Warrior Girls—sounds pretty intense huh? Well, don’t judge a book by its title; this book is not about girls who are literally warriors or fighters. However, they do fight their own type of battles. Warrior Girls is a book about protecting girls against the injury epidemic in sports. Written by Michael Sokolove, Warrior Girls addresses a story that every girl who is involved in sports and their parents should be told.

In this book Sokolove addresses the injury epidemic that has managed to skyrocket over the past years. The numbers have been drastically increasing since the 1970s when Title 9 was put into place and because it has become more acceptable for women to become involved in sports. In Warrior Girls, he describes the clear relationships between the way that girls put stress on their bodies and how their bodies react to the pressure. And yes, it has to do with the way their bodies are: young female athletes tear their ACLS at rates as high as 8 times more than the males in their sports area. This is because their center of gravity is above the hips. While a male’s center of gravity is near his chest, a female’s center of gravity causes five times the amount of their body weight to be put on their knees. Quick lateral movements are direct sources of injury for females and it is due to their center of gravity.

Michael Sokolove does a fantastic job keeping us updated with the most recent research on females and their sports injuries. He does this by telling stories, brings in facts, and even brings his readers onto the practice field of Anson Dorrance (University of North Carolina).

In Warrior Girls he is able to teach his readers about how girls can train better and smarter to decrease their risk of injury. He shows clear passion about this subject and truly shows that he cares about preventing injuries in females that could have lifelong consequences.

It is definitely a book that I wish I had read while I starting to get into sports, but thankfully I’ve been injury free thus far.

This week’s bestsellers are an interesting combination. There’s some fiction, a lot of business books and a comedy book about philosophical musings.

The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet’s Nest (Stieg Larsson)

The third and last book of the millennium trilogy from Stieg Larsson, The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet’s Nest kicks off with Lisbeth Salander in the intensive care unit of a Swedish hospital, fighting for her life. But the battle’s not over after she gets well. She’ll have to stand up in court and face trial for three murder charges. Together with her journalist-friend, Mikael Blomkvist, she’ll have to prove her innocence and the people who framed her and how to get her revenge.

S**t My Dad Says (Justin Halpern)

When Justin Halpern moved in with his seventy-three year old dad after his girlfriend dumps him, he begins to write down and record all the things his dad says. All of them are brutally honest, wise and smart, after all, Justin’s dad doesn’t really mince his words. What started out as a Twitter page became a big social media phenomenon and expanded to this book, with all the wise musings on the same page.

Delivering Happiness (Tony Hsieh)

Tony Hsieh, the CEO of the widely-acclaimed online shoe retailer, Zappos, shares his philosophy and successes in his new book, Delivering Happiness: A Path To Profits, Passion and Purpose. In Delivering Happiness, he shares his quest to finding and sharing happiness and why he needs to understand it. And in the rest of the book, he explains the ten core values of Zappos, including “Deliver WOW Through Service” and “Create Fun And A Little Weirdness”.

The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine (Michael Lewis)

Michael Lewis talks about the housing and credit financial troubles that swept the nation in the 2000s. He discusses the stories of the key players in the financial crisis from 2007 to 2010, including Meredith Whitney (who predicted the demise of Citi Group and Bear Stearns), the founders of Cornwall Capital (who managed to build a $120 million hedge fund from a mere $100,000 from their garage) and Howie Hubler (who lost $9 billion in trade, making the largest single loss in history).

The Book Thief (Marcus Zusak)

Marcus Zusak has written an inspiring young adult novel about the power of words, even during World War II and the Holocaust. Liesel Meminger is a foster child living just outside of Munich. She survives the only way she knows how: stealing. But it’s not the usual things she steals. She steals books.

The Five People You Meet In Heaven was such an amazing read. It has been on my “to read” list since the book was published back in 2003, but I did not get around to it until a month or so ago. I do not know why it took me so long to finally sit down and read it; once I started, I could not stop! When I wrote about how The Last Lecture was a fast read, this one was even faster. Both this book and The Last Lecture are extremely thought provoking books that make you think about your life and how you are living yours, but a major difference between the two books is that The Five People You Meet In Heaven is fictional.

