All Ears Audiobooks discussion
General Discussion
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Which one did you just finish?
True ColorsI just finished listening to this audio. It was a Goodreads recommendation. The book revolves around one family of three sisters. If anyone grew up with just sisters can definitely relate to this book. The bond between sisters is strong, but very complex. Each sister has a role, whether it be the older dependable one or the younger spoiled one. However, the bond can be strained or broken by jealousy and envy, but eventually can be mended if only tentatively. I grew up with three sisters. We have argued, stayed angry at each other, are sometimes jealous of each other, but in the long run, we are family and if anyone outside says something about us, we temporily call a truce and band together. But all in all, we do not stay mad at each other for long and family is family.
The Sign of Fournarrated by Patrick Tull
Holmes and Watson become embroiled in the search for a stolen treasure.
This is also the novel where Holmes proclaims that he will never marry because emotion clouds the ability of the mind to make purely scientific deductions. His addiction to cocaine is also brought to the forefront.
Tull does a fairly good job narrating this demanding story that ranges from the far east to England. His Indian accents are not the best, but there's no problem telling his characters apart.
A pleasant diversion!
The Lightning Thief by Rick RiordanMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
This was a fun listen as well as a refresher course on Greek Mythology which I sort of remember studying my Sophomore year in High School. I listened to this book mostly to get acquainted with this series so I could possibly recommend it to other listeners and I can recommend both the narration and the story line. Not as good as the Harry Potter story but I think if you enjoyed witches on broomsticks you will enjoy demigods as heroes.
I know they have made the book into a movie that is coming out this week and from the trailers it looks like they cover the book quite well. Just don't expect Harry Potter, it is not that kind of book or movie.
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I have never read the original "Pride and Prejudice" manuscript, but I thought it was time I read a classic and why not read one with added zombies. Can I just say, I loved this book. I loved that Elizabeth Bennet was still a strong female, but in this zombified version, she was also a warrior. Elizabeth and her 4 sisters have all been trained in the art of combat in China. They have been recruited by their Queen to protect the inhabitants of their area from those who have become infected by the "strange plague" which turned them into brain hungry zombies. This is a very easy and enjoyable read. A great twist to an old classic. I also really loved the black and white ink illustrations. They not only added to the comedy of the story, but somehow made the book itself seem as though it were really a classic. Does that make sense? Why only 4 stars when everything I've said so far has been such a rave? Well, I didn't like how the part of the story concerning Elizabeth's sister, Lydia, ended. I don't know if that's how it is in the original manuscript, but it just seemed unreal. Lydia's reactions to everything in the end was just wrong. I know things for women were different in that time, but I don't get why they had to get married, why she would want to agree to all the terms put before them, especially being as headstrong as she is. It just didn't make sense, at least to me. But that is such a little part of the story, so I still highly reccomend this book. Actually, I probably would have only taken away a 1/2 a star if I could've. So check it out. I am definitely putting "Sense and Sensability and Sea Monsters" on my "to-read" list because if it's anything like this one, I will have another fun-filled weekend read
'Keys to the Kingdom # 3: Drowned Wednesday:' Still enchanted by this series, and still enjoying the narration by Allan Corduner. And really intrigued by all the mythical and religious allusions. Lady Wednesday, like the other morrow days Nix's asthmatic hero, Arthur Penhaligon, goes up against, represents one of the seven deadly sins. In her case, it's gluttony. And what a delightful representation of gluttony--an insatiable leviathan, a whale of impossible size. A greatly entertaining series.
I thought I was the only one touting the pleasure and convenience of audio books! Some of my favorites from this past year were Life of Pi, Animal Farm, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, The Book Thief, Duma Key (Steven King), The Year of Magical Thinking (Joan Didion), and Winter's Solstice (Rosamund Pilcher).
Hi Dana! Like you i ended up here because so many folks don't appreciate audio books. I listened to Joan Didion's book last year too and absolutely loved it. Very touching. My dad died when i was 15 and there was a lot of her comments i could really relate to and also see my mom go through.
Do you remember who narrated the Life of Pi? I read the book and thought it would be good as an audio.
Mod
Hi Dana - it's always great to find another audiobook fan! Loved your list of favorites - The Year of Magical Thinking has been one that I've wanted to pick up for awhile - I'll add that one to my list!
Donna - the version of Life of Pi that we have is narrated by Jeff Woodman (published by Highbridge). I also read the book in print, but wouldn't that amazing ending be great in audio?!
The Last Song by Nicholas SparksMy rating: 1 of 5 stars
I am a little embarrassed at myself for even listening to this book let alone finishing it. Somehow I kept listening and kept getting emotionally manipulated by an author who is an expert at the emotional manipulation game.If I have to hear another 17 soon to be 18 year old young woman fall in "love" I think I will be sick. Several times I did throw up in my mouth over this selfish love sick girl.Of course she changes and becomes a perfect young woman in the end ready to love the love of her life forever.I did enjoy the male narrator in this book and the female narrator had just the right voice to put me in a diabetic coma. I want a grown up complicated romance book once in a while but it looks like Sparks is not the author to provide such a story.
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Winter Study by Nevada BarrWhen i picked up Track of the Cat, the first of the Anna Pigeon stories, years ago it had just hit the shelves. I was drawn to it because Anna is a law enforcement park ranger and just about my age. I worked many years for the Forest Service and the Fish and Wildlife Service so I knew something about how the Park Service worked and could relate to Anna. When Barr started the series she was still a park ranger, she didn't quit rangering until her 3rd or 4th book.
The stories took place in various national parks, were fast paced and the mysteries well drawn. By the second book i was hooked and eagerly read all of them... until the 13th book - Hard Truth. Hard Truth was hard to take... a grim, nasty tale in my backyard park - Rocky Mountain National Park. There was little about it enjoyed - it was a thriller instead of a true mystery and it was much more violent and ugly than the other stories.
After Hard Truth, Barr took some time off from Anna Pigeon and so when Winter Study came out I was hoping she returned to the formula that made the first books so wonderful. She did half way. The story takes place on Isle Royal, which is where her A Superior Death takes place. This time Anna is with the Winter Wolf Study and is involved with a creative closed door mystery. The first 2/3 of the book is classic Anna Pigeon, lots of outdoor adventure, great scary scenes, and a nice mystery that builds at an interesting pace. Then right at the point when the author typically reveals the connections and starts dropping clues, the truths she reveals are a little more explicit than necessary. There's also a chase that takes way too much time. The mystery was also too easy to put together for anyone who is a mystery buff - her other books were very well timed and much tougher to solve.
