Stranger in A Strange Land

I picked up this book called Stranger in a Strange land by Robert Heinlein. Let me tell you what, I think I read the first 5 pages and one word to describe it: Strange. As far as I got the story is about a human that grew up on mars. So the question is, is he a martian or a human? anyways I didn’t get far enough to find out.

I am Sam

This book is for middle elementary grades. Though I read it when I was quite a bit older. I loved it though. It tells a story of life through a young boy’s eyes. The book, by Julie Mohr and Ray Nelson, the book creatively and humorously show life through the infant, toddler, and childhood of a young boy. It shows learning what things mean and how to act and how just growing as a kid is exciting and challenging.

Hawaii’s Story

Many people do not know the real happenings concerning the annexation of Hawaii by the US. Hawaii’s Story is a memoir about the injustice that was served Hawaii, written by Hawaii’s last Queen Liliuokalani. Liliuokalani begins the story by introducing herself and her childhood. She focuses  on the family relationships and the relationships between her and her people. They are usually a calm and peaceful people who like music, dancing, food, and company. Education, music, and Christianity were major factors of her concern. She talks about the royalty of Hawaii and the customs of the royalty, the physical buildings and the relationships between the royalty. The Hawaiian people have conflict when there was disagreement when the king dies and there are multiple heirs to the throne. Liliuokalani met Queen Victoria in England, which was something that I thought was really cool. Well to get to the point. Liliuokalani became Queen and then many of her “friends” who were missionaries and friends from the U.S. turned on her and Liliuokalani was cornered into giving up the people’s right to their own leadership.Check http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/liliuokalani/hawaii/hawaii.html out for the book.

Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy

Douglass Adams has two popular works. You probably know Dr. Who. Well he wrote Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy as well. It was a popular tv show, radio show, and book. A few years ago it became a movie.

I watched the movie before I read the book. Well I thought it was really weird. I really liked the depressed robot Marvin. Its about a guy from earth who goes hitchhicking through space. Well there is really no rhyme or reason to the story. It just sort of goes from one place and time to another. There are lots of interesting characters.

You could visit wikipedia to learn more.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hitchhiker%27s_Guide_to_the_Galaxy

there are a couple of books in the series

Hitchhikers guide to the Galaxy

A restaurant at the end of the universe

Life, the Universe and Everything- this is where I am at

So long and thanks for all the fish

Mostly Harmless

After the King by a number of Authors

This past break I read a book called After the King. It is a collection of short stories that has some elements of Tolkien writing. Well I was not too much of a fan of the book. I did not think the stories were in a Tolkien style. Really It just was not what I was expecting from a book dedicated to Tolkien.

I looked the book up on Amazon to find more information of the book: ~ Martin H. Greenberg (Editor), Jane Yolen (Editor), Keith Parkinson (Illustrator), Elizabeth Ann Scarborough (Collaborator), Charles de Lint (Collaborator), Emma Bull (Collaborator), Andre Norton (Collaborator), Terry Pratchett (Collaborator), Robert Silverberg Karen Haber (Collaborator), Poul Anderson Karen Anderson (Collaborator)

The Host

I read the Host by Stephanie Meyer a few weeks ago. I have to say I liked it better than Twilight. It is more of a sci fi book than a fantasy though and there is not as much romance, thankfully. Aliens are taking over the world. One human at a time. They are a parasite. They are a calm and nonviolent race of alien, and so by the very fact they are here means the world is a better place, right? Well, it seems that the human race who know about the invasion are more prepared to fight back.

Life of Pi

Written by Yann Martel. It is a story with in a story, or a story that is the real story. It is left up to the reader to decide. A young boy moves with his family and their occupation. Their occupation as in his father’s job- the Zoo. Something happens and it is left to the young boy to survive on his own in the middle of an ocean with wild zoo animals all around him. What is the separation between animalistic survival and human survival. It is an intriguing story but there is a twist at the end.

A Dolls House

I read this twice. Not out of my own free will but because it is an “academic play”. Henrik Ibsen writes a story about the difference of reality and the face families give to society in the Victorian era. It’s pretty short and a quick read. I have some funny stories from reading it in a group in class, so it does have potential. Both times I read the play I read it with the theme of feminism and what the Victorian standard for a woman was. If you need to read this book for class. Don’t bother buying the book just read it off google.

Mr. Darcy’s Diary

If you liked Pride and Prejudice then you will like Mr. Darcy’s Diary by Amanda Grange. Ms. Grange takes the Austen’s most popular work and retells it from Mr. Darcy’s perspective. All the conversations and events are exactly the same but instead of the reader seeing the story through Elizabeth’s eyes they see it through Mr. Darcy’s. Elizabeth always tells the reader what she thinks of Mr. Darcy and she is wrong in the beginning. Are you not curious what Mr. Darcy really did think of Elizabeth in the beginning of the story. Amanda Grange writes an interesting and fun book to get the reader thinking a little more about the Austen novel.

The Mitten by Jan Brett

The Mitten is based on a Ukrainian Folklore. It is about a mitten which has been lost my its owner. Animals, one after another, crawl inside of the mitten. Eventually one of the occupants sneezes and all the inhabitants of the mitten go flying. The mitten is caught up in the current of the air and the little boy, who is the owner of the mitten, finds it and takes it home. The cool thing about this book is that there are multiple pictures on each page. Each depiction on each page tells a little more about the story so you have to pay attention to the main picture and all the details surrounding it.