The Five People You Meet In Heaven was

written by Mitch Albom. I do not think that I could read multiple books of his in a row because they seem pretty similar and he tends to write with the same style in each of his novels, but I do love reading his work. It is simple, quick, but emotional and impressive.

This story brings together many stories about 83-year-old Eddie, the head maintenance person at Ruby Point Amusement Park. The stories are told through his eyes, and the readers are able to join Eddie through his journey as he meets the five people who are waiting for him in heaven. Through Mitch Albom’s words, readers are able to feel Eddie’s pain, joy, nostalgia, hope, and more during his emotional journey.

The book opens with Eddie going about his daily work at the park. The novel counts down the minutes until Eddie’s death and continues to describe his day, until a tragic accident occurs. During this accident, a cart is falling from a ride and Eddie reaches out to save a little girl who he sees is about to be crushed. Eddie is crushed by the cart and all he feels was the little girls hands in his hands. Does he save her, or does she die too? You will have to read the book to find out!

Don’t put this book off like I did; it is so quick and easy to read that you’ll regret not reading it right away.

In “My Dirty Literary Secret,” the author mentions that the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy trilogy consists of five books that Douglas Adams himself wrote.  Did you know that there is a sixth book in the trilogy that is not written by Douglas Adams? And Another Thing by Eoin (pronounced as “Owen”) Colfer is the 6th book in the Hitchhiker’s series. Before he suffered a heart attack in 2001, Adams had told his wife that he planned on writing a 6th book, though he had been unsuccessful after several attempts. I bet I wasn’t alone in thinking, “If there’s going to be a 6th book for this series written by an entirely new author, he better be good, and he better get it right.” When Colfer was commissioned to write this 6th installment after Adams’ passing, with permission from Adams’ widow, I was pleasantly surprised, because I already knew who he was, and I already loved his books.

I started following Colfer’s Artemis Fowl series when I was in third grade. The first book (in what is now a six-book series) was published in 2001. When subsequent installments were published, each one would be the first thing on my Christmas list. The series stars Artemis Fowl, a teenage criminal mastermind who will do anything to become rich. It’s a fantastic fantasy book; Colfer himself describes it as “Die Hard with fairies.” The text isn’t too tricky, but it’s filled with wry humor, making it accessible to a variety of ages.

I also bought or borrowed other books that Colfer published, including The Wish List, a novel about Meg Finn, a teenage girl who was halfway between good and bad, and must earn her place in Heaven by returning to Earth to help the person whom she died attempting to rob. Colfer’s novels are entertaining but also encourage reflection.

Most agree that if anyone successfully could continue the Hitchhiker’s series, it was Colfer. He did the job well. If you or your child enjoys fantasy, adventure, or science fiction, Eoin Colfer is an author that you definitely should check out.

I know this site isn’t called ‘Bout Movies, but I’ve got to weigh in on the new Sherlock Holmes movie hitting theaters this week. Although you cannot judge a book by its cover, you often can judge a movie by its trailer. And based on the trailers that I’ve seen for Sherlock Holmes, all I can say is “Why?”.

The Sherlock Holmes stories were written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The original Sherlock Holmes writings were mostly short stories. Holmes appeared in fifty-six short stories written by Doyle, but only four full-length novels.  I loved reading Doyle’s short stories as a youth.  The short length of the stories coupled with Holmes’ astounding deductive skills and Doyle’s clever plot twists never disappointed me.

Looking at the trailer for what appears to be an action film, I was both reminded of some of those great stories and put off by the apparent departure from what made Sherlock Holmes so great.  Scenes from the trailer included a shot of Holmes bare knuckle boxing.  Although he never did so in the books, he did reference a time in his past at which he was quite accomplished at the sport.  So, that isn’t a complete departure from Doyle’s character.  Likewise, he appears to be something of a womanizer in the short trailer, which would bother me except that the woman is allegedly Irene Adler, “The Woman,” so perhaps Holmes’ fans can give that a pass.

The slovenly appearance and cavalier attitude evidenced in the trailer are, however, diametrically opposed to the Sherlock Holmes that I remember.  Holmes was fastidious in his personal appearance and displayed a haughty, but serious, attitude in his work.

