Summer Book Reads So Far:

NONFICTION:

I'm off to a big start on summer book reads. I just finished a magazine review of a work book that I loved Librarians as Learning Specialists: Meeting the Learning Imperative for the 21st Century by Allison Zmuda and Violet H. Harada. If you are a school librarian, you must get this book! I liked it so much that I bought five more copies to give to my school directors and the other librarians.

The Cheating Culture: Why More Americans Are Doing Wrong to Get Ahead by David Callahan. I'm still waiting to hear all about academics. So far we have been through the history of cheating in America, sports, banking, industry, blah blah blah...blah. Honestly! I don't think I will be able to get through the tedium of all the bad people out there and how we set up systems to encourage bad behavior and then are surprized when people are weak and want to keep their jobs and so they do bad things. Can you say housing market collapse? Really. We have a very bad, perverse culture that values money and status above principles. End of story.

FICTION:

The Android's Dream by John Scalzi. Oooooooh baby! I loved his other book, Old Man's War, and was hoping that this would not disappoint. Yes! A great summer read. SOOOOOO FUNNY! That first chapter is worth the price of the whole book. The plot is zany and believable. The aliens are weird and fully drawn out. The characters have depth and humor and lovely shades of grey that make it more interesting to see what they will do in the end. The plot twists are unexpected and thoroughly enjoyable. The action is well written. It's a joy to read and I highly recommend it.

Silent in the Grave by Deanna Raybourn. I listened to this one from audible.com and it was fabulous. The reader got the voices just right and really added a depth to the story. I thought at first I would be getting one of your standard Victorian romances with a little mystery thrown in, but this was a full bore, hardcore mystery with just a dash of romance. It opens with the death of Julia's husband, who is sickly to start with. However, a mysterious man comes to see her following his death and he thinks her husband may have been murdered. From that moment on we see a shy and retiring woman develop a backbone and learn to be herself and learn what she wants out of life. It is very well written and has many surprising twists and turns. I even stayed up until 2 am to get it finished. Always the mark of a must read! And there is a sequel....I love it!