Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (J. K. Rowling)

This fourth volume in the Harry Potter series takes a decided turn toward a darker narrative, as Harry has to deal not only with the dangers of the Triwizard Tournament, with events that killed champions in the past, and the increasingly dire threats of the evil  wizards, but the more mundane but equally painful challenges of asking a girl to the big dance. In this story, various wizards pay the ultimate price in the war between good and evil, including one of the young wizards. I'm not convinced the elaborate plot for  Harry's life was justified, but the book is definitely worth it for its creativity and its staunch celebration of courage, loyalty, and friendship.

Nightwatch (Sergei Lukyanenko)

This contemporary vampire story, by a Russian author, is interesting but not fully engaging, perhaps because of the cultural differences. Walking among us are Others, humans who have magical powers that make them more than human. These Others take sides in an eternal battle between Light and Dark, in which the agents of the Night Watch represent Light and agents of the Day Watch represent Dark. An ancient treaty constrains their battle, but still they struggle for the souls of the humans who surround them, oblivious to their powers. In this book, which is the first of a series, a powerful new Other arises and the opposing forces struggle for his soul. I enjoyed it to a mild degree, but won't be following more books in the series.

The Tiger (John Vaillant)

This carefully researched true story about the hunt for a man-eating tiger in far-eastern Russia is engrossing and moving. Woven in with the story of what made this tiger stand out and how it was hunted is the history of Russia and particularly its far East rim, the natural history of tigers, and the complex and changing relationship between humans and tigers in the ancient forests. What was most amazing, aside from the sheer nail-biting adventure of it, was that the author managed to portray all sides in the story with even-handed empathy. Highly recommended.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (J. K. Rowling)

The next installment of the Harry Potter series, which I am reading through again. I am constantly in awe of Rowling's imagination: the spells she thinks of, the names she gives things, the complex ways her plots unfold. She also seems to get the reality of adolescents, including their tendency to obsess with one thing (Quidditch!) and block out other things (Marked for death!) that might seem more important. I also love the things she emphasizes again and again, not through words but through the very essence of the stories. Things like bravery, honesty, loyalty, and love. This is what the series is really all about, as Harry grows into the kind of person we can all admire.

Skippy Dies (Paul Murray)

This is the story of a private Catholic boys' school in Ireland and various people connected with it: the boys, their teachers, their girl friends, and their neighbors. Skippy does indeed die in the first pages. Two-thirds of the book describe the events leading up to his death, and the remaining third describes the aftermath. This book is excruciatingly well-written; the dialogue, the settings, the events, the interactions--all are drawn with precision and clarity. This makes the book even harder to take, as the events described are painful in the extreme. The story is saturated with drugs, sexual abuse, lies, betrayal, cruelty both casual and sadistic, and the utter futility of trying to oppose any of this. Nothing in this story is uplifting or ennobling. I found it gloomy, depressing, and infuriating. Not recommended.

Why We Make Mistakes (Joseph Hallinan)

This interesting book on psychology explains a number of the common mistakes people make. Some are very scary (pilots flying a plane right into the ground because of a distraction over a malfunctioning light bulb; long-distance truck drivers sending and receiving emails on the road). Others are silly (why do people believe that they'll be so much happier living in California than in Michigan?), but still have important effects on people's lives. The author not only discusses things like the overconfidence effect (we tend to believe we will be more successful than we are, because we remember having been more successful than we were), but also gives suggestions on how to remedy this problem (through prompt, clear feedback). Not the most scintillating writing, but clear and easy to follow, and covers some really important topics.

A Fire Upon the Deep (Vernor Vinge)

This is one of my very favorite science fiction books of all time. Vinge has created an amazing, mind-blowing universe, filled it with fascinating aliens, set up a truly epic battle between good and evil, and laid it all on the shoulders of characters, human and non-human, you really come to care about. There is action ranging from galaxy-wide cataclysms to up-close-and-personal betrayals. There is technology ranging from the literally unimaginably godlike to muzzle-loading cannon and wheeled carts. Highly recommended.