The English Geek

Stephen Dobyns: Best Words, Best Order, 2nd Edition: Essays on Poetry
I LOVE this book. But I am, remember, the English Geek. Essays about metaphor and imagery and the place of beauty in art make me happy.

Michael Ondaatje: Handwriting: Poems (Vintage International)
Feeding my poetry obsession.

T. H. Watkins: Stone Time, Southern Utah: A Portrait & A Meditation
I keep this in the car to read when I'm waiting in a drive-through line. I like that the author draws a connection between the desert and sacredness.

Rosalind Wiseman: Queen Bees and Wannabes: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boyfriends, and Other Realities of Adolescence
Just preparing myself for Haley's adolescent storms. Although, as a former teenaged girl, I'd recommend this to anyone who went through the crucible that is junior high school. A few of my own demons have been put to rest through this book. Plus I feel a little bit more capable of dealing with Haley's eventual issues.

Paulette Jiles: Enemy Women: A Novel
Did you know that during the Civil War, women in the south were imprisoned in the north for helping the Confederate cause? (Even when they weren't really helping the Confederate cause.) I didn't. This book tells that story. It's sort of like Cold Mountain---not quite as good, but definitely a book I'd recommend!