Best book of July

The Compound by S.A. Bodeen

This has to be my choice for the best book of July (there has been 12 to choose from - some of them adult books which don't usually make it to the blog.)

Eli was nine, when his world was suddenly changed by the closing of the silver door, that kept he and his family safe from the fall out of the nuclear war. His father wealthy techno billionaire has planned well for such an event - except it didn't do much good for Eddie (Eli's twin) or gram, who didn't make it to the shelter in time. Now seven years after that silver door closed, things in the compound are starting to go wrong, food supply is running short, tension with his parents and sisters is raging. Eli who has distanced himself from everyone and everything finds himself discovering a connection to the outside world that raises questions about the very world he knows and the people he thought he could trust. Secrets, sabatoge, abound in this mysterious world underground called the compound, will Eli have what it takes to escape the silver door? What world is left beyond it?

You'll have to read on to find out.

Once again a dystopian future book has grabbed my attention, and I have to admit that I also checked out the audio version of this too (which was really well done.) I was telling my nephews about it and they were all ears begging me to give away the ending. If there is one book I'm raving about this July it's The Compound.

21 days in July

Blazing saddles: the cruel and unusual history of the Tour de France.

For 21 days in July, I'm obsessed with watching TV. Every night at seven, I've been glued to OLN to watch the tour. My favourtite rider this year (from day one) has been Andy Schlek - who as you might know has come in 2nd overall (next year will be your year Andy!)

So, I always have loads of questions about the tour as they grind theire way up the Alps and Pyreness, weave through tiny villages and towns, and time trial on the way to the final day on the streets of Paris. I've used google a fair amount to answer some of these questions but have also picked up Blazing saddles by Matt Rendell.
This book gives a year by year account of the Tour, from its inception in 1903 to 2007. Each year is given a short summary and the highlights of the race, a listing of the podium winners and where they were from, their overall time, the total distance of the race and the average speed. There are terrific black and white photos from even the earliest races.

So if you have questions about the odessy that is the Tour de France maybe a book like Blazing saddles will give you some of the answers.

Beige by Cecil Castellucci

My first attempt at creating a book trailer.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Hope you like it.
Read on.

Finding Lubchenko

Finding Lubchenko by Michael Simmons

Here's the opening paragraph-

"So this is basically a story about a murder. It's a story about a murder and the fact that the cops said my dad did it. All implausible, but still a lot of trouble for my father. But I'll get to that. The story actually begins with a smaller crime. It was really just a way for me to earn a little money. And when I tell you what I was doing, you probably won't even think it was that wrong. Not really a crime. I was actually only stealing from myself, if you really think about it, although there are probably a few people who would disagree with me on this."

Evan, our main character and narrator of the story relays how his super rich but tightwad dad has been framed for murder. Evan works at his dads biotech firm for minimum wage (his dad wouldn't have it any other way) so with the help of his best friend Rueben they have been "liberating" office equipment and we're not talking staplers and hole-punches, we're talking laptops, printers, and scanners - the boys then sell the stuff on ebay to supplement Evan's non-existant allowance and wage. One minor glitch - when Evan dad is framed for a murder that has taken place in their office tower, Evan holds the key piece of evidence that could free his dad, but that would also mean coming clean on his supplimentary income scheme.

Evan decides there is only one option that will work for them, find out who is framing his dad themselves, even though this puts them up against some pretty nasty guys. And this means finding Lubchenko.

Loved it, thought it was a fun read, enjoyed the sarcastic, smart-alec, voice of Evan, the crazy schemes he comes up with and how his friends can't resist even against their better judgement being a part of them.

If you haven't seen Ferris Buehler's day off, go out and rent it, cause Ferris and Evan are made of the same stuff.

Summer reading - so far

Hiya,

I guess I haven't blogged since school let out for summer, I been on the road, travelling and generally having a good time, and I've been reading and collecting a long list of titles to be read when i have time.

