The Greatest Generationby Tom Brokaw - I've seen this book many times on the shelves of both my previous library and here at Loogootee. I've been drawn to it but never had either the time or the impetus to delve into it deeper. However, after attending a session of my Teaching American History fellowship and listening to two WWII veterans relive their harrowing experiences during this time, I felt compelled and inspired to finally read more about the amazingly heroic men who alterted the history of our great nation.

In this moving book, Tom Brokaw goes out into America, to tell through the stories of individual men and women the story of a generation, America's citizen heroes and heroines who came of age during the Great Depression and the Second World War and went on to build modern America. This generation was united not only by a common purpose, but also by common values--duty, honor, economy, courage, service, love of family and country, and, above all, responsibility for oneself. In this book, you will meet people whose everyday lives reveal how a generation persevered through war, and were trained by it, and then went on to create interesting and useful lives and the America we have today.

Fish! by Stephen C. Lundin et al. - Suggested to me by a fellow teacher at a recent faculty book club meeting, this is a short and poignant parable that draws its lesson from an unlikely source-- the fun-loving fishmongers at Seattle's Pike Place Market. In Fish! the main character , Mary Jane Ramirez, is a recently widowed mother of two who is asked to engineer a complete turnaround of her company's troubled operations department, a group that authors Stephen Lundin, Harry Paul and John Christensen describe as a "toxic energy dump". Most managers would call it quits and move on, having no hope of changing a long-established environment of uninspired work practices. But the authors don't make it so easy for Mary Jane. Instead, she's left to sort out the colossal mess by drawing upon the inspriation she finds from head fishmonger Lonnie. Based on a bestselling corporate education video, Fish! strives to help employees create a fun and happy workplace. While some readers might find the storyline and prescriptions for change--such as "Choose Your Attitude", "Make Their Day" and "Be Present"--downright juvenile or laughable, others will find a healthy dose of timely motivational management techniques. If you loved Who Moved My Cheese? then you'll feel the same about Fish!.

Wintergirls

by Laurie Halse Anderson

Another chilling YA title by the author of Speak, this book explores the power of friendship for evil as as well as good, and examines the inexplicable ties that bind girls together even after they've parted ways.

What happens when competition between friends turns deadly? That's exactly what we find out from Lia and Cassie, two teens who make a secret pact to be the "skinner" friend. Lia copes with anorexia while Cassie battles bulemia, all in the quest to be the skinniest. The friends have a falling out and go their own ways and shortly thereafter Cassie dies tragically, alone, in a motel room. Lia's anorexia escalates as she tries to cope with her culpability in Cassie's death. Lia not only is battling her own demons within, but also battling her guilt for not answering Cassie's calls for help on the night of her death.

Half Broke Horses

By Jeanette Walls

I waited with much anticipation for this book by Walls, author of the NYT bestseller Glass Castles. This book is classified as fiction simply because she got her stories from her mother who, as you know if you read Walls' previous book, isn't all that realiable of a source. Since she couldn't verify all the stories about her grandmother, Walls just went with historical fiction and man, does it work. Read as either a story or real-life, Walls once again uses her phenomenal writing skills to spin a story that won't dissappoint even the most critical reader.

The value of hard work, perserverance, and family values are at the forefront of this novel about Lily Casey Smith's life. Raised like a boy, she turns into a trailblazing woman who fends for herself in the Wild West. A factory worker, a rancher, a teacher, and pilot...you name it and Lily did it. From taking on Chicago on her own early on to returning to find her way in the Southwest, we see the development of many new technologies through her eyes. The reader quickly learns that spunk and intelligence will take you far in life.

I've recommended this to several colleagues, all of who have adored it. If you are a strong woman (or aspire to be), you really need to read this book!

A Few Quick Reads - Upon looking back at my own reading notebook I noticed several titles I've read over the past few months but haven't felt passionately enough about to relate them to the world as a whole. I'll just throw out a few tidbits so that you'll see I've not been slacking when it comes to my reading!

1. The Tenth Justice by Brad Meltzer - Legal thriller that is not usually my reading fare. Recommended by a great friend, I was impressed with the insight it gave into the seedier side of the Supreme Court.

