Tracy

The Invention of Hugo Cabret
by Brian Selznick
I read this aloud to my son at bedtime and long after he'd drifted off, I found myself lost in this remarkable wonderful tale.
Listen to the first sentence on the flyleaf:
"Orphan, clock keeper and thief, Hugo lives in the walls of a busy Paris train station, where his survival depends on secrets and anonymity."
What more could anyone want from a good story?

The Boy Who Loved Words
by Roni Schotter and Giselle Potter
Selig loved to collect words. Everywhere he went, he collected words and stuffed them into his pockets—lozenge, sprinkle, oddball, crisp, abundant... Needless to say, he didn't quite fit in with the other children and at recess prefered to collect words while other children played. In this delightful children's book you will discover the magic of words and sounds and new meanings. This was my favorite children's book published in the last year and it has become a favorite of my childs as well.

The $64 Tomato
by William Alexander
Funny, sweet and succulent. I loved this book and I don't even have a vegetable garden. If you want to feel like you're gardening without getting your hands dirty, read this book. If you are one of those crazy gardeners or homeowners who don't know when to stop, read this book. You will be able to laugh at yourself before you plunge into your next project.

About Alice
by Calvin Trillin
I loved this book! Yes, it's short and yes, it's hardcover, but it's beautiful and you'll want to read it again and again and then share it with all your friends. It's about true love and marriage where two people truly appreciated everything about one another. Trillin begins this small treasure by talking about the condolence cards he received after Alice died, most of which came from people who didn't know Alice personally, but knew of her from Calvin's books. One young woman sent her condolences and said that she looked across the table one evening at her boyfriend and wondered if he would ever love her as much as Calvin loved Alice.

Flotsam
by David Wiesner
An amazing and beautiful picture book for anyone who wants to go on a great adventure. This wordless book tells the story of a boy who finds an underwater camera washed up on shore. When he develops the film, he ends up on a fantastic and amazing underwater journey.

Aloft
by Chang Rae Lee
This is my favorite book published last year! A family story so amazingly well crafted that I reread passages again and again. I am still wondering how Lee was able to put some of his concepts into words.

The Time Traveler's Wife
by Audrey Niffenegger
This is a passionate and beautifully written romance. Niffenegger is a true artist and a writer whose next book I will eagerly anticipate. She is able to make Henry's passage through time as beautiful and imaginative as Alice Sebold does in The Lovely Bones.
Also see Jane's recommendation.

Rescuing Patty Hearst
by Virginia Holman
I couldn't pull myself away from this memoir. Holman vividly and beautifully recounts her mother's decline into schizophrenia in the mid 1970s. Holman identifies with Hearst when she and her sisters are "kidnapped" by their mother for four years, to prepare for the refugee children of WWII. Holman clearly and eloquently tackles her demons in this childhood memoir and takes her reader along for the extraordinary ride.

The Family on Beartown Road
by Elizabeth Cohen
A new mother in a new house in the country, Elizabeth finds herself overwhelmed when her father comes to live with her, as he is diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Add to this mix her husband leaving, and a long snowy winter. Beauty and total despair endmark this magnificent memoir.

Songs of the Gorilla Nation
by Dawn Prince-Hughes, Ph.D
I usually find the use of Ph.D at the end of one's name arrogant and off-putting, but in this book it says everything. A local author tells of her experience coping with Asperger's and finding a way into the world by observing the lives of the gorillas at the Woodland Park Zoo. Now a Ph.D, Dawn Hughes shares her story.

The Baby Owner's Manual
by Louise Borgenicht
Even if you don't have a model of your own this book is great for design and accessibility alone. Open, peruse, and read.

Bitter with Baggage Seeks Same
by Sloane Tanen
Open - Read. Laugh.