"When you open a book," the sentimental library posters said, "anything can happen." This was so. A book of fiction was a bomb. It was a land mine you wanted to go off. You wanted it to blow your whole day. Unfortunately, hundreds of thousands of books were duds. They had been rusting out of everyone's way for so long that they no longer worked. There was no way to distinguish the duds from the live mines except to throw yourself at them headlong, one by one. --Annie Dillard, An American Childhood

I would like to live to be a hunded because loving and being loved are so good and there are so many books; but were I to learn now that I had only a week left, I would finish today's spell of writing, have the cup of coffee that I crave and go on with the one book I'm reading. --John Tittensor, Year One: A Record

2011

DECEMBER 2011
Entwined, Heather Dixon
The Fabric of the Cosmos, Brian Greene
Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me (And Other Concerns), Mindy Kaling

NOVEMBER 2011
A Knot in the Grain, Robin McKinley
A City in Winter, Mark Helprin
Green Witch, Alice Hoffman
Kat, Incorrigible, Stephanie Burgis
The Song and the Truth, Helga Ruebsamen

OCTOBER 2011
Fierce Medicine, Ana T. Forrest

SEPTEMBER 2011
Before I Fall, Lauren Oliver
The Story of Beautiful Girl, Rachel Simon
Aurelia, Anne Osterlund
Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury
The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Swan Kingdom, Zoe Marriott
The Hotel Under the Sand, Kage Baker

AUGUST 2011
Forbidden Sea, Sheila A. Neilson
When the King Comes Home, Caroline Stevermer
Brightly Woven, Alexandra Bracken
The Healing Power of Stories, Daniel Taylor, Ph.D.
The Witches, Roald Dahl
The Mislaid Magician, Patricia C. Wrede & Caroline Stevermer
St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised By Wolves, Karen Russell
The Iron King, Julie Kagawa

JULY 2011
A Star Shall Fall, Marie Brennan
The Dance Boots, Linda Legarde Grover
The Places That Scare You, Pema Chodron
Swamplandia!, Karen Russell
The Education of Hailey Kendrick, Eileen Cook
Picture the Dead, Adele Griffin & Lisa Brown

JUNE 2011
The Girl With Glass Feet, Ali Shaw
Heart's Blood, Juliet Marillier
New and Selected Poems, Mary Oliver
The Hidden Reality, Brian Greene
Dangerous to Know, Tasha Alexander
Undecorate, Christiane Lemieux
The Enchanted Castle, E. Nesbit
The Oracle of Stamboul, Michael David Lukas

MAY 2011
The Forgotten Garden, Kate Morton
The False Princess, Eilis O'Neal
The Hero and the Crown, Robin McKinley
Hush, Donna Jo Napoli
Natural Prozac, Dr. Joel Roberston with Tome Monte
The Secret Power of Yoga, Nischala Joy Devi
Animal Dreams, Barbara Kingsolver

APRIL 2011
India's Vegetarian Cooking, Monisha Bharadwaj
The Show It Love Workout, Kacy Duke
You Won't Believe it's Vegan! , Lacey Sher & Gail Doherty
The Paleo Diet, Loren Cordain, Ph.D.
The Widow and the King, John Dickinson
Starcrossed, Elizabeth Bunce
A Great and Terrible Beauty, Libba Bray
Extraordinary, Nancy Werlin

MARCH 2011
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, J.K. Rowling
A Song for Summer, Eva Ibbotson
Austenland, Shannon Hale
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, J.K. Rowling
Girl in a Cage, Jane Yolen
You Can't Get There From Here, Ogden Nash
Costume in Detail 1730 - 1930, Nancy Bradfield

FEBRUARY 2011
Children's Literature: A Reader's History, Seth Lerer
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, J.K. Rowling
The Lioness and Her Knight, Gerald Morris
Petronella Saves Nearly Everyone, Dene Low
The Truth-Teller's Tale, Sharon Shinn
The Secret of Platform 13 , Eva Ibbotson
Journey to the River Sea, Eva Ibbotson
Princess of Glass, Jessica Day George
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J.K. Rowling

JANUARY 2011
The Bride's Farewell, Meg Rosoff
Dreamhunter, Elizabeth Knox
Dreamquake, Elizabeth Knox
Forest Born, Shannon Hale
Gypsy Crown, Kate Forsyth
Enna Burning, Shannon Hale
Billie's Kiss, Elizabeth Knox
Impossible, Nancy Werlin
River Secrets, Shannon Hale
Ruby, Francesca Lia Block & Carmen Stanton
Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow, Jessica Day George
The Star of Kazan, Eva Ibbotson


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