I must say....I've got my nose in the textbooks too...although one of the books I had to read was very good. I did a presentation for my educational psych class on Asperger's syndrome. It's a fascinating thing to study boys who have this autistic type syndrome. I'm reading this book now called "eating an artichoke." It's from the point of view of a mother who found out her son had Asberger's. I know it sounds all clinical, but it's really an amazing book that I don't want to put down. It's great to get informed about "teacher" stuff that affects people everyday.

I am looking forward to this summer when I can kick back and read as many Juvenile fiction books as I can....but now there just isn't any time!!

Unfortunate for me, I have my nose plastered in my World Geography book, which might be instereting if the writting was a little better.
Also Reading for World Geography paper (on literacy):
The Professors by David Horowitz, which deals with the terrible things happening in American academics.
The world is flat by Thomas Friedman, also deals with the ills of american society
There are a whole bunch of other books that I have out on Literacy from LCCC which will help me write my paper should I sit down long enough to take notes.
At the moment I am attempting to read through the mulitude of manga I have picked up of the last few years and The River's Gift by Mercedes Lackey, it's one of those fairy tale type novella's for adults. I think I read it years ago, but I don't remember the story. I also took out a book of Asian Mythology which we just got a new set of at the library.

Processor's note: I placed a whole bunch of New YA out this week. There is a way to bring up the titles in the catalog, but at the moment I can't remember how and my instructions will be way off.

2 books in 2 days! Princess Academy by Shannon Hale - thanks rab - and Bloody Jack by L. A. Meyer. (And I'm reading Dakotah by Kathleen Norris, as well.)
Princess Academy:
Main Character: Miri - too small to work in the quarry, Miri feels like an outcast, although she has good friends in her village - especially Peder a boy her own age.
Setting: Mount Eskel, a territory of the kingdom Danland, best known for its linder quarries. Linder is a highly sought after stone similar to marble, I think.
The terrain is forbidding and the people are strong. Everyone works in the quarry except the old, the infirm and Miri whose father refuses to let her work there.
What happens: The royal priests have decided that the Prince's new bride will come from Mount Eskel so all the girls between the ages of 12 and 17 are "imprisoned" at an abandoned stone mansion under a disdainful teacher. A boring prince, scary punkshments, rivalry among the girls, a blossoming romance and BANDITS!! all add up to a very good read.

Bloody Jack : Being the Curious Adventures of Mary "Jacky" Faber, Ship's Boy
Main Character: Mary or "Jacky" Faber.
Setting: England and the Atlantic Ocean in or around 1800.
What happens: When the leader of Mary's gang of street orphans is murdered, Mary steals his clothes and gets a berth aboard the HMS Dolphin as a ship's boy in the Royal navy. Off they all go to fight pirates! The book is written in Mary's voice and she spends a lot of time working on "The Deception" as she calls it.
A nasty pedophile of a sailor, fights with the "other" ship's boys, battles with pirates, bully officers, tattoos, ear piercing, a visit to a brothel, being found out by one of the other "boys", and being stranded on a desert island all make this a glorious read for less squeamish and slightly more mature readers (discussions of sexual situations though nothing graphic, menses, violence, - PG-13) .
There are two more books in this series - so far - and I have the next one Curse of the Blue Tattoo on hold.

I have four more books waiting to be read. Next? Alchemy by my favorite new Zealand author, Margaret Mahy.

For fans of Hilary McKay and the Casson Family - Saffy's Angel, Indigo's Star and Permanent Rose - Caddy gets her own book in June, Caddy Ever After. Rest assured that this book is already on order, though not available for holds yet.
I can't wait to see if Caddy and Michael get back together. They better!!!
McKay says she thinks she has one more book about the clan after Caddy's book. This is good news but better news would be if she had a book about awful Bill and one about the Mom- who is so terribly sweet and dopey but I can't remember her name Elizabeth? -and another one just for Sarah who is a member of the family, for goodness sake.

I don't have a cell phone and Dragon's post makes me even more hesitant about getting one.

Last night, I read ttyl by Lauren Myracle. It's done in IMs between 3 best friends in 10th grade. The IM format means you hear about events after they happen so the sense of immediacy is lost. But it is a fun way to read a book. Lots of stuff happens too, a disastrous frat party, a far-too-interested HS teacher, heartbreaks, etc.
So, I'm in the living room reading away and the doorbell rings. It was one of MY 2 best friends from High School. (Reading a book about 3 best HS friends - getting a visit from 1 of 3 best HS friends! Coincidence or astral connection? - miniseries to follow.)
Anyway, it was great to talk with her again. And Myracle's book was fun, too. As the IMers say - l8r.

I just finished reading Cell.

Once again another cheerful and upbeat tale from Stephen King.

:::pauses:::

Uh huh. Not quite.

Tons of people dead within the first ten pages, ahhh, now that's the Stephen King I know and love.

This time the terror does not come from a virus, a killer clown, aliens or even a werewolf. No the end of the world begins with the ringing of a cell phone.
The story is told from the point of view of Clay, an artist, who has just signed a deal for his first comic book. As he stops to get a celebratory ice cream cone, the people around him start going crazy and killing everyone around them. Clay saves the life of Tom and the adventure begins. Along the way they pick up Alice, and begin to understand it was the cell phones that drove people crazy. Clay's only interest is to find his son, who he left with his ex wife. Tom and Alice go with him on this journey. They pick up a few more people while still learning more about the "phone crazies".

Like all Stephen King novels, this one had me glued to my seat, and late back from lunch at work. I love the way he writes; there is just something about his style that draws me into the stories. He writes in a way that makes my imagination so clear that I see the characters in my mind and feel the characters pains and emotions. Of course after reading Cell, I am glad I'm not familiar with the song "Baby Elephant Walk". I developed a strong dislike for the song "Sympathy for the Devil" after reading Dreamcatcher, and to this day can't hear the song without thinking of the book.

All in all, this is not my favorite Stephen Kings novel, but it's very good.

Of course, I wonder if I'll ever look at my cell phone the same way again.

In response to our fearless leader, I did infact enjoy a couple books that I was forced to read. I enjoyed A Separate Peace by John Knowles. It is a coming of age story set during WWII (I think) at a private school for boys. Some really bad stuff happen to the guys, but all in all it was a good book. I also enjoyed the Scarlet Letter by Hawthrone. It was the end of the year and as much as I like reading Mark Twain, I really wanted something else to read.
Some of the stuff they make us read is really dull, boring or not worth the effort like the lord of the flies by william golding. Yeah, I kind of only read four full chapters of that book, listened to the class discussion and still got an A on the test. The absolute worst was when I had to read the old man and the sea by hemmingway. You could skip twenty pages and you right where you left off. It was so dry everyone hated it. I think we'd all learn better if we actually had books that we wanted to read. In fact it would promote life long reading instead of turning most people off.