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?