Flash and Bones

Stars:5/5

Author: Kathy Reichs

Subjects: Murder, mystery, NASCAR, Charlotte, Anthropology, Bones, Forensics, Police, FBI, Right-Wing Extremists, cover up, conspiracy, bio hazards, suspense, science, Temperance Brennan, novel

ISBN: 978-1-4391-0241-1

Copyright Year: 2011

Other Comments: Kathy Reichs does it once again! This was an outstanding novel, complete with plot twists and turns that keeps the reader guessing until the very end. We meet up again with the protagonist, forensic anthropologist, Dr. Temperance Brennan, in her hometown of Charlotte, NC just as race week is about to begin. Just as fans are filing in for the NASCAR event a body in unearthed in the landfill adjacent to the speedway. Sure enough, Tempe is called in to complete the autopsy. The discovery then leads to a complex investigation involving multiple bodies, the FBI, a disgraced ex-cop, extremists, and bio hazard scares that all keep the pages turning.

The Case For Christ

Stars: 5/5
Author: Lee Strobel
Subjects: Christ/Jesus/Messiah, Scholars, Evidence, Resurrection, Court Case, God, Christianity, Atheism, Debate, Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, Acts, Corinthians, the Bible

ISBN: 0-310-22655-4

Copyright Year: 1998

Other Comments: This book is fantastic.  But as a Christian, of course I would love it... right?  Consider this.  It is written by a journalist who used to be an atheist.  He turned to Christ after researching the evidence for Christ.  Lee Strobel has a Master of Studies in Law degree from Yale Law School and was an award-winning journalist at the Chicago Tribune.  He does extensive research - all of his sources are listed in the back of the book for the curious to do their own investigations.  All of my questions about Jesus, including the varying genealogies of Jesus and the selection of the certain books of the bible, were answered.  I encourage anyone and everyone to review this case for Christ and make their own decisions.  And - as always - do your research!

The Glass Castle

Stars: 5/5
Author: Jeannette Walls
Subjects: memoir, alcoholic father, dysfunctional family, poverty, homless people, West Virginia, Arizona, Nevada, California, New York
ISBN: 9781439156964
Copyright Year: 2009
Other Comments:
The Glass Castle is a stunning memoir of a dysfunctional family and astonishing optimism and hope.  Jeannette Walls recounts how her parents were - brilliant but unfit to raise children - and how she and her siblings banded together and raised themselves.  Walls gives details of different moves their mother called "adventures", when the bills piled up too high.  She also writes about the horrible conditions of poverty from rats mistaken for opossums to leaking and buckling roofs to armies of termites and roaches.  She also tells of her parents both loving and selfish gestures toward their children and how - in the end - the children left their parents for a better life in New York.  Even after all this, their parents follow them and choose to be homeless just to be near their kids.  This is a memoir of hard work, heartbreak, and ultimately fulfillment.  I loved it - however it's not for the faintest of heart.

The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains

Stars: 5/5
Author: Nicholas Carr
Subjects: Neuropsychology, Internet--Physiological effect, Internet--Psychological aspects, science
ISBN: 9780393072228
Copyright Year: 2010
Other Comments: Nicholas Carr, in one of the most important books I've ever read, explains the physiological effect of the internet on our brains.  An avid internet user and consumer of digital technology, Nicholas isn't someone who is one-sided.  He did his research - from the effects of inventions of all sorts on society to the newest studies on the intricate workings of the brain, Carr explains how the internet is one huge distraction machine - and how it's training our brains to be unfocused.  I would encourage everyone to read this phenomenal and frightening book.  Especially teachers and professors who use technology in the classroom.

Angels and Demons

Stars:5/5

Author: Dan Brown

Subjects:Illuminati, Rome, Vactican, Pope, Secret Societies, Murder, Drama, Physics, Antimatter, Religion vs Science, novel

ISBN: 9870743493468

Copyright Year: 2000

Other Comments:

This is one of the best books I have read in a very long time. The blend of facts and fiction is seamless. Dan Brown weaves a story aboutfictional characters in fictional situations, all while maintaining historical facts and places. The novel is extremely fast paced and intense. It is a riveting, page turner that one can just not put down. The plot takes the protagonist on a journey across the Atlantic, on a crash course to the contrasting world of cutting-edge science and deep-rooted religion. This will ultimately lead to the finale epic confrontation between the two major powers in the Religion vs. Science battle, the Vatican and the “mythical” Illuminati.

A Rumor of War

Stars: 5/5
Author: Philip Caputo
Subjects: United States Marine Corps, Vietnam War 1961-1975, biography, American, Soldiers, United States
ISBN: 003017631X
Copyright Year: 1977
Other Comments: This startlingly truthful and objective memoir of Caputo's experiences within the Vietnam War is nothing short of a work of art.  He tells of the miserable experiences of being a front line soldier; his terrifying run-ins with guerrilla fighters in the Vietnam jungle; the insufferable conditions the soldiers had to endure; and eventually ends the book with the end of the war.  This novel was so well written it was haunting. This is definitely an irreplaceable masterpiece that can be added to the plethora of priceless novels, biographies, and autobiographies written about the Vietnam War.

The Forest for the Trees: An Editor's Advice to Writers

Stars: 5/5
Author: Betsy Lerner
Subjects: Authorship, Authors and Publishers
ISBN: 157322152X (alk. paper)
Copyright Year: 2000
Other Comments: Betsy Lerner's The Forest for the Trees: An Editor's Advice to Writers is a book for writers/authors.  The first half of the book is split up into different types of writers and what makes or breaks them in the business.  The second half is about all the different loop holes writers have to jump through to become successful.  In this half, Lerner touches on publication, editors, agents, publicists, author loyalty, and much more.  As an aspiring author, I found this book to be an invaluable tool in my journey to becoming a successful writer.  I would argue the best part about this book is Lerner's encouraging tone and her will to help the writer audience of her book succeed.