The last book of the Percy Jackson series, The Last Olympian sees the fulfillment of the prophecy and the final battle of monsters and demi-gods.
I know the books are aimed at teenage readers but I still loved them.
Read them! You’ll enjoy it.
Educated is a memoir by Tara Westover, published in 2018. The book tells the story of Westover’s childhood and young adulthood, growing up in a survivalist family in the mountains of Idaho. Westover was not allowed to attend school, and her parents did not believe in doctors or hospitals. She was educated at home by her father, who was a self-taught scholar.
When Westover was 17, she decided to leave home and attend college. She had no formal education, but she was determined to learn. She went on to earn a degree from Brigham Young University and a PhD from Cambridge University.
As a practicing “Mormon” or, more appropriately, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, This was not a fun book to read. My ex-wife was from Idaho and I didn’t meet anyone who would fit the description of the Westover family. However, I have run into quite a bit of fundamentalists and it is always interesting to hear their theories on the world and their place in it.
The book is an important read. We all need to “leave home” and do a little bit of examination of our foundations. My daughter is leaving soon for college and I sincerely hope she takes the time to learn about other people and other ways of living. I believe she is a good person and while I doubt I will agree with all of her decisions, she is going to do fine.
This book wasn’t comfortable but I’m glad I read it.
Book 4 of the Percy Jackson series is The Battle of the Labyrinth. This book sees Percy blow up another school and get propelled into another adventure in the world of the Greek Gods and heroes.
This time around the “Lord of Time” Kronos is finally reformed. Percy’s rival/nemesis Luke gave everything to bring the titan back. Grover finally finds the god Pan and comes into his own.
There is a lot of growth in our hero and the main characters in this book. Percy is still 15 but is starting to deal with a lot more than monsters chasing him. The author does a great job, as always, of blending a good tale from the legends of mythology and giving them a modern bend.
A good read and a great book
Douglas Adams’ classic is read by the comedian Stephen Fry and brings us all back to a time when digital watches were the bleeding edge of technology. The Hitchhiker’s Guide is the first of a series of 5 books first published in 1979. It has since gone on to be a TV series and a full motion picture.
This book has brought a smile to me several times over my life. I really enjoy the dry wit and the general ridiculousness of each situation. Author’s character keeps getting placed in situations from ridiculousness to impossible. In each situation he somehow maintains his demeanor and sanity. Of course, this simply serves to juxtapose the ridiculousness of our daily lives against the over the top situations presented in the novel. Author somehow moves forward just as we do.
Don’t panic! Just read the book. You’ll enjoy it.
Eragon is the first book in the Inheritance Cycle. Written by Christopher Paolini in 2002, it delivers the classic hero’s tale of a orphan book who is more than he appears.
Eragon was fun to read and goes down pretty easy. Outside of it being more or less unbelievable at times, it was an enjoyable book.
Great book if you like the genre.
A Wrinkle in Time is a 1962 science fantasy novel by Madeleine L’Engle. The story follows Meg Murry, a young girl who, along with her brother Charles Wallace and friend Calvin O’Keefe, travels through space and time to find her father, a brilliant scientist who has been missing for five years. Along the way, they encounter three mysterious beings—Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which—who help them on their journey. The novel explores themes of love, courage, and self-acceptance, and it has been praised for its innovative use of science fiction and fantasy elements.
Honestly, I wasn’t that taken with the story and don’t remember that much about it.
I will have to re-read it.
Braving the Wilderness is the 2nd to latest book by Brené Brown which came out in Sep of 2017. It touches on the feelings of belonging and the stories we tell ourselves.
I was glad of the reminder to keep my mouth shut when I have nothing good to say and of how rare a good friend is in our world. I also enjoyed her comments on the polarization of politics and how people react to “hot button” issues.
Although there is clear value in much of what the author is trying to get across, I found myself put off by the internalizing of seemingly every concept through the life of the author. I don’t feel it is needed or even wanted to empathize and find parity in your own life with every plight. Reading it felt sort of like talking to someone who is always one upping your story. You think they hear you but they are clearly put more value on their experiences rather than your own. It was hard to push through it.
Ms. Brown puts forth some very good concepts and I appreciate her work. If you enjoy her style of storytelling, you will likely enjoy this book.
The War I Finally Won follows the book The War that Saved My Life. It is the story of a young woman in England during WWII. Now orphaned, she is finally able to have the surgery to correct her club foot and be more like other people. Yet, she soon learns much more about the wide world as a German immigrant comes to stay with them.
This is a good book to transport yourself to a time and place where there is a war going on. In today’s America, we don’t know a great deal about having to go without or having to come together for a greater cause outside our own desires. I think back to after 9/11 and the feeling in the county. The unity and lack of backbiting was a silver lining to the tragedy. Sadly, it was short lived.
This book isn’t my usual fair. As with the book proceding it, I read it because others were and I wanted to understand where they were coming from.
I don’t know if I would recommend this book or not. I didn’t really enjoy reading it and I don’t know what I got out of it in general.
The Last Mile is a story of the vindication of a death row inmate, Melvin Mars, after 20 years of false imprisonment. A washed up detective, Amos Decker, helps to put the pieces together the murder of his parents who and why his parents were killed.
This book was well written and kept me engaged and entertained. I’m not quite sure what I was looking for but the plot took another direction
If you like mysteries, this is a great book.
The Titan’s Curse is book three in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. The Titan Kronos is slowly coming back to power and his general Atlas is freed of his burden. Percy and his friends have to save an innocent creature from sacrifice or Kronos will return.
After I read book 2 I had to move along to book 3. Another fun read from Rick Riordan. Percy is getting more familiar with his powers and is noticing he has feelings for his friend Annabeth.
Another great book