What's on my bookshelf?

It must be summer, because I've taken my book selection process to a whole new level: color coordination! This actually wasn't intentional, but I noticed that the books circulating across my coffee table had blended into a rather attractive assortment of red-themed covers. I'm currently reading Mudbound by Hillary Jordan, which was a 2009 Alex Award winner. The Alex Award is given annually to ten books written for adults that have special appeal for young adult readers. Another Alex Award winner, Sharp Teeth by Toby Barlow, has a place of honor on my coffee table. It's a novel in verse about down-and-out werewolves in Los Angeles that, according to the dust jacket, blends "dark humor and epic themes with card-playing dogs, crystal meth labs, surfing, and carne asada tacos." Mmm, tacos ... Who could pass up a book with that description? Cory Doctorow's Little Brother and Jay Asher's Thirteen Reasons Why are two young adult novels that caught my eye. I always like to keep a few young adult titles in the mix - it's just how I roll. And last but not least, The Constant Princess by Philippa Gregory fits in nicely with my summertime screenings of The Tudors. If only Henry and Anne Boleyn could just get along and not lose their heads!

The Other Book

I know that what the world really needs is an update on my progress through The Other Queen, so here goes: I have 10 pages left! Good read, Philippa Gregory, but not your best, although reading it has sparked my interest in watching The Tudors on DVD.

Evan hooked me up with beaucoup birthday books from my Amazon Wish List so I'm a bit overwhelmed with reading options for my next book. One of the contenders (not an Evan book but one he'd probably like and read ridiculously fast, reminding me of how happy I was not to have to follow him through school) is The Daily Coyote: A Story of Love, Survival, and Trust in the wilds of Wyoming by Shreve Stockton. The author also maintains a blog at www.DailyCoyote.net. I love reading nonfiction, especially nature writing, and this book looks delightful.
On Monday my beloved fellow C-lunchers and I are going to have a potluck to celebrate the beginning of June, and although I'm thrilled to finally live the potluck fantasy I really can't decide what to take. I never thought I'd say this but I'm getting tired of eating pasta after having it twice daily for two weeks. What's a carbivore to do? I'm thinking polenta tacos might be a nice change, but I'm not sure how well they'll reheat in the staff microwave.