The Lighthouse by Alison Moore

I enjoyed this book, which, like its protagonist's journey, slowly circled around to its inevitable conclusion with a steady and misleading pace. Futh, newly separated, visits Germany for a walking holiday after moving out of his family home and before he is to move into a new apartment. As he walks, he remembers his familial traumas (both with his wife and with his childhood family--which his mother abruptly left) and treasures a glass perfume bottle shaped like a lighthouse as a totem. But as Futh returns to Hellhaus (the town and the motel from which his journey started), we slowly realize that Futh, drawn like a moth to a flame, is about to be caught up in a story he never knew he was part of. Shortlisted for the 2012 Booker prize.

Umbrella by Will Self

This complicated novel uses modernist techniques (such as stream-of-consciousness narration, and three distinct narrative threads that intermingle and change with dizzying speed) in order to insist on the continued value of difficulty in reading and the continued difficulty of telling certain types of stories in more conventional ways. Fortunately for the reader, the book presents a brief précis of each time period (Audrey Death's early life to the end of World War I, her encounter with Dr. Zach Busner--who's willing to try new techniques for a certain class of patients--in a mental hospital in 1971, and Dr. Busner's reflections on his practice at that time from the vantage of his (almost contemporary with us) retirement. The book more than repaid its challenges. I particularly enjoyed the playful attention to Audrey's last name. I also thought the World War I story (with its familial betrayals) and the role Dr. Busner played in the treatment of the patients with encephalitis lethargica worked very well together to raise the questions of what we owe each other as human beings, and then to examine the consequences of failing to fulfill these duties. Shortlisted for the Booker prize in 2012.

The Law is a White Dog: How Legal Rituals Make and Unmake Persons by Colin Dayan

This book examines the ways that the law has been used to manipulate the boundaries of the human--especially in the case of enslaved persons and prisoners. Dayan posits that forms such as zombies, ghosts, and dogs appear in literature and culture in response to the ways that the law can be deployed to take away someone's humanity. The book covers a broad time period (dealing with cases in US law from the nineteenth century to the twenty-first) and it combines sources and techniques from a variety of fields, including the law, history, and literature, to end in a stunning indictment of legal systems that take away people's humanity and an exposé of how the cruelest forms of punishment may be written off as administrative conveniences. All in all, a persuasive and useful monograph, and a model for a radical, engaged form of criticism.

Zoobiquity: What Animals Can Teach Us About Health and the Science of Healing by Barbara Natterson-Horowitz and Kathryn Bowers

I enjoyed listening to this book, which argues that medical doctors and veterinarians should work more closely together because humans and other animals share many of the same diseases and health problems, and so, such an approach, which the authors term "zoobiquitous" would help improve health for all animals and might offer strategies for diseases that are otherwise difficult to treat. The book was full of examples, anecdotal data, and surveys (although most of the formal studies were based on one species). At times, the writing felt a little repetitive (the authors drove home the value of this zoobiquitous approach at every possible opportunity), but I learned a lot about disease and was convinced that increased communication (and respect) between veterinarians and doctors would be a good thing.

Songs of the Earth by Elspeth Cooper

This book is a fantasy story about Gair, an orphan who has magical powers--that mark him as a witch. There were some interesting elements (especially the idea that the church has something to hide in the history of its rise to power). However, the book felt very repetitive: lots of ideas from other series (from the Wheel of Time, to Star Wars, to Lord of the Rings). While I understand that lots of fantasy tropes are repeated from series to series, there wasn't a lot of originality in the ways that Cooper used them. Also, the main romantic pairing of the book was off: technically the relationship was forbidden by the rules of the school--a point that was made much of until people in charge found out about the relationship--and then it didn't matter at all. I'll be interested to see where this series goes, but I certainly hope it improves.

Poster Art of the Disney Parks by Daniel Handke and Vanessa Hunt

I really enjoyed this book, which is mostly various posters designed for Disney theme parks since 1955. The vast majority of the posters are for Magic Kingdom-style parks (a few from Epcot and DHS sneak in)--the chapters are by MK land and then Disney's California Adventure and Tokyo DisneySea. There was a fair amount of information on the parks, the poster design process, and the printing techniques. I learned a lot--but the book made me eager to return to a Disney theme park!

True History of the Kelly Gang by Peter Carey

This book is presented as a story written by Ned Kelly (the famous Australian outlaw, whose last stand was also made into a short story in Armored) for his unknown, infant daughter, telling the story of his life and how he came to be an outlaw. I think I enjoyed this book so much because Carey gives Kelly such a distinctive voice--it's full of quirks and I found it to be very believable. Even though Kelly is practically illiterate, this book presents his desire, above all else, as only to be heard, as if to be heard will justify all his wrong-doings, murders, and robberies. And in this book, it might at that.