Whether or not the movie is a commercial or critical success remains to be seen.  I’ll leave it to others to evaluate whether or not the film is true to the character or not.  But the movie has succeeded in one fashion – I’m inspired to dig out my old copy of A Treasury of Sherlock Holmes Stories and give it a fresh read.

There’s a certain feeling in the air. It’s starting to get a little colder, a little brighter and a little kinder. It must be Christmas!

Are you looking for books about Christmas to get you in the spirit of this festive holiday?

1. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Everybody knows the story of A Christmas Carol. Ebenezer Scrooge is visited by the ghost of his late business partner, Jacob Marley, one Christmas Eve. He warns Scrooge that he will never be happy as long as he stuck to his greedy ways and that he will be visited by three ghosts. Just as predicted, Scrooge is visited by the Ghost of Christmas Past, who took him to his happy childhood, followed by the Ghost of Christmas Present, to the homes of his nephew and employee, and the Ghost of Christmas Future, who showed him a grim and unforgiving future. It is enough to scare Scrooge, and he becomes a different man, a kind, generous and compassionate man who embodies the spirit of Christmas.

2. The Polar Express by Chris van Allsburg

A little boy waits for the sounds of Santa’s sleigh one Christmas Eve, but instead, he hears the sound of a train coming. He goes out of the house, and the train’s conductor invites him for a ride on The Polar Express. Inside, he finds other children, in their pajamas, drinking hot chocolate. The train reaches the North Pole, and they discover all the elves gathered in a circle waiting for Santa Claus to start his Christmas journey. Before Santa leaves, he picks the boy to receive the first Christmas gift. He chooses the silver bell on Santa’s sleigh. Santa gives it to him, and he is devastated when, upon coming home that night, he loses the bell. The next day he wakes up, and his sister finds a small gift box for him. He opens it and discovers the bell inside. This bell will remind him to believe in the spirit of Christmas, even when others don’t.

3. The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus by L. Frank Baum

The Life And Adventures of Santa Claus is a fantasy story imagining the life of Santa Claus from the time he was a kid until the “present time”. As a baby, he was found in the Forest of Burzee by Ak, Master Woodsman of the World, and raised by fairies, wood nymphs, gnomes and knooks. When he becomes an adult, Ak tells him he cannot stay in Burzee anymore and has to live amongst the mortals, since he is also a mortal. He resides in the Laughing Valley of Hohaho, where the immortals still get to visit him. In Hohaho, he became known as a man who always is kind to children. He starts making toys and giving them to the children in the village. But a group of evil beings called the Awgwas start to wreak havoc on the children. Santa begins to travel by night and deliver the toys through the chimney. Ak declares war on the Awgwas and wipes them out. Santa continues to deliver the toys to children peacefully. But when Santa turns 60, the disadvantages of his mortality begin to show, as he is nearing the end of his life. That’s when Ak and the other Immortal Kings decide to bless him with immortality so he can continue his acts of kindness.

Tune in for more books on Christmas!

Jodi Picoult has done it again. She comes out with a new book every year, and this year’s book is called Handle With Care. If you are unfamiliar with Picoult’s style, you should know that her books often deal with controversial topics and are told from a variety of viewpoints. This book is no exception. A part of me sometimes thinks that it is boring to read the same style of book, but because I read other books in between my Picoult reads, I can handle the occasional Picoult read.

This is the story of Charlotte and Sean O’Keefe and their daughter Willow. Willow was born with severe osteogenesis imperfecta. This disease is one in which a person will suffer hundreds of broken bones as they grow up; in other words, a lifetime of pain for some people. The main dilemma is that the family cannot afford Willow’s medical costs. Charlotte decides to find a solution, and the one that she finds is to file a wrongful birth lawsuit against her ob/gyn for not telling her in advance that her child would be born severely disabled. It all seems relatively simple, but once she thinks about it, she realizes that she would have to get up in front of a court of law and publicly state that she would have terminated the pregnancy if she’d known about the disability in advance. Not only would she have to state these words, but she would have to go against the wishes of her husband because those are words that he does not agree with. To make matters even more ethically complicated, the ob/gyn who she is suing isn’t just her physician – it’s her best friend.

Jodi Picoult has once again written a book that is filled with questions about politics, how much life is worth to a person, ethics, and more. It is truly a heart wrenching story and a dramatic page turner. If you liked My Sister’s Keeper or Change of Heart, then you will also enjoy Handle With Care.

