1. The third book in Michael Scott's "Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel" series, The Sorceress, kicks the action up to a whole new level. Adding to the series' menagerie of immortal humans ("humani") and mythological beasts, the book picks up where The Magician left off: the immortal Nicholas Flamel (of The Alchemyst) and the twins, Sophie and Josh, have just arrived at St. Pancras international train station in London. Almost immediately, they're confronted with a demonic bounty hunter that immortal magician John Dee has sent their way. At the same time, Dee's occasional cohort, Niccolo Machiavelli, decides to focus his energy on Perenelle Flamel, the Alchemyst's wife, who has been imprisoned at Alcatraz since the beginning of the series. In this book, Perenelle gets a chance to show off her sorcery and resourcefulness, fighting and forging alliances with ghosts, beasts, and the occasional Elder to try and find a way out of her predicament and back to Flamel. Scott is as playful as ever, introducing new immortals--famous figures from history who (surprise!) are still alive. He also adds to the roster of fantastical beasts, which already includes such intriguing foes as Bastet, the Egyptian cat goddess, and the Morrigan, or Crow Goddess. Raising the stakes with each installment, Scott deftly manages multiple story lines and keeps everything moving pretty quickly, making this third book a real page-turner. More than just another piece in the puzzle of the whole series, The Sorceress is an adventure in its own right, and will certainly leave series fans wanting more. --Heidi Broadhead Read more.
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  2. When Dr. Alice Howland first starts forgetting things like words when giving a speech, she thinks it might be because of menopause. But when she gets lost jogging near her house, on a route she has taken many times, she knows something is seriously wrong and seeks medical help. Not quite fifty, she is totally unprepared for the diagnosis - early onset Alzheimer's. As the disease progresses, Alice and her husband John learn everything they can about the disease and treatments, but Alzheimer's quickly takes its toll on both Alice and her family.
    "Still Alice" is a beautifully written, heartbreaking novel about the devastating affect Alzheimer's has on its victims and their families. Author Lisa Genova's choice of Alice - young, in shape, and intelligent (she's a Psychiatry Professor at Harvard) - shows that Alzheimer's can strike anyone, not just the elderly. The book is written from Alice's viewpoint, but Genova does a good job of showing the affect of Alzheimer's not only on Alice, but how her family (John, and their children - Anna, Tom, and Lydia) struggle with the changes in Alice. Genova does an excellent job of describing what is going on in Alice's head as the dementia increases. In fact, Genova does such a good job that I sometimes forgot the book was fiction and not about a real person.
    "Still Alice" takes place over a relatively short period of time (September 2002 to September 2005) and it is frightening how fast the Alzheimer's takes over Alice. Genova skillfully captures the bewilderment Alice feels and there are some moments in the book that are very moving - especially a moment involving a black rug and a moment involving a message a healthier Alice left for a sicker Alice. The reaction of Alice's family as they deal not only with her having Alzheimer's but the fact that her children may inherit the disease is very realistic. Inevitably, of course, life goes on and Genova expertly shows Alice's family as they move on with their lives, even if readers won't always agree with their actions. If I have any quibble with the book, it's that it is one chapter too long - the second to last chapter ended on a poignant note and I think Genova should have stopped the book there.
    "Still Alice" is a moving tale about the devastating affect Alzheimer's can have on a family. (A portion of the sale of each novel will go to the Alzheimer's Association.) --drebbles Read more.
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  3. Larry Tye delivers a wonderful story of the legendary Satchel Paige, perhaps the greatest pitcher of all-time, who was denied national adulation for the bulk of his professional career; toiling in relative obsurity in the Negro Leagues, before finally getting called up to the Big Leagues, with Cleveland in 1948. He was 42.

    It's difficult to imagine how many games Paige might've won had he been allowed to pitch in the Major Leagues during the peak of his physical abilities, with a good or bad team. It wouldn't have mattered. Just like Steve Carlton won 27 games for the Philadelphia Phillies in 1972---an otherwise moribund team---Paige may have done as well or better. The sad reality is he never had the chance.

