1. The Help  by Kathryn Stockett
2. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley
3. The Weed that Strings the Hangman’s Bag by Alan Bradley
4. The Collected Stories of Deborah Eisenberg
5. Apple Trees at Olema by Robert Hass
6. The Heights  by Peter Hedges
7. The End of Print by David Carson & Lewis Blackwell
8.  The Sandbox by David Zimmerman
9. House of Tomorrow by Peter Bognanni
10.  Parrot and Olivia by Peter Carey

Ever since her daughter rescued a fledgling rook, Esther Woolfson has been fascinated with corvids, the bird group that includes crows, rooks, magpies, and ravens. Today, the rook, named Chicken, is a member of the Woolfson family along with other winged creatures. From their elaborate bathing rituals to their springtime broodiness and tendency to cache food in the most unlikely places, these corvids each share a bond with Woolfson that would have been considered rare if not impossible before this collection of essays.