Dacia's bookshelf: all en-US Wed, 31 Jul 2024 18:26:46 -0700 60 Dacia's bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg The Once and Future King 10571
Exquisite comedy offsets the tragedy of Arthur’s personal doom as White brings to life the major British epic of all time with brilliance, grandeur, warmth and charm.]]> 823 T.H. White 0006483011 Dacia 2 The first part of the story was charming. Watching Wart grow up gave a depth to the wonderful old "Sword in the Stone" movie.]]> 4.07 1958 The Once and Future King
author: T.H. White
name: Dacia
average rating: 4.07
book published: 1958
rating: 2
read at: 2017/09/19
date added: 2024/07/31
shelves: action, audiobook, fantasy, notsooldclassics, politicalmanipulation, romance, thoughtplay
review:
The book was about half treatise of one sort or another, and the Book of Merlin was so boring with it that I barely finished. Besides that, once you got past the part that had been made into the beloved Disney film, it became so depressing you almost didn't want to know what would happen next.
The first part of the story was charming. Watching Wart grow up gave a depth to the wonderful old "Sword in the Stone" movie.
]]> <![CDATA[The Serpent's Shadow (Kane Chronicles, #3)]]> 13449648 418 Rick Riordan Dacia 0 currently-reading 4.44 2012 The Serpent's Shadow (Kane Chronicles, #3)
author: Rick Riordan
name: Dacia
average rating: 4.44
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/02/03
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> Slaughterhouse-Five 168646 Ěý
Selected by the Modern Library as one of the 100 best novels of all time
Ěý
Slaughterhouse-Five , an American classic, is one of the world’s great antiwar books. Centering on the infamous World War II firebombing of Dresden, the novel is the result of what Kurt Vonnegut described as a twenty-three-year struggle to write a book about what he had witnessed as an American prisoner of war. It combines historical fiction, science fiction, autobiography, and satire in an account of the life of Billy Pilgrim, a barber’s son turned draftee turned optometrist turned alien abductee. As Vonnegut had, Billy experiences the destruction of Dresden as a POW. Unlike Vonnegut, he experiences time travel, or coming “unstuck in time.�

An instant bestseller, Slaughterhouse-Five made Kurt Vonnegut a cult hero in American literature, a reputation that only strengthened over time, despite his being banned and censored by some libraries and schools for content and language. But it was precisely those elements of Vonnegut’s writing—the political edginess, the genre-bending inventiveness, the frank violence, the transgressive wit—that have inspired generations of readers not just to look differently at the world around them but to find the confidence to say something about it. Authors as wide-ranging as Norman Mailer, John Irving, Michael Crichton, Tim O’Brien, Margaret Atwood, Elizabeth Strout, David Sedaris, Jennifer Egan, and J. K. Rowling have all found inspiration in Vonnegut’s words. Jonathan Safran Foer has described Vonnegut as “the kind of writer who made people—young people especially—want to write.� George Saunders has declared Vonnegut to be “the great, urgent, passionate American writer of our century, who offers us . . . a model of the kind of compassionate thinking that might yet save us from ourselves.�

More than fifty years after its initial publication at the height of the Vietnam War, Vonnegut’s portrayal of political disillusionment, PTSD, and postwar anxiety feels as relevant, darkly humorous, and profoundly affecting as ever, an enduring beacon through our own era’s uncertainties.]]> 215 Kurt Vonnegut Jr. 0440180295 Dacia 1 couldnotfinish 4.08 1969 Slaughterhouse-Five
author: Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
name: Dacia
average rating: 4.08
book published: 1969
rating: 1
read at:
date added: 2023/06/04
shelves: couldnotfinish
review:

]]> Little Women 1894164 248 Louisa May Alcott 0590437976 Dacia 4 4.08 1868 Little Women
author: Louisa May Alcott
name: Dacia
average rating: 4.08
book published: 1868
rating: 4
read at: 1996/01/01
date added: 2022/04/25
shelves: childrensnovels, kid-stuff, oldclassics, romance, veryemotional, young-adolescent
review:
I really liked this book. It was so sweet and simple, and Jo so strong... A real tear-jerker classic.
]]> <![CDATA[Road to Perdition (Graphic Novel)]]> 2256310 304 Max Allan Collins 1416578757 Dacia 3 action 3.82 1998 Road to Perdition (Graphic Novel)
author: Max Allan Collins
name: Dacia
average rating: 3.82
book published: 1998
rating: 3
read at: 2002/01/01
date added: 2021/05/30
shelves: action
review:
This was the first (and so far only) graphic novel I'd ever read. It was surprisingly good. There was a decent mix of action and story, and pretty soon reading the novel in pictures became easy. I watched the movie after I read the book. For some reason I thought a movie made from a graphic novel would stick more closely to the story line. It did, somewhat, but the movie was still lacking something - a crucial something - that made the book better.
]]> Nobody's Fault? 1489917 107 Patricia Hermes 0440465230 Dacia 4
*** I first reviewed this 13 years ago when I was still a very young adult with a small son. I realized, today, that I had actually learned exactly the wrong lesson from this book. Instead of learning about the tragedy of accidents and how to move through grief, I went the other way. Not only am I STILL (33 years later) terrified to see anyone other than a full grown adult in a riding mower, but it impacted my life in other ways. I internalized the idea that I had to be incredibly responsible and hyper- vigilant with my own family to make sure nothing like this could happen when I wasn't prepared for it.]]> 4.12 1981 Nobody's Fault?
author: Patricia Hermes
name: Dacia
average rating: 4.12
book published: 1981
rating: 4
read at: 1987/01/01
date added: 2020/12/13
shelves: childrensnovels, veryemotional
review:
This is a wonderful book for kids about dealing with greif and guilt. It is also the first chapter book I ever read. Looking back, it makes me wonder a little bit about what on EARTH posessed my mother to recomend THIS book to me as my "first chapter book"... I was in first grade. I would really recomend reading it to you child if they're 7 or under, because the story is very tragic. Lawn Mowers don't kill people very often, and that's a pretty graphic image to get stuck in a kids mind.

*** I first reviewed this 13 years ago when I was still a very young adult with a small son. I realized, today, that I had actually learned exactly the wrong lesson from this book. Instead of learning about the tragedy of accidents and how to move through grief, I went the other way. Not only am I STILL (33 years later) terrified to see anyone other than a full grown adult in a riding mower, but it impacted my life in other ways. I internalized the idea that I had to be incredibly responsible and hyper- vigilant with my own family to make sure nothing like this could happen when I wasn't prepared for it.
]]> Hamlet 1432 This is an alternate cover edition for ISBN13:9780743477123, Hamlet.

Hamlet is the story of the Prince of Denmark who learns of the death of his father at the hands of his uncle, Claudius. Claudius murders Hamlet's father, his own brother, to take the throne of Denmark and to marry Hamlet's widowed mother. Hamlet is sunk into a state of great despair as a result of discovering the murder of his father and the infidelity of his mother. Hamlet is torn between his great sadness and his desire for the revenge of his father's murder.

Each Folger edition includes:

- Freshly edited text based on the best early printed version of the play
- Full explanatory notes conveniently placed on pages facing the text of the play
- Scene-by-scene plot summaries
- A key to famous lines and phrases
- An introduction to reading Shakespeare's language
- An essay by an outstanding scholar providing a modern perspective on the play
- Illustrations from the Folger Shakespeare Library's vast holdings of rare books]]> 342 William Shakespeare Dacia 2 oldclassics, plays 4.05 1601 Hamlet
author: William Shakespeare
name: Dacia
average rating: 4.05
book published: 1601
rating: 2
read at: 1997/01/01
date added: 2019/04/14
shelves: oldclassics, plays
review:
Hamlet is not all that interesting to me. I was really pretty bored by it. The whole thing is SO contrived. For me, the best thing to ever come out of Hamlet is the later work "Rosencrantz and Gildenstern are Dead" and that only because the movie version included a scene of "Want to play questions?" which became a momentary high light of my last year at TAMS.
]]> The Baby Thief 9297264 338 L.J. Sellers 0979518245 Dacia 3 audiobook, romance, suspense 3.62 2010 The Baby Thief
author: L.J. Sellers
name: Dacia
average rating: 3.62
book published: 2010
rating: 3
read at: 2017/08/01
date added: 2017/09/12
shelves: audiobook, romance, suspense
review:
This book was ok. It passed the time and was interesting enough to hold my attention, but there wasn't anything particularly special about it.
]]> The Good Father 13035050
But when Travis loses his construction job and his home, the security he's worked so hard to create for Bella begins to crumble...�.

Then a miracle. A job in Raleigh has the power to turn their fortunes around. It has to. But when Travis arrives in Raleigh, there is no job, only an offer to participate in a onetime criminal act that promises quick money and no repercussions.

With nowhere else to turn, Travis must make another choice for his daughter's sake. Even if it means he might lose her.]]> 368 Diane Chamberlain 0778313468 Dacia 0 to-read 3.94 2012 The Good Father
author: Diane Chamberlain
name: Dacia
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/09/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Silent Sister (Riley MacPherson, #1)]]> 19286669 352 Diane Chamberlain 1250010713 Dacia 0 to-read 3.95 2014 The Silent Sister (Riley MacPherson, #1)
author: Diane Chamberlain
name: Dacia
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/09/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes]]> 2485785 522 Diane Chamberlain 0778325318 Dacia 0 to-read 4.11 2006 The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes
author: Diane Chamberlain
name: Dacia
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2006
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/09/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Mere Christianity: Abolition of Man (Bonus Feature)]]> 30639
Rejecting the boundaries that divide Christianity's many denominations, C. S. Lewis finds a common ground on which all those who have Christian faith can stand together, proving that "at the center of each there is something, or a Someone, who against all divergences of belief, all differences of temperament, all memories of mutual persecution, speaks with the same voice."

This recording also includes Lewis' erudite essay "The Abolition of Man," in which he eloquently argues for a better standard of public education that would include reading and writing lessons grounded in moral reasoning.]]> 6 C.S. Lewis 0786174366 Dacia 4 couldnotfinish 4.39 Mere Christianity: Abolition of Man (Bonus Feature)
author: C.S. Lewis
name: Dacia
average rating: 4.39
book published:
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2017/09/12
shelves: couldnotfinish
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Lovelock (Mayflower Trilogy, #1)]]> 31350
Lovelock is a capuchin monkey engineered to be the perfect servant--intelligent, agile, pliant, and devoted to his owner. He is a Witness--privileged to spend his days and nights observing the life of one of Earth's most brilliant scientists through digital recording devices behind his eyes. In his heart is the desire to please, not just to avoid the pain his owner can inflict with a word, but because he loves her.

Lovelock is on a voyage he did not choose. What human would consider the feelings of a capuchin monkey, no matter how enhanced? But Lovelock is something special among Witnesses--he's a little smarter than most humans; smart enough to break through some of his conditioning. Smart enough to feel the bonds of slavery, and want freedom.]]> 288 Orson Scott Card 031287751X Dacia 0 couldnotfinish 3.47 1994 Lovelock (Mayflower Trilogy, #1)
author: Orson Scott Card
name: Dacia
average rating: 3.47
book published: 1994
rating: 0
read at: 2007/03/01
date added: 2017/09/12
shelves: couldnotfinish
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Switched at Birth: The True Story of a Mother's Journey]]> 18947527
Kathryn Kennish was delivered the shock of her life when she found out that the baby girl she brought home from the hospital 16 years ago isn't the one she gave birth to and that she has a biological daughter who she does not know. Now, for the first time, she tells her full, extraordinary, switched-at-birth story.