Barbara Rosenblat narrated and I was surprisingly unimpressed with her work. The Vicky Bliss novels i've heard her do had lots of wonderful accents and marvelous male voices. The voices she chose for the guys weren't nearly as good and harder to distinguish. Maybe she just wasn't inspired by a group of guys from the US, but i didn't even notice much for regional dialects either.
All in all I'd give this a 3 of 5 stars. Not terrible, but not as great as the other Anna Pigeon stories.
Hi Donna! The version of Life of Pi I listened to was the one by Jeff Woodman and it was wonderful.
I won this book in one of the book giveaways. I signed up for the book because I thought the story sounded different and interesting. This is a story about a boy named William Heller or "Lowboy". He is a 16 year old paranoid schizophrenic who has escaped the institution treating his psychosis. He is on the run in New York City and he's on a mission. His schizophrenic delusions have lead him to believe he is the key to solving the world's global warming problem. How might he be able to solve this huge problem all by himself? Lowboy must lose his virginity. This story is intriguing. I felt that John Wray really got inside the head of a schizophrenic. I have worked with a few adolescents who were schizophrenic and many of the conversations I had with them were so similar to what was portrayed in this novel. Reading this, really took me back there and made me wonder how their thoughts were cycling through their minds. Lowboy's thoughts were so random, but not. They were all always somehow connected, even if by the thinnest of threads. The book takes place over a 24 hour period. 24 hours to really get inside the head of Lowboy. It's scary and sad and keeps you wondering what's going to happen next because anything could happen. Lowboy is an unpredictable character because of the schizophrenia. Throw the other characters, his Mother, Yda, and Detective Lateef, the missing persons detective who is trying to find Lowboy. They try to figure out what Lowboy's next moves will be while Yda tells the detective about her son. Their relationship is weird and maybe is the only complaint I have about this story. There are some things that happen along their story line that just didn't really fit for me. I couldn't really get into them as people. All I cared about was the information their storyline provided about Lowboy and his past. They weren't characters that I bought into, thus the reason I gave this book 4 stars. Now Emily, the girl that Lowboy is seeking out to lose his virginity to, is an interesting character. She was such a broken teenager. A girl who wanted a friend so badly, that she befriended a boy who so clearly was NOT normal. He couldn't have provided her with a true friendship. There was no give and take with Lowboy. He lives inside his own head. The people around him aren't important him. Emily doesn't seem to understand that. I won't give away anymore. This book is definitely worth the read especially if you have ever known a schizophrenic or have ever been curious about what it's like. Does Lowboy save the world? Read it and find out for yourself.
Mod
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'EngleI picked this book for our recent family roadtrip. After finishing When You Reach Me whose heroine is obsessed with A Wrinkle In Time I thought this would be a great one to enjoy with my son and husband. As one of my all time favorite children's books, it did not disappoint me and I still cried at the end. But the audio version is narrated by the author and she is no Neil Gaiman. Although her voice is energetic, this book would be superb in audio ... if it was professionally narrated. Still a good story. 5 stars for the book, 3 stars for the audiobook.
On a related note, this book won the 1963 Newbery Medal. In some previous posts, I had mentioned that I almost always enjoy these books. They are well written and touch on some difficult and relevant issues. Lars had responded with this great link
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/a... which describes how the recent Newbery winners don't appeal to kids (Thank you, Lars, and sorry for taking so long to read the article. Now if it was a podcast...) Although I don't think the quality of recent Newbery picks has gone down, I do think that overall the Newbery's are books that will survive the test of time, but they might never appeal to a broad range of kids. When children come into the store, I rarely recommend a Newbery to a reluctant reader. They are great for introspection, but don't do the job of hooking kids on reading. But, a series like Percy Jackson or Harry Potter gets kids coming back again and again. Lars recently wrote a well thought out review about the importance of choice in getting children to read. The goal is lifelong learners and readers. Should we focus less on the Newbery-type books and more on what children enjoy? Should schools add Twilight to the curriculum and take out The Scarlet Letter?
Julie - that's an interesting question and one i'm afraid i can't answer simply. There are so many things to consider such as school should not only dump knowledge into us but make us think and challenge us and what better way to do that then by classic books that bring up big questions. As a parent i figured it was my job to work with the school and bring out the fun parts of reading. I didn't worry if my daughter liked what she read in school (as long as she compleated her assignments) because we read fun books together. i'm a very old fashioned person who believes that parents are equally responsible for their child's education. I know that is not a popular view, but it's worked for us.
Julie, it makes me smile to hear you say that you're reading and listening with your family. I volunteer with a program that helps kids who have been failed by their families. I don't get to talk books with them, i help with an equine assisted learning class, teaching equestrian skills in an effort to build their confidence and teach them about trust, both in themsleves and others. After spending time helping these kids deal with the crap their families have left them with i can't overstress the importance of parents and how school may be important, but what parents leave the kids with is far more important. I won't go into gory details but when one of these kids give me a high 5 or a hug it makes my week. School isn't perfect, and it will never be, but it's the parents who make the difference...
Nineteen Minutes by Jodi PicoultMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
So far so good....
It turned out to be a very good book. Rather cathartic for me as it brought back some very painful and humiliating memories from my time in high school. The book delves into a 19 minute shooting spree at a high school in New Hampshire. The life of the shooter reminded me of my high school experiences.
Peter, our shooter, was bullied from kindergarten to his junior year in high school where he finally fights back. Killing 10 and wounding 9 others is probably fighting back too hard but I remember some of my murderous fantasies in high school and there was one of my tormentors in particular I dreamed of killing.
One fact that sort of liberated me was brought out by the defense psychologist who compared a humiliating bullied moment in high school as equal to a sexual assault. I don't remember many happy moments in high school but I remember getting stuffed into lockers, getting my ears flicked, being pantsed, having my head stuffed in a toilet, being stuffed in a garage can head first, having a guy pee in my face, beaten up, held down and tortured, books knocked out of my hands, contents of lockers dumped on the ground, and I remember most the laughter as all this was going on. I can understand why someone might loose their way and go on a killing spree.
This is a fictional book but it seemed real to me. The main protagonist, Peter, was tormented even more than I was. By the time I was a junior I had learned how to be invisible and to plan my days so I would never be alone for my tormentors. They forgot about me and I had a pretty peaceful 2 years to finish up high school. Coincidentally puberty finally found me that Junior year and I got a little bigger than the 5'3" 80lb boy of my Freshman and Junior years.
