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July 2008

ATTENTION: WE HAVE EXPERIENCED RECENT WEBSERVER PROBLEMS. IF YOU EMAILED THIS SITE BETWEEN JUNE 23RD-JULY 2ND, YOUR EMAIL HAS BEEN LOST. PLEASE EMAIL US AGAIN SO WE CAN REPLY TO YOUR QUERY. WE SINCERELY APOLOGIZE FOR THE INCONVENIENCE. 

Hi folks!

While I have been trying to improve the website, I have managed to screw-up databases filled with your important emails and book recommendations. I sincerely apologize, and I want to reiterate that if you emailed me from June 23rd-July 2nd, please email me again, as I most certainly lost your email. Your patience is appreciated, and I wanted to tell you a little bit about how I am trying to improve the website. 

First, many people who visit this site do so after seeing me speak. The new site will feature a calendar that is much easier to navigate (after all, I am using a Macintosh to improve the site), along with easy-to-download .pdf files of my presentation handouts. Additionally, the improved site will contain a lot more lists (e.g. great books for 10-year-old boys, “pick-nicks” – fun books with food, quick reads for businesswomen, etc.) for those interested in particular categories and genres (by the way, if you have a favorite category, genre, topic, etc., tell me so I can compile a list for your interests). The site will also feature downloadable, printable copies of my monthly book selections so libraries and bookstores can more easily display monthly picks. Finally, the improved site will feature Youtube videos and podcasts of my monthly picks for truly lazy readers. As always, your feedback and suggestions are constantly welcome.

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 July, and enjoy your books!

Danny ;-)

Love, Loss, and What I Wore

Love, Loss, and What I Wore

By Ilene Beckerman 144 pages Adult

Danny Says

Paula Thompson wrote me and insisted I read this short gem. I receive 100-200 emails a day from folks with book picks, but there was something insistent in Paula’s email that spurred me to grab a copy of this largely pictoral “diary.” I was stunned by how quickly I absorbed the book and finished wanting more. Beckerman tells her life story through clothes, and it works. Must read.
Buy on Amazon
The Last Lecture

The Last Lecture

By Randy Pausch 206 pages Adult

Danny Says

Not that Randy Pausch needs any help from me, but I could not live with myself if I did not recommend his book. I am a sentimental sap who loves inspirational books, and this “lecture” touched me the same way Tuesdays with Morrie did. Trust me: if you are one of the three people who have not read this book, get it.
Buy on Amazon
Spaceman Blues

Spaceman Blues

By Brian Francis Slattery 219 pages Adult

Danny Says

Reading this book is akin to watching a Terry Gilliam film: the story may often confuse the reader, but the characters and situations throughout keep audiences glued. It’s the end of the world, and two cops try to determine what happened to New York’s biggest party animal, Manuel Gozalez, in this memorable debut science-fiction mystery. Quite a trip!



Buy on Amazon
Secrets of the Cicada Summer

Secrets of the Cicada Summer

By Andrea Beaty 176 pages Young Adult

Danny Says

Last month I had the pleasure of speaking in beautiful Kentucky, and I asked everyone I came across what was making that deafening noise outside? “Cicadas,” Derek Shouse said, and that peaked my interest in learning more about these annoying and freaky insects. Lo and behold, the first book I came across with cicadas in the title turned out to be Beaty’s first young adult novel, and what a treat. Eleven-year-old protagonist Lily is a Nancy Drew lover, and this book should impress fellow Nancy Drew devotees.
Buy on Amazon
Unexplained

Unexplained

By Judy Allen 144 pages Young Adult

Danny Says

Jackpot! If you have a ten-year-old boy who does not like to read, I insist you buy this book. It is filled with the cool types of stories that draw boys to read The Guinness Book of World Records and Ripley’s Believe It or Not.
Buy on Amazon
Like a Thorn

Like a Thorn

By Clara Vidal 128 pages Young Adult

Danny Says

I admit, when faced with lots of “girlie” books to read, I try to always choose the slimmest. What this slim volume rewarded me with was an intriguing coming-of-age story about a teenager who has learned to deal with her mother’s psychotic mood swings and now must learn to find herself. On top of a good read, it is a slim, small book with big print (my favorite)!
Buy on Amazon
The Mystery of the Burmese Bandicoot

The Mystery of the Burmese Bandicoot

By Judy Cox 254 pages Young Adult

Danny Says

The story of two rats fleeing the cage of Ms. Dove’s fifth grade classroom and embarking on a marvelous adventure. This is the kind of book that makes me sound like a curmudgeon wondering, “Why don’t they write books like this anymore?” You can tell the author used to be a teacher, as this is a book any teacher could read aloud to students.
Buy on Amazon
The Wind in the Willows

The Wind in the Willows

By Kenneth Grahame 170 pages Children

Danny Says

Occasionally, I like to include a classic that every parent, grandparent, guardian or teacher needs to read to children. This wonderful story of Rat, Moley and Mr. Toad is one of my favorite read alouds of all time and a perfect story for a lazy summer day.
Buy on Amazon
Giraffes Can't Dance

Giraffes Can't Dance

By Giles Andreae 32 pages Children

Danny Says

Like stories about the underdog who wins? Like books that rhyme? Like beautiful illustrations? Here is the perfect quick read for you. This book can be sung, and Gerald the giraffe reminds just about everyone who reads it of a jungle version of Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer.
Buy on Amazon
Ten-Gallon Bart

Ten-Gallon Bart

By Susan Stevens Crummel 32 pages Children

Danny Says

High Noon for kids, only except retiring sheriff Gary Cooper, this story features retiring dog sheriff Bart. Probably one of my favorite read alouds to kids over the past couple of months.
Buy on Amazon

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