Bishop McNamara is a Catholic, college-prep high school in Kankakee, IL. The library blog introduces new books, book reviews, book trailers, fun and interesting articles, original writing, and school and community news.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Thursday, October 22, 2009
One woman's junk is another's treasure
Read Sharon Fiffer's postings about yard sales and collecting on her home page.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
New Books - 10/16/09
600
We beat the street : how a friendship pact led to success / by the three doctors : Drs. Sampson Davis, George Jenkins, and Rameck Hunt with Sharon M. Draper
The story of how three teenage boys from a tough neighborhood in Newark, N.J., avoided gangs and crime and encouraged and challenged each other to pursue medical degrees. (replacement copy)
700
Cathedral (DVD) / hosted by David Macaulay
Depicts the construction and design of medieval a French cathedral.
800
Half broke horses : a true-life novel / Jeannette Walls
Walls tells the story of Lily Casey Smith, her spirited maternal grandmother. Smith was a teacher, horse-breaker, rancher, and ruthless poker player. (by the author of The Glass Castle).
The surrender tree : Poems of Cuba’s struggle for freedom / Margarita Engle
Engle’s poems construct a narrative woven around Cuba’s Wars for Independence, 1850-1899. The poems are narrated by Rosa, a freed slave and healer; Teniente Muerte or Lieutenant Death, son of a slave hunter ; Jose, Rosa’s husband; and Silvia, an escapee from a Cuban reconcentration camp.
Biography
Look me in the eye : my life with Asperger’s / John E. Robison
Diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome at age forty, Robison tells the painful story of longing to connect with other people. As a child, his quirky behavior marked his as a social deviant. As a middle-school student, he discovered a gift for repairing machines and circuitry; he now owns a successful company dedicated to repairing and restoring high-end European cars. “In the end, Robison succeeds in his goal of helping those who are struggling to grow up or live with Asperger's to see how it is not a disease but a way of being that needs no cure except understanding and encouragement from others.”(Amazon.com ; 10/16/09)
Fiction
Does my head look big in this? / Randa Abdel-Fattah
Sixteen year old Amal is an Australian-born, Muslim Palestinian. A typical teenager, she is also serious about her Muslim faith and decides to wear a hijab, the traditional Muslim headdress. A funny, heart-warming book that addresses issues of faith, culture and values.
And another thing : Douglas Adams’s hitchhiker’s guide to the galaxy : part six of three / Eoin Colfer
“The rather unexpected, but very welcome, sixth installment of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series. It features a pantheon of unemployed gods, everyone's favorite renegade Galactic President, a lovestruck green alien, an irritating computer, and at least one very large slab of cheese.” (Amazon.com ; 10/19/09)
We beat the street : how a friendship pact led to success / by the three doctors : Drs. Sampson Davis, George Jenkins, and Rameck Hunt with Sharon M. Draper
The story of how three teenage boys from a tough neighborhood in Newark, N.J., avoided gangs and crime and encouraged and challenged each other to pursue medical degrees. (replacement copy)
700
Cathedral (DVD) / hosted by David Macaulay
Depicts the construction and design of medieval a French cathedral.
800
Half broke horses : a true-life novel / Jeannette Walls
Walls tells the story of Lily Casey Smith, her spirited maternal grandmother. Smith was a teacher, horse-breaker, rancher, and ruthless poker player. (by the author of The Glass Castle).
The surrender tree : Poems of Cuba’s struggle for freedom / Margarita Engle
Engle’s poems construct a narrative woven around Cuba’s Wars for Independence, 1850-1899. The poems are narrated by Rosa, a freed slave and healer; Teniente Muerte or Lieutenant Death, son of a slave hunter ; Jose, Rosa’s husband; and Silvia, an escapee from a Cuban reconcentration camp.
Biography
Look me in the eye : my life with Asperger’s / John E. Robison
Diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome at age forty, Robison tells the painful story of longing to connect with other people. As a child, his quirky behavior marked his as a social deviant. As a middle-school student, he discovered a gift for repairing machines and circuitry; he now owns a successful company dedicated to repairing and restoring high-end European cars. “In the end, Robison succeeds in his goal of helping those who are struggling to grow up or live with Asperger's to see how it is not a disease but a way of being that needs no cure except understanding and encouragement from others.”(Amazon.com ; 10/16/09)
Fiction
Does my head look big in this? / Randa Abdel-Fattah
Sixteen year old Amal is an Australian-born, Muslim Palestinian. A typical teenager, she is also serious about her Muslim faith and decides to wear a hijab, the traditional Muslim headdress. A funny, heart-warming book that addresses issues of faith, culture and values.