One thing I thought Picoult dealt with well is the fact that if I were popular I probably would have been a bully as well. In fact I remember 3 boys who I did bully, Frank Friedman, Micky Holmstrom, and Mark Scarborough. I did some of this bullying before my own experiences as the victim buy Micky was even lower on the totem pole than I and so I participated in my share of bullying against Micky even while being bullied. Picoult helped me understand through Josie one of the bully's of Peter that I could easily have been just as thoughtless and cruel as my tormentors if the roles had been reversed. In a funny way I found myself grateful to be the one bullied rather than being the bullier. I can forgive them and try to live a better life as a result of this insight.
I listened to the book and the narrator was great. I shed some tears, felt the sting of remembered humiliation, and finally found some redemption and closure. This is no light walk in the adolescent park, this is some heavy stuff told with insight and compassion. I was surprised by one part in the end of the book which was very surprising. Forr me I think though this is a book of fiction I found it to be a true book for me.
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Julie wrote: "...I do think that overall the Newbery's are books that will survive the test of time, but they might never appeal to a broad range of kids....Should we focus less on the Newbery-type books and more on what children enjoy? Should schools add Twilight to the curriculum and take out The Scarlet Letter?"Donna wrote: "Julie - that's an interesting question and one i'm afraid i can't answer simply. There are so many things to consider such as school should not only dump knowledge into us but make us think and challenge us and what better way to do that then by classic books that bring up big questions.
As a parent i figured it was my job to work with the school and bring out the fun parts of reading. I didn't worry if my daughter liked what she read in school (as long as she compleated her assignments) because we read fun books together."
I've really been thinking a lot about these issues recently, having just read 'The Reading Zone' by Nancie Atwell, 'Readicide' by Kelly Gallagher, and currently reading Louise Rosenblatt's 'Literature as Exploration.' These are books that are about giving kids choices and meeting them where they are as far as interest.
Donna, your approach is similar to Gallagher's--what he calls 50/50, having students read half required, half for fun (with choice), and I like that. I do believe there is some value in exposing kids to what is recognized as classic and getting them to think about why such works have lasted.
Sometimes, though, the required books teachers assign are the same ones they've been assigning for umpteen years and you can kind of feel that in rote worksheets, book reports, etc.
Teachers need to supply some energy if they're trying to get kids to really tackle serious issues and to analyze literature in a sophisticated way. Any book--including 'Twilight'--could lead to real and exciting learning if teachers are creative and figure out how. If the presentation is listless, I'd go for 100% choice, except that really involves MORE energy from the teacher, if she wants to be sure students ARE reading and thinking about what they are reading.
I think I'm with Julie on 'The Scarlet Letter,' and some other works that may be required at too early an age. It's a great book that I only realized was great when I was well past college age. The high school kids I've worked with hated it. That could be because teachers (like me) fail to engage them, but it is also somewhat likely it's just not a good book for high school students. Maybe that's true for Shakespeare and 'Lord of the Flies' in middle school, too.
Julie, some Newberys have had more mass appeal and work for reluctant readers, like 'Holes' and 'Bud, Not Buddy,' but not many. We've got to find books that fit kids instead of trying to make kids fit the books--like you and Donna do! What's the big picture? To quote Julie, "The goal is lifelong learners and readers."
Mod
The Awakening by Kate ChopinMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
This book falls under the sub-genre of 'books about women whose lives end tragically when society limits them in their choice of who they may love.' There are many great books in this category - Madame Bovary, The Age of Innocence, and Anna Karenina - just to name a few. Although I liked this story, I didn't feel the same empathy as I did with other great heroines. I have to say that it might have been because the audio narration was flat - the different character voices didn't display the angst that the protagonist, Edna Pontellier was experiencing. I have heard wonderful reviews of this book - and might have to give it another shot.
Secrets of Eden: A Novel by Chris BohjalianMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
What a great combination - Chris Bohjalian, one of my favorite authors and a literary mystery, one of my favorite genres! In Secrets of Eden, the book opens with Alice Hayward being baptized into a Vermont Baptist Church. The next morning, she and her husband are found dead. Is it a murder/suicide committed by an abusive and controlling husband? The story is told from several points of view, including the primary suspect and the detective on the case. As the mystery unfolded, my opinion and my sympathies kept on switching depending on who was narrating. The audio version is performed by different narrators for the different points of view. My theories on what really happened the night of the murder kept on changing all the way to the end. As always, Bohjalian's characters are well developed and very realistic. Definitely a good read for mystery and fiction lovers.
Bleak House by Charles DickensMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
At All Ears, we often recommend that children both read along with a book as they listen to the audio version - it helps them comprehend and retain more from the book. Recently, some of our adult customers mentioned that they also do this. I decided to give this a try with Bleak House by Charles Dickens. One reason I chose this book is that I love reading Dickens - his books are funny and such wonderful social commentary. And they are incredibly long - I've heard that he was paid by the word (he must have been very wealthy). I had an audio version of Bleak House narrated by Robert Whitfield (aka Simon Vance), one of my favorite narrators. Since it was a dilemma which I would enjoy more, listening or reading this book and I wanted to finish it quickly (relatively), I decided to do both. What a great experience! Vance's wide variety of accents and voices made the characters come alive. And taking time to read chapters allowed me to better understand all of the intricate plot twists and numberous characters in this long (33 hours/889 pages) book. This is my favorite Dickens book (so far). It had just the right combination of satire, mystery, and epic novel. And hats off to Simon Vance - phenomenal narration!
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My rating: 4 of 5 stars
So far so good....
It turned out to be a very good book. Rather cathartic for me as it brought back some very painful and humiliating memor..."
Wayne -
I love this review - not only because of your evident enthusiasm for this book, but also the way you revealed such a personal and difficult experience. Thanks so much for sharing this with us.
Julie at All Ears wrote: "Bleak House by Charles Dickens...This is my favorite Dickens book (so far)."I read this two years ago, never thinking I would get throught such a gargantuan behemoth, but it turned out to be my favorite Dickens (so far), too.
