Description: A little fish, who thinks he’s very clever, steals a big fish’s hat. Story Review: This book follows the popular; I Want My Hat Back by Klassen. Both books have gotten a lot of national recognition. At first I didn’t understand why this book was being put in the circles of Best Picture Books for 2012, […]
Archives for 2012
Review | I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen
2012-12-09 · by ·
Description: A bear goes looking for his hat that went missing under mysterious circumstances. Story: It took me a few readings to warm up to this book, especially a reading with my daughter. It was put on many of the best picture book lists of 2011 and at first I was very underwhelmed. I just […]
Review | Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
2012-11-30 · by ·
Book Description (from the cover): Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee. Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. […]
Review | The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
2012-11-17 · by ·
It’s hard to explain adequately how I feel about “The Hobbit.” Simply put, it’s one of my favorite books, I’ve read it more times than any other novel (though I’m not sure what that tells you about me). I remember devouring the book, over and over, reading it a good five or six times before […]
Review | The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert Heinlein
2012-11-06 · by ·
When a book has stood the test of time, has been deemed a “classic,” reviewing becomes something of a futile effort. Like an art critic reviewing the Mona Lisa or the Sistine Chapel with anything short of awe and respect, reviewing a classic novel feels a little arrogant. How does one critique what is universally […]
Review | Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
2012-10-22 · by ·
Every once in a while I read a book because I’m supposed to, whether because it won the Pulitzer or Nobel or Booker, or some other prestigious prize, or it’s just old enough to have been granted “classic” status. Usually, the book turns out to be just as good, or at least just as notable, […]
Review | The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad
2012-10-21 · by ·
I wish I had read this in the early years after 9/11. While the characters in Joseph Conrad’s “The Secret Agent” are not superficially the same as the characters that would figure into the terrorist attacks on 9/11 and the subsequent events, the themes are eerily similar. As a piece of literature, though, the book […]
Review | The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester
2012-10-15 · by ·
The Professor and the Madman is a non-fiction book about the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary. It tells the story of two men: William Minor and James Murray and how they worked together to create the OED. James Murray was a professor and the editor of the OED. Dr. William Minor was a Civil […]
Review | Palace of Stone by Shannon Hale
2012-10-02 · by ·
Book Description (from the cover): Coming down from the mountain to a new life in the city seems a thrill beyond imagining. When Miri and her friends from Mount Eskel set off to help the future princess Britta prepare for her royal wedding, she is happy about her chance to attend school in the capital […]
Review | Insurgent by Veronica Roth
2012-09-12 · by ·
Synopsis from Goodreads: In this sequel to the bestseller Divergent, war now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets emerge, and choices will become more irrevocable–and even more powerful. Transformed by her decisions, haunted by grief and guilt from those decisions, radical […]
