The Bookshelf

By Colin Meloy

How five crows managed to lift a twenty-five pound baby boy into the air was beyond Prue, but that was certainly the least of her worries.

On the side of every Portland, Oregon map is a forest labeled I.W. Everyone knows what that stands for: the Impassable Wilderness, the area of Portland that was never settled. Even though Prue had never thought of approaching the Impassbale Wilderness, she sees no other choice than to do just that when her brother is abducted by a murder of crows and taken to the woods. With a schoolmate following eagerly in her wake, Prue sets off on her rescue mission. Upon entering the woods, she finds a totally different world with talking animals, a coyote army, bandits, magic, and a society on the brink of war and reconstruction. All it takes it the appearance of two “Outsiders” to light the fire.

Opinion

This book turned me into a procrastinator. I pretty literally could not put the book down. The thing I really love about this book though, above the technical stuff and the illustrations, is the feeling of being a little kid. It’s that kind of adventure that kids often read about, those big, fantastic, impossible, adventures that feels so real and so close. That’s what I love. Apart from that, I the characters were fairly interesting. Honestly, they only truly developed in the last half of the book, but still. I really love the way that Mr. Meloy constructed the Woods in my mind and the way that I could actually understand the dynamics of each society, from the Avian Principality to North Wood, which is something that I don’t always have a grasp on in fantasy books.

Story aside, could I just talk about how fantastic the illustrations are? They are fantastic. I would skip ahead several pages so I could see the next illustration, leading to me figuring out the ending before reaching it. But ah well. There are six full color pictures and a billion little black and white pictures that only add to the fantasy and the wonder of the book. And no matter how I try, I can’t quite get the style down. Sigh. Now for a little factoid: Carson Ellis, the illustrator, also illustrated the Mysterious Benedict Society, another fantastic book.

Overall, I was mesmerized and now I have to go back and catch up on the studying I missed.

Favorite Quote

As she walked, she breathed a quick benediction to the patron saint of sleuthing.

“Nancy Drew,” she whispered, “be with me now.”

-

“There’s as much benefit to wishing the world away as there is in demanding a bud to bloom,” responded Iphigenia as she patted Prue’s hand gently. “It’s better to live presently. By living thus, perhaps we can learn to understand the nature of this fragile coexistence we share with the world around us.”

Something Cool About the Author

He’s the lead singer of the Decemberists, which is an amazing band. How many bands do you know have an author as the lead singer? Reciprocally, how many authors can you think of are also in awesome bands?

How Do You Like the Cover?
How do you think? It was the cover that made me pick it up and it is the cover that made me pause several times to stare at it. I love the cover. I love the intricacies and I love how it gathers meaning as the story progresses and I love it.

By Jonathan Maberry

Benny Imura couldn’t hold a job, so he took to killing.

Fourteen years after the zombie apocalypse, Benny has to find a job to prevent his rations being cut in half. It’s a different world though, with no electricity, no cars, no communications from far away and a zombie wasteland across the fence. With no jobs appealing to Benny, he finally agrees to join the “family business”: bounty hunter. His big brother, Tom, is one of the best bounty hunters out there, but Benny doesn’t see him that way. He sees his brother as the cowardly man who took Benny in his arms away from his mother in an attempt to save himself. Benny enters into the job unwillingly, but it’s his only option. Awaiting him beyond the fence is a life he would never foresee.

Opinion

Mr. Maberry warned me. He told me it was a rather emotional book and that a lot of people cried. He was right. Now, I didn’t cry, but my nose was pretty well glued to the book for a couple of days. This book is a zombie book like The Fault in Our Stars is a cancer book: the zombies are there, but it’s more a story about the people. The zombies set up the circumstances for the story and they affect how people act, but it’s a story about the people. You see a lot of things about humanity highlighted through the disaster across the fence, like dependence on religion, respect or lack thereof for human life and death, and people’s deliberate ignorance. The book was very interesting in these aspects and because I just got done writing a huge English paper, I will spare you and I the longwinded explanation. Overall, I think the characters were well-developed and there were times when I wanted to smack Benny right across the face. Hard. And I might have been heard chanting “KISS KISS KISS” a time or two through the course of the book. All of these are good signs though! I got really into the book, a rarity for me and any type of zombie/dystopian/apocalypse stories.