I listened to this book read by Martin Jarvis. Mr. Jarvis is an excellent reader and the perfect choice for this book. His character voices were fabulous, but enough about the reader...onto the book. This book is about the coming of the Anti-Christ. The book begins with his birth, but what we are soon to find out is that he is supposed to be switched and raised by another unsuspecting family. The evil nuns running the hospital where the birth is to take place mess up and as the authors put it "a shell game" begins. The babies are further switched and for lack of a better phrase, "all hell breaks loose" and the hilarity begins. It becomes a study of nature vs. nuture. Will the Anti-Christ be Evil strictly because of his parentage? I mean if you were the devil's spawn, don't you think there would at least be some sort of evil in you. Or, is it really the environment and actions of our parents, family and friends that mold who we are, what we believe, what we cherish, etc.? This book is full of wonderful characters, crazy happenings, and a fabulous story all pulled together by two great authors. I highly reccomend listening to this book because not only will you laugh, but it will leave you with something to think about. Check it out for yourself.
Mod
Lars - I love your point here (and as always, so well presented)! My 11-year old son just finished reading The Diary of Anne Frank for English and he HATED the book. Didn't we all have to read this book? The story behind the book is what makes this book a classic. By getting to know Anne Frank through her diary and finding out how her family is caught is what makes this book significant. But for an 11-year old boy to read pages upon pages about daily life in this annex and Anne's infatuation with Peter was a struggle. He did enjoy the afterward which discussed what finally happened to Anne and her family (or maybe because it was at the end of a long book). Luckily, his English teacher is following the 50/50 rule that Lars mentioned. He gets free choice of a fiction book about WWII. Any recommendations? The books I have been considering are:
Tamar: A Novel of Espionage, Passion, and Betrayal
and
Milkweed.
I loved The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, but I think the story might be over his head. I also liked Number the Stars by Lois Lowry, but I think this is too young for middle school. Love to hear a recommendation if anyone has one!
Ireally enjoyed Milkweed and the main character is a young boy - which is always nice for boys to read about boys.
Julie at All Ears wrote: "Lars wrote: "Sometimes, though, the required books teachers assign are the same ones they've been assigning for umpteen years and you can kind of feel that in rote worksheets, book reports, etc.Julie,
When you mentioned a WWII book, right away I thought of Goodnight Mister Tom (by Michelle Magorian). It depends on how much focus WWII has to have in the book your son reads. In this case, the book is about England during the war -- rationing, gas masks, air raids etc. and it's two main characters are Willie Beech, an evacuee, and Tom Oakley, who gets stuck housing the boy. WWII is in the background a lot in the things characters do. The book does a great job of world-building. Willie Beech is 8 years old when the story starts, and he comes from a abusive home. The story takes its time showing how he builds a relationship with Mister Tom, friends, and people in the town -- and then has to go back to London at his mother's request.
It has wonderful character development, even with the people in town, but it's definitely a longer story than Milkweed, and it does have dialect. There's an audio version I have that's okay, (except I don't like some of the voices, but the book itself is much easier to get. I'd really recommend this one...takes a while to get through, but really good.
I've skimmed through Milkweed, and I think I need to sit down with it and read slowly because the narrator's voice is hard for me to understand -- what he's aware of and why -- and I think it's neat that it was written that way. I haven't read the other book you mentioned and will have to try it.
Julie at All Ears wrote: "a fiction book about WWII....Any recommendations? "Ellen Klages, 'Green Glass Sea'--a girl is the main character, though. I loved this book, and a seventh grade girl I worked with did, too.
John Boyle, 'The Boy in Striped Pajamas'
Joseph Bruchac, 'Code Talker'--Haven't read this but have read other kidlit by Bruchac. He's good.
Theodore Taylor, 'The Cay'
I've read The Cay and really liked it, though I haven't re-read it in some years.I haven't read Codetalkers by Bruchac...but I really liked Bowman's Store and Hidden Roots. I really like the voice he writes in. And nature is generally a character too in his books.
I just read The Boy in the Striped Pajamas about the time the movie was being advertised. I enjoyed the fable writing, misunderstandings and Very Important Words in caps.
And I've never read Green Glass Sea, or heard of it, so now I'll have to go look it up.
Lars wrote: "Julie at All Ears wrote: "a fiction book about WWII....Any recommendations? "
Ellen Klages, 'Green Glass Sea'--a girl is the main character, though. I loved this book, and a seventh grade girl ..."
Mod
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Julie at All Ears wrote: "Lars wrote: "Sometimes, though, the required books teachers assign are the same ones they've been assigning for umpteen years and you can kind of feel that in rote worksheets, book reports, etc...."
Maus I and II by Art Spiegelman are amazing. Not sure how open his teacher might be to letting him read graphic novels, but these are some of the most engaging works about WWII I've ever read.
Diana wrote: "Julie at All Ears wrote: "Lars wrote: "Sometimes, though, the required books teachers assign are the same ones they've been assigning for umpteen years and you can kind of feel that in rote workshe..."You're right, Diana! I never thought of those, but they're really the best graphic novels I've read. The old CD-ROM is wonderful too...the complete graphic novels, audio and photos on the background. Hard to find, and outdated, but I think the county library has it.
I've been reading Barefoot Gen by Keiji Nakazawa. It's about WWII and Hiroshima, and in a lot of ways isn't as serious as Maus (there's a lot violence that I had to look up before I realized it was cultural/cartoony violence), there's a lot of bathroom humor, but it's also there's this experience of Gen, who's 7 at the time, and what the atomic bomb being dropped on the town would have been like. There's things I really don't like in the series (it's a bunch of books) most of them having to do with Gen convincing people to try again -- but there's also good info that I assume is historical: homeless kids, discrimination against survivors, school etc. I'd read Maus first though, because in Maus the violence is done realistically and it's not as tricky to understand motivations...Barefoot Gen is more of an adult book, I think, but I guess it was used in Japanese schools. There's two good anime versions of it though that cut out the cartoony violence and some digressions...but preview first before showing them to kids. Gory stuff.
Diana wrote: "Maus I and II by Art Spiegelman are amazing." Dawn wrote: "I've been reading Barefoot Gen by Keiji Nakazawa."Hurrah to both of you for these great graphic novel suggestions!
Mod
Great suggestions, Diana and Dawn! Although I'm not sure about the graphic novel format for a book report, I have heard so much about Maus that it seems like a perfect time to introduce the book to my son - after he finishes the WWII book he is reading. We are reading together Tamar by Mal Peet. The plot focuses around an undercover spy in the Dutch resistance but also jumps back to the present with a possible mystery. We're only 100 pages in, but it's great so far. I think I'll buy Maus I and II and then donate it to his teacher's classroom after we finish it. Some of the kids in his class are having a hard time finding a WWII book that they can relate to - these will be great. Thanks for the suggestion!
