I've invited 12 Year 9 students for an introduction to the Model United Nations Club tomorrow at 10:00 in the Senior Reading Room. Students were chosen by teachers in the English Department and they will have a chance to join the new ECA this year.
Let me just say that BGIC is the best thing you will do all year. You will meet some of the cleverest and most amazing young people around. Students come from many schools from Brunei as well as from other countries for this big event.
Year 9 students who participate in the Model United Nations Club will have the chance to observe the BGIC this year and may also be selected to participate as delegates in 2011.
Also, congratulations to the three girls from Form 5 who will represent the school as delegates this year!
We are in Forum 1 and we will be working in the Human Rights Committee
If you listen to Krystal FM in the morning on the way to school you have probably heard the young Miri singer's "Kantoi" song in which she plays a ukulele (a kind of small guitar) and mixes both Malay and English. If you haven't, you can by pressing HERE. The first time I heard it while driving to school I was really shocked. First of all, it has a style that sounds kind of old, but at the same time it sounds very fresh and fun. Plus I kept wondering what language it was she was singing and then it hit me - it's Malay!
Her voice is incredible, isn't it? I'm really impressed by her work. I just love to hear songs that are different, new, and catchy. This girl is an original. I just think it is great that young artists have the freedom to explore new things - singers like Agnes Monica and even Lady Gaga just go out and find their own style. Fantastic! I mean, nobody sings with Zee Avi's style anymore and nobody plays the ukulele. Very cool.
I just sent her a message on her youtube page to congratulate her and wish her all the best. You can find her youtube page HERE at KokoKaina's channel.
I guess she has recorded an album in Los Angeles and has had her song used in a WalMart commercial. It also seems like she has played live on American television and managed to sneak onto the Billboard countdown list. She is on her way up! And all of this because she posted a video on YouTube. Cool.
I've always said that it is only a matter of time before somebody in Brunei becomes a worldwide sensation. If a girl from Miri can do it, a girl from Brunei certainly can!
Anyway, it turns out that Zee is also a book lover and we have proof in this short youtube video where she talks about how she started promoting her music just last year and her love of books. She seems like a very talented and clever girl (and I'll bet reading had a lot to do with that). :-)
We have some amazing new books for the SRR thanks to former STPRI girl Hudiya from 5B. She was inmy class last year and is a great book lover just like the rest of us and on her vacation to Australia in December she was kind enough to get us some incredible books - especially if you are a Twilight fan! I think it is absolutely wonderful that she would think of us.
First of all, she got us a copy of the New Moon Movie Companion. Last year the Twilight Movie Companion was probably the most popular book in the SRR so I'm sure this year the New Moon book will get a lot of attention.
I guess Hudiya knows that the students like the guys in the movie because she got us a Scholastic book with lots of pictures in it called The Guys of Twilight. I wonder when they will publish a book of The Girls of Twilight. It's not really fair is it (btw, my favourite character is Alice)?
Once again on the Twilight theme, Hudiya got us a a parody of Twilight called "nightlight". How cool is that? I didn't even know there was a parody made of it. What's a parody? Well, it is a joke version of a story and it makes fun of the original. If you love Twilight (or even if you didn't like Twlight), you'll probably get a few laughs from this one.
As well, Hudiya bought us a copy of a book called Surf School which looks really good. I'm certain that it will be another popular book to read this year.
Thanks again for your generosity Hudiya. That was so nice of you!
Today I read a little from Peter Pan in Scarlet with the 9A and 9D girls. Isn't it just the most beautiful book you've ever seen? I'm still amazed at what a great job the publisher did.
Anyway, we talked about the mysterious change in dates on page 11 (one book said Saturday and another said Sunday) and we also talked about the mysterious writing on the inside cover page. As I told you, I e-mailed the publisher and was pleasantly surprised when the auther, Geraldine McCaughrean sent back a reply.
I thought some of you might like to read the e-mail she sent us. I hope she doesn't mind me sharing it. Here it is:
Dear Jason,
I'm so glad you and your class have been enjoying Peter Pan in Scarlet. It sounds as if you explored it pretty extensively!! I agree about the cover and silhouettes - gorgeous, aren't they? A new younger edition was published at the end of last year with fewer words but many more full colour pictures. The illustrator really excelled himself working on the book. I think he, like me, knew it was a very special assignment to be given.
As to the mystery, I think I can probably solve it. Sometimes bookshops buy too many copies of a book and return some to the publishers. I expect I signed that book in some big London store, the store then sent back some copies to the warehouse and the warehouse sent them out again to different customers. I have found myself signing in a shop, opening a book and finding I have already signed it!
