Books from my very own shelves--and a request (especially for authors who just had books release)!

This whole read-the-books-on-my-own-shelves-before-checking-any-out-from-the-library thing has been going pretty well. I did kinda sorta cheat by reading the handful of new books that I was given for my birthday and one e-galley I'd requested from Netgalley a while ago. But nonetheless, between May and now, I also read a dozen books that had been sitting on my shelf for...ever.

Here's what I read:

The Penderwicks at Point Mouette, by Jeanne Birdsall (I also read the latest book, but it was a birthday present, so I'm not counting it.)
The Jungle Book, by Rudyard Kipling
The Fair Adventure, by Elizabeth Gray Vining
Meet the Austins, by Madeleine L'Engle
Summerhouse Time, by Eileen Spinelli
Carney's House Party, by Maud Hart Lovelace
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, by Betty Smith
The Twits, by Roald Dahl
Comrade Don Camillo, by Giovanni Guareschi
The Arrival, by Shaun Tan
The Magician's Elephant, by Kate DiCamillo
The Queen of Attolia, by Megan Whalen Turner

Here's what I learned:

I have pretty good taste in the books I keep on my shelves. That sounds prideful, but I don't mean it that way. I just had this immense feeling of relief when I realized just how much I was loving the books from my own collection. I haven't had such a good run of book enjoyment in a while; there wasn't a single one that I started and didn't feel compelled to finish. However my brain does decide what books to purchase, it's working.

Some authors are really reliable. Several of the books read were by authors whose other books I'd loved. Why did I take so long to get around to reading these? And why haven't I read all the others?

Reading books written a while ago can be quite helpful. As one of the books I'm working on now is set in 1903, it was great to actually read books written around that time (or about that time, by someone a lot closer to it than I am). It also can break you out of the rut of sounding like every other contemporary author.

Reading books written a while ago can be dangerous if not done in moderation. It's a little too easy for me to slip into an archaic writing style that's a bit too slow-paced and description-heavy for today's tastes. Reading some contemporary work is important.

I'm definitely going to keep this up. While I will return to my frequent trips to the library, I'd like to read at least one book from my own shelf for every library book. At least until I catch up a little more.

And now my request: now that the summer is almost over and baby is here, I'll be visiting the library (and book stores) again, could you please fill me in on the recent titles that I've missed? Did you have a book release in the last three months? Did you read any great recent releases? What should I be requesting?