Зеленского попросили перестать вмешиваться в дела России
Депутат Государственной Думы от крымского региона Михаил Шеремет попросил президента Украины Владимира Зеленского перестать вмешиваться в дела России. Так депутат отреагировал на планы украинского лидера установить памятник в виде колокола в Симферополе. «Украина не имеет никакого отношения к Крыму», — заявил он.
Количество инфицированных коронавирусом в мире превысило четыре миллиона человек
Общее количество случаев заражения коронавирусом в мире составило 4 000 680 человек. Этот показатель вырос с двух до четырех миллионов в течение последних 26 дней. Смертность при этом была зафиксирована на уровне 6,92 процента, то есть умерли 276 765 носителей вируса.
Опубликованы архивные фото советских полководцев времен наступления на Берлин
В альбом вошли снимки военачальников Константина Вершинина, Михаила Малинина, Николая Антипенко, Амазаспа Бабаджаняна, Василия Чуйкова, маршалов Ивана Конева и Георгия Жукова, а также других полководцев. «Полководцы победы» — серия проектов, посвященных ключевым фигурам Великой Отечественной войны.
В Петербурге продлили режим самоизоляции и обязали жителей носить маски
Власти Санкт-Петербурга продлили ограничительные меры, введенные в связи с распространением коронавируса, и ввели масочный режим. Режим самоизоляции будет действовать до 31 мая. С 12 мая жители города будут обязаны носить средства индивидуальной защиты в общественных местах.
Олимпийская чемпионка рассказала об интригах и расследованиях в фигурном катании
Олимпийская чемпионка по художественной гимнастике Маргарита Мамун объяснила популярность фигурного катания в России. По словам Мамун, фигуристы постоянно меняют тренеров, в этом виде спорта также много «интриг и расследований». Кроме того, в фигурном катании постоянно меняются победители.
В Минздраве рассказали о последствиях несоблюдения масочного режима
Заместитель директора НМИЦ фтизиопульмонологии и инфекционных заболеваний Минздрава России профессор Владимир Чуланов рассказал о последствиях несоблюдения масочного режима. По его словам, маска снижает риск заражения инфекциями, которые передаются воздушно-капельным путем.
Соцсети Белого дома завалили комментариями после поста о победе США над нацизмом
Пользователи соцсетей со всего мира бурно отреагировали на заявление пресс-службы администрации американского президента о победе над нацизмом только США и Великобритании. В ответах люди разместили фотографии, документы и официальную статистику, подтверждающие ключевую роль СССР в тех событиях.
Умер заразившийся коронавирусом настоятель храма в Москве
Настоятель московского храма Покрова Пресвятой Богородицы Владимир Бушуев умер после заражения коронавирусом. Он был госпитализирован с двусторонней пневмонией в тяжелом состоянии. Известно, что у ряда прихожан ранее был подтвержден коронавирус. Протоиерей родился в 1952 году.
В Чечне выплатили по миллиону рублей ветеранам войны
Власти Чечни выплатили по одному миллиону рублей ветеранам Великой Отечественной войны. Всего выплаты в честь 75-летия Победы получили девять фронтовиков. В ведомстве уточнили, что средства выделил общественный фонд имени Ахмата-Хаджи Кадырова. Также семьям участников войны подарили 20 квартир.
Захарова возмутилась заявлением Белого дома о победе США над нацизмом
Официальный представитель МИД России Мария Захарова прокомментировала заявление Белого дома в Instagram о победе США и Великобритании над нацизмом. Дипломат возмутилась публикации, в которой «из числа победителей исключены все [страны], кроме двух». Она призвала не мириться с фальсификацией и переписыванием истории.
Описано будущее городов в эпоху постпандемии
Директор Института медиа, архитектуры и дизайна «Стрелка» Варвара Мельникова описала будущее городов в эпоху постпандемии. «Мне кажется, что город в эпоху постпандемии — это, в первую очередь, пешеходный город. Это город, который должен будет обеспечить возможность восстановиться после стресса», — считает она.
В Facebook объяснили удаление фотографии со Знаменем Победы над Рейхстагом
В Facebook объяснили удаление фотографии, на которой советский солдат водружает Знамя Победы над Рейхстагом. По словам представителя компании, это произошло из-за ошибки автоматизированного инструмента для выявления нарушений. Сейчас инструмент работает исправно.
