April 2008 Blog Posts (116)

Blogger The Long Tail

This is a book I had to read for my social software class, but I actually quite enjoyed. Chris Anderson, editor of Wired magazine, shares the defining economic theory of our day--that of the "long tail". Basically, the internet has made virtually every book, movie, and song available to us through Amazon, NetFlicks, and iTunes. Of course there are still those items that are "hits" but so many of us now take advantage of things further down the "tail" based on our individual niche interests. The… Continue

Added by Tricia on April 21, 2008 at 10:37pm — No Comments

Blogger Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarian

From the book description:

A hero with an incredible talent...for breaking things. A life-or-death mission...to rescue a bag of sand. A fearsome threat from a powerful secret network...the evil Librarians.

Alcatraz Smedry doesn't seem destined for anything but disaster. On his 13th birthday he receives a bag of sand, which is quickly stolen by the cult of evil Librarians plotting to take over the world. The sand will give the Librarians the edge they need to achieve world… Continue

Added by Tricia on April 21, 2008 at 10:36pm — No Comments

Blogger The Goose Girl

Based on the Brothers Grimm fairy tale by the same name, Shannon Hale has created a wonderful story that will appeal to both old and young. Princess Ani is thrust from the only home she has ever known and betrothed to a prince in a faraway land. A mutiny in the traveling party forces Ani to escape and hide her true identity. She becomes the goose girl to the king's geese and learns more about her inner strengths and powers.

This is one I would highly recommend. It's just a beautiful… Continue

Added by Tricia on April 21, 2008 at 10:30pm — No Comments

Blogger Princess Academy

This darling book by Shannon Hale is an award-winning Newberry Honor book. It straddles the line between a children's book and a YA book, but at 314 pages, you'll most likely find it in the YA section of your library. It is appropriate for young girls starting around 5th grade.

Part fairy tale and part fantasy, the book follows Miri, a young mountain girl who is sent to the Princess Academy where one of the girls will be chosen to marry the prince. Although it took me a few chapters… Continue

Added by Tricia on April 21, 2008 at 5:22pm — No Comments

Blogger A Girl Named Zippy

A Girl Named Zippy is a memoir written by Haven Kimmel. It is the story of her childhood, growing up poor in a small Indiana town during the late sixties/early seventies.

I'm not a huge fan of memoirs, basically because I think they are too good to be true. (Even Haven Kimmel herself doesn't deny that.) Yet, it is classified as non-fiction and is found in the library amongst the biographies. Maybe I just don't have a very good memory or she has an amazing one to remember… Continue

Added by Tricia on April 21, 2008 at 5:21pm — No Comments

Blogger Eclipse

I enjoyed Stephenie Meyer's third book in the Twilight series much better than New Moon. Having said that, I certainly didn't hate New Moon. But, I'm not sure that I ever get over how much I love the first book in any series. Twilight is still my favorite.

As I've begun to notice how ridiculously popular these books are, I think Mormons need to be especially careful not to view these books as "safe, Mormon material" just because the author happens to be LDS. These books are… Continue

Added by Tricia on April 21, 2008 at 5:18pm — No Comments

Blogger The 13th Reality: The Journal of Curious Letters

I've never read a book before by someone I knew...and the strange part was that I could hear the author's voice while I was reading it. It definitely has James' humor infused throughout. My six year old was laughing from the back seat when he heard a reference to underwear.

You know you've read a good book when you are MAD that it is a trilogy and you have to wait to find out what is going to happen next. The bulk of the story follows Atticus Higgenbottom as he receives a series of… Continue

Added by Tricia on April 21, 2008 at 5:16pm — No Comments

Blogger The Other Boleyn Girl

I liked it. I told myself I had to read 100 pages a day if I was going to get done before book club this Wednesday and I liked it so much that was no trouble at all. There are two things that may have influenced me:

1. I love historical fiction, period.

2. Historical fiction, set in England where I've spent 6 years of my life, is just icing on the cake.

Having said that, it has been awhile since I've thought of the Tudors, so a lot of the story was "new" to me. I made… Continue

Added by Tricia on April 21, 2008 at 5:15pm — 2 Comments

Blogger What Good Leaders Know and Do

I am so not suggesting you need to run out and read this book. But, I did--so I'm blogging it, dang it.

One thing I find hilarious about this book, is that while Amazon itself won't sell you the book, an Amazon seller will for the measly price of $159.95 (+$3.99 shipping).

K, this book is 80 pages long--that's $2 PER PAGE!

I had to read this for my management of library and information centers class. And, I have to say that if you are really into business… Continue

Added by Tricia on April 19, 2008 at 4:29pm — No Comments

Chocolat

I adored the film. It's one of my favorites. So, when I discovered that it was based on a book, I had to read it. And, it's not a bad book. The film adaptation is quite different, although many of the characters are the same. For instance, in the book, Reynaud is the priest not the mayor and Caroline Clairmont is not a widow working for him. Armande is still feisty and Guillaume sweet. Josephine also appears prominently. Roux was far more appealing on… Continue

Added by Holly on April 15, 2008 at 3:30pm — No Comments

The Out-of-Sync Child

A fabulous book. The Occupational Therapist who evaluated our son recommended this book. We went to the bookstore, read the back of it and said, "Wow, that's J." This book was essential in our Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) journey.

There is so much information here that is easy to understand and easily accessed. The explanations are good. There are suggestions and ideas on how to understand and help your child cope with the different sensory… Continue