Tuesday, June 30, 2009

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian



We just got a set of play aways here at the library. These are a digital version of an audio book, and pretty cool at that. Stick your headphones in, press play and off you go. I have been listening to Sherman Alexie's Young Adult Novel, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian. I am absolutely gripped by it. Mind you, I wouldn't want my 5th grader listening to this one, but it will strike a chord with those high schoolers and any adult that checks it out.


The story is about Junior, a native American Indian from Spokane Tribe living on the 'rez'. He lives with his alcoholic father and long suffering mother, his grandmother and sister. The story does not gloss over what grinding poverty can do to the soul, what the government has taken away, or the hope that sits like a small glimmer in the most desperate of hearts. This story was alternately hilarious and heartbreaking. I couldn't quit listening. I recommend this book but with a warning...teenage boys and sex. teenage boys and violence.

Friday, June 26, 2009

Long Lost

Long Lost is another thriller from Harlan Coben. I listened to this on my drive to work. The story features main character Myron Bolitar. I jumped into the middle of this series but would not have had to have read any of the others as this story stands on it's scary own. The story is about a terrorist plot that somehow involves the long dead daughter of a former lover. The terrorists and mossad and french police and American Homeland security forces chase each other from America to Europe and back again. The bad guys are seriously unscrupulous and the good guys are equally scary in their ineptitude, or naivite. Hearing the book seemed so shocking in many aspects. I think if I'd have read it I wouldn't have noticed the blood and gore so much. I tend to skip those things. I did enjoy the twisting ride that this story provided, and I think if you enjoy spy thillers this will be just the story for you!

Monday, June 22, 2009

A Long Way Gone


I'm not quite sure how we came to put two very different books, but both about war back to back for book discussions but we did. The book we will be discussing for July is Ishmael Beah's book A long Way Gone, memoirs of a boy soldier. This book is non fiction and centers on the civil war in Sierra Leone in the mid 1990's. This is more than another 'war' story, though. It is the shocking and brutal account of the war torn African nation of Sierra Leone, where boys as young as 7 were forced to fight for a cause they were far to young to understand, except in terms of how the fighting had destroyed their childhoods. It is amazing that anyone , especially these very young fighters is able to escape the carnage with any sanity. This will prove to be an interesting discussion and I recommend this book. Check out the website for a full synopsis of the book and for discussion questions.

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

The Book Thief

It's About Books book club meets this coming Wednesday evening to discuss Markus Zusak's critically acclaimed book The Book Thief. This is the second time I have 'read' the Book Thief by Markus Zusak. Actually, this time, I listened to it. Zusak's story revolves around a 10 year old girl, Liesel Memminga and her foster family the Huberman's, in Munich Germany during a 4 year period of World War II. Liesel is the Book Thief of the title. She steals words, in part to help her cope with the upheaval of her life. It is so different when you hear the author's words, rather than read them yourself. It's something about the reader's inflection and tone that paints a picture that just reading can't. I could see the characters much more clearly this time than when I had just read it. While I liked the book when I read it, I Loved the book when I heard it. Zusak's language is beautifully poetic and descriptive despite the horrific subject of Nazi Germany. He captures for you the look and feel of war and death, of school girls and defiance and life and hatred, and the ordinariness of life during war. I found myself repeating the phrases of his language over in my head just as I looked at the sky or heard the birds singing in the morning. I definitely found myself being moved by this young girl's plight at the end of the story. This is not an easy book to read, let alone to hear but it is very moving and powerful. Some may even call this a very depressing story, but the beauty of the language makes it well worth the time.

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella


Ok, it's a good thing I didn't have anything else to read when I started on this book or I would have trashed it at page 10. I was extremely frustrated by the main character Rebecca Bloomwood, expecting her to have a whole lot more sense from the get go, seeing that she was a financial advisor and writer. I also have trouble with people who think that the latest fashion trend is going to solve their problems, make them popular, or as in Rebecca's case satisfy this inner longing to 'possess'. I felt considerably better by the time I got to the end of the book, though. And, looking back I could laugh at the contortions that our heroine made to posess one lovely scarf at the expense of her imaginary dying aunt! I think that anyone who loves fashion and style will be able to relate to this story a whole lot more than I did. But I'm glad I read it. Anyone wanting a quick lite read, this is the book for you! Then if you find you liked this book more than I did, you'll be in luck because author Kinsella has a whole series of "Shopaholic" books.