Born to Run
Christopher McDougall, © 2009
non-fiction; 290 pages
and
When You Reach Me
Rebecca Stead, © 2009
youth science fiction; 199 pages
I just hit back-to-back home runs with my latest reads. The first, Born to Run, is a non-fiction account of a novice runner/journalists journey for the perfect stride while discovering the Tarahumara Indians of Mexico and helping "Caballo Blanco" organize the greatest race to never be seen. Fast paced, fact filled, and fun.
When You Reach Me, is the most fascinating and intelligent children's' fiction book I have read since becoming a teacher. Stead does an amazing job of dropping subtle hints along the way that there is more going on than just a drama about the struggles of a young girl and her single mother trying to survive in New York City in the late 1970s. I can best describe it as a contemporary version of Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time.
read them both
September 15, 2010
April 28, 2010
incredible
Matterhorn: A Novel of the Vietnam War
Karl Marlantes, ©2010
Vietnam War fiction; 565 pages
This is the first Vietnam War novel I have read, and it was amazing. This book took Marlantes (a Vietnam Marine Vet) 30 years to write, and describes a marine platoon lieutenant's experience in one small corner of the war.
Christina Robb said, "Unforgettable...A beautifully crafted novel of unrivaled authenticity and power, filled with jungle heroism, crackerjack inventiveness, mud, blood, brotherhood, hatred, healing, terror, bureaucracy, politics, unfathomable waste, and unfathomable love."
That's about it, but better.
read it
Karl Marlantes, ©2010
Vietnam War fiction; 565 pages
This is the first Vietnam War novel I have read, and it was amazing. This book took Marlantes (a Vietnam Marine Vet) 30 years to write, and describes a marine platoon lieutenant's experience in one small corner of the war.
Christina Robb said, "Unforgettable...A beautifully crafted novel of unrivaled authenticity and power, filled with jungle heroism, crackerjack inventiveness, mud, blood, brotherhood, hatred, healing, terror, bureaucracy, politics, unfathomable waste, and unfathomable love."
That's about it, but better.
read it
March 20, 2010
third try
The Lost Tiki Palaces of Detroit
Michael Zadoorian, © 2009
short stories; 200 pages
It's been awhile since I've last updated. I've been reading a lot of children's fiction lately trying to find good reads for my students. Since The Last Olympian I haven't found anything good enough to write about.
Zadoorian's newest book is a collection of short stories. While these stories are good there isn't much new here. Many of the short stories are based on characters in his two previous novels: The Leisure Seeker and Second Hand.
Here is the big news concerning this read. This was my first time to request a book that I thought the Austin Public Library should carry. I placed an online request about 6 months ago, and it arrived at my local branch for me to have the first read. I was amazed and I love the library!
consider it
Michael Zadoorian, © 2009
short stories; 200 pages
It's been awhile since I've last updated. I've been reading a lot of children's fiction lately trying to find good reads for my students. Since The Last Olympian I haven't found anything good enough to write about.
Zadoorian's newest book is a collection of short stories. While these stories are good there isn't much new here. Many of the short stories are based on characters in his two previous novels: The Leisure Seeker and Second Hand.
Here is the big news concerning this read. This was my first time to request a book that I thought the Austin Public Library should carry. I placed an online request about 6 months ago, and it arrived at my local branch for me to have the first read. I was amazed and I love the library!
consider it
November 29, 2009
catalyst
No Impact Man
Colin Beavan, © 2009
eco-memoir; 224 pages
This is a memoir written by Colin Beavan, an inhabitant of NYC, about deciding to try and live a year with no environmental impact. No electricity, no trash, no carbon emissions, etc. While retelling how he changes his and his family's life (wife and daughter) he reflects on our society and what has lead us to our current state of wasteful consumption and manufacturing of products.
He doesn't blame our society or preach that everyone should drastically change their lifestyles, but instead, tries to influence by pointing out positive aspects of living a simpler life with less consumption and better care for our environment. Reading about these positive impacts have convinced me to change some of my own habits.
I wholeheartedly believe that our culture has to make changes in how we live and what we value in order for our planet to continue to support us. This book does a great job of starting the conversation of how we can make this change happen and showing that this change doesn't mean a lower quality of life.
Check out the link above to see his website and...
read it
Colin Beavan, © 2009
eco-memoir; 224 pages
This is a memoir written by Colin Beavan, an inhabitant of NYC, about deciding to try and live a year with no environmental impact. No electricity, no trash, no carbon emissions, etc. While retelling how he changes his and his family's life (wife and daughter) he reflects on our society and what has lead us to our current state of wasteful consumption and manufacturing of products.
He doesn't blame our society or preach that everyone should drastically change their lifestyles, but instead, tries to influence by pointing out positive aspects of living a simpler life with less consumption and better care for our environment. Reading about these positive impacts have convinced me to change some of my own habits.
I wholeheartedly believe that our culture has to make changes in how we live and what we value in order for our planet to continue to support us. This book does a great job of starting the conversation of how we can make this change happen and showing that this change doesn't mean a lower quality of life.
Check out the link above to see his website and...
read it
November 12, 2009
espionagical
The Unlikely Spy
Daniel Silva, © 1995
WWII spy thriller; 530 pages
This book was passed down to me by my Dad, a lover of all mystery, thriller trash novels. Silva won the Edgar Award (best new-comer in the mystery genre) for this debut novel, and it was well deserved.
He pits the German spy network vs. the British. Silva paints a great picture of the deceit surrounding the Allies invasion of Normandy.
