Great Book!

Hello All,
I have been reading this great book and just thought I would share it, It is called The Afghan Campaign, by Steven Pressfield.




Narrated by Matthias, a young infantryman in Alexander’s army, The Afghan Campaign explores the challenges, both military and moral, that Alexander and his soldiers face as they embark on a new type of war and are forced to adapt to the methods of a ruthless foe that employs terror and insurgent tactics, conceals itself among the civilian populace, and recruits women and boys as combatants. Matthias joins Alexander’s army after it has conquered the Persian empire and is advancing east into Afghanistan on its way to the riches of India. Part of a unit that includes recruits his own age as well as veterans, Matthias chronicles his rapid coming-of-age as a soldier as he enacts Alexander’s scorch-and-burn strategies, experiences the joys and sorrows of a romance with an Afghan girl, and faces the barbarism of the Afghans, his fellow soldiers, and ultimately himself. As Matthias relates the brutal day-to-day encounters between the two sides, he exposes the human cost borne by a company of men whose code is humanist and secular when they seek to impose their will on a people of deep religiosity, insularity, unbending pride, and a passionate readiness to die for their cause. In words that might have been ripped from today’s combat dispatches, Steven Pressfield, the bestselling novelist of ancient warfare, returns with a riveting historical novel that re-creates Alexander the Great’s invasion of the Afghan kingdoms in 330 B.C., a campaign that eerily foreshadows the tactics, terrors, and frustrations of contemporary conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The book of the week is a book recommended by my husband Chakib. It is a very compelling book that has no promises of happy endings, it just tells a story. This is a great look at contemporary Morocco. It is called Secret Son, by Laila Lalami.

Book of the week!

Hello all I have been super busy but I am going to try and get back on track! The book of the week is Whirligig, By Paul Fleischman. I absolutely loved this book when I read it years ago.




Brent Bishop, the new kid in eleventh grade, has just committed social suicide at the party he counted on to make him cool. Drunk, enraged and humiliated, he decides real suicide is the only future he wants. When it's over, Brent just has bruises, but Lea, a loving, eighteen-year-old honor student, the driver who hit him, is killed. Her mother wants Brent to keep the girl's spirit alive by making four whirligigs with her face and her name and planting one in each corner of the country. With a bus pass, a book and a photograph, Brent takes on her task. As he spreads Lea's spirit, she gives him his own, and by the time he is done, he has discovered his own capacity to face the future.

Been uber busy!

Hey all. Been uber busy these last few weeks. Volunteering at a middle school and it has been an absolute learning experience. I love it. Also working extra hard at Publix and still going to school. Anyway long story short I missed my book of the week. I decided to spotlight the book I am currently reading, Sarah's Key by Tatiana De Rosnay.



Fictionalizes the 1942 Paris roundups and deportations, in which thousands of Jewish families were arrested, held at the Vélodrome d'Hiver outside the city, then transported to Auschwitz. Forty-five-year-old Julia Jarmond, American by birth, moved to Paris when she was 20 and is married to the arrogant, unfaithful Bertrand Tézac, with whom she has an 11-year-old daughter. Julia writes for an American magazine and her editor assigns her to cover the 60th anniversary of the Vél' d'Hiv' roundups. Julia soon learns that the apartment she and Bertrand plan to move into was acquired by Bertrand's family when its Jewish occupants were dispossessed and deported 60 years before. She resolves to find out what happened to the former occupants: Wladyslaw and Rywka Starzynski, parents of 10-year-old Sarah and four-year-old Michel. The more Julia discovers—especially about Sarah, the only member of the Starzynski family to survive—the more she uncovers about Bertrand's family, about France and, finally, herself.

Book(s) of the week

Today I decided to have another series for Books of the week The Harry Potter Series by J.K Rowling.

Book of the week

I decided to do my book of the week the book I am currently reading. It is called Cleopatra's Daughter and so far I really like it. It is by Michelle Moran.



After the death of their parents, twins Alexander and Selene and younger brother Ptolemy are in a dangerous position, left to the mercy of their father's greatest rival, Octavian Caesar. However, Caesar does not kill them as expected, but takes the trio to Rome to be paraded as part of his triumphant return and to demonstrate his solidified power. As the twins adapt to life in Rome in the inner circle of Caesar's family, they grow into adulthood ensconced in a web of secrecy, intrigue and constant danger. Told from Selene's perspective, the tale draws readers into the fascinating world of ancient Rome and into the court of Rome's first and most famous emperor.

Might make it a book of the week.