It also helps that I met Mr. Maberry a month ago. Oh, and it’s being turned into a movie as we speak. Yay.

Favorite Quote

“Subtlety’s not your bag, is it, kid?”

“It’s not that,” said Benny. “It’s just that I’m fifteen, and I have this crazy idea I might actually have a life in front of me. I don’t see how it’s going to so me much good to believe that the world is over and this is just an epilogue.”

-

“One of us is the stupidest person in the whole wide world, Benny Imura,” she said.

Something Cool About the Author

He met Ray Bradbury without knowledge of any of his success and asked, “Are you published?”

By Eoin Colfer

Conor Broekhart was born to fly; or, more accurately, he was born flying.

On the island of Great Saltee when Conor was 14, life was at its best. King Nick was a generous and kind king, Victor Vigny was Conor’s private tutor on everything from fencing to flight, Princess Isabella and Conor were beginning to be more than friends, and Marshall Bonvilan’s cruelty was subdued. Until Bonvilan broke out of his hold and murdered the king and Victor. Conor was in the wrong place at the wrong time, witnessing the murder and attempting to stop it. But Bonvilan was ready for him with another string to add to his complicated web of conspiracy. That is how Conor found himself on Little Saltee Island, where life was not at its best. Little Saltee was a prison where the inmates mined diamonds below the water in deadly conditions. Imprisonment shatters Conor’s dreams of heavier than air flight. In its place is the simple hope to survive.

Opinion

Reading this book is a biannual thing with me. I have trouble scanning the library shelves and not grabbing this book. Eoin Colfer. What have you done to my brain. I feel like a lesser being in the presence of your great words.

Ok, trance over now. Seriously though, Airman is one of my all-time favorite books and for good reasons, too. The thing that really strikes me about this book is the character development. Conor’s character is brilliant, which I’ll talk on later, and then Bonvilan is absolutely horrific. Conor’s parents and Isabella, beautiful. King Nick and Victor? It keeps getting better. Colfer’s characters live on the page and really get inside your mind. I just- I have an inability to describe just how those characters affected me, but they really did. I put Airman down at night and dreamed of the characters. And let’s not forget the plot, that twisted, energetic, unsuspecting plot. If only I could come up with something like that.

But here’s the real thing about the book: it gets me every time. Sure, I know the plot and I know the characters, but every time I read the book, I just get sucked in. I am transported to the Saltee Islands off the coast of Ireland (which really exist, by the way) and I feel the story developing around me. Few books have this control over me and when I stumble across one that does, it’s gold. So here’s to 6 months from now when I pick this book up again and dive in. All I can say is, thank you Eoin Colfer. Thank you.

Favorite Character

*In order to fully discuss the characters, I’ll have to talk about events past the inciting incident so, well, spoiler alert.

I’ll give you one guess. It’s Conor Broekhart. From the moment you meet him, you just know he’s amazing. Absolutely brilliant in a sort of rambling genius sort of way with a hit of awkward and plenty of spirit and loyalty and determination, that’s him at 14. Then when we pick up the story again when he’s 16 and seemingly hardened to the prison life, Conor’s a different man. There’s still the old passions of flying and remnants of feelings for the people he loved, but he pushes much of this away. Then when he breaks out and finds Linus again, we find evidence of his attempts at stifling his old life to the extent that he abandons his parents and Isabella in the face of danger. A perfect hero would spring to his feet and go to help his old loved ones. But that’s the whole thing about Conor. He’s a human. Extraordinarily gifted, true, but human nonetheless. He doesn’t want to face the shame of his parents even at the point of their demise and he wants to shed all memories of his twisted life by abandoning the Saltee Islands in favor of America. Conor gives us a little bit of despair and suspense as Bonvilan’s plan slowly closes in. Conor is a brilliant character and I hope that what I said made sense because it’s challenging for me to explain things I feel strongly about, and this book is one of them.