Also, I did sign about 800 copies of the book at the warehouse, so it may be one of those. I can tell you for certain that the signed book comes from a different print-run. At the beginning of the book, on the copyright page, you will see a string of numbers. The last number tells you how many printings there have been of the book. I believe that after the first or second edition, a few little changes were made, including that date in chapter 2. There is a story behind that which I can tell you and which nobody else knows. When I wrote the book, I sent the characters to Neverland on Saturday 6th June, because 6th June is my birthday and I thought that made it auspicious. My clever editor did not know this. She worked out that 6th June in l926 was not a Saturday but a Sunday, so she changed it to June 5th before publication. Then someone pointed out to her that it was my birthday ...And she changed it back in the next print-run! I didn't expect her to, but it was very sweet of her. A sort of birthday present, I suppose!
Anyway, I am delighted if a mere signature added to your enjoyment. I can't imagine why it should! (Now when the illustrator invents and draws a fairy on the title page - then and there, in front of you - that's special.) I'm afraid I can't arrange that, but if any of your students would like signed bookplates to go in their copies of the book, I will willingly send them. (I would need your postal address, though.)
Wishing you everything you wish yourselves and a little more besides, Love Geraldine
After reading her e-mail I guess it is easy to tell that she is a talented writer. Even when she sends out a quick e-mail it ends up sounding a lot like poetry. I think that you can also get a sense that she is a really nice person, can't you?
Anyway, in the coming weeks you will have a chance to read some of the story if you like. Also, we have added two books to the regular collection so you will have a chance to read them at any time in the next two years. As well, you could order the book online at bookdepository for 11 british pounds and the delivery is free: HERE: The last time I went to Icklebooks in Kiarong they had a few copies that didn't get sold last year. You can find a map for Icklebooks: HERE. You may want to call them and check first, though.
If you do decide to buy your own personal copy, I have a few autographs left and I will be happy to put one in your book!
By the way, the younger version that Geraldine mentions in the letter will also be available soon in the SRR. Our marvelous book angel Peta in the UK sent us a copy in December. It is absolutely beautiful. The artwork by David Wyatt is simply stunning. I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did.
Finally, I'd like to put together a thank you package for Geraldine. If you'd like to send her a note or ask her a question, please let me know and we can add it along with some postcards and stuff from school.
I'd also like to get a picture or two of you reading the book. I'm sure she would love to get pictures like that from us.
Violence, in McCarthy's postapocalyptic tour de force, has been visited worldwide in the form of a "long shear of light and then a series of low concussions" that leaves cities and forests burned, birds and fish dead and the earth shrouded in gray clouds of ash. In this landscape, an unnamed man and his young son journey down a road to get to the sea. (The man's wife, who gave birth to the boy after calamity struck, has killed herself.)
They carry blankets and scavenged food in a shopping cart, and the man is armed with a revolver loaded with his last two bullets. Beyond the ever-present possibility of starvation lies the threat of roving bands of cannibalistic thugs. The man assures the boy that the two of them are "good guys," but from the way his father treats other stray survivors the boy sees that his father has turned into an amoral survivalist, tenuously attached to the morality of the past by his fierce love for his son. McCarthy establishes himself here as the closest thing in American literature to an Old Testament prophet, trolling the blackest registers of human emotion to create a haunting and grim novel about civilization's slow death after the power goes out.
On a layover in Chicago I found a nice little book kiosk and loaded up on books for the 14-hour flight ahead of me. This book grabbed my attention immediately. I had heard something about the movie which is now being shown world-wide except here in Brunei and I always love a good end-0f-the-world movie so I was keen to see this one. Also Viggo Mortensen is awesome, right? Anyway, I figured if they made it into a movie it must be good and if I'm going to watch the movie I'd rather read the book first. This book before movie thing has worked out so far. I enjoyed Harry Potter more for reading the books first and can you imagine seeing New Moon if you hadn't read the book - disaster!
On my plane, the in-flight entertainment was awful, I was squished against the emergency door exit that jutted out about a foot and a half inside the plane and into the space where I wanted to put my rather long legs, and I kept catching a whiff of noxious toilet fumes from the area next to me....but none of that mattered because I was totally engrossed in this book. I started it as the flight took off and didn't stop reading until every last page had passed before my jet-lagged eyes. And, sure enough, while I was reading the end of the book, tears started flowing down my cheeks so badly I had to turn off my overhead light before the people waiting to use the can noticed the blubbering baby in the window seat.
Let me just say, this book is pretty intense. It isn't so much about the end of the world as it is about what it means to be a father and what it feels like to take care of a son. Of course this is child-care pushed to the extreme. If the father fails to take care of his son here, he will either freeze to death, starve to death, or get eaten by wandering bands of nasty degenerates. It's fascinating to watch as these two characters try to take care of each other. It's tense, it's dark, it's sad, and it is utterly gripping.
I'd also like to mention that I loved the way McCarthy wrote all the dialogue in this book without quotation marks. It is an extra touch that makes this book even more fascinating to read.
