Boys Rule Boys Read!: January 2014

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

An Old Friend, A New Friend

Greetings, all you rocking, rolling and reading guys. You have certainly rocked in the new year! Today we have not one but TWO reviews from a couple of very cool reader guys. The first is from our old friend Michael, who's been sending first-class reviews for--oh, what, SEVEN years now? Let's hear about what he's read lately:

The Infinity Ring, book 6

Behind Enemy Lines

by Jennifer A. Nielsen

Dak, Sera, and Riq must defeat the Nazis in World War II by pulling off the biggest spy mission of all time. But the complications come when Dak and Sera are forced to briefly return to the present day, and when they go back to 1943, they bring an uninvited guest... Tilda, leader of the SQ. How can they possibly hope to defeat Tilda and Hitler at the same time? Everything hangs by a thread in this suspenseful 11th adventure of the time traveling trio! Now, for those of you who read my Cave of Wonders review, you may remember how I was going on about how good I wanted Behind Enemy Lines to be, since the time period has a lot of modern resources, and since it claimed to be a spy novel. I'm glad to say that this book does not disappoint! Despite the lack of action, I was still intrigued by the secret plans, the labyrinth of complications, and the real-history facts. The characters' reactions were fantastic, and the balance between the spy mission and the time travel problems was perfect. Even though some of the other books of this series had more action, I still believe that this is the best-written book of the series so far. Definitely worth reading! The series will end with the next book, The Iron Empire, by James Dashner, the author who wrote the first book of this series. I hope it's a satisfying finale. Stay tuned for the next review!

Michael Lanier

Pianist, guitarist, banjoist, autoharpist, jaw harpist, ukeist, mandolinist

Thanks, Michael, and well done! I was afraid The Infinity Ring series would be a 39 Clues rip-off but this sounds really good. Have any of you guys out there read it?

And now I'm pleased to announce that we have a new reader guy in our ranks. His name is Brady and he comes to see me at the Myers Park library. Let's see what Brady has read:

I just read a book from Dan Gutman called The Get Rich Quick Club. I like it because of the character Gina. She makes summer fun in a small boring town, by convincing a group of kids they can all become millionaires before summers end. I would rate this book 4 and a half stars out of 5 stars. If you like fiction this is a book for you.

Thanks, Brady! I love fiction, so I might have to get this one. In fact, I was going to read it but someone claimed it before I had the chance. One of my Iron Guy Resolutions is to read some Dan Gutman books this year. And remember, Grady, the first time any guy sends in a review, he gets to come here and get a free book out of our ultra-cool prize box!

Any other guys out there itching to get a free book? Send us your reviews!

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Iron Guy's 2014 Resolutions

Happy 2014!! Yes, I know it's halfway through January, but it's been since December since I've talked with you and I want to wish you a happy new one to all of you. Now, during January, grownups like to make resolutions--you know, promises to yourself to do things better in the new year. The Iron Guy is no exception and here are my resolutions:

Read more books for younger reader guys. I've realized that I haven't read many books for our younger guys, so I plan to take care of that.

Read more nonfiction. There are a LOT of really good nonfiction books on the library shelves and it's a shame not to let you know about them.

Read some Dan Gutman books. A lot of reader guys are absolutely crazy for Dan Gutman, especially his My Weird School series. I've read a few of his books, really liked one and have been so-so on the others. I want to try again and see what all the excitement is about.

Read the Origami Yoda books. All three were at the library recently and I checked them all out. A lot of guys like these books.

And one more--read the Boy-Girl Battle series by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. I read the first one--the Boys Start the War--and really enjoyed it, so I want to read the rest of them.

All right, it looks like I've got my work cut out for me. Can I do it? HA! Of course! It may take the rest of the year, but how could anyone doubt the toughness and determination of the IRON GUY?

Here's How Our Blog Works

If you don't know how to post comments or reviews to our blog or if you want to read what we and other boys have written, here's what you do:

1. Every post has a place underneath it that says "Comments". Click on it and it will take you to a place in which you can write something. When you're done, click on a way to identify yourself. You don't have to create a Blogger/Google account (unless you already have one); you can click on "Name/URL" or even "Anonymous." Then click "Publish Your Comment." We try to get your comments and reviews posted right away, but sometimes we get busy with other duties. So, if you don't see your comment right away, don't panic. We'll post it soon.

Don't forget--any boy can get a free book the first time he writes a review. If you live too far away to come to the Myers Park library, go ahead and write to us anyway. We'll try to find a way to get a book to you. Besides, all the other boys out there would love to hear from you.

When you tell us about a book, please give the title, author, what the book is about, and why you did or didn't like it.

2. Blogs go "front to back"; that is, the newest post comes up first and the older ones are put further back. You click on the "Blog Archive" to read older articles. The posts for this month have the titles listed. You can click on other months to catch our other posts. (Our introduction is in June of 2007; if you're new to this blog, you might look it up.)

3. Underneath each post you'll see a line that says "Labels" and several other words such as "graphic novels" or "Andrew Clements." These extra words are links to a subject; for instance, if you clicked on "graphic novels," it would pull up all the posts about graphic novels. There's also a section below on some of our best posts on the most popular subjects

4. Did you notice that the posts from last year don't show up month by month as they did before this year? If you click on the triangle next to the previous years, the months will drop down and you can go back and see what we and your fellow readers have written.

The Iron Guy's Review Policy

1. Since the Iron Guy works for the terrific Charlotte Mecklenburg Library, I review only books that the library already has or will get soon.
2. If you are an author or publisher or agent and think you have a book that boys will go crazy over, please leave me a comment (with your email address so I can contact you) under any post. I will look and see if we have the book. If not, and if the book looks good, I will contact Those Who Order Books and see if CML would be interested. (Please note--CML does not usually order self-published books) PLEASE do not just send me a book! I appreciate the offer but but first I want to see if CML has it or will get it soon.