The Woodcarver's Secret - Connie Shelton (Samantha Sweet Mystery Series, Bk. 0.5)

I picked this up not knowing it was the prequel to a series of books, only that the author had a good reputation.  While it was interesting to follow the stories through time, I wasn't really a fan of this.  There was no cohesion other than the wooden boxes. It took me a while to catch the drift of it but I found the random jumps rather annoying.  No "he cherished the box and it made 34 more trips back to Mexico City before being passed to his son with whom it made 49 trips back and forth across the desert before falling forgotten as Carlos fell asleep for the last time."  Just something so you know how much time has passed. Instead it randomly jumped forward anywhere between a few years and a few centuries.
I guess this is an important book if you're a fan of the series, but I am not, so it was mostly meh for me.  Based on the writing style, I don't think I'll be picking up the series either.  I'd rather move onto something I really like, and this ain't it!

Black Beauty - Anna Sewell

I know very little about horses, their functional usage, or how their lives progressed in late Victorian England, so this was new territory for  me.  While a little childish and simplistic (it's written from the horse's perspective so that makes sense), I enjoyed the story significantly, though I certainly wasn't on the edge of my seat at any point in time.  This is a sweet book, though not necessarily a happy one as it goes to great lengths to outline the awful conditions and cruelty endured by working horses.
I was checking on the history of the book and apparently its publication and instantaneous popularity started an animal welfare movement that rapidly did away with the unnecessary and dangerous practice of using reins to jack up a horse's neck.  I was glad to see the power a simple book can have on making the world a better place.

From Renting to Buying: A Basic Guide to First Time Home Buying and Ownership - Ben Stefan

This is a very short, super basic book on the topic.  It's geared towards people who have rented their whole lives.  It talks about hiring handy people to do your up keep that was 0% relevant to me or anyone who doesn't enjoy wasting money. 
It was good as a quick review, but I didn't think there was enough substance to really make it anything I'd recommend.  There are other, far more interesting and useful options on the topic.

Breasts: The Owner's Manual - Dr. Kristi Funk

I'm still not sure how I feel about this book.  It was both up-beat and depressing at the same time.  It is jam packed with information from what you can do today to avoid cancer all the way to how best to treat reoccurring cancer. 
Pro: You can make lifestyle changes today to lower your likelihood of developing all cancers, including breast.
Con: These changes aren't fun.  Cut out all alcohol except maybe a glass of red wine once in a while.  Exercise at least five hours a week.  Cut out all animal products, especially dairy and meat.  Don't eat processed foods.  Don't eat refined sugars or syrup.  Bla bla bla, you know, all the things your doctor has been telling you to do all along.
The good news is that you can make these changes at any point in time and start benefiting from them.  It's never too late to get started!
And even if you have a history of breast cancer in your family, it's ok! 85% of all breast cancer occurs in people without a family history of the disease. So if you've got relatives with breast cancer, it's not a death sentence.  And if you don't have relatives with the disease, you still need to be proactive about ensuring you are screened and maintain a healthy lifestyle!  More broccoli and flax all around!
I would recommend this book to anyone with a history of any cancer in their family, all women over 40, anyone who is fighting cancer or has a loved one fighting cancer.  Or anyone who is fascinated by cancer biology and treatment.

Anne of Green Gables - L. M. Montgomery

This was another "well, I never read it as a child" books.  I must confess, I hated this book as it started.  Anne rambled so much, I wanted to tell her to shut the hell up.  As the book progressed and the character was well-established, there was less need for the monologues of rambling.  The reader already knows the deal.  And then, as Anne ages, she does actually shut the hell up, which makes her much more palatable, in my opinion.  I like the whimsical ideas, but the delivery is poor.  It's supposed to be, it's a child ranting, but it sucks to read through it all.
As I said, eventually, it reached an "ok" point, but I believe I would have disliked this book as a child (the target reader) even more than I did today.

The Red Prophet - Orson Scott Card (Tales of Alvin Maker, Bk. 2)

The book made me sometimes wish fiction were true.  This is an American-style tall tale of powerful fiction. (again, as with the first book in this series, you really have to know your history to appreciate the differences and the lore)
At first, I was having a hard time getting into the Native story line having just come off of Seventh Son, but Card's superb story telling did eventually grab my attention.  This is a beautiful, tragic story that leaves you with all the wonder of real historical battle stories, but with both the relief and disappointment that it wasn't exactly real.  The hard part is that it's just close enough to what really happened and what could have really happened that it blurs the line between fiction and the real world perfectly.  I believe that's why it was such a good story.

Seventh Son - Orson Scott Card (Tales of Alvin Maker, Bk. 1)

Orson Scott Card is one of my favorite authors.  I've not read any of his books in a long time, and it was great to get back to him.  I'd actually read this book many years ago, but had a hard time following it up because the library didn't have all of the series (which I think is 7 books total, but not real sure).  So now I have access to a variety of other options and I've found them so I'm going to have a go at it again. 
This particular series I like because it takes place in Indiana.  I recognize many of the areas spoken about and enjoy pointing out that Indiana weather is so crazy that it's used as a plot device in a piece of fiction.  As always, I love the alternative world he's created, particularly because you really have to know your history to appreciate it. 
Needless to say, this is another fantastically fun, artfully crafted piece of fiction.