Праздничный салют в небе над Москвой сняли на видео
В Москве прошел торжественный салют, посвященный 75-й годовщине победы в Великой Отечественной Войне. В небо над Лужниками выпустили десять тысяч снарядов. Из-за введенных в столице ограничительных мер для нераспространения коронавируса место запуска салюта заранее не сообщалось.
Головин стал претендентом на награду лучшему плеймейкеру чемпионата Франции
Полузащитник Монако и сборной России Александр Головин стал претендентом на звание лучшего плеймейкера французской лиги 1 по версии авторитетного издания L'Equipe. В соперниках у россиянина нападающий «ПСЖ» Килиан Мбаппе, хавбек «Монпелье» Флоран Молле и полузащитник «Марселя» Димитри Пайет.
В Москве уточнили правила ношения маски и перчаток
Начальник Главконтроля Москвы Евгений Данчиков объяснил, в каких случаях жители столицы обязаны носить маски и перчатки. По его словам, ношение маски и перчаток в общественных местах Москвы, кроме транспорта, объектов торговли и рабочих мест, имеет рекомендательный характер.
Российские полицейские приняли участие в акции «Свет Победы» на 9 Мая
Сотрудники МВД приехали в Парк Победы на Поклонной горе в Москве, чтобы почтить память ветеранов и тружеников тыла. Там они также возложили цветы к Вечному огню. Позже они приняли участие в акции «Свет Победы». Полицейские выстроили патрульные автомобили в виде цифры «75» и включили фары.
Аппарат ИВЛ стал причиной пожара в больнице для зараженных коронавирусом
Причиной пожара в Городской клинической больнице имени С. И. Спасокукоцкого в Москве стала неисправность в аппарате искусственной вентиляции легких (ИВЛ). «Очаг возгорания находился в аппарате ИВЛ, причиной тому стала неисправность. Устанавливается, какая именно», — сообщил источник в экстренных службах.
Определены сроки открытия школ и детских садов в России
Работа образовательных учреждений может быть возобновлена на втором и третьем этапе ослабления ограничений, введенных из-за распространения коронавируса. В частности, дошкольные структуры заработают на втором этапе, школы и университеты — на третьем. Окончательное решение будут принимать главы субъектов.
Собянин прокомментировал пожар в московской больнице
Мэр Москвы Сергей Собянин прокомментировал пожар в Городской клинической больнице имени С. И. Спасокукоцкого 9 мая. По его словам, возгорание было оперативно ликвидировано. Он также отметил, что всех пациентов эвакуировали из здания. Их распределят по другим столичным медучреждениям.
Установлена личность погибшего при пожаре в больнице с зараженными коронавирусом
Установлена личность погибшего при пожаре в Городской клинической больнице имени С. И. Спасокукоцкого в Москве. «Погиб один из пациентов, пока не установлено лечился он от COVID-19 или нет», — рассказали источники. Также уточняется, что скончавшийся пациент был в реанимационном отделении.
Появились подробности пожара в больнице для пациентов с коронавирусом в Москве
Появились подробности пожара в Городской клинической больнице имени С. И. Спасокукоцкого в Москве. Площадь пожара составила 20 квадратных метров. Возгорание произошло в одной из палат на первом этаже шестиэтажного лечебного корпуса, переоборудованного в отделение для зараженных коронавирусом.
Пожар в московской больнице для инфицированных коронавирусом попал на видео
Пожар в Городской клинической больнице имени С. И. Спасокукоцкого в Москве попал на видео. На кадрах заметно, что в тушении возгорания принимали участие свыше десяти спецтехники и несколько десятков специалистов МЧС. Сообщается, что пожар, в котором погиб один человек, на данный момент ликвидирован.
Ликвидирован пожар в московской больнице для пациентов с коронавирусом
Пожарные ликвидировали возгорание в лечебном здании Городской клинической больницы имени С. И. Спасокукоцкого, где лежат пациенты с коронавирусом. «Ликвидация открытого горения в одной из палат на первом этаже», — сообщили в городском управлении МЧС России.
Бывшего футболиста «Спартака» задержали за угрозы убить членов семьи
Бывший игрок московского «Спартака» хорват Огнен Вукоевич был задержан полицией Загреба. По информации источника, футболист пришел домой пьяным и угрожал убить жену, ее сестру и мать. Напуганные члены семьи вызвали полицейских, которые доставили Вукоевича в участок. Через несколько часов спортсмена отпустили.
