On college and secret societies and mysterious deeds
What I'm reading now:
The Case of the Missing Deed by Ellen Schwartz. A MG mystery that looks to be a standard summertime adventure with a pack of cousins at grandma's who discover nefarious deeds at work. I've just barely started it and am hopeful it will hit just the right note. (It also, apparently, includes recipes!) This could fit in my "summertime thing" column. (June or July)
Permeable Borders by Nina Kiriki Hoffman. A short story collection from an author I have some affection for and sporting a lovely cover from Fairwood Press. I'm dipping into it slowly, finding what I love and hope to review it sometime this summer. It might have crossover appeal and show up in a column; too early to tell.
We Shall Not Be Moved: Rebuilding Home in the Wake of Katrina by Tom Wooten. For Booklist - I've read quite a few books on Katrina so I'm looking forward to this one. (Although they are very nearly always gut-wrenching.)
Do Dogs Dream? by Stanley Coren. Also for Booklist - a nice format of questions & answers about dogs. I have found out why one of my dogs can watch television which is actually far more technical and scientific then you would expect!
Zeuglodon by James Blaylock. This is one of the more delightful MG adventures I have read in ages. Blaylock gives us three preteen adventurers, a mystery, two villains, a mummified mermaid, a missing parent who was researching the hollow earth, and the Guild of St George which basically investigates all the things you think are not true but might be. Kate is a budding cryptozoologist, her cousins are smart and occasionally annoying (it happens) and her great uncle is Dick Van Dyke circa Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. It's the bomb, seriously! To be reviewed in either summertime thing column or unusual adventures column. (And man - another fantastic cover!)
Burton & Swinburne in the Expeditions to the Mountains of the Moon by Mark Hodder. I'm a fan of Hodder's earlier two books in this series but I have to admit that thus far this one is rather daunting. There is a lot going on here and while I appreciate he is trying to tie up all the loose ends it's still pretty overwhelming. I'm hanging in there out of my great love for Burton & Swinburne but we'll see how it goes.
What I've Recently Finished
An Uncommon Education by Elizabeth Percer. This is the story of Naomi Feinstein who grew up in an intellectual household with an ailing mother and a father who was a bit obsessed with the Kennedys. She's a curious child with a unique perspective on the world and seems intent on moving in the path directed by her father - to Wellesley and a career as a physician. But in college she struggles to find her footing and then falls in with the Shakespeare Society and all sorts of intrigue develops between her classmates and Naomi slowly finds herself finding her own way - whether she wants to or not. This is quite simply, a coming-of-age novel set in college which is something I love and wish there were ever so many more of. I found it challenging, curious, interesting, funny and deeply affecting. Review to follow - I'd like to do a column on books set in boarding schools and/or colleges but I'm still waiting to get a few. I've requested Year of the Gadfly (not sure if it will crossover) and I'm starting The Mockingbirds and I have another couple on request (I think). We'll see where the reviews end up.
A Field Guide to Getting Lost by Rebecca Solnit. For my next book research and honestly I wasn't sure if any of it would apply or not but I'm a fan of Solnit's essays so I decided to give it a go. It has proven to be a wealth of ideas, has made me think in all sorts of ways about Alaska and flying (which are not part of the book at all) and also about why we want to get lost sometimes. Here's a quote:
Not till we are lost, in other words, not till we have lost the world, do we begin to find ourselves, and realize where we are and the infinite extent of our relations.
Finally - more on the book fair for Ballou High School over at Guys Lit Wire. Please help if you can. Things have gotten off to a slow start and we really could use the support.
