The Blackhouse, standalone title (sort of--main character Enzo Macleod again, but not one of the Enzo Files stories), library. In all of these books: a nice balance of action and pondering, vivid settings, interesting characters, and best of all, the fascinating examination of some esoteric field (winemaking, illegal immigration, a traditional gannet hunt in the Outer Hebrides!!). I found myself a little annoyed somewhere along the line, at how EVERY book ends with a scene of life-threatening danger absolutely crammed into the last two or three pages, with barely more than a couple of graphs for a denouement; I put it down to the author's many years as a writer for television. Otherwise highly recommended, especially THE BLACKHOUSE.