A Washington Thriller

Wes Holloway, a presidential aide shot in an assassination attempt eight years ago, has never truly recovered. His face has healed but his spirit has not. His scars are a daily reminder of those moments of horror and he feels guilty that Boyle, a man he invited along for the presidential appearance, was killed that day. Wes still works for the former President and is with him in Malaysia when he sees a familiar face. It is Boyle...a man supposedly dead for 8 years. Wes has stumbled onto a plot hundreds of years in the making and one that threatens to destroy the country. The Book of Fate by Brad Meltzer

Shark Girl

In one moment, your whole life can change...

On a beautiful June morning, Jane Arrowood is attacked by a shark in shallow water. She loses most of her right arm. She actually loses much more than an arm...Jane is an artist who can no longer draw and a pretty girl who is stared at like a freak. Told in poetry form (like Sonya Sones), Jane struggles to regain her health and find her way in a much-changed world. Shark Girl by Kelly Bingham

Which Would You Choose: Safety or Freedom?

In the future, our country is now called United Safer States of America. When you play "sports," you are encased in padding from head to toe and padded mats replace cinder track. Sportsmanship is key; calling an opponent a bad name could get you sent to prison. That's exactly where Bo ends up when he insults someone on the track team. Will he survive life in a penal colony in the wilderness of Canada, making frozen pizzas for the MacDonalds Corporation 18 hours a day? In the end, he will have to choose. Will it be freedom or safety? Rash by Pete Hautman is in the Fiction section.

Get ready for Lost (coming in January)

One of the aspects of "Lost" which makes it very intriguing to watch is the number of references to books both popular and obscure. Check the booklist below to see some of them. btw this is only a partial list...check Wikipedia for a more complete one. Anyone interested in having an X block Lost discussion???

The Odyssey (Homer)
Alice in Wonderland /Through the Looking Glass (Carroll)
Wizard of Oz (Baum)
Tale of Two Cities (Dickens)
Stranger in a Strange Land (Heinlein)
Mysterious Island (Verne)
Carrie (King)
Watership Down (Adams)
Brothers Karamazov (Dostoevsky)
Lord of the Flies (Golding)
Turn of the Screw (James)
Catch 22 (Heller)

The End of the World Part 4

In the savage days after a war nearly destroys North America, Gordon Krantz is just trying to survive. He has no hope...nobody does. Roving gangs terrorize the survivors. and Gordon takes to the road, not knowing where he's going. He comes across a car with a dead mail carrier inside. Gordon takes the dead man's jacket because Gordon is cold and the dead don't mind the cold. When he reaches the next group of survivors, they think he is the postman and that things are getting better. They give him letters to deliver to their missing loved ones. And without meaning to do this, the Postman becomes a symbol of hope and, eventually, a legend. The Postman by David Brin And disregard the dreadful Kevin Costner film!! The book has the real goods....

End of the World Part 3

Deadly chemicals from a government research lab leak into the air and travel by winds across America. Only a handful of survivors are left. Some are called by Mother Abigail to be the army of goodness. Others are recruited by the "traveling man" to finish the job the government started: destroy the world. Can a failed musician, an elderly professor and a simple country boy defeat the forces of the dark side? This battle is The Stand by Stephen King.

End of the World Part 2

We take so many things for granted. Washing and drying our clothes, calling friends and family around the world on our cell phones, looking something up on the internet, having enough to eat and drink, being warm in the winter and cool in the summer and even going to school seem like things that can't ever go away. In Jericho, a series of bombs cripple the nation and force the characters to work hard for simple survival. In Life as We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer, an equally disastrous incident leaves 16 year old Miranda and her family struggling just to stay alive. Written in diary form, Miranda tells of her transition from normal teen to skeletal survivor over a period of a year. Here's a question to make you think about the issues in this book: If you had to survive with no help from anyone (no stores, utility companies, gas stations!) for one year, what would you buy to help you survive? Don't forget the batteries!!