Sex, Death and Oysters: A Half-Shell Lover's World Tour, by Robb Walsh

Now,  while the Geography of Oysters by Rowan Jacobson was rather dry, this was a juicy, salty, slurpy mess of a book, and all the better for it. This book had the passion and the hyperbole a book dedicated to bivalve eating really needs. I want to go to every place he wrote about- well, except maybe Texas- and eat oysters there. Especially France, Ireland, and Malpecque. Really well written, with a kind of breezy comfortable air, but a lot of solid research made this feel like a substantial book. 3 in a row (American Terroit, Geography of Oysters, and Sex, Death and Oysters), and I think I will take a break from reading books about oysters and concentratte on eating them, but this was a really good read.

A Geography of Oysters: The Connoisseur's Guide to Oyster Eating in North America, by Rowan Jacobson

Rather dry but interesting look at oysters and regional differences. This book lacked the almost delirious celebration of terroir- or rather, merroir- that American Terroir  had, but was a quick introduction into the differences between species and how the appelations came to be defined.

A Double Death on the Black Isle, by A.D. Scott

Miserable 1950's set Scottish mystery, full of domestic violence and alcoholism.

Ashfall, by Mike Mullin

Pretty intense YA about surviving an eruption of the Yellowstone caldera. Dark, but realistic, and really well done.

The Art of Resin Jewelry, by Sherri Haab

Bleh. Aside from the fuss level, the projects were all pretty ugly.

Martha Stewart's Handmade Holiday Crafts, by Martha Stewart

The usual perfectionist insanity. Its like porn- I can't look away from the glistening pages and can't imagine having time to try a single one of the projects.

American terroir : savoring the flavors of our woods, waters, and fields, by Rowan Jacobsen

Wonderful book about savoring American artisan foods. This made me want to eat everything it talked about, especially the moules frites on Prince Edward Island and the Vermont cheese and the Totten oysters and, oh, everything! This was beautifully written, too- one of the best books I've read all year.

A Wild Surge of Guilty Passion, by Ron Hansen

This was a major disappointement to me. I so love Hansen's luminous Mariette in Ecstasy, and this was nowhere near that. This was more a lurid account of a true crime, and a sad and sleazy one it was.

Payment in Blood, by Elizabeth George

Well written and crisp English locked door country house mystery. so well done.

Anya's Ghost, by Vera Brosgol

Ok graphic novel about an unpleanasnt Russian immigrant teen named Anya, who picks up a psycho ghost from 1918 afer falling in a hole.

Paper Covers Rock, by Jenny Hubbard

Whiny white boy teen angst boarding school drama drama. Wants to be Separate Peace or Dead Poet's Society, doesn't get there.

Definitely Not Mr. Darcy, by Karen Doornebos

Pretty silly (ok, ridiculous) but very very quick Austen/reality show fluff. Chloe Parker thinks she is participating in a Regency era immersion documentary, but it turns out to be a dating show (think the Bachelor) with Regency trappings. And so on.

Beautiful Days, by Anna Godbersen

The second in Godbersen's disappointing Bright Young Things series. As much as I want to enjoy these, I just don't, especially compared to Jillian Larkin's excellent Flappers series.  

The Mother-Daughter Book Club: Home For The Holidays, by Heather Vogel Frederick

Another lovely entry in this light but heartwarming tween-aimed series. Although the characters are growing up, the books are cleaner than clean, and the emphasis is on the interactions between the girls and their families rather than on some burgeoning (and age-appropriate) relationships.

Linnets and Valerians, by Elizabeth Goudge

Really lovely classic English childrens' classic I somehow missed. The Linnet children enter and change the lives of the aristocratic but troubled Valerian family, with hints of pagan magic and a great deal a old fashionoed charm.

Never Have I Ever, by Sara Shepard

2nd book in Shepard's ludicrous and delicious YA series. Very different from the hit tv series based on it, in that in the books, Sutton Mercer is dead, and her ghost is the narrator. Fun guilty pleasure reading.  

The Vault, by Ruth Rendell

Satisfying Ruth Rendell. Much better than recent ones, and the change of having Wexford retired and assisting rather than directing a case added something interesting to the story.

Boomerang: Travels in the New Third World, by Michael Lewis

Fascinating look at how the global recession has affected places such as Iceland,  Greece, Ireland, Germany and California. Michael Lewis is such an accessable writer, and makes this disaster tourism book as entertaining as it is informative. Great insights into the background of the recession have me reading his The Big Short right now, but he is such a clear writer that I feel much more aware of what the f is going on- a bit more alarmed, too, but much more informed.

How I Stole Johnny Depp's Alien Girlfriend, by Gary Ghislain

Fantastic, bizarre and wonderful YA. David falls in love with an alien who has come to earth to kidnap Johnny Depp and take him back to her planet- but even with this absurd set up, the book was really good and even touching in parts.

Wicked Autumn, by G. M. Malliet

Fantastic start to a new series by the seriously talented cosy mystery writer G. M. Malliet. As much as I hope she will continue the St. Just series, I really enjoyed the detailed Christie-reminiscent village setting of Wicked Autumn.