Названы возможные причины пожара в больнице для пациентов с коронавирусом
Названы возможные причины пожара в московской больнице для зараженных коронавирусом пациентов (Городская клиническая больница имени С. И. Спасокукоцкого). В качестве одной из причин называется воспламенение личных вещей. По другой версии, в здании загорелся кислородный баллон в отделении реанимации.
Один человек погиб при пожаре в больнице для пациентов с коронавирусом в Москве
Один человек погиб во время пожара в Городской клинической больнице имени Спасокукоцкого в Москве для зараженных коронавирусом. В настоящее время возгорание ликвидировано. Пожару был присвоен повышенный ранг сложности. Пациентов и медперсонал эвакуировали. Возгорание произошло на первом этаже шестиэтажного здания
В Москве загорелась больница для пациентов с коронавирусом
На севере Москвы произошел пожар в Городской клинической больнице имени С. И. Спасокукоцкого, где лежат пациенты с коронавирусом. Возгорание произошло на первом этаже шестиэтажного здания Городской больницы №50 на улице Вучетича, дом 21. Согласно предварительным данным, один человек погиб, еще трое пострадали.
Ночные клубы назвали новым рассадником коронавируса
Власти Южной Кореи назвали ночные клубы новым рассадником коронавируса в стране и угрозой для появления второй волны инфекции уже в ближайшее время. Распоряжением мэра все ночные клубы Сеула временно закрыты. Южнокорейские политики уже провели аналогию с христианской сектой «Синчхонджи», ставшей очагом вируса в Тэгу.
Saying Goodbye to Guys Lit Wire
This is the final post for Guys Lit Wire.
Dear Martin by Nic Stone
Justyce is bright, articulate and for the most part just a regular high school kid trying to make it to graduation and then make his way to a prestigious college if all goes well. In the novel's intro we meet him trying to do right by his on again, off again girlfriend Melo who is about to make a bad decision. His actions are somehow misconstrued by a passing police officer and before he knows it Justyce ends up face down with a face full of asphalt. This is only the precursor to what is destined to be an eventful Senior year to say the least.
As it so happens Justyce's grades have allowed him to gain entry to one of Atlanta's most prestigious private schools where seemingly every teacher has at least three degrees. Most of the students are bright, many come from well to do families such as his best friend Manny whose parents are successful professionals. As you would expect, the campus is not very diverse and some of the students display white privilege (perhaps a bit too predictably by lamenting the fact that minorities have it "easy") Justyce's way of dealing with the many, many changes occurring in his life is to write letters to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He's studied the Civil Rights leader's speeches in class and is trying to reconcile the words and the values espoused therein with the realities of daily life. As if that isn't complicated enough, there is also the not so small matter of the evolving relationship with his debate partner SJ.
I've read The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas and All-American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely and this novel is just as gripping, timely and relevant. Stone does a great job balancing the heavy stuff with some touchy feely stuff so it isn't too hard to digest. Well worth a read.
How Buildings Learn
Anyone interested in architecture should read this book by Stewart Brand. Brand won a National Book Award for the Whole Earth Catalog, and is a co-founder of Global Business Network, a futurist research organization fostering "the art of the long view." How Buildings Learn features a lot of illustrations and insights about building and buildings. I especially enjoy the comparison of two structures on the campus of MIT:
The legendary Building 20 (1943) was an artifact of wartime haste. Designed in an afternoon by MIT grad Don Whiston, it was ready for occupancy by radar researchers six months later... In an undertaking similar in scope to the Manhattan Project that created the atomic bomb, the emergency development of radar employed the nation's best physicists in an intense collaboration that changed the nature of science. Unlike Los Alamos, the MIT radar project was not run by the military, and unlike Los Alamos, no secrets got out. The verdict of scientists afterward was, "The atom bomb only ended the war. Radar won it." ... Author Fred Hapgood wrote in 1993 of Building 20, "The edifice is so ugly that it is impossible not to admire it, if that makes sense; it has ten times the righteous nerdly swagger of any other building on campus... Although Building 20 was built with the intention to tear it down after... World War II, it has remained... providing a special function... Not assigned to any one school, department, or center, it seems to always have had space for the beginning project, the graduate student's experiment, the interdisciplinary research center.