Mod
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen 
Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters by Jane Austen AND Ben WintersJane Austen books have become so popular in recent years that a whole new genre has hit the best seller lists - the Jane Austen spoof. With the new craze toward the paranormal, it seemed inevitable that someone would combine the supernatural with the beloved Austen classics. I have always wanted to read Sense and Sensibility and when Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters came out, I decided to listen to both of these books, switching back and forth every few chapters.
Sense and Sensibility revolves around two sisters, Elinor and Marianne Dashwood who have very different approaches to romantic relationships. Elinor, always practical, hides her feelings behind logic. Marianne, who is much more passionate, unwisely broadcasts her love, even though social rules at the time are very strict.
Although this is not my favorite Austen novel, the story line is good and I quickly found my emotions going up and down with the romantic successes and disasters of these two women. In the Sea Monster version, Ben Winters has taken the original Austen text and added an additional twist of a perilous setting filled with Sea Monsters, such as the man-eating lobsters that tear apart an early victim. What I really enjoyed with this spoof is how he highlights and exaggerates some of Austen's funnier lines. Reading some of the Austen novels in high school, I didn't pick up on the satire or humor of many of the scenes. With Sea Monsters the absurdity of many situations is exaggerated even further, making the humor obvious.
For example when Marianne discovers that her true love Willoughby is engaged to another woman, one of her friends Mrs. Palmer sympathizes by cursing Willoughby. "I wish with all my soul his wife may plague his heart out." In Sea Monsters, this is expanded to "I wish with all my soul his wife may be like a tapeworm to him. May she dwell symbiotically in the digestive tract of his existence consuming all joy, causing him writing pain at all intervals until she is finally defecated out." It is hard not to laugh when you hear that!
Very fun and definitely recommended for people who take Jane Austen too seriously!
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This is Paul Doiron's first book and is technically not due out in stores until April, but I got an advanced copy from B&N as part of their "First Look Book Club". This story takes place in Maine. The lead character is Mike Bowditch, a young game warden, who recently broke up with is girlfriend and seems to be trying to figure out if he's made the right decision about that and many other things in life when he gets a message from his dead beat dad, Jack, a dad that he hasn't seen nor heard from in 2 years. He doesn't think much of it seeing as he doesn't think much of his dad, until he finds out the next morning that 2 people were killed in the same neck of the woods where his dad lives and hangs out. From there, the book just takes off. Jack is accused of the murders, but escapes en route to the police station. Mike believes his father is innocent, but he's the only one who does. Mike doesn't want to get involved at first, but eventually gets sucked in. Why is he sticking up for this man who never really cared for him? He doesn't really know, but his instinct tells him his dad is innocent. Mike is caught between a rock and a hard place and solving this mystery seems to be the only way out. "The Poacher's Son" was hard to put down. This book was very well written, especially since this is the author's first book. The fact that it was about a profession I knew little about made it all the more interesting. Being a game warden seems like an extremely challenging, at times scary and a lonely job. Maine is a state I have never visited unless you count the years of watching, "Murder She Wrote," but who knows how much of that was shot on a back lot in LA and how much was actually on location. You can tell the Mr. Doirion loves Maine, so much so that I have added it to my "places to visit" list. It was also very interesting to learn about the hunters, men like Jack, who could if they had to, pick up very little and disappear into the trees and never be seen again. This book takes you on a wild ride with a great cast of characters. You never know who to trust and who to suspect. I definitely reccomend this book and look forward to further stories from Mr. Doiron.
I hate to say it, but I really didn't know what to expect when I started listening to this book. I, of course, have heard of David Sedaris. I have often thought of going to see him when he has come to visit the Bay Area because of all the buzz I have heard about him. My little sister is a huge fan of his and keeps telling me to read his books, but so far I had resisted. Why you might ask. I don't know. But I finally decided it was time to check him out. I think it also helped that as a part of my New Year's resolution, I promised myself that I would read more non-fiction books. It gave me that extra nudge. So I popped the CD into the player and was hooked. David Sedaris is the reader and I think it helps when a person who writes about their life, reads it themselves. They know just how to read it because they wrote it that way. It's about them and their experiences. I soon found myself laughing out loud, all by myself in my room, in my car, in the grocery store, wherever I listened to this book. There were at least 2 times where I had to pull off the road because I was laughing so hard I couldn't breathe. I also found out that I shouldn't listen to something so hilarious while working out. I usually start my workout with a little yoga and then do 30 minutes of step aerobics. I wasn't going to listen until I started the step portion, but then without thinking I pushed the play button and started my yoga. I made it through 2 poses and was in the middle of the palm tree pose when Mr. Sedaris got to one of the many funny parts. I went from concentrating on my breathing and holding my pose to doubled over with laughter. Never again will I start a book while doing my yoga. If you haven't figured it out by now, I highly reccomend this book. Mr. Sedaris writes about many different times in his life, some of which may be shocking to some, some easy to relate to, but all worth reading about. Now I have to decide which one of his books to read next.
Julie at All Ears wrote: "Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters by Jane Austen AND Be..." Julie, I've been waiting to see what you thought of "Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters" to see if it was going to be just as good as "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies". I can't wait to read it now. I love how you listened to them both at the same time. I don't think I could do that. Looking forward to more of your reviews.
Mod
Iron Hand by Charlie FletcherMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Stoneheart is a wonderful young adult series about a London boy named George who awakens evil forces when he breaks the head off of a stone dragon during a temper tantrum. George enters a new world where statues come to life and are divided into 2 camps - human statues who help George make reparations and try to fix the world and evil animal statues (like dragons and gargoyles). Ironhand is the 2nd book in the trilogy. Although it is not as exciting or captivating as Stoneheart, the fast pace continues with many plot twists. The audio version is superbly narrated by Jim Dale who creates an entire cast of voices from Gargoyles to a stuttering Samuel Johnson. The book takes you all over London and will definitely make you want to get out your suitcase and see the famous sites (and their statues) for yourself. Now onto book 3... Silvertongue.
[image error] The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right by Atul Gawande
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The Checklist Manifesto, written by surgeon Atul Gawande, is an entertaining and compelling book on the necessity of checklists. Whether you are performing a complex surgical operation, or landing a plane in the freezing Hudson River, checklists ensure consistency and success. The book is filled with fun anecdotes of how checklists have changed different industries and behaviors. Gawande also discusses how difficult it is to convince others to embrace checklists - they aren't innovative, cutting-edge technology or require much skill other than consistant follow through. But, he has me convinced on their advantages. I've already tried it on my son (pack your backpack, charge your laptop, brush your teeth...). Not much success on total buy-in from my son, but it's a start.
