Friday, September 28, 2012

The Serpent's Shadow By, Rick Riordan

This is a full series. This series has three books im on the last one. The books in this series are The Red Pyramid, The Throne of Fire, and The Serpants Shadow. The Serpent's Shawdow is about a brother and sister Carter and sadie who lost there dad to an evil accient egypt ghost. So there trying to find him. They know he's in Egypt. But they have to put there lives at risk trying to find there dad.It's getting really exciting. They didin't find there dad but the did find the ghost who has there dad kidnapped. The ghost of egypt is giving brother and sister Carter and Sadie Rittels to help them find there dad.

The Boxcar Children by Gertrude C. Warner

Hennery, Jessie Violet and Benny used to live  in a boxcar. Now they have a home with their grandfather and are spending the summer on their own private island. Theres a stranger on the island who must keep his identity a secret. Thats not the only suprise in store for the Boxcar Children on Suprise Island.

Linger (Wolves of Mercy Falls, Book 2) by Maggie Stiefvater

the longing.
Once Grace and Sam have found each other, they know they must fight to stay together. For Sam, this means a reckoning with his werewolf past. For Grace, it means facing a future that is less and less certain.

the loss.
Into their world comes a new wolf named Cole, whose past is full of hurt and danger. He is wrestling with his own demons, embracing the life of a wolf while denying the ties of a human.

the linger.
For Grace, Sam, and Cole, life is a constant struggle between two forces--wolf and human--with love baring its two sides as well. It is harrowing and euphoric, freeing and entrapping, enticing and alarming. As their world falls apart, love is what lingers. But will it be enough?

Friday, September 21, 2012

Alex Rider Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz


When his guardian dies in suspicious circumstances, fourteen-year-old Alex Rider finds his world turned upside down. Forcibly recruited into MI6, Alex has to take part in gruelling SAS training exercises. Then, armed with his own special set of secret gadgets, he's off on his first mission to Cornwall, where Middle-Eastern multi-billionaire Herod Sayle is producing his state-of-the-art Stormbreaker computers. Sayle has offered to give one free to every school in the country – but there's more to the gift than meets the eye.

The forever king

The forever king by Molly Cochran and Warren Murphy has many main characters. At the moment, there are only two. Their names are Hal Woczniak, and Saladin. Hal used to work for the FBI, but hes practically lost him self in beer and filth. But when he meets a strange old man weird things start happening...... Saladin is in a mental health 'prison', but what will happen when hes moved out of his cell? I am reading this book because it is interesting and finds a way at tugging on all of my emotion. Mostly suspense and intrigue.

Animal Farm

My favorite Character, Snowball has just gotten expelled by Napoleon, and the animals are starting to revolve around Napoleons evil plans.


I really like this book, I like how it relates to human nature.

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

A Young People's History of the United States: Columbus to the War on Terror by Howard Zinn


A Young People's History of the United States brings to US history the viewpoints of workers, slaves, immigrants, women, Native Americans, and others whose stories, and their impact, are rarely included in books for young people. A Young People's History of the United States is also a companion volume to The People Speak, the film adapted from A People's History of the United States and Voices of a People’s History of the United States.

Beginning with a look at Christopher Columbus’s arrival through the eyes of the Arawak Indians, then leading the reader through the struggles for workers’ rights, women’s rights, and civil rights during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and ending with the current protests against continued American imperialism, Zinn in the volumes of A Young People’s History of the United States presents a radical new way of understanding America’s history. In so doing, he reminds readers that America’s true greatness is shaped by our dissident voices, not our military generals.



I love this book and others by Howard Zinn, his writing style is so intense, gripping, and detailed that you can't put the book down.

Monday, September 17, 2012

In One Person

The book I'm reading now is "In One Person," by John Irving, who's written a lot of books I really like, including "Cider House Rules" and "The World According to Garp."  I like it so far, but it seems a lot like my favorite Irving book, "A Prayer for Owen Meany"; the setting and a number of the characters are very similar-- too similar for my taste, since I don't think any book can compare to "Owen Meany."  I hope I start seeing differences between the two novels, but I'll finish this one anyway even if I don't because I am enjoying the plot so far.

Friday, September 14, 2012

The Great Gatsby is the book I have been reading for history. I'm reading it because this is the book he recommended to me and gave me to read.So far I find it a little dull, but its not bad. This is what the back cover says: This is the definitive, textually accurate edition of a classic of the twentieth century literature, The Great Gatsby. The story of the fabulously wealthy Jay Gatsby and his love for the beautiful Daisy Buchanan has been acclaimed by generations of readers. But the first edition contained a number of errors resulting from Fitzgerald's extensive revisions and a rushed production schedule. Subsequent printings introduced further departures from the authors words. This edition based on the Cambridge critical text, restores all the languages of Fitzgerald's masterpiece. Drawing on the manuscript and surviving proofs of the novel, along with Fitzgerald's later revisions and corrections, this authorized text- the Great Gatsby as Fitzgerald intended it.