In a later chapter, Brand describes famous architect I.M. Pei's third MIT building, known informally as the Media Lab and formally as the Wiesner Building:
It may have been my familiarity with MIT's homely, accommodating Building 20 just across the street that made the $45 million pretentiousness, ill-functionality, and non-adaptability of the Media Lab building so shocking to me... Nowhere in the whole building is there a place for casual meetings, except for a tiny, overused kitchen. Corridors are narrow and barren. Getting new cabling through the interior concrete walls - a necessity in such a laboratory - requires bringing in jackhammers. You can't even move office walls around, thanks to the overhead fluorescent lights being at a Pei-signature 45-degree angle to everything else.
The Media Lab building, I discovered, is not unusually bad. Its badness is the norm in new buildings overdesigned by architects...
Brand finishes How Buildings Learn with a list of good books, writing, "They are the texts I would reach for if I was going to work on a building..."
Black Light Express by Phillip Reeve
The Disappearances by Emily Bain Murphy
Highly recommended for those who like to see how things used to be done (before cell phones which would have made a lot of the clue-following in this book a lot easier!) and as a reminder that sometimes nothing beats hitting the library. (Cue relevant Doctor Who quote here!)
The Barefoot Sisters Southbound
I have enjoyed several books by people who have through-hiked the Appalachian Trail (A.T.). But Isis and jackrabbit (their trail names) set off barefoot from Mount Katahdin in Maine on their way to Springer Mountain in Georgia (They used boots after the snow started falling on them in Virginia.).
They take turns telling the story, and that sets this book apart from others I have read. I got to see things through both their eyes. So they reignited my hope to hike the A.T. Okay, not barefoot. And I'd probably start in Georgia and hike north, but still. There's a community of through hikers there every year. To be part of that community! A lot are unable to finish for one reason or another. But still...
A beat-up green Dodge ground to a halt on the gravel beside us, and the driver rolled down the window and shouted over to us, "thru-hikers?" We smiled and nodded. "Hop in!"
We loaded two packs into the trunk. Isis and Blade clambered into the backseat with the third. The powerful reek of week-old sweat filled up the hot interior of the car, but the driver seemed not to mind.
"I hiked northbound in '88," he said. As we sped down the two-lane road to Gorham, New Hampshire, we exchanged names and hiking stories. He stopped in the driveway of a large B&B at the edge of town. The gray building just ahead of us, an old hay barn, had an A.T. sign by the door, and a crowd of familiar people longed on the strip of lawn beside the driveway.
"Welcome to The Barn," the driver said. A look of nostalgia stole over his face, a bemused mixture of joy and regret that we would see on the faces of many ex-hikers when they talked about the Trail. "Make the most of your hike. It doesn't last forever."
We thanked him and the battered station wagon pulled out of the drive and was lost in the stream of traffic.
Inside the Barn, the accommodations were fairly basic: a common room downstairs with a TV and VCR, board games, magazines, and fuzzy plaid-upholstered armchairs that had seen better days...
At a bookstore just down the street from the hostel, we shelled out the money for a copy of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Hardcover. We had debated endlessly with ourselves and each other: is it worth the weight? In the end, the prospect of truly entertaining trail reading had won out...
Matt, Blue Skies, and Tenbrooks caught a shuttle out of town in the early afternoon. The rest of us, a motley crew of southbounders and a few northbounders, convened at Mr. Pizza at 6:30...
They proceeded to pig out - a frequent occurrence for thru-hikers when they hit town. Two of them each ate "The Stomper," a pizza that measured one hundred and ninety-two square inches! Long-distance hiking burns a lot of calories.
If you enjoy The Barefoot Sisters Southbound, you're in luck. Because Isis and jackrabbit (Lucy and Susan Letcher) "yoyoed," turning around and hiking back to Maine. And they wrote a book about that, too: The Barefoot Sisters Walking Home. I enjoyed that one too.
Kick by Mitch Johnson
Then one evening when Budi and his friends are in the street playing football, he accidentally kicks the ball into the home of The Dragon, the most dangerous man in Jakarta. The Dragon is angry, and tells Budi to do some dirty work for him. If he refuses, The Dragon will use his influence with the police department and make life even worse for him and his parents.
Caught in an impossible situation, Budi is forced figure out a plan if he's going to protect the ones he loves.
