The Last Apprentice: Revenge of the Witch by Joseph Delaney (343 pp.) first line: "When the Spook arrived, the light was already beginning to fail."
The first in a children's fantasy series, this book follows the adventures of a boy who becomes apprenticed to "the Spook," a man who earns his living by traveling from village to village confronting, confining or confounding all manner of things that go bump in the night.
100 Cupboards by N. D. Wilson (289 pp.) first line: "Henry, Kansas, is a hot town."
The first in another children's fantasy series, this book also follows the adventures of a boy -- in this case, a boy who discovers portals to other worlds as well as truths about his own heritage while visiting relatives in an otherwise sleepy-seeming small Kansas town.
Fly by Night by Frances Hardinge (483 pp.) first line (of the prelude): "'But names are important!' the nursemaid protested." first line (of the "A" chapter): "It was often said that only divine flame could persuade anything to burn in Chough."
This is the first book by Frances Hardinge, whose Verdigris Deep I greatly enjoyed. (Verdigris Deep, incidentally, has been published in the U.S. under the dumbed-down title Well Witched. Stupid publishers.) Fly by Night is a children's historical adventure with wonderful writing, appealing characters, and a tight, interesting plot. I really liked it and think I'd like to have Ms. Hardinge's babies...or, barring that, at least read her latest, Gullstruck Island.
The Man in the Picture by Susan Hill (145 pp.) first line (of the prologue): "The story was told to me by my old tutor, Theo Parmitter, as we sat beside the fire in his college rooms one bitterly cold January night." first line (of the first chapter): "My story really begins some seventy years ago, in my boyhood."
This is a brief little book with the feel of a ghost story despite the absence of any actual ghosts. I enjoyed it, though not as much as I seem to recall liking Hill's The Woman in Black. Both books pull off a wonderfully creepy mood, though, and I may give her other ghost stories, and possibly her crime/mystery/suspense series a go.
Echo: Moon Lake by Terry Moore (graphic novel)
Note to self: Never venture into the desert without an umbrella...because while it might not rain, you can't be too cautious about showers of liquefied radioactive bomb bits (or the like). It'll be interesting to see where Moore goes with this series, though this first collection is mostly just stage-setting.
Survivors: A New Vision of Endangered Wildlife by James Balog (144 pp.) (photography)
I found this online after seeing an article on it in an old National Geographic issue. I really liked seeing and reading about the various endangered species (some familiar, others not so much). Balog used white backdrops for a good number of the photos, which makes the colors and patterns of the animals themselves that much more striking...in addition to giving some of the portraits a Vogue sort of feel.
Stranger Things Happen by Kelly Link (266 pp.) stories: Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose / Water Off a Black Dog's Back / The Specialist's Hat / Flying Lessons / Travels with the Snow Queen / Vanishing Act / Survivor's Ball, or, The Donner Party / Shoe and Marriage / Most of My Friends Are Two-Thirds Water / Louise's Ghost / The Girl Detective
This would be the third collection of Link's stories that I've read...though I believe it's the first she published. If I remember correctly, "Shoe and Marriage" and "Louise's Ghost" were among my favorites from this book. Had I not waited over three months to post this, I might have been able to elaborate as to why. As it is, however, I'll just say that I enjoyed the collection as a whole.