Traveling Through Books

Book 49: "Three Cups of Tea" By Greg Mortenson and Davis Oliver Relin "Three Cups of Tea" by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin Verdict: Read for a new view on the Middle East and a much better solution to the war on terror "Three Cups of Tea" is a non-fiction story that follows Greg Mortenson's life as he strives to bring schools to children of the Middle East. What struck me most was not what Mortenson manages to accomplish, but what he sacrifices to do so. For much of the journey he lives in his car to save money for his cause. The caption of the book call's Greg Mortenson an "ordinary man" but I really have to disagree, not only because he has personally accomplished so much but mostly because nothing about his life has been ordinary. Mortenson was raised in Africa with missonary parents, a father who builds the first teaching hospital in the area that is actually run by African citizens. He then becomes an avid clim...

Books 45, 46, 47, and 48: Peter and the Starcatchers , Peter and the Shadow Thieves , Peter and the Secret of Rundoon , and Peter and the Sword of Mercy Verdict: Fun, Easy Adventure Books! Peter and the Starcatchers , Peter and the Shadow Thieves , Peter and the Secret of Rundoon , and Peter and the Sword of Mercy are a 4 book series that tells the story of how Peter Pan becomes Peter Pan. They are written by co-authors Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson. The books are funny, easy, fun adventures. They are written for the Independent Reader or Grade 3rd through 6th, but with Dave Barry humor, anyone will enjoy them. Book 1, "Peter and the Starcatchers" is the story of how Peter Pan goes from orphan to flying boy. The Starcatchers are an ancient secret society whose job it is to find and return Starstuff to wherever it comes from. Starstuff is a magical substance that gives humans many different powers; most notably, the ability to fly and be ageless. Peter befrien...

Title: Green Island Author:  Shawna Yang Ryan Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group Read In: ePub Genre: Historical Fiction Green Island is a novel that begins with the February 28 Incident of Taiwan. (I didn't know about this event, so if you don't know either, here's the Wikipedia link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_28_Incident) The story is told primarily from the point of view of the youngest daughter born during the February 28 Incident into the family of Dr. Tsai. It tells the story of her father's internment, her family's escape from Taipei, and follows her as she grows to adulthood and through her emigration to the United States. This book is well written. I like that it provides insight into a piece of  history which, due to American politics of the time, is often overlooked by history classes. I honestly know very little about Taiwan's history; this book made me want to learn more. While many of parts of this book were i...

"Eats, Shoots and Leaves" by Lynne Truss Verdict: READ, not just for punctuation sticklers- everyone should read! Okay, so I guess it shows how much of and English nerd I am that I would absolutely love a book entirely about punctuation... but I do. This book is phenomenal. Not only does it point out punctuation mistakes that happen everywhere and constantly drive me nuts, it tells the reader why they are wrong, how to fix them, and why punctuation is so important to the written word. This book makes it clear that punctuation does serve a purpose in writing. That purpose is to make what we write understandable and concise when read by someone other than ourselves. Truss also brings in the history of why punctuation is what it is and where it comes from. Truly, the book refreshed my memory on things I forgot, made me laugh, and made me want to give a copy to everyone I know; further helping to prevent future punctuation error. So if you haven't read this bo...