Monthly Archives: November 2008

Little Brother by Cory Doctorow

American Literature 4 Comments

Synopsis: After spending time incarcerated in a secret prison after a terrorist attack, a computer-savvy teen decides to fight back in the name of the Constitution. Review: I am so not cool enough for Little Brother. I’ve never hacked, coded, partitioned or flashmobbed. I don’t understand crypto and I’ve never touched an Xbox. I did learn BASIC programming when I was in elementary school, and one time I spent half a day typing in commands that I got from Mad Magazine, promising to render a…

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The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe

American Literature 10 Comments

Synopsis: In which a journeyman in the guild of torturers becomes ruler of the world. Review: I should have reviewed this book in two parts, because it’s published that way, as Shadow and Claw and Sword and Citadel. Perhaps I would be less intimidated by the prospect of discussing what ended up being an immense, sprawling, daunting work if I took smaller bites. Too late now. The Book of the New Sun is an epic fantasy with science fiction elements, or perhaps it is the…

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7 Random Book Facts about Me

On Reading 1 Comment

I was tagged by Sally for this meme. Basically we’re listing 7 random book-related facts about ourselves. 1. I give books away all the time, and never expect anyone to return a book I’ve loaned to them. Of course, when it’s a loan I do hope that the books come back to me, but I never sweat it if they don’t. 2. I always return books that I borrow in a timely fashion. I have stopped borrowing books from friends because my TBR stack is…

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Similar Books?

On Reading 2 Comments

Reader Jay wants some book recommendations: Sorry to bother you, however I was wondering if you could help me out with something.I live in america, and I am wanting to start reading 1 book a week.This trying to get me back into reading again, as I was one of those people in college and highschool that only read the required stuff.I was wondering if you could help me out with any recommendations. I have a dry and sarcastic witty sense of humor,I am also a…

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This is the Feast – Day 3

American Literature 6 Comments

On the last day of the blog tour for This is the Feast, I want to encourage you to check out author Diana Z. Shore’s official website. She is a very busy author who does lots of book signings, conferences, and other speaking engagements. Her Author-on-the-Go program looks innovative and fun. This is the Feast is a retelling of the Thanksgiving story. I can’t help but reflect on last year’s Thanksgiving, when Superfast Toddler was only 7 days old! Superfast Husband cooked a complete meal…

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This is the Feast – Day 2

American Literature 1 Comment

It’s Day Two of the Blog Tour for This is the Feast, and I thought I’d post author Diana Z. Shore’s bio, which has links to some of her other books: After 9½ years, 385 rejections, and a forest of sloppy copies, teacher-turned-author Diane Z. Shore published her first picture book, BUS-A-SAURUS BOP, a rollicking, rhyming read-aloud, and winner of the 2004 Children’s Choice Award. Now a full time author and read-aloud advocate, Diane writes in a variety of genres and her books have been…

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This is the Feast by Diana Z. Shore

American Literature 3 Comments

Synopsis: A telling of the Thanksgiving story in rhyming couplets, with illustrations by Megan Lloyd. Review: It’s day one of the blog tour for This is the Feast, so I’ll be blogging about the book for the next three days. This is the Feast is an illustrated book with a beautiful poem about the Pilgrims’ voyage and the first Thanksgiving. What I like about it is that it’s structured as a giving thanks itself–for everything that the Pilgrims experience, they find something to be thankful…

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Favorite Films A to Z

On Reading 5 Comments

Taken from my dear Sheila: List your favorite films from A to Z, one for each letter of the alphabet. A for Amadeus B for Blade Runner C for Cabaret D for Dressed to Kill E for East of Eden F for Fear Eats the Soul G for Ginger Snaps H for The Haunting I for Imitation of Life J for Johnny Guitar K for Krull L for Leave her to Heaven M for Mildred Pierce N for Natural Born Killers O for Ossessione P…

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The Infamous Bill Cosby Pamphlet Found!

On Reading 11 Comments

My intrepid cousin Terri of Sense of Wonder found an html version of the Bill Cosby pamphlet that taught me how to speed read when I was 7. An excerpt: Previewing is especially useful for getting a general idea of heavy reading like long magazine of newspaper articles, business reports, and nonfiction books, It can give you as much as half the comprehension in a little as one-tenth the time. For example, you should be able to preview eight or ten 100-page reports in an…

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