The Mystery at Lilac Inn by Carolyn Keene

December 24, 2008 by Christina

Fiction — print. Grosset & Dunlap, 1998. Originally published 1930. 180 pgs. Gift. Nancy and Helen Corning are stay at historic Lilac Inn, which are owned by their mutual friend, Emily Crandall, in preparation of Emily’s wedding. But strange happenings and hauntings occur, which threaten to spoil the wedding, not to mention the lives of Emily and her fiance, Dick. In addition, Nancy discovers she has a wicked double, who is stealing items at River Heights stores by using Nancy’s […]

Categories: 2008 Reads, Crime, Fiction, Juvenile, North America, United States • Tags: Carolyn Keene

The Bungalow Mystery by Carolyn Keene

December 23, 2008 by Christina

Nancy and her friend, Helen Corning, are on vacation at a resort, and when they take a boat out on the water, a storm capsizes their boat. Nancy and Helen’s calls for help, bring a sixteen-year-old girl, Laura Pen, to their rescue. Helen and Nancy are concerned for Laura, who has lost her mother and is planning to meet up with her new guardians. When Nancy is called home, to care for her housekeeper, Hannah, who has a broken leg, […]

Categories: 2008 Reads, Crime, Fiction, Juvenile, North America, United States • Tags: Carolyn Keene

“Murder in the Cathedral” by T.S. Eliot

December 23, 2008 by Christina

Three Priests discuss the major issue of the play: the differences between temporal (i.e., worldly) and spiritual power The Third Pnest claims that, “King rules or barons rule” and that politicians “have but one law, to seize the power and keep it.” The First Priest hopes that the Chorus has not become too jaded and hopes that they will realize that they have a “friend” in “their Father in God.” (Clearly, the populace and their religious leaders are living in […]

Categories: 2008 Reads, AP Literature, Awards and Prizes, Classics, Europe, Fiction, Nobel Prize, Religion, United Kingdom • Tags: T.S. Eliot

Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert

December 22, 2008 by Christina

Fiction — print. Translated from the French by Francis Steegmuller. Vintage, 1991. Originally published 1856. 411 pgs. Library copy. For daring to peer into the heart of an adulteress and enumerate its contents with profound dispassion, the author of Madame Bovary was tried for “offenses against morality and religion”. Because the back cover left little to be desired, basically, Madame Bovary focuses on a doctor’s wife, Emma Bovary, who has adulterous affairs and lives beyond her means in order to […]

Categories: 101 Great Books, 2008 Reads, AP Literature, Classics, Europe, Fiction, French, Translated • Tags: Gustave Flaubert

“Hamlet” by William Shakespeare

December 17, 2008 by Christina

Fiction — print. Simon Schuster, 2003. Originally published 1603. 342 pgs. Received from PaperBackSwap. Hamlet, the young Prince of Denmark, is visited by the ghost of his father, who tells him that he had been murdered and that the culprit is his own brother, Claudius. The new King Claudius usurped the crown after taking Queen Gertrude, Hamlet’s mother, as his wife. Hamlet’s indecision and delay into how to enact revenge may be regarded as ploys by which he hopes to […]

Categories: 101 Great Books, 2008 Reads, AP Literature, Classics, Europe, Fiction, Scandinavia, Textbook • Tags: William Shakespeare

Obasan by Joy Kogawa

December 16, 2008 by Christina

Kogawa’s novel is narrated by Naomi, a sheltered and pampered child who is five years old when her life is drastically changed by the events at Pearl Harbor and the Second World War. As a Japanese Canadian, Naomi is separated from her parents, persecuted and eventually placed in an internment camp – common practice in Canada during WWII. “If all this sounds like a bird’s-eye view to you, Nesan, it’s the reportage of a caged bird. I can’t really see […]

Categories: 2008 Reads, AP Literature, Canada, Fiction, North America, Textbook • Tags: Joy Kogawa

The Birth House by Ami McKay

December 15, 2008 by Christina

McKay’s novel is the story of Dora Rare, the first daughter to be born in five generations of Rares. As a child in an isolated village in Nova Scotia, she is drawn to Miss Babineau, an outspoken Acadian midwife with a gift for healing and a kitchen filled with herbs and folk remedies. During the turbulent first years of World War I, Dora becomes the midwife’s apprentice. Together, they help the women of Scots Bay through infertility, difficult labours, breech […]

Categories: 2008 Reads, Canada, Fiction, North America • Tags: Ami McKay

Sunday Salon: Current Reads

December 14, 2008 by Christina

So, I’m twittering. Actually, I’ve been twittering for a while, but I wanted a way to say what I’m currently reading, what book I’ve just bought/received/checked-out, and other bookish things without always having to upload a photograph to Photobucket before I can place it in my sidebar. So, I started twittering just for this book, and so far I’m pretty happy with it. My tweets are pulled into the sidebar, right under the calender. Right now, I have four books […]

Categories: 2008 Reads, Sunday Salon

The College Hook by Pam Proctor

December 13, 2008 by Christina

Subtitled “Packaging Yourself to Win the College Admissions Game”, Proctor’s book is very informative, and I’d recommend students — and parents — read it before students start high school. The book emphasize how to separate yourself from others, an idea that’s ultimately difficult to do when faced with the question of “how are you a good fit for _____________?” But, I’m hesitant to suggest that every college student read The College Hook because without my own internship, the book would […]

Categories: 2008 Reads, Education, Nonfiction • Tags: Pam Proctor

Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer

December 12, 2008 by Christina

As Seattle is ravaged by a string of mysterious killings and a malicious vampire continues her quest for revenge, Bella once again finds herself surrounded by danger. In the midst of it all, she is forced to choose between her love for Edward and her friendship with Jacob – knowing that her decision has the potential to ignite the ageless struggle between vampire and werewolf. With her graduation quickly approaching, Bell has one more decision to make: life or death. […]

Categories: 2008 Reads, Chunkster, Fantasy, Fiction, North America, United States, Young Adult • Tags: Stephenie Meyer

Deadly Little Secret by Laurie Faria Stolarz

December 7, 2008 by Christina

Until three months ago, everything about sixteen-year-old Camelia’s life had been fairly ordinary: decent grades; an okay relationship with her parents; and a pretty cool part-time job at an art studio downtown. But when Ben, the mysterious new guy, starts junior year at her high school, Camelia’s life becomes far from ordinary. Rumored to be somehow responsible for his ex-girlfriend’s accidental death, Ben is immediately ostracized by everyone on campus. Except for Camelia. She’s reluctant to believe he’s trouble, even […]

Categories: 2008 Reads, Fiction, North America, United States, Young Adult • Tags: Laurie Faria Stolarz

Marie Antoinette by Bernardine Kielty

December 7, 2008 by Christina

Kielty’s book is older than my parents. No, really. It was my aunt’s book and, in fact, it has both her name and the address of her childhood home in Minnesota written on the front page. I read this biography a lot as a child, but reading it now I can see that it holds back a lot of information. The tone of the biography annoyed me, but as I child I thought it was the most fascinating thing the […]

Categories: 2008 Reads, Europe, Nonfiction • Tags: Bernardine Kielty