Kathryn Kennish seemed to have a charmed life as a stay-at-home mom in a wealthy Kansas suburb with her husband, John, a former professional baseball player, and their two teenage children. But Kathryn's world was turned upside down when she found out that Bay, the daughter she and John have raised since birth, is actually the biological daughter of a single mother named Regina. This news is followed by the equally mind-boggling fact that Kathryn's biological daughter, Daphne, who happens to be deaf, has been raised by Regina in a struggling neighborhood in Missouri. In her memoir, Kathryn reveals the surprising and intimate layers of her story—from the private details of the switched-at-birth revelation to all that occurs in its aftermath, including Regina and Daphne's move into the Kennish household. In the wake of this immense shift, secrets and previously unexamined issues from Kathryn's and her family's past surface as they are forced to reexamine everything they assumed about what makes a family a family.

As Kathryn's family searches for their own "normal," she grapples with, and rejoices in, all the complications that come along with being a part of, and loving, an “unconventional� family. Her story is for all of us with not-normal families and a vicarious treat for anyone who has ever wondered what would happen if a relative was switched at birth.]]> 144 Kathryn Kennish Dacia 0 non-fiction, couldnotfinish 4.00 2012 Switched at Birth: The True Story of a Mother's Journey
author: Kathryn Kennish
name: Dacia
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/09/12
shelves: non-fiction, couldnotfinish
review:

]]> <![CDATA[House Harkonnen (Prelude to Dune, #2)]]> 20253 Dune, bringing a vast array of rich and complex characters into conflict to shape the destiny of worlds....

As Shaddam sits at last on the Golden Lion Throne, Baron Vladimir Harkonnen plots against the new Emperor and House Atreides -- and against the mysterious Sisterhood of the Bene Gesserit. For Leto Atreides, grown complacent and comfortable as ruler of his House, it is a time of momentous choice: between friendship and duty, safety and destiny. But for the survival of House Atreides, there is just one choice -- strive for greatness or be crushed.]]> 752 Brian Herbert 0553580302 Dacia 0 couldnotfinish 3.73 2000 House Harkonnen (Prelude to Dune, #2)
author: Brian Herbert
name: Dacia
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2000
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/09/12
shelves: couldnotfinish
review:

]]> Secret Lives 1112133 486 Diane Chamberlain 0060179074 Dacia 4 3.92 1991 Secret Lives
author: Diane Chamberlain
name: Dacia
average rating: 3.92
book published: 1991
rating: 4
read at: 2017/09/12
date added: 2017/09/12
shelves: audiobook, romance, thoughtplay, veryemotional
review:
This book tied together so many themes and story lines that is amazing they blended so seamlessly. While the old gaiaid could be seen a mile away, it was almost useful because you could then truly focus on the characters emotional responses and appreciate the complicated depth.
]]> <![CDATA[Becoming Nicole: The Transformation of an American Family]]> 25893681 The Washington Post

When Wayne and Kelly Maines adopted identical twin boys, they thought their lives were complete. But it wasn’t long before they noticed a marked difference between Jonas and his brother, Wyatt. Jonas preferred sports and trucks and many of the things little boys were “supposed� to like; but Wyatt liked princess dolls and dress-up and playing Little Mermaid. By the time the twins were toddlers, confusion over Wyatt’s insistence that he was female began to tear the family apart. In the years that followed, the Maineses came to question their long-held views on gender and identity, to accept and embrace Wyatt’s transition to Nicole, and to undergo an emotionally wrenching transformation of their own that would change all their lives forever.

Becoming Nicole chronicles a journey that could have destroyed a family but instead brought it closer together. It’s the story of a mother whose instincts told her that her child needed love and acceptance, not ostracism and disapproval; of a Republican, Air Force veteran father who overcame his deepest fears to become a vocal advocate for trans rights; of a loving brother who bravely stuck up for his twin sister; and of a town forced to confront its prejudices, a school compelled to rewrite its rules, and a courageous community of transgender activists determined to make their voices heard. Ultimately, Becoming Nicole is the story of an extraordinary girl who fought for the right to be herself.

Granted wide-ranging access to personal diaries, home videos, clinical journals, legal documents, medical records, and the Maineses themselves, Amy Ellis Nutt spent almost four years reporting this immersive account of an American family confronting an issue that is at the center of today’s cultural debate. Becoming Nicole will resonate with anyone who’s ever raised a child, felt at odds with society’s conventions and norms, or had to embrace life when it plays out unexpectedly. It’s a story of standing up for your beliefs and yourself—and it will inspire all of us to do the same.]]> 279 Amy Ellis Nutt Dacia 0 to-read 4.19 2015 Becoming Nicole: The Transformation of an American Family
author: Amy Ellis Nutt
name: Dacia
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/09/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Baby Thief: The Untold Story of Georgia Tann, the Baby Seller Who Corrupted Adoption]]> 19055801 322 Barbara Bisantz Raymond Dacia 0 currently-reading 3.80 2009 The Baby Thief: The Untold Story of Georgia Tann, the Baby Seller Who Corrupted Adoption
author: Barbara Bisantz Raymond
name: Dacia
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2009
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/08/23
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn]]> 2947 180 Garrison Keillor 1565118138 Dacia 4 Charming! 3.66 The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
author: Garrison Keillor
name: Dacia
average rating: 3.66
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2007/11/01
date added: 2016/12/03
shelves: audiobook, childrensnovels, oldclassics, thoughtplay, young-adolescent
review:
Charming!
]]> <![CDATA[The Dragon Reborn (The Wheel of Time, #3)]]> 359820
Let the Dragon ride again on the winds of time.]]> 699 Robert Jordan 0812513711 Dacia 4 4.17 1991 The Dragon Reborn (The Wheel of Time, #3)
author: Robert Jordan
name: Dacia
average rating: 4.17
book published: 1991
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2016/11/10
shelves:
review:

]]> The Haunting of Hill House 89717 182 Shirley Jackson 0143039989 Dacia 0 to-read 3.85 1959 The Haunting of Hill House
author: Shirley Jackson
name: Dacia
average rating: 3.85
book published: 1959
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2016/09/05
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Night 231614 --back cover]]> 109 Elie Wiesel 0553272535 Dacia 5 4.29 1956 Night
author: Elie Wiesel
name: Dacia
average rating: 4.29
book published: 1956
rating: 5
read at: 1995/07/01
date added: 2016/05/03
shelves: notsooldclassics, veryemotional, olderadolecent
review:
This book is a true story, but it's also very well written. What this book makes terribly, terrifyingly clear is not the external trauma of the holocaust, but what it did the internal psyche's of the sufferers.
]]> <![CDATA[Management Information Systems: Managing the Digital Firm]]> 107180 736 0132304619 Dacia 1 3.33 1996 Management Information Systems: Managing the Digital Firm
author: Jane P. Laudon Kenneth C. / Laudon
name: Dacia
average rating: 3.33
book published: 1996
rating: 1
read at:
date added: 2016/04/29
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Eternity Code (Artemis Fowl, #3)]]> 227865 329 Eoin Colfer 0141321318 Dacia 4 4.05 2003 The Eternity Code (Artemis Fowl, #3)
author: Eoin Colfer
name: Dacia
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2003
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2016/04/07
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Notebook (The Notebook, #1)]]> 15931
Set amid the austere beauty of coastal North Carolina in 1946, The Notebook begins with the story of Noah Calhoun, a rural Southerner returned home from World War II. Noah, thirty-one, is restoring a plantation home to its former glory, and he is haunted by images of the beautiful girl he met fourteen years earlier, a girl he loved like no other. Unable to find her, yet unwilling to forget the summer they spent together, Noah is content to live with only memories...until she unexpectedly returns to his town to see him once again.

Allie Nelson, twenty-nine, is now engaged to another man, but realizes that the original passion she felt for Noah has not dimmed with the passage of time. Still, the obstacles that once ended their previous relationship remain, and the gulf between their worlds is too vast to ignore. With her impending marriage only weeks away, Allie is forced to confront her hopes and dreams for the future, a future that only she can shape.

Like a puzzle within a puzzle, the story of Noah and Allie is just the beginning. As it unfolds, their tale miraculously becomes something different, with much higher stakes. The result is a deeply moving portrait of love itself, the tender moments and the fundamental changes that affect us all. Shining with a beauty that is rarely found in current literature, The Notebook establishes Nicholas Sparks as a classic storyteller with a unique insight into the only emotion that really matters.

"I am nothing special, of this I am sure. I am a common man with common thoughts and I've led a common life. There are no monuments dedicated to me and my name will soon be forgotten, but I've loved another with all my heart and soul, and to me, this has always been enough."

And so begins one of the most poignant and compelling love stories you will ever read...The Notebook]]> 214 Nicholas Sparks 0553816713 Dacia 1 4.07 1996 The Notebook (The Notebook, #1)
author: Nicholas Sparks
name: Dacia
average rating: 4.07
book published: 1996
rating: 1
read at:
date added: 2016/04/07
shelves:
review:

]]> Harry the Dirty Dog 22361068 Gene Zion Dacia 3 4.25 1954 Harry the Dirty Dog
author: Gene Zion
name: Dacia
average rating: 4.25
book published: 1954
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2016/04/07
shelves:
review:

]]> The Sociopath Next Door 72536 you know?

Is it your lying, cheating ex-husband?
Your sadistic high school gym teacher?
Your boss who loves to humiliate people in meetings?
The colleague who stole your idea and passed it off as her own?

In the pages of The Sociopath Next Door, you will realize that your ex was not just misunderstood. He’s a sociopath. And your boss, teacher, and colleague? They may be sociopaths too.

We are accustomed to think of sociopaths as violent criminals, but in The Sociopath Next Door, Harvard psychologist Martha Stout reveals that a shocking 4 percent of ordinary people—one in twenty-five—has an often undetected mental disorder, the chief symptom of which is that that person possesses no conscience. He or she has no ability whatsoever to feel shame, guilt, or remorse. One in twenty-five everyday Americans, therefore, is secretly a sociopath. They could be your colleague, your neighbor, even family. And they can do literally anything at all and feel absolutely no guilt.

How do we recognize the remorseless? One of their chief characteristics is a kind of glow or charisma that makes sociopaths more charming or interesting than the other people around them. They’re more spontaneous, more intense, more complex, or even sexier than everyone else, making them tricky to identify and leaving us easily seduced. Fundamentally, sociopaths are different because they cannot love. Sociopaths learn early on to show sham emotion, but underneath they are indifferent to others� suffering. They live to dominate and thrill to win.

The fact is, we all almost certainly know at least one or more sociopaths already. Part of the urgency in reading The Sociopath Next Door is the moment when we suddenly recognize that someone we know—someone we worked for, or were involved with, or voted for—is a sociopath. But what do we do with that knowledge? To arm us against the sociopath, Dr. Stout teaches us to question authority, suspect flattery, and beware the pity play. Above all, she writes, when a sociopath is beckoning, do not join the game.

It is the ruthless versus the rest of us, and The Sociopath Next Door will show you how to recognize and defeat the devil you know.]]> 256 Martha Stout 0767915828 Dacia 5 audiobook, non-fiction
This was a chilling read. It made me come to terms with the fact that I probably have run into sociopaths before. On the other hand, it was interesting to read about the levels of manipulation. Honestly, this book was a very emotional read for me, so it's hard to review.

