Most Memorable Books From the Last 10 Years--Part Two

OK, guys, you've seen Part One. Here is another list. Since there are so many, I'm simply going to list them without any comments and I'll put them into three categories. Look them up; our library system has plenty. If you want to learn more about them, check out the Labels section under this post. As I said in the last post, these may not necessarily be the best but they are what has impressed the Iron Guy the most over the last 10 years. (and, yes, other reader guys have enjoyed them as well!)

Most Memorable Nonfiction

The Boys in the Boat

Stubby the War Dog

Lincoln: A Photobiography

Howard Bryant's Legends books

The Last River

Most Memorable Graphic Novels

The Bone series

The Fangbone series

The Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales series

The Lunch Lady series

Funniest

Big Nate

The Alvin Ho series

The Brixton Brothers series

The Boys vs Girls series

The audiobook version of Science Fair

OK, once again, what do you think of this list? Do you agree this is a truly awesome list that should be remembered for the next 1000 years or is it the most bogus list ever assembled? And did I leave anything out? (Like the Wimpy Kid? There a good reason for that too)

Write in and let me know what you think! Hopefully, there are a few of your favorites in here. And if not, maybe you'll find something that will become a new favorite of yours!

Blast form the Past--The Last River

Every once in a while I like to talk about a book I've read and reviewed before. That's what I call a Blast from the Past. Sometimes it's because I'm too busy to make a new recommendation; sometimes it's because I enjoyed a book so much that I just have to tell you about it again. And sometimes an event will trigger the memory of a terrific book that I had forgotten about. That's the case for The Last River: John Wesley Powell and the Colorado River Exploration Expedition by Stuart Waldman and illustrated by Gregory Manchess. I was fortunate enough to go to the Grand Canyon a couple of weeks ago and it made think of this book that I had reviewed waaayyy back in 2008 and hadn't thought of in years. What a terrific book! What a great adventure story! What a remarkable guy!

To be brief, John Wesley Powell was a geology professor. He had also fought in the Civil War and lost an arm. But he wouldn't let a handicap stop him and, driven by his desire to learn and see new things, he took off in 1869 to explore the Green and Colorado rivers.The only thing was that no one had ever done it before. No one. It was too dangerous. The climate was too harsh. There was no one to rescue you if you got into trouble. But, driven by his desire for adventure and knowledge (determination, adventure and learning--three things that make a guy a GUY), he set out with a band of explorers to chart this unknown territory. Did he make it? You'll have to read this unbelievable story to find out! But what a story you'll get--adventure, adventure and sheer dogged determination in the face of impossible conditions. And the illustrations--wow, they will knock your socks right off! They are beautiful, dramatic and fit this incredible story perfectly.

This book has been around a while but I'm glad to say that the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library system still has five copies. And it's short enough to be a good quick read but long enough to really get into.
Don't waste a moment, guys--get out right away and bring it home!

PS--Today is Nonfiction Monday. Check it out to learn about other great nonfiction books.

Happy New Year and Favorites of 2008

Hey, guys, this is Carl wishing you a Happy New Year! Hope the new year will be good for you. 2008 was good for me, especially for reading. I found some some awesome books this year. There were the biggies--The Battle of the Labyrinth, The 39 Clues--but I'd like to tell you about some books that didn't get as much attention but were terrific reads. Some were published this year and some were older, but I read them in 2008 and that's what counts. (I've put the dates of the original reviews in parentheses after each one)

Funniest Book of the Year--The Boys Start the War by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. This is the first in the Boys vs Girls series. This one is so funny that I laughed out loud. I laughed so hard, in fact, that people in my office wondered what was so funny!! (reviewed 9-23-08)

Best Nonfiction--The Last River: John Wesley Powell and the Colorado River Expedition by Stuart Waldman. It doesn't get better than this!! John Wesley Powell had lost an arm in the Civil War but was still determined to be the first human being to explore the Colorado River as it went through the Grand Canyon, an area so wild and dangerous that even the Native Americans wouldn't go there. An amazing story and all the more amazing because it's true!!! (reviewed 8-27-08)

Best Series That Doesn't Get the Attention It Deserves--The Barnstormers Series By Loren Long and Phil Bildner. Set in 1899, it's got baseball, magic, mystery, villains--in other words, everything you could want!! The next one comes out in May 2009 and I can't wait!!!

(reviewed 8-30-08)

Best Graphic Novel--The Undersea Adventures of Cap'n Eli by Jay Piscopo. No question about it, guys, this is the best. It's a mix of classic comic styles but NOT a rip-off!! I haven't enjoyed a comic series this much since I read Iron Man, Nick Fury, and The Fantastic Four back in the Silver Age. Stand by for adventure!!
(reviewed 7-27-08; interview with Jay Piscopo 7-26-08)

The Book I'd Like Most To Read Again--The Postcard by Tony Abbott. 13-year-old Jason has to go to St. Augustine, Florida for his grandmother's funeral, but there are all sorts of strange things surrounding his grandmother that Jason's dad doesn't want to talk about. A mysterious phone call, a postcard showing an old hotel that's about to be torn down, and a mystery story from an old detective magazine set Jason on a trail to find his grandmother's past. A terrific story that keeps you turning page after page. (reviewed 7-14-08)

Best New Discovery--the Erec Rex series by the great Kaza Kingsley. Wow, wow, wow!!!! Exciting, funny, full of adventure, with one of the creepiest bad guys ever, these are the books I'd like to put into the hands of every guy out there. The next one comes in 2009, and, once again, I can't wait!!! (reviewed 8-21-08; interview with Kaza Kingsley 9-13-08)

HAPPY READING IN 2009!

"Danger Is Our Life": The Tale of a Heroic Nerd

Our friends at the Guys Read blog turned me on to a site called Guys Lit Wire (another really good blog about boys' reading--although it's mostly for middle-school guys) which coined the phrase "heroic nerd". They define heroic nerds as "men so driven by the urge to know, to see and understand, they make bold, mad leaps into uncharted territory." They were talking about Thor Heyerdahl and his crew, scientists who, never having sailed before, built rafts made of reeds and went 4300 miles across the Pacific to prove a theory. Well, I just read a short but good book called The Last River: John Wesley Powell and the Colorado River Exploring Expedition by Stuart Waldman about such a man. John Wesley Powell was the first person to canoe the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. Was he a Heroic Nerd? You bet!! He was a college geology professor who was determined to explore the Green River and Colorado River just because no one had done it before. Why not? Because they were so full of rocks, rapids, and dangerous waters that no one, not even the Native Americans who lived there, dared to try. And the most incredible part? John Wesley Powell had only one arm!!

Yes, he lost his right arm in the Civil War but didn't let it stop him. On May 24, 1869 he and his crew set out on wooden canoes to travel a completely unexplored area of the West, through unknown canyons and down unknown rivers, where they had no idea what rapids might be ahead. If anyone got hurt, ran out of food or supplies, well, they were in the middle of the American desert and many, many miles from anyone. AND they made this trip in the middle of summer when the temperature could reach 115 degrees!! How anyone could make that expedition AND survive in nothing short of UNBELIEVABLE!! Stuart Waldman has written a short but realy good book and Gregory Manchess has created illustrations that will make your jaw drop--especially that picture in the middle of the book of the Grand Canyon. PLUS--This book has a very cool feature; the title page folds out and displays a map that stays out while you read the book. That way you can follow the map as you read the story!Plus there are excerpts from the crew's journals and photos taken when JWP went back and explored that area again. PLUS there's a link to a website that shows 400 photos taken on those trips. Can't wait to see them!

This is a good one, guys! Don't miss it!!!

Carl