The Road won the 2007 Pullitzer Prize and it was chosen to be an Oprah Winfrey's Book Club selection. If you think you might like this book, I think you will.
I'll be adding my copy of this fabulous book to the SRR next week. Let me know if you are interested in being the first one to read it.
Hello everyone and welcome back! It has been a busy first week at school and I'm still recovering from jet lag so I haven't had a chance to post on my blog until today.
First of all, I'd like to say hello to all my wonderful new students. So far I've met my sweet 9A form class of 21 students and my big, friendly 9D class with 37 students. On Saturday I'll finally get the chance to meet 9F and I'm sure they will be equally lovely. In our first English period together I'm afraid I did most of the talking but I look forward to next week when you will have a chance to participate more in the lessons.
I also met with my mega outgoing 5ACD Lit class. It's so good to see you all again! Really, I love teaching you girls so much that the time just flies by, doesn't it? This year is going to be another great year for us! Anyway, welcome back and I can't wait to dive back into our short story collection. Isn't Desai's Sale a powerful story? I'll be looking over your Reader Reaction assignment later today. See you Saturday.
BTW, the principal has made a special request. She would like us to decorate the noticeboard near the SRR again. This time she'd like us to put posters with pics of students and quotations about reading. I think it would be great to put a book recommendation as well. I would like the girls in 5ACD Lit class who absolutely love reading to make posters. I've made a template so you can just delete stuff and add your own ideas. Also, I have your pics so I can always put your pic if you don't have one.
Please click here for the template:
I would also like to send out a big thank you to my wonderful 9A form class for processing 120 new books for the SRR while we were waiting for our textbooks on Wednesday. I put the books on the shelves yesterday so that when students go in for their first reading period there will be a lot of added excitement. I hope you love the Reading Room as much as I do!!!
As usual, I'd also like to send out a big THANK YOU to our book angel Peta. For those of you who don't know, Peta is our mysterious donor from the UK who has been sending us big packages of incredible books for the last year. In December she sent us an amazing 39 books, most of them brand new. Wow!!! There are so many beautiful new books that she has sent us that I can't single out one for special recognition. All I can say is that Peta has a great eye for Teen lit and she has sent us so many books that have become a huge hit with the girls at the school. Thanks again Peta! You're amazing! To see all the great books she has sent us you can look at the bottom of the entry here.
This work presents an authorised and fully illustrated insight into the life and career of the award-winning director, from his childhood film projects up to "King Kong", together with Jackson's revealing personal account of his six-year quest to film "The Lord of the Rings". Once, Peter Jackson was a name unknown to all but a small band of loyal fans and fellow film-makers.
Now, he is the newest member of Hollywood's elite fellowship, with his name on the most successful movie trilogy of all time. Written with Jackson's full participation, this extensive biography, illustrated with never-before-seen photos from Jackson's personal collection, tells the inside story of how a New Zealander became Hollywood's hottest property - from the early cult classics, through Academy Award -winning success with Kate Winslet's "Heavenly Creatures", the abandoned "King Kong" remake, and the filming of "The Lord of the Rings", a project which was abandoned two years into pre-production, rejected by most of the other studios and then picked up by New Line Cinema in the biggest gamble in film history.
Drawing upon interviews with fifty of Peter Jackson's colleagues and contemporaries, author Brian Sibley paints a portrait of a true auteur, a man gifted with single-minded determination and an artist's vision. Jackson himself is both revealing and insightful about his entire film-making life, from his first childhood steps filming in Super 8 to the grand realisation of his life's dream: "King Kong". Together, these joint narratives provide a truly unique and compelling insight into one of the finest cinematic minds at work today.
I am a big fan of the Lord of the Rings movies. I read the trilogy during a vacation five years ago and I loved the movies directed by Peter Jackson. When I came across this beautiful hardcover biography of Peter, I couldn't resist it. I picked it up and started reading it and before I knew it I had read the entire book from cover to cover.
I guess to begin with I was fascinated that this little-known guy from New Zealand somehow came along and got to do one of the biggest film projects in history. That amazes me. I wanted to know how he did it. The book does a really good job of explaining the whole thing. It describes his humble beginnings and all the challenges he faced making his first movies. Then it gave all the details related to how he managed to get the LOTR movies. Simply fascinating.
I really liked the way the writer, Brian Sibley, managed to keep this biography moving along. I also was very happy with the way that he quoted a lot of what Peter told him. I loved being able to read full page excerpts from conversations he had with him. With authorized biographies like this, you get a lot more real information and it makes you feel good knowing you are getting to the heart of things and not just speculation from a book writer who may just be speculating a lot of the time (I recenly read parts of a Rowling biography that was a complete waste of time because it based a lot on stuff the writer got from newspaper articles and other secondhand sources).
