Boys Rule Boys Read!: August 2016

Saturday, August 13, 2016

Once Again--Is Michael Phelps, Like Percy Jackson, a son of Poseidon?

Hey, guys, especially all you Percy Jackson fans, if you've been watching the Summer Olympics, you've probably been amazed at the incredible Michael Phelps. I mean, this dude has been competing way past the point other athletes have packed up and gone away. AND he's not just competing, he's still winning gold medals!! It's just unbelievable. So that made think of a post from August 20, 2008 in which I asked if he were a son of Poseidon, just like Percy Jackson. Here's a copy of that original post:

Well, think about it---Percy is powerful in the water; Michael is powerful in the water. Percy has ADHD; so does Michael. Coincidence??? Hmmmmmm......

Of course, someone is bound to say, "But Michael Phelps is 23 years old. He turned 16 before Percy. Why didn't he claim the ancient prophecy?" Don't you remember that Grover said in the first book that some demigods never find out about their parentage and grow up to be famous people due to their remarkable abilities.

"OK, why didn't the monsters get his scent and track him down?" PLEASE--ask me a hard question!! The answer is obvious--the monsters didn't catch his demigod scent because of all that chlorine in all those swimming pools!!

Plus, someone left a comment saying that Michael has a sing le mom and Percy Jackson has a single mom.

Too many coincidences??? Hmmmmm....

So what do you think? Do we have a demigod on the US swimming team? You gotta wonder. Did you see him in that 200-meter event Wednesday night? He didn't just win--he DOMINATED that race! He was so impressive that our own Carolina Panthers football team paused its preseason game Thursday night to watch him win! So how about it, boys? Do ordinary mortals keep winning in the water like he does? Is Michael Phelps an unknown son of Poseidon? Leave a comment in the Comments section below this post and tell us!

Wednesday, August 10, 2016

Reid Comes Through Again!

Hey, everybody is the great land of summer! Our good friend Reid has sent us not just one but two of his first-class reviews! He always tells us about very cool books, so let's hear what he will tell us today:

The Mysterious Benedict Society and The PerilousJourney is a follow-up to the last and is even better! In it the special children go on a hair tingling adventure with the Ten Men on their trail. They catch taxis and go on boats to follow a path of clues Mr.Benedict has left for them. This book gets you even closer to the danger than ever before. It is a very interesting text that I hope you will read. And if you do read it you are guaranteed to like it.

Mr Lemoncello's library is about a boy named Kyle that really wants to check out a book at the new library. The new game maker that is world-famous designed it! And, Kyle just found out about an invitation only lock-in.He is so excited that it is finally time for the lock-in. But when he gets there he realizes that he is going to have to get ready because what will happen next he will never forget. So read this book and you will never forget it either. So make sure you get it or else you will not have the adventure of a lifetime.

Thanks, Reid! I enjoyed that book (which is actually called Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library) and I would LOVE to work at that library! The Mysterious Benedict Society books sound great too.

So, guys, take a clue from Reid and check out these books. Still time left for lots of fun summer reading!

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.