The Last Lecture

One interesting local connection is that the author, Randy Pausch, grew up in Columbia, Maryland.

Randy's no-whining positive attitude toward life is amazing. His advice on how to live when you know you are dying, how to give a proper apology, and how to show gratitude are just some of the points he makes on how to make the most of the time you have.

This is one of those books where you can just open to any page and read a few paragraphs and feel better about life.

Burger Wuss (YA 1999) - M.T. Anderson

Burger Wuss reminds me of some of those early John Hughes movies from the 80s like Sixteen Candles and Ferris Bueller's Day Off, only smarter and funnier. Anderson either remembers what it's like to be a teenager or he's very observant. Or maybe both.

Sixteen-year-old Anthony has just lost the love of his life to Turner, a sadistic four-time Employee-of-the-Month at a fast-food joint called O'Dermott's (which has many similarities to a certain unnamed franchise that features a large yellow letter of the alphabet between L and N). The best way to exact revenge, Anthony decides, is to get a job at O'Dermott's working right alongside Turner. But since this is not only fiction, but teen fiction, things can go wildly off-course.

It's not long before Anthony finds himself in the middle of a fierce rivalry between O'Dermott's and cross-town fast-food rival Burger Queen, in one of the funniest softball games ever captured in print. He also strikes up a friendship (or is it a partnership?) with Shunt, a homeless co-worker seeking to topple the restaurant's corporate structure, if at all possible, by anarchy. Add to the mix two clueless parents, two sickeningly in-love coworkers and a manager with way too much corporate spirit.

Burger Wuss is a hilarious, yet sympathetic look at teenage love and revenge, filled with clever dialogue and authenticity. All of Anderson's novels are wildly different from one another, but they all feature top-notch writing. For newcomers, Burger Wuss is a great, entertaining place to start.

192 pages

Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt and

Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana

by Anne Rice

If you have read any of Anne Rice's other books, these are nothing like them. These two books fictionalize 2 separate years in Christ's life. The first book, Out of Egypt, is about Jesus as an 8-year-old boy. This family is leaving Egypt and returning to Nazareth. Jesus is just becoming old enough to begin to understand who he is and what he is capable of. He has heard his family talk about some awful thing that happened when he was in Bethlehem, but he doesn't know what happened. Near the end of the book, he finds out. It broke my heart.

The second book, The Road to Cana is about the last few months before the wedding at Cana, his first public miracle. As the book begins, Jesus is an ordinary man and everyone around him is wondering (none too patiently) to see what all the fuss was about surrounding his birth. The scene when Jesus meets Satan in the desert was so well written. You could picture it happening just like that. You meet Peter, Andrew, James, John and Mary Magdelene. Sadly, you also see Joseph die. I loved the first book so much that I was afraid to start the second book. I was so afraid of being disappointed. I wasn't disappointed at all.

Most Catholics are afraid to read this book when I recommend it. But, you can assure anyone who asks that her fiction stays very much within the Catholic beliefs.

Middle School Is Worse Than Meatloaf

Middle School Is Worse Than Meatloaf: A Year Told Through Stuff
by Jennifer Holm (author) and Elicia Castaldi (illustrator)

I saw this one come across the circ desk, and I have to admit, I just loved the title (for the record, I love meatloaf). I started paging through it, and had read half of it before I even realized it. Ginny Davis is a seventh grade student, and this is the story of her year told entirely through scrapbook-style collages of "stuff". Poems and essays from English class, her evolving to-do list, report cards, IM screenshots, postcards, even receipts for such things as her salon treatment to correct a disastrous home hairdye experiment. Ginny deals with an older brother who goes from "neighborhood prankster" to "juvenile delinquent", a widowed mother who remarries, and all of the trials and tribulations of everyday life in middle school.

Ginny's personality comes through remarkably well, considering the presentation style of the book. She's funny, troubled, resilient, and very easy to relate to. Since everything is presented graphically rather than in traditional "chapter book" style, this book would probably appeal to our younger teens who enjoy comics or manga.

On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness by Andrew Peterson

The title, and particularly the Monty Python-esque subtitle (Adventure. Peril. Lost Jewels. And the Fearsome Toothy Cows of Skree) inspired me to grab this from the new books shelf. The very first page made me laugh:

A Brief Introduction to the World of Aerwiar

The old stories tell that when the first person woke up on the first morning in the world where this tale takes place, he yawned, stretched, and said to the first thing he saw, "Well, here we are." The man's name was Dwayne, and the first thing he saw was a rock. Next to the rock, though, was a woman named Gladys, whom he would learn to get along with very well. In the many ages that followed, that first sentence was taught to children and their children's children and their children's parents' cousins and so on until, quite by accident, all speaking creatures referred to the world around them as Aerwiar . . . By the Fourth Epoch, the harsh land east of the sea had come to be known as Dang and has little to do with this tale (except for the Great Evil that came to exist there and waged a Great War on pretty much everybody). That evil was a nameless evil, an evil whose name was Gnag the Nameless.

