Analog November 2010

Book: Analog magazine November 2010 issue
Author: Multiple authors

Why I picked this up: I have been subscribing to Analog for at least 30 years

Why I continued to read: My favorite stories were Phantom Sense by Lovett & Niemann-Ross, a story about the relationship between a tool and its user followed by the science fact article by the same authors about the near reality of the tools used in the story. Outbound by Torgersen showing both the stupidity and resilience of the human spirit.

Why I recommend this magazine: Science fiction, short stories, need I say any more ???!!!

The Windup Girl

Book: The Windup Girl
Author: Paolo Bacigalupi


Why I picked up this book: I love science fiction. This particular story is about a post apocalyptic world where a biological disaster has struck. World travel is limited at best, technology run by the calories (sweat of the people) limited. The food supply is compromised and owned by corporations who genetically modify the supply to keep ahead of ever mutating plagues. Calories are currency.

Why I kept reading the book: I loved the setting of a future Thailand. The characters were compelling, Emiko, one of the New People - genetically modified, decanted not born, Hock Seng, the Chinese refugee, Anerson, the AgriGen official...

Why I recommend this book: I couldn't put this book down. The story which seems so desperate dark and hopeless end on a note of hopefulness in the human spirit. A not e of caution. There is a pivotal moment in the book that is a very disturbing scene of sexual assault that would not be recommended for all readers.

Say You're One of Them

Book: Say You're One of Them
Author: Umem Akpan

Why I picked up this book: I like reading short stories. I love how compact and intense the experience is. I picked up this particular collection of short stories beacause they were about the resilience of children in times of adversity. I aslo picked up this book because it was a book of experiences of children in Africa.

Why I kept reading this book: These are searing, desperate stories filled with anguish, depravity, beauty and ultimately hope. The characters and the social situations hey find themselves in are haunting. It is hard to imagine the unimaginable situations that children are put in and their indomitable will to survive.

Why I would recommend this book: These stories give voice to the children in sub Sahara Africa, but they speak to the heart of us all. They are real, stark, disturbing and beautiful.

Mindful Teaching and Teaching Mindfulness

Mindful Teaching and Teaching Mindfulness: A Guide for Anyone Who Teaches Anything

by Deborah Schoerberlein

with Suki Sheth, Ph.D.

Wisdom Publication: 2009

1. Why I picked up this book.

I came across this book while searching on amazon and immediately put it on my "wish list." I have an interest in yoga, meditating, and mindfulness. Many counselors and therapists are using mindfulness techniques with their clients so I wanted to check it out and this book appeared very easy to read.

2. Why I finished this book.

I picked up and put this book down several times. While it is easy to read, it is full of techniques and suggestions to use not only with yourself but also with your students. I wanted to really understand each chapter before moving on to the next one, so I practiced the techniques and sometimes reread parts of a chapter before moving on.

3. Who I would give this book to and why.

ANYONE WHO IS A TEACHER! This book is fabulous. I really like how it is broken down. The activities can be implemented by everyone. There is no need to have prior knowledge of mindfulness. I have used the techniques for myself and have even suggested some of them to my family and friends. I have not used them with students yet (except some of the breathing). I think this would be an excellent choice for a faculty book group, if not an all faculty read. If you are uncertain, turn to the appendix and read through the summaries of all the topics.

If anyone is interested, you may borrow my copy.

Plain Truth by Jodi Piccault

Why I picked up the book: I love reading books by Jodi Piccault. I chose this particular one because it was set in Lancaster county and revolved around an Amish woman

Why I finished the book: First, there is the wonderful way that Piccault makes her characters come to life. You have to finish to "see" the end of their emotional story. I also find stories set in a different culture particularly interesting.

Who I would reccommend this book to: anyone who likes stories about the emotional lives of the characters, and anyone who likes to read about other cultures.

Shakespeare Makes the Playoffs

Shakespeare Makes the Playoffs 

by Ron Koertge

Publisher: Candlewick Press, 2010 

Genre/Format: Poetry 

This is a Woodlynde Library book

1. Why I picked up this book.
This book came in with a shipment of other poetry books from one of my subscription services. Baseball, Shakespeare, and poetry in one book all targeted at Middle School, I was intrigued.

2. Why I finished this book.
I finished this book because I couldn't put it down, the authenticity of the voice, and of the "author's experiences kept this fresh and me moving the whole way through. The variety of the poems and how they were introduced and explained were also engaging.

3. Who I would give this book to, and why.
I would give this book to any middle school student or older who likes poetry, anyone how thinks that reading and/or learning about poetry is boring, and lastly to baseball lovers! I also think that this book would be a great take off book for teaching a unit on either journaling, or writing poetry.

Reviewer: Gretchen Schroeder Date: May 2, 2010

Incarceron

 Incarceron  

by Catherine Fisher  

 

Publisher: Dial Books 2010 

Genre/Format: Science Fiction

This is a Woodlynde Library book

1. Why I picked up this book.
This book came into the Library with one of my regular orders, and the initial review I had read were positive

2. Why I finished this book.
Fascinating premise, if not untried before, perfect society by removing and isolating the bad element, but...with a twist! In this story both sides of the split society are in effect imprisoned. The "good" society has imposed on itself "The Protocols" an enforced stripping away of technology and return to the lifestyle of an earlier (approximately Elizabethan)age. The criminal element supposedly separated out to live in Incarceron, a computer run utopia, where justice is pure and society can reform itself.

Expectedly things don't go as expected. But the struggle of the two protagonist, a strong an inquisitive girl from outside, and a boy from inside Incarceron, who is convinced he doesn't belong there. Their struggles reveal the flaws in all aspects of the idea, and their experiences, we can only hope will free them and their mutual societies.

3. Who I would give this book to, and why.
I would give this book to anyone who loves science fiction with historical/social twists. History and anthropology buffs who want to see our past attempts to "cleanse society" reflected with a twist; and anyone with a love for stories that have action and adventure and thoughtful premises.
Reviewer: Gretchen Schroeder Date: May 2, 2010