The Candy Shop War by Brandon Mull

I've seen this book floating around my school for a while now. And then one of my best friends--a 3rd grade teacher himself--gave it a strong recommendation. So last weekend I bit the bullet and cracked the cover. AND LOVED IT! The Candy Shop War is a fun, creative addition to the fantasy genre...even as the genre seems to be getting a bit out of hand or even overdone.

The Candy Shop War takes place in a nondescript Anywhere USA. Four elementary-aged friends stop by the new candy store in town and are recruited by the owner, Belinda White, to go on a variety of errands on her behalf. The errands start out normal but become increasingly bizarre each time. In exchange for their efforts, she rewards them with magic candy that allows them to become weightless, become unbreakable...etc. Pretty awesome stuff. The kids begin to get suspicious though, and they soon find themselves caught up in a mixed up magical war with consequences more severe than they imagined.

The book is a funny, quick read that will capture your imagination instantly. Obviously written for the young adult audience, I think all ages can enjoy this book. The "unexpected" twists and turns never feel formulaic and you will never predict the ending...which is a good thing in books like this.

A

Shared Spaces

Today you all get a special bonus post.  This short video is my final project for my Environmental Literature class.  The title is "Shared Spaces."  Part of the assignment is to distribute the video to 25 people.  I tried to throw it up on YouTube but it got rejected because it was over 10 minutes long.  I thought this website might be a good alternative.  It's also on my Facebook page if you want to watch it there (viewing window is much larger).  I know it's a little out there, but I hope you still enjoy it.  I look forward to hearing your comments.

The Water-Babies - Charles Kingsley (3 of 5 Mother Doneasyoudidbys)

This is another book from my Darwin class.  It was published back in 1863 by Reverend Charles Kingsley.  Charles told his readers that the book's purpose was to teach small children about the responsibility that they had become morally evolved individuals.  It is a somewhat effective attempt to mesh religion and evolution.

At the beginning of the book, the young chimney sweep Tom runs away from his abusive master.  During his escape into the forest Tom falls into a river.  It is then that the faeries turn him into a water baby.  What exactly that is, nobody knows, but it's some kind of tadpole thingy...  During his journey Tom encounters several animals that teach him about moral evolution.  Does he become an upstanding citizen of English society?  Probably, but I don't want to give anything away.

If nothing else I admire Kingsley for his subtlty...or lack thereof.  After many years of unsuccessfully trying to teach his religious ideas to adults, Kingsley decided that he might have more luck if he focused on children.  In the midst of lighthearted descriptions like Tom frolicking through the marsh, Kingsley dumps complex details about ideological battles between natural theology and evolution.  In the course of reading the book to their children parents would suddenly have to explain these concepts to their children.  Sort of like...hmmm...Wall E.  "Mommy, what's global warming?"

You might want to read this book for its historical value rather than literary value.  It was part of the British elementary education curriculum for much of the second half of the 19th century.

Erewhon - Samuel Butler (1.5 of 5 Self-Replicating Watches)

No.  This is not the spinoff of Eragon.

Short history lesson: Samuel Butler was a cukie old man who lived in the 19th century.  Like everybody else at the time, he became intensly interested in Darwin's theory of evolution.  Unlike everybody else at the time, he tried to send some of his crazy theories to Darwin himself, which of course Charles blew off immediately.  Angered by his idol's heartless rejection, Butler set off on his own to recreate his own brand of Lamarckian evolution.  Never heard of him?  Well, that's probably because everything he believed has since been proven false.

Erewhon or...nowhere sort of spelled backwards, is a story about a man that takes a journey into the land beyond where he finds a crazy town that does everything backwards.  How exciting!  They have banned all machines.  They believe that crimes are diseases and diseases crimes (you can go to jail for getting a cold).  They teach unreason in their universities.  Their churches are banks...yada yada.  It goes on and on.  You might find a few interesting ideas here and there, but the satire will become unbearable after oh...five or six pages.  

Don't bother with this book.  Bulter basically ripped off Gulliver's Travels and jammed some skewed ideas about evolution into it.  Go read Gulliver instead.  It's much better.  If you've read Gulliver, go find something else to chew on.

The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

This book is huge--almost 1000 pages. On more than one occasion you will want to put it down and give up. But you will continue to read it because its just...SO good. The story of Pillars revolves around the building of a cathedral in medieval England. Building a cathedral in any circumstance is not easy, but toss in the mixed up world of Kingsbridge, England and the evil, grasping characters who are in power, and you're in for a real adventure.

