Shhh, I'm reading The Violinist's Thumb

That's what I've been doing.  Reading.  Because It Is my Blood by Gabrielle Zevin, the second book in her Birthright series (due out next month I think);  A Fistful of Collars by Spencer Quinn - I'm still working on this one.  When the narrator is a dog, it takes a little longer to solve a crime (due out on Sept. 11).  Also, The Applewhites at Wit's End by Stephanie Tolan. I loved Surviving the Applewhites.  This book is almost as much fun as the first.

 And Sam Kean's The Violinist's Thumb.  That last one might take me a whole month to finish.  It is an AWESOME but very detailed history of the exploration into DNA and genetics.  Kean bounces all over the timeline relating gene studies to grammar and math and spelling and 16th century explorations and just about everything you can think of.  And he pulls in the stories of scientists whose studies into fallible hypotheses laid the groundwork for later solid research.  I got the e-galley and I hope it's one that stays on my reader because I'm sure I will need to re-read this book. 

So, that is what I have been doing.  Expect reviews of the other titles soon.  Zevin is a fabulous author.  Chet the Dog can sure, um, tell a story. (I wonder, could Spencer Quinn be a pseudonym for a dog who has learned to type? And how would that work, dogs typing?) And the Applewhites once again rise victorious from chaos.