TIM TEBOW THROUGH MY EYES

tim tebow is one of the most accomplished players in college football history.
A two-time winner of the NCAA national football championship with the university of florida, tim is also the first-ever sophomore to win the heisman trothy. he is the foundation,which was started to bring fath, hope, and love to those needing a brihter day in their  darkest hour. in april 2010, tim was selected in the first round of the NFL draft by the denver broncos. he lives in colorado. you can learn more about him online at www.timtebow.com

Letters of the Dragon by: Bruce Lee

Letters of the Dragon Correspondence, 1958-1973 is a fascinating glimpse of the private Bruce Lee behind the public image-a man with the patience and concern to dedicate as much effort to crafting a thoughtful personal answer of the letter of a young fan as to those from his old friends and associates; an extremely active man never too busy to make time for an old family friend in need of simple companionships; a man who never wrote without careful thought, and never thought from the head alone, but always from the head and heart together. The letters in this inspiring book track Bruce Lee’s career and development from his decision, made while he was still in secondary school, to move to the U.S. to further his education, through the many setbacks, rededicated efforts, and triumphs of life that shaped his martial art and humanity, all the way to the last letter he ever composed, just hours before his sudden death. After absorbing the letters in this volume, the reader will inevitably find that the private Bruce Lee was every bit as great as the public Bruce Lee, and deeper and broader by far. Letters of the Dragon: Correspondence, 1958-1973 is conclusive evidence that a life lived well in never a life too short.

Empire by Orson Scott Card

The American Empire is growing too fast, and the fault lines at home are stressed to the breaking point.  The war of words between Right and Left has collapsed into a shooting war, though most people just want to be left alone.

The battle rages between the high-technology weapons on one side and militia foot solders on the other, devastating the cities and overrunning the countryside.  But the vast majority, who only want the killing to stop and the nation to return to more peaceful days, have technology, weapons, and strategic geniuses of their own.

When the American dream shatters into violence, who can hold the people and the government together?  And which side will you be on?

King Leopold's Ghost by Adam Hochschild

At the turn of the century, as the European powers were carving up Africa, King Leopold II of Belgium carried out a brutal plundering of the territory surrounding the Congo River. Ultimately slashing the area's population by ten million, he still managed to shrewdly cultivate his reputation as a great humanitarian. A tale far richer than any novelist could invent, King Leopold's Ghost is the horrifying account of a megalomaniac of monstrous proportions. It is also the deeply moving portrait of those who defied Leopold: African rebel leaders who fought against hopeless odds and a brave handful of missionaries, travelers, and young idealists who went to Africa for work or adventure but unexpectedly found themselves witnesses to a holocaust and participants in the twentieth century's first great human right's movement.

Storm of Steel by Ernst Junger


A memoir of astonishing power, savagery, and ashen lyricism, Storm of Steel illuminates not only the horrors but also the fascination of total war as seen through the eyes of an ordinary Ferman soldier.  Young, tough, patriotic but also disturbingly self-aware, Junger exulted in the war, which he saw not just as a great national conflict but-more importantly- as a unique personal struggle.  Leading raiding parties, defending trenches against murderous British incursions, simply enduring as shells tore his comrades apart, Junger keeps testing himself, braced for the death.  

Twinkle Twinkle Little Spy

A Russian Scientist defects believing that the in West he will he will more easily realize his dream of contacting planets in outer space. But British Intelligence and the CIA have more worldly plans for him and move quickly, relentlessly, leaving a trail of blood from the Sahara desert, to Manhattan, Paris, Dublin, and halfway back across Africa.

Monday, September 10, 2012

I've decided to reread a favorite book of mine, Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk.  I first read it to make sure a student who told me he was reading it was actually reading it and not just watching the movie ;), but I got so involved in it I read it all at once, in about 5 hours, which is quick for me.  I just love what Palahniuk does with language; in fact, I've read most of his books since this one.  He's really dark, but hilarious at the same time.  Here's an excerpt:  "You wake up at JFK.... the plane leans to one side and hangs in the decision to right itself or roll.  For this moment, nothing matters.  Look up into the stars and you're gone.  Not your luggage.... Not your bad breath.... A thud, and the second wheel hits the tarmac.  The staccato of a hundred seat-belt buckles snapping open, and the single-use friend you almost died sitting next to says:  I hope you make your connection" (p. 31).  Good stuff.

Friday, September 7, 2012

Embraced by the light by Betty J. Eadie


On the night of Novemner 19, 1973, following surgery, thirty-one-year-old wife and mother Betty J. Eadie died….  This is her extraordinary story of the events that followed, her astonishing proofof life after physical death.  She saw more, perhaps, than any other person has seen before and shares her almost photographic recollections of the remarkable details .  Compelling, inspiring, and infinitely reasurring, her vivid account gives is a glimpse of the peace and unconditional love that await us all.  More important, Betty’s journey offers a simple message that can trasnform our lives today, showing us our purpose and guiding us to live that way we were meant to- joyously, abundantly, and with love.

