- Entries : Category [ Fun reads ]
31 December
2007
Mara Daughter of the Nile
Eloise Jarvis McGraw
Mara, a slave girl in ancient Egypt finds herself as a double spy. Caught between Thutmose III and Hatshepsut’s factions, Mara uses her wits and exhibits bravery as she tries to stay alive and win her freedom. This is a story with a strong heroine and is set during a fascinating time in Egypt’s history. Although many of the facts about the time are accurate, the dialogue is mid-twentieth century, which right now feels old-fashioned to most teenagers! Given the romantic overtones, though no graphic detail, this book will be a turn off to girls who aren’t at least in middle school.
ages 12-15
18 January
2008
Great poem
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Yesterday I was previewing a book I received as a gift and this quote was at the front:
Let us, then, be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate ;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to wait.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882)
I was intrigued and found the whole poem - it yet again reminded me why Longfellow was the rock star of his day.
Click here
20 January
2008
Non fiction recommendation
The Rise of the Creative Class by Richard Florida
A friend of mine asked what I like for non-fiction. Though I read this book 3 or 4 years ago it still influences my thinking. The book is about a new economic class in the US - a group made up of artists, scientists, engineers, architects, academics, and entertainers. This group's job is to create new ideas, contents, and technologies.
The book starts by asking what identifies the areas of the country that are economically successful today? Regions characterized by the 3 T's -- talent, technology, and tolerance.
Pattern Recognition
by William Gibson
William Gibson's brilliance is making you look at the world in a new way. As one review wrote about this novel, "Pattern Recognition is a masterful snapshot of modern consumer culture and hipster esoterica. Set in London, Tokyo, and Moscow, Pattern Recognition takes the reader on a tour of a global village inhabited by power-hungry marketeers, industrial saboteurs, high-end hackers, Russian mob bosses, Internet fan-boys, techno archeologists, washed-out spies, cultural documentarians, and our heroine Cayce Pollard--a soothsaying "cool hunter" with an allergy to brand names."
If you like science fiction, you will love this book. What made me think of this book is a new science fiction book, Rainbow's End, that has many similar elements as Pattern Recognition. I'll report back on Rainbow's End when I finish it.
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