Favorite Quote

Chapter 3: Isabella. All of it. That chapter is my favorite quote.

How many times have you read it?

Again, this is a kind of biannual thing for me so I would conservatively estimate that I’ve read this book… 6 times. Still hasn’t got old.

The prequel to The Lord of the Rings series.

By J.R.R. Tolkien

In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.

Bilbo Baggins, like other hobbits, stayed well away from adventure in his life, keeping to his house and garden. But then Gandalf shows up with an offer: come on an adventure! In his wake follow 13 dwarves, all expecting Bilbo to be their burglar and 14^th member to the company. In the whirlwind of so much talk and actions, Bilbo agrees and finds himself on the back of a pony without a handkerchief, setting off to reclaim the dwarves’ home from Smaug the dragon and reinstate Thorin, the leader of the group, to his rightful place as King under the Mountain. Bilbo quickly begins to miss his hobbit hole, believing that he is not made for this life, but perhaps Gandalf was right and there is more to the hobbit than everyone, including the hobbit himself, could have expected.

Opinion

Yes, I read the book in preparation for the new movie and, yes, I thought the book was fantastic. I will be perfectly honest: it was a lot more fun than I expected. Tolkien really engaged me. I wasn’t really prepared for the liveliness in his writing, nor did I expect the number of tricky situations that the company got themselves into. One thing I really liked was Tolkien didn’t waste his breath on the unimportant events like many days trekking through forests and sitting in captivity.

A long and strenuous journey isn’t something modern readers are often used to. Writers these days try and get events over with as quick as they can, preferring to use a large amount of the book describing the climax. But the journey is the reward, right? Tolkien did something many writers should consider doing: give the characters a journey and build up the character along the way. Every event that Tolkien mentioned, he mentioned for a reason: to build the characters and make the band of dwarves and hobbit into a team. That’s something I am glad he did because that way, you really get into the book and feel it. I don’t often go in for fantasy books like this, with the made up creatures and the different world that is somehow made up of one continent and a few little islands, if that, but I really enjoyed The Hobbit and I think it’s something I will revisit.

Favorite Quote

“That obviously depends entirely on some new turn of luck and the getting rid of Smaug. Getting rid of dragons is not at all in my line, but I will do my best to think about it. Personally I have no hopes at all, and I wish I was safe back at home.”

-

“We are sent from Dain son of Nain,” they said when questioned. “We are hastening to our kinsmen in the Mountain, since we learn that the kingdom of old is renewed. But who are you that sit in the plain as foes before defended walls?” This, of course, in the polite and rather old-fashioned language of such occasions, meant simply: “You have no business here. We are going on, so make way or we shall fight you!”

-

When the tale of their journeyings was told, there were other tales, and yet more tales, tales of long ago, and tales of new things, and tales of no time at all, till Bilbo’s head fell forward on his chest, and he snored comfortably in a corner.

What Actors Should Take The Roles Of The Characters In A Movie Rendition?

Well, since the movie has already been made, I can talk about that. In answer to the question, I thought Martin Freeman was fantastic as Bilbo. He was able to convey Bilbo’s lost and confused feeling really well. I can’t wait to see Benedict Cumberbatch as the Necromancer, although that whole storyline wasn’t mentioned until the last 10 pages of the book and very briefly. I also can’t wait to hear him as Smaug. I think the dwarves were very well rendered, with Thorin really looking and acting the part of the leader of the pack. Gandalf, of course, was very good, and the sets and costumes were just amazing. Although many people didn’t like the CG rendering of many of the creatures, namely the orcs, I thought it was a good thing because if people had been playing the role, they wouldn’t have been able to plague the dwarves as effectively as they were. Overall, I thought Peter Jackson did a great job of putting the movie together and my only complaint is that I have to wait to see the next two movies.