2. Eat This, Not That 2010 by David Zinczenko - I always love reading these books. Now I know I should NOT eat that grilled stuffed burrito from Taco Bell. Well, I know I shouldn't, but I probably still will!

3. Have a Little Faith by Mitch Albom - I really connected with Albom's previous books (Tuesdays With Morrie and The Five People You Meet in Heaven), so I was anticipating another memorable book. I wasn't dissappointed, either. Albom explores faith and relgion by writing a eulogy for Reb, his Jewish rabbi. Interesting caveat: Reb is still alive.

4. The Runner's Rule Book by Mark Remy - Hilarious but all-too-true rule book for anyone who is a runner or is thinking about taking up the sport. Covers all the basics plus those small things that one may overlook, such as Rule #53: Look behind you before spitting or blowing your nose!

5. The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown - In anticipation of my trip to D.C. in June, I couldn't wait to read Brown's new book. Set in Washington, he introduces the reader to the mysteries that were built into our nation's capital by our forefathers and how, if unlocked, can mean the destruction of our nation.

6. An American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld - Loosely based upon the life of Laura Bush, this isn't the type of book I usually read but I enjoyed it all the same. Laura Bush is someone I admire greatly and her life up until the point she meets and marries George eerily parrallels mine. I don't know if this is one I'd recommend, but I'll own up to reading it all the same.

7. Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut - I read this as a part of our required reading for this year's English Academic Team. An anti-war novel set during WWII but written during the Vietnam war era, you can easily discern the differences from other WWII novels. Skipping forward and backward in time, from earth to Tralmalfadore, and from fantasy to realistic fiction, the novel is hard to follow but does have memorable passages that relate Vonnegut's disdain for war.

8. A Game Plan for Life by John Wooden - I read nearly everything written by or about the venerable Coach Wooden, and I was elated to see a new book by him. This one focuses on the importance of mentoring, both for the mentor and the mentee. Very inspiring to think of all the people that you can affect throughout your life whether or not you realize it.

9. Bright-Sided by Barbara Ehrenrich - Another non-fiction book by the author of Nickel and Dimed (one of my favorites) which asks the reader to look critically at the world in which we live. This book confronts the idea that society's obsession with positive thinking is over-the-top. Honestly, I believe the premise is correct. There honestly isn't always a bright-side to everything!

10. The Way to Rainy Mountain by M. Scott Mommaday - Another English Academic Team reading, this is a folk legend of the Kiowa Indiana tribe of the southwestern U.S. Told in part legend, part historical narrative, and part personal reflection, this book weaves a story about the Kiowas from the earliest times until their eventual virutal demise from our culture.

The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch - Another faculty book club selection, I honestly wasn't as taken with this book as most of the individuals I've spoken to. I will admit that it probably had to do with the fact that the man was in the midst of dying, spending his last days with his wife and children. I found myself depressed and wondering, "Why bother?" Although he addresses this line of thinking early on, I just never embraced the concept. There were many, many poignant passages and life lessons that one who still has a lot of time to live would benefit from applying to his or her life. Pausch, the eternal "fun guy" takes that attitude as much into his dying as he did into his living. I'd recommend this book to anyone as the lessons will stick with you and, hopefully, enhance the life that's out there for you to live!

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho - Our February selection for our Faculty Book Club, this is a book that has been on my "To Read" list for a long, long time. I have had two guys (one a student and one a random man who worked at my car dealership) tell me that this book literally changed their lives. Knowing the senior boy, that statement spoke volumes. Paired with the fact that the book has been on the NYT Bestseller list for something like 125 weeks, the members of our book club thought it might be a wise selection. After reading it, I won't say it changed my LIFE, but I will say it did have a profound effect on the way I view the things that have happened to me throughout my life.

This novel relates the story of Santiago, a young Spaniard who has a dream and the courage to follow it. After listening to the omens, the boy ventures out on his personal, Ulysses-like journey of exploration and self-discovery, symbolically searching for a hidden treasure located near the pyramids in Egypt. When he decides to go, his father's only advice is "Travel the world until you see that our castle is the greatest, and our women the most beautiful". In his journey, Santiago sees the greatness of the world, and meets all kinds of exciting people like kings and alchemists. However, by the end of the novel, he discovers that "treasure lies where your heart belongs", and that the treasure was the journey itself, the discoveries he made, and the wisdom he acquired.

