Friday Finds: 04/16/10

Friday Finds is getting to be a once-a-month thing for me.  I'd like to do it more often but I never seem to have the time.  Ah well, here's my list anyway ...

It's been a while since I found something for Kiddo so let's start with that one:

The New Brighton Archeological Society, by Mark Andrew Smith and Matthew Weldon - found at The Book Smugglers - I've been trying to get Kiddo into graphic novels because I think it would help him to like reading more.  It's starting to work, so I'm on the lookout for new titles to introduce him to.  This one looks and sounds amazing! "Out of the ashes of misfortune will rise the next generation of great adventurers! After their parents are lost on an archeological expedition, four children begin to unlock the secrets of their parents’ mysterious lives, discovering a hidden world of mystical artifacts, mythical creatures, and arcane knowledge. Soon they find themselves drawn into a conflict over a great library that has kept two kingdoms at war for centuries, the children must save an enchanted forest, the birthplace of magic itself. Join us as these children become the latest members of the fabled New Brighton Archeological Society, and take their first steps towards their true destiny!" Be sure to check out the Smugglers' review - it has some up-close images of the illustrations and they are wonderful.


And now on to the books I found for me ...

The Lost City of Z, by David Grann - I thought this was already on my list but apparently not.  Swapna reminded me of it in her review: "This isn’t really an archaeological mystery; instead, it’s the tale of Percy Fawcett, and the puzzle of what happened to him after disappeared in the Amazon.  As the book progresses, the reader can tell that Grann is getting more and more sucked into the obsession with the Lost City of Z.  It’s funny that a lot of people’s interest in this subject starts with Fawcett, but ends up fixating on “Z.”  Grann falls prey to that, even as he is describing it happen to others in the book."



Clara's Kitchen, by Clara Cannucciari - found at She Is Too Fond of Books - This is the kind of cookbook I like, one that includes family stories and reasons for recipes. "Clara’s Kitchen is part memoir, part fortune-cookie aphorism, and part cookbook.  It is a comfort read in the sense that Clara Cannucciari reminds me of my own Gram, and both her stories and the food she serves bring pleasant memories of simpler times. The prose of her memoir may be transcibed recordings of an oral history – very familiar, conversational, and no-nonsense."



Abraham's Well, by Sharon Ewell Foster - found in an email from the author - "Until she is about seven years old, Armentia never knows she is a slave. She grows up in the southern Appalachians of North Carolina, watched over by loving parents, her older brother, Abraham, and Mama Emma and Papa, a married couple of white and Indian blood who treat her almost as a daughter. But an act of childhood mischief, and the arrival of whites who want the Indians’ land, makes their true relationship painfully clear. In 1838, Armentia’s family, along with thousands of other Black Cherokee – African Americans of mixed heritage, both slave and free – is forced westward on foot, accompanying their owners and other Indians along the Trail of Tears to what is now Oklahoma."



The Girl Who Fell From The Sky, Heidi Durrow - found at The Book Haven - This isn't the type of book I'm usually drawn to but here's what caught my attention: "The daughter of a Danish mother and an African-American G.I., a family tragedy puts her under the thumb of her strict African American grandmother.  She moves uncomfortably in a new world where blue eyes and light brown skin are attention grabbers. [...] The publisher says the story is inspired by 'true events.'"

The Lotus Eaters, by Tatjana Soli - found at At Home With Books - "What is rare about this story is that while it is set during the Vietnam War, and you do get to read about some horrific events, the story remains one of love and relationships (and the effects of the war on those relationships).  It is nice that the story is balanced and written with an eye toward the beauty of the Vietnamese culture and countryside, which just emphasizes how heartbreaking it is to witness their destruction from either side.  No one side is vilified or glorified - there are evil acts perpetrated by soldiers on both sides, as the line between right and wrong gets blurred in the war zone.  The true villain in this story is war itself, yet goodness shines through from those selfless enough to act."



Matterhorn, by Ken Marlantes - found at The Book Case - I wouldn't have been captured by the book had I not watched this video of the author.  Now I really, REALLY want to read this.



Those are the books I've added to my TBR list recently ... are any on yours as well?

For more Friday Finds please visit Should Be Reading.  And have a great weekend!