The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

I’ve only read three of the seven book series and so far I find it enjoyable but better suited for a junior high school audience. I don’t find them very intriguing or fantastic fairy tales. The movies bring the books to life in a way that the stories do not. The stories are very two dimensional, where as the movies are much more vivid and vibrant. CS Lewis wrote these stories to bring Christianity to children and the philosophy is woven in all the books. The stories are easy to follow and allow a child to use his or her imagination to discover the world of Narnia.

The Magician's Nephew was actually the sixth book written in the series even though it depicts how Narnia was created by Aslan.

Digory and Polly were forced to use the magic rings made by his uncle to travel to different worlds. In one of their travels they meet Jadis (The White Witch who wants to destroy the world) in a world called Charn. The book is a fun way to introduce children to God and the story of creation. The story moved at a very slow pace and not very exciting.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

The story of four ordinary children: Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy. They discover a wardrobe in Professor Digory Kirke's house that leads to the magical land of Narnia. The children help Aslan, a talking lion, save Narnia from the evil White Witch, who kept Narnia in the winter season for a century. The children become kings and queens of Narnia.

The Horse and His Boy

The Horse and His Boy takes place during the reign of Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy in Narnia. The story is about Bree, a talking horse, and a young boy named Shasta. They were both slaves in Calormen and after a chance meeting plan their escape to return to Narnia and to be free. Along the way they meet Aravis and her talking horse Hwin who are also escaping to Narnia.

The Throne of Fire by Rick Riordan

This is the second book in The Kane Chronicles, which concentrates on the Egyptian Gods and Egyptian mythology. I am learning so much about the Egyptian Gods; their names, what they stood for and what roles they played in the society. Reading Riordan, is a great and fun way to learn about these cultures, but I don’t like the Heroine (Sadie) and her brother the hero (Carter) that much. I enjoy the author’s style of weaving the Ancient World and Modern Society together. It’s great the way they travel to the underworld and Ancient Egypt through the Duat. The “Brooklyn House” is the Magical House where the Kane House of Life resides and where they prepare and practice the magic that will save the world from Apophis, the god of Chaos.

There are always great lessons to learn; Carter reflects “that all we can do is keep trying and keep believing that we could salvage something from a disaster”.

for ages 10 and up

A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

A Game of Thrones is the first in Martin’s fantasy novel series. I did not get to finish the book because there are 800 readers on hold for it at the library. What I’ve read so far is a story that is detailed, complex, and very dark and bloody. The monarchy of old England is strongly represented with the Stark and Lannister families. Even though I’ve only read a quarter of the book, I’ve encountered many characters and story lines. You have to like this genre in order to enjoy this series because it takes a lot of patience and focus to make it through one of these books. You can’t just read this type of book; you must become a part of its world as the story unfolds in such detail, it feels like the author is building the world around you as you read.

The story starts with a mysterious killing by what seems to be a ghost of some sort but that’s all you get and then moves suddenly to the present at the castle of Winterfell. We are introduced to the noble house of Eddard (Ned) Stark, ruler of the North and one of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros; the direwolf, the symbol of the house; and the death of Jon Arryn, the Hand of King Robert Baratheon. Eddard and Robert were once as close as brothers, but Eddard is soon to learn that the man he once new has changed in many ways. Love, hatred, betrayal are at the center of the story. This story has a bit of everything; politics, family tragedies, brother sister conflict, incest and all kinds of rivalries.

I read the book in the mornings on my way to work; it takes me about twenty minutes on the train. The book would bring a calm sadness over me. The voice was steady, monotone and would flow continuously from chapter to chapter. I never felt invigorated or happy after reading (not recommended if you need a pick me up). I didn’t like any of the characters, but felt sorry for the life they experienced. The writing is well done and easy to read. I can almost hear the narrator speaking in my head. It is obvious Engel is a very good writer and very talented but the tone and the story itself is extremely morbid. She is able to pull you into the life of her characters with few words and though I did not like the book I was mesmerized by the haunted voice of the main character Sabina.

Sabina, born of Colombian immigrants and raised in New Jersey, tells you the story of her life (Vida). Sabina takes you through the events of her life in a slow non-chronological pace. She tells you of her family in the US and Colombia, her boy friends and friends. What was missing for me is I didn’t get a clear sense of what Sabina has learned and where her life is right now.