I liked everything about this book and the stories it told. The only thing I felt I missed out on was more about the casting of Kate Winslet in Heavenly Creatures. Peter's film was Winslet's first film and, being a big Winslet fan, I really wanted to know more about her and how Peter felt about her work on his movie. Oh well, you can't have everything.
Having read this book, I'm very interested in seeing all of Jackson's movies. As well, it has made me even more curious about visiting New Zealand and it has further convinced me that Kiwis are amazing people.
Stay tuned for the new movie The Lovely Bones based on the popular novel by Alice Sebold which is being produced my Peter Jackson and should be released soon. The Lovely Bones is available in the SRR and I'm hoping to get a hardcover before January as it is going to be an even bigger hit once it makes it to the theater in December.
Note: I'm reading a lot of different stuff these days. I just thought I'd post this review to keep you all up to date. There are so many amazing books in the world. Just pick one up! Pick up something you wouldn't usually read. Read something totally "different" today! Take a chance on a different genre or a different writer. You never know.
After nearly two decades in Britain, Bill Bryson, the acclaimed author of such bestsellers as "The Mother Tongue" and "Made in America", decided it was time to move back to the United States for a while. This was partly to let his wife and kids experience life in Bryson's homeland - and partly because he had read that 3.7 million Americans believed that they had been abducted by aliens at one time or another. It was thus clear to him that his people needed him. But before leaving his much-loved home in North Yorkshire, Bryson insisted on taking one last trip around Britain, a sort of valedictory tour of the green and kindly island that had so long been his home. His aim was to take stock of modern-day Britain, and to analyze what he loved so much about a country that had produced Marmite, zebra crossings, and place names like Farleigh Wallop, Titsey, and Shellow Bowells. With wit and irreverence, Bill Bryson presents the ludicrous and the endearing in equal measure. The result is a social commentary that conveys the true glory of Britain.
I think I'm done with my tour of Bill Bryson books. It was a good run, but I'm done.
Bryson's Notes from a Small Island is a book that covers a trip he took around Great Britain. I thought that I would really enjoy this book, but I found it a bit tiresome.
The first quarter of the book was very good as he described his experiences in London when he was younger. I lived in London for six months and really liked hearing Bryson's take. I especially liked his description of his first trip to Dover and how he reacted to staying in a number of bed and breakfasts. I also found his work experiences in London to be of great interest.
However, as Bryson moved out into the countryside and travelled from town to town, he started to lose me. He gets excited about details and half the time I feel his enthusiasm and I want to know more. The parts I enjoy the most are bits about people and crazy situations and his thoughts on how ridiculous the world is. The problem is that he spent a lot of time describing buildings I have never seen and never will see. If he only wrote about half of the places he did and spent more time talking about the people he met and the funny experiences he had, this book could have been amazing.
My reading style changed as I read this. At times, I read the first sentence of each paragraph and scanned the rest. I only stopped to read the parts that interested me. The only thing is that by the last half of the book I was reading smaller and smaller patches.
1. Paper Towns by John Green 2. Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer 3. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins 4. City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare 5. Identical by Ellen Hopkins 6. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman 7. Wake by Lisa McMann 8. Untamed by P.C. and Kristin Cast 9. The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart 10. Graceling by Kristin Cashore
Okay, first of all, I'm excited because I actually read some of the books on the list this year. It is nice to know something about the kinds of books that are up for nomination. Second, I can't believe that Breaking Dawn didn't win! Wow. I figured the Twilight fans out there would crash the ballot boxes. Also, I can't believe they actually had 11,000 teens vote this year - that's amazing. I'm also happy to say that we already have some of the winners in the SRR. We have Breaking Dawn along with the other Twilight books. We have two copies of Hunger Games along with Part 2. We have City of Ashes along with City of Bones already. I have a copy of Wake. Plus Peta just sent us Untamed and Graceling. So, all in all, we are off to a really good start.
Yeah, I thought that would grab your attention. For all the Twilight fans out there, you'll be excited to hear that we now have the House of Night Series.
When sixteen-year-old Zoey Redbird gets Marked as a fledgling vampire she must join the House of Night school where she will train to become an adult vampire. That is, if she makes it through the Change. But Zoe is no ordinary fledgling. She has been chosen as special by the Goddess Nyx and discovers her amazing new power to conjure the elements: earth, air, fire, water and spirit. When Zoey discovers that the leader of the Dark Daughters, the school's most elite group, is misusing her Goddess-given gifts, Zoey must look within herself to embrace her destiny - with a little help from her new vampire friends.
Sounds good, doesn't it? I thought you'd like it. We now have four of the books in the series: Marked, Betrayed, Untamed, and Hunted. That ought to keep you girls busy for a while. In fact, I think I'll be adding this one to my to be read list (though it is getting very, very long at this point).