Thirst No.2 By christpher Pike

What Alisa has desired for five thousand years has finally come true—she is once again human. But now she is defenseless, vulnerable, and for the first time in centuries, emotional. As she attempts to reconcile her actions as a vampire with her new connection to humanity, she begins to understand the weight of life and death decisions. Can Alisa resolve her past and build a new identity, or is she doomed to repeat her fatal mistakes?

The Emperor of Nihon-Ja by John Flanagan

Months have passed since Horace departed from the Eastern nation of Nihon-Ja on a vital mission.  having received no communication, from him, his friends fear the worst.  Unwilling to wait a second longer, Alyss, Evanlyn, and Will leave their homeland behind and venture into an exotic land in search of their missing friend.

When they finally catch up with him, they find Horace entangled in a military coup.  Determined to protect the imperial throne, Will and his band of Araluens must piece together and train a force in order to fend off the Master Senji warriors intent  on overthrowing the emperor. 
 
Suspense and pulse-pounding action abound in this final adventure in the world wide phenomenon that is Rangers Apprentice.  

The Journal of Patrick Seamus Flaherty

January 20, 1968

We're going to move out while it's still dark, try to get a jump on them. Everybody's  packing as much ammo as they can carry. Most of us even have LAW's-light anti-tank assault weapons. The terrain's too rough for tanks, but we can use the LAW's to take out bunkers. If we need them. Grenades, bandoliers filled with magazines for our M-16s..., extra belts of M-60 ammo for the Machine guns, bayonets, Kabar knives.... but it doesn't even feel like boys with Toys this time - it feels like Men with Weapons. Nervous men, but men. If they want to take us on, we'll be ready. I hope. Last night I wrote letters to everyone in my family, just in case.

THE FOREVER KING

THE FOREVER KING by Molly Cochran and Warren Murphy definitely gives off a suspenseful air to it, making you want to read more. I have read this once before, and I read it in one sitting.I loved how the writing flowed together perfectly, in such great detail that the images just flew into my mind. It surprised me how they wrote it, how they would make you think one thing would happen but then the exact opposite would instead.It is my all time favorite book. This is what the cover gives as a description; In a darkened house not far from the place where Camelot may once have stood, a man schemes. Once the cup that men call the holey grail was his. Soon it will be his again. The grail's protectors are few and weak:an alcohol soaked ex-FBI agent; a courtly old gentleman who one, long ago, held awesome power, and a ten year old boy. Arthur Blessing is no ordinary boy. The Grail was his by chance, this time,. but the power to keep it- a power as ancient as time itself- is his by right. Now he must stay alive long enough to use that power. Arthur needs a defender, a man of great strength, skill, purity, and faith. Fate has given him Hal Woczniak, a broken-down drifter plagued by nightmare- memories of a dead child. When Hal quit the FBI, he practically quit human race as well. Now, at the darkest time in his life, he is offered the chance to redeem himself. Once he failed to save a child. Once he failed to save a world. He will not fail again.

The Boxcar Children by: Gertrude Chandler Warner

One warm night four children stood in front of a bakery. No one knew them. No won knew where they had come from. Henry,Jessie,Violet,Benny are orphans. Determind to make it on their own, they set out to find a safe place to live. They discover an old, red boxcar that provides shelter from a storm. Against all odds, they make it into their home and become The Boxcar Children!

THE RUBY in the SMOKE by Philip Pullman


"BEWARE OF THE SEVEN BLESSINGS"
When she first utters these words, sixteen year old Sally Lockhart doesn't know there meaning. But when an employee of her late father hears them, he dies of fear. Thus begins Sally's terrifying journey into the seamy underworld of Victorian London, in search of clues that will solve the puzzle of her fathers death. Pursued by villains and cutthroats at every turn, she at last uncovers two dark mysteries. One involves the Opium trade; the other, a stolen ruby of enormous value. Sally soon learns that she is the key to both--and that it's worth her life to find out why.

Secrets and Shadows by Shannon Delany

Nothings simple when you run with werewolves. Jessie Gillmansen thinks she's seen it all, but her eyes are about to be opened to even more danger and a reality far more paranormal than she's ever suspected. Thanks to Jessie's starting revelation about the Rusakovas' mother, the group's choices become harder--and trust is more important than ever. But the dramatic change Pietr's going through may shake the trust he's built with Jessie to its very foundation. As the broken Rusakova family struggles to come together to face what may be their greatest challenge, the people Jessie believed were normal show themselves to be much, much more.........

STAR WARS LEGACY OF THE FORCE: SACRIFICE BY KAREN TRAVISS

Civil war rages as the galactic alliance led by Cal Omas and the Jedi forces of Luke Skywalker battles a confederation of breakaway planets that rally to the side of rebellious corellia. Suspected of involvement in an assignation plot against queen mother Tenet ka of the Hapes consortium , Han and Leia Solo are on the run , hunted by none other than there own son, Jacen, whose increasingly authoritarian tactics as head of GA security have led Luke and Mara skywalker to fear that there nephew may be treading perilously close to the dark side.