Book Review Blog Carnival #32

Welcome to the thirty-second edition of the Book Review Blog Carnival!

Book reviews

The "hall monitor" presents Book Review: Youth in a Suspect Society posted at DetentionSlip.org, saying, "Find out how our schools started to resemble prisons."

Jim Murdoch presents Death of a Superhero by Anthony McCarten posted at The Truth About Lies, saying, "Donald Delpe is your typical 14 year-old, obsessed by sex and not getting any. He's also not your typical 14 year-old in that he's dying of cancer. How he copes with this is by drawing superhero comics but like nothing DC or Marvel would touch with a bargepole. An odd book - part narrative, part script, part comic-book outline – but also a painfully funny book when it's not being tragic. Donald's main concern is not his impending death but whether or not he'll get laid before he goes. Currently being made into a film, due for release in 2010 starring Freddie Highmore."

Sparky Bates presents You've Been Warned - by James Patterson & Howard Roughan posted at Accidental Reads, saying "Although thoroughly engaging and enjoyable, this book was a little bit on the 'weird' side."

Jim presents So What? by Mark Magnacca posted at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity, saying that it's "a book about how to change your mindset so that you become a more effective communicator and salesperson."

Dan MacKinnon presents mathematical lapses posted at mathrecreation, saying, "A short post about the mathematical humor in Stephen Leacock's Literary Lapses."

Steven Bush presents The Good Men Project: Real Stories From the Front Lines of Modern Manhood posted at Book Dads: Fathers That Read!, saying, "The Good Men Project: honest and compelling true stories by men writing about being Fathers, Sons, Husbands, and Workers."

Jim Murdoch presents Seeing Things posted at The Truth About Lies, saying, "The Clangers, Bagpuss, Ivor the Engine, Noggin the Nog – these beloved children's programmes all flowed from the pen of Oliver Postgate and yet his work in animation only made up part of a fascinating life which is opened up for us in his autobiography, 'Seeing Things' which includes his time as an inventor (he built a solar-powered house long before 'green' became popular) and also his anti-nuclear campaigning. The chapter covering his time in the army is pure Spike Milligan. A great read."

Bart's Bookshelf presents The Magicians by Lev Grossman posted at Bart's Bookshelf, saying "There’s an elephant in this room, and it is one that it is impossible for this book to get away from. Teenagers. Going to a magical boarding school. Complete with quirky teachers. And a weird game involving magic…"

Bart's Bookshelf presents Review: Kiss of Death by Marcus Sedgwick posted at Bart's Bookshelf, describing it as the companion/follow-up vampire novel to My Swordhand is Singing."

Vishal k Bharadwaj presents Book Review - Perdido Street Station posted at allVishal.com, saying, "Finally read a book I'd been looking forward to reading for a long, long time. I liked it enough to come up with a fake book cover (the paperback's is hideous), but as with most books, that's not the whole story..."

Swapnil Warang presents "Midnight's Children" posted at switch2life saying that the novel "covers various topics from the Indian independence, partition, Pakistan’s militarization, birth of Bangladesh, to emergency period in India. But does it really deserve the popularity it got? I would say no. The book just had too many things happening in it."

Morgan Schwartz presents My Snowman wants a Kindle posted at Omaha.net - Local Writing from the Heartland.

BWL presents The New Savage Number | Review posted at Christian Personal Finance, saying, "A short, but sweet, review of Terry Savage's "The New Savage Number."

Children's books

NathanKP presents “The Tale of Despereaux,” by Kate DiCamillo posted at Books For Sale?, saying, "“The Tale of Despereaux,” by Kate DiCamillo is a Newbery Award Medal winning tale about a young mouse who is in love with a human princess."

Keira, a guest blogger, presents 9 Ways to Get Kids to Read, saying in the last one: "Above all don’t force reading. If you do, reading will be forever associated with bad memories. It’s like root canal that way." Posted at Literature Young Adult Fictions.

Steven Bush presents Testing the Ice: A True Story About Jackie Robinson posted at Book Dads: Fathers That Read!, saying, "Testing the Ice offers a unique insight into a man who changed the face of American sports and helped launch the civil rights movement, by portraying him as a father from the view of one of his own children."

Fiction

Clark Bjorke presents Oryx and Crake posted at I'll Never Forget the Day I Read a Book!, saying, "Pigoons, rakunks, snats and wolvogs, no it's not Edgar rice Burroughs, it's Margaret Atwood."

KerrieS presents Review: A SHILLING FOR CANDLES, Josephine Tey posted at MYSTERIES in PARADISE, saying, "The discovery of the body of a popular screen actress washed up on a beach on the southern coast of England sparks an investigation headed by Scotland Yard's top detective, Inspector Alan Grant. Christine Clay's death hits the headlines, has a global impact, "society" dusts off its mourning blacks in hope of an invitation to her funeral, and yet what comes out is that almost no-one knew who she really was. A clairvoyant claims to have foretold her death, and her estranged brother seems to have disappeared."

KerrieS presents Review: TOO CLOSE TO HOME, Linwood Barclay posted at MYSTERIES in PARADISE, saying, "17 year old Derek Cutter has it all worked out. When his neighbours the Langleys go on a week's holiday, their house will provide a perfect lovenest for him and his girlfriend Penny. All he has to do is hide in their house, wait for them to leave, and then persuade Penny to come over. Except things go wrong. Donna Langley takes ill a short way from home and they come home soon after leaving. Derek is trapped in the house and has to wait for them to go to sleep. Within minutes all three Langleys are dead, killed by a gunman."

Ms. Smarty Pants presents No One Writes to the Colonel by Gabriel Garcia Marquez posted at Ms. Smarty Pants Know It All, saying, "a short and focused work from the Nobel winner."

Non fiction

ARJ presents "A Year On the Wing" Enthralls posted at Science On Tap, saying, "Book review of an absolutely great read from British first-time author Tim Dee, "A Year On the Wing: Four Seasons in a Life With Birds." One of the best pieces of nature-writing in a long while.

Alyce presents Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown posted at At Home With Books. This is a review of a new illustrated edition, and Alyce says "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee documents many, many tragedies, but does a good job of providing the information in chronological order so that you can see the progression of events; the cause and effect. The stories of massacres are not limited to those inflicted on the Native Americans, but also tell of those for which the Native Americans were responsible."

The editorial blog at the self-help site Your Best Library recommends The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle, saying "Have you ever wondered why some people are more successful than others? What is it that makes or breaks the business deals, friendship, or romance? What is the top priority employers consider when they are hiring, firing, or promoting? Intelligence? Education? Looks?"

Angel R. Rivera presents Booknote: Working for You Isn't Working For Me posted at The Itinerant Librarian, saying, "From the review, "The book is not perfect, but if you are dealing in a workplace with a toxic boss, then this is a good book to read in order to help you deal with the situation.""

Jeanne presents Manhood for Amateurs posted at Necromancy Never Pays, saying, "These essays are not only for men. They're for any contemplative person who wants some ideas presented in short bits, like little pieces of brain candy to pop in and suck on from time to time."

Novel

Grant McCreary presents In Hovering Flight posted at The Birder's Library, saying that the author is "obviously interested in birds, but I don’t know if she would consider herself a birder. But if not, she definitely did her homework, as she got the little details right."

That concludes this edition of the carnival.

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