"Longbourn" by Jo Baker

I enjoyed this book, though I did skim over the army parts. It gave me a better understanding of the lives of servants, and I liked the way their personal lives were intertwined with those of their masters. And of course, it had a happy ending for Sarah and James.

"White Night" by Jim Butcher

Superficially enjoyable Dresden book especially if I ignore plot holes. The characters are becoming more interesting, but I think I'll take a break for awhile.

"The Maltese Falcon" by Dashiell Hammett

It was an interesting read from a retro point of view. The attitude towards women is pretty disgusting. Sam Spade is pretty interesting. By a lucky coincidence, the movie is on this Sunday and I will watch.

"The Rithmatist" by Brandon Sanderson

This book for young adults was an enjoyable read, though the idea of 2 dimensional chalk figures is a bit out there. The book ended leaving many interesting questions unanswered, but I won't go out of my way waiting for the next volume to be published. When I was reading it, there were definitely times when I felt that this was a book for young adults i.e. an element of preachiness.. whereas I think a truly well written story in this genre should just be a story, and any preachiness should feel more natural.

"Proven Guilty" by Jim Butcher

I think this is my favorite Dresden novel so far because the character interactions have become more complex, and Dresden does spout intelligent words of wisdom. Where to begin with the plot.... Charity used to have magical powers, Molly has developed magical powers which she abused, Thomas has a secret, there is a big power plotting evil in the background, Murphy had a talk with Dresden about their relationship, etc etc.

"The Cat's Table" by Michael Ondaatje

This is an odd little book that I enjoyed reading. In the note at the end, the author says it is not autobiographical, but it certainly feels that way. It is a diary-like account of 3 basically unsupervised Sri Lankan boys traveling by boat to India, and includes passages about their futures. I suppose you could call the ship ride a rite of passage.

"Close Range" by Annie Proulx

I finally finished this very depressing set of short stories about Wyoming. Just to show you how long I've been at it, I read the Brokeback Mountain short story during the Academy Awards when Brokeback Mountain lost out to Crash. From this book I learned that Wyoming is a very depressing place for its long term residents. It seems to consist of difficult ranch work, bars,  abuse of women and various other totally depressing miseries. I think this is the last book I will read by Proulx.