Read: - Alan Bradley - The weed that string the hangman's bag

I read Alan Bradley's first mystery novel in this series during a business trip, and it was fantastic. I particularly enjoyed the young protagonist's love of chemistry - this is a book I should be reading to Mark.

I didn't find the second quite as charming - sometimes the inclusion of the chemistry slant seemed a bit forced. But Flavia's internal dialogue is still as funny as ever, particularly the rules she makes up for herself in how best to cope with her misadventures.

Re-read - Jacqueline Carey's Terre d'Ange series

In a burst of incipient summer fantasy escapism, and in preparation for the release of Jacqueline Carey's new book 'Naamah's Curse', I re-read all of her novels set in the imaginary land of Terre d'Ange. That's 7 books - the original trilogy featuring Phedre, the spin-off trilogy featuring Imriel, and the new trilogy featuring Moirin. Now I'm just awaiting the release date on the new book - it had better come out soon before I lose my momentum!

Want to Read: Lawrence Scanlan - A year of living generously: dispatches from the front lines of philanthropy

Scanlan spends a year volunteering with 12 different agencies, one month each. Seems like the perfect book to read before I'll have a year myself to volunteer.