1st to Die by James Patterson

1^st to Die is about a serial killer whose victims are newlyweds. Lindsay Boxer, a homicide inspector, forms “The Women’s Murder Club” which includes herself, a reporter, assistant DA and medical examiner. I don’t think they are very good at solving crimes because they get it wrong so many times. The story provides plenty of suspense and action but I didn’t enjoy the story. This is your typical cat and mouse thriller.

I thought the story was very depressing and I couldn’t wait to be done with the book. That said; Patterson fans gave the book an average of four out of five stars and most readers found the book exciting. 1^st to Die was also a TV miniseries which is now available on DVD.

The Winner Stands Alone by Paulo Coelho

This is very different from any of his previous books. A psychological thriller based at the Cannes Film Festival, Paulo seems to hate everyone and everything about the festival. He doesn’t say anything positive about any of the characters and they are utterly pathetic. The book was so depressing, not inspiring, with no silver lining at the end. “Vanity all is Vanity”

Igor is a psychotic Russian executive who has everything and comes to the Cannes film festival in pursuit of his ex-wife, Ewa, who ran off with Hamid, an Arab clothes designer. Igor kills a few people and sends messages to Ewa on her cell phone, believing she will understand that he will do anything to get her back. The story is supposed to show us the emptiness of pursuing fame and fortune at all cost.

I did not like this book; not because it wasn’t well written but because I think the message got lost in all the negativity, hatred and anger that were the focus of the characters. His disdain for the rich (The Superclass), the media, film producers and super models is overwhelming. Paulo Coelho is a member of The Superclass, how does he separate himself from what he describes in the book.

I was interested to see how the book would end but overall not my idea of entertainment/good read.

The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell

Gladwell looks into the different reasons why some ideas spread like viruses. He discusses that it is not easy to pin point why some messages spread like wildfire while others don’t. This book is very informative and raises your awareness of how powerfully you are influenced by your surroundings. His examples are simple and clear. I like the way he connects ideas to things that people are exposed to in everyday life.

He explains three things that can bring about fast changes in society:

 1) The Law of the Few (a few exceptional people can spread the word)

2) The Stickiness Factor (There are specific ways of making a message memorable)

3) The Power of Context (Human beings are a lot more sensitive to their environment that they may seem) p.29

Tackling the small problems is as important as going after the big ones

We should think about preconceptions of what character is

“Character, then, isn’t what we think it is or, rather, what we want it to be. I isn’t a stable, easily identifiable set of closely related traits …”p.163

You never know what you will do in different situations

The rule of 150 – It’s easier to have a close united group when the number of people is 150 or less. When that number rises close to 200 the people tend to become disconnected and begin to create their own groups.

The scary questions are: Can we control the outcome of people/society? Can people/society be manipulated? How important are peer groups and environment when growing up?

Blink -The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell

Gladwell wants us to think and understand “the strengths and weaknesses of human judgment” and our responsibility to act wisely in different situations. I enjoyed this book a lot and as well as “Outliers” it is a mind opener. He points out how important it is to realize that what you are thinking about before an exam can make a big difference in how you perform.

He describes a study on page 56 that when African Americans were asked to identify their race before a test they did significantly worse than the ones that we not asked. On page 71 psychologist Joshua Aronson says that his study shows “that people are ignorant of the things that affect their actions, yet they rarely feel ignorant”.

Blink forces me to think of the things that maybe influencing my decisions and that with practice and awareness I can make better decisions. I can trust my first impressions more when I understand where they may be coming from.

Into the Land of Nede by J. Gilchrist

The author gets an A for effort for publishing her first book. It is an interesting idea and I would recommend it for a Christian family who wants to expose children Ages 8-12 to the story in Genesis of Adam and Eve. It is fun and full of adventure as Lincoln discovers a new world and learns some important lessons about family. I also think the illustrations add a nice quality to the story.

I did not like the book- 1) I do not think it captures the true voice of a ten year old; 2) The story does not flow, it jumps too quickly from one idea to next; 3) I really do not like the idea of a “white boy” as the hero necessary to save an Indian Tribe.

