Ms. Yingling's Book Giveaway Contest and The Second City of Ember Book Club Meeting

Hey, guys, our faithful follower, Ms Yingling, has told us about her book giveaway contest:

Hey, I'm giving away three Patrick Carman books over at MsYinglingReads. Encourage your readers to enter!

OK, men, click here to see Ms. Yingling's site and enter that contest. These books sound like they're really good. So go and enter! And thanks for telling us, Ms. Yingling! That's very good of you. No wonder we made you an Honorary Guy.

And here's the other big news--we're going to hold the second meeting of our City of Emeber Boys Book Club on Saturday, June 6 at 2pm here at Imaginon. We going to have some fun activities, some snacks, and some talk about The People of Sparks, the second book in the series. You have to read the book first, of course, and be from 9-12 years old. And you have to register. Call 704-973-2720 to sign up. We had a really good time at the first meeting, so we hope to see you at this one!

Your friendly neighborhood CARLMAN

What To Read? What To Read?

Hey, everyone, it's Carl again, trying to tough out the constant pain. But, being the manly man that I am, I won't let that stop me from blogging!

We got some good comments yesterday from our brother readers at the SMS Guys Read blog. (You can read them under the Comments section of yesterday's post) There was one in particular that I wanted to talk about. It was from Koko B. Ware:

Hey guys,Its Koko B. Ware here. I was just wanting to know if you knew of any good books that I should try out. I am at a point in my life where I have read everything I can think of and I am at a loss for words, Literally!So if you guys could think of anything that you thought was interesting, send me a comment on guysread and let me know.

Thanks Guys,

Koko B. Ware

We're glad you asked! This brings up a couple of things we need to remind you of every now and then. First, if you want to find some good reads, scroll down the page and see what we've recommended lately. Or go over to the Blog Archives on the left-hand side of the page and see what we've posted this month. Click on the title of any post and it'll come up. You can also click on the little triangle by each month and bring the posts for that month. Or you can click on the little triangles by the other years, bring up the months for that year, then check out the posts for each month.

OR--and here's the big thing I wanted to say--you could go the section titled, "Here are Some Links to..." and check out the sites. All of them have links to good book sites but check out this one especially--it's the sixth one from the top. It's titled, "Here is a list of all the books we've talked about..." It's a list of all the books Bill, Zack, and I have written about AND all the books that YOU ALL have told us about. We've broken down the list into Chapter Books, Graphic Novels, Series Paperbacks, Nonfiction, and Others. We listed the title of each book and the date it was reviewed so that you can go back and read that review. Also notice that the underlined titles are the books that YOU READERS have told us about!! So go over and take a look. Go on. It's easy to find. You're bound to find something good. AND--that list can be printed!!

So print it off and impress your friends! Your teachers!! Your parents!!! Be the first one on your block to...wait a minute, I'm starting to sound like a retro commercial.

Well, I hope you find something good, Koko. And all you other reader guys too. And write and tell us what you find!

The Last Olympian--Two Thumbs Up As High As They Will Go!!

Hey, everyone, this is the Great and Clumsy CARLMAN, reporting back to duty after falling off our loading dock last weekend. Yep, fell off a loading dock! Can you believe it? I was helping someone unload a few things out of a car when I suddenly stepped off the dock by accident. Fortunately, it wasn't very high and I didn't just fall right over. But I did twist my leg and had to take a few days off.

The only good thing was, once the constant pain eased, I finished The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan. MAN. OH. MAN. What a story!! This is it--the final confrontation between the forces of Kronos and the Olympians. The trouble is that Poseidon is under the sea, battling the armies of the titan Oceanus, and the other Olympians are trying to stop Typhon, the most enormous giant possible, before he reaches New York. The only ones to stand between Mount Olympus and Kronos's massive army of monsters are Percy and his friends. Can these kids possibly stand against the Lord of Time? And to make things worse, there's a spy in the Half-Blood camp! How could it get any worse?

You will LOVE this book. There is so much action, monster fighting, and desperate battles that you won't be able to stop reading. And there's also the great Rick Riordan humor. Just wait until you meet the Party Ponies. Or see the giant in the playground who keeps saying, "Uh oh." Or witness the scenes between Demeter and Persephone. And, as always, Mr. Riordan pulls some major surprises. As when you find out what Nico's plan really is. Or when the spy is revealed. You'll never guess. Nope. You won't. I guarantee!

This is a great conclusion to a fantastic series. There are very few series that are so good that they become part of your life. The Lords of the Rings is one. Some say Harry Potter is another. (I haven't finished them) With The Last Olympian, the Percy Jackson series takes its place right with them. that's why this book deserves...

TWO THUMBS UP AS HIGH AS THEY WILL GO!!!

Non-Fiction Coolness

Hey guys, Master Jedi Zack here with a different book offering than I usually give around here. Today I would like to talk about some Non-Fiction, yup true books this time, who'da thunk it?!

The first book I came across here at the library is The Boy's Book of Survival: How to Survive Anything, Anywhere. This book is from the people who brought you the Dangerous Book for Boys (which I trust everyone has read!) and is the definition of AWESOME. This book will teach you how to survive tight situations like a school dance and even the Bubonic Plague. The Dastardly Darth Bill should even read this book for the How to Survive a Duel chapter!




The second book I think everyone should pick up is Are You Afraid Yet?: The Science Behind Scary Stuff. This book is all about ghost stories and why we find them so scary. Of course, being the grand Jedi that I am, I don't experience true FEAR like a Sith would, but it is still fun to learn about why people are frightened by things like King Kong and Bigfoot.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend!