The Alchemist is an optimistic novel that reinforces the power of a dream and reassures the doubtful that following your dream is always the right thing to do, no matter the price. This novel was poignant and thoughtful and made me feel that maybe there is a plan to this whole journey of ours. In the words of the old man, "When you are seeking your personal legend, the whole world conspires to help you." What a comforting thought!

Unwind by Neal Shusterman - One of the classes I'm working with recently selected this book, nominated for the Eliot Rosewater Book Award, as one of their novels for this semester. It's been flying off the shelves for some time now, so I was quite excited when I had to actually take the time to read it for work instead of pleasure.

The concept is intriguing...abortion is outlawed. Well, almost. Abortion is illegal from the time of conception until a child reaches the age of 13. At that time, between the ages of 13 and 18, parents can elect to have their child "unwound", kind of a reverse abortion. "They're not exactly killed. Instead, their body parts live on, thanks to recent medical advances that enable every single body part --- from hair to feet to internal organs --- to be donated to others who need (or at least can afford) them. From the age of 13 until 18, millions of kids are at risk of undergoing this procedure, of becoming "unwound." No one knows the dread and fear that teenagers must endure. We meet Connor, a troublemaker whose parents find it easier to sign an unwind order than to deal with his disruptive tendencies. There's Risa, a ward of the state whose excellent piano playing abilities are not quite enough to save her from unwinding in the face of budget cutbacks. And there's Lev, whose parents are unwinding their tenth child as part of the church's mandate to tithe, or to give one-tenth of their earnings back to the community."
(http://www.teenreads.com/reviews/9781416912040.asp)

The social and moral issues brought to light while reading this book were quite intriguing. Although "unwinding" isn't exactly a practice one may see as happening in our society, the parallels one can draw (and discuss with a class) are quite interesting to say the least. I hope I have the opportunity to sit in on some of the class discussions as it would be very enlightening to see what point-of-view seniors will have about the subject!

I also recently read Superfreakonomics written by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner. I absolutely adored Freakonomics, the earlier and ground-breaking offering by these two author/economists. The first offering made me analyze things differently on many levels, actually looking more at the importance of data opposed to taking ordinary, every day things at face value. This new book gave me even more of the same...plenty more to think analytically about!

The most interesting part of this book in my opinion (and since this is MY blog, you've got to read MY opinion!) was the chapter debunking the controversial issue of global warming. I've read widely about this issue, and since I lean to the side of thinking that it's much to do about nothing, Dubner and Levitt won my heart once again by providing me with even more data from renowned and respected scientists (ala the men even Bill Gates looks up to) which support the fact that it's all really just a lot of politically motivated hoopla.

Of course, I'd recommend this book highly to anyone who often finds himself/herself frustrated with listening to the talking heads in the media and Washington simply try to force-feed us their opinions again and again. This book encourages you to think for yourself in a critical way. Maybe your instincts aren't always incorrect!

The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford - This book was the second selection of our Faculty Book Club for this year. I didn't know a lot about the book outside of the fact that it had been on the NYT bestseller list for several weeks. After reading it, I'm very thankful to my colleagues for choosing it as one of our selections! Ironically, it kind of goes hand-in-hand with our previous selection, Sarah's Key in that the plot focuses on the American internment of Japanese Americans during WWII, sort of similiar to the French roundup of French Jews during that same period. Very interesting that we chose two books that were so similar!

From the NYT review: On the eve of America’s World War II internment of its Japanese residents, 12-year-old Henry Lee meets his first true love. Her name is Keiko, and she’s the only other Asian at Henry’s otherwise all-white Seattle elementary school. She’s also Japanese, which lies at the heart of Henry’s subsequent struggles — with his Chinese nationalist father; his racist, bullying classmates; and, finally, his brutally suspicious country. The hotel of the book’s title is the real Panama Hotel, and that’s where Ford’s story begins, with the basement discovery of what Seattle’s Japanese families left behind when they were sent to the camps. The tale jumps between 1986, just after the death of Henry’s wife (whose name is not Keiko), and the 1940s, setting up its driving mystery: What happened to Henry’s dark-eyed childhood sweetheart? Though the story of life in war-era Seattle and the detention of the city’s Japanese families, including Keiko’s, is rich in detail, its characters feel thin. Henry is terribly earnest and seems always too old for his age — at 12, he has the caution and calm of a 56-year-old; at 56, Ford refers to him as “Old Henry Lee.”