I might do a book of the week instead of a book of the day. I am currently reading a delightful biography on Charles Lutwig Dodgson or as he is better known as Lewis Carrol, aka the author of Alice and Wonderland and through the looking glass. It is by Jenny Woolf.

book of the day for May 5

I missed it by a few minutes...The book of the day today is the Blooding by Joseph Wambaugh.



Wambaugh, best known for his books dealing with American crime and detection, here tells the engrossing story of two British sex murders and the police hunt for the killer. The title stems from a procedure of genetic fingerprinting detected by examining blood samples, and used by the police to catch the murderer. Armed with the new discovery for detection, the police launched a massive drive to "fingerprint" men in the Narborough village area. Wambaugh gives an inside look at the police and their intense and, at last, successful drive to catch the murderer. He also discusses the process, and some of its limitless possibilities. An excellent account of murder, detection, and this amazing scientific discovery

book of the day

Book of the day today is from one of my favorite writers of history. I picked this book by her because I loved the different spin on Richard III's character as opposed to Shakespeare's. Also I am not big into love stories but the love story between Richard and Anne is believable and endearing. My book of the day is The Sunne and Splendor by Sharon Kay Penman.



In this stirring historical novel, Sharon Kay Penman redeems Richard III from his villainous role in history as the hulking, evil hunchback. This dazzling recreation of his life is filled with the sights and sounds of battle, and the passions of the highborn. Most of all, it brings to life a gifted man whose greatest sin was that he held principles too firmly for the times in which he lived, and loved too deeply to survive love's loss.

Wickedly good book of the day.

The book of the day today puts a different spin on a classic tale, and shows a different spin on an infamous villain, a green-skinned girl who eventually becomes known as the Wicked Witch of the West. She acquires this nickname more because of her sister's nickname (the Wicked Witch of the East, who was so named by her political opponents) than for any wicked deeds. An Animal rights activist, she is involved in an assassination attempt on Madame Morrible. She shares an illicit relationship with Fiyero, whose death causes her to abandon her revolutionary ideals. This is Elphaba, and the book of the day is Wicked By Gregory Maguire.




The novel is a political, social, and ethical commentary on the nature of good and evil. It takes place in The Land of Oz, in the years leading to Dorothy's arrival. The story centers on Elphaba, the misunderstood green-skinned girl who grows up to become the notorious Wicked Witch of the West. Gregory Maguire fashioned the name of Elphaba (pronounced EL-fa-ba) from the initials of Lyman Frank Baum, L-F-B. The story is divided into five different sections.

Dang it I missed a day again.

I missed the book of the day again yesterday, but I was going to do another series of books so I will just combine the two days. These book have been near and dear to my heart since I was a little girl. The Little House on the Prairie books by Laura Ingalls Wilder.



The Little House series is based on decades-old memories of Laura Ingalls Wilder's childhood in the Midwest region of the United States during the late 19th century. The best-known of the books is Little House on the Prairie. The books are told in the third person, with Laura Ingalls acting as the central character and protagonist, and are generally classified as historical fiction rather than as autobiography, although several of the later books are almost purely autobiographical.

Book of the day

The book of the day is a book I just barely finished. World Without End by Ken Follet. It is a sequel to the book the Pillars of the Earth, but can just as easily be read on it's own.




On the day after Halloween, in the year 1327, four children slip away from the cathedral city of Kingsbridge. They are a thief, a bully, a boy genius and a girl who wants to be a doctor. In the forest they see two men killed.

Book of Day. Yeah no more finals!

So finals are done! Yeah two weeks off from school before I start summer classes. anyway I started reminiscing about books I read in school, and I remembered this one. Hatchet By Gary Paulson. I thought this tale of survival would be a great fit for book of the day, after surviving finals week.




Hatchet is the story of a boy named Brian. On a trip to the Canadian oilfields to spend the summer with his dad, the pilot of the Cessna he is traveling in suffers a heart attack and dies. Brian must land the plane in the forest. Brian learns to exist in in this wilderness. He faces many dangers including hunger, animal attacks, and even a tornado. This book gives the reader a better understanding of what it is like to survive in an untamed land.

book of the day

I am pretty tired and finals tomorrow...I almost forgot about book of the day...almost. The book of the day for today is Holes by Louis Sachar.



Stanley Yelnats, a boy who has bad luck due to a curse placed on his great- great-grandfather, is sent to Camp Green Lake, a juvenile detention camp, for a crime he did not commit. Stanley and the other boys at the camp are forced to dig large holes in the dirt every day. Stanley eventually realizes that they are digging these holes because the Warden is searching for something. As Stanley continues to dig holes and meet the other boys at the camp, the narrator intertwines three separate stories to reveal why Stanley's family has a curse and what the Warden is looking for.

