Protagonist Quentin Coldwater is depressed, brilliant, and enamored with Fillory, a fictional fantasy world.  As Quentin has always felt distanced from reality, he is elated to learn that not only does magic exist, but Fillory is real as well.  Not only that, but Fillory is a dangerous place...perfect for a magician to practice his craft.

Far more than an investigation into a grisly tiger attack, Vaillant gives us a detailed account of survival in the Russian "taiga". Things do not go well for poachers who disrespect the balance between Amur (or Siberian) tigers and man. The setting, northeast Russia, is almost mystical in its plant and animal diversity. Some scientists suspect the area wasn't frozen during the last ice age.

John Muth is one of my favorite artists. His watercolors are magnificent and endearing. Couple that with a giant panda that imparts Zen advice and you have one lovely children's book. The short stories that Stillwater, the giant panda, tells us are short meditations rooted in Zen Budddhism and Taoism. His admirable goal is to calm readers' minds, so we may see the true world more clearly.

This book is one of my new favorites.  Wilson blends fantasy, technology, philosophy, Arabic folklore, and Middle Eastern politics with a creative and fresh voice.  A young hacker (handle: Alif), who protects those persecuted by the government, is given an Arabian Nights-like text written by the jinn.  Perhaps, if he can code it, he can save himself and his friends (including the creepy Vikram the vampire) from the evil digital suppression arm of the government, dubbed the "hand of god". 

Bacigalupi, a relatively new author, has won me over; as well as many prestigious awards. "Ship Breaker" takes place after the cataclysmic effects of global warming have ravaged the world. The US is a dangerous swamp crawling with newly evolved, and some man-made, creatures and warring factions. Fans of "The Hunger Games" will enjoy this dystopian landscape.