It has been a while since I've taken the time to update the blog with what I've been reading. I'll write about a few today, and when I get back to school and back to my reading log, I'll write about the rest. It seems I'm not as adept at recalling things these days...

Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay - I was very excited about this book as it was the first book our new Faculty Book Club selected. It took me a while to get to read (listen) to it as every time I started someone else wanted a copy to read so I'd give mine away! In the end, I shorted myself a copy and had to download it and listen to it on my iPhone. Regardless, read or listened to, this book was a well-written work of historical fiction which taught me about an event that heretofore I had no knowledge about.

Sarah's Key is told from both the perspective of a 10-year-old girl whose family is rounded up during the Vel D'Hiv in France in 1942 and an American who presently lives in Paris and uncovers a hidden family secret which links them both. The Vel D'Hiv roundup was an event the French government has hidden quite successfully since World War II. During this roundup, the French police rounded up men, women, and children and took them to the Vel D'Hiv, a large velodrome. There, there were kept in deplorable conditions until being loaded up on trains and sent to German concentration camps where they were gassed. The book is told in alternating chapters, moving between 1942 and present day France, so that the reader becomes immersed in both the history of the event and the impact it has had on current day France.

I'd recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical fiction in the least. Learning about historical events through a well-written book is always an enjoyable experience.

On to the next.....

Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout is one of the best books I've read in quite some time. I was clueless about this book until a coworker asked me if I had it in the library at the start of the school year. Apparently, this book managed to win a Pulizter Prize without me knowing it. Okay, so I let one slip...and what a good one it was, too!

This book is exactly my type of book. Set in a small northeastern town along the coast, we see the ins and outs of small town life through the venerable Olive Kitteridge, a former teacher and local bastion of cynicism. I think I fell in love with Olive straightaway because she reminded me so much of my grandmother. Not grandmotherly in the least but crass and williing to speak her mind at the drop of the hat. Very endearing, really!

In short vignettes, we meet the characters of the town one by one, and take a trip into the back rooms of their lives and see, in the words of a famous song, "...who's cheatin' who, and who's being true." Olive's character weaves in and out of each vignette, in some way impacting each life we get a chance to spy upon. Throughout the book Olive, grows, too. From a woman who is cynical and doubts that there is good in anything, to one who sees the possiblities of a new life late in the game. Dedicated to her husband, she sees him through a stroke and stands by his side until the end. She even comes to salvage some sort or relationship with her distant son Christopher all before she finds her second chance at love.

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein - My wonderful sister, Corina, let me borrow this book, and it sat on my shelf for quite some time as other books weasled their way past its spine and into my hand. Being a dog lover, I picked the book up several times, but each time replaced it, unread. I just knew the book was bound to be sad, and there are few things I look forward to less than another sad book about a dog that dies (thanks to Gordon Korman!). I'm not sure what occurred that finally made me grab the book and commit to it (probably the impending need to return it to its rightful owner), but I finally sat down with the book and that was all it took. This is a GEM of a book, even if I did have tears in my eye by the end of chapter one.

This book is told from Enzo's point of view. Enzo being the dog, you can see how this might seem a bit, pardon the pun, far-fetched at first. However, one can only distinguish Enzo's non-human status by the events he relates, not in the way he relates them. Chapter one was hard. Enzo is at the end of his life and realizes that his "time" is indeed approaching. From there, we take a ride through Enzo's life, from the day his master picked him from his liter. He is on a journey with him, through his marriage, the birth of his daughter, his car-racing career, and all the tragedies (both big and small) that accompany a life well-lived. The love and admiration Enzo shows for his master is compelling and heart-warming. And the love that he is given in return is nothing less than the same.

This book gave me a new and fresh perspective on what it means to truly love and admire those you are closest to in life, be they dogs or humans. Love is unconditional, and your best friends should always be your biggest fans, no matter what bone-head moves you might make along the way. One of the most lasting lessons I learned from this book is to, in the words of a cherished friend, "Live each day so that I'm as good of a person as my dog thinks I am."

