What I'm reading right now:

The Castle on Deadman's Island by Curtis Parkinson and City of Spies by Susan Kim & Laurence Klavan. Both are late (last minute) inclusions for the April column which is all mysteries. I'm actually kind of stretching it to fit these in but I think when writing about mysteries or SFF for teens it's okay to pack the books in. There is already a missing aunt and nefarious doings going on in Deadman's Island - all very Three Investigators (in a good way). Interestingly enough, both books are set in the 1940s during WWII. An odd, but thus far pleasant, coincidence.

In Pursuit of Silence by George Prochnik - for Booklist so I can't say much about it other than to note that it's a NF look at quiet in a noisy world. So far I've found out about very very quiet monks and conversely the sounds of battle. It's certainly not something I would have come across on my own which is part of why I love Booklist so much.

Captivity by Deborah Noyes - a novel partly based on The Fox Sisters and the development of the Spirituality movement in the U.S. I've read extensively about Margaret Fox as she was engaged (and possibly married) to Elisha Kent Kane, the polar explorer. Noyes writes not only about the Foxes but also a wholly fictional character named Clara Gill, a recluse who lost her lover, faced scandal and now can not bear to go on living. Thus far the women have just begun to interact but I'm certainly interested to see what happens next and who ends up saving who.

Good Morning Midnight: Life and Death in the Wild by Chip Brown - the story of Guy Waterman, a brilliant and talented man, considered a dean in the wilderness preservation movement. He was also the father of two amazing mountaineers who died tragically young (one on Denali) and then in his 60s, unable to accept his own limitations, Guy hiked into the mountains near his home and died of exposure. More research for my wilderness/western book (although he was a New Englander). This is a family story that is beyond compelling; thus far an excellent read.

For Us Surrender Is Out Of the Question by Mac McClelland - about Burma which I have always been curious about and never got around to in my history degree. I've just barely begun reading this one (just reviewed Burmese Lessons for Booklist) but I'm looking forward to it. A bit of the description: "In 2006, Mac McClelland arrived to volunteer in Thailand and found herself unexpectedly living with associates of a US-designated terrorist organization battling Burma's dictatorship. Her staggering debut explores the world's longest-running war through her housemates — heavy-drinking refugees who risk their lives documenting their government's secret ethnic-cleansing campaign."

What I just finished:

Where the Mountain Meets the Shadow by Maria Coffey - written by a woman whose boyfriend disappeared on Everest in 1982, Mountain is about the "dark side of extreme adventure". Somebody (thank you!) recommended this after one of my posts on the wilderness book and I'm very grateful - it was a really good book. Part of what really bothered me about Chris McCandless and other stories of people who choose to go dangerously in search of wilderness, is the family they so casually leave behind. It would be one thing if you had no family or were deeply estranged but McCandless in particular just cut off his parents when they had no idea why - they were not bad people who deserved this treatment. I've never been able to understand how so many people could admire him for following his dream when it meant such pain for the people who loved him. Coffey can't answer that - but she comes close. And she points out that it is different for every person, every family.

What all of this has to do with my father and my family (none of whom climbed a mountain ever), I'll leave for my book. But I'm getting a lot of fresh perspective from reading books like Coffey's.

What I'm looking forward to:

I've got two books on deck that I think would be particularly helpful for certain studious older teens: One Hundred Great French Books by Lance Donaldson-Evans and It's All Greek To Me: From Homer to the Hippocratic Oath, How Ancient Greece Has Shaped Our World by Charlotte Higgins. I know very little about either of these subjects so I'm coming to them with fresh eyes and if they work for me - and educate me - then I think they would work for high school or early college students as well. They seem to be the sort of information that certain students would find very useful (esp if they are studying either subject). I don't have a theme in the works where these books would fit but I think I'll include them as duel "Cool Reads" at some point this summer.

I also have about a half dozen SFF titles to read, all of which look awesome. More on those soonest.