However, I do recommend it. Even if you end up thinking it is nonsense, it does bring up some interesting philosophical questions about the soul and the nature of evil. ]]> 3.76 2005 The Sociopath Next Door
author: Martha Stout
name: Dacia
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2005
rating: 5
read at: 2016/04/06
date added: 2016/04/06
shelves: audiobook, non-fiction
review:
I actually finished this book a while ago, but I forgot to update this.

This was a chilling read. It made me come to terms with the fact that I probably have run into sociopaths before. On the other hand, it was interesting to read about the levels of manipulation. Honestly, this book was a very emotional read for me, so it's hard to review.

However, I do recommend it. Even if you end up thinking it is nonsense, it does bring up some interesting philosophical questions about the soul and the nature of evil.
]]> The Giver (The Giver, #1) 1154167
4 hours, 48 minutes]]> 5 Lois Lowry 080726203X Dacia 4 3.95 1993 The Giver (The Giver, #1)
author: Lois Lowry
name: Dacia
average rating: 3.95
book published: 1993
rating: 4
read at: 2007/07/01
date added: 2015/08/30
shelves: notsooldclassics, audiobook, midscifi, thoughtplay
review:
I thought this book was great. My only dissappoinment is that I wish the end was a little differrent. Oh, and the fact that the math didn't make much sense. 50 children were supposed to be born every year. Assuming a 50-50 distribution of boys and girls (which is supported by the "one female and one male" family unit philosophy) and the fact that birthmothers are only alotted 3 births, then at least 2/3 of the females in each year would have needed to be assigned as birth mothers. However, the story makes it seem like only the "bottom few" were given that assignment, where as the math says it HAS to be a majority. However, I enjoyed this much more than I have any of the other sorts of "be careful what you wish for" books. It beat the socks of Farenheit 451 and 1984.
]]> To Kill a Mockingbird 37449 here .

The unforgettable novel of a childhood in a sleepy Southern town and the crisis of conscience that rocked it, To Kill A Mockingbird became both an instant bestseller and a critical success when it was first published in 1960. It went on to win the Pulitzer Prize in 1961 and was later made into an Academy Award-winning film, also a classic.

Compassionate, dramatic, and deeply moving, To Kill A Mockingbird takes readers to the roots of human behavior - to innocence and experience, kindness and cruelty, love and hatred, humor and pathos.]]> 376 Harper Lee 1439550417 Dacia 4
The story was written in language and manner that would appeal to children. There was a story in it for children. 10-12 year olds would probably like the book for its humor and adventures. They probably would absorb little of the deeper meanings, but that's ok. Adults are far enough removed from childhood to be able to look back at the book and understand all the deeper trains of thought. However, adolecents are not. They lack the distance to truly appreciate the innocence that Scout portrays. They lack the experience to CARE about the bigger lessons. I imagine any 8th - 10th grade literature class would find this book a bore and miss both the beauty and wisdom within it.

As an adult though, I found both. The story was beautiful. Scout was a classic heroine: tomboyish enough to appeal to boys as well as girls, a rebellious streak that endears her to frustrated children, a quick mind and impetuous insight that reminds adults of just how intelligent a child can be. In so many ways she reminds me of Mary from "A Secret Garden" taken out of 19th century England and put down in 1930's Alabama. There was so much history and idealism in her life in a small southern town so long ago. So different and yet so similar to my own upbringing in a small Texan town a half century later. The way Scout saw problems, grew INTO problems, and learned to deal with them was remarkably accurate considering the limitations of language within a child's tale. I thuroughly enjoyed this book, and learned something as well. To me the most valuable lesson wasn't in the way Atticus (spelling? I listened in audio)taught Scout and Jim to be "colorblind". Instead, the lesson I found most valuable to myself was how he taught them to deal with their peers and neighbors who weren't. This day in age, racism isn't quite dead yet. I see far less of it in my own generation, but old habbits die hard, and there is still plenty in the generation of my parents and grandparents. Even more important - people have begun to discriminate in ways that have nothing to do with race. Sexual orientation is of course the "hot button" issue right now. When one sees his/herself as "tolerant", it's hard not to believe yourself also morally superior to others. Atticus takes pains to remind us all that while we don't have to absorb the beliefs of others, the fact that they hold such beliefs doesn't make them monsters. I'm not advocating hatred or discrimination, and I certainly believe that anyone who displays such things violently should be punnished. However, it made me reconsider some people in my life I'd written off as hopelessly narrowminded, and made me realize that just because they were narrowminded in one way didn't mean they were totally worthless in all ways. That's a hard lesson to internalize, but it's an important one. ]]> 4.30 1960 To Kill a Mockingbird
author: Harper Lee
name: Dacia
average rating: 4.30
book published: 1960
rating: 4
read at: 2008/03/01
date added: 2015/03/12
shelves: audiobook, childrensnovels, kid-stuff, notsooldclassics, thoughtplay, veryemotional
review:
I really enjoyed this book. However, I do not understand why so many people try to use it to teach "deep thoughts" about human nature, freedom, equality, etc. to high school students. It seems to me to not work as an adolecent book at all.

The story was written in language and manner that would appeal to children. There was a story in it for children. 10-12 year olds would probably like the book for its humor and adventures. They probably would absorb little of the deeper meanings, but that's ok. Adults are far enough removed from childhood to be able to look back at the book and understand all the deeper trains of thought. However, adolecents are not. They lack the distance to truly appreciate the innocence that Scout portrays. They lack the experience to CARE about the bigger lessons. I imagine any 8th - 10th grade literature class would find this book a bore and miss both the beauty and wisdom within it.

As an adult though, I found both. The story was beautiful. Scout was a classic heroine: tomboyish enough to appeal to boys as well as girls, a rebellious streak that endears her to frustrated children, a quick mind and impetuous insight that reminds adults of just how intelligent a child can be. In so many ways she reminds me of Mary from "A Secret Garden" taken out of 19th century England and put down in 1930's Alabama. There was so much history and idealism in her life in a small southern town so long ago. So different and yet so similar to my own upbringing in a small Texan town a half century later. The way Scout saw problems, grew INTO problems, and learned to deal with them was remarkably accurate considering the limitations of language within a child's tale. I thuroughly enjoyed this book, and learned something as well. To me the most valuable lesson wasn't in the way Atticus (spelling? I listened in audio)taught Scout and Jim to be "colorblind". Instead, the lesson I found most valuable to myself was how he taught them to deal with their peers and neighbors who weren't. This day in age, racism isn't quite dead yet. I see far less of it in my own generation, but old habbits die hard, and there is still plenty in the generation of my parents and grandparents. Even more important - people have begun to discriminate in ways that have nothing to do with race. Sexual orientation is of course the "hot button" issue right now. When one sees his/herself as "tolerant", it's hard not to believe yourself also morally superior to others. Atticus takes pains to remind us all that while we don't have to absorb the beliefs of others, the fact that they hold such beliefs doesn't make them monsters. I'm not advocating hatred or discrimination, and I certainly believe that anyone who displays such things violently should be punnished. However, it made me reconsider some people in my life I'd written off as hopelessly narrowminded, and made me realize that just because they were narrowminded in one way didn't mean they were totally worthless in all ways. That's a hard lesson to internalize, but it's an important one.
]]> <![CDATA[The Maze Runner (The Maze Runner, #1)]]> 6186357 There are alternate cover editions for this ASIN here and here.

If you ain’t scared, you ain’t human.

When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his name. He’s surrounded by strangers—boys whose memories are also gone.

Nice to meet ya, shank. Welcome to the Glade.

Outside the towering stone walls that surround the Glade is a limitless, ever-changing maze. It’s the only way out—and no one’s ever made it through alive.

Everything is going to change.

Then a girl arrives. The first girl ever. And the message she delivers is terrifying.

Remember. Survive. Run.]]> 384 James Dashner 0385737947 Dacia 0 to-read 4.05 2009 The Maze Runner (The Maze Runner, #1)
author: James Dashner
name: Dacia
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2009
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2014/12/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Financial Accounting: An Introduction to Concepts, Methods, and Uses]]> 536562 992 Clyde P. Stickney 0324183518 Dacia 1 3.50 1976 Financial Accounting: An Introduction to Concepts, Methods, and Uses
author: Clyde P. Stickney
name: Dacia
average rating: 3.50
book published: 1976
rating: 1
read at:
date added: 2014/11/29
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Towers of the Sunset (The Saga of Recluce, #2)]]> 185251 536 L.E. Modesitt Jr. 0812519671 Dacia 0 to-read 3.92 1992 The Towers of the Sunset (The Saga of Recluce, #2)
author: L.E. Modesitt Jr.
name: Dacia
average rating: 3.92
book published: 1992
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2014/11/29
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Dune Messiah (Dune Chronicles, #2)]]> 106
Dune Messiah continues the story of Paul Atreides, better known—and feared—as the man christened Muad’Dib. As Emperor of the known universe, he possesses more power than a single man was ever meant to wield. Worshipped as a religious icon by the fanatical Fremen, Paul faces the enmity of the political houses he displaced when he assumed the throne—and a conspiracy conducted within his own sphere of influence.

And even as House Atreides begins to crumble around him from the machinations of his enemies, the true threat to Paul comes to his lover, Chani, and the unborn heir to his family’s dynasty...]]> 331 Frank Herbert 0441172695 Dacia 0 to-read 3.88 1969 Dune Messiah (Dune Chronicles, #2)
author: Frank Herbert
name: Dacia
average rating: 3.88
book published: 1969
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2014/11/29
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Snake, the Crocodile & the Dog (Amelia Peabody, #7)]]> 917058
“Fans will rejoice� over this installment of the “deservedly popular� Amelia Peabody series -(Library Journal). After rescuing her husband, archaeologist Amelia must help him regain his memory � while searching for the tomb of Nefertiti! With narration from an AudioFile Golden Voice, this listen is “audio at its best, an excellent book enhanced by a quality performance� -(AudioFile).