By Adams Sherman Hill

Every child’s English is affected, directly or indirectly, for better or for worse, by causes that begin to operate long before he is required to write compositions at school.

Our English is a collection of essays A.S. Hill wrote on the English language, specifically commenting on the deficiencies of its education and use. In “English in Schools,” he begins to speak on the topic of, well, English being taught in schools and early life. He points out the discrepancies and puts forth solutions. In “English in College,” he continues this topic into early adulthood, touching specifically on the quality of essay writing, or lack thereof. In “English in Newspapers and Novels,” Hill condemns the simple, seemingly uneducated writing in the media. In “English in the Pulpit,” Hill shames the preacher who drones on endlessly. And in “Colloquial English,” Hill talks about the appropriate style of English to use in different situations like in a conversation or writing a letter.

Opinion

Two things should be said before I begin rattling off my opinion. First of all, yes, I know I am a nerd for picking up this book at a garage sale and paying $5 to get the chance to read it. I am also a sucker for paying that much. Secondly, the edition of the book that I have sitting on my desk as I am writing is from 1890, so some of the things Hill talks about might be lost on you, as some was on me.

Ok, now I can rant about how this is one of the best things I have ever read. As I mentioned before, being a nerd, I really, genuinely found this book interesting. I became absorbed in the writing (mostly because I had to concentrate really hard to understand what was being said). It’s stunning how many of the things that Hill talks about still matter today. Yes, people complained about the American education system in the 19^th century too and yes, there were crummy novelists even back then. I feel that the ability for people to see this and to recognize this is important and, to me personally, interesting.

In terms of Hill’s writing, it was rather eloquent and, at times, rather funny, believe it or not. I was engaged and I couldn’t put it down. This won’t be the last time I read the book.

Favorite Quote

One thing we may be sure of: people will not give up reading ephemeral publications. Such publications, on the contrary, seem destined to appear in constantly increasing numbers, and to be read more and more; for, as time goes on, people take more and more interest in the world they live in. They will read to-day’s newspaper, however poor itself, because it has the breath of to-day’s life in it. They will give their attention more readily to a clever story in the last magazine than to Miss Austen’s “Emma,” because the atmosphere of “Emma” is not, and that of the new story is, their atmosphere.

-

This next quote comes from the footnotes because I really liked it.

“I wish,” wrote Miss Austen, in 1814, to her niece, “you would not let him [the hero of a novel which the niece had written] plunge into a ‘vortex of dissipation.’ I do not object to the thing, but I cannot bear the expression; it is such thorough novel slang, and so old, that I dare say Adam met with it in the first novel he opened.”

What it means to you

To quote what I wrote about the book a few weeks back, “Proper use of the English language allows us to communicate efficiently and clearly so that society can function smoothly. I think, given that statement, that English is, in fact, a very important subject because, even if you never use advanced math, science, or social studies outside of school, most everyone in America uses English.”

This is why this book matters to me. I am a writer and I like to talk and English is important to me. Sure, I like math and science and history and all that jazz, but, aside from becoming a chemist, when will I need to know that when you add an acid and a base, you get a salt and water? Probably not ever, as many people can attest. But when will I need to communicate with others in English? Every waking second of my life, basically. And this doesn’t just apply to English. Everything Hill talks about is applicable to everyone else in the world.

If I might digress slightly, when you think about it, you’ll find that many languages initially developed independently of each other, yet they have words describing the same things from colors and food to abstract things like love and higher powers. They did this to express themselves to others. Then when we look closer, we find different shades of words so that people could express themselves in even finer detail. I think that is absolutely amazing. Language connects us, even though we don’t all speak the same way. It connects us in a deeper manner. It shows the way that we think. I’m usually against generalizing human nature, but in this case, language really is something that I can generalize. Language is a part of being human and that absolutely blows my mind.