Some books become classics for a reason. Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe is one of them. The actual title of Defoe’s book is The Life and Strange Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe of York, Mariner. The wordiness of the title on the cover is an indication of the story that lies beneath. Defoe’s writing is filled with long, cumbersome sentences that are delightfully layered with meaning and content.

Robinson Crusoe was first published in 1719, yet it feels relevant and fresh even in the light of the 21st century. Nearly three hundred years after it was written, Robinson Crusoe has a timeless quality that transcends the conventions of the era.

I was surprised to find, on reading this classic for the first time, that Crusoe did not become shipwrecked until the fourth chapter, or perhaps I should say more accurately that he did not suffer the shipwreck for which his story is so well known until the fourth chapter, that being actually his second shipwrecking of the novel. I confess that I am quite unable to do justice to Defoe’s distinctive writing style, but herein I am attempting to do so, filling each sentence with layers, and not only just layers, but also often contradictions, or seeming contradictions.

My high school English teacher would have emptied her red pen circling all the commas if I turned in sentences like Defoe’s. But in this book, it just works. Robinson Crusoe is an absolutely fabulous read. The story is written in the first person, as if the fictional Crusoe were relating his tale at a later point in his life.
Why every attempt to turn this book into a film has been a disastrous failure I do not know. Perhaps it is because the excellence of the book lies more in Defoe’s style than in the actual story. Page after page is devoted to such mundane details as the list of items Crusoe retrieves from the ship, but I never felt a lull, never desired to push through to the next exciting moment. In truth, there are scarcely any nail-biting moments right up until chapter 13, when the cannibals arrive. But every page is a joy for the reader who appreciates the innate beauty of language.

This book is the best book I have ever read aside from the “Harry Potter” and “Twilight” series.  It is part of a series written by Ally Carter and is comprised of this book, “I Cross My Heart And Hope To Spy”, and also “Don’t Judge A Girl By Her Cover”.

The first book kept me up to 11:00 pm just to finish it.  It is about a girl named Cammie who is secretly a spy.  Her friends call her Chameleon because she blends into crowds so easily.  She goes to a special school for only certain girls.  The school hand picks the girls that they think will be good for being a spy.

At the school they have strict rules about how the girls there are not allowed to date, but Cammie falls in love with a boy, Josh, when she is on a mission.  She is not allowed to express her feelings for him for then she would have to kill him.  Instead of returning to her campus, she goes out with Josh and his friends. She can’t get him out of her mind after this evening.  He calls her at campus, and her friends find out about him.  Her friends ask her about him and warn her that if someone finds out, she could get into huge trouble.

You’ll just have to read the book to find out if Cammie get in trouble, can keep the guy, terminate him, or just keep it a secret.

Amazon, the almighty online distributor, has plans in the works to release and publish book titles.

AmazonEncore, Amazon’s newly established and “traditional” publishing company will be focused on re-releasing books from other major publishing companies that are currently out of print.

Their first publication will be the novel Legacy, which was written by a young teenager named Cayla Kluver. Legacy was a bronze medalist in the 2008 Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards, a finalist in Young Adult Fiction in the National Best Books Awards 2008, and is sponsored by USA Book News.

Legacy will be re-published as a hardcover edition sometime in August 2009.

Legacy, quite simply, is a fantastical coming-of-age novel about courtship. Princess Alera is being forced to marry an arrogant and unruly suitor named, Steldor. The son of her father’s enemies, Cokyri appears and shows her a different life, one that Alera desires so much more. The novel then thrusts Princess Alera into a wild series of events where she must choose to betray her kingdom for her own desires or hold it together for the good of her people.

Vice President of Amazon books Jeff Belle commented, “Legacy was on a long list of potential AmazonEncore books.” Belle did not comment on how many books Amazon plans to release annually but simply stated that it would depend on “how many great books we can identify.” Belle also commented that additional books would be chosen based on sales information and customer feedback (reviews).

Legacy received 15 total reviews on Amazon; 12 of those 15 were five-star reviews.

In August, Legacy also will be released as an audiobook through Audible, Amazon’s audio book company, as well as a special e-book edition for Amazon Kindle users.