Amelia hopes to rekindle some of the old fire with Emerson in a return journey to Amarna, Egypt where they met 13 years before. But her plan is foiled when Emerson emerges from a night-time ambush typically furious and with absolutely no memory of who Amelia is!]]> 337 Elizabeth Peters 044651585X Dacia 2 4.05 1992 The Snake, the Crocodile & the Dog (Amelia Peabody, #7)
author: Elizabeth Peters
name: Dacia
average rating: 4.05
book published: 1992
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2014/11/29
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Hippopotamus Pool (Amelia Peabody, #8)]]> 1438093 384 Elizabeth Peters 0446518336 Dacia 3 3.89 1996 The Hippopotamus Pool (Amelia Peabody, #8)
author: Elizabeth Peters
name: Dacia
average rating: 3.89
book published: 1996
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2014/11/29
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Seeing a Large Cat (Amelia Peabody, #9)]]> 157856 386 Elizabeth Peters 0446518344 Dacia 2 4.05 1997 Seeing a Large Cat (Amelia Peabody, #9)
author: Elizabeth Peters
name: Dacia
average rating: 4.05
book published: 1997
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2014/11/29
shelves:
review:

]]> The Mummy Case 2415079 313 Elizabeth Peters 0812520319 Dacia 3 3.97 1985 The Mummy Case
author: Elizabeth Peters
name: Dacia
average rating: 3.97
book published: 1985
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2014/11/29
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Deeds of the Disturber (Amelia Peabody, #5)]]> 2090064 289 Elizabeth Peters 0446353337 Dacia 4 3.81 1988 The Deeds of the Disturber (Amelia Peabody, #5)
author: Elizabeth Peters
name: Dacia
average rating: 3.81
book published: 1988
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2014/11/29
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Ape Who Guards the Balance (Amelia Peabody, #10)]]> 64255
As with past seasons, however, their archaeological expedition is interrupted. The murdered body of a woman is found in the Nile. Ramses, Radcliffe, and Amelia all have their theories as to the origin of the crime, but their own lives might soon be at stake if the cult of Thoth and their ancient book is, indeed, involved.]]> 400 Elizabeth Peters 0380798565 Dacia 4 4.19 1998 The Ape Who Guards the Balance (Amelia Peabody, #10)
author: Elizabeth Peters
name: Dacia
average rating: 4.19
book published: 1998
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2014/11/29
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Fundamentals of Corporate Finance, Standard Edition [with S&P Card & Student CD]]]> 295246 735 Stephen A. Ross 0073134287 Dacia 1 3.22 1992 Fundamentals of Corporate Finance, Standard Edition [with S&P Card & Student CD]
author: Stephen A. Ross
name: Dacia
average rating: 3.22
book published: 1992
rating: 1
read at:
date added: 2014/11/29
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Empire of Dreams and Miracles: The Phobos Science Fiction Anthology]]> 234727 200 Orson Scott Card 097200260X Dacia 0 to-read 3.46 2002 Empire of Dreams and Miracles: The Phobos Science Fiction Anthology
author: Orson Scott Card
name: Dacia
average rating: 3.46
book published: 2002
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2014/11/29
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Fate Totally Worse Than Death]]> 3800741 128 Paul Fleischman 1564026272 Dacia 2 3.44 1995 A Fate Totally Worse Than Death
author: Paul Fleischman
name: Dacia
average rating: 3.44
book published: 1995
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2014/11/29
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Economics: A Contemporary Introduction (with InfoTrac)]]> 1770286 William A. McEachern 0324288603 Dacia 1 2.00 1988 Economics: A Contemporary Introduction (with InfoTrac)
author: William A. McEachern
name: Dacia
average rating: 2.00
book published: 1988
rating: 1
read at:
date added: 2014/11/29
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Study Guide for McEachern's Economics: A Contemporary Introduction]]> 3627639 624 William A. McEachern 0324288611 Dacia 1 2.50 2002 Study Guide for McEachern's Economics: A Contemporary Introduction
author: William A. McEachern
name: Dacia
average rating: 2.50
book published: 2002
rating: 1
read at:
date added: 2014/11/29
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Texas Mushrooms: A Field Guide (Corrie Herring Hooks Series)]]> 1448470 Susan Metzler 0292751265 Dacia 2 4.36 1992 Texas Mushrooms: A Field Guide (Corrie Herring Hooks Series)
author: Susan Metzler
name: Dacia
average rating: 4.36
book published: 1992
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2014/11/29
shelves:
review:

]]> Managerial Economics 1644571 496 Ivan Png 1405160470 Dacia 1 2.92 1996 Managerial Economics
author: Ivan Png
name: Dacia
average rating: 2.92
book published: 1996
rating: 1
read at:
date added: 2014/11/29
shelves:
review:

]]> Contemporary Marketing 285185 655 Louis E. Boone 0324236735 Dacia 1 3.57 Contemporary Marketing
author: Louis E. Boone
name: Dacia
average rating: 3.57
book published:
rating: 1
read at:
date added: 2014/11/29
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Homecoming: Harmony (Homecoming Saga, #1-3)]]> 92957
Convinced that the only way to prevent such terror was to see that their descendants knew and used science, but never developed the transportation systems and high-tech weaponry that would let them destroy themselves, they built a master computer to be the guardian of the human race.

The people of Harmony thrived—genetically altered so they could mentally receive the computer’s transmissions, and potentially dangerous ideas could be blocked—and they worshiped the voice within them…what they called the Oversoul.

But for all its seeming omniscience, the Oversoul was a machine. It had been 40 million years since humans landed on Harmony, and it was breaking down. Systems were failing; it was losing the ability to communicate with and control people—and it understood the consequences of that deterioration. Repairs were essential, but in order to be repaired its core would have to be taken back to Earth to interface with the master computer there.

For that, it required human help.

Peace had long reigned in Basilica—wondrous ancient city, where honorable men received due honor, and where women controlled the government, owned all property, communed most directly with the Oversoul…and lived without fear.

But these were changing times. Of late, only a few holy women heard the words of the Oversoul, yet a man—Volemak, the husband of one of Basilica’s most esteemed citizens—had been granted a vision!

It was the beginning of the end for Basilica. For the first time in history there was violence in her streets as ambitious men vied for power—and Volemak, betrayed by a jealous kinsman, was forced to flee into the desert with his sons.

There, the Oversoul revealed its purpose: they and their wives and a chosen few others were to begin a monumental journey…ultimately, a voyage across space to Earth. But Volemak’s elder sons, who did not revere the Oversoul, were determined to sabotage the plan. And so it fell to the youngest to lead them all�14-year-old Nafai, who heard the voice of the Oversoul more clearly than anyone else on Harmony…]]> 819 Card Orson 1568650892 Dacia 3 3.70 1992 Homecoming: Harmony (Homecoming Saga, #1-3)
author: Card Orson
name: Dacia
average rating: 3.70
book published: 1992
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2014/11/29
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Statistics for Managers Using Microsoft Excel]]> 339992 880 David M. Levine 0131073893 Dacia 1 3.25 1997 Statistics for Managers Using Microsoft Excel
author: David M. Levine
name: Dacia
average rating: 3.25
book published: 1997
rating: 1
read at:
date added: 2014/11/29
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Six Sigma : The Mcgraw-Hill 36 Hour Course]]> 241832 304 Greg Brue 0071430083 Dacia 2 3.54 2004 Six Sigma : The Mcgraw-Hill 36 Hour Course
author: Greg Brue
name: Dacia
average rating: 3.54
book published: 2004
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2014/11/29
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Good to Great and the Social Sectors: A Monograph to Accompany Good to Great]]> 4114 35 Jim Collins 0977326403 Dacia 5 4.03 2001 Good to Great and the Social Sectors: A Monograph to Accompany Good to Great
author: Jim Collins
name: Dacia
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2001
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2014/11/29
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Letting Go of Perfect: Overcoming Perfectionism in Kids and Teens]]> 7670834
Letting Go of Perfect: Overcoming Perfectionism in Kids and Teens pinpoints a crippling state of mentality among many kids and teens today - the need to be absolutely perfect - and gives parents and teachers the guidance and support they need to help children break free of the anxieties and behaviors related to perfectionism.

For children who believe their best is never good enough, perfectionism can lead to excessive guilt, lack of motivation, low self-esteem, depression, pessimism, obsessive and compulsive behavior, and a sense of rigidity. By delineating the major types of perfectionists and providing practical tips, the authors show parents and teachers how they can help these children effectively control their perfectionist tendencies and use those to their advantage.

This engaging, practical book is a must-have for parents, teachers, and counselors wanting to help children overcome perfectionism, raise self-confidence, lessen guilt, increase motivation, and offer a future free of rigidity.]]> 216 Jill L. Adelson 1593633629 Dacia 5 3.42 2009 Letting Go of Perfect: Overcoming Perfectionism in Kids and Teens
author: Jill L. Adelson
name: Dacia
average rating: 3.42
book published: 2009
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2014/11/29
shelves:
review:

]]> Service Management 3610984 624 James A. Fitzsimmons 0072982306 Dacia 1 3.25 1997 Service Management
author: James A. Fitzsimmons
name: Dacia
average rating: 3.25
book published: 1997
rating: 1
read at:
date added: 2014/11/29
shelves:
review:

]]> Managerial Accounting 570672 an accounting book 792 Garrison 0073526703 Dacia 1 3.04 1976 Managerial Accounting
author: Garrison
name: Dacia
average rating: 3.04
book published: 1976
rating: 1
read at:
date added: 2014/11/29
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Ghost of Panna Maria (Stories for Young Americans Series)]]> 3671538 86 Rita Kerr 089015791X Dacia 5 4.56 1990 The Ghost of Panna Maria (Stories for Young Americans Series)
author: Rita Kerr
name: Dacia
average rating: 4.56
book published: 1990
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2014/11/29
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Shadows in Flight (The Shadow Series, #5)]]> 12040447
At the end of Shadow of the Giant, Bean flees to the stars with three of his children--the three who share the engineered genes that gave him both hyper-intelligence and a short, cruel physical life. The time dilation granted by the speed of their travel gives Earth's scientists generations to seek a cure, to no avail. In time, they are forgotten--a fading ansible signal speaking of events lost to Earth's history. But the Delphikis are about to make a discovery that will let them save themselves, and perhaps all of humanity in days to come.

For there in space before them lies a derelict Formic colony ship. Aboard it, they will find both death and wonders--the life support that is failing on their own ship, room to grow, and labs in which to explore their own genetic anomaly and the mysterious disease that killed the ship's colony.
Shadows in Flight is the fifth novel in Orson Scott Card's Shadow Series.]]> 237 Orson Scott Card 0765332000 Dacia 3 3.80 2011 Shadows in Flight (The Shadow Series, #5)
author: Orson Scott Card
name: Dacia
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2011
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2014/11/29
shelves:
review:

]]> The Great Dinosaur Race 16005463
Follow the adventures of two brothers and their pet dinosaur friends in their quest to win the great dinosaur race. Join them as they race through forests, tracks, over flips and more. Each brother believes they have the best dinosaur, who will win?

The story ends with a great lesson about teamwork and being able to get along that all parents will love.

- Beautiful illustrations with many amusing scenes.
- Rhyming lines help engage your child and sustain interest.
- Your child will be enthralled and love to read this story over and over.]]> 24 Lily Lexington Dacia 2 3.95 2012 The Great Dinosaur Race
author: Lily Lexington
name: Dacia
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2012
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2014/11/29
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Daydreaming Davey's Dinosaur Math Adventure (Daydreaming Davey's Adventures)]]> 18899061 44 Steven Tandberg 0984700501 Dacia 2 3.26 2011 Daydreaming Davey's Dinosaur Math Adventure (Daydreaming Davey's Adventures)
author: Steven Tandberg
name: Dacia
average rating: 3.26
book published: 2011
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2014/11/29
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Aliens on Vacation (Intergalactic Bed and Breakfast, #1)]]> 12857891
Scrub isn't happy about having to spend the summer with his hippie grandmother in "Middle of Nowhere," Washington. When he arrives at her Intergalactic Bed & Breakfast, he's not surprised by its 1960s-meets- Star Wars decor; but he is surprised by the weird looking guests. It turns out that each room in the inn is a portal and his grandma is the gatekeeper, allowing aliens to vacation on Earth. She desperately needs Scrub's help with disguising the tourists as humans. As if that weren't difficult enough, the town sheriff is already suspicious of Granny. One wrong move and Scrub could blow Grandma's cover, forcing the B&B to shut down forever. And when it comes to aliens, every move seems wrong . . .

