I try to go through the book review links posted at the Saturday Review each week, but with nearly 200 links posted this week, time is the enemy of thoroughness. I did glance over most of the reviews, and these are the books and other thoughts I found of interest to me:

A Thomas Jefferson Education: Teaching a Generation of Leaders for the Twenty-first Century by Oliver Van deMille. Suzanne used some categories from this book to talk about another book she was reviewing. I’ve heard of the Jefferson Education book, and I’ve been meaning to look for it. I am reminded.

The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa. Recommended by 3M at 1 More Chapter. This one is a translation from the Japanese and includes a lot of mathematical references, bleeding over into philosophy I deduce. I thought it sounded like a good risk.

Strand: An Odyssey of Pacific Ocean Debris by Bonnie Henderson. Recommended by Carrie at 5 Minutes for Books. The story of a self-described “forensic coastwatcher,” this book is not the sort of thing I would pick off the shelf without a recommendation from someone else, but when Carrie describes it, I am intrigued. I need to read more nonfiction, especially more about nature and science. But it has to be nontechnical and concentrated on story or you’ll lose me.

Counter Clockwise by Jason Cockcroft. Recommended by gautami tripathy. This fantasy time travel title comes out in February, and I think I’ll look it up then. It’s a children’s book, but it sounds like something I might enjoy and then pass on to the urchins.

Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen. Recommended by Melanie at Deliciously Clean Reads. Because of where its recommended and because the premise sounds interesting, I think I might want to check out this YA novel both for myself and for Brown Bear Daughter who’s into YA realistic fiction.

Maps and Legends by Michael Chabon. Recommended by Girl Detective. Computer Guru Son is a Michael Chabon fan, but I’ve never read any of his books. I think a book of essays like this one would interest me more than Chabon’s fiction; it might even lead me to try some of his fiction.

Devil’s Brood by Sharon Kay Penman. Recommended by The Tome Traveller. I read When Christ and His Saints Slept by this author a couple of years ago, and I promised my self that I would pick up the next book in the series, Time and Chance, soon after. I never did. And now there’s a third historical novel about the life and times of Henry II and his wife Eleanor called Devil’s Brood. SInce each one of these novels weighs in at 700+ pages, I must get cracking soon. also, we’re studying the Middle Ages in achool, so this would be a good time to read the other two books in Ms. Penman’s story of Henry, Eleanor and their (in)famous children.

The End of the Alphabet by C.S. Richardson. Recommended by She Is Too Fond of Books. This one sounds fun and short, a nice counter-balance to all the heavy tomes on the TBR list.

Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout. Recommended at She Is Too Fond of Books. Also by Wendy at Caribousmom. I’ve been resisting this one because I don’t like short stories, but I’ve also been inclined to try it since it’s gotten lots of good reviews and since I liked Strout’s Abide With Me when I read it. So I’ve reached the tipping point and onto the list it goes.

I have, in fact added all of these books to my ridiculously unwieldy list of books that I want to read. I may decide someday that I’ve reached the “tipping point” on that list and stop adding books, only endeavoring to finish the list before I die. Maybe when I’m about eighty year old?