A Long Way Gone

A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier is a captivating recount of the young life of the author, Ishmael Beah. It is a personal account of Ishmael's involvement in the Sierra Leone wars as a child soldier. He walks the reader through his experiences starting as a young child, including how the surreal experience of the war affected his family, his country, and himself. Ishmael's town is ravaged unexpectedly by the Rebel United Front when he was 12, separating him from his family. With only the clothes on his back and a few other boys his age, Ishmael wonders alone in the wilderness only to be captured later by government forces. Beah takes the reader through such a surreal transition from innocent child to a drugged-up, brainwashed, killing machine. His world consists of drugs and violence, and he seemingly forgets his past or future. It is truly heartbreaking seeing Beah's transition, and he makes the reader understand that his world, which is so far away from our own, is a very real existence. Beah recalls his fight to come clean and rehabilitate when "saved" by UNICEF, and reenter the world of civilians. His tale is so different from our lives, and he really helps the reader understand what the human mind, heart, and soul is capable of doing to survive. -- Luke

The library has this book at DT 516.828 .B43 A3 2007

The Subterraneans

The Subterraneans, a novella by Beat icon Jack Kerouac, is the semi-autobiographical retelling of his brief romance with a hepcat Alene Lee in the 1950s Beat scene in San Francisco.

If the only Kerouac book youve ever read is the ubiquitous On the Road, you should expand your horizons with The Subterraneans, a prime example of Kerouacs spontaneous prose style, which is like Faulkners stream-of-consciousness style, except on Benzedrine.

The Subterraneans is a good read, but it's also an essential piece of Kerouac's Duluoz legend and Beat literature in general. But there is one drawback: the text is riddled with em dashes, en dashes, sentence fragments, extreme run-ons, and places where the reader will inevitably look up and say, Wait. What?

So, if youre the type of person who cant read a book unless it has certain luxuries - such as paragraph breaks, correct quotation, and easily understood turns of phrase - you should probably skip The Subterraneans and pick up Twilight instead. -- Amanda

The library has this at PS 3521 .E735 A6 2007

Tuesdays With Morrie

Tuesdays With Morrie is a wonderful, true story written by Mitch Albom. This best-seller is based on Albom's "classes" on life's most valuable lessons, which were held on the last Tuesdays of his old sociology professor's (Morrie's) life. Mitch narrates each visit with Morrie, covering such subjects as love, death, money, and many more as Morrie's body slowly loses the battle against Lou Gherig's Disease. Morrie provides a unique view of death and charms each visitor to his home, as well as the reader, as only he can. This book provides not only a heartwarming story about the celebration of life, but also a challenge to the reader's current thoughts on life, death, and society. The story will touch any reader and Albom's writing style is brilliant. Recommended to anyone. -- Matthew

The library has this at LD 571.B418 S383 1997

Twilight

A book I have read recently is Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. Stephenie Meyer's books have become even more popular since the release of Twilight the movie in November of 2008. The book held my attention because of the impossible love story it presents. The story is about a teenage girl who falls hopelessly in love with a vampire. The fact that the main character, Bella Swan, is a huge klutz makes her love affair with Edward Cullen ironic because of the level of danger a vampire presents. She is constantly finding herself in troublesome situations which Edward must save her from. The book, and the series, is an account of the difficulties they face, the tests their love goes through, and their relationships with others along the way. Although to some, the plot may appear shallow and a waste of time, it awakened something within me. I enjoyed the first book so entirely that I immediately read the next three books in the Twilight series. I discovered that I love the feeling of being absorbed in a book. Since December, when I began reading Twilight, I have read eight books, one incomplete manuscript, and I am almost done reading my ninth book. This is something I would never have done before. I used to always occupy my time with the internet and television, but now I have to force myself to complete my school assignments before I start reading. Stephenie Meyer's Twilight holds great significance for me because it introduced me to the world of books. -- Kati

The library has this book at PS 3613 .E979 T95 2005

A Million Little Pieces

A Million Little Pieces is a memoir written by James Frey about how he copes with his alcohol and drug rehabilitation in a treatment center. James is 23 years old and has been a crack addict for three years and an alcoholic for ten. He is also wanted by the police in many different states on several charges. Frey accounts the dramatic and painful experiences that lead up to his eventual release from the clinic. Throughout the novel, Frey speaks about a "fury" he is fighting within himself and believes that he will not be able to recover from his addiction until he learns to ignore it or "kill it.” Frey's use of stream of consciousness writing allows you to understand his point of view by giving the written equivalent of his thought process. He speaks of many relationships he forms and what role they play in his life both during and after his time in the clinic. James finally recovers and never relapses. Many describe Frey’s book as a self-help book, encouraging others to kick their addiction. Although the book sparked great controversy after it was reported that it contained fabrications and was not a completely factual memoir, as represented by the author and publisher, the message of the book remains the same – overcoming addiction. Since I am going to be a nurse I enjoy books that can help me discover some insight into what my pts may be experiencing to better help me help them. Regardless it was a great read and helps to open minds to a more harsh side of life that many Americans today are faced with. -- Jana

God's Universe

I recently read God's Universe by Owen Gingerich. Gingerich is a Harvard professor emeritus of astrophysics and science history and has strong roots in Christianity. The book is from a lecture series that he gave in which he argued that science and religion can work together rather than be at odds. He makes a distinction from a belief in intelligent design and the Intelligent Design movement that almost shuns any scientific proof to how things came into being. He explains that science is more concerned with the "how" of a phenomena and not so much the "why." He does not try to argue the Big Bang Theory or try to promote a seven-day creation story. He explains that the universe is old and why it is important that the earth is as old as it is. He gives awesome explanations of the formation of the essential elements for life on earth or how if one entity was slightly off in its formation, life could not be possible. Gingerich also argues a very active role of a Creator, God, in the universe now and even helps devout Christians with the idea of evolution. The book's purpose was to explain a universe with a purpose, with meaning. If an omnipotent Creator does not exist and life on earth is just a result of random happenings, then we are very lucky that everything turned out in our favor. However, it is sad to think that there is no purpose of our existence. The book has plenty of science talk in to satisfy any science major, but also has enough scripture reference to make the most devout happy. I found this book to be immensely interesting and encouraging. -- Laura

The library has this book at BL 240.3 .G56 2006

Fahrenheit 451

Fahrenheit 451 is written by Ray Bradbury. Though it is a short book, it contains a lot of different ideas and things to think about. Set in the future, the purpose of Firemen is to set books ablaze rather than extinquish raging fires. The book revolves around Guy Montag, a 10 year veteran of lighting fires. Guy was happy with his life until he met two people who made him pause and contemplate what he was doing. Curious, Guy takes some books and begins to read them! The best part of the book is when Guy realizes that books contain knowledge that is beneficial, and that books are a way to experience different emotions. So this book about burning books is a great book to read! -- Trevor

The Library has this book at PS 3503.R167 F3 1993