Talking to Girls about Duran Duran: One Young Man's Quest for True Love and a Cooler Haircut by Rob Sheffield

I absolutely LOVED Sheffield's Love is a Mixed Tape memoir. It was very touching, very witty, and written in my favorite style: reporterese. I've been wanting to read his second one since it came out, but I'm usually too cheap to buy hardcovers. So, on an ill-fated trip to Barnes and Noble last week (it was unsupervised and unplanned, which meant I left with seven books in a bag. Sigh.), I was elated to see it in paperback.

It didn't take long to read (this is why I love reporterese). But, it wasn't as great as the first one. I loved all the chapter titles (I was typically singing the song in my head), but I wasn't always sure on how the title fit the chapter. Sometimes he did a great job of tying it to his life; sometimes, not so much.

It wasn't as heartfelt as the first, which was disappointing. This seemed to just trail his bumbling through girls, and teaching ninth grade, I see enough of that every day.

This one seemed a little forced - one of those "Hey, writer, we as your publisher loved your first one, so do it again." I wish publishers would realize that you can't recreate things like that. That's not how writing works.

Kingdom Keepers IV: Power Play by Ridley Pearson

If you know me, you know that I may be a bit addicted to Disney. I discovered this series while at WDW for our honeymoon, and it's just fun to read.

In the previous four books, Finn and his fellow DHIs have been chasing the Overtakers (or the Disney villains) throughout the parks. They have managed to capture Maleficient and Chernobog. But things are heating up again and the DHIs (kids who are holographic tour guides) are realizing that things aren't as safe as they were and what their real task is.

If you've been to Disney and have a special place in your heart for it, you should read these. They'd also be a great series to read together with your kids!

Monster by Walter Dean Meyers

Another phone post so it will be short and sweet.

This is one of the main books for my new reading strategies class next year. It's a little different because it is written in a screenplay form with journal entries interspersed throughout. It is about a boy from Harlem who is on trial for being an accomplice to a robbery/murder. He is writing the screenplay throughout the trial.

I could see how the book would be interesting and compelling to reluctant readers. However, I read screenplays too quickly and am not getting all I could out of it. But at least I'll be familiar with it for next year's class.

Taltos by Anne Rice

First off, please ignore any formatting weirdness. Thanks to some crappy Mediacom service, our Internet is down so this is a phone post making it easier to be short and sweet.

This is the third book in the Witching Hour series, and it was probably my least favorite. It seems like Rice has one crapper in her series and this one may be it. I will admit I read this one quickly because I didn't like it as much.

This book gives the history of the Taltos race while intertwining it with the story of Mona's pregnancy, which ultimately carries on the Taltos race.

By about halfway through, I didn't care anymore what was going to happen. It does bring closure to the series but I was rather meh about it.

Away to a Not-So Wonderous Land

I just finished Alice I Have Been by Melanie Benjamin. I did not find it "magic" as Diana Gabaldon's quote says on the front.

The premise of the novel is to unwrap the real relationship between the real Alice (Alice Liddell) and Lewis Carroll (the pen name for Mr. Dodgson.) I think if you didn't know a little of the rumors/assumptions of Dodgson, you'd be confused. The mystery is trying to determine whether he was really a pedophile, but that is hidden throughout the story.
The novel follows the real Alice throughout her life and we don't get her version of the events of what got Dodgson banner from her life. By the end, I didn't care.
I thought the story was dry and uninteresting, and it was a book I made myself finish. I will admit that reading the story of Prince Bertie getting married at the same time Prince William was getting married made that part a little interesting but that quickly waned.

I think if there had been clearer and more frequent clues about the relationship, it would have better held my interest.