Ken Follett is most known for writing mystery thrillers, so this historical fiction is definitely a strange turn for his writing to take. His experience in the world of "thriller" writing, however, is obvious in this book. He is masterful in keeping you on the edge of your seat as he moves from one part of the story to another--giving you just enough information to keep you satisfied, and keeping just enough back to keep you reading further.

Overall, I loved this book. I was sucked into the lives of the characters and was truly interested in what happened to them. I also loved all the material about medieval England politics--knights, kings, traitors to the crown, etc. But I can't give it my highest rating because its so insanely long I wanted to give up at least twice. And there is also a good amount of distasteful material in the book--a few violent rape scenes, for example. I'd still recommend you read this, but be cautious and know that its not all pretty.

B+

The Plague - Albert Camus (4 of 5 Coughing Attacks)

My dad asked if this lack of post was a creative approach to existentialism.  Well...I wish.  Rather, it's just one indicator of how busy I'm been recently.  I've been recording the titles of the books I've been reading, but haven't had the time to fill in the rest.  I set them to automatically post every Friday, and well, technology got ahead of me this time.

So, if you didn't read The Plague in high school or college here's the summary.  A small town in Algeria is quarantined when a black plague outbreak is detected.  The story follows several characters as they try to cope with the terrible conditions.

The reason why everyone read this book in AP English in high school is because everyone dies.  No surprise there.  And yes, it's pretty depressing.  However, I found that I enjoyed reading the book much more this time around.  Perhaps this is because I'm a little bit older and have experienced more of the joys and pains that life offers and can therefore connect better to the dire circumstances of the characters.  Or perhaps it's just because I had a better professor helping me through it this time.  You have to push through a lot of dense material for the first 250 pages, but the ending is truly liberating and intensely beautiful.  If you haven't read it in a while, I'd suggest you take another look.

The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara

The Killer Angels is historical fiction, but I've heard a number of people say it teaches the history of Gettysburg better than any nonfiction account of the battle. I must admit I've never read a straight up history of this Civil War battle, but I found this book fantastic. And it really has given me a good understanding of what happened at Gettysburg in 1863 in an entertaining and captivating way.

The Killer Angels recounts the story of the "turning point" battle of the US Civil War. Shaara tells the story from various perspectives--Generals Longstreet and Lee of the Confederacy, General Chamberlain from the Union, for example. Over the course of the three-days battle, we go with the major characters through the day-to-day, and the major events. As you come to know the characters, you really grasp the heartbreaking reality of a battle--even a war--wherein one side technically "wins," but everybody really loses.

I loved this book. I found it a fast read, and I was hooked into the story right from the beginning. It gave me a new perspective on Gettysburg, and I especially came to better appreciate the difficult situation all Americans were put in with this war. One thing I really liked about Shaara's writing style---he didn't repeat any part of the story when switching narrators. He just used the historical figure who made the most sense at the time so we heard the story once...not three or four times like you find in other multi-narrator stories.

I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in a fascinating look at one of the more well-known events in US History.

A

Mars and Venus on a Date - John Gray (5 of 5 Giddy Smiles)

Of all of the books I've read over the past few months about relationships, this is probably the best.  Thanks Tara for the recommendation.

The book begins with a discussion of the five stages of relationships.  They are

1. Attraction - Flirting Stage, first meetings, first dates
2. Uncertainity - You're interested, but not sure if the other person is
3. Exclusivity - Decision is made to date only each other, still maintaining appearances
4. Intimacy - Time to get to know the real person, positive and negative
5. Engagement - Rings and preparation for marriage

After describing the stages, Gray discusses how to manuever effectively through the stages.  Skipping stages can leave an insecure foundation.  Both individuals in the relationship need to move through the stages at approximately the same rate.  If the girl moves too fast, the guy gets lazy.  If the guy moves too fast, the girl feels that he is asking too much.

Miscellaneous topics are after discussed.  These include such things as what women are attracted to, what men are attracted to, why some guys don't like commitment, 100 places to meet your future companion, etc.  These supplementary topics are full of rare gems.

I found this book so intriguing that I took 6-7 pages of notes for my files.  If you're interested in reading this document, let me know and I'll send it to you.  Happy dating!