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman - One of my goals for the year is to read as many award-winning YA titles as I can. That said, I've not been doing a great job! However, The Graveyard Book was last year's winner of the Newbery Award so that sounded like a super place to start.

I'd compare this book to Hugo Cabret in that there are some wonderful pencil sketches that supplement the reading throughout. The story was on the YA side of the spectrum and I didn't really find it all that compelling. Set in a Graveyard, the story tells us about a young man named Bones who is an orphan being "raised" by the ghosts of the graveyard. When he was a child, Bones' entire family was murdered as he narrowly escaped the knife of a man named Jack with the help of the ghosts. Taken under their care, he grows into an inquisitive young man who thrives under the "freedom of the graveyard" until he becomes restless to explore the world outside its gates. When he does, he learns of the true story of how he came to live there, and vows to avenge his family's death and rejoin society in the process.

A good, escapist read. One I wouldn't hesitate to recommend to a 4th-7th grade student, but not necessarily one I'll be singing the praises of as I speak with my colleagues!

Looking for Alaska by John Green - So, I honestly think I am the last school librarian to read this book, and I don't know why I haven't done it until now. Honestly, it's one I've recommended to SO MANY of my guy readers over the past two years. It's a book that hooked several boys, and even has become a favorite among many of the reluctant readers I'd struggled to find a book with which they could identify. I cannot keep this book, or his subsequent books (An Abundance of Katherines and Paper Towns) on the shelf. It wasn't until I learned he would be attending and speaking at the annual ILF Conference did I force myself to get it read. I mean, I can't be non-conversant about such an important book and author, can I? Really, now....

Miles is a smart, if not socially inept, young man. Feeling stifled in his virtually friendless but not unhappy life at home, he sets off to the boarding school his father attended, to the Great Perhaps inspired by the poetry of Fracois Rabelais. Culver Creek Boarding school isn't exactly what he had evisioned. First, he had not envisioned that Alabama would be hotter than Florida (it is). Second, he didn't envision himself as the nickname type (this skinny kid is apparently a "Pudge"). Lastly, he didn't envision himself falling head-over-heels for an unpredictable, screwed-up, clever, and amazingly beautiful girl (her name is Alaska, and he does).

This is a wonderful book. If you cracked open the head of a sixteen-year old boy, this is the stuff that would come seeping out. So, consequently, it may not be appropriate for the younger kids! However, it is a great read for high school boys and adults who can remember what it was like to be a teenage away from home for the first time and falling in love.

Handle With Care by Jodi Picoult - I had to wait until summer to read and review this book. Summer...when all the books would be back on the library shelves, ready for me to finally get to select all the books I'd been intent on keeping in students' hands during the school year. I selected a whole slew of books, both fiction and non-fiction, and started with the highly anticipated new book to hit the shelves by Jodi Picoult.

Much like My Sisters Keeper in tone, I felt Picoult was back to her previous stellar writing in this book. The story of Willow and her family, the book chronicles Willow's fight with a rare genetic disease known as OI, a disease that leaves her bones brittle and breaking at the drop of a hat. In order to deal with the mounting financial repercussions of Willow's disease, her mother sues Willow's doctor for wrongful birth asserting that she did not warn them of Willow's disease soon enough. That if she had, they may have opted to abort Willow. However, Picoult's plot can never be that easy. To complicate it, that doctor happens to also be her best friend and Willow's Godmother. Even more complicating is that her father does not want to sue so, instead, sides with the defense. All the elements of classic Picoult are there....the troubled sibling, the public servant father, the friendship in peril, the parents in disagreement, the court case.

I think I'd like to see this one turned into a movie as well. This weekend I saw My Sisters Keeper and, although I felt it was not at all like the book, I was enthralled by it.

People of the Book by Gwendolyn Brooks - Our last Rival Reader selection of the year and another New York Times Bestseller, I was ensnared in the web the author so vividly creates as she tells the story of one small book over the course of the history of an entire people. A little known book, a little known culture, and a well-known people combine in a story of historical fiction that had me learning a lot more than I had expected.

