Read: George R.R. Martin - A Dance with Dragons

I've read the previous four books in this series, although it had been a few years, so I've forgotten much of what led up to it. In fact, I'm not sure I remember much except the first book. It's a good series, very readable, but as the books go on so many characters and plotlines have spun off that it's hard to keep track of it all. Ideally I would have re-read the previous four books before taking this one on (and they are good enough to be re-readable) but I lucked out grabbing a 7-day loan at the library, so I seized the moment.

Read: Brian Kilcommons & Sarah Wilson - Metrodog, A Guide to Raising Your Dog in the City

A good all-around reference to raising and training a dog, with additional information on what's especially critical in the city.

Read: Aron Ralston - Between a Rock and a Hard Place

I kind of wish I'd read this before I saw the movie. It's hard not to want to race ahead through Aron's remembrances of past outdoor adventures to get to the climax - the remarkable amputation of his own arm. I'll admit, I skimmed a lot, and I don't think I would have if I had read the book first. The movie really was remarkably well done - who would have thought it could hold your interest so intently, rooting for Aron to free his trapped arm, when the conclusion was inevitable and already known? I actually found Aron's description of how he amputated his arm to be more fascinating in the book than in the movie - it was easier to move past the squeamish factor and really understand the complexity of what he had to work through.

Read: Sarah Susanka - More Not So Big Solutions for Your Home

A good primer of Sarah Susanka's principles for making the most of small houses. It was written as a series of magazine articles originally, so it has a very readable format of small chunks of information, and enough repetition for the principles to sink in. There are definitely aspects of Christopher Alexander's design principles at work here, but they are more concretely defined, and practically instituted than in his "A Pattern Language".

Read: Sarah Susanka and Mark Vassallo - Not So Big Remodeling

In preparation for the move to our new (not so big) home, I'm reading books and day-dreaming about future home renovations. This is a great book - real-life renovations, from small to large scale, with practical information about saving money and making more out of small spaces.

Read: Cesar Millan - Cesar's Way

Another good book by Cesar Millan. I find it helpful reading more than one book, even though his principles of dog raising are the same - repetition is helping his lessons sink in. At least I hope so!