The seventh book in the Skulduggery Pleasant series (needless to say, this review contains spoilers from the previous books)

By Derek Landy

It was a beautiful spring day and they were standing on the roof.

One year after the threat of the Death Bringer, Val and Skul-man are confronted with a nice little mystery: why are random mortals suddenly turning into werewolves and flying around like butterflies? It seems like a calm case, the biggest threat being the general public becoming aware of the existence of magic. But then four powerful teenagers turn up and start wielding their magic rashly. And then Skulduggery and Valkyrie find out who’s behind it and their calm little case becomes a lot more complicated and dangerous.

Opinion

I – I can’t put into words the feelings I had when I put the book down. Don’t get me wrong, they were good, oh yes they were, but in a bittersweet way. I do not want to wait another year for the next book. Thought The Faceless Ones ended with a cliff hanger? It wasn’t, not compared to KOTW. Derek really outdid himself. Seriously. It was funny, suspenseful, epic, and funny, and awesome with a capitol AWESOME. I don’t know what to say. I will say that I felt like Darquesse’s fight at the end was a bit redundant from last time, but it was still good. But that’s about the only thing I can say against the book.

So here’s the census: read the book. If you haven’t read the series yet, read it. (To my Americans out there, I don’t think book 4 has been released in the US yet, so you’ll have to contact some foreign people to get it, but trust me, it’s worth it.) If you like magic, fantasy, epicness, fighting, adventures, mysteries, and/or laughing, this is the book for you.

Favorite Character

It’s a tie between Ghastly, Tanith, and Fletch. They’re all so awesome. And I swear, if I don’t get Ganith (Ghastly and Tanith) and Fletcherie (Fletch and Val) by the end of the series, I will be mad.

Favorite Quote

He could wear hats. He could wear an assortment of hats of different shapes and styles. Boater hats, cowboy hats, bowler hats. The list went on. Pork-pie hats, bucket hats, trilbies and panamas. Top hats, straw hats, trapper hats. Wide brim, Narrow brim, stingy brim. He could wear a fez. Fezzes were cool. Hadn’t someone once said that fezzes were cool? He was pretty sure they had. And they were. They were cool. And he could wear them. He could wear them all.

The book is seriously funny, so I can’t pick a specific quote really, but this is for my Whovians.

Something Cool About the Author

(Not to swell his ego any more but…) Derek Landy is awesome. He’s my favorite author, so this review may be slightly biased, but whatever. Something specifically cool though? He writes ridiculous dedications and biographies for each book and they’re never the same. Unfortunately the paperback versions don’t include the bio, and because I have books 5, 6, and 7 in paperback, I don’t know what they say.

Example:

For the first few years of his life, Derek Landy was raised by foxes. It’s not as impressive as being raised by wolves, he admits, but it’s a darn sight better than being raised by badgers.

And:

Derek lives in Dublin, Ireland, and is a figment of your imagination. Just like you are a figment of his.

And:

This book is dedicated to my family - because otherwise I would never hear the end of it.
Nadine: warm and considerate I am all of those things
Audrey: the greatest thrill of your life is probably that I am your brother
Ivan: meaningless words such as ‘brilliant’, ‘amazing’ and ‘inspirational’ have been used to describe me but not nearly enough.
If any of you thought there would be anything sincere or heartfelt in your dedications, allow me a moment to quietly laugh at you.
Because the heartfelt sincerity in restricted for my nana.
Chic this is also dedicated to you, for all the love and support you’ve shown me over the years. I love you much more than any of your other grandchildren do, I swear.

By George Orwell

It was a bright, cold day in April and the clocks were striking 13.

Winston Smith can’t recall much of his life before the Party took over. All the books say that it was terrible and the world was owned and ruled by a few rich capitalists. But then Big Brother took over and improved life for everyone. Winston was never able to swallow that lie though. How could life be worse than now? Everyone was under constant surveillance all the time, children handed their parents over to the thought police, no one ever had enough to wear or eat, and still, quality of life continued to grow exponentially. But his doubt is dangerous. If anyone ever caught the slightest hint of disloyalty to the Party, Winston would find himself in the Ministry of Love the next day, and no one ever emerged from the Ministry of Love the same.