Book of the day.

The book of the day for today, is 3 by Finney, By Jack Finney.





This is actually a collection of three stories. My personal favorite is The Woodrow Wilson Dime, about a man who travels between dimensions by use of a dime. I literally laughed out loud at one point in the story.

Book of the day and cool website.

The book of the day for today is one of my favorite books, the Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexander Dumas



Falsely accused of treason, the young sailor Edmond Dantes is arrested on his wedding day and imprisoned in the island fortress of the Chateau d'If. Having endured years of incarceration, he stages a daring and dramatic escape and sets out to discover the fabulous treasure of Monte Cristo, and to catch up with his enemies. A novel of enormous tension and excitement, The Count of Monte Cristo is also a tale of obsession and revenge. Believing himself to be an 'Angel of Providence', Dantes pursues his vengeance to the bitter end, only then realizing that he himself is a victim of fate. One of the great thrillers of all time, The Count of Monte Cristo has been adapted for film and television many times.

Also here is a link to a really cool website where you can rate books, see other people's lists of their favorite books, and share books with friends.

www.goodreads.com

Book of the Day

This book is also the first of a series and is based off of a radio show created by Douglas Adams, the author. I found this book absolutely hysterical,unique and fun.



Join Douglas Adams's hapless hero Arthur Dent as he travels the galaxy with his intrepid pal Ford Prefect, getting into horrible messes and generally wreaking hilarious havoc. Dent is grabbed from Earth moments before a cosmic construction team obliterates the planet to build a freeway.

3 books of the day

Wow I missed yesterday because I went to the beach so I thought I would just do a whole series to make up for it. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J.R.R Tolkien



The Lord of the Rings is an epic high fantasy novel written by philologist and Oxford University professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit (1937), but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in stages between 1937 and 1949, much of it during World War II.[1] Although generally known to readers as a trilogy, the work was initially intended by Tolkien to be one volume of a two-volume set along with The Silmarillion; however, the publisher decided to omit the second volume and instead published The Lord of the Rings in 1954-55 as three books rather than one, for economic reasons.[2] It has since been reprinted numerous times and translated into many languages, becoming one of the most popular and influential works in 20th-century literature.

Book of the day is Stones is Water, by Donna Jo Napoli. I remember reading this when I was around 13 or 14. I still remember this book.




Sneaking into the cinema to see an American Western during World War II has grave consequences for Roberto, a Venetian middle-school student, his brother, and two friends. The young male audience is trapped by German soldiers and transported by train out of Italy as cheap forced labor. The first project, constructing a tarmac, goes smoothly, despite wretched living conditions. Separated from his older brother, timid Roberto relies on his quick-thinking friend, Samuele. Both realize the necessity of hiding Samuele's Jewish identity from their captors and fellow prisoners. When a "shipment" of Polish Jews arrive and are penned near the labor group, Roberto uses his ingenuity to help feed two Jewish girls with his meager rations. After Samuele is beaten to death trying to save Roberto's scavenged boots, Roberto escapes. He is a displaced gondolier trying to navigate his boat on a modern Styx, a hellish river journey with slim chances for survival. Few books view the Holocaust from this vantage point; few readers are familiar with the Venetian/Italian connection to the work camps. Others will be interested in this story as survivalism from the worst kind of nightmare. Many children will be ensnared by the author's paean to the art and value of storytelling. Samuele's legacy is the nourishing stories that keep Roberto alive. An intense, gripping tale.

El Libro de la dia.

My book of the day today is A Long Way Gone:Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, by Ishmael Beah This is a truly powerful book.




In A LONG WAY GONE: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, Ishmael Beah, now twenty-six years old, tells a powerfully gripping story: At the age of twelve, he fled attacking rebels and wandered a land rendered unrecognizable by violence. By thirteen, he’d been picked up by the government army, and Beah, at heart a gentle boy, found that he was capable of truly terrible acts. At sixteen, he was removed from fighting by UNICEF, and through the help of the staff at his rehabilitation center, he learned how to forgive himself, to regain his humanity, and, finally, to heal.

This is an extraordinary and mesmerizing account, told with real literary force and heartbreaking honesty.

Book of the Day

Hello all my book of the day today is Mystic River by Dennis Lehane. Loved the twist at the end.