This is a great book, and an important one. I've already written a blog post on it discussing how attractive it is for reluctant and struggling readers which you can read here.
Time Loops
Have you ever formed a time loop while tying your shoes? Probably not. But have you ever read a book or watched a TV show or film where someone experienced a day over and over again? It's more than déjà vu -- it's actually happening on repeat, sometimes with different results, sometimes with the same results, and it seems as if it will never stop repeating - until, of course, the character finds a way to make it stop.Time loops are not to be confused with time travel, another of my favorite sci-fi plot devices. In time travel, one moves forward or backward in time, willingly or otherwise. Doctor Who has time travel. The Boys are Back in Town by Christopher Golden has time travel. Groundhog Day, however, has a time loop. This film is so well-known that he is often referenced by characters experiencing time loops; more than once, I've read or heard a character say, "This is like Groundhog Day," rather than, "Gee, I'm experiencing a time loop!"
Many movies and television shows have explored time loops. Consider, if you will, the episode "Shadow Play" on The Twilight Zone, the Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode "Life Serial," "Monday" on The X-Files, Supernatural's "Mystery Spot," or "And Those We've Left Behind" on Fringe. Some of these loops have been comedic, others dramatic, with the best ones (in my opinion) being those which deftly mix the two.
Another clarification: Plots such as those in the television series Tru Calling and Seven Days (the latter of which I sadly never saw when it aired) weren't considered to be true time loops: both shows had worked off of a second-chance premise, with Tru repeating a day in attempt to save someone's life, while Frank used the Chronosphere (also known as the Backstep Sphere) to go back in time seven days to "avert disasters."
I really enjoyed Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver, an intriguing and inventive novel in which the main character, Samantha (Sam), is killed in an accident only 80 pages into the book - then wakes up in bed, unharmed, only to find that it's not the next day - instead, it's the same day, the morning of her last day. She relives the day, bewildered and disbelieving. That evening, tragedy strikes again. The day repeats again, and again, a few times over. Sam does different things each time, spending one day being more cautious, another throwing caution to the wind, still another being more appreciative. It's an amazing book, and I highly recommend it. (And no, I haven't seen the movie yet.)
Like the novel The Time Traveler's Wife, Before I Fall has no overt sci-fi elements: there are no gadgets or gizmos or time machines that the characters use, accidentally or otherwise. Neither of those books have wizened characters who assist the protagonists with magic or explain the rules of the game to them. Instead, Henry and Sam have to figure things out (or make things up) as they go along. However, while Henry has Clare to confide in, Sam tells no one; while Henry travels through time involuntarily, Sam keeps repeating the same day involuntarily.
The NeverEnding Story by Michael Ende, the fantasy novel that has owned a piece of my heart since childhood, also employs a time loop. It is not the main plot, but rather just one of the many pieces of this elaborate and imaginative story. I don't want to give anything away; I'd rather encourage you to pick up the novel and discover things yourself. Whether or not you've seen The NeverEnding Story movie (which I think is wonderful) or the subsequent sequels or other film/TV attempts based on the book (which didn't compare), I implore you to read the original book.
Now, if you want to get technical, I haven't read the original, Die unendliche Geschichte, because it's in German, which I don't know. Instead, I've read the English translation by Ralph Manheim.
But I digress. Time loops are delicate things which not always treated so delicately, nor do they always have to deal with delicate matters. Time loops are not always handled or broken in the same way. Sam's story in Before I Fall is nothing like Phil's in Groundhog Day, and when they finally break their loops, they do so in completely different ways. The parameters and circumstances established by Danny Rubin in Groundhog Day do not apply to Sam. Likewise, though concepts such as chaos theory, the butterfly effect, and fate are discussed to different degrees in many time loop stories, they are never exactly the same - unless, of course, you personally choose to read that book or watch that episode or movie over and over and over again - which, in some cases, I wouldn't blame you for doing! When they're really inventive and strong, time loop stories can be fascinating. Some of these stories benefit from a second reading or viewing, because you notice things you may not have noticed the first time through.
Having a lackluster weekend? Go read or watch someone dealing with a time loop. Afterwards, you'll probably be happy that you are moving in a forward direction . . . or are you?