Opinion

Well, I usually don’t like dystopian future books, and, really, this was no exception. 1984 was just a depressing exaggeration of Communist Russia. Of course, there were all the technological advances of a Science Fiction novel, but it was still just a wildly out of control USSR. But to really understand the novel, you have to consider where George Orwell was coming from: the book was written in 1949 when WWII had just ended, the USSR was hitting the headlines, and technology was advancing rapidly. 1984 was his view of the future with these factors taken into consideration: communism, weapons of mass destruction, and rapid technological growth. So when you consider his view, the book begins to make a lot more sense.

 As an entertaining book, I would not suggest you read 1984. But when you consider George Orwell’s message about oppression and government, 1984 becomes an important book to read. In some ways, his predictions have become true. Look at North Korea, a close replica to Oceania. Look at the Middle East where heresy is a crime punishable by death. Look at the technology today where companies can look into your home through the webcams in your devices. Read 1984 and consider what Orwell is trying to say. No, I did not particularly enjoy reading the book, but I understand why my teacher assigned it to us.

Note: I honestly didn’t know people back in 1949 could be so… vulgar. Prepare yourself.

Favorite Quote

The past is whatever the records and the memories agree upon.

Are There Any Big Ideas That Struck You?

I hope there were. Otherwise I’m going to have a lot of trouble on the test over it next week.

Well, one of the things that really interested me about the book was the fictional language they spoke, Newspeak. Here’s a quote of someone explaining the process of making the newest edition of the Newspeak dictionary:

“You think, I dare say, that our chief job is inventing new words. But not a bit of it! We’re destroying words – scores of them, hundreds of them, every day. We’re cutting the language down to the bone. The Eleventh Edition won’t contain a single word that will become obsolete before the year 2050…

“If you have a word like ‘good,’ what need is there for a word like ‘bad’? ‘Ungood’ will do just as well – better, because it’s an exact opposite, which the other is not. Or again, if you want a stronger version of ‘good,’ what sense is there in having a whole string of vague useless words like ‘excellent’ and ‘splendid’ and all the rest of them? ‘Plusgood’ covers the meaning, or ‘doubleplusgood’ if you want something stronger still. Of course we use those forms already, but in the final version of Newspeak there’ll be nothing else. In the end the whole notion of goodness and badness will be covered by only six words – in reality, only one word.”

Imagine that, one word to represent the whole complicated idea of good and bad. Newspeak is designed completely with efficiency in mind. Unimaginable. Essentially, through the creation of Newspeak, the Party is able to control people’s lives and range of thought even further. Do you think there will be a word for love? How about hate? No. Nothing.

And to me, that’s scary. The Party is taking away people’s ability to express themselves. As a writer, that is scary. Really. Shakespeare would be reduced to a pile of meaningless words. In fact, Shakespeare would likely be erased because it expresses the idea of love and the act of rebellion. Almost all the books we like today would disappear because they would be deemed “opposition to the Party”. That’s right, even Dr. Seuss. Your bookshelf? Empty. It frightens me, really.

But that’s what 1984 is supposed to do. It’s supposed to make you frightened of the prospect of the future proposed. It’s supposed to scare you into action. Make it stop. George Orwell succeeded in what he set out to do.

A Hamish Macbeth Mystery

By M.C. Beaton

Priscilla Halburton-Smyth’s engagement to the newly famous playwright Henry Withering was going rather well: her parents approved and all the people at the engagement celebration simply adored the man. But then someone turns up dead. Captain Bartlett was a guest for the celebration, but everyone hated him, epically the way he insulted everyone when he got drunk and kept romancing the ladies. The police and the guests are content to claim the death as unintentional suicide, but leave it to PC Hamish Macbeth to round up evidence that proves the death a murder. So now the celebration is ruined, along with Hamish’s chances of getting closer to Pricilla. Can he keep his love for Pricilla and distaste for Henry out of his head and find the murder before they strike again, or will he be pushed out of the picture again by his superior Blair before the investigation begins?

