Perhaps you will remember my unfortunate run-in with J.A. Konrath’s “optimized-for-ereaders (but not YOUR ereader!)” Banana Hammock a few weeks ago.  Well, I didn’t let that one unfortunate incident deter me.  Oh no!  I went back to the catalogue of real books for real people and checked out Whiskey Sour, the first book in Konrath’s Jacqueline “Jack” Daniels series.

Jack Daniels is a cop in Chicago.  Jack Daniels has an admirer.  And it’s not her newly-departed ex-boyfriend.  Jack’s admirer calls himself “The Gingerbread Man,” and what he does to women belies any tender memories evoked by his name.  And he wants Jack to find him, even though he is reasonably certain that she can’t.  (What is it about psychopaths?  Why do they think that no one will ever find out who they are?)

To top it off, as though a break-up and a serial killer aren’t enough for one week, the FBI profilers have arrived.  And they are looking for someone with whom to share their wisdom!

I can tell you right now that I am going to read more books in this series.  It has all the things I love best – truly horrifying crimes (think “Criminal Minds”), a spunky female detective who is all-too-human (think “Anne of Green Gables” with a whiskey habit and a sidearm), and good humour to balance it all (think “Big Bang Theory” or “The Office,” whichever you find funnier).

And speaking of series, I haven’t done an update for awhile.  I have stacks of Northern European trauma waiting for me though!  (Camilla Läckberg and Jo Nesbø, particularly.)  Now that the weather is warming up, it might be time to venture back into the frigid darkness…

Age Group:
16 and up

Story:
This novel is a comic adventure about bombardier Yossarian who is desperately trying to avoid flying missions during World War II in order to stay alive. Problem is, according to army regulation Catch-22, insane men who ask to be grounded prove themselves sane through a concern for personal safety, while truly crazy people are those who readily agree to fly more missions. Therefore the only way to be grounded is to make a formal request to be relieved of such missions, but this act demonstrates sanity and therefore makes one ineligible to be relieved.

Awards:
None But it has stood the test of time, and is seen as one of the most significant novels of the 20th century. He is the man who coined the phrase “Catch-22”.

My Thoughts:
One of the funniest books I’ve ever read. A must read!

Borrow Catch 22 from your local VPL Library!

Top Three Similar Reads:
1. Slaughterhouse Five, by Kurt Vonnegut
2. Naked and the Dead, by Norman Mailer
3. Days of Infamy, by Newt Gingrich

Have you read Catch – 22 yet? If so, what did you think?

Age Group:

7 to 12

Story:

Franny K. Stein is not your average little girl, she is a mad scientist.  She prefers to play with dolls that ooze, and skip rope with a snake.  Consequently, her classmates find her weird and creepy.

Tired of being the outcast, Franny decides to attempt an experiment on fitting in.  Her experiment starts of well, but soon a giant Monstrous Fiend attacks the class.  Needed, of course, is a mad scientist, but will Franny convert back to her old ways and save the day?

Awards:

In 2004, it won the Gryphon Award Honor Book.

My Thoughts:

This book is really cute, and is a great read for younger children.  The best part is that there is a moral lesson!

Borrow Lunch Walks Among Us from your local VPL Library!

Top Three Similar Reads:

1. Stink And The Incredible Super-Galactic Jawbreaker, by Megan McDonald
2. Let’s Pretend This Never Happened, by Jim Benton
3. Diary Of A Wimpy Kid, by Jim Kinney

Have you read Lunch Walks Among Us yet? If so, what did you think?

Age Group:
9 – adult

Story:

After being run out of Boneville, the three Bone cousins (Fone Bone, Phoney Bone and Smiley Bone) are lost and then become separated in a desert.  One by one they fine their way into a new place, known as The Valley, where wonderful and terrifying creatures live.  As they stay longer in The Valley they quickly find themselves mixed up in the events that are happening there.

Awards:

BONE has won multiple international awards, and is the winner of 11 Harvey Awards and 10 Eisner Awards including Best Cartoonist and Best Humor Publications.  Also was named Best Comic Book by the National Cartoonist Society.

Borrow BONE from your local VPL Library!  Please note that BONE is usually found in nine volumes.

My Thoughts:

One of my favourite books of all time!  This book combines humour and adventure into a very brilliantly written book.  Every free second I could find, I would be reading it.  I can’t wait to read it again and see my old friends.

Top Three Similar Reads:

1. Atherton, by Patrick Carman
2. Courageous Princess, by Rod Espinosa
3. Fellowship of the Ring, by J.R.R. Tolkien

 Have you read BONE yet? If so, what did you think?

A.J. Jacobs is not a man with small goals. In his first book, The Know-It-All: One Man’s Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World, he commits to read the entire Encyclopedia Britannica in a year — all 32 volumes, all 33,000 pages, all 44 million words. Why? Well, to fill in some gaps in his educational knowledge, to achieve a goal his father attempted but abandoned years ago (so he can rub it in his face, of course), and to — as the subtitle indicates — become the smartest person in the world. Organized chronologically, with section headers being the title of the entry he’s reading at the moment, the book highlights the bizarre facts he picks up (such as Descartes having a thing for cross-eyed women) and how he starts to alienate his wife and friends as he persists in unloading all the arcane trivia he’s picked up. Soon, he’s applying to Mensa, playing chess with the best, interviewing Alex Trebek and even landing a spot on Who Wants to be a Millionaire? It’s wacky, narcissistic and hilarious — probably just like A.J. himself.