The Solitaire Mystery: A Novel About Family and Destiny by Jostein Gaarder. This book is by the same author as Sophie's World, one of my favorite books on philosophy. I was excited to read more of this author, and he did not disappoint. Interestingly enough, the plot is extremely similar to Sophie's World, but the two books were very different in nature and stand apart nicely.
Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder. You might not know that one of my two middle names is Wilder. (That's right, Wilder is my middle name! Har har!) It's my mother's maiden name. When I read the Little House books as a kid, I assumed that Laura Ingalls Wilder was my relative. (I assumed the same thing about Willy Wonka, since he was played by Gene Wilder. It took me a while to get used to the fact that Wilder is a more common name than Anevski.) I think this book had a big impact on why I wanted to move to a little house in the woods in Boring, so I decided to read it again. It really stands the test of time, and made a lovely read on my recent snow day. I can't wait to pick up more of the series.
Dogsbody by Diana Wynne Jones. I got into Diana Wynne Jones' work through Miyazaki's take on Howl's Moving Castle and have been hooked ever since. She is an amazingly prolific writer, and I adore everything she's done. This book was an amazing read and a great book for a dog lover.
The Cricket in Times Square by George Selden. Powell's has an entire section of its downtown store dedicated to Newberry Award and Honor books. I found this one in that section and really enjoyed it. How can you not love a book about a cricket named Chester?
Cloven Hooves by Megan Lindholm. I first stumbled across Megan Lindholm in a collection of fantasy and science fiction short stories. She also writes under the pseudonym Robin Hobb, which she uses for wonderful, winding, very looooong fantasy series novels. Interestingly enough, though she is still publishing as Robin Hobb, all the novels by Megan Lindholm are out of print. I finally got my hands on one, though, and I couldn't put it down. It's interesting to me that the two styles of her two names are so different, but I really enjoy both of them. I'm on the hunt for more Megan Lindholm books, now, but I luckily have a 1,000-page Robin Hobb novel to tide me over.