Some of what I've read so far include : Finding Lubchenko, Beige, Le Tour, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, In The Land of the Lawn Weenies, (Graphic novels )- Burnout, Marvels, Life sucks, and Dead High Yearbook.

So the pile at my bedside is slowly decreasing, but every trip to the library adds a couple more. Maybe it's really staying about the same level.

Hope your summer is great so far.
Read On.

Project sweet life

Project Sweet Life by Brent Hartinger

Summer holidays are here. Yipee!! Days and days of sleeping in, hanging with friends, hours of doing not much of anything. Right. That's what the three main characters of Project sweet life thought too. That is until their fathers come up with the idea that all three should have summer jobs!! Yes you heard right - work, jobs, schedules, minimum wage, uuuuugggghhhh.

Dave, Curtis and Victor decide there is a way around the dreaded summer job - and they call it Project Sweet Life - really all they have to do is make roughly $7500.00 and they're off the hook. But project sweet life does require lying to everyone around them about their susposed summer jobs and then how to make the money. Their first project sees the trio selling all the cool stuff they've collected over the years in a massive garage sale just to see the cash flying out of thier hands as fast as it came into them. On to the next idea...

I thought this was an original, fun read. And if your avoiding getting a summer job, well, this book might give you a couple of good ideas.

From the back cover:
"Here's the nasty little secret about summer jobs, something the adults don't tell you: Once you take that first summer job, once you start working, you're then expected to keep working. For the rest of your life! Once you start, you can't stop, ever- not until you retire or you die.
Sure, I knew I'd have to take a job next summer. But now, I had two uninterrupted months of absolute freedom ahead of me - two summer months of living life completely on my own terms. I knew they were probably my last two months of freedom for the next fifty years."

For the slackers.
Read on.

Too Funny!!!

Buffy vs. Edward
This is too funny!

Maximun Ride Graphic Novel

Maximum Ride by James Patterson vol. 1

I love graphic novels, and I loved the original Maximum Ride, so I had high expectations for the graphic novel adaptation of the story, and well it totally held up. This book was brilliant! I read it one morning last week - that's another thing I love about graphic novels they're fast.

The art work was terrific, I liked how when Max or other members of her family are feeling young and vulnerable they are drawn in a kind of strawberry shortcake way.

Here's a summary of the story. Fourteen-year-old Maximum Ride better known as Max knows what it's like to soar above the world. She and the members of the 'flock' - Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gasman and Angel - are like ordinary kids, only they have wings and can fly! It may seem like a dream come true to some, but their lives can morph into a living nightmare at any time - like when Angel is kidnapped and taken back to the 'school' where she and the others were genetically engineered by sinister scientists. To rescue Angel, Max and the flock will have to brave the half-human half-wolf 'erasers'. Along the way Max discovers that her purpose is to save the world - but can she?

Favourite graphic novel of late.

Read On

Love, Aubrey

Love, Aubrey by Suzanne La Fleur

A tragic accident has left Aubrey's world turned upside down. Starting a new life all alone, Aubrey has everything she thinks she needs: spagetti-o's and Sammy her new pet fish. She cannot talk about what happend to her. Writing letters is the onlly thing that feels right to Aubrey, even if no one ever reads them.

With the aid of her loving grandmother and new friends, Aubrey learns that shes not alone, and gradually she finds the words to express the feelings that once seemed impossible to describe. The healing powers of friendship, love and memory help Aubrey take the first steps toward the future.

Readers will care for Aubrey from page one and will watch her grow until the very end, when she has to make one of the biggest decisions of her life. Love, Aubrey is a brave, honest, funny, and hopeful book that is not to be missed.

Beginner's guide to fly fishing

Beginner's guide to fly fishing by Jim Casada

I've been thinking about Mrs. Valgardson these days, and I know she loves fly fishing in fact I think she even had a fly fishing option once. So, here's a brand new fly fishing book in her honor.

I've tried fly fishing a couple of times - I was unsuccessful :-( but maybe I'll try some hints from the book for when I head to the Castle River this summer.

If your interested, it's been added to the library collection.

Read On.