Full of cosmic chaos and mind-bending mayhem, Scrub's summer adventure will leave readers wanting to make a return trip.]]> 272 Clete Barrett Smith 1423157230 Dacia 0 to-read 3.92 2011 Aliens on Vacation (Intergalactic Bed and Breakfast, #1)
author: Clete Barrett Smith
name: Dacia
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2014/11/29
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Misty Gordon and the Mystery of the Ghost Pirates]]> 19304383
Things in the New England town of Ashcrumb are getting weird. Or just weirder. Misty Gordon, whose antique-dealing parents drive a van that says "D.E.A.D." on the side (for "Deceased's Estate and Antique Dealer"), is accustomed to weird.

One day, when accompanying her father to the estate of a recently departed clairvoyant, Misty discovers a notebook and a pair of eyeglasses that enable her to see ghosts! And solve mysteries. With the help of her new powers and her best friend, Yoshi, Misty learns that her hometown was settled not by respectable colonists but by pirates! And the ghosts of the pirates are returning to reclaim a dangerous, powerful treasure they lost centuries ago. Who will find it first, Misty or the pirates?]]> 244 Kim Kennedy 1613120095 Dacia 0 to-read 4.33 2010 Misty Gordon and the Mystery of the Ghost Pirates
author: Kim Kennedy
name: Dacia
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2010
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2014/11/29
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Escape Under the Forever Sky 9695518 Loosely based on real-life events, this suspenseful story, by a debut novelist, is also funny and touching and will have readers riveted from start to finish. Lucy's mother is the U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia, so Lucy's life must be one big adventure, right? Wrong. Lucy's worrywart mother keeps her locked up inside the ambassador's residence. All Lucy can do is read about the exotic and exciting world that lies beyond the compound walls and imagine what it would be like to be a part of it. That is, until one day Lucy decides she has had enough and she and a friend sneak off for some fun. But to their horror, Lucy gets kidnapped! With only herself to rely upon, Lucy must use her knowledge of African animals, inventiveness, will, and courage to escape, and in the process embarks on an adventure beyond her wildest imagination.

]]> 219 Eve Yohalem 0811878740 Dacia 0 to-read 3.74 2009 Escape Under the Forever Sky
author: Eve Yohalem
name: Dacia
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2009
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2014/11/29
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Hero 10109983
Zach Harriman knew that his dad was something of a hero, a man trusted by the president to solve international crises at a moment's notice. Suddenly people are telling him he has powers - people who know much more about his father than Zach ever did. But there are the Bads, who appear out of nowhere and attack him and his best friend. One thing is clear: he can do things ordinary people cannot. Like fend off grown men as though he possesses the strength of a hundred. Like sense when evil is about to strike. And evil is about to strike in a very big way. Zach Harriman is his father's son. And he, too, is a hero.

"Every kid wants to be a superhero. Well, be careful what you wish for - you might get it. This is the amazing story of Zach Harriman and nothing Mike Lupica has written will thrill you like this."
- William Goldman, author of The Princess Bride]]> 304 Mike Lupica 0142419605 Dacia 0 to-read 3.49 2010 Hero
author: Mike Lupica
name: Dacia
average rating: 3.49
book published: 2010
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2014/11/29
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> EllRay Jakes Is Not a Chicken 11736982 108 Sally Warner 0142419885 Dacia 3 3.51 2011 EllRay Jakes Is Not a Chicken
author: Sally Warner
name: Dacia
average rating: 3.51
book published: 2011
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2014/11/29
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Wheel of Time: Boxed Set #2 (Wheel of Time, #4-6)]]> 58427 The Shadow Rising, The Fires of Heaven, and Lord of Chaos, books four through six of Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time series.

The Shadow Rising
The seals of Shayol Ghul are weak now, and the Dark One reaches out. The Shadow is rising to cover humankind.

In Tar Valon, Min sees portents of hideous doom. Will the White Tower itself be broken?

In the Two Rivers, the Whitecloaks ride in pursuit of a man with golden eyes, and in pursuit of the Dragon Reborn.

In Cantorin, among the Sea Folk, High Lady Suroth plans the return of the Seanchan armies to the mainland.

In the Stone of Tear, the Lord Dragon considers his next move. It will be something no one expects, not the Black Ajah, not Tairen nobles, not Aes Sedai, not Egwene or Elayne or Nynaeve.

Against the Shadow rising stands the Dragon Reborn.....

The Fires of Heaven
In this sequel to the phenomenal New York Times bestseller The Shadow Rising, Robert Jordan again plunges us into his extraordinarily rich, totally unforgettable world:

...Into the forbidden city of Rhuidean, where Rand al'Thor, now the Dragon Reborn, must conceal his present endeavor from all about him, even Egwene and Moiraine.

...Into the Amyrlin's study in the White Tower, where the Amyrlin, Elaida do Avriny a'Roihan, is weaving new plans.

...Into the luxurious hidden chamber where the Forsaken Rahvin is meeting with three of his fellows to ensure their ultimate victory over the Dragon.

...Into the Queen's court in Caemlyn, where Morgase is curiously in thrall to the handsome Lord Gaebril.

For once the dragon walks the land, the fires of heaven fall where they will, until all men's lives are ablaze.

And in Shayol Ghul, the Dark One stirs...

Lord of Chaos
In this sequel to the phenomenal New York Times bestseller The Fires of Heaven, we plunge again into Robert Jordan's extraordinarily rich, totally unforgettable world:

On the slopes of Shayol Ghul, the Myrddraal swords are forged, and the sky is not the sky of this world;

In Salidar the White Tower in exile prepares an embassy to Caemlyn, where Rand Al'Thor, the Dragon Reborn, holds the throne--and where an unexpected visitor may change the world....

In Emond's Field, Perrin Goldeneyes, Lord of the Two Rivers, feels the pull of ta'veren to ta'veren and prepares to march....

Morgase of Caemlyn finds a most unexpected, and quite unwelcome, ally....And south lies Illian, where Sammael holds sway....]]> 3006 Robert Jordan 0812540115 Dacia 3 4.49 1997 The Wheel of Time: Boxed Set #2 (Wheel of Time, #4-6)
author: Robert Jordan
name: Dacia
average rating: 4.49
book published: 1997
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2014/11/29
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[My Teacher Glows in the Dark (My Teacher Is an Alien Book 3)]]> 19226121 Kidnapped in Space?Peter Thompson has had some pretty weird teachers in his life. By the time he discovers that his newest teacher glows in the dark, he’s flying away from Earth in a spaceship full of aliens, and there’s no one he can call. How do you report an alien to the FBI anyway?Before Peter can do anything, he’s taken on the strangest field trip of his life! His friends, his father, his school—all are suddenly a million miles away!]]> 148 Bruce Coville Dacia 3 4.42 1991 My Teacher Glows in the Dark (My Teacher Is an Alien Book 3)
author: Bruce Coville
name: Dacia
average rating: 4.42
book published: 1991
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2014/11/29
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[My Teacher Fried My Brains (My Teacher Is an Alien, #2)]]> 353324 Brains are sizzling in the seventh grade...

The first day of seventh grade is probably the worst day of Duncan Dougal's life. He knows that things are really bad when he finds an alien's hand in a Dumpster and then gets plugged into an alien brain fryer!

Can Duncan find out which of the four new teachers in his school is an alien before his brains get fried to a pulp -- or before the aliens try to fry the whole planet?

]]> 176 Bruce Coville 1416903321 Dacia 4 3.81 1991 My Teacher Fried My Brains (My Teacher Is an Alien, #2)
author: Bruce Coville
name: Dacia
average rating: 3.81
book published: 1991
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2014/11/29
shelves:
review:

]]> The One and Only Ivan 17264646
Instead, Ivan thinks about TV shows he’s seen and about his friends Stella, an elderly elephant, and Bob, a stray dog. But mostly Ivan thinks about art and how to capture the taste of a mango or the sound of leaves with color and a well-placed line.

Then he meets Ruby, a baby elephant taken from her family, and she makes Ivan see their home—and his own art—through new eyes. When Ruby arrives, change comes with her, and it’s up to Ivan to make it a change for the better.

Katherine Applegate blends humor and poignancy to create Ivan’s unforgettable first-person narration in a story of friendship, art, and hope.]]> 325 Katherine Applegate Dacia 0 to-read 4.49 2012 The One and Only Ivan
author: Katherine Applegate
name: Dacia
average rating: 4.49
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2014/11/29
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Laugh with the Moon 12681103 Clare feels like a fish out of water at Mzanga Full Primary School. Soon, though, she becomes immersed in her new surroundings and impressed with her fellow students, who are crowded into a tiny space, working on the floor among roosters and centipedes.
When Clare’s new friends take her on an outing to a lake, the trip goes horribly wrong, and Clare must face another heartbreak head-on. Only an orphan named Memory, who knows about love and loss, can teach Clare how to laugh with the moon.]]> 245 Shana Burg 0385734719 Dacia 0 to-read 3.95 2012 Laugh with the Moon
author: Shana Burg
name: Dacia
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2014/11/29
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Night Before Christmas and Other Popular Stories For Children]]> 12389745
The Night Before Christmas
The Night After Christmas
Santa Claus Does Not Forget
The Fairy Christmas
The Ball Game
Christmas Day
The Doll's Christmas Party
Grandma's Christmas Gifts
Mama's Happy Christmas
The Christmas Carol of the Birds
A Turkey for One
Little Christmas Carollers
What Happened Christmas Eve
Susy's Christmas Present
Santa Claus's Letter
A Ragged Christmas Feast

This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.]]> 36 Clement Clarke Moore Dacia 3 4.05 2007 The Night Before Christmas and Other Popular Stories For Children
author: Clement Clarke Moore
name: Dacia
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2007
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2014/11/29
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[201 Great Discussion Questions for Couples in Long Distance Relationships]]> 18397596 Alternate cover edition of ASIN B00A90ZBKK

Are you in a long distance relationship? Do you want to get to know your partner better? Do phone calls sometimes feel like hard work? Do you find yourself wondering what to talk about apart from how your day was?

Pick up these 201 fun discussion questions for couples. These questions will spark fresh conversations, make you laugh, and help you get to know each other better.

Questions span topics related to childhood, family, work, passions, life now, the future, what if, and much more.]]> 51 Lisa McKay Dacia 3 3.62 2012 201 Great Discussion Questions for Couples in Long Distance Relationships
author: Lisa McKay
name: Dacia
average rating: 3.62
book published: 2012
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2014/11/29
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Goodbye Binky: A magical Pacifier Story]]> 20929773 Want your child to give up the pacifier all by himself in a
happy and creative way?
In this inspiring children’s rhyming picture book you will Meet Danny.
A kid just like your own child, who feels, that giving up the pacifier might be impossible.
Danny wants to say goodbye to binky and become a big boy, but doesn't really know how to do it.
How will he overcome this major milestone?
You and your kids are headed for a great surprise!!
Curious? Don’t wait and read the book now to find out what happened!
This creative and imaginative children’s book is a must for all parents, who want to help their child give up the pacifier, in a happy way.This book will help your kids grow up to be self-motivated, find creative solutions on their own, and be happy and proud of themselves.
This beautiful rhyming bedtime story, with 13 full-colored illustrations, is written especially for you and your 2-4 year-old kids. It’s sensitively written in a way that preschoolers can relate to, as well as giving useful suggestions to parents at the same time.
The story is suitable as a read aloud book for preschoolers or a self-read book for beginner readers children.
This is the first book in the collection of short bedtime stories for kids, helping parents all around the world tackle parenting key issues with as much love and care as possible.
Giving up binky with love and care has never been closer!
Scroll up, buy this encouraging children's book now and get ready to have a wonderful experience with your toddler. Your children will love to read this illustrated picture book over and over again, even after they would happily say goodbye to their binky.