A Wind in the Door by Madeleine L'EngleMy rating: 2 of 5 stars
I forced myself to stay up last night to finish this book - folding laundry, emptying the dishwasher, playing solitaire, all with my earbuds in. Was it because this book was so awesome, I couldn't wait to find out how it ended? Not quite. A Wind in the Door has an interesting plot - at least interesting enough that I wanted to find out how it ended. But the reason I stayed up that extra hour was because the narration was so incredibly awful that I did not want to start my day with this irritatingly squeaky voice in my ears during my morning run. This sequel to A Wrinkle in Time starts out with a pretty good plot - space travel, mitochondria - I almost stopped listening because I thought I should share this one with my son. The narration really went south, when a new character was introduced - tiny little microscopic entities that are part of our mitochondria. And tiny little creatures have to have very high squeaky voices. Turning the volume down and listening with just one ear bud improved things... but not by much. This is a book that should be read...in print.
I chose to listen to this book because I always loved Nora Ephron's movies, but when I thought about it, I had never read anything about her. She is the reader and I must say I don't think I would have enjoyed this book as much if she hadn't been. She has great voice. As I listened to her, I imagined her sitting down in front of her 2 little boys and spinning them wild stories. Who knows if she really did that, but that was the picture that came to mind. I was warned that this book dealt with issues that were probably a little ahead of me because of my age, but I found it very interesting. I have always admired my elders and the advice they have to give. Maybe it's because I have never really had parents to teach me things, so I have had to rely on others I have found along my way through life. Ms. Ephron shared many of her experiences, from how she feels about her neck, of course, to meeting JFK. She was insightful and funny. I have visited Manhattan twice before, but as I listened to her, I saw it through her eyes. I now wish to go back and really look around. I have always looked at it like a tourist instead of thinking of it as a place to live, thinking of it as home. When you look at it like that, it changes your perspective. It's kind of how I feel about San Francisco. San Francisco is my home, my city of comfort even though I no longer live there. Every time I enter that city, I feel my heart race and the excitement zooming through my veins. I related to many of her other thoughts and stories as I think any female could. This book is only 3CD's and so is perfect if you are going on a short trip. Trust me...it's worth it to listen to it rather than read.
The Strain by Guillermo Del ToroMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Great vampire book, but very frustrating. This is only Part 1 of a 3 part series and I was pretty much left hanging. These are not the cute vampires of the Twilight series nor the romantic and sexy ones from Charlain Harris, these vampires are bad to the bone and have no interest in "hooking up" with humans. Humans are food and vectors to be used for spreading the vampire leaches.
Once a person is infected the human dies and the vampire leach takes over the running of the body. At first the vampire is basically a zombie but after maturing over the years they can communicate by telepathy with humans. Vampires have no need for sex organs and these just fall off the new vampires. They procreate by infecting humans through a incision in the neck by a big old fleshy stinger that can shoot out like a frogs tongue. All it takes is the stinger cutting unto the human for the human to be infected. Most humans are drained of all their blood and appear dead until the leach grows strong enough to control the nervous system of the dead human; while those that are not completely drained go through a very painful metamorphoses. Regardless these new vampires crave blood with a single minded imperative. They will feed and feed defecating when too full. These vampires are dirty mangy ugly zombies who kill any human they come across.
Decapitation, or sun light are the only means of killing these vampires. Crosses, holy water and the like have no effect. Silver swords and silver coated nails to be shot from a nail gun seem to be the choice in weaponry but a head can be detached from the body using steel or a car or whatever that is needed to remove a head from a body. Sun light is also used as a weapon as well as UV lights they carry that emit a UV ray that is more powerful than a simple black light.
In this first book we are introduced to one of the really bad vampires who wants to spread the disease throughout Manhattan and he arrives in the cargo hold of a big jet and by the time the jet begins taxing to the departure gate at JFK all are dead in the plane except for 4 passengers. All are infected and eventually all the passengers leave the morgue to begin the infection of New York City. This bad vampire is aided by a old dying rich and powerful human who is helping the vampire with the deal that the rich dude will get eternal life.
The narrator is fantastic. The book is compelling and horrific. This is a book that scares the reader and in the end I am left hanging by my finger nails over the cliff of what looks like an extermination event for all of mankind.
The good guys are lead by 2 doctors and an old Jewish concentration camp survivor from Romania who spent his whole life waiting to fight this one vampire they call "The Master". There appears to be other vampires who are battling "The Master". We are briefly introduced to them and they are no kinder than "the Master" but they don't want their entire food chain in the "New World" destroyed. They are more like care takers of the food supply and treat their food with some consideration. It looks like the book is building to a point where the old man and the 2 doctors from the CDC will eventually find "The Master" and destroy it but we are left with one of the doctors wives turned into a Vampire and the knowledge that sun light won't destroy "The Master".
It seems to take these human doctors from the CDC take forever to figure out they are dealing with a vampire. I decided while listening that if there ever is a time where hundreds of dead bodies go missing from morgues and dead people are found without any blood and no decomposition nor rigor mortise than I will be pretty darn sure we are dealing with Vampires and I will get the heck out of Dodge.
When is the next book due? Put me down for an immediate read as soon as it is released.
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Julie at All Ears wrote: "My first book of 2009 was Inkdeath. What a perfect way to start the year!! The combination of a magical world, complex characters, and a gripping plot make this an easy book to recommend. Imagin..."I too enjoyed these books. I wasn't aware that the third one was released - will have to pick that one up...YEAH! The only thing I have to say about the readers is that I love Brendan Fraser as an actor and a reader, but I had a hard time listening to his performance in the car. Unlike my (as you know) favourite reader Jim Dale (and others)...Brendan Fraser has a hard time with the characters whispering without actually whispering. The volume of his voice fluctuated so much I had to listen to it with earphones cleaning the house or at the computer or whatever. Not so great in the car with all the outside noise...wait - I need to qualify this...I drive a Jeep Wrangler with a canvas top. Maybe it's fine for people with 'real' cars.
Half ChildJust pulled The Half Child by Kathleen Hersom off the shelf. Maybe this book is more popular in England, but I was surprised to only see it twice...once at the library, and once when I bought it from the library. This story uses a great mix of medical knowledge, folklore, and character descriptions to make a convincing time and place for its characters. You know only what the main character, Lucy, knows.