Opinion

I can always rely on Hamish for a good time. His character is just so likeable, no matter what. I’ve read almost every book in the series and I’ve never put one down feeling disappointed. I just love the lighthearted nature of the book. You can always count on a despicable soon-to-be-dead person, the horrible Blair, the sweet Pricilla, the regular cast of village characters (though because this is an early book, many of the characters in the later books do not appear), and, of course, Hamish the unambitious village bobby. I mean, it’s just so great to pick up a book and know that you will most definitely enjoy every minute, but still not know exactly what to expect.

And not only that, but the characters and setting are real. The dialogue is spelled like real Scottish people would pronounce words (is = iss, didn’t = disne, old = auld, etc.). The villagers are reminiscent of the personalities you’d meet in a real Scottish village. The curse words are really words you shouldn’t call other Scotsmen. The weather changes instantly and the town is up in the highlands. You get the feel for a real Scottish village without leaving your seat. Absolutely great.

Warning: There are some mature subjects and, again, if you don’t recognize a word and it seems to be an insult, don’t use it. Likelihood is, it’s a horrible terrible Scottish curse word and you don’t know who will recognize it and get really offended.

Favorite Quote

“Then he said, ‘I want to see you the morn’s morn with that dog o’ yours, Angus. I’ve a bit o’ work for you.’

‘And what iss a man to get paid?’

‘A man gets nothing. A man does not get his fat head punched. Be at the police station at six, or I’ll come looking for you.’”

-

“‘I rang the bell to ask for a drink,’ said Anderson, his sharp blie eyes roaming about the kitchen as if searching for a whisky bottle, ‘and that berk, Jenkins, answered. ‘Police are not to ring bells for the servants,’ he says. ‘I’ll remember that, mac,’ says I. ‘Just fetch me a drink.’ ‘Colonel Halburton-Smythe’s instructions,’ says he, ‘but the officers of the law are not to imbibe intoxicating liquor while on duty and will take their meals  in the servant’s hall.’ I told thon old ponce where he could put his servants’ meals and he told the colonel, who told Blair, and Blair’s gone all creepy and he told me I’d better take a walk until he calmed the colonel down.’”

*Just so you know:

Cad: an ill-bred man, especially one who behaves in a dishonorable or irresponsible way toward women.

By Elie Wiesel

They called him Moishe the Beadle, as if his entire life he had never had a surname.

Elie Wiesel was fifteen in 1944. That was the same year he was deported from his home in Transylvania to Auschwitz, the biggest concentration camp under the Nazi regime. Thousands died there every day, either from the gas chambers, like his mother and sisters, or from illness combined with starvation and ceaseless work. This is the true story of Elie Wiesel surviving when he would rather have died.

Opinion

What can I say about this book? It’s the truth. It’s the truth that many of us would rather forget: yes, people are capable of stripping others of their humanity. What the Nazis did to the Jews and other German minorities is just abominable. I can’t think of another word for it. At any point in the book, I was on the verge of tears. I felt my insides shrink at the description of Elie’s life. I wanted to look away. I wanted to stop reading. The thing that separates Night from other holocaust books is this: Elie survived and wrote the book himself. So that’s him. Those are his emotions. That’s his real life. That’s what really happened. He was sixteen when he was liberated. I just- I can’t say anything else. What do you think my opinion of the book is? I can’t say it was a good book and I enjoyed it because I didn’t enjoy it. How could I? But I think the book is important. I think it’s important that people learn that yes, this really can happen. When they can recognize this, it’s possible that we can do our best to prevent this from being repeated.

Are there any big ideas that struck you?

My teacher told me to look out for evidence of the themes of Faith, Humanity, Loss, Suffering, Death, and Silence. The whole book is evidence of these themes. The most important themes here are Humanity and Silence though, in my opinion.