My Side of the Mountain
This has never happened to me before: I enjoyed the sequel more than the original! Be assured, though, My Side of the Mountain
"Every day I worked to train Frightful. It was a long process, I would put her on her stump with a long leash and step back a few feet with some meat in my hand. Then I would whistle. The whistle was supposed eventually to mean food to her. So I would whistle, show her the meat, and after many false flaps she would finally fly to my hand. I would pet her and feed her. She could fly fairly well, so now I made sure that she never ate unless he flew to my fist.
"One day at breakfast I whistled for Frightful. I had no food, she wasn't even hungry, but she came to me anyway. I was thrilled. She had learned a whistle meant 'come.'
"I looked into her steely eyes that morning and thought I saw a gentle recognition. She puffed up her feathers as she sat on my hand. I call this a 'feather word.' It means she is content."
I also enjoyed this, from near the end of the book: "I returned to my patch on the mountain, talking to myself all the way. I talk to myself a lot, but everyone does. The human being, even in the midst of people, spends nine-tenths of his time alone with the private voices of his own head. Living alone on a mountain is not much different, except that your speaking voice gets rusty, I talked inside my head all the way home, thinking up schemes, holding conversations with Bando and Dad and Matt Spell...
"I cooked supper, and then sat down by my little fire and called a forum. It is very sociable inside my head, and I have perfected the art of getting a lot of people arguing together in silence or in a forum, as I prefer to call it. I can get four people all talking at once, and a fifth can be present, but generally I can't get him to talk. Usually these forums discuss such things as a storm and whether or not it is coming, how to make a spring suit, and how to enlarge my house without destroying the life in the tree. Tonight, however, they discussed what to do about Matt Spell. Dad kept telling me to go right down to the city and make sure he published nothing, not even a made-up story. Bando said, no, it's all right, he still doesn't know where you live, and then Matt walked into the conversation and said that he wanted to spend his spring vacation with me, and that he promised not to do anything untoward. Matt kept using 'untoward' - I don't know where he got that expression, but he liked it and kept using it - that's how I knew Matt was speaking; everything was 'untoward.'"
What I liked there was that it seemed that author Jean Craighead George described how her stories got generated. Characters in her head interacted, and she transcribed what took place onto paper. I could be wrong, but maybe.
The sequel that I liked even more is called On the Far Side of the Mountain. There's a third book, Frightful's Mountain, but I have not read it yet. It's here at my desk, so it won't be long.
The Inexplicable Logic of My Life by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
Lyrical, visceral, and wise, The Inexplicable Logic of My Life by Benjamin Alire Sáenz haunts the melancholy middle between heartbreak and hope.
In Sal’s case, he scrapes together every illuminating spark: the tenacity of Fito, the loyalty of Sam, the grace of his father, the serenity of his grandmother. And through the spark of The Inexplicable Logic of My Life and Sáenz’s luminous prose, we learn anew how family is forged by more than blood—and though who we are is our life’s work, identity is never a solitary act.
Disappeared by Francisco X. Stork
Sara is a journalist who wholeheartedly throws herself into her work as a journalist for a newspaper in Juarez. Mexico however is a country where journalists sometimes do their work under threats to themselves and their families and going to the police is not always a good idea. Sara soon finds that if she wants to pursue this particular story she could be putting the lives of herself, her younger brother Emiiano and their mother in danger.
Emiliano is a soccer star at his high school and in addition to this he is also a member of a school group called Jiparis who do hikes through the desert in order to build character in the young men, some of whom were involved in unsavory activities before joining the group.
One part of the Jipari pledge goes , "I will be honest with myself and others". This is easier said than done especially in a city like Juarez. One of the characters tells Emiliano, "everything is a spiderweb" and the speed with which he is enveloped in said web is astounding. Emiliano tells himself that he wants to help his family and friends out but are those his real reasons? Like any teen he wants to be seen as cool and there is also the small matter of a girl he wants to impress.
The first part of the book is told from each character's viewpoint and the author weaves the tale together in a very credible way showing how circumstances
Make no mistake, Disappeared is not a peaches and cream, hunky dory teen novel. It is a gritty and very realistic novel with a ripped from the headlines quality to it. The city of Juarez and the violence there doesn't dominate the headlines as it did a few years ago, but Stork's novel is a timely reminder that evil still exists and that it takes many people working in tandem to defeat it.
On behalf of Ballou Library in Washington DC, THANK YOU!!!!!!!!
