jPod - Douglas Coupland

Definitely not Coupland at the top of his form, but a slightly amusing take on achingly contemporary post-modern culture. He switched the extra fine brush he used for his bullseye characterizations of geek culture in Microserfs for a paint roller this time; the morality play is all that remains having any meaning.

Across the Nightingale Floor - Lian Hearn

An elegant and beautiful tale of an orphan boy taken in by a lord to be his trained assasin.

This is the first book in the Tales of the Otori series.

The Highest Tide - Jim Lynch

A funny comming-of-age story about a boy who shares his love of the ocean with the rest of the world. The setting is Puget Sound.