Friday Finds 10/17/08

My Friday Finds are a day late this week due to this. But I'm still posting them! For more finds go check out this post.

And now, here's my list ...

1. What Else is to Eat? It's another food allergy cookbook - yeah! BookingMama reviewed it here.
   
   
2. Starfinder, by John Marco - have you ever read steampunk? I haven't yet, but I'm highly intrigued by it. Here's what the author has to say about his book:
   "Not only is it a story of coming of age for the two main protagonists, Moth and his friend Fiona, but it's also about mankind's coming of age. The world of Starfinder is very much like our own at the turn of the last century, with steam trains and electricity and budding technologies. And thanks to the inventive genius of Fiona's grandfather Rendor, humans have finally taken to the sky, not only in giant airships but in small, ornithopter contraptions called dragonflies as well. Not everyone is happy to see mankind's progress, however. For thousands of years, the mysterious and powerful race known as the Skylords have jealously guarded their heavenly domain. In all this time, an uneasy peace has existed between humans and Skylords, but Moth and Fiona are about to breach the magical boundary between the two worlds."
   
   And here's an illustration from the cover - what do you think? This book is coming out in May 2009.
3. The Hemingses of Monticello, by Annette Gordon-Reed - a look at the life and family of Sally Hemings, slave and mistress of Thomas Jefferson
   
   
4. Ararat, by Frank Westerman - this reviewer had lots of good things to say, and also let me know that this book was recently translated into English - I'd like to read more books that were originally written in other languages plus I find this topic intriguing, so this was an easy addition to my list
   
   
5. The Bag Lady War, by Carol Leonard SeCoy - I learned about this one through ReaderViews.com's newsletter - when two elderly ladies get sick and tired of being accosted by criminals and gangs, and they also realize that their social security money is being diverted by the gov't to pay for prisons, etc. they decide to take things into their own hands - their goal is to "bump off" as many bad guys as possible and if (when) they get caught, live out their lives comfortably in jail - this one sounds too funny!
   
   
6. The Last Days of the Incas, by Kim MacQuarrie - I heard about this one through BookMovement.com's newsletter - it's historical fiction that tells the tale of Pizarro and the Spanish troops he led to conquer the Incan Empire in what is now Peru
   
   
7. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, by Anne Bronte - it's a classic that I've never read, and raych really talked it up
   
   
8. One Minute to Midnight: Kennedy, Khrushchev, and Castro on the Brink of Nuclear War, by Michael Dobbs - this is one of the staff picks at dearreader.com - here's the blurb they provided: Veteran "Washington Post" reporter Dobbs has pored over previously untapped American, Soviet, and Cuban sources to produce this authoritative book on the Cuban missile crisis, offering an hour-by-hour account of just how close the nations came to war. Illustrated.
   
   Since my book club read about Jackie Kennedy this month, this book really caught my eye. The biographies of Jackie insinuate that the way John Kennedy handled the Cuban Missle Crisis was in large part due to his wife's influence. It will be interesting to read an account of the entire ordeal and see if that theory seems to fit.

Books for kiddo

1. Grandfather's Wrinkles, by Katheryn England - this book looks really sweet, and it is perfect for our family right now - kiddo has been giving me some extra love this week as I deal with the pending loss of my great-uncle Nino, my grandpa's brother - kiddo is learning that his older relatives won't always be there, and I think he's also learning to appreciate them even more
   
   
2. From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E Frankenweiler, by EL Konigsburg - I think kiddo and I would enjoy getting into the adventure in this one together