Question of the Week: What's Your Favorite Stormy Weather Book?

Do you like stormy weather?

I do.  I find dark clouds, raging wind, tumultuous seas, and driving rain exhilarating.  Add thunder and lightning, and I'm in 7th heaven.  Here are a few books that are perfect companions on a stormy day:

I stumbled across The Cloud Collector's Handbook while browsing the shelves at the Coupeville Library.  This self-proclaimed cloud catalog contains photos of each type of cloud and includes tips for how to find them so you can "collect" them.  This approach is similar to that of a birdwatcher "collecting" species they've sighted.  I recognized some of the clouds, but I also discovered many I'd never even heard of, let alone seen. 

Life of Pi by Yann Martel is one of my favorite books of all time.  It is the story of an extraordinary young man with an insatiable desire to learn about different faiths.  His father, a zookeeper, decides to move the family to America so they can have a better life.  When their ship is caught in a terrible storm at sea, Pi is left adrift in more ways than one.  The storm is just the beginning of this incredible tale of survival and human spirit.  This is the book that inspired the Oscar-winning film of the same name. 

Wet Grave by Barbara Hambly is the 6th in a series featuring Freedman Benjamin January.   January first met "Hellfire Hessy" when she was at the height of poplularity, attending balls with the likes of Jean Lafitte.  When her body is found in a rundown shack, it's clear she's come down in the world.  January and his dear friend Rose work together to track the killer, even through a powerful hurricane.

What's your favorite stormy weather book?

Passionately Pink

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, an annual campaign to increase awareness of the disease.  Susan G. Komen's foundation invites everyone to go "passionately pink for the cure."  Now that I've got you thinking about healthy breasts, let's move on to something a bit more fun:  books that have something to do with my favorite color (which is pink, of course).

Simply Spectacular Cakes:  Beautiful Designs for Irresistible Cakes and Cookies by Peggy Porschen
The cover art alone was enough to entice me into reading this.  Don't be daunted by Peggy's fancy work:  you really can make these yourself, even if you're a novice baker.  Now that's sweet!

The Sugar Cube:  50 Deliciously Twisted Treats from the Sweetest Little Food Cart on the Planet by Kir Jensen.
I chose this one just because of its pink cover.  I enjoy reading cookbooks, although I seldom actually cook anything.  Jensen's unusual flavor combinations seriously tempted me, though.

I Think I Love You by Allison Pearson
In 1972, Petra and her friend are among David Cassidy's biggest fans.  Petra enters a contest where the winner will get to actually meet the heartthrob face-to-face.  Fast forward three decades, and Petra is facing middle-age with an angsty teenage daughter.  As she's cleaning out a closet, she discovers the letter (hidden from her by her mother) informing her she won the contest.  And now, nothing will stop her from obtaining her prize.

Question of the Week

Have you ever read a book, just because you heard it was banned?

It seems that whenever somebody makes a fuss over something - a book, a movie, or a song for instance - there's a mad rush of people that hurry right out to take a look or listen and find out just what's so "horrible" about it!

I don't recall exactly how old I was when I heard just that about J. D. Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye."  I was probably in 9th or 10th grade.  Like any good, curious reader would, I found a copy of the book and read it.  I just didn't see what the big deal was!  And I'm pretty sure I wasn't damaged from reading it.

Enjoy the rest of Banned Books Week!

Celebrate the Freedom to Read!

We often take for granted our access to the books we want to read - everything we could possibly want is available, practically at our fingertips or at most a short wait away.  Each year, however, many books are challenged for removal from school or public libraries.  Banned Books Week is the time of year when we like to bring attention to this issue, and encourage people to stand up for the freedom to read.

The American Library Association collects data every year to determine the top challenged books of the year.  The top ten challenged books for 2012 were the following:

1. Captain Underpants (series), by Dav Pilkey.
         Reasons: Offensive language, unsuited for age group
2. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie.
         Reasons: Offensive language, racism, sexually explicit, unsuited for age group
3. Thirteen Reasons Why, by Jay Asher.
         Reasons: Drugs/alcohol/smoking, sexually explicit, suicide, unsuited for age group
4. Fifty Shades of Grey, by E. L. James.
         Reasons: Offensive language, sexually explicit
5. And Tango Makes Three, by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson.
         Reasons: Homosexuality, unsuited for age group
6. The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini.
         Reasons: Homosexuality, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexually explicit
7. Looking for Alaska, by John Green.
         Reasons: Offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited for age group
8. Scary Stories (series), by Alvin Schwartz
         Reasons: Unsuited for age group, violence
9. The Glass Castle, by Jeanette Walls
         Reasons: Offensive language, sexually explicit
10. Beloved, by Toni Morrison
          Reasons: Sexually explicit, religious viewpoint, violence

If you're curious about all of the books that are challenged each year, archived lists are available on the Illinois Library Association website. 