]]> 26 Maya Shanie Dacia 2 3.34 2014 Goodbye Binky: A magical Pacifier Story
author: Maya Shanie
name: Dacia
average rating: 3.34
book published: 2014
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2014/11/29
shelves:
review:

]]> Goodnight Farm Animals 15744432 20 Sharlene Alexander Dacia 3 3.85 2012 Goodnight Farm Animals
author: Sharlene Alexander
name: Dacia
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2012
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2014/11/29
shelves:
review:

]]> Amira Goes Night Night 20624501 26 Jay Maqsood Dacia 3 3.25 2014 Amira Goes Night Night
author: Jay Maqsood
name: Dacia
average rating: 3.25
book published: 2014
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2014/11/29
shelves:
review:

]]> Tiddlywink the Mouse 10131232 22 Tom Lichtenberg Dacia 3 3.56 2010 Tiddlywink the Mouse
author: Tom Lichtenberg
name: Dacia
average rating: 3.56
book published: 2010
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2014/11/29
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Return of the Dragon (Dragon of Lonely Island)]]> 2271505
With their parents off to London on a special trip, Hannah, Zachary, and Sarah Emily are thrilled to be going back to Aunt Mehitabel's house on Lonely Island. Though their favorite aunt can't join them, they know their tummies will soon be filled with Mrs. Jone's mouth-watering cookies and their minds full of Fafnyr, the fabulous creature they befriended last summer. A glittering three-headed dragon who loves to tell stories and has a memory spanning 20,000 years, Fafnyr remains safely hidden in a cave high above the ocean, waiting for the children to return.

But is Fafnyr's hiding place safe? As the children nervously discover, a white yacht is now anchored off the private island, and a crew led by billionaire J.P. King has been scouring onshore, supposedly watching birds. Could he possibly be searching for a far rarer and more unusual specimen? The children have promised to keep Fafnyr's existense a secret, but it's hard to know if the smooth-talking Mr. King is friend or foe. Only Fafnyr's own stories can lead the Dragon Friends to the heart of the mystery, as they teach the children to think more clearly, to make the right decisions � and to discover what is truly worth fighting for.]]> 160 Rebecca Rupp 0763623776 Dacia 0 to-read 3.83 2005 The Return of the Dragon (Dragon of Lonely Island)
author: Rebecca Rupp
name: Dacia
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2005
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2014/11/29
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Dragon of Lonely Island 19344998
Hannah, Zachary, and Sarah Emily are spending the summer at their great-aunt Mehitabel's house on faraway Lonely Island. There, in a cave hidden high above the ocean, they discover a fabulous a glittering three-headed golden dragon with a kind heart, an unpredictable temper, and a memory that spans 20,000 years. Transported by the magic of the dragon's stories, the children meet Mei-lan, a young girl in ancient China; nineteenth-century cabin boy Jamie Pritchett; and, in more recent times, Hitty and her brother, Will, who survive a frightening plane crash on a desert island. In this fluidly written novel, Rebecca Rupp exploreswhat three children from the present learn from the past - and from anunlikely but wise and generous friend.]]> 177 Rebecca Rupp 0763660000 Dacia 4 4.09 1998 The Dragon of Lonely Island
author: Rebecca Rupp
name: Dacia
average rating: 4.09
book published: 1998
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2014/11/29
shelves:
review:

]]> The Ghost's Grave 22065652 219 Peg Kehret 1101661755 Dacia 3 4.44 2005 The Ghost's Grave
author: Peg Kehret
name: Dacia
average rating: 4.44
book published: 2005
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2014/11/29
shelves:
review:

]]> Super Sad True Love Story 10144430
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY
The New York Times � The Washington Post � The Boston Globe � San Francisco Chronicle � The Seattle Times � The Oprah Magazine � Maureen Corrigan, NPR � Salon � Slate � Minneapolis Star Tribune � St. Louis Post-Dispatch � The Kansas City Star � Charlotte Observer � The Globe and Mail � Vancouver Sun � Montreal Gazette � Kirkus Reviews

In the near future, America is crushed by a financial crisis and our patient Chinese creditors may just be ready to foreclose on the whole mess. Then Lenny Abramov, son of an Russian immigrant janitor and ardent fan of “printed, bound media artifacts� (aka books), meets Eunice Park, an impossibly cute Korean American woman with a major in Images and a minor in Assertiveness. Could falling in love redeem a planet falling apart?]]> 334 Gary Shteyngart 0812977866 Dacia 0 to-read 3.43 2010 Super Sad True Love Story
author: Gary Shteyngart
name: Dacia
average rating: 3.43
book published: 2010
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2014/11/29
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Shadow Boys (Jon Cantrell #2) 22283185 A gritty, whip-smart thriller from acclaimed author Harry Hunsicker.

For once, things are going well for former DEA contractor Jon Cantrell. He’s got a real job as a fix-it man for a law firm that specializes in handling government contracts. But when his ex-girlfriend Piper asks him to meet with a high-ranking police official and Cantrell is forced to take an off-the-books assignment to find a missing boy, everything starts to unravel.

Not helping the situation is his client, Deputy Chief Raul Delgado, an up-and-coming politico carrying his own tragic burdens he doesn’t like to dwell on. Forty years earlier, a racist cop brutally killed Delgado’s brother. Now, in a weird twist of fate, Delgado works for the very department that altered his life.

As Cantrell proceeds, he uncovers a puzzling link between Delgado, the missing boy, and a series of vigilante murders. As the link becomes clearer, Cantrell struggles to stay alive and find the missing child.]]> 386 Harry Hunsicker 1477875743 Dacia 0 to-read 3.55 2014 Shadow Boys (Jon Cantrell #2)
author: Harry Hunsicker
name: Dacia
average rating: 3.55
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2014/11/29
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> White Noise 923693
Jack and his fourth wife, Babette, bound by their love, fear of death, and four ultramodern offspring, navigate the usual rocky passages of family life to the background babble of brand-name consumerism, sleepwalking through a world where "Coke Is It!" and the TV is always on.

Then a lethal black chemical cloud floats over their lives, an "airborne toxic event" unleashed by an industrial accident. The menacing cloud is a more urgent and visible version of the "white noise" engulfing the Gladney family—radio transmissions, sirens, microwaves, ultrasonic appliances, and TV murmurings—pulsing with life yet heralding the danger of death.

With its ironic, satirical telling vision of the anxieties, absurdities, and mysteries of modern American life, White Noise is a masterpiece at once illuminating and darkly prophetic.]]> 326 Don DeLillo 0140077022 Dacia 0 to-read 3.80 1985 White Noise
author: Don DeLillo
name: Dacia
average rating: 3.80
book published: 1985
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2014/10/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Slip of the Keyboard: Collected Non-Fiction]]> 17278807 A Slip of the Keyboard brings together for the first time the finest examples of Pratchett's non fiction writing, both serious and surreal: from musings on mushrooms to what it means to be a writer (and why banana daiquiris are so important); from memories of Granny Pratchett to speculation about Gandalf's love life, and passionate defences of the causes dear to him.

With all the humour and humanity that have made his novels so enduringly popular, this collection brings Pratchett out from behind the scenes of the Discworld to speak for himself - man and boy, bibliophile and computer geek, champion of hats, orang-utans and Dignity in Dying.]]> 315 Terry Pratchett 0857521225 Dacia 0 to-read 4.22 2014 A Slip of the Keyboard: Collected Non-Fiction
author: Terry Pratchett
name: Dacia
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2014/09/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Mathematics: The Loss of Certainty]]> 6986318 448 Morris Kline 1435108477 Dacia 0 to-read 3.77 1980 Mathematics: The Loss of Certainty
author: Morris Kline
name: Dacia
average rating: 3.77
book published: 1980
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2014/09/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> A Separate Peace 603241 A Separate Peace. A great bestseller for over thirty years - one of theĚýmost starkly moving parables ever written of the dark forces that brood over the tortured world of adolescence.]]> 196 John Knowles 0553280414 Dacia 4
Of course, at 11, I couldn't fully comprehend everything this book had to offer. I understood the story, and I laughed and cried with the characters. I understood the toils and the trauma, but I could not fully grasp the meaning of the experiences the boys had. I didn't yet have enough experience or the intimate knowledge of history to be able to completely apply the experiences of the boys with my knowledge of the world in general. In subsequent readings the story became both more and less powerful.

It was less powerful, partially, because I already knew the ending. However, it was also less powerful because my knowledge of society and history meant that I could no longer fully sympathize with the boys. What did it matter, the trials of these children in a prep school, compared to all the horror of the reality of the time? It became harder to respect Phineas as I now realized just how juvenile and self centered he really was. And yet, in some ways the story was more powerful. I now better understood the world in which the story was set. Lepper's plight, rather than being a vague problem I barely comprehended, now took on an entirely new meaning. Instead of being just himself, just this one minor character in one part of this one story, he became an entire subset of this generation of boys - the essence of innocence shattered rather than gradually weaned away. While I can never FULLY understand what it is like to face a draft or to be a soldier, I now had a more powerful understanding of the deadline looming above the boys. My knowledge filled out many parts of the story that had only been shadow before.

Perhaps most importantly, however, is how this story colored my later learning. Because I had the experiences contained in this story in my mind and heart when I later learned the more in depth history of the time period, I was able to understand history differently. Even though this is a work of fiction, the characters it creates are just as "real" to me (personally) as any particular name in any history book. Having a picture of what real people (children) leading semi-normal lives in this time felt, I was able to put history into a better perspective. It was easier for me to realize that even though great events were sweeping up nations, those events did not blot out the individual lives people were living. It also helped me understand exactly how distorted the "truth" regular people received actually was. It is much easier to understand how the world can ignore tragedy when you understand how foggy those pictures of foreign events were compared to the full fledged daily troubles people still faced.

I think this is one of the must-reads of early adolescence. ]]> 3.56 1959 A Separate Peace
author: John Knowles
name: Dacia
average rating: 3.56
book published: 1959
rating: 4
read at: 1993/01/01
date added: 2014/07/31
shelves: notsooldclassics, young-adolescent, veryemotional, thoughtplay
review:
I first read this book as part of a GT assignment in sixth grade. I remember being so absolutely captivated that even though we had several weeks to finish the book, I simply couldn't put it down. Strange as it may seem, this book made me fall in love with boy's prep schools. I hated being a girl because it meant I could never, NEVER, have the types of relationships that were shared by the boys in the story. Considering how completely dysfunctional all those relationships were, I'm not sure what this says about me.

Of course, at 11, I couldn't fully comprehend everything this book had to offer. I understood the story, and I laughed and cried with the characters. I understood the toils and the trauma, but I could not fully grasp the meaning of the experiences the boys had. I didn't yet have enough experience or the intimate knowledge of history to be able to completely apply the experiences of the boys with my knowledge of the world in general. In subsequent readings the story became both more and less powerful.