I particularly did not like this paragraph: “This is your land. You have gained access to it. You are the ruler of this Land of Nede. We are your people. What do you command of us?” page 89.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

This is one of those books that moves you to the core and changes the way you think about life. You are not only touched by the story being told but by the author as well. Rebecca Skloot was brave, determined and loving over the 10 years it took her to complete this book. There is intriguing scientific data as well as personal information about the Lacks family that draws you in and keeps you wanting to know more until the last page. This book is a must read.

Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor black tobacco farmer whose cells—taken without her knowledge in 1951—became one of the most important tools in medicine, vital for developing the polio vaccine, cloning, gene mapping, in vitro fertilization, and more. Henrietta’s cells have been bought and sold by the billions, yet she remains virtually unknown, and her family can’t afford health insurance. From:  http://rebeccaskloot.com/the-immortal-life/

Percy Jackson & the Olympians The Demigod Files by Rick Riordan

Demigod Files is a collection of three short stories, interviews and pictures of the main characters. Riordan markets this as a must-have guide to the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. It has a crossword puzzle, a word search and a chart of the Olympians. The stories are fun and exciting to read and fans of the series will enjoy this quick read.

Ages 9-12

Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich

Do the hard working poor have a chance?

Barbara Ehrenreich decided to try and find out. She moved from Florida to Maine to Minnesota, taking jobs as a waitress, hotel maid, house cleaner, nursing-home aide, and Wal-Mart salesperson paying $6 to $7 and hour. It was impossible to pay for housing and eat on this salary.  Let’s do the math $7x40hrs=$280 a week, which equals $1,120 a month before taxes.

Nickel and Dimed reveals the difficult lifestyle of the people who struggle constantly in order to have the basic need of food and shelter, the blindness and the arrogance of those of us who have not experienced it and the continuing growth of our socioeconomic divide.

This book is a real eye opener.

The Mediterranean Diet

Diet - The usual food and drink consumed by a person

There are 16 countries that surround this region but the idea came from Dr. Ancel Keys when he published his study in 1970 of seven countries, analyzing the impact of diet on heart disease. 

All three books agree on these characteristics of the diet 

1- plenty of fruits, vegetables and legumes 

2-  moderate intake of fish 

3- low to moderate intake of poultry, dairy (mostly soft cheese and yogurt) 

4-  hardly any processed foods or red meat (maybe a few times a month) 

5- healthy unsaturated fats from mostly nuts, olives and olive oil

Check out the Mediterranean Food Pyramid online, it is very interesting and very different form the American Food Pyramid.

I preferred the Miami Mediterranean Diet book because it has a very easy to follow 14-Day Menu Plan with easy recipes.

The Thin Executioner by Darren Shan

When we are young we accept out parents’ values as our own. When, if ever, do we start questioning them? When do they become our own choices of values and not just the blind acceptance of the values passed down to us?

Jebel is the thin scrawny son of the well respected executioner of the land. He decides to go on a quest to regain his honor after he is disgraced in public by his father. Legends have it that if a quester makes it to the mountain to Tubaygat and sacrifices a willing slave to the fire god, he will be granted powers of strength and invincibility.

Jebel and his slave, Tel Hesani, set off on a quest where they will face many horrible obstacles (hatred, bigotry, slavery) and suffer a great deal.

Half Way To The Grave by Jeaniene Frost

This is your typical Vampire Chick Lit. I enjoyed it for what it was. The love scenes are, how should I say it, Engaging. It’s for the vampire fans for sure. It is the first in a nine book series (only five are written so far). To give you an idea, here are the other titles.

Book 2 – One Foot in the Grave

Book 3 – At Grave’s End

Book 4 – Destined for an Early Grave

Book 5- This Side of the Grave

Yes, they sell very well. Even though the book has piqued my interest, I’m not sure I’ll be reading the series.

no second chance by Harlan Coben

The book is OK. I mostly enjoyed the last few chapters. I do not like the writing style. It has way too much detail. Coben tells you every minute detail about a scene, and his transitions are not smooth. The story itself is all over the place with too many plots within plots.

Marc Seidman wakes up in the ICU and learns that he’s been there for twelve days, his wife is dead and his six-month-old daughter is missing.

I always learn something from the books: This one talks about women trafficking and baby selling (adoption schemes). This phrase stays with me; “You shouldn’t do the wrong thing for the right reason”.

Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell

I picked up the book thinking I was going to learn how extra-ordinary some people are but only to understand that it takes a lot more. We must look at family, birth place, birth date, generation, culture, class, hard work, talent, and yes luck. It brings the saying “timing is everything” to new light.

 It seems to take at least ten thousand hours of practice in order to become a master or world-class expert at anything.

“Who we are cannot be separated from where we’re from” p.221 – Cultural legacies matter –

Jamaica has a very large Chinese population that since the nineteenth century has dominated the commercial life of the island. p. 275

The book is truly enlightening. I highly recommend it. I will be reading the “Tipping Point” and “Blink” soon.

A Piece of Cake by Cupcake Brown

A piece of Cake is Ms. Brown’s memoir. It is a sad story of hopelessness, despair, and finally success.

The story begins with an eleven year old girl’s life after her mother dies from an epileptic seizure at the age of thirty-four. The first time she meets her real father is in court asking for custody because he thinks he will get the life insurance. Her life is never the same and becomes horrible once she and her brother are introduced to the Foster Care system. She has to fend for herself and survive on her own in any way that she can. At the age of 11 she is raped, introduced to prostitution, drugs, and alcohol. This is only the beginning; yes it gets much worse.   

This book really opened my eyes. I never realized how horrible The Foster Care system can be. It is really awful because the system is so overwhelmed with children they turn a blind eye to the abuse. The things that Ms. Brown endured as a young woman are heartbreaking and devastating. It was very difficult for me to finish this book.

Today, she is a well respected lawyer at a top California law firm and a motivational speaker. 

Staked (Void City, Book 1) by J. F. Lewis

Eric is a vampire who owns a strip club. He loves the smell of pizza and has memory problems because he was embalmed. His girlfriend Tabitha wants to be turned into a vampire but her younger sister Rachel wants to satisfy all of his sexual desires. The story begins with Eric killing a werewolf in self-defense and that’s when his real problems begin.

Lewis changes the physiology of his vampires and werewolves. Not all vampires are equal, there is a cast system Drone, Soldier, Master, Vlad and Emperor. This is not your typical vampire story. It is a soft-porn erotica genre and a bit gory. I did not care for it because I like my vampires sensual. 32 out of 39 readers loved it on Amazon.

Walden Two by B.F. Skinner

Walden Two is an experimental Utopian 

community located in a rural area of the United States. Everyone get’s along, everyone is happy, productive and creative. The community works smoothly with plenty to eat, the people get plenty of rest and there is no stress at all. When there is a problem in the community, they design tests and experiments until they find a possible solution.

Skinner explains that he was very dissatisfied with the way America turned out and was trying to think of a solution that would spare us a miserable and catastrophic future.

The novel is very controversial and challenges the American way of life including democracy, capitalism and the nuclear family.

I enjoyed reading the book even though it was a bit difficult making sense of the science of Behavioral Psychology.

The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan

I really enjoyed the story because it was fun, interesting and I learned a lot about the connection between the two civilizations. This is a mixture of Roman and Greek mythology.

Aphrodite –Roman Form: Venus

Hephaestus –Roman Form: Vulcan

Zeus –Roman Form: Jupiter

Jason wakes up on a bus, sitting next to Piper and Leo, claiming to be his girlfriend and best friend. Jason is upset because he does not know who he is, or how he got on the bus. We are introduced to three new demigods; the son of Jupiter, the daughter of Aphrodite and the son of Hephaestus. The adventure is nonstop and I like the fact that he always includes strong female characters. Young audiences can enjoy the story and learn lessons of courage, friendship and perseverance.

Reading level ages 9-12

Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese

One of my favorite lines in the book come from Hema as she is having a near death experience:

“As she bent over the child she realized that the tragedy of death had to do entirely with what was left unfulfilled. She was ashamed that such a simple insight should have eluded her all these years. Make something beautiful of your life.”p64

Sister Mary Joseph Praise dies giving birth to twin boys Marion and Shiva in Ethiopia at Missing, a hospital for the poor. The boys are raised by Hema and Gosh because the boys father Dr. Stone leaves and never returns. Cutting for Stone is a story of love and betrayal, political turmoil and the human will to live. The story takes place in India, Ethiopia and America (the Bronx) over many decades.

There are too many medical references sometimes it feels like the book was written for medical students. I liked the story but I did not love it.