The story focuses on the Igiby children, Janner, Tink and Leeli, their mother and grandfather Podo. Janner and Tink find a mysterious map that promises to lead them to a hidden treasure. They are eager to go searching, but first they must contend with the evil Fangs of Dang (loathsome reptilian creatures who have taken over the town), their sister Leeli going missing, Peet the Sock Man, and fears of the Black Carriage, which comes to town with regularity to whisk people away to slavery or worse.

The author populates his world with creatures like Thwaps, Cave Blats, Quill Diggles, Flabbits, Bumpy Digtoads, Ratbadgers, and of course, the Fearsome Toothy Cows of Skree. He fills in bits of the "history" of his fictional land with funny footnotes, including my favorite:

1. Snot wax is too repulsive a thing about which to write a proper footnote.

He also invents "books" from which the footnotes were taken, like Eezak Fencher's Comprehensive History of Sad, Sad Songs, and B'funerous Hwerq's Ready, Set, Chube! A Life in Gamery.

This is a light, quick, enjoyable read. I was actually surprised it is cataloged as adult fiction, since it reads and looks very much like a young adult fantasy. Other than some violence, there is nothing in this book that would keep me from recommending it to a teenager. The author identifies this as Book One of the Wingfeather Saga, so the Igiby's tale will continue. I will definitely tune in for the next installment!

Recommended for young adult/adult fans of light/humorous fantasy.

This is What I Did: (YA 2007) - Ann Dee Ellis

Eighth grader Logan Palorey has just moved to a different part of town, which means a new school and new friends. But a new environment can't change the terrible thing Logan witnessed several weeks ago, an incident involving his best friend Zyler. Logan is tight-lipped about the whole thing. His parents want to help but don't know how, his brothers could care less and all the kids at his new school think he's a freak. All, that is, except an odd girl named Laurel who wants to change her name to Laral because she loves palindromes.

Logan's mom suggests going to see a counselor. Logan's dad suggests Boy Scouts. Logan has his own idea: trying out for the school musical Peter Pan. (After all, Laurel's in the musical.) Each of these three situations provides learning experiences for Logan, but none of them turn out to be quite what he expected.

This is What I Did: reminded me a lot of the Laurie Halse Anderson novel Speak, another book about a troubled teen who doesn't want to talk to anyone. This is What I Did: is a quicker read with more humor, but it's definitely not a "light" version of Speak for boys. It packs a real punch and a satisfying ending.

157 pages

A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray

A Great and Terrible Beauty is the first book in the Gemma Doyle trilogy and was our latest Y Teen Book Club selection. Part Victorian Gothic romance, part fantasy and part chick lit made this a very interesting read. Four friends attending an English boarding school discover magical powers that take them into a place called The Realms to battle against a secret society of women, called The Order, and a secret men's society, called the Rakshana.

Did I like the trilogy? It was outside my comfort zone but it kept my attention and I respect Libba Bray's efforts. There was a lot to discuss, if only anyone were interested.

This trilogy is good for sophisticated Y readers who can handle the sexual fantasy scenes and the violence and the mystical elements. Don't be fooled by the covers and think it will work for an historical fiction assignment because the Victorian setting is outweighed by the fatastical otherworld.

Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

Eat, Pray, Love is the selection for Crofton's upcoming adult book discussion group on May 28th. It is journalist Elizabeth Gilbert's account of the year she spent traveling in Italy, India and Indonesia, exploring her personal physical, emotional and spiritual dimensions against the distinctive cultural backdrop of each country.

We selected this title based on its popularity, availability, and potential for discussion. Reader reviews indicated that most people felt strongly about EPL - they either embraced it as the best thing they'd read in years or denounced it as irritating, whiny, and trite. We were also looking for something cheerful, as our prior book club selection, The Glass Castle, was a beautifully written yet searingly painful story.

My personal experiece of EPL lies somewhere between the "love it" and "ditch it" camps, tilting a bit toward the "ditch it" side. Gilbert is a capable writer and a talented storyteller. Her voice is breathlessly girlish, chatty, often funny and occasionally self-deprecating. She stockpiles her story with metaphors, anecdotes, and confidences shared. And her quest is admirable: finding herself unhappy with the life she is leading, she bravely sets out to discern the source of her misery.

