Bibliobibulus Strikes Again!

I am a bibliobibulus (bookaholic). I have read for hours on end, into the middle of the night even, to finish a book I love; I laugh out loud when I'm reading to myself and talk to the characters as if they can hear me; and I sometimes look up words in the dictionary just for fun. I know...it's weird. Thankfully, I know that many of you who will read this are as weird as I am. In order to cement my status as a word nerd, I thought I'd post some of my favorite books as of late as well as a few cool things I've found online lately.

Book Reviews:

The Wish List: A fast-faced, fun novel by Eoin Colfer (of the Artemis Fowl series), this one is the story of a teenage girl who is killed accidentally during a robbery she is committing and gets stuck between heaven and hell. She has to go back to earth to help the man she was robbing in order to earn her way into heaven. Not doctrinally sound, but it raises interesting questions about human nature and the problems of waiting until it's too late.

The Black Pearl: So, this one is hard to review completely because I haven't finished it yet (due to a malfunctioning audiobook...GRRR), but I can safely say that I LOVE it so far. It a really a coming of age story about a teen in Mexico who wants to learn to dive for pearls as part of his father's business. Not normally the type of story I'm interested in at all, but I was drawn in by the story-telling style--I felt like I was sitting around a campfire listening to an old legend. The good news is that I just found a copy in my classroom (go figure!), so I can find out how it ends!

Maximum Ride: This series has been incredibly popular with my students this year. It follows a group of teens who are the victims of genetic mutation that has made them part human, part bird. Weird, I know. They are basically humans with really light bones, super strength, and huge wings. They have escaped from the scientists that created them, but they keep getting drawn back into contact with them for various reasons. Interesting concept, and I enjoyed the first one a lot. I will likely pick up the other three over the summer.

GOOD NEWS!

1. For those of you that have read The Lightning Thief, the fifth and final book in the series, The Last Olympian, came out this week. I can't WAIT to buy it. I LOVE these books! If you like fun, mythology, and clever writing that mocks everything about being a teenager, this is a must read.




2. If you want to read The Alchemyst by Michael Scott, you can download a PDF of the WHOLE book for free, thanks to Powell's Books. I'm reading the book right now, and I love it! It's a YA fantasy novel about brother and sister twins who find themselves mixed up in a centuries-old feud between the good and bad magicians of the universe. It's fast-paced and fun, especially if you like mythology.




3. In my family, the only thing that rivals books for use of leisure time is cooking, so to have a COOK BOOK is the best of both worlds. I was recently introduced to an amazing book, Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. It's a seemingly too-good-to-be-true concept that actually works! Easy recipes for DELICIOUS bread. Mmmm. I have made eight loaves out of two batches over the course of two weeks, and they are SOOO tasty. You can make basic round loaves, baguettes, and a large assortment of specialty breads. I've only done the basic so far because I borrowed the book from a friend, but I'm ordering one for myself so I can be a bit more experimental. Anyway, it's one of my new favorite things!
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