August “Auggie” Pullman has a facial deformity that attracts a lot of unwanted attention. He’s been home schooled through fourth grade and is going to start school at Beecher Prep for fifth grade. Throughout the year, he and his fellow fifth graders learn a lot about growing up, being kind, and standing up for what’s being right. On a personal level, Auggie and his family learn how to adjust their lives as their youngest member comes into his own. The story is engrossing, and frankly […]
The Black Canary
Time travel intrigues me. It’s one of those devices that can either be done well or doesn’t work at all. In this book, it doesn’t work. There’s no explanation for why there’s a time waro that exists in the basement of James’s house nor how he’s supposed to know that once he crosses into the past that he’ll return to the same moment in the future. It also leads me to question how random animals like cats, rats, etc. don’t wander into the time warp […]
Wishful Drinking
I’m discovering that hearing an author read his/her memoir, it brings the writing to life and makes it seem very conversational. Carrie Fisher does an amazing job and narrating the story of her life. The inflections, laughs, shouts, and interruptions incorporate a level of sincerity and humor that wouldn’t be available by just reading her memoir. I’m sad to say that I’m coming late to Ms. Fisher’s works. They’ve been on my to-read list for awhile but it was her untimely death that pushed me […]
Shockaholic
In recent years, I’ve found that I like listening to audiobooks while on road trips. When I was younger, I’d prefer to read the books myself rather than be read too, but now that I do some of the driving (and trying to make cannonball), I don’t mind using the time to see if I can’t complete a book or two on a trip. This past February, I was on a trip with my wife and we both decided to listen to Carrie Fisher’s works. […]
City of Meh
A city called Ember has survived, as the citizens believe, as the only human civilization left after a catastrophe no one can remember. Things aren’t going well though because the lights won’t stay on, supplies are running low, and growing political unrest. The city doesn’t produce anything other than vegetables in green houses, so any building materials have to be recycled. Even things such as paper and coloring items (e.g. paints, crayons, colored pencils, etc.) have become luxury items. Lina and Doon are 12 and […]
Make Wakanda Great Again!
This was a much better read for me than Book 1. While I still feel that I’m missing some of the context that happened before Book 1, Book 2 continues from where Book 1 left off, returning to familiar characters and conflicts. Book 2 continues to show us the ongoing conflict between the Wakandans and their Black Panther and the rival guerilla leader who is trying to get Wakandans to return to their past roots. Ironically, reading this post-election, it feels like this rival leader […]
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