Once again, we have our book angel, Peta, to thank for sending us this series. All four books were ordered, brand new, from book depository and sent to us. Thank you so much Peta for sending us so many wonderful books. The girls are loving the Study Series and now we have another series that is bound to be just as popular. You're the best Peta!
The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart
Graceling by Kristin Cashore (P)
2009 Nominated Books in SRR
1. Truancy by Isamu Fukui (J) 2. Bloodlines by Katy Moran (J) 3. The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness (Su)
2008 Winners 1. Eclipseby Stephenie Meyer (J) 2. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallowsby J. K. Rowling (J) 3. Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney (J) 4. Vampire Academyby Richelle Mead (J) 5.Maximum Ride: Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports by J. Patterson (coming -Mary) 6. City of Bonesby Cassandra Clare (J) 7. The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray (J) 8. Extrasby Scott Westerfeld (J) 9. Before I Dieby Jenny Downham (P) 10. Twistedby Laurie Halse Anderson (P)
2007 Winners 1. New Moon by Stephenie Meyer (J) 2. Just Listen by Sarah Dessen (P) 3. Maximum Ride: School’s Out – Forever by James Patterson 4. Firegirl by Tony Abbott (coming - Mary) 5. All Hallows Eve (13 Stories)by Vivian Vande Velde 6. Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer (M) 7. River Secrets by Shannon Hale (coming - Peta) 8. Bad Kitty by Michele Jaffe 9. Road of the Dead by Kevin Brooks
2006 Winners 1. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling. (J) 2. Twilight by Stephanie Meyer (J) 3. Eldest by Christopher Paolini (coming - Mary) 4. Rebel Angels by Libba Bray (P) 5. Peeps by Scott Westerfeld (P) 6. 13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson (P) 7. Poison by Chris Wooding (P) 8. Captain Hook: The Adventures of a Notorious Youth by J.V. Hart (P) 9. If I Have a Wicked Stepmother, Where’s My Prince? by Melissa Kantor (P) 10. Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin (P)
2005 Winners 1. Girls In Pants: The Third Summer of the Sisterhood by Ann Brashares 2. The Truth about Forever by Sarah Dessen (P) 3. Looking For Alaska by John Green (P) 4. My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult (P) 5. Drums, Girls and Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick 6. Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment by James Patterson (J) 7. The Gangsta Rap by Benjamin Zephaniah (P) 8. Teen Idol by Meg Cabot 9. The Garden by Elise Aidinoff (P)
2004 Winners 1. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J. K. Rowling 2. Eragon by Christopher Paolini
3. Pirates! by Celia Rees 4. Trickster’s Choice by Tamora Pierce 5 Inkheart by Cornelia Funke 6. A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray 7. The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale (coming- Mary) 8. Princess in Pink by Meg Cabot 9. The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things by Carolyn Mackler (P) 10. Curse of the Blue Tattoo by L.A. Meyer
2003 Winners YA Group 1. “Faerie Wars” by Herbie Brennan 2. “What Happened to Lani Garver?” (M) 3. “Abhorsen“ by Garth Nix ("Sabriel") 4. “The First Part Last” by Angela Johnson 5. “Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale” by Holly Black (P) 6. “The Second Summer of the Sisterhood” by Ann Brashares 7. “After” by Francine Prose (M) 8. “Storm Catchers” by Tim Bowler 9. “Once Upon a Marigold” by Jean Ferris 10. “The Thief Lord” by Cornelia Funke Teen Public 1. "A Wizard Alone: Young Wizards Book 6” by Diane Duane ("So You Want to be a Wizard" Deep in USA) 2. “The Second Summer of the Sisterhood” by Ann Brashares 3. “Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale” by Holly Black (P) 4. “The Thief Lord” by Cornelia Funke 5. “Abhorsen” by Garth Nix ("Sabriel") 6. “The Book of Wizardry: The Apprentice’s Guide to the Secrets of the Wizards’ Guild” by Cornelius Rumstuckle 7. “Dead Girls Don’t Write Letters” by Gail Giles (B) 9. “True Confessions of a Heartless Girl” by Martha Brooks (B) 10.“America” by E. R. Frank (B)
Where are the books coming from? (J) = I've donated it (P) = Peta has donated it. (B) = Bikki in the USA donated it.
(M) = Mary in the USA donated it
Thanks to all of the people for sending us their books! I've listed their names and countries beside the books they have donated to us.
The ghastly truth about the wild warrior race who weren't afraid to fight the Romans. The book includes stories about suffering saints, gruesome games for Celtic kids, and the dreadful Druids with their strange sacrifices and terrible trials.
I've said it before and I'll say it again: YOU ARE SO LUCKY. When I was a teenager we didn't have many great books to read and Horrible Histories is just another example of the type of book I would have eaten up if I'd had them around.
Terry Deary is amazing. He is funny and interesting. He really knows how to make history interesting for young readers. He goes after all the shocking stuff and all the disgusting stuff and he tells us his story in a most amusing way.