If you are in the mood for a good spy novel. This one is definitely worth a read, and I have a beat up copy if you'd like to borrow it.
consider it
Daniel Silva, © 1995
WWII spy thriller; 530 pages
This book was passed down to me by my Dad, a lover of all mystery, thriller trash novels. Silva won the Edgar Award (best new-comer in the mystery genre) for this debut novel, and it was well deserved.
He pits the German spy network vs. the British. Silva paints a great picture of the deceit surrounding the Allies invasion of Normandy.
If you are in the mood for a good spy novel. This one is definitely worth a read, and I have a beat up copy if you'd like to borrow it.
consider it
October 23, 2009
Identity
The Orientalist
Tom Reiss; © 2005
Non-Fiction; 464pgs
This book is utterly fantastic in the original sense of the word. Upon scanning the book jacket, I was in disbelief that the array of events described could have happened. More so than that, I couldn't conceive that these things not only happened, but the protagonist, Lev Nussimbaum, was such an unknown quantity in the popular annals of history.
Born in Baku at the turn of the 20th century, Lev came of age in a time of upheaval, albeit one lined with oil riches. He lived through the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, escaped the deserts of Central Asia, doubled back through Azerbaijan and on to Turkey before emigrating to Europe.
Enamored with the allure of the dead Ottoman Empire, Lev transforms himself into a Muslim prince, Essad Bey, and eventually becomes a European literary sensation in mid-war Berlin. Author of best-selling non-fiction books, Lev's connection in this post-war era ran from Vladimir Nabakov to arms smugglers and Ezra Pound. As Nazism rise took hold, Lev's intricate facade crumbles around him.
This book is a tantalizing account of the first half of the 20th Century. More than that, however, it relates the compelling story of an enigmatic and appealing man struggling to find his place in a turbulent world after his own idyll was shattered in his youth.
READ IT
Tom Reiss; © 2005
Non-Fiction; 464pgs
This book is utterly fantastic in the original sense of the word. Upon scanning the book jacket, I was in disbelief that the array of events described could have happened. More so than that, I couldn't conceive that these things not only happened, but the protagonist, Lev Nussimbaum, was such an unknown quantity in the popular annals of history.
Born in Baku at the turn of the 20th century, Lev came of age in a time of upheaval, albeit one lined with oil riches. He lived through the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, escaped the deserts of Central Asia, doubled back through Azerbaijan and on to Turkey before emigrating to Europe.
Enamored with the allure of the dead Ottoman Empire, Lev transforms himself into a Muslim prince, Essad Bey, and eventually becomes a European literary sensation in mid-war Berlin. Author of best-selling non-fiction books, Lev's connection in this post-war era ran from Vladimir Nabakov to arms smugglers and Ezra Pound. As Nazism rise took hold, Lev's intricate facade crumbles around him.
This book is a tantalizing account of the first half of the 20th Century. More than that, however, it relates the compelling story of an enigmatic and appealing man struggling to find his place in a turbulent world after his own idyll was shattered in his youth.
READ IT
September 28, 2009
Up in Smoke
Adrift on the Nile
Naguib Mahfouz; © 1994
Fiction; 174pgs
This book is from the Nobel Prize winning author, Naguib Mahfouz. I have long desired to read his lauded Cairo Trilogy, but could only find the third installment at Half-Price Books. I figured this book would at the least be a adequate introduction to his award-winning prose.
Not entirely certain what to expect, I was delighted with the book. It is a quick read, both for its length and for the ease with which one can read the delicately structured sentences of the author. The plot revolves around a group of somewhat disenchanted middle-aged Egyptians inclined both towards the arts and the water pipe. Each is successful in their own path, but this success is marred by the overriding suspicions they hold for the absurdity of life. Nightly, they meet the protagonist ("the master of ceremonies") on his houseboat to partake in the illicit kif.
Much of the novel revolves solely around these nightly meetings, replete with conversations, hallucinations, and love triangles. Their mildly peaceable existence is thrown in disarray with an insertion of a new member who rebels against their absurdist leanings and argues for seriousness in life. Though both the absurd and the serious are buoys buffering the despair of life, they are diametrically opposed. It is these insoluble differences that drive the story forward and forever alter the makeup of these morally adrift citizens of Cairo.
CONSIDER IT.
Naguib Mahfouz; © 1994
Fiction; 174pgs
This book is from the Nobel Prize winning author, Naguib Mahfouz. I have long desired to read his lauded Cairo Trilogy, but could only find the third installment at Half-Price Books. I figured this book would at the least be a adequate introduction to his award-winning prose.
Not entirely certain what to expect, I was delighted with the book. It is a quick read, both for its length and for the ease with which one can read the delicately structured sentences of the author. The plot revolves around a group of somewhat disenchanted middle-aged Egyptians inclined both towards the arts and the water pipe. Each is successful in their own path, but this success is marred by the overriding suspicions they hold for the absurdity of life. Nightly, they meet the protagonist ("the master of ceremonies") on his houseboat to partake in the illicit kif.
Much of the novel revolves solely around these nightly meetings, replete with conversations, hallucinations, and love triangles. Their mildly peaceable existence is thrown in disarray with an insertion of a new member who rebels against their absurdist leanings and argues for seriousness in life. Though both the absurd and the serious are buoys buffering the despair of life, they are diametrically opposed. It is these insoluble differences that drive the story forward and forever alter the makeup of these morally adrift citizens of Cairo.
CONSIDER IT.
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