More Discussion on Benedict Arnold, Hulk Sings and a Wolverine Graphic Novel

Hi all in "The Land of Blog,"

Tis I, The Sith with the mostest, Darth Bill. First off I feel I need to counterpoint some comments, with all due respect to the commenters, from the last post about Benedict Arnold.

First Dan commented:

"Thanks for the review. I want to look for this one and share it with my kids. Benedict Arnold is a chance to study character in the face of discouragement and frustration and injustice. He could have been a hero. In the end, he failed, not because his courage failed, but because his character failed, and embittered, he tossed his right to be a hero away. In spite of his abilities and amazing courage, he loses the character war. Character does count."



<------ Artist Rendition of Benedict Arnold




Carl also commented:

"Didn't mean to get on a soapbox, but it's true, guys. Hey, while you read the Benedict Arnold book, you ought to check out Washington at Valley Forge by Russell Freedman. (I reviewed it on the February 16 post titled "What a Book! What a Man!" It would be a good companion to the Benedict Arnold book because it shows how Washington, facing a lot of similar frustrations and discouragements, managed to overcome them."

<------ Artist Rendition of George Washington




While I do not disagree with either of them that character counts quite allot and it is a bit disappointing about some of the things Benedict Arnold did when he changed sides in The Revolutionary War, I would not go as far as to say Benedict Arnold was completely lacking in character nor that George Washington was far his superior in the department of character. One must look not through the eyes of history knowing what we know now, but look at the people and events that where happening at the time. If you read the book (and I plan on reading the one about George Washington), you will see that Arnold looked at what was happening with the Revolution at the time and from what he saw and experienced made a very difficult decision based on that. Anyway no one is perfect and hindsight is always 20/20, that's my take on it and my opinion of Arnold's "Character." Nuff Said!!!!!!


And now for something a bit on the lighter side:




Hulk The Lounge Lizard Singing "Hulk Got You Under Hulk Skin"



Wolverine First Class: Wolverine-By-Night by Fred Lente, Mark Sumerak, Francis Portela, Hugo Petrus and Scott Koblish - If you love Wolverine, you will love this Graphic Novel. The Graphic Novel collects issues "Wolverine: First Class" issues 9 - 12 and "Wolverine and Power Pack" #2. The first story included has Wolverine visiting martial art expert Shang-Chi in order to seek aid in taking on his number one nemesis Sabretooth. The second story is a two parter in which Wolverine and Kitty Pryde take on Werewolves. Things go from bad to worse when Wolverine is bitten by one of the Werewolves and becomes one of them. Luckily Kitty finds a friend in Jack Russel, a somewhat "friendly" Werewolf, to help out. The story after this one has Cyclops returning to the X-Men after a long leave of absence. Along with fighting an ancient monster trapped within a temple and keeping Wolverine and Cyclops from killing one another, Kitty must choose which one should be her mentor. The last story has Wolve inviting Power Pack to the Xavier Institute where they learn the sad truth about bigotry towards mutants when Sentinels attack. I have been very impressed with this Graphic Novel Series and highly recommend it.

Well until next time me amigos,

Peace,

Bill

just around the corner

Hey guys, Master Jedi Zack here once again.

It is nearly time for the busiest and best days at the library, Summer Reading! The program officially starts on June 11th, and here at the Matthews Branch Library we are having a big party to kick off the fun. So come by the library and join us on June 11th at 2pm.

This year's theme is Be Creative @ Your Library. So get ready for lots of programs at all of the branches. I hear that the dastardly Darth Bill and the CARLMAN may even have some programs over at ImaginOn.

Benedict Arnold, Character, Barnstormers/Sluggers, and More Reasons Why Reading Is Important

Heigh-ho, all you reader guys out there, we have two comments from a new friend, Dan. The first is about Darth Bill's review of The Real Benedict Arnold book:

Thanks for the review. I want to look for this one and share it with my kids. Benedict Arnold is a chance to study character in the face of discouragement and frustration and injustice. He could have been a hero. In the end, he failed, not because his courage failed, but because his character failed, and embittered, he tossed his right to be a hero away. In spite of his abilities and amazing courage, he loses the character war. Character does count.

You're so right Dan. Character is life. Your character determines the type of life you'll have. Good character doesn't mean you'll be rich and famous but it will provide you with a good life on the inside, where it counts. If you're a jerk and become rich and famous, all you'll be is a rich and famous jerk. And is that what you want, really? Really?? THAT'S WHY READING GOOD STUFF IS IMPORTANT!!! Frustrating and discouraging times are bound to come and good reading can give you the equipment to deal with them.

Didn't mean to get on a soapbox, but it's true, guys. Hey, while you read the Benedict Arnold book, you ought to check out Washington at Valley Forge by Russell Freedman. (I reviewed it on the February 16 post titled "What a Book! What a Man!") It would be a good companion to the Benedict Arnold book because it shows how Washington, facing a lot of similar frustrations and discouragements, managed to overcome them. Besides, it's an awesome and exciting story!

Dan also sent us a comment about the Barnstormers/Sluggers series:

Hey Carl. Thanks to you (I think it was you, but it was on this blog that I first heard) I'm reading Barnstormers Game 1. I got the first two chapters read in the little time I had before bedtime. So what's up with the hole in the ball? And what's going to happen next? I've got other books to finish and how am I gonna finish them with a book as good as this calling out my name? Anyway, mucho thanks for the tip on this one. I know I'll have to get the rest.

I'm afraid your just going to have to drop all those other books and read these because they'll keep calling you!! They sure did for me. What's up with the hole in the ball??? Wouldn't you like to know? Well--so would I! I haven't found out yet and I've finished the 4th book--but I'm getting some good ideas. Man, these books are good!

I hope you keep writing to us, Dan. We sure enjoyed hearing from you!

Keep swinging for the back fences,

Carl