Martin Brown's illustrations are hilarious. My favourite was the comparison of the Celtic and Roman solidier ready for battle. The Roman is standing there in full armour, covered from head to toe. Next to him is the Celtic warrior, standing naked except for a little fig leaf over his private parts. My son and I laughed so hard when we saw that.
Deary's books get a lot of the facts on the table and he gives us maps and drawings to make things clear. He tells funny little stories about real people. He makes little question lists (followed by answers) and the result is usually shock and awe.
The Celts are an interesting group and well worth reading about. I think I know a little bit more about European history now. At the very least I know that reading about history is good fun!
Scholastic recently had the whole series in a box set. I'm still kicking myself because I didn't buy it. You see, I only recently discoverd Horrible Histories and their amazing creator Terry Deary. Even if you don't like history, I dare you to pick one up. I'm sure you'll find something in there that you'll love.
Terry Deary is a hero for making history exciting and fun for kids (well, and even for us older types). BTW, we now have a signed copy of the Second World War book for our collection! Yay! Stay tuned, I'll try to get more for the SRR as soon as I can.
Amazon.com: An SF novel about vampires . . . Robert Neville is the last living man on Earth . . . but he is not alone. Every other man, woman and child on the planet has become a vampire, and they are hungry for Neville's blood. By day he is the hunter, stalking the undead through the ruins of civilisation. By night, he barricades himself in his home and prays for the dawn. How long can one man survive like this?
This was kind of like a zombie book. These vampires are nothing like the Twilight vampires. They are mindless killers much more like the Dawn of the Dead zombies.
I saw the movie a while ago and it was okay. I like Will Smith and I found the story interesting enough. I figured I'd give the book a read and see if it was better than the movie.
Actually, it was much better than the movie. Hollywood made a lot of major changes to the script - almost so many that you wouldn't necessarily connect the movie with the book if they didn't have the same title!
As much as I really enjoyed the story, I found myself a bit disappointed because of the twist at the end. If you read it you will know what I mean. I really liked the beginning and Robert Neville's struggle being the only man left on earth. That was fascinating. I would have enjoyed 300+ pages devoted to Neville's struggle to keep sane in his bizarre situation. I really enjoyed the last half of the book and wanted to see how it was going to play out. The book has 317 pages so I was really geared up for a good, long read. However, when I hit page 170 I discovered that the story had finished. The rest of the book includes a variety of Matheson's short horror stories. In fact the horror stories are quiet good, but I had wanted more of I Am Legend. Oh well.
If you like horror or zombie stories, you'll enjoy this one. I Am Legend was published in 1954 so I think we can consider it as one of the first books of its kind. Even just for that, you can feel like you are biting into a bit of horror story history.
Amazon.com Review Witness Stephen King's triumphant, blood-spattered return to the genre that made him famous. Cell, the king of horror's homage to zombie films (the book is dedicated in part to George A. Romero) is his goriest, most horrific novel in years, not to mention the most intensely paced. Casting aside his love of elaborate character and town histories and penchant for delayed gratification, King yanks readers off their feet within the first few pages; dragging them into the fray and offering no chance catch their breath until the very last page.
In Cell King taps into readers fears of technological warfare and terrorism. Mobile phones deliver the apocalypse to millions of unsuspecting humans by wiping their brains of any humanity, leaving only aggressive and destructive impulses behind. Those without cell phones, like illustrator Clayton Riddell and his small band of "normies," must fight for survival, and their journey to find Clayton's estranged wife and young son rockets the book toward resolution.
Fans that have followed King from the beginning will recognize and appreciate Cell as a departure--King's writing has not been so pure of heart and free of hang-ups in years (wrapping up his phenomenal Dark Tower series and receiving a medal from the National Book Foundation doesn't hurt either). "Retirement" clearly suits King, and lucky for us, having nothing left to prove frees him up to write frenzied, juiced-up horror-thrillers like Cell. --Daphne Durham
I have a confession to make. I love zombie movies. I don't know why, but I do. Zombies are really awesome. Dawn of the Dead is the best, of course. The idea that human survivors would hide in a shopping mall and fight off zombies is beyond cool.
I guess I'm fascinated by the human response to tragedy or extreme circumstances. It's the same reason I'm crazy about Titanic and why I enjoyed books like The Lord of the Flies. I always wonder what people would do if we stripped away all the technology and all the comforts of home that we enjoy. How would people react? How would I react? Would I have been one of the fine gentlemen on the Titanic sipping on a drink and vowing to go down with the ship or would I have snuck onto a lifeboat?
Anyway, I was pretty excited when I got a book shipment and inside there was a big, beautiful hardcover copy of this book. Thanks to Ann in the USA for sending it to us! I've never actually read a Stephen King book and after reading On Writing I really wanted to see him in action.
