Posts Tagged ‘review’
1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created
February 3rd, 2012 by Mackenzie M. | New Releases
Every American knows the basic premises of Christopher Columbus’ epic journey to the Americas in 1492. After the basics, however, only historians and amateur history buffs are familiar with the vast ramifications that Columbus’ journey had not only on the settlement of our country, but also on all of human history. Charles C. Mann’s recently released book, 1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created, explains over 400 pages the depth and meaning of Columbus’ exploration, in colorful detail and with engaging story lines. 1493 deserves a spot on everyone’s reading list this year, not only for its literary merits,
Author Review: Laura Hillenbrand
February 2nd, 2012 by Louise | Authors
Laura Hillenbrand has written just two non-fiction books in the past decade. You might think that it would be hard for an author with those statistics to gain any sort of critical acclaim today, but Hillenbrand has managed to do so. That’s what happens when you’re the author of Seabiscuit: An American Legend, the non-fiction account of the great racehorse Seabiscuit, and Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption, the biography of Louis Zamperini, a WWII POW and American Olympic distance runner.
Seabiscuit, published in 2001, tells the story of Seabiscuit, a thoroughbred race horse who
Seabiscuit, published in 2001, tells the story of Seabiscuit, a thoroughbred race horse who
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
January 30th, 2012 by T Akery | Fiction
Like most movies, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close was a book first -- this one by Jonathan Safran Foer. It is about a boy named Oskar who has to deal with his father's death on 9/11. In dealing with the tragedy, he finds a key of his father's with the word "black" written in red. He embarks on a journey to find the key's meaning. Along the way, he meets some pretty quirky characters and finds some letters from his grandmother. In some way, all of these people have faced tragedy.
While the book's story certainly is a journey through
While the book's story certainly is a journey through
The Giver
January 27th, 2012 by Kaitlin | Children's, Fiction, Young Adults
I think I’ve mentioned that my mother is a fifth grade teacher, and one of my favorite hobbies is browsing her bookshelf and re-discovering books I loved when I was that age (most of them have my name in the cover, taken from a bookshelf in my house). Occasionally, my mother will invite me to her classroom to help her decorate for new units or help out rearranging the furniture, but I haven’t been recently and I think I know why – she always loses me to the book corner, where I sit in her rocking chair and read
A State of Wonder by Ann Patchett
January 26th, 2012 by Jessica B. | Fiction
If you have never read anything by Ann Patchett before, A State of Wonder is a great place to start. It has a little bit of everything: action, adventure, mystery, but most of all, great writing. A State of Wonder follows the journey of Dr. Marina Singh as she travels from the safe suburban town she calls home deep into the the Amazonian jungle to track down both her dead colleague (Anders Ekman's) body and her former boss' on-going research into a drug which may provide women prolonged fertility and mean an end to menopause.
As Singh travels off into
As Singh travels off into
