Michael Kick-Starts the Contest!

...with two really good reviews! Here they are:

Quantum Prophecy, book 1

The Awakening

by Michael Carroll

Ten years ago, there was a huge battle, and all of the superheroes in the world vanished. But now, Colin Wagner and his friend Danny Cooper are finding that things are not as they seem. Danny's dad was a supervillain, and Colin's parents were both superheroes. What's more: when puberty hits, around 13, a child might start developing inherited superpowers. Colin and Danny are right at that age. When their powers begin to develop, they find that they're getting a little unwanted attention from supposedly dead supervillains of the past. Although I don't approve of the language, the storyline is great, and readers will zoom through the Quantum Prophecy trilogy faster that a superhero. Also look for book 2, The Gathering.

The Adventures of Ordinary Boy, book 1

Te Hero Revealed

by William Boniface

Welcome to Superopolis, where everyone is simply super! Well... almost everyone. There's just one exception... Ordinary Boy. But although he is the only human being without a superpower, he still turns out to be a hero! Something fishy is afoot when trading cards are released that everyone must have. There's 64 of them, but some are quite rare. The most rare of them all is a supervillain called Professor Brain-Drain, and the real Professor is furious! He's determined to make trillions of trading cards with his name on them and suffocate the villains of Superopolis with them! Will OB and his friends save the day? Will the Professor get his way? And most mysterious of all... who is Meteor Boy? Great book, humorous content, and the heroes are fantastic! Great writing in general! Look for book 2, The Return of Meteor Boy? (which is a lot better than the first one) and book 3, The Great Powers Outage.

Thanks, Michael! These really look good. Like something we all could LOVE! Keep those reviews coming. And let's hear from more of you! What books do you LOVE???

Books Guys LOVE Contest!!

All right, guys, today's February 1. We have three holidays this month. Chinese New Year is in two days. That one's a lot of fun. President's Day also falls this month and that's good for two reasons: 1. Because George Washington and Abraham Lincoln were two of the most incredible guys who ever lived and 2. some guys get out of school that day!

Then there's that other holiday.

You know the one I mean.

The one the grownups obviously thought of--the one about romance and looovvveee and all that stuff. Yep, I mean Valentine's Day.

Well, that got me to thinking--if Valentine's Day is all about looovvveee and this blog is all about books and guys, then why don't we try to find out what books guys LOVE? I mean, there are a lot of good books out there, but which ones do you really LOVE to read? And even reread? For example, I like a lot of books, but I LOVE The Lightning Thief, The Alvin Ho books, and Treasure Island.
The best way to find out, of course, is to run a contest! So, starting today, we'll have the Books Guys LOVE Contest. The rules are simple: write reviews of books you LOVE and send them in. (write your review in the "comments" section under any post in this blog. If you need further instructions, they're on the "How This Blog Works" section on the left-hand side of the page) I will post your reviews and keep a tally of how many each guy sends. The three guys who send in the most reviews will get to pick prizes out of our ultra-cool prize box. The first place winner will pick three items, the second place guy can pick two, and the third place guy can get one. (We have lots of great stuff in there--books, t-shirts, a poster, door hangers, reading journals, etc. You see a picture of some of what we have) Writing reviews is easy--make sure you include the title of the book, the author, a little bit on what the book's about, and why you LOVED it. It doesn't have to be fancy, just sincere. And you don't have to write about chapter books--you can also tell us about graphic novels, biographies, or nonfiction books you LOVE.

The contest runs from February 1 through February 14. I'll announce the winners on February 15. The winners can come to the Myers Park library to claim their prizes. (If you live out of town or too far away in Mecklenburg county to come here, just let me know and I'll find a way to get them to you) Oh, did I say that anyone who writes a review for the first time gets a free book? Good encouragement if you're new to us!

So what are you waiting for??? Let us hear about the books you LOVE!!

Steve Brixton Sleuths Again!

And that's good news for guy readers! I was a BIG fan of the first book, The Case of the Case of Mistaken Identity, written by Mac Barnett with terrific illustrations by Adam Rex. (see my review here) So I was very excited to hear about The Ghostwriter Secret, the second one!

Steve Brixton has read and reread and reread all 58 of the Bailey Brothers mysteries. He's such a fan that, when he finds himself in the middle of a real mystery, he tries to do what the Bailey Brothers would have done. Now he has set up his own detective agency. In fact, he gets a case right away-a chance to track down the missing Fairchild diamond. But in the middle of it, he gets a letter from MacArthur Bart, the author of the Bailey Brothers mysteries, saying that he's in trouble and needs Steve's help! Can Steve and his best chum Dana rescue the missing author? Who has torn up Steve's crime lab? Why do they leave a note telling them to stay away from MacArthur Bart? And just what is a solar plexus anyway?? You won't know if you don't read this book!!