    However, this was a man who didn't mourn his unfulfilled potential in the spotlight. His charismatic personality was infectious, and radiated a charm that made him a national icon during his brief Major League career. His "rookie" season, he won 6 out of 7 starts, with a 2.48 earned run average for the World Champion Cleveland Indians. It's doubtful they would've made it to the Series without Satchell Paige.

    Perhaps even more remarkable was the year Paige put together for the old St Louis Browns (a horrible team) in 1952, when he posted a 12 and 10 record with an e.r.a. slightly over three; at the tender age of 46. Just to prove how amazing this man was, he even pitched three innings of shut-out ball for the Kansas City A's, in 1965. He was only 59. I'll never forget reading that story in the newspaper as a youngster, thinking that anyone over 40 was half-dead; but 59? I became an instant fan of this gregarious celebrity.

    Throughout the rest of his life, Paige always displayed a charisma and effervesence rarely seen by anyone, in any walk of life. His stories about the Negro Leagues, with players such as Josh Gibson, Buck O'Neal, Cool Papa Bell, among others, brought them to life for me. It also reminded me of the injustice these greats had to endure because this country was too narrow-minded to accept the African American into the game, until it was too late to make a difference to Paige and other players of his era.

    This book is destined for greatness; Tye brings to life a wonderful story of one of baseball's legendary athletes; who was perhaps born a quarter century too soon to achieve greater fame and glory. Hopefully, this book will educate an entire generation of baseball fans about the bittersweet life story of Satchell Paige; an American legend. --Larry Underwood. Read more.
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  4. Thomas Paine is one of the most relevant authors of the American Revolution. Common Sense, Age of Reason and Rights of Man are three books that will give a person the clearest perspective into the ideology of the founding fathers. This and John Locke's two treatises will inform any reader on the beautiful principles this country was formed upon. One can also use this book as a reference to see how modern political arenas and perspectives differ from the legacy our founding fathers wanted to leave behind. Anyone with any interest in the American Revolution or American history would not be disappointed with this book. --M.G. Mohring Read more.
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  5. This grimly absorbing history revisits the worst ordeal Americans experienced during WWII. Michael Norman, a former New York Times reporter, and Elizabeth Norman (Women at War) pen a gripping narrative of the 1942 battle for the Bataan peninsula in the Philippines, the surrender of 76,000 Americans and Filipinos to the Japanese and the infamous death march that introduced the captives to the starvation, dehydration and murderous Japanese brutality that would become routine for the next three years. Focusing intermittently on American POW Ben Steele, whose sketches adorn the book, the narrative follows the prisoners through the hell of Japanese prison and labor camps. (The lowest circle is the suffocating prison ship where men went mad with thirst and battened on their comradesÖ blood.) The authors are unsparing but sympathetic in telling the Japanese side of the story; indeed, they are much harder on the complacent, arrogant American commander Douglas MacArthur than on his Japanese counterpart. ThereÖs sorrow but not much pity in this story; as all human aspiration shrivels to a primal obsession with food and water, flashes of compassion and artistic remembrance only occasionally light the gloom. 8 pages of b&w illus., illus. throughout; maps. (June 16) Read more.
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  6. Do you love teaching but feel exhausted from the energy you expend cajoling, disciplining, and directing students on a daily basis? If so, you'll want to meet “The Sisters”, Gail Boushey and Joan Moser. Based on literacy learning and motivation research, they created a structure called The Daily Five which has been practiced and refined in their own classrooms for ten years, and shared with thousands of teachers throughout the United States. The Daily Five is a series of literacy tasks (reading to self, reading with someone, writing, word work, and listening to reading) which students complete daily while the teacher meets with small groups or confers with individuals.
    This book not only explains the philosophy behind the structure, but shows you how to carefully and systematically train your students to participate in each of the five components.

    Explicit modeling practice, reflecting and refining take place during the launching phase, preparing the foundation for a year of meaningful content instruction tailored to meet the needs of each child.

