Welcome to another week of Friday Finds, where I confess to all the titles that have finagled their way onto my TBR list. I've been trying to be better about adding books, to be more choosy ... but it isn't working very well.
Two Quick Announcements:
- I'll be at the Baltimore Book Festival tonight and tomorrow morning - if you'll be there too please let me know!
- I'm now on Twitter - please follow me @Age30Books if you are on there too.
The New Global Student, by Maya Frost - "Ready to ditch the drama of the traditional hypercompetitive SAT/AP/GPA path? Meet the bold American students who are catapulting into the global economy at twenty with a red-hot college diploma, sizzling 21st-century skills, a blazing sense of direction–and no debt." I'd love to Kiddo to have this kind of new-fangled education. Seriously. If I can find a way to make it work, I'll do it in a heartbeat. Thanks to the BookBrowse newsletter for pointing this one out.
Miracle at Santa Anna, by James McBride - "Four soldiers from the army's Negro 92nd Division find themselves separated from their unit and behind enemy lines. Risking their lives for a country in which they are treated with less respect than the enemy they are fighting, they discover humanity in the small Tuscan village of St. Anna di Stazzema." I watched this movie for the first time and was fascinated with the true WWII history behind the story. The movie was a bit hard to follow (only because I wasn't giving it my complete attention) so now I want to read the book. Plus I read somewhere that the book goes into greater detail about many of the events (of course).
The Know-It-All, by AJ Jacobs - "To fill the ever-widening gaps in his Ivy League education, A.J. Jacobs sets for himself the daunting task of reading all thirty-two volumes of the Encyclopedia Britannica. His wife, Julie, tells him it's a waste of time, his friends believe he is losing his mind, and his father, a brilliant attorney who had once attempted the same feat and quit somewhere around Borneo, is encouraging but unconvinced. With self-deprecating wit and a disarming frankness, The Know-It-All recounts the unexpected and comically disruptive effects Operation Encyclopedia has on every part of Jacobs's life." S. Krisha's Books says, "Instead of writing it in pure memoir form, Jacobs organized the book like an encyclopedia. There is one chapter for each volume of the encyclopedia he read, and the chapters are organized into different anecdotes and stories that relate to words from that letter." She loved this book - and I'm sure I will too.
The Knife of Never Letting Go, by Patrick Ness - I think the title of this book is really odd and for that reason alone I've avoided all the reviews I've seen for it. However, here's what Chris had so say about this book: "Why didn’t you people make me read this book sooner? All I can say is that no one else will have that excuse! I’m telling everyone else now … go read this book! Take whatever measures are necessary to acquire it and read it. It’s just amazing." I won't even try to summarize it - just go over to Stuff As Dreams Are Made On and read his review. See if his enthusiasm doesn't catch you too!
The Winds of Dune, by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson - I'd heard of this book but wasn't interested in reading it UNTIL I realized it was a direct continuation of the original books. It goes back to the characters and the story that I fell in love with all those years ago. YAY! Thanks to Tor/Forge Books for pointing that out to me.
The Queen Mother, by William Shawcross - I've never been particularly interested in reading about the British Royals but this book sounds amazing. Queen Elizabeth I lived from 1900 to 2002 - can you imagine all the things she saw in her life? But what really got my attention was what I heard in the Books On The Nightstand podcast - that she was reprimanded by the other royals for a comment she made in her first interview and because of that she never gave a public interview again for the rest of her life. Wow. I can't wait to read this book.What did you find this week? Am I responsible for any of the additions to you TBR list?!
As always, hop over to Should Be Reading to find more posts or to join in the fun.
As always, hop over to Should Be Reading to find more posts or to join in the fun.
12 comments:
I loved The Know-It-All. Have you read anything else by A.J. Jacobs? The Year of Living Biblically is pretty funny too!
Lahni - I've not read that one but it IS on my list!
I think I'd like The Know-It-All
The Winds of Dune interests me!
Friday Find: Silence Not, a love story by Cynthia L. Cooper
Knife of Never Letting Go is great. Recently got the sequel and need to read it!!
The Patrick Ness was really good. I admit I had it out from the library and couldn't get into it and had to bring it back, but when I actually sat down to read it and wasn't rushed I read the book in a night!
I want to read The Know-it-All, too. The library has his other books, but not that one.
Hi, Heather! Thanks for the heads up on some books in this post. Knife of never Letting Go and The Know It All sound really interesting. Both going to my wishlist.
Btw, I like your blog title. Hope you don't me linking you up. :)
Hi Heather,
Thanks so much for including my book, The New Global Student, in your Friday Finds! I truly appreciate it.
You can certainly provide Kiddo with a personalized and exhilarating global education in a number of ways. I invite you to play with the possibilities! And if you like my book, check out Blake Boles' "College Without High School"--Kiddo might thank you forever. ;-)
I've been seeing The Knife of Never Letting Go a lot. My mother wants The Queen Mother.
I've added the WWII book to my wish list, and also The Know-it-all book and the Queen mother book. As usual, browsing your sight has made my tbr longer. :)
The New Global Student sounds promising. We're toying with the idea of a bicultural living situation - trying to figure out how to make it all work for the longer term. It's been amazing for our family so far and I'd love to hear more ideas!
I looooooved "The Know-It All," it is just so great. All three of his books are good, although I think TKIA is the best, followed by the new one, "The Guinea Pig Diaries."
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