Humanity. The Hitler convinced the German people that Jews, essentially, were not human like them. That led to their extermination. Imagine that. Extermination. Think of the word. Extinguish. Kill. Gone. The gas they used in the gas chambers was commonly used as an insecticide. The soldiers looked down on the Jews like filth. The soldiers could kill without cause. The only reason they fed the Jews was because if they had some nourishment, they would have some sustenance for work, as well as a bribing asset. They systematically stripped the Jews of their humanity, beginning with their German citizenship and ending with their life. Can you really rid someone of their humanity: their faith, love, feelings? Yes. Sons attacked their fathers for bread. Elie himself began to denounce God at the camp. Prisoners accepted death with a gracious hand.

Silence. It is inferred that America and the Allies were aware of the camps well before the end of the war, but they didn’t make any solid efforts to liberate the Jews until late 1944. When Elie and his family arrived at the camp, they’d never heard of Auschwitz. No one talked about it. People accepted it. I think that’s the worst thing. They accepted the fact that these Jews were being systematically exterminated and so they didn’t need to talk about it. That was just life. If we know there is an injustice, we need to speak up. We need to prevent any further harm. Remember: violence, hatred, killing is not ‘just life’ and never should be. Speak up.

What can we do to prevent this from happening again? Don’t hate. You can dislike and feel anger, but don’t hate. Hate led to the holocaust. Just anger or just dislike might have just led to fighting that could have been resolved. But the Nazis hated. They hated and, as a result, killed millions of Jews. Millions of people. Real people with real lives and real families and real hopes and real ambitions. Don’t hate, just try.

By Patti Smith

When I was very young, my mother took me for walks in Humboldt Park, along the edge of the Prairie River.

This is the story of two young artists who vowed to stay by each other forever. We know Patti Smith as a poet and songwriter and Robert Mapplethorpe as a provocative photographer, but they knew each other for something more, something complicated and impossible to understand from the outside. They loved each other, no matter what. Meeting in New York in the late 60’s, they join the legion of poor, talented, undiscovered, not understood artists waiting for fame to greet them at the doorstep of their rundown loft. The autobiography follows Robert and Patti as they struggle to make ends meet and find their place in the art world. As they move around New York, from Brooklyn, to the Hotel Chelsea, and eventually to separate apartments down the street from each other, they always keep a special place in their hearts and mind for the other. As a tribute to both the New York art world in the 60’s and 70’s and Robert Mapplethorpe, Patti Smith tells the story of life before fame.

Opinion

I don’t know what to say about this book other than… wow. This book mystified and amazed me, drawing me into the story with flowing prose, making me feel like an artist in her place, experiencing the world through the eyes of Patti Smith. Just… amazing. Absolutely gorgeous. I really connected and felt for the characters and almost cried at the end.

Just a suggestion though: learn who Patti Smith is. I didn’t, so I didn’t really get some of the references she made to different bands and people. Although, reading the book without prior knowledge of who she is made the book feel like a fiction novel. That’s a great experience, reading a great book, then coming out knowing that it was all real, the ups and downs, goods and bads.

Warning: If you know who Robert Mapplethorpe is, then I won’t have to warn you about some of the content of the book. If you don’t, just be warned when I say he took provocative pictures. There are none in the book, but they do talk about them.

Favorite Character Real Life Person

I really liked Robert, honestly. For some reason, I just instantly liked him. Because the book is from Patti’s point of view, you get the feelings she had for Robert, and many of those feelings transcend into you. I can’t quite explain it, but I constantly wanted to hear more about him and wished I could have read more dialogue between him and Patti.

Favorite Quote

I had many, so here we go:

I protested vehemently and announced that I was never going to become anything but myself, that I was of the clan of Peter Pan and we did not grow up.

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I was too curious about the future to look back.

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Laughter. An essential ingredient for survival. And we laughed a lot.

And, finally, my favorite quote:

I thought to myself that he contained a whole universe that I had yet to know.