    The Daily Five is more than a management system or a curriculum framework; it is a structure that will help students develop the habits that lead to a lifetime of independent literacy.--Editorial Review. Read more
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  7. Victor Mair is amazing! I own an older version of Sun Zi, and I have to say hands down that this is much more readable and insightful a piece of work. Mair is an excellent writer in his own right, and his expert scholarship is clear from the authoritative introduction, some 55 pages long but easy to read. I have devoured this book. It is hard to put down and it doesn't bog down. His translation is superior to the older Shambala edition. I enjoyed the discussion on putting the treatise into a historical and military context. Even the forward by another author, comparing Sun Zi with Clausewitz, is excellent, thought-provoking work. I think this moves Sun Zi scholarship forward but in a way that is also perfectly readable to the layman. Mair gives the more serious scholar ways to get more into the weeds in the notes section and in references to more academic papers he has done on the subject, which is fine by me. I highly recommend this to anyone interested the Sun Zi, tactics, and Chinese philosophy. --jimicahuenga Read more.
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  8. Janey Mackay, daughter of a traitor and sister to a patriot, has returned to her small hometown where she has been ostracized and condemned for her family connections by the community, while at the same time struggles with the feeling of being an outsider and tries to establish a relationship with her family and gain acceptance from those she loves. By managing the restaurant her father owned she hopes to gain the freedom and independence previously denied her, when a stalker threatens her very existence. When the danger to her is discovered Janey chooses Alex as her protector. Alex has secretly been lusting after Janey for years, but out of respect for her brother Natches, and his apprehension about their age difference, he has resisted these urges. Emotional conflicts, unknown danger, and steamy passion ensue. Lora Leigh does not disappoint in this newest installment of the Nauti Boys series. It has all of the elements of a great romantic suspense novel, though it is categorized as an erotic romance. The reader gets updates into the lives of the characters introduced in previous titles, while telling Janey and Alex's story.The book contains many emotional, steamy, sexy and scorching hot love scenes, with the perfect blend of intrigue, and suspencefully dangerous moments that makes this a late into the night, bleary-eyed for work the next day, sad to see it end, can't wait for the next one page turner. If you can't tell, I LOVED it! The only downfall is that we the readers have to wait until 2010 for the next book, Nauti Deceptions. --Book Lover 1335 Read more
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  9. Greg Heffley is back, and with him the trappings that made his first outing, Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2007), such a popular triumph. Once again diarist Greg chronicles a hilarious litany of problems, alternating between home and school, focusing this time on the particular punishments of his reprobate older brother, Rodrick. Whether Greg is suffering on the swim team or trying out for the K–12 school talent show as Magician’s Assistant to a First Grader, his escapades are united by his struggle to avoid embarrassment. As before, he peppers his journal entries with his own cartoons (in look and tone, a sort of hybrid of The Simpsons and the Timbertoes), using them as any 12-year-old would—to add insult to injury. But the real and deeper appeal of Greg’s story is the unapologetic honesty of his adolescence; he comes across as a real kid, and his story is one that will appeal to all those real kids who feel just like him. Grades 5-8. --Thom Barthelmess Read more.
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  10. If anyone has the cred, professional and street, to discuss cancer prevention and survival, it is Servan-Schreiber, clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, cofounder of Doctors Without Borders, and 15-year brain cancer survivor. That he chooses to talk about, even promote, certain environmental, dietary, and emotional adjustments one can make in one’s life that can mitigate suspected carcinogenic influences makes this a slightly controversial book. Typical of his demeanor, though, as researcher-teacher rather than practitioner, he addresses the controversy head-on, cautioning his critics to note that he does not promote these life adjustments in lieu of conventional medical interventions such as surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy. He promotes them in addition to, as a support for, traditional treatments. He calls them anticancer practices. Stay away from white sugar and flour. Eat more cruciferous vegetables and dark-colored fruits. Get regular exercise, and take up yoga or some other form of meditation. These practices made for him a new way of life that he claims helped him beat cancer twice and, he believes, once and for all. This has been a best-seller in France and may well become a valuable resource about personal wars waged on cancer in this country, as well. --Donna Chavez Read more
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