Lucy lives with her little sister, Sarah, in Yorkshire, England during the Middle Ages. No one except Lucy pays much attention to Sarah...most in town believe she's a changeling, someone the fairies left in place of a real child. The descriptions Lucy gives of Sarah would in modern terms probably be Down Syndrome -- but of course Lucy understands only that she has to keep Sarah safe from the fairies. In modern terms, too, Sarah would be a "runner," and it is when Sarah goes away that Lucy is forced to deal with a new sister...also called Sarah, to replace the changeling in the family. But Lucy remains determined to get Sarah back from fairy land...
This is a great book. It's use of dialect and of character beliefs make you really believe that people would think this (and historically, they did). This is a young adult book that everyone can read, and I highly recommend it, if you can find a copy.
ReGeneration 01This book is printed by Thorndike Books, and I picked up for two reasons: It had a cover that didn’t draw me in, but tag lines that did, and it is a large-print that is not a 1950’s mystery for adults…very unusual.
Having finished it, I can say it has a good idea — Varina, a 15 year old girl, meets a boy, Chase, who proceeds to inform her that she is really a clone, and that they must round up the other clone children. The story starts with an interesting flashback of Chase as a little kid, on a boat with 3 scientists, two of whom treat him like a son, and a startling event that occurs.
Did I mention this book has cliffhangers all over? Not that that’s a bad thing, but some of them seem far-fetched. At times I could ignore the writing style, which I found had abrupt spots, with exclamation points here and there, or sentences that just didn’t read right to me. I was hoping for another The House of the Scorpion, which like this book, dealt with power struggles and human cloning, with a child narrator, and even though this is the first book in a series, I have no need to look at the others.
The main character, Varina, may be confused and disoriented with the news that she is a clone and scientists are out to get her, but she swings wildly between trusting whoever she meets completely one moment, and being suspicious of their intentions the next. While this makes sense under the conditions the book sets — for instance, that she’s just met this boy Chase when he starts telling her stories — it ends up tiresome and doesn’t serve any purpose.
I was interested with the initial trouble on the boat in the beginning, and I maintained my interest during Varina’s introduction to her life with her uncle Jim, but as the story goes on, it loses momentum quickly. Each clone is revealed to have a particular kind of superpower (which, if they actually had them in real life would probably more a lot less controllable — like the kids who can hear people through walls but wear headphones to school).
And as each clone is selected into the group, the story of each character is repeated, so that by you get two or three characters introduced, this one story seems to take up most of the short book. That’s rather annoying.
In the meantime, guardians pop up out of the woodwork with regularity to take care of Varina and the others — commonly people she has never seen before. Meanwhile, cliffhangers on all sides, Varina’s Uncle Jim lays in the hospital, and while Varina mentions every so often, that she wants to be at his side, that she trusts him absolutely, she goes on shopping trips with an aunt she has never met before, spends one day with the woman and concludes that with all the time spent with her aunt, she’d never learnt of her family.
Well, in a day, that might not always be something mentioned on the first day. Somehow I don’t consider a day much time.
Varina and the others manage to get cars and planes with ease and always escape just ahead of the scientists — which makes sense, as all good serials do. However, even if this is for younger readers, its cliffhangers and wording jarred me out of the story on several occasions.
The story ends with a cliff hanging that’s been hinted at. But most of the book, unfortunately, instead of minor world building or charactors, is spent collecting children, running from scientists, and repeating, just so the reader doesn’t forget, that they are all clones, most with special powers and tattoos. when they’ve nearly escaped at the end, it makes me wish the characters had been developed, or had done something other than the very beginning of a story. It’s the first of a series, but there’s nothing for me to hang on to in it, nothing I can’t wait to read.
Maybe they have an adventure in the next book. But this one, I’m very sorry to say, can be summed up in a sentence: “There was once a story about clone children and they had to run from evil scientists.”
That’s the start of the story. It’s a great idea. But I needed more story here.
BorderlineAfter listening to Winter Study, which i liked part of and didn't enjoy the rest of, I was concerned about Borderline. Would I enjoy it, or had Barr and her park ranger heroine, Anna Pigeon, gone the way of long chase scenes and thrillers. I shouldn't have worried. Borderline is just about the best fun I've had with a tough mystery in a while. Anna is confronted not only with her career on the rocks, her soul in turmoil from the events in Winter Study and three unexplainable murders, but she also ends up with an unexpected newborn baby - not exactly Ranger Pigeon's cup of tea. Once again a beautiful location - Big Bend National Park on the border of US and Mexico (i've been there and it is gorgeous!) and all the political issues involved with the border.
Barr has outdone herself on this one - best yet of a series I enjoy - but the book makes much more sense if you've read Winter Study.
I was completely impressed with Philip Roth's American Pastoral, narrated by Ron Silver. It is set in Newark, New Jersey in the 1960s against the backdrop of the death of the leather glove manufacturing business. Every character is so well drawn and believable. Ron Silver expertly portrays every one of them, particularly Merry, the stuttering renegade daughter of the Jewish Swede Levov and Christian former beauty queen, Dawn. One of the most fascinating characters in this story is Swede's father who just cannot get over the way life in America, particularly in Newark has changed. His rants are not only thought-provoking but instructional. You'll never look at a leather glove the same way you did before you listened to this very dark and disturbing, but excellently performed and produced audiobook.
A Study in ScarletIt's interesting to me that Holmes' first story involves the wild west and the Mormon migration - something that would have been exotic and exciting to the readers of the Strand. Makes one wonder if Doyle was hedging his bets on the success of Holmes by adding in a Wild West story along with the unusual detective. Obviously it wasn't necessary since Holmes was a hit no matter what the circumstances of the crime.
Great fun, and wonderful chance to listen to the genesis of one of the greatest literary partnerships. Without Watson, Holmes would be just another annoying genius. Watson is not the stupid bumbling fool that is often portrayed in non-Doyle productions. Remember that he's a medical doctor, which even in those days required considerable study and intelligence. Having a dullard ask Holmes to explain his reasoning would have meant nothing, but having an educated man who has traveled much and reads constantly ask for explanation underscores the brilliance of Holmes reasoning. Watson also provides the duo with the humanitarian side it needs to keep it interesting. He is not merely a side-kick he is the perfect counter balance to Holmes.
I love Sherlock Holmes stories not because of the deductive reasoning of Holmes but because of the incredible synergy between these two friends and what they each bring to the story. Doyle's real brilliance lies in how these two work together.
Why am i a Sherlockian snob? Because when a modern writer tries to change this relationship the result is either a tale that is not true to the character of Holmes or one that totally trashes the amazing partnership the Doyle established.
