Deb Nance
Kemi loves statistics, and she is looking at the hard, cold statistics about an upcoming event, an astroid with an 84.7% probability of hitting Earth in three days, and these statistics do not bode well for Kemi.
It was a rave review from Colby Sharp that sent me scrambling for this book, and I was not disappointed.
Victor's parents leave the eleven-year-old in the care of his older sister when they go out of town, and Victor is struck by a series of odd happenings: the appearance of the Chicken Man, who pops in everywhere and carries a chicken under his hat; lizards who play musical instruments on television after the regular programming is over; and the juxtaposition of Chicken Man and the lizards over and over again.
This is how I'd like to write my book: just throw in anything that happens to pop into my mind and find a way to tie it together.
Huda is one of five sisters in a family in Michigan. The sisters are surprised to learn that the family is taking a vacation to Disney World in Florida. Again and again, Huda struggles with trying to deal with her sisters' personalities and she runs up against prejudice and hatred from others and she is forced to find ways to cope with these problems.
An excellent book.
A mother and father bring their child to a new land to give the child all the opportunities they desire for him. The parents sacrifice themselves to give to the child, and the parents steadily grow small. But in adulthood, the child sacrifices for the parents who gave so much to him.
A beautiful story.
A little boy is waiting for it to snow. He knows that when it snows, everything will be wonderful.
In the meantime, all sorts of exciting things are going on outside, but the child does not notice.
Just the sort of book that children love to study closely...just the sort of book that makes kids and grownups smile.
Gopi's life becomes squash-centered after her mother's death. Her father enrolls her in a rigorous training program, and soon this is all Gopi does.
Unfortunately, I know little of squash, and I couldn't get deeply interested in the life of this child or this story. I've heard many people talk of this story with high praise. But you will not hear that from me.
Banned Books tells the stories behind books that have been banned through the centuries. The books is divided up into time periods—Pre-1900, 19th Century, Between the Wars, Postwar Years, Late 20th Century, 21st Century—and the reasons and locations for the decisions to ban books are offered for each book included.
The Comfort of Crows is a collection of fifty-two short essays that follow the life in the author's backyard during the course of a single year. The author, Margaret Renkl, ties the happenings in her yard to the happenings in her family and larger community, and, in doing so, draws thoughtful observations about meaning and existence in the world.
This book is a very short, very easy guide to writing an excellent memoir. It focuses on the idea of a shimmering image, defined as “a memory that rises in your consciousness like a photograph pulsing with meaning.” The author offers a structure for the memoir, a way to “go on a journey with a character who explores a segment of his life.” To get started, the memoirist chooses a slice of her life to focus on. Then she identifies the source of the problem in her life. The shimmering images that take place during that slice of life are the key elements of the story.
Oh, what a powerful story.
I want to tell you enough about it to encourage you to read it, but not so much that I spoil what happens.
The Sense of an Ending is the story of a man toward the end of his life who tries to come to terms with the actions of his youth.
It's a novella, only about a hundred and fifty pages—a story that you can read in an afternoon. I promise you that I read it in an afternoon, but I was still thinking about it many hours later.
It, coincidentally, was the perfect book to read right after The Death of Ivan Ilych.
When I saw that The Death of Ivan Ilych is considered one of the finest examples of a novella, and since this is the first time I've ever participated in Novellas in November...I felt led to read this book.
And I agree—it is definitely one of the best novels I've ever read. Ivan Ilyich is a judge in Russia, and his life is spent gaining position socially and at work. He neglects others and he neglects himself.
And then, unexpectedly, he becomes ill and begins to decline, a decline that leads to his death. As he moves closer and closer to death, he regrets all of the important things he failed to do, all the ways he acted without regard to others.
Author Laura Tremaine offers ten questions to discuss with friends to develop deeper, richer relationships. Here are the ten:
Who are you?
Who was there?
What are you afraid of?
What were your pivotal decisions?
Who taught you how to be?
When did you belong?
When did it change?
What broke you?
Where are your magical moments?
What do you believe?
Honesty here: I thought this would be less of a bio piece than it turned out to be. I think I went into the book thinking it would be more of a book about enriching your relationships and less about Tremaine's life. Just me, probably
Lucy Hart grew up alone, her parents completely wrapped up in dealing with her sister's illness, and her one attempt at a grownup relationship ended disastrously. It was only the Clock Island series of books that gave Lucy a path. Lucy has come to care for orphan Christopher, and she longs to be able to adopt the boy, but she is without resources. Jack Masterson, the author of the Clock Island books, has come out of an unexplained retirement to announce a contest and the prize money could be substantial. Lucy is shocked to learn that she has received an invitation to be a contestant.
So many parts of this book felt like a children's book that had been pushed to be a grownup book, and I'm not sure how I feel about that...I kind of wish it HAD been a children's book. Still, it was a lovely diversion.
Fidge is in a strange world. Wimbley Woos—-blue ones, orange ones, yellow ones, green ones, purple ones, gray ones, pink ones—-surround her. She must solve a mysterious riddle with help from three companions to depose the wicked ruler, Wed Wabbit.
It's been so long since I enjoyed a kids book so much. Read it to/with your favorite kid today.
Helen Keller tells the stories of her unusual life. Keller shocked the world with her intelligence and her zest for life; people with disabilities in earlier times were shut away and never allowed to develop to their full potential. Keller befriended a Who's Who of the intellectual celebrities of her time, and much of the book describes her times with those folks. I was especially taken with the parts of the book where Keller details the ways she learned to communicate with others and to find out more about the world.
Private detective Philip Marlowe is hired by wealthy General Sternwood to look into the gambling debts of his daughter Carmen, and he ends up getting pulled deeper and deeper into the life of the Sternwood family.
I listened to this as an audiobook on a long trip I took last week, and what a delight it was. The characters. The setting. The lingo. Pure delight.