And another thing : Douglas Adams’s hitchhiker’s guide to the galaxy : part six of three / Eoin Colfer
“The rather unexpected, but very welcome, sixth installment of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series. It features a pantheon of unemployed gods, everyone's favorite renegade Galactic President, a lovestruck green alien, an irritating computer, and at least one very large slab of cheese.” (Amazon.com ; 10/19/09)
New Library Books - 10/21/09
Fiction
The good guy / Dean Koontz
Tim Carrier, an unassuming stone mason, is mistaken for a hit man. A stranger slips him an envelope containing $10,000 and a photo of the intended victim and leaves. Moments later, the real hit man arrives and assumes Tim is his client. Tim pays the hit man for his trouble but tells him he’s changed his mind. This ploy buys Tim enough time to warn the victim and help her flee for her life.
Gym candy / Carl Deuker
High-school football player Mick Johnson is determined not to follow the path of his father’s failed NFL career. Mick discards his vitamin supplements in favor of steroids, but while turning in record-breaking performances, he also suffers dangerous side-effects.
The haunting of Alaizabel Cray / Chris Wooding
“In Victorian London, a new plague is underway: an infestation of demonic creatures known as wych-kin. Thaniel Fox, a 17-year-old wych-hunter who calls forth both Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Indiana Jones, spends his time reducing wych-kin populations with methods that combine magic, superstition, and good old-fashioned gunslinging. After stumbling upon an obviously traumatized young woman on one of his expeditions, he swiftly discovers that she has escaped from the clutches of a powerful cult called the Fraternity. The connections between Alaizabel's plight, rising numbers of wych-kin, and the Fraternity's plans are revealed by tantalizing degrees, as Thaniel; Alaizabel; Thaniel's guardian, Cathaline; and several colorful allies join forces to combat evil on a terrifying scale.” (Amazon.com ; 10/21/09)
Leaving paradise / Simone Elkeles
Maggie has just been released from the hospital where doctors repaired her leg; Caleb has just been released from the prison after serving nine months for the car accident that injured Maggie. The two narrate alternate chapters, relating stories of psychological and physical trauma, harassment and social rejection, and their bittersweet love story.
900
The good soldiers / David Finkel
David Finkel chronicles the surge in Iraq as a Washington Post correspondent imbedded with 2-16 Infantry Battalion in Baghdad. The “waning violence still meant wild firefights, nerve-wracking patrols through hostile neighborhoods where every trash pile could hide an IED, and dozens of comrades killed and maimed. At the fraught center of the story is Col. Ralph Kauzlarich, whose dogged can-do optimism—his motto is “It’s all good”—pits itself against declining morale and whispers of mutiny.”
(Amazon.com ; 10/21/09)
The good guy / Dean Koontz
Tim Carrier, an unassuming stone mason, is mistaken for a hit man. A stranger slips him an envelope containing $10,000 and a photo of the intended victim and leaves. Moments later, the real hit man arrives and assumes Tim is his client. Tim pays the hit man for his trouble but tells him he’s changed his mind. This ploy buys Tim enough time to warn the victim and help her flee for her life.
Gym candy / Carl Deuker
High-school football player Mick Johnson is determined not to follow the path of his father’s failed NFL career. Mick discards his vitamin supplements in favor of steroids, but while turning in record-breaking performances, he also suffers dangerous side-effects.
The haunting of Alaizabel Cray / Chris Wooding
“In Victorian London, a new plague is underway: an infestation of demonic creatures known as wych-kin. Thaniel Fox, a 17-year-old wych-hunter who calls forth both Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Indiana Jones, spends his time reducing wych-kin populations with methods that combine magic, superstition, and good old-fashioned gunslinging. After stumbling upon an obviously traumatized young woman on one of his expeditions, he swiftly discovers that she has escaped from the clutches of a powerful cult called the Fraternity. The connections between Alaizabel's plight, rising numbers of wych-kin, and the Fraternity's plans are revealed by tantalizing degrees, as Thaniel; Alaizabel; Thaniel's guardian, Cathaline; and several colorful allies join forces to combat evil on a terrifying scale.” (Amazon.com ; 10/21/09)
Leaving paradise / Simone Elkeles
Maggie has just been released from the hospital where doctors repaired her leg; Caleb has just been released from the prison after serving nine months for the car accident that injured Maggie. The two narrate alternate chapters, relating stories of psychological and physical trauma, harassment and social rejection, and their bittersweet love story.