The final total of books gifted to Ballou Library via the October Book Fair & Cyber Monday holiday shopping (which continued all week), comes in just over 200 titles! Thank you so much for buying books and helping to spread the word for this DC high school!
The wish list remains open year-round and there are a ton of great books on it, all of them chosen and approved by Ballou students. These are books the teens want and we so enjoy doing everything we can to get these books to them.
In the coming days I will be moving things around a bit on the list, getting series books together so they are easier to find. (I really really REALLY wish that amazon had "search by title" and "search by author" functions. So frustrating!) And we will, of course, be continuing to assist Ballou to fill its shelves next year and hope that you will return to the list and also help us spread the word about the amazing work done by librarian Melissa Jackson.
Have a lovely holiday folks, and thanks again for all you do to support this high school library.
CYBER MONDAY IS HERE!!!!!!!!
Cyber Monday means Round #2 for the Ballou Book Fair!
In two weeks last month you purchased over 135 books off the wish list for Ballou as part of our annual book fair. They included everything from novels to biographies to history to a couple of MCAT study guides that were particularly appreciated by this student:
Thank you anonymous for your kind gift to us, we truly appreciate you ????????????????❤️@chasingray @guyslitwire pic.twitter.com/0auZ39B6xS— Melissa Jackson (@BallouLibrary) November 1, 2017
With millions of people getting ready to shop this weekend, we are hoping to take advantage of your generosity one last time in 2017 and send even more books to Ballou. As you may know, students at the school suffer far too much from poverty and all its accompanying factors. They struggle to stay in school, to stay engaged in their studies and to persevere in the face of the area's violence. They deserve every chance that we can give them and their librarian, Melissa Jackson, is an absolute powerhouse when it comes to going the extra mile for her students. We want to make it easier for her to do her job and the best way we can do that is to buy the books that those students want and need, (and in some cases positively pine for), to fill her library's shelves.
There are several hundred books on the list at Amazon and for those folks who shopped last month, you will see that several titles have been added in the past few days. They are courtesy the most recent email from Ballou — books the students are excited about and asked if we would add. (And of course we did!) We also moved several books that are on sale to the top of the list as they are excellent bargains right now. We hope that you will take advantage of the low prices and buy one or more of these titles.
If you can't shop off the list, please help spread the word on social media. Here is the direct link: http://tinyurl.com/BookFairBallouHS. Also follow me (@chasingray) and Melissa Jackson (@Balloulibrary) on twitter for updates.
Collected Brevity: Anthologies and Short Story Collections
Looking for books for younger readers and/or more classic fare? As a kid, there were collections of myths and scary stories that I read multiple times. Check out my booklist packed with short story collections and quick reads for elementary through high school readers. Have fun adding titles to your to-read pile, and feel free to leave your short story recommendations in the comments below!
The Extinction Trials by S.M. Wilson
In her world, a few dinosaurs still exist. Stormchaser has befriended a plesiosaur she's named Milo. This is a secret she must guard closely because dinosaurs are universally hated.
When the Trials are announced, Stormchaser enters on a whim; she doesn't have a family, doesn't have anyone dying from the plague like the others.
She's joined on the Trials by Lincoln and Leif, two boys with a lot on the line. As the competition heats up, they must learn to trust each other if they're going to avoid being eaten alive. But as Stormchaser soon learns, you can't really trust anyone in the Extinction Trials and what she finds hiding under the surface of Piloria will change her life forever.
The Extinction Trials is a super fast action adventure that anyone looking for a strong female hero will love. It's got elements of The Hunger Games without a doubt, and that's a good thing because it means it will make my job as a School Librarian all the easier when I promote this book in the coming weeks. And promote it I shall, because it's got some great scenes, fully realised characters and a ton of action. Highly recommended, can't wait for the sequel!
Nyxia by Scott Reintgen
Emmett is a humble teen from Detroit. His family has been downtrodden for generations, working menial jobs after menial jobs and he isn't showing much to prove that he can break the cycle that has plagued his family.
One day however, he gets a chance to go to a strange planet to work with an alien people called Adamites. However, there's a catch- he is going to have to compete for his spot against teens from around the world each as hungry as he is to make the cut. Babel, the company who is sponsoring the trip promises a big payout if they can succeed.