The first chapter will blow your mind. It is disgusting, frightening, and disturbing. If you are into horror, it will knock your socks off. King's story grabs you by the throat and never let's go. I really enjoyed the three main characters and the story was very interesting.
I had never read a zombie book but now I'm convinced there is a lot of room for fun here. I'd like to read more books in this genre. I'm certain if you like horror stories or zombie movies, you will like this book as much as I did.
Amazon.com: *Starred Review* Gr. 5-8. Steven Alper is a typical eighth-grader--smarter than some, a better drummer than most, but with the usual girl problems and family trials. Then, on October 7, his five-year-old brother, Jeffrey, falls, has a nosebleed that doesn't stop, and is diagnosed with leukemia. All hell breaks loose. Mrs. Alper's days and nights revolve around getting Jeffrey to his chemotherapy treatments, and Mr. Alper retreats into a shell, coming out only occasionally to weep over the mounting medical bills.
Steven becomes the forgotten son, who throws himself into drumming, even as he quits doing his homework and tries to keep his friends from finding out about Jeffrey's illness. A story that could have morphed into melodrama is saved by reality, rawness, and the wit Sonnenblick infuses into Steven's first-person voice.
The recriminations, cares, and nightmares that come with a cancer diagnosis are all here, underscored by vomiting, white blood cell counts, and chemotherapy ports. Yet, this is also about regrouping, solidarity, love, and hope. Most important for a middle-grade audience, Sonneblick shows that even in the midst of tragedy, life goes on, love can flower, and the one thing you can always change is yourself.
Now, you might wonder why anybody would want to read a book about a teenage boy who has a little brother with cancer. However, this book was #5 on the 2005 Teens' Top Ten list so obviously a lot of teenagers read and enjoyed it. I usually only read books that I think will be fun to read, so I was skeptical about this one but I wanted to give it a try.
Actually, I'm glad I did. Sonnenblick's writing is very interesting and easy to read. I felt for Steven, the main character and I found his experiences to be fascinating. I could empathize with him and all the things he was going through. I think it is quite authentic - Steven probably reacts like any teenager would in times of a family crisis.
Steven is just trying to get on with his life. He enjoys playing drums and he's worried about girls and school and all that stuff. At the same time, he has to struggle with the fact that his brother has cancer. He has to face his relationship with his parents and deal with his own selfish feelings.
This book was different and because of that I really enjoyed it. It made me laugh and cry. I highly recommend it to students who want to read something more serious then the usual YA fair. The writer wrote this for one of his students who was going through a similar situation. If you've ever gone through a family crisis like a sick sibling, you might find this book a comfort as well.
Bertie Shakespeare Smith is not an actress, yet she lives in a theater.
She’s not an orphan, but she has no parents.
She knows every part, but she has no lines of her own.
That is, until now.
Enter Stage Right
NATE. Dashing pirate. Will do anything to protect Bertie.
COBWEB, MOTH, MUSTARD SEED, and PEASEBLOSSOM. Four tiny and incredibly annoying fairies. BERTIE’S sidekicks.
ARIEL. Seductive air spirit and Bertie’s weakness. The symbol of impending doom.
BERTIE. Our heroine.
Welcome to the Théâtre Illuminata, where the actors of every play ever written can be found behind the curtain. They were born to play their parts, and are bound to the Théâtre by The Book—an ancient and magical tome of scripts. Bertie is not one of them, but they are her family—and she is about to lose them all and the only home she has ever known.
Lisa Mantchev has written a debut novel that is dramatic, romantic, and witty, with an irresistible and irreverent cast of characters who are sure to enchant the audience.
Great cover artwork? Check. Interesting premise? Check. Support of a major new writer of a similar book? Check. Mantchey's novel is set for take-off.Seriously. Even Suzanne Collins (Hunger Games) has been quoted as supporting it.
Thanks to Peta for sending us a brand new hardcover version of this book. It's obvious that she is getting really good at identifying great new books for young adult readers. The girls are going to love this. Well, as soon as I pass it on to them. LOL
In the sensational sequel to "Poison Study" and "Magic Study", Yelena's apprenticeship is over - now her real test has begun. When word that Yelena is a Soulfinder - able to capture and release souls - spreads like wildfire, people grow uneasy. Already Yelena's unusual abilities and past have set her apart. As the Council debates Yelena's fate, she receives a disturbing message: a plot is rising against her homeland, led by a murderous sorcerer she has defeated before. Honour sets Yelena on a path that will test the limits of her skills, and the hope of reuniting with her beloved spurs her onward. Her journey is fraught with allies, enemies, lovers and would-be assassins, each of questionable loyalty. Yelena will have but one chance to prove herself - and save the land she holds dear.
Sounds great, doesn't it? This will be a big hit with the students are into myth/science fiction like LOTR and the Narnia books. Thanks again to Peta for buying this book for us and sending it all the way from the UK. With so many incredible books, I'm not sure what to read first.