But it all felt a bit contrived. Gilbert is obviously smart, resourceful, determined - however, the complete package of this tale wraps up just a tad too neatly. Everywhere she goes, she finds exactly what she is seeking. After four months in Italy, her pleasure site, she departs with glowing skin and a trunkful of expensive lingerie. While sitting with a meditation group in an Ashram in India, she attains the much desired state of turiya (the fourth level of human consciousness), a divine bliss that in her own words "is what everyone has come here for." And finally, artfully, masterfully, she finds love with a capital "L" in Bali, breaking her self-imposed year of celibacy in the arms of Felipe - the attentive Brazilian gentleman whom she ultimately marries.

Of course, it doesn't help my skepticism to know that Gilbert had already obtained a contract to write just this book prior to setting out on her year-long "disgruntled and depressed professional lady on a fantasy quest" journey. It doesn't help my ornery view of her whirlwind year to know that this very contract financed her journey (and that she slipped back to the states in between Italy and India for a change of clothes and a "Merry Christmas" shout-out to the home folks).

I find that I can think more kindly of this book if I take it less seriously, and therein lies my tipping point with regard to EPL. Gilbert tries to have it all, I think, not only in the passions she seeks during her year of travel and self-searching, but also in the rubric of the book itself, which poses as something genuinely spiritual but comes off feeling more than slightly pre-fabricated.

DOG YEARS by Mark Doty

I read this title a few months ago for the Readers' Advisory Nonfiction workshop and found it to be an absolutely splendid gem of a book.

A stirring blend of philosophy and reminiscence, Dog Years presents a poetic narrative of the author's relationship with his beloved retrievers, Arden and Beau. This slender volume gifts the reader with meditations on life and loss, acceptance and gratitude.

In the concluding chapter, as the aging Beau approaches the end of his life, Doty reflects that "Animal presences remain for me, as they have always been, a door toward feeling and understanding." In Dog Years, Doty opens that door to those who turn the pages of his generous memoir.

I would recommend this title to animal lovers, nature lovers and readers of meditative literary nonfiction. In many ways, Dog Years is a study in grief and could therefore be recommended to those seeking a reflective narrative on this topic. Dog Years also deals with the loss of a loved one from HIV/AIDS, as the author relates the death of his partner, Wally, from this disease.

Author Mark Doty is a noted poet, memoirist and college writing professor.

The Bush Tragedy by Jacob Weisberg

Believe it or not, author Jacob Weisberg (editor-in-chief of Slate) does not have an ax to grind with The Bush Tragedy, even though he freely admits the failure of the George W. Bush presidency is a foregone conclusion. He's more interested in a serious examination of Bush's motivations than in bashing the 43rd president.

Before you laugh out loud at Weisberg's comparisons between Bush and Shakespeare's Henry V, thinking that the book's title should be The Bush Comedy, read just a few pages about George W.'s competition with his father George H.W. Bush and consider the son's eagerness in trying to avoid the father's mistakes (especially during the Gulf War). Then consider how a hard-drinking, low-ambition Yale student got religion, orchestrated a campaign that landed him in Austin, and mounted an unlikely run for the White House.

What really drives Bush? The sibling rivalry with his brother Jeb? His religious convictions? Or the advice of members of his inner circle such as Dick Cheney, whom Weisberg calls the most powerful vice-president in the history of the United States?

The Bush Tragedy is a fascinating read, regardless of your political affiliation.

304 pages

Tripping over the Lunch Lady and other School Stories edited by Nancy Mercado

As I was reading this fun collection of short stories for an elementary aged audience it occurred to me that these were great choices for parent guest readers at their children's schools. The stories, written by well known childrens' authors take on life in school and finish with a "school report" on the author including a picture of them as children plus answers to questions such as worst smell at school, favorite cafeteria meal, least favorite class, (why did no one like math?), etc. School kids will certainly recognize themselves in these humorous stories.

Birgit Gruenberg

Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn

On the fictional island of Nollop (named after Nevin Nollop, author of the pangram* "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog"), all is right with the world...well, at least until the tiles bearing the letters of Nollop's creation start to fall from a memorial statue.

When the letter Z falls, the island's government decrees that this is a sign from the spirit of Nollop, a sign that the letter Z may no longer be used in writing or in speech. Those who violate the decree, whether accidentally or purposefully, will be banished from the island. This wouldn't be so bad, only more letters begin to fall...

Ella Minnow Pea is told through correspondence from various characters to each other as they try to communicate with fewer and fewer letters. The novel is more than just a clever exercise in writing. There's also humor, romance, mystery, espionage, totalitarian governments and more. Anyone who loves wordplay will have a great time with Ella Minnow Pea. (Thanks to Mindy at Linthicum for recommending this one!)

*Any sentence that uses all 26 letters of the alphabet