It was less powerful, partially, because I already knew the ending. However, it was also less powerful because my knowledge of society and history meant that I could no longer fully sympathize with the boys. What did it matter, the trials of these children in a prep school, compared to all the horror of the reality of the time? It became harder to respect Phineas as I now realized just how juvenile and self centered he really was. And yet, in some ways the story was more powerful. I now better understood the world in which the story was set. Lepper's plight, rather than being a vague problem I barely comprehended, now took on an entirely new meaning. Instead of being just himself, just this one minor character in one part of this one story, he became an entire subset of this generation of boys - the essence of innocence shattered rather than gradually weaned away. While I can never FULLY understand what it is like to face a draft or to be a soldier, I now had a more powerful understanding of the deadline looming above the boys. My knowledge filled out many parts of the story that had only been shadow before.

Perhaps most importantly, however, is how this story colored my later learning. Because I had the experiences contained in this story in my mind and heart when I later learned the more in depth history of the time period, I was able to understand history differently. Even though this is a work of fiction, the characters it creates are just as "real" to me (personally) as any particular name in any history book. Having a picture of what real people (children) leading semi-normal lives in this time felt, I was able to put history into a better perspective. It was easier for me to realize that even though great events were sweeping up nations, those events did not blot out the individual lives people were living. It also helped me understand exactly how distorted the "truth" regular people received actually was. It is much easier to understand how the world can ignore tragedy when you understand how foggy those pictures of foreign events were compared to the full fledged daily troubles people still faced.

I think this is one of the must-reads of early adolescence.
]]> Dune 53732 Librarian's note: There are Alternate Cover Editions for this edition of this book here, here, here and here.

Here is the novel that will be forever considered a triumph of the imagination. Set on the desert planet Arrakis, Dune is the story of the boy Paul Atreides, who would become the mysterious man known as Muad'Dib. He would avenge the traitorous plot against his noble family--and would bring to fruition humankind's most ancient and unattainable dream.
A stunning blend of adventure and mysticism, environmentalism and politics, Dune won the first Nebula Award, shared the Hugo Award, and formed the basis of what it undoubtedly the grandest epic in science fiction.]]> 535 Frank Herbert Dacia 5

The only bad thing about it was that it made me not as appreciative of Star Wars. I was a bit angry to see how very much George Lucas stole from Herbert when creating his Star Wars universe. I mean seriously, he didn't even bother to change the NAME of "spice"! Oh well.. that's a battle for another day.

This was one of the best books of the ideas of human motivation (particularily in a religious sense) that I have ever read. It's hard to know what else to say about it. Dune solidified a love of Sci-Fi for me. It showed me that sci-fi didn't have to be as light as Star Wars, nor as technical as Michael Crichton in order to be good.
]]> 4.28 1965 Dune
author: Frank Herbert
name: Dacia
average rating: 4.28
book published: 1965
rating: 5
read at: 2001/01/01
date added: 2014/07/31
shelves: midscifi, politicalmanipulation, veryemotional, thoughtplay
review:
What can really be said about Dune? It was one of the first Sci-Fi books that truly and honestly took my breath away! Paul, the lady Jessica, Alia - they were all so very REAL.


The only bad thing about it was that it made me not as appreciative of Star Wars. I was a bit angry to see how very much George Lucas stole from Herbert when creating his Star Wars universe. I mean seriously, he didn't even bother to change the NAME of "spice"! Oh well.. that's a battle for another day.

This was one of the best books of the ideas of human motivation (particularily in a religious sense) that I have ever read. It's hard to know what else to say about it. Dune solidified a love of Sci-Fi for me. It showed me that sci-fi didn't have to be as light as Star Wars, nor as technical as Michael Crichton in order to be good.

]]> <![CDATA[The Eye of the World (The Wheel of Time, #1)]]> 228665
Moiraine Damodred arrives in Emond’s Field on a quest to find the one prophesized to stand against The Dark One, a malicious entity sowing the seeds of chaos and destruction. When a vicious band of half-men, half beasts invade the village seeking their master’s enemy, Moiraine persuades Rand al’Thor and his friends to leave their home and enter a larger unimaginable world filled with dangers waiting in the shadows and in the light.]]> 800 Robert Jordan 0812511816 Dacia 3
This first book starts off slow. It took me ages, the first time I read, to even get through the first chapter. However, by about midway through, you just can't wait to see how it ends. Rand and Mat and Egwene! I think Mat has to be one of my favorite book characters of all time!

This book isn't going to change your life. The series is not meaningful in the same way that books of C.S. Lewis or Orson Scott Card or even Michael Crichton are. However, if you're looking for something that will provide hours of entertainment and a universe eventually full of old, comfortable friends, then this is a book for you.

As a side note - while this series is excellent in both audio and text, I recomend starting it in audio. It helps get through some of the rough parts more quickly. ]]> 4.19 1990 The Eye of the World (The Wheel of Time, #1)
author: Robert Jordan
name: Dacia
average rating: 4.19
book published: 1990
rating: 3
read at: 2006/01/01
date added: 2014/07/31
shelves: audiobook, fantasy, olderadolecent, thoughtplay
review:
This is only the first in a series that I think gets better as it goes. I know other people think differently. Some think the first books are better, and that the series just gets old. I don't! Part of what I love about the series is that you get to know the characters. You get to feel for them, and love them. You also get to admire the intricacy with which Jordan interweaves his world.

This first book starts off slow. It took me ages, the first time I read, to even get through the first chapter. However, by about midway through, you just can't wait to see how it ends. Rand and Mat and Egwene! I think Mat has to be one of my favorite book characters of all time!

This book isn't going to change your life. The series is not meaningful in the same way that books of C.S. Lewis or Orson Scott Card or even Michael Crichton are. However, if you're looking for something that will provide hours of entertainment and a universe eventually full of old, comfortable friends, then this is a book for you.

As a side note - while this series is excellent in both audio and text, I recomend starting it in audio. It helps get through some of the rough parts more quickly.
]]> <![CDATA[The Ships of Earth (Homecoming Saga #3)]]> 24441 351 Orson Scott Card 0812532635 Dacia 5 3.56 1994 The Ships of Earth (Homecoming Saga #3)
author: Orson Scott Card
name: Dacia
average rating: 3.56
book published: 1994
rating: 5
read at: 2003/05/01
date added: 2014/07/31
shelves: olderadolecent, osc, romance, thoughtplay
review:
This has to be one of my favorite books in the whole world. It's the mid book in a truly wonderful series. While this series is closely tied to the book of Mormon, I didn't know that the first several times I read it. The characters in the story are intense and real. The love and ties that bind the family together are so true. It's wonderful!
]]> Lord of the Flies 84943 Librarian's note: Alternate cover editions can be found here, here, here and here.

When a plane crashes on a remote island, a small group of schoolboys are the sole survivors. From the prophetic Simon and virtuous Ralph to the lovable Piggy and brutish Jack, each of the boys attempts to establish control as the reality - and brutal savagery - of their situation sets in.

The boys' struggle to find a way of existing in a community with no fixed boundaries invites readers to evaluate the concepts involved in social and political constructs and moral frameworks. Ideas of community, leadership, and the rule of law are called into question as the reader has to consider who has a right to power, why, and what the consequences of the acquisition of power may be. Often compared to Catcher in the Rye, Lord of the Flies also represents a coming-of-age story of innocence lost.]]> 202 William Golding Dacia 3 3.64 1954 Lord of the Flies
author: William Golding
name: Dacia
average rating: 3.64
book published: 1954
rating: 3
read at: 1995/08/01
date added: 2014/07/24
shelves: horror, notsooldclassics, politicalmanipulation, thoughtplay, young-adolescent
review:
I enjoyed reading this book, though the imagry was of course very disturbing. The story was enticing and the first time I read it, I was easily lost in the world. Unfortunately, subsequent readings have not been as enjoyable as the first. Too much of the story depends on the shock value of what happens, and once you know, the suspense is gone.
]]> Eldest (Inheritance, #2) 819218 Eragon, this second volume in the Inheritance trilogy shows growing maturity and skill on the part of its very young author, who was only seventeen when the first volume was published in 2003. The story is solidly in the tradition (some might say derivative) of the classic heroic quest fantasy, with the predictable cast of dwarves, elves, and dragons--but also including some imaginatively creepy creatures of evil.

The land of Alagaesia is suffering under the Empire of the wicked Galbatorix, and Eragon and his dragon Saphira, last of the Riders, are the only hope. But Eragon is young and has much to learn, and so he is sent off to the elven forest city of Ellesmera, where he and Saphira are tutored in magic, battle skills, and the ancient language by the wise former Rider Oromis and his elderly dragon Glaedr. Meanwhile, back at Carvahall, Eragon's home, his cousin Roran is the target of a siege by the hideous Ra'zac, and he must lead the villagers on a desperate escape over the mountains. The two narratives move toward a massive battle with the forces of Galbatorix, where Eragon learns a shocking secret about his parentage and commits himself to saving his people.

]]> 20 Christopher Paolini 0307280721 Dacia 2 3.97 2005 Eldest (Inheritance, #2)
author: Christopher Paolini
name: Dacia
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2005
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2014/07/12
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive, #1)]]> 7235533 From #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson, The Way of Kings, book one of The Stormlight Archive begins an incredible new saga of epic proportion.

Roshar is a world of stone and storms. Uncanny tempests of incredible power sweep across the rocky terrain so frequently that they have shaped ecology and civilization alike. Animals hide in shells, trees pull in branches, and grass retracts into the soilless ground. Cities are built only where the topography offers shelter.

It has been centuries since the fall of the ten consecrated orders known as the Knights Radiant, but their Shardblades and Shardplate remain: mystical swords and suits of armor that transform ordinary men into near-invincible warriors. Men trade kingdoms for Shardblades. Wars were fought for them, and won by them.

One such war rages on a ruined landscape called the Shattered Plains. There, Kaladin, who traded his medical apprenticeship for a spear to protect his little brother, has been reduced to slavery. In a war that makes no sense, where ten armies fight separately against a single foe, he struggles to save his men and to fathom the leaders who consider them expendable.

Brightlord Dalinar Kholin commands one of those other armies. Like his brother, the late king, he is fascinated by an ancient text called The Way of Kings. Troubled by over-powering visions of ancient times and the Knights Radiant, he has begun to doubt his own sanity.

Across the ocean, an untried young woman named Shallan seeks to train under an eminent scholar and notorious heretic, Dalinar's niece, Jasnah. Though she genuinely loves learning, Shallan's motives are less than pure. As she plans a daring theft, her research for Jasnah hints at secrets of the Knights Radiant and the true cause of the war.

The result of over ten years of planning, writing, and world-building, The Way of Kings is but the opening movement of the Stormlight Archive, a bold masterpiece in the making.

Speak again the ancient oaths:

Life before death.
Strength before weakness.
Journey before Destination.

and return to men the Shards they once bore.

The Knights Radiant must stand again.]]> 1007 Brandon Sanderson 0765326353 Dacia 4 audiobook, fantasy 4.66 2010 The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive, #1)
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Dacia
average rating: 4.66
book published: 2010
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2014/07/08
shelves: audiobook, fantasy
review:
It's hard to review this book. In navy ways it was wonderful. It has well developed characters, an interesting and original universe, and an exciting plot with many twists. And yet, part of the time I was reluctant to keep reading. Were there perhaps to many plot twists? Maybe, but it might also be that I'm just not in the mid for such a dark story.
]]> Church of Lies 4533197 From the Preface: "My name is Flora Jessop. I've been called apostate, vigilante, and crazy bitch, and maybe I am. But some people call me a hero, and I'd like to think they're right too. If I am a hero, maybe it's because every time I can play a part in saving a child or a woman from a life of servitude and degradation, I'm saving a little piece of me, too.

