Read: David Owen - Green Metropolis, Why Living Smaller, Living Closer, and Driving Less Are the Keys to Sustainability

I picked this book up while visiting the Museum of the City of New York. It was an apt selection from the gift shop, since the book argues that living like Manhattanites (small apartments, transit rather than cars) is the sustainable solution that's been ignored by environmental groups for too long. He's quite inspiring in his claim that anything that makes dense city living more enjoyable and attractive is a boon to the environment. He's a bit one-note on his dismissal of fuel efficiency and road improvement schemes as just enablers for more driving, but makes a good point that the only real deterrents to driving are high price and inconvenience.

Read: Bill Bryson - At Home, A Short History of Private Life

I bought this book in the airport before our flight home from Europe to Toronto. Perfect choice! Filled with lots of fascinating facts, that roll smoothly from one unexpected segue to another. I had read another good book about the history of the home by Witold Rybczynski (Home, A Short History of An Idea) and was worried it would repeat all the same information, but Bryson's book is much more free-ranging, more of an exploration of the history of our modern lifestyles that happens to be worked in around the organizational structure of examining the home. Time flew by as I read the book - it felt like the shortest flight of all our recent travels.

Read: Hilary Mantel - Wolf Hall

Hmm. This historical fiction had a bit of an odd plot device. It tells the interesting story of Henry VIII and his divorce of his first wife in order to marry Anne Boleyn, and did a great job of making me appreciate what a difficult and momentous event that was. But it told it from the viewpoint of a commoner, Thomas Cromwell, who ultimately became the king's trusted advisor. Which would be all well and good if the author didn't keep hinting at Thomas' past adventures in other countries which led to giving him the skills to rise far above his station - all of which seemed to be the more unique and intriguing story. A rather frustrating flaw, which in my opinion should have ruled it out from winning the Man Booker Prize, although it's a decent novel otherwise.

Read: Jo Graham - Black Ships

Interesting! A re-telling of The Aeneid, about the founding of Rome, but with larger-than-life mythological characters transformed into fairly ordinary, everyday people. There's still a hint of magic realism, but it's largely a plausible story about a desperate group of people trying to escape war and find a new home. I think I would enjoy this story even more if the tragic elements were played - misfortunes are a little underwhelming and skimmed over. One of the best parts is the author's enthusiastic notes at the end about the various literary and historical sources she drew from - have to love the geeking out on ancient Greek history.

Read: Yvone Lenard - The Magic of Provence

I didn't actually finish reading this one. Not nearly as funny or informative as Peter Mayle. Although you can tell she's trying. I would like to see the old village house they restored/built - it sounds beautiful. I wish this had just been a lush photographic book about the house and village, with fewer words.

Read: Lisa Unger - Beautiful Lies

A mystery novel of sorts - the narrator discovers that she's not who she thinks she is - she was abducted as a baby and raised by another family. I'm not really sure how I ended up reading this book - I think it was just a result of skimming the available e-book options with the library. Not bad, although the writing style is a bit pedestrian - I could do with far fewer knowing and cryptic comments from the narrator, who is writing about past events and revealing clues about the future outcome. The plot has enough turns of its own that you don't really need to have the intrigue of it hammered home continually. But I'm still glad I came across it.

Read: Lindsey Davis - The Accusers

Hmm, I hate to say it, but Lindsey Davis' mysteries are becoming somewhat formulaic. Not the plots, which still manage to twist about with a surprise at the end. But the general writing style (the omniscient narrator reveals the real significance of events far too often) and the dialogue (there's not much in the way of snappy banter between Marcus and his wife Helena anymore). The first novels in the series were interesting less because of the detective work and more because of the ancient Roman setting and personal relationships in Marcus' life. I think at this point he's going to have to keep traveling out of Rome to new destinations to keep it interesting.