Bookshelf of Book Reviews

I've been thinking a lot about Internet anonymity and cyber bullying lately and I decided that although this blog is primarily for book-related posts, as part of the billions of creative endeavors on the Internet, this blog is as good of a place as any to share my thoughts. I've never experienced a great deal of cyber bullying, but I do know many people who have suffered because of it, and I know well that it is truly a serious problem. Obviously, if you are engaging in clear cyber bullying activities like threatening someone or sending hateful messages, please stop. You never know how much you could really hurt someone and no one deserves to feel hated and belittled. (If you want a great book that will ma ke you reco nsider the effect that you have on other people, Wonder by R.J. Palacio is a great choice.) But for those of you who don't do anything shockingly and obviously outrageous on the Internet, I want you to think seriously about this question: "

The Neddiad: How Neddie Took the Train, Went to Hollywood, and Saved Civilization  From Amazon: "T he old powers try to come back, and the planet is plunged into chaos, and civilization is destroyed, and it gets all violent and evil...the old legends tell that a hero...with the sacred turtle, always... Los Angeles, California. Neddie Wentworthstein is the guy with the turtle. Sandor Eucalyptus is the guy with the jellybean. Sholmos Bunyip wants the turtle...and he'll stop at nothing to get it." Despite that rather badly written summary (I felt I had to include it to uphold tradition), The Neddiad is hysterically funny, incredibly unique, and unbelievably clever. The main thing you will learn from this book is that smart people are more entertaining. Daniel Pinkwater doesn't come across as a snooty intellectual, but it's very clear that he's really smart, because pretty much every sentence is a masterwork  of comic genius. This book is good in p

For today's post I decided to do something a little different and share some old book descriptions. I've read quite a few books from the 1800s and the early 1900s and I'm a big fan of Project Gutenberg's free Kindle versions of  books in the public domain (gutenberg.org). These versions include the entire original text of the book, including any advertisements or book descriptions, some of which are unintentionally hilarious. Here are three of my favorites: The Bunny Brown Series By Laura Lee Hope "These stories by the author of the 'Bobbsey Twins' Books are eagerly welcomed by the little folks from about five to ten years of age. Their eyes fairly dance with delight at the lively doings of inquisitive little Bunny Brown and his cunning, trustful sister Sue.  Bunny was a lively little boy, very inquisitive. When he did anything, Sue followed his leadership. They had many adventures, some comical in the extreme." (Comical in the extreme- that's

From Goodreads: " Gerald is careful. Piggie is not. Piggie cannot help smiling. Gerald can. Gerald worries so that Piggie does not have to. Gerald and Piggie are best friends. In I Am Invited to a Party! Piggie is invited to her first party. She doesn't know what to wear, though, so she asks her best friend Elephant for help. Elephant's advice is odd to say the least...." My love of books began when I was tiny, and picture books hold a special place in my heart. I'm also the oldest child in my family, so I've been able to keep up on the latest and best picture books throughout the years. Mo Willem's Elephant and Piggie series is quite simply outstanding. I am Invited to a Party is my favorite. The simple and expressive drawings pair perfectly with the sparse and witty dialogue.  The plot is simple but relatable- haven't you ever been to a party and not known quite what to wear? Elephant and Piggie solve the problem in a hilarious way, but you&

From Goodreads: " Delve into the magical, unforgettable world of James Herriot, the world's most beloved veterinarian, and his menagerie of heartwarming, funny, and tragic animal patients... In All Creatures Great and Small , we meet the young Herriot as he takes up his calling and discovers that the realities of veterinary practice in rural Yorkshire are very different from the sterile setting of veterinary school. Some visits are heart-wrenchingly difficult, such as one to an old man in the village whose very ill dog is his only friend and companion, some are lighthearted and fun, such as Herriot's periodic visits to the overfed and pampered Pekinese Tricki Woo who throws parties and has his own stationery, and yet others are inspirational and enlightening, such as Herriot's recollections of poor farmers who will scrape their meager earnings together to be able to get proper care for their working animals. From seeing to his patients in the depths of