Mod
Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan PatonMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I picked up this one because someone had mentioned it as one of their favorites of 2009 (Don??). What a great book! I've been reading quite a few books about Africa since my daughter is doing a semester abroad in South Africa. Unfortunately, they have all been a bit disquieting - focusing on racial tension. But, by far, this was my favorite book. Very heartfelt and well written.
An award winning classic about Stephen Kumalu, a Zulu pastor, whose son accidentally murders a white man in South Africa. This book beautifully describes the agony of the racial tension in South Africa and the sad lives of the rural people as they try to maintain their lives under European rule.
The audio narration was PERFECT. Frederick Davidson was the narrator. In the past, I have disliked his voice as being too stuffy and 'British'. His African accents for this book were amazing. He performed a wide variety of distinct voices for the dcharacters. Beautifully written prose and beautifully read.
O Jerusalem by Laurie R. KingMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I completely agree with Tara - this is my favorite Mary Russell (so far)! Set in Jerusalem this story revolves around a case where Mary and Holmes are trying to find a terrorist who is trying to create a conflict that will result in war in Jerusalem.
The interesting thing about this Mary Russell series is that the story lines are just ok. There aren't huge plot twists or heart pounding action. But the books are so good. The descriptions of the places, and the character development makes these stories such an enjoyable read. I am sure in a few months I won't remember many of the specifics of the story, but the sense of place and the growing affection I have of the characters will stay with me. I rarely read all of a series. Working in a bookstore, it's important to be broad. But when I get a chance, I pick up one of these books just for the pure pleasure of a good story.
A Gate at the Stairs by Lorrie MooreMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
This is a tough book to review. Chosen as one of the NY Times top 10 books of 2009, I had high expectations. I can see why this author is so well liked. Her writing is amazing - her choice of words, the cadence, the humor - absolutely beautiful to read and listen to. The problem I had with this book is that there is no cohesive plot. Unlike some of these introspective stream of consciousness books, there is plenty of story - just too many disparate things were going on. The story revolves around a college student named Tassie. It started to focus on her part time job as a nanny for a family who adopts an African American child. That seemed like a good plot. But then it focused on Tassie's romance with another student who turns out to be not at all who he said he was - plot 2. And then there is a deeper story about the adoptive parents that threatens the new family - plot 3. And of course Tassie's brother, decides to enlist - yikes! At the end of the book, all of the individual stories were finished, but I felt like I was missing some overall message.
I will try another Lorrie Moore and I would have no problem recommending this for it's excellent writing. But, don't ask me to write an essay on the theme of this one.
I agree with Julie. I read A Gate at the Stairs after seeing some positive reviews and found myself wondering what I had missed at the end of it. The writing was pretty good but it never really came together and I'm still not quite sure what the point was.
"I've been reading quite a few books about Africa since my daughter is doing a semester abroad in South Africa"Hi Julie,
I'm interested in your daughter's visit to South Africa, is she studying on her own or is she part of a group of students from the USA? The reason for asking is that for the past 5 or so years my family has been hosting American students for a week while they visit Stellenbosch as part of their study course. We enjoy it very much and hopefully so do the students.
Look forward to hearing from you
Minnie
Winter GardenHow does having a cold and closed off mother who has no interest for her girls influence them as they grow to adulthood. What happens when the only individual, the father, who was the only one to show affection and love for his girls disappears from their lives.
This book was interesting as it delved into the mother's past after the girls are adults and the mother is in her 80's. She tells of the hardships she had to endure and managed to survive through it all.
The girls finally understand their mother. Does it justify the way she treated the girls? In my mind no, I believe the father should have pressed the issued instead of trying to make up for her apparent indifference. Especially since he knew her circumstances before he married her. I believe the hardest part for the girls was they saw their mother shower affection on their father.
Parents play very important roles in raising children. Each parent has specific roles which influence children as they enter into adulthood. The mother is responsible for affection and self worth. When that is lacking, it is interesting to see how that affects children. Yes, they do not want to grow up like their mother, but in the end, a lot of their mother's non-caring influence seems to filter into their lives.
Child abduction is such an awful crime and it affects everyone. This book centers around the sibling who is the twin of the abducted child and the family. What happens after the initially flurry, when there are no more clues and the search and media dies down. Johnny (the twin) keeps looking for clues.
He discovers little bits and gets the interest of one cop. Johnny's biggest problem is he is labeled as a trouble-maker and he has to make people believe him. He goes out of his way to do things on his own and eventually gets him into deeper trouble.
The book starts to pick up when the cop does start to think maybe Johnny is on the right track. The twists and turns of this book keeps you interested to the very end. The ending is not what one would expect. This is a great mystery book.
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My rating: 4 of 5 stars
When I was growing up, my all time favorite book was A Wrinkle in Time. Maybe it was because the heroine was not pretty, wore glasses and was good at math. I have probably read this book at least a dozen times. The heroine of When You Reach Me , a 6th grade girl named Miranda, has a favorite book that she's read 100 times, and it just happens to be A Wrinkle In Time. I was destined to love this book!
When You Reach Me is the 2010 Newbery winner, and as I've mentioned before, Newbery winners do not disappoint. Part mystery with a small bit of time travel, this book is a nostalgic look at growing up in NYC during the 70's. The book revolves around some anonymous notes that Miranda receives that talk about events in the future. The bizarre thing is that every single event actually happens exactly as the notes predict. Not only does Miranda have to solve the mystery behind the notes, her best friend Sal is giving her the cold shoulder, and to top it off, her mother has been selected as a contestant on the $10,000 Pyramid game show. This story combines humor and angst as Miranda navigates problems with friendship and social class. I loved the nostalgia of life in the 70's - from the $10,000 Pyramid and forever young Dick Clark to NYC deli lunches. Although I wonder if my 11-year old son read this, he would understand all of the references to life in the 70's.
If you are a fan A Wrinkle in Time or like good young adult fiction, this is a great read.
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My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Although I generally do not listen to that many business books, at the start of every year, I pick a business title (usually dealing with organizing or time management) to motivate me to clean up my life both literally and figuratively.
David Allen is a well-known consultant and executive coach who works on helping people organize and become more productive. I loved his simple ideas on how to manage the never-ending To Do list. I also liked his altitude analogy on life - looking at your life from the 50,000 foot level (what do I want to accomplish in my life) all the way down to the runway (what I am doing right NOW). The book was so good that I not only listened to it in audio, but purchased a print copy to help me implement his ideas.
OK, stress-free productivity - here I come!
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