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January 2010

Hi folks!

I hope you all had wonderful holiday breaks. I don’t know about you, but all I did was eat, sleep, play with my kids, eat and read a lot of great books. I have been trying to devote more time to literature and fiction, so I have subsisted on a steady diet of novels and classics. Among my favorites were Abraham Verghese’s epic Cutting for Stone (this book made me want to become a doctor – the legitimate kind), Tatiana de Rosnay’s Sarah’s Key and Kiran Desai’s The Inheritance of Loss.

Anyhow, enjoy this month’s book selections below. I hope you are all reading some wonderful books. Make sure to tell me all about them. If you're an author or a publisher and would like to send me review copies of your book(s), please send them to the address listed for authors and publishers.

I hope you are reading some wonderful books. Make sure to tell me about them by This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Have a wonderful January, and enjoy your books!

Danny ;-)
Do-It-Yourself Brain Surgery And Other Implausibly Titled Books

Do-It-Yourself Brain Surgery And Other Implausibly Titled Books

By Joel Rickett 96 pages Adult

Danny Says

A wonderful coffee table book, this fun read includes the book jackets of some classic titles you may not be familiar with, like How to Avoid Huge Ships and People Who Don’t Know They’re Dead.
Buy on Amazon
Good Harbor

Good Harbor

By Anita Diamant 256 pages Adult

Danny Says

A quick, uneventful book that I include for two reasons: Diamant’s writing is superb, and I always like to read books about friendship. Any woman who has ever had a best friend will appreciate this lovely story.
Buy on Amazon
One Year to an Organized Financial Life

One Year to an Organized Financial Life

By Regina Leeds 288 pages Adult

Danny Says

Good riddance to the economic catastrophe known as 2009. It’s a new year, so why not get your finances in order? This is a practical, easy-to-read guide that conveniently maps out a financial strategy week-by-week. Very helpful.
Buy on Amazon
Shakespeare: The World as Stage

Shakespeare: The World as Stage

By Bill Bryson 208 pages Young Adult

Danny Says

I adore Bryson’s humorous travelogues and books on language. I include this book as a young adult pick in order to help teachers make Shakespeare more appealing to their teenagers. Bryson’s funny observations and interesting insights are sure to motivate students to pick up copies of Shakespeare’s plays to find out what all the fuss is about.
Buy on Amazon
Letters to a Young Brother

Letters to a Young Brother

By Hill Harper 176 pages Young Adult

Danny Says

While Randy Pausch’s The Last Lecture has received countless accolades, here is a book I love to recommend. Thoughtful and challenging, Harper is an author students (and I) really appreciate.
Buy on Amazon
Jumped

Jumped

By Rita Williams-Garcia 192 pages Young Adult

Danny Says

National Book Award finalist. Chapters alternate in the views of different main characters, as protagonist Leticia battles with whether or not to inform a girl that a classmate intends to beat her up. Story makes for a great class discussion on responsibility.
Buy on Amazon
Just Another Day in My Insanely Real Life

Just Another Day in My Insanely Real Life

By Barbara Dee 256 pages Young Adult

Danny Says

When 12-year-old Cassie’s family relocates to a rundown neighborhood, her outlook shifts. Dee writes with a strong, humorous voice. I especially enjoy the grammar-obsessed English teacher who strongly objects to Cassie’s fantasy journal.  
Buy on Amazon
Beyond Old MacDonald

Beyond Old MacDonald

By Charley Hoce 32 pages Children

Danny Says

Nothing gets kids reading more, in my opinion, than short, funny poems. This book is a hilarious collection of farm poems filled with puns, idioms and homophones. Kids will delight in the silly rhymes and fun illustrations by Eugenie Fernandes, while parents and teachers will appreciate Hoce’s play with language and stimulating vocabulary.
Buy on Amazon
Waddle!

Waddle!

By Rufus Butler Seder 12 pages Children

Danny Says

Have you checked out Seder’s scanimation books (he also wrote Gallop! And Swing!)? These are totally cool, and kids and adults alike delight in optical illusions that make animals appear to be in motion. A “fireworks” book that produces plenty of “ooos” and “ahhs” from young readers.
Buy on Amazon
An Apple Pie for Dinner

An Apple Pie for Dinner

By Susan Vanhecke 32 pages Children

Danny Says

What a simply wonderful story about an elderly woman who wants to bake an apple pie but has no apples. She has plums, though, so she loads them in a basket and embarks on an adventure of trades that leads to a terrific lesson in sharing and kindness. This is one of my favorite books to read to my own children.
Buy on Amazon

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