First of all, let me just say, check out the artwork on these novels! Wow! All three books have such beautiful covers that they suck you right in. As soon as I saw these three books I said, "I've got to read these!" Then I checked the blurbs and they make the books sound very interesting too. I can't wait to put these on display in SRR. Anybody interested? Waitlist in the comment section!
Thanks again to Peta for buying us this great set of books!!!
Amazon Description of Magic Study: Completing her apprenticeship could prove deadly...With an execution order on her head, Yelena has no choice but to escape to Sitia, the land of her birth. With only a year to master her magic - or face death - Yelena must begin her apprenticeship and travels to the Four Towers of the Magician's Keep.But nothing in Sitia is familiar. Not the family to whom she is a stranger. Not the unsettling new facets of her magic. Nor the brother who resents her return. As she struggles to understand where she belongs and how to control her rare powers, a rogue magician emerges - and Yelena catches his eye.Suddenly she is embroiled in battle of good against evil. And once again it will be her magical abilities that will either save her life...or be her downfall.
Amazon Description of Poison Study: Choose: A quick death...or a slow poison...About to be executed for murder, Yelena is offered an extraordinary reprieve. She'll eat the best meals, have rooms in the palace - and risk assassination by anyone trying to kill the Commander of Ixia. And so Yelena chooses to become a food taster. But the chief of security, leaving nothing to chance, deliberately feeds her Butterfly's Dust - and only by appearing for her daily antidote will she delay an agonising death from the poison. As Yelena tries to escape her new dilemma, disasters keep mounting. Rebels plot to seize Ixia and Yelena develops magical powers she can't control. Her life is threatened again and choices must be made. But this time the outcomes aren't so clear...
This could be the best book of the year and now it is here in Brunei!
Those of you who are following my blog know that StephenieMeyer, the writer of the Twilight Saga, wrote in her blog that she highly recommended that people read Suzanne Collins' book Hunger Games. I took her advice and loved the first book. Luckily for us, Scholastic offered it up earlier this year so a lot of girls were able to get copies. My copy has been floating around 5B for about three months now too!
I was just about to order my copy of the book as I knew it was supposed to come available in September. Imagine my shock when it arrived from bookdepository last week!!! I was shocked. How could that be?
You guessed it: Peta. Peta, our book angel, has been following the blog and knew we were anxiously awaiting the release of this book. She also is one of the few people on the planet, I think, who figured out that bookdepository changed their stock to "available" about ten days before Amazon was scheduled to start shipping. Anyway, the rest is history!
Thanks Peta! Your generosity is amazing!
I'll be reading this one in the next few days and then I'll post my review. For now, if anybody wants to waitlist for this book (and I know you do), please just add a comment to this post.
Book lovers are the best! I'm totally amazed at the generosity of people around the world who send us books and to those wonderful individuals who agree to send us their books in spite of the high costs of shipping. In many cases the cost of shipping is the same as the value of the book being sent! Incredible.
I'm getting so many books each week I can no longer salute each book with an entry here on the blog. Many thanks to our kind donors. Please feel free to continue sending notes and postcards along with your books! That is an extra special personal touch and will create even more interest in the books you send us. Besides, it's so fun to tell the girls where the books are coming from. They are like little visitors from countries all over the world!
My hat goes off to Peta again. Her generosity knows no bounds. Last week she sent us six brand new, never read, books. Unbelievable! In the coming week, assuming I have time, I will highlight some of them here on the blog as I believe they are wonderful selections and they deserve a bit of attention before being set loose on the SRR shelves.
As well, I'd like to just note a few of the incredible new books that have just arrived:
We have four new Nicholas Sparks hardcovers from Cosette in the USA: True Believer, A Bend in the Road, At First Sight, and The Wedding! These are beautiful books and will be well-loved by all the Sparks fans.
We also got a hardcover version of Cecelia Ahern'sIf You Could See Me Now from Chelsea in the USA. Ahern is one of the most popular authors for young women and the girls in my classes won't be able to keep their hands off this one!
Some of the special requests have come in: How to Deal by Sarah Dessen, She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb, My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult, and The Freedom Writer's Diary by the Freedom Writers.
We have also received a hardcover of Meg Cabot's Ready or Not from Caitlin in the USA as well as two copies of Sophie Kinsella's Remember Me? and one of the large paperback versions of Shopaholic and Sister!
There are so many other amazing books I've received as well. I just wish I had time to list them all! The Goosebumps collection is well on its way as is the collection of Madison Finn books and more Chicken Soup books.
I've invited 12 Year 9 students for an introduction to the Model United Nations Club tomorrow at 10:00 in the Senior Reading Room. Students were chosen by teachers in the English Department and they will have a chance to join the new ECA this year.big.jpg)
Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