I was one of twenty-eight children born to my dad and his three wives. Indoctrinated to believe that the outside world was evil, and that I resided among the righteous, I was destined to marry a man chosen for me by the Prophet. I would then live in harmony with my sister-wives, bear many children, and obey and serve my future husband in this life and throughout eternity. But my innocence didn't last long. While still a child, I understood that the church of the righteous was nothing but a church of lies.

When I was eight years old my father sexually molested me for the first time, raping me when I was twelve. I tried to kill myself. Beaten, molested, taunted, and abused by family members alleging they only wanted to save my soul became a daily routine, I ran from this abuse more than once in my early teens--even attempting to cross the desert on foot. My family hunted me down. I thought government agencies would provide me safety if I reported my father. Instead, police and social services colluded with the FLDS to return me to my family and I ended up back inside polygamy, right where I started."

Flora goes on from there to tell the dramatic true story of how she ultimately escaped and has been fighting against frustrating obstacles with hard fought successes in rescuing women and children from the FLDS. It's a story you can't put down.]]> 296 Flora Jessop 0787994626 Dacia 3 audiobook, non-fiction 3.94 2008 Church of Lies
author: Flora Jessop
name: Dacia
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2008
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2014/06/15
shelves: audiobook, non-fiction
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Earth Unaware (The First Formic War, #1)]]> 13151129 HUMANS THOUGHT THEY WERE ALONE IN THE GALAXY. UNTIL NOW.

A hundred years before Ender's Game, humanity is slowly making its way out to the planets of the solar system, exploring and mining asteroids.



The ship El Cavador is far from Earth, in the deeps of the Kuiper Belt, beyond Pluto. When the ship's telescopes pick up a fast-moving object coming in-system, they're unsure what to make of it.



Little do they know that this object is the most important thing to happen to the human race in a million years. It's humanity's first contact with an alien race. The First Formic War is about to begin.



BOOK ONE OF THE FIRST FORMIC WAR

]]> 368 Orson Scott Card 0765329042 Dacia 3 to-read 3.97 2012 Earth Unaware (The First Formic War, #1)
author: Orson Scott Card
name: Dacia
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2012
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2014/06/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Small Gods (Discworld, #13) 386374
And the Word was: "Hey, you!"

For Brutha the novice is the Chosen One. He wants peace and justice and brotherly love.

He also wants the Inquisition to stop torturing him now, please...]]> 381 Terry Pratchett Dacia 3 discworld, audiobook 4.22 1992 Small Gods (Discworld, #13)
author: Terry Pratchett
name: Dacia
average rating: 4.22
book published: 1992
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2014/06/15
shelves: discworld, audiobook
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Guards! Guards! (Discworld, #8; City Watch, #1)]]> 64216 376 Terry Pratchett 0061020648 Dacia 3 audiobook 4.33 1989 Guards! Guards! (Discworld, #8; City Watch, #1)
author: Terry Pratchett
name: Dacia
average rating: 4.33
book published: 1989
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2014/06/15
shelves: audiobook
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Da Vinci Code (Robert Langdon, #2)]]> 85266 This item does not meet our catalog guidelines and can no longer be rated or reviewed.
Please add this edition to your shelf instead:
The da Vinci Code]]> 454 Dan Brown Dacia 3 3.81 2003 The Da Vinci Code (Robert Langdon, #2)
author: Dan Brown
name: Dacia
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2003
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2014/06/05
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Little House in the Big Woods (Little House, #1)]]> 2175122 Little House in the Big Woods—the first book of the series and Laura Ingalls Wilder's first children's book—is full of the thrills, chills, and spills typically associated with "boy" books. Any boy or girl who has fantasized about running off to live in the woods will find ample information in these pages to manage a Wisconsin snowstorm, a panther attack, or a wild sled ride with a pig as an uninvited guest. Every chapter divulges fascinatingly intricate, yet easy-to-read, details about pioneer life in the Midwest in the late 1800s, from bear-meat curing to maple-tree sapping to homemade bullet making.

Wilder's autobiographical tales ring with truth and excitement. Readers will receive a perfectly painless history lesson, and in fact will clamor for more. Beloved illustrator Garth Williams spent years researching young Laura's pioneering family. His soft-line illustrations bring to life the full, simple days and nights in the family's log cabin. No one can read just one Little House book! (Ages 9 to 12) —Emilie Coulter

]]> 238 Laura Ingalls Wilder 0590085247 Dacia 4 4.22 1932 Little House in the Big Woods (Little House, #1)
author: Laura Ingalls Wilder
name: Dacia
average rating: 4.22
book published: 1932
rating: 4
read at: 1988/01/01
date added: 2014/05/07
shelves: childrensnovels, kid-stuff, notsooldclassics
review:
This is a children's classic. Who can ever forget Laura's love for her doll, birthday spankings, or the image of children chasing a pigs bladder? Who didn't learn a new fear of bears and bees from this book? Such old simplicity is nice for a childhood story.
]]> <![CDATA[Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch]]> 229318 Librarian's Note: this is an alternate cover edition - ISBN 13: 9780060853969

There is a distinct hint of Armageddon in the air. According to The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch (recorded, thankfully, in 1655, before she blew up her entire village and all its inhabitants, who had gathered to watch her burn), the world will end on a Saturday. Next Saturday, in fact. So the armies of Good and Evil are amassing, the Four Bikers of the Apocalypse are revving up their mighty hogs and hitting the road, and the world's last two remaining witch-finders are getting ready to fight the good fight, armed with awkwardly antiquated instructions and stick pins. Atlantis is rising, frogs are falling, tempers are flaring. . . . Right. Everything appears to be going according to Divine Plan.

Except that a somewhat fussy angel and a fast-living demon -- each of whom has lived among Earth's mortals for many millennia and has grown rather fond of the lifestyle -- are not particularly looking forward to the coming Rapture. If Crowley and Aziraphale are going to stop it from happening, they've got to find and kill the Antichrist (which is a shame, as he's a really nice kid). There's just one glitch: someone seems to have misplaced him. . . .

First published in 1990, Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett's brilliantly dark and screamingly funny take on humankind's final judgment is back -- and just in time -- in a new hardcover edition (which includes an introduction by the authors, comments by each about the other, and answers to some still-burning questions about their wildly popular collaborative effort) that the devout and the damned alike will surely cherish until the end of all things.]]> 400 Terry Pratchett Dacia 4 thoughtplay 4.21 1990 Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch
author: Terry Pratchett
name: Dacia
average rating: 4.21
book published: 1990
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2014/05/04
shelves: thoughtplay
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Ready Player One (Ready Player One, #1)]]> 9969571 Librarian's note: An alternate cover edition can be found here

IN THE YEAR 2044, reality is an ugly place. The only time teenage Wade Watts really feels alive is when he's jacked into the virtual utopia known as the OASIS. Wade's devoted his life to studying the puzzles hidden within this world's digital confines, puzzles that are based on their creator's obsession with the pop culture of decades past and that promise massive power and fortune to whoever can unlock them.

But when Wade stumbles upon the first clue, he finds himself beset by players willing to kill to take this ultimate prize. The race is on, and if Wade's going to survive, he'll have to win—and confront the real world he's always been so desperate to escape.]]> 480 Ernest Cline 030788743X Dacia 0 to-read 4.21 2011 Ready Player One (Ready Player One, #1)
author: Ernest Cline
name: Dacia
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2014/04/29
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Star Wars: Trilogy - Episodes IV, V & VI]]> 11582664 676 George Lucas 030779573X Dacia 3 4.37 1983 Star Wars: Trilogy - Episodes IV, V & VI
author: George Lucas
name: Dacia
average rating: 4.37
book published: 1983
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2014/04/28
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Wizard's First Rule (Sword of Truth, #1)]]> 43889
His world, his very beliefs, are shattered when ancient debts come due with thundering violence. In a dark age it takes courage to live, and more than mere courage to challenge those who hold dominion, Richard and Kahlan must take up that challenge or become the next victims. Beyond awaits a bewitching land where even the best of their hearts could betray them. Yet, Richard fears nothing so much as what secrets his sword might reveal about his own soul. Falling in love would destroy them—for reasons Richard can't imagine and Kahlan dare not say.

In their darkest hour, hunted relentlessly, tormented by treachery and loss, Kahlan calls upon Richard to reach beyond his sword—to invoke within himself something more noble. Neither knows that the rules of battle have just changed . . . or that their time has run out.

This is the beginning. One book. One Rule. Witness the birth of a legend.]]> 836 Terry Goodkind 0765346524 Dacia 2 4.12 1994 Wizard's First Rule (Sword of Truth, #1)
author: Terry Goodkind
name: Dacia
average rating: 4.12
book published: 1994
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2014/04/28
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Harry Potter, #6)]]> 1 652 J.K. Rowling Dacia 3 fantasy, olderadolecent
The worst part is, however, that books five and six are only "books" because they include a school year. They are not at all stand alone stories. The first 3 books could easily be read in isolation of one another. Even book 4 resolved itself by the end, even as it opened a new can of worms. However, books 5 and 6 were nothing but "building", preludes of what was to come. Though book 7 was a good book, the pain of getting to it by reading books 5 and 6 makes it doubtful I'll be re-reading the series often... if ever. Also, by making the end of the series so unavoidably adult, it hampers the ability (or want) of parents to share it with their young children. While it may have worked fine for the generation when it was written, having to wait a year or more between books, it will be hard for parents to start a young child on it now. The child will undoubtably be captured by the first three books, and want to read the others, even though few 9 or 10 year olds are emotionally prepared for the later books. Similarly, if parents wait until their child can handle the later books, they won't be as interested in picking up the first couple of "childrens" novels. What to do???]]> 4.57 2005 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Harry Potter, #6)
author: J.K. Rowling
name: Dacia
average rating: 4.57
book published: 2005
rating: 3
read at: 2006/01/01
date added: 2014/04/28
shelves: fantasy, olderadolecent
review:
Though better than book 5, I still found this book entirely too dark to appreciate. The lure of Harry Potter was that it was simple and fun. While Rowling grew as an author, she ceased being as simple, and there was certainly very little fun in this book. Some may hail this as a realistic truth, but these stories were not charming because they were realistic, they were charming because they were fantastical. Beyond that, I fear she only takes into account the darker sides of "truth". In reality, the savior of the world would have much more power of influence than she EVER gives Harry, for all her talk about him being famous.

The worst part is, however, that books five and six are only "books" because they include a school year. They are not at all stand alone stories. The first 3 books could easily be read in isolation of one another. Even book 4 resolved itself by the end, even as it opened a new can of worms. However, books 5 and 6 were nothing but "building", preludes of what was to come. Though book 7 was a good book, the pain of getting to it by reading books 5 and 6 makes it doubtful I'll be re-reading the series often... if ever. Also, by making the end of the series so unavoidably adult, it hampers the ability (or want) of parents to share it with their young children. While it may have worked fine for the generation when it was written, having to wait a year or more between books, it will be hard for parents to start a young child on it now. The child will undoubtably be captured by the first three books, and want to read the others, even though few 9 or 10 year olds are emotionally prepared for the later books. Similarly, if parents wait until their child can handle the later books, they won't be as interested in picking up the first couple of "childrens" novels. What to do???
]]>