This fall I'm going to be posting on this blog more regularly and sharing it more widely, so I thought I'd start out my blog reboot by telling you a little about myself. My name is Rachel Duncan. I come from a big, crazy family; my siblings are my favorite people in the whole world. I'm studying Social Media Marketing at LDS Business College and I'm loving every minute of it. I love Star Wars and Phineas and Ferb and the Killers and so many other books and movies and TV shows and bands. There's just so much good in the world. I'm a proud member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (to learn more, visit mormon.org). You can follow me on twitter (@conniedear7) or Instagram (also @conniedear7) and I'd be especially happy if you followed me on my very favorite social media platform, Pinterest (@conniedear). I started this blog because ever since I was very little I've loved books. I've been a voracious reader since I was five years ol

From Goodreads: "There's a murderer on the loose—but that doesn't stop the girls of St. Etheldreda's from attempting to hide the death of their headmistress in this rollicking farce.  The students of St. Etheldreda's School for Girls face a bothersome dilemma. Their irascible headmistress, Mrs. Plackett, and her surly brother, Mr. Godding, have been most inconveniently poisoned at Sunday dinner. Now the school will almost certainly be closed and the girls sent home—unless these seven very proper young ladies can hide the murders and convince their neighbors that nothing is wrong.  The Scandalous Sisterhood of Prickwillow Place is a smart, hilarious Victorian romp, full of outrageous plot twists, mistaken identities, and mysterious happenings." When Jessica Day George first reviewed this book on Goodreads, several months before it came out, I couldn't have been more excited. To me, a perfect book would be about a  Victorian Girls Boarding School a

From Goodreads: " A wonderfully entertaining coming-of-age story,  Northanger Abbey  is often referred to as Jane Austen’s 'Gothic parody.' Decrepit castles, locked rooms, mysterious chests, cryptic notes, and tyrannical fathers give the story an uncanny air, but one with a decidedly satirical twist. The story’s unlikely heroine is Catherine Morland, a remarkably innocent seventeen-year-old woman from a country parsonage. While spending a few weeks in Bath with a family friend, Catherine meets and falls in love with Henry Tilney, who invites her to visit his family estate, Northanger Abbey. Once there, Catherine, a great reader of Gothic thrillers, lets the shadowy atmosphere of the old mansion fill her mind with terrible suspicions. What is the mystery surrounding the death of Henry’s mother? Is the family concealing a terrible secret within the elegant rooms of the Abbey? Can she trust Henry, or is he part of an evil conspiracy? Catherine finds dreadful portents i

From Amazon: " In recent years there has been an alarming rise in the number of American children and youth assigned a mental health diagnosis. Current data from the Centers for Disease Control reveal a 41 percent increase in rates of ADHD diagnoses over the past decade and a forty-fold spike in bipolar disorder diagnoses. Similarly, diagnoses of autism spectrum disorder, once considered, has increased by 78 percent since 2002. Dr. Enrico Gnaulati, a clinical psychologist specializing in childhood and adolescent therapy and assessment, has witnessed firsthand the push to diagnose these disorders in youngsters. Drawing both on his own clinical experience and on cutting-edge research, with  Back to Normal  he has written the definitive account of why our kids are being dramatically overdiagnosed—and how parents and professionals can distinguish between true psychiatric disorders and normal childhood reactions to stressful life situations... Back to Normal  reminds us of th

For my very first review on this blog, I thought it would be fitting to choose a book that has truly changed my life. So of course, I'm reviewing The Wednesday Wars, by Gary D. Schmidt. I'll start off by saying that I give this book an unconditional 5 stars. There honestly isn't anything I don't like about it. But why? you ask. Well, I am here to tell you. From Goodreads: " Meet Holling Hoodhood, a seventh-grader at Camillo Junior High, who must spend Wednesday afternoons with his teacher, Mrs. Baker, while the rest of the class has religious instruction. Mrs. Baker doesn’t like Holling—he’s sure of it. Why else would she make him read the plays of William Shakespeare outside class? But everyone has bigger things to worry about, like Vietnam. His father wants Holling and his sister to be on their best behavior: the success of his business depends on it. But how can Holling stay out of trouble when he has so much to contend with? A bully demanding cream puffs