They're a perfect resource when you're looking for something good to read!

Question of the Week

What book-related websites are your favorites? Are there any you just discovered?

If it wasn’t for Goodreads, I’d never remember what I’ve read and what books are on my to-read list. When someone comes up to me and says something like, “I can’t remember the title or author, but it was a coming of age story about a teen boy who lived in Oklahoma or Kansas”, I use NoveList Plus, one of Sno-Isle’s databases, and I am able to find the answer almost every single time.

 

 

When someone wants a list of books by a prolific writer, I find the fastest way to provide the info is by using Fantastic Fiction. And do you ever use Literature-Map?

 

A coworker just told me about BookDigits. According to their website, they "want to change the way you read and help you find your next favorite book. Traditional genres are too broad and vague to be useful, so BookDigits uses themes and special metrics instead." Check it out!

We'd love to know which sites are your favorites!



 

A Psychopath, a Broke Farmer and Renegade Chefs

I've always loved reading fiction, but I rarely touched nonfiction. I hate to admit that I never gave it much of a chance because I had this idea in my mind that it was dry and hard to get through. A couple of years ago, I decided to challenge myself to broaden my reading selections, and I quickly found out how wrong I was about nonfiction!

I recently finished Bootstrapper: From Broke to Badass on a Northern Michigan Farm by Mardi Jo Link. It's a funny memoir about a broke, newly-single mother of 3 boys who will go to any length to keep from losing her small farm in Michigan.

A new book I'm looking forward to is Anything that Moves: Renegade Chefs, Fearless Eaters, and the Making of a New American Food Culture by Dana Goodyear. According to the summary, the author "combines the style of Mary Roach with the on-the-ground food savvy of Anthony Bourdain in a rollicking narrative look of the shocking extremes of the contemporary American food world".











And I can't wait to read The Psychopath Inside: A Neuroscientist's Personal Journey into the Dark Side of the Brain by James Fallon. What happens when a neuroscientist finds out that his own brain scan matches the pattern of a psychopath?

What interesting nonfiction books have you read lately or are planning to read?

Visiting outer space through graphic novels

As a child, did you dream of being an astronaut?  Here are some graphic novels from author/illustrators who must have had the same dream.

TEEN ABADZIS
Laika  by Nick Abadzis

Laika was the first animal in space. We follow Laika with her lab technician and the engineer in charge of the program.

FIC AZZAREL
Spaceman by Brian Azzarello

Orson is bioengineered by NASA to withstand space travel.Now Orson wants to find the real meaning of his life.  By Eisner Award winner author of 100 Bullets, this is for "mature  readers"

TEEN YAGINUM
Twin Spica 1 by  Yagimua, Ko

Asuma is part of the first class of the Tokyo Space School founded after a horrible space accident which severely injured Asuma's mother.  Asuma may be the smallest in her class, but her brave heart makes her a leader.  Will Asuma and her friends actually become astronauts?  The story is told in twelve volumes This is a personal favorite of mine.





FIC CALERO
Ray Bradbury's the martian chronicles : the authorized edition by Dennis Calero

Calero brings Bradbury's classic stories to colorful life.

TEEN IWAOKA

Saturn apartments volume one by Hisae Iwaoka

Mitsu takes on his father's job as window washer on the outside of a giant space station that surrounds earth.  The job is dangerous, but allows a Mitsu a glimpse of how those with real status live.  Mitsu lives with his friends and co-workers on the lower levels. Everyone has abandoned earth. Mitsu wants to know what it is like down below where his father fell to his death.  This story is seven volumes.  I never knew a "window washer" could be so interesting.

What about aliens who visit earth?

FIC HOGAN
Resident alien, volume 1 Welcome to Earth! by Peter Hogan

An alien is stranded on Earth in Patience USA.  He hides out as a retired doctor, but is soon pulled into medical service when the local doctor dies.Then, he finds out he need to solve a mystery. This is volume one.  I am looking forward to more.

Posted by Becky