Thus begins a gauntlet of events in groups and alone that sees the teens become hardened and their skills improve. The group has many distinct personalities some of which don't mesh and the inevitable conflicts arise.
The tasks the kids are asked to do test their limits in many ways but perhaps the most difficult is manipulating the alien substance, nyxia. For some reason the substance also reminded me of the alien symbiote that Spiderman encountered in his whole Venom story arc because soon the line between manipulator and that which is being manipulated becomes blurred.
Babel is a mysterious company and the folks in charge seem to have a ton of secrets themselves. There definitely seems to be some larger plan in place-the reason the kids have been recruited is because the Adamites like children. I can't wait to see what else is in store for Emmett on Eden. Some read alikes to this book are the Maze Runner series and Philip Reeve's Railhead.
Dreamland Burning by Jennifer Latham
Onion John
Well, I was reminded of the song, "Catfish John," when I read Joseph Krumgold's Newbery Medal-winning Onion John:
Mama said: 'Don't go near that river
'Don't be hanging around old Catfish John'
Come the morning, I'd always be there
Walking in his footsteps in the sweet Delta dawn.
Catfish John was a river hobo who lived and died by the river bed
"Onion John" is what the locals call the strange, sort of derelict man who hardly talks. "The way John spoke was his own secret. Most of the words he used were full of x's and z's and noises like ptchky and grvtch. It was a high speed language full of jokes, from the way he carried on. Every so often, talking away, he'd get too much for himself and bust out. There was no way of telling whether the jokes were that good or not. The only part of his conversation I ever understood was the end of it. He said, "Well, good day," each word separate and clear and then you knew he was finished with whatever he was telling you."
The story is narrated by Andy, a young teen. His folks don't forbid him to befriend Onion John, but they think Andy should focus on his studies, go to M.I.T., become an engineer, and/or be an astronaut.
I don't want to give away the plot, but will say this: The author won the Newbery Medal twice, which doesn't happen a lot. This one was good enough that I look forward to reading more Joseph Krumgold stories.
Turtles All the Way Down by John Green
This book. This book is grounded inside its main character's mind and body in an almost visceral way, and if you've ever had a "crazy" friend--and who hasn't, but I mean one who is actually diagnosed with anxiety disorder and/or OCD--even though this book is entertaining and wonderful and all the things good fiction should be, it will help you to "get" them in a way they might not have been able to articulate to you.
Aza is the star of the show. Or maybe she's not. She's so stuck inside her head, where twisty thoughts and logic have her spinning about the bacteria in her body and how it might just take over and kill her, that maybe she's the victim. Worse, maybe she is the bad guy. And the victim. And the star.
Life is complicated.
Aza is lucky in that she has a best friend, Daisy. Daisy, who talks all. the. time. but who sticks by Aza even though Aza isn't easy to stick by. So when Daisy suggests that she and Aza make like Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden to solve the mystery of the missing billionaire, Aza goes along with it.
Things happen. So many things. And I don't want to talk about any of them, really, because it would spoil this book, which unspools almost magically. It starts from a very clenched place and almost literally unwinds to a a better stasis.
Read it. Read it to find out what role Aza plays in her own life. To see if she can find her way out of her own head, at least a little. And to find out what the title means: "turtles all the way down."
So yeah - consider this review the equivalent of me standing next to you, shoving this book into your hands, making almost uncomfortable levels of eye contact while imploring you to read it.
But really. Read it.
Backbiters by Debra Leea Glasheen
Guiluli is a Red Mighty, a mutation of humans born from the Corporate World War. After 54 years of existence, Pre-ev (non mutated) humans still don't much like the Red Mighties and as a result, the Red Mighties have created their own Nationland.
Despite all of the world's natural resources being either consumed or poisoned by the war, the Nationland has cleaned up its land, so they have pure water and soil free of contaminants in which to grow food. Yet another reason for those off the Nationland to dislike the Red Mighties.
I like the idea of the evolved/mutated species emerging from a human race destroyed by its own vices and desires. It seems that hominids may be ripe for another evolutionary step, after all we have been homo sapiens for a while now. Maybe this is the next step.
This is an interesting twist on a typical dystopian novel in that I feel there is way more hope of a future that isn't just trying to exist day to day but actually thrive as a civilization. The possibility of cleaning up what we have destroyed. Backbiters is a great read for those that enjoyed the Hunger Games, Divergent, Not a Drop to Drink.