The Haggadah, a Jewish prayer book, is the piece of art we follow across Europe through the eyes of Hannah, the Austrailian book perserver hired to document its history, as well as each person the book came into contact with during its long and vivid history traveling through Europe. Each item and stain Hannah finds then results in the story of how that particular item came to be a part of the book. From Italy to Sarajevo, the book traveled with its people, following them through the persecution in each place the settled.

Brooks took a little known subject and made it come alive for me. Although the persecution of the Jewish people has been well-documented, their persecution outside of Germany has not been. It was incredibly enlightening to learn more about how the Jews have always been an outcast people, not just in Germany.


Three Little Words: a memoir by Ashley Rhodes-Courter - Finally! A book I've been waiting to read since I purchased it! Having read my last book club selection for the year, I devoured this memoir in just one day. The story of a young girl who is shuffled through the foster system in Florida, this is a compelling story of her overcoming the incompetence of the system to become a successful and well-adjusted individual. Not all stories wind up like hers, and over and over again she points that out through the stories of others she met along the way, even through the story of her brother. Ashely finds a home and is adopted by a loving and nurtering family. With their help and love, she fights back against the system and those who harmed her most, and became a positive role-model for other foster children. Through her deft ablitity to write and speak, she gained a forum to reach many across the nation to inspire them to take action and find children homes instead of just shuttling them in and out of unqualified foster homes.

Outliers: The Story of Success

by Malcolm Gladwell

Having read both of Gladwell's earlier profferings, Blink and The Tipping Point, I anticipated an insightful and thought-provoking codex that translated seemingly mundane data and information in a way I'd never before contemplated. Gladwell surpassed all of my expectations with this book and has added his name to my list of favorite non-fiction writers to date.

As Gladwell immediately points out, the American ideal of success entails someone who comes from the "wrong side of the tracks", works hard, and makes a name for oneself. However, idealistic this might be, he quickly begins to refute the supposition by outlining the various ways in which age, location, opportunity, and even luck affect the success of even the most intelligent of individuals. Would Bill Gates have been BILL GATES if he had been born 15 years earlier in Juaraz, Mexico? Probably not as he would have missed the birth of the computer and wouldn't have been in a location to have taken advantage of unlimited computer usage at such an early age. Gladwell provides example after example of successful people who, although undoubtedly smart and incredibly talented, wouldn't have made a name for themselves had they not been placed in the perfect situation at the right time.

After a lifetime of hearing that if you just work hard enough your dreams can all come true, this book made me think in more realistic and practical terms. The crux of success lies in opportunity, and whether given to sought out, without it success will most likely remain illusive to the vast majority of people.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak -

A Michael Printz honor book, I honestly hadn't given a lot of thought to reading this YA title until we discussed it in our adult book club. One of the members was looking for a new novel to use during her study of Anne Frank, so we decided to read this book as a group to assist her in making her decision. It took me quite a long time to read as I'd kept it at work and read a bit at a time. Honestly, I didn't get too interested in the book until I was about halfway through (there are a lot of characters and it's a bit tough to keep it all straight initially). However, when I hit that point, I could hardly put it down. In retrospect, I think this book affected me in many ways, and I've already recommended it to many students who enjoy this genre!

With a narrator like Death (a.k.a. the Grim Reaper), this novel takes on the traditional Nazi novel and wins hands down. So often when you read a book about this time in history, it is written from a Jewish perspective or an American perspective. I can't recall ever reading a book written from a non-Nazi German perspective. That is the case as we meet Liesel, The Book Thief. A young German girl who is given up by her mother, she forms deep and intense bonds with her new foster parents, non-Nazi Germans who are doing their best to survive without being noticed. Along they way we meet so many people in the book, from Rudy Steiner, her best friend on Himmel Street and her partner in crime, to a Jew that Liesel's family harbors in their basement. We watch Liesel experience Nazi Germany from the outside and we see her love of reading and books develop as she realizes the power of words in a time when words were used for so much harm. With the theft of her first book (The Gravedigger's Manual), we see her procurement of books throughout the book and see how each one came to her with a story...a story that impacts the action of the book every time.

It's hard to speak about this book without giving anything away! I can simply say that this book is unlike any other you've ever read or will more than likely ever read. It is one that MUST be on your list!






Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortensen and David Oliver Relin -

I had purchased this book A LONG time ago and put it on my "one day I'd really like to read but probably never will unless it's for a book club" stack (let's just say it's a really, really large pile!). Well, thankfully our Rival Readers book club chose this book as one of their spring selections, because it was one of the most informative and thoughtful books I've read in quite a while. Having a keen interest in the Middle East at the moment, the setting for the book beckoned memories and knowledge from books like The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns. However, the fact that this was a non-fiction title that for once I could understand about this topic, I really feel much more informed about the area of Pakistan and Afghanistan.

A memoir about Greg Mortensen's humanitarian work in these areas, the reader gets an inside view into the deplorable situation of the education system in the remote areas of the Middle East. Meeting in open fields and scratching their lessons in the dirt with sticks, girls were the most neglected group. Mortensen, who had been sheltered and cared for by the people of the Baldru area of Pakistan after a failed attempt at climbing K2, vowed to bring schools to the children of this area. This book chronicles the fulfillment of that promise and the unbelievable magnitude to which this one small promise grows throughout his life.

I would HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone, students and adults alike. I learned a lot while reading this book, and feel much more aware of just why terrorism is rampant in the Middle East.







Uncommon: Finding Your Path to Significanceby Tony Dungy with Nathan Whitaker -

In Dungy's second book, he takes the unusual opportunity to reflect upon what it takes to achieve significance in one's life. Regarded by many as the epitome of the success and significance that is highly valued in our culture, Dungy also works on a daily basis with young men who are trying to excel through football to achieve all that goes along with a professional athletic career - such as money, power, and celebrity. Not a stranger to this type of success, Coach Dungy passionately believes that there is an alternate path to significance, a path marked by attitudes, ambitions, and allegiances that are rare but rewarding. Uncommon delves into lessons about significance that Dungy has learned from his parents, his athletic and coaching career, his mentors, and his journey with God.

I enjoyed Dungy's first book as well, but honestly enjoyed this one more. Less autobiographical and more informational, there were many things that I could take and immediately relate to my own life in a practical way. Even if you're not a young man, this book has many lessons that would indeed be valuable to you, too!

For Elementatry Visits on 3/6/09....

http://www.jeopardylabs.com/play/loogootee (East Jeopardy Link)

Found by Margaret Peterson Haddix - I love M.P. Haddix, especially her Shadow Children Series, so when I saw that she had a new series I was quite excited to read the first book. This series begins with a stirring Prologue where we learn about a plane full of babies, 36 in all, that mysteriously appears out of nowhere. The first chapter then jumps ahead 13 years and we meet our main characters, Chip and Jonah, who are both adopted. Jonah's family had been open about his adoption from the start, and his parents are the picture of parental bliss. They do the right things and say the right things are very supportive of him. Quite "by the book" if you will. Chip's parents, on the other hand, are the exact opposites of Jonah's, not telling him he was adopted until he confronts them after receiving a mysterious letter, just like Jonah had received. As the plot progresses, Jonah and Chip, along with the help of Jonah's sister Katherine, begin to be caught up in the mystery of how both of them were adopted and how their adoptions relate to the plane full of babies, time travel, and the "missing children of history."

Walking on Glass by Alma Fullerton - A short story written in verse, this book is a moving account of a lost young man. We don't learn his name, but we learn so much more as, in the first few pages, he reveals that his mother is lingering in the hospital on life-support. As the book progresses we come to understand that his mother more than likely suffered from some sort of mental illness, and eerily we infer that our main character my well be suffering from this same affliction. He struggles with peer pressure and is able to step away from the downward spiral of his best friend, Jack, in order to do the right thing. Caught between a mother who he could have saved from suicide if he had "just been 5 minutes earlier getting home" and his father who can't make the hard choices of an adult, he does what he knows is right, despite his own fears.

Genesis Alpha by Rune Michaels - Josh and his brother Max are close, closer than most brothers. Not only do they look alike, sound alike, and have the same interests, but Josh was genetically formed in order to save Max's life. An interesting mix of science fiction, murder mystery, and cyberspace, the novel revolves around the murder of a young girl and the suspicion that Max is the murderer. Many revelations have dire implications, not only for Max, but also for Josh.

I enjoyed this book a lot as the issue of Josh being born solely to save Max's life reminded me of My Sister's Keeper. I think this is a great option for guys especially, and won't hesitate to recommend it!