When they were children, Sean Devine, Jimmy Marcus, and Dave Boyle were friends. But then a strange car pulled up to their street. One boy got into the car, two did not, and something terrible happened -- something that ended their friendship and changed all three boys forever.

Twenty-five years later, Sean is a homicide detective. Jimmy is an ex-con who owns a corner store. And Dave is trying to hold his marriage together and keep his demons at bay -- demons that urge him to do terrible things. When Jimmy's daughter is found murdered, Sean is assigned to the case. His investigation brings him into conflict with Jimmy, who finds his old criminal impulses tempt him to solve the crime with brutal justice. And then there is Dave, who came home the night Jimmy's daughter died covered in someone else's blood.

Book of the day and list of 1001 books to read before you die.

Hey all the book of the day today is a book that really touched me. It is called a Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini,




The story covers three decades of anti-Soviet jihad, civil war and Taliban tyranny through the lives of two women. Mariam is the scorned illegitimate daughter of a wealthy businessman, forced at age 15 into marrying the 40-year-old Rasheed, who grows increasingly brutal as she fails to produce a child. Eighteen years later, Rasheed takes another wife, 14-year-old Laila, a smart and spirited girl whose only other options, after her parents are killed by rocket fire, are prostitution or starvation. Against a backdrop of unending war, Mariam and Laila become allies in an asymmetrical battle with Rasheed, whose violent misogyny—"There was no cursing, no screaming, no pleading, no surprised yelps, only the systematic business of beating and being beaten"—is endorsed by custom and law. Hosseini gives a forceful but nuanced portrait of a patriarchal despotism where women are agonizingly dependent on fathers, husbands and especially sons, the bearing of male children being their sole path to social status. His tale is a powerful, harrowing depiction of Afghanistan, but also a lyrical evocation of the lives and enduring hopes of its resilient characters.

Also here is a link to the 1001 books to read before you die. Enjoy. :)

http://www.listology.com/list/1001-books-you-must-read-you-die

Book of the Day 4/18/2010

This book recomended by my mother started me looking at reality television in a whole different light. Can't wait for book three! The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.




sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen lives in a post-apocalyptic world where a powerful government called the Capitol has risen up after several devastating disasters. In the book, the Hunger Games are an annual televised event where the ruthless and evil Capitol randomly selects one boy and one girl from each of the twelve districts, who are then pitted against each other in a game of survival and forced to kill until only one remains.

Book of the Day 4/17/2010

I thought for todays book of the day I would go back a little bit to a book that helped me realize my love of history. The Walking Drum by: Louis L'Amour.




Here is an historic adventure of extraordinary power waiting to sweep you away to exotic lands as one of the most popular writers of our time conquers new storytelling worlds. Louis L'Amour has been best known for his ability to capture the spirit and drama of the authentic American West. Now he guides his readers to an even more distant frontier -- the enthralling lands of the 12th century.

The American Library Associations top ten most challenged books for 2009:

1. “TTYL; TTFN; L8R, G8R (series), by Lauren Myracle
Reasons: Nudity, Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group, Drugs

2. “And Tango Makes Three” by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson
Reasons: Homosexuality

3. “The Perks of Being A Wallflower,” by Stephen Chbosky
Reasons: Homosexuality, Sexually Explicit, Anti-Family, Offensive Language, Religious Viewpoint, Unsuited to Age Group, Drugs, Suicide

4. “To Kill A Mockingbird,” by Harper Lee
Reasons: Racism, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group

5. Twilight (series) by Stephenie Meyer
Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Religious Viewpoint, Unsuited to Age Group

6. “Catcher in the Rye,” by J.D. Salinger
Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group

7. “My Sister’s Keeper,” by Jodi Picoult
Reasons: Sexism, Homosexuality, Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Religious Viewpoint, Unsuited to Age Group, Drugs, Suicide, Violence

8. “The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big, Round Things,” by Carolyn Mackler
Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group

9. “The Color Purple,” Alice Walker
Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group

10. “The Chocolate War,” by Robert Cormier
Reasons: Nudity, Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group

About the Blog

Hey all I decided to create a blog dedicated to my love of books. I will have a book of the day and would love for others to share their favorite book of the moment. Let's get America excited about reading again. My book of the day today is Allah's Garden by Thomas Hollowell.




A former Peace Corps Volunteer's riveting nonfiction narrative delivers a captivating tale of dire hardship, faith, and human courage in Morocco. Allah's Garden focuses on a Moroccan doctor's 25-year detention by a militant group in prison camps within the Sahara Desert. This plight is interwoven with the author's own engaging travelogue while in the North African region.