900
The good soldiers / David Finkel
David Finkel chronicles the surge in Iraq as a Washington Post correspondent imbedded with 2-16 Infantry Battalion in Baghdad. The “waning violence still meant wild firefights, nerve-wracking patrols through hostile neighborhoods where every trash pile could hide an IED, and dozens of comrades killed and maimed. At the fraught center of the story is Col. Ralph Kauzlarich, whose dogged can-do optimism—his motto is “It’s all good”—pits itself against declining morale and whispers of mutiny.”
(Amazon.com ; 10/21/09)
Friday, October 16, 2009
Sharon Fiffer, author and Bishop Mac alum
Sharon Schmidt Fiffer, writer and Bishop Mac alum, will be visiting campus on November 16 during 8th hour. Visit her homepage to learn more.
The first six titles listed below are Fiffer’s mystery books. The main character is Jane Wheel, professional picker* and private investigator, who is a “graduate” of Bishop Mac. The books are set in the Chicago area and often feature Kankakee landmarks.
Hollywood Stuff
Buried Stuff
The Wrong Stuff
Dead Guy's Stuff
Killer Stuff
Scary Stuff
[*Picker – one who shops estate sales, garage sales, etc., and buys antiques or collectibles to sell to individuals or antique dealers(or in Jane Wheel’s case, someone who buys trinkets or junk and then refuses to part with it!)]
Other books edited by Sharon Fiffer:
Home: American Writers Remember Rooms of Their Own -- edited by Sharon
and Steve Fiffer
Family: American Writers Remember Their Own -- edited by Sharon and Steve
Fiffer
Body -- edited by Sharon and Steve Fiffer
50 Ways To Help Your Community: A Handbook for Change -- Sharon and Steve
Fiffer
To learn more about Sharon Fiffer, read her article on Poe's Deadly Daughters: a blog for mystery lovers.
The first six titles listed below are Fiffer’s mystery books. The main character is Jane Wheel, professional picker* and private investigator, who is a “graduate” of Bishop Mac. The books are set in the Chicago area and often feature Kankakee landmarks.
Hollywood Stuff
Buried Stuff
The Wrong Stuff
Dead Guy's Stuff
Killer Stuff
Scary Stuff
[*Picker – one who shops estate sales, garage sales, etc., and buys antiques or collectibles to sell to individuals or antique dealers(or in Jane Wheel’s case, someone who buys trinkets or junk and then refuses to part with it!)]
Other books edited by Sharon Fiffer:
Home: American Writers Remember Rooms of Their Own -- edited by Sharon
and Steve Fiffer
Family: American Writers Remember Their Own -- edited by Sharon and Steve
Fiffer
Body -- edited by Sharon and Steve Fiffer
50 Ways To Help Your Community: A Handbook for Change -- Sharon and Steve
Fiffer
To learn more about Sharon Fiffer, read her article on Poe's Deadly Daughters: a blog for mystery lovers.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Man Booker Prize
The Man Booker Prize, Britain’s most prestigious literary award, is conferred every year to a novel written by an author from Britain, Ireland or the Commonwealth nations. The award includes a cash prize of about $80,000. This year's recipient is Hilary Mantel for “Wolf Hall,” a historical novel about Thomas Cromwell, advisor to King Henry VIII. To learn more, read the online New York Times.
Jeanette Walls' new book - coming soon!
Jeanette Walls , author of The Glass Castle (from the 2008-09 Read for a Lifetime list), has published a new book. Glass Castle chronicles the story of Walls hard-scrabble childhood. Half Broke Horses, billed as a real-life novel, tells the story of Walls' maternal grandmother Lily. To learn more, read the free online New York Times.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Check out the latest!
New books:
Front and center / Catherine Murdock (author of Dairy Queen)
The lost symbol / Dan Brown
Scary stuff / Sharon Fiffer (the newest Jane Wheel mystery. Fiffer is a native of Kankakee and a graduate of Bishop Mac)
The grass harp and other stories / Truman Capote
Front and center / Catherine Murdock (author of Dairy Queen)
The lost symbol / Dan Brown
Scary stuff / Sharon Fiffer (the newest Jane Wheel mystery. Fiffer is a native of Kankakee and a graduate of Bishop Mac)
The grass harp and other stories / Truman Capote
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