Thanks for the pointer to my Science Shelf archive. I've actually been hoping for reader contributions there as well, since I can read at most a book or two each month. So I may ask some contributors to this thread for permission to reprint their reviews.

I'll start the list with my favorite of the year so far:

What Bugged the Dinosaurs? Insects, Disease, and Death in the Cretaceous by George Poinar, Jr., & Roberta Poinar.

Here's an excerpt from my review:

Chapter by chapter, the authors introduce a wide range of insect species that bite, swarm, irritate, and even take up residence within and on the dinosaurs that readers know so well. They draw their stories from the fossil record, especially the amber of their expertise, comparing Cretaceous insects with their present-day descendents.

After discovering the ancient ecology, readers follow the authors into the laboratory where they analyze delicate evidence in the form of magnificent color images. Finally it is time to interpret findings and draw conclusions. While acknowledging that an asteroid impact brought a catastrophic end to the Cretaceous and the dinosaurs (at least the non-avian ones), the Poinars question whether the great reptiles may have already been in serious decline.

Had disease, parasitic infestation, and competition with insects already set them on a path toward extinction? That is not a new question, but it remains an important one in paleontology. It is the kind of question that continues to inspire scientists and readers alike.

Fred Bortz -- Science and technology books for young readers (www.fredbortz.com) and Science book reviews (www.scienceshelf.com)