I liked this one a lot. Did I like it as much as the first one? Well, yes and no. This one was a much better mystery. I figured out the first one long before the end and The Ghostwriter Secret had plenty of surprises. This one did not have all the outrageous action and humor of the first one but, to be fair, it would have been very hard to match the first one. After all, that one had librarians who knew 7 kinds of martial arts, Steve being chased by a bookmobile and escaping from the locked hold of a Chinese freighter! But this one also has plenty of action and humor and I'd recommend it to any guy reader out there.

Now the BIG question is--will there be another Brixton Brothers book??

Welllllllll........

You'll just have to read this one to find out!!!!!!!

Hahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A Book for Tough Times--or for Good Times

HAPPY NEW YEAR, all you rollin' rockin', readin' guys out there! This is about a week late, but the Iron Guy has been busy lately, reading good books for guys and coming up with New Year's resolutions. (More about that next week!) But right now I want to talk about a good book for times like these. 2010 was a rough year for a lot of people--including the library. Everyone hopes 2011 will be better but, even so, it could be a year in which we need a lot of inspiration. So what better way to start off this year with a review of a good and inspiring book? That would be Heart of a Student Athlete: All-Pro Advice for Competitors and Their Families by Karl Mecklenburg.

Mr. Mecklenburg was NFL player for the Denver Broncos. He was an all-pro captain and went to three Super Bowls. Yet he was not born under a lucky star; he was 310th pick in the NFL draft and had to overcome a lot of obstacles to play pro ball. He achieved his dreams, though--in fact, he exceeded them by a very long shot. In this book he shares the six keys to success. What are they? Well, you'll just have to read it to to find out! But you'll have a good time as you do! Karl Mecklenburg doesn't just give a lot of advice, he tells stories from his life and his NFL career, including:

• How crazy some cities can be over their teams (read the section about the Broncos going to Cleveland!)
• What it's like to play in the Super Bowl (and why the actual game is sort of an anticlimax)
• The good guys of the NFL--you always hear about the bad boys, but, in the very first chapter, Karl Mecklenburg talks about the good things his teammates have done since retiring from the NFL
• The Zone--why all the hard work pays off

I enjoyed this book. The advice is solid and the stories are interesting. The book isn't perfect; there were a couple of places when he talked about some of his games and I had trouble understanding what happened. But these are minor flaws in a really good book. (Besides, I got this book as an advanced reading copy--which means that a very nice publisher sent it to me before the book came out--and those flaws may have been corrected) If you're into football, if you're not into football, or if you're a guy trying to figure out what life is about, this book is very much worth your time.
PS--Since Charlotte is in Mecklenburg county, how could I not like a book by Karl Mecklenburg!

A Nook and a Behemoth!

Happy second week of holiday vacation to all you reader guys! Hope you had a good Christmas. I certainly did, spending time with family and friends, but I also got one of the coolest gifts I've ever received--a brand new NOOK!!! Yes, indeed, the Iron Guy meets 21st-century technology! These Nooks and Kindles and other e-readers could be the wave of the future. A lot of grownups are even wondering if they will replace regular books someday. (I don't think so--I bet there will be a mix of e-books and regular books in the future) What do you guys think? And do any of you have a Nook? A Kindle? Any type of e-reader? Do you like it? Or not? Write in and tell us.

And now for a review of a truly rockin' book--Behemoth by the amazing Scott Westerfeld. I was a huge fan of Leviathan, the first book in this trilogy, and I would have been happy if this second one had been just as good. Well, guess what--this one's even better!!

The story takes place in Istanbul (or Constantinople), Turkey in 1914. World War I has just broken out--except, in this story, the world is a little different from the real world of WWI. This is an "alternate history" story; the Germans and Austrians (called "Clankers") use walking war machines, while the British and their allies (called "Darwinists") use fabricated animals. The two main characters, Prince Alek of Austria and Dylan Sharp (who's really Deryn--I'll get to that in a minute) have flown to Istanbul. Prince Alek is a prisoner of the British. Dylan is with Dr. Barlow, the granddaughter of Charles Darwin, who is on a mission to deliver a secret cargo to the Sultan. Things do not go as planned, however. The mission fails spectacularly, Prince Alek escapes, hides in Istanbul and joins a revolutionary movement to overthrow the Sultan. In the meantime, Dylan performs acts of heroism, gets sent on an underwater mission and discovers a deadly Clanker weapon. And speaking of secrets, important people start to discover Dylan's secret--which is that Dylan is really Deryn, a girl who disguised herself as a boy to join the Royal Air Service!

If you liked all the adventure, excitement, humor of Leviathan, then get ready, because this book has all that plus some!! You've got Clanker machines attacked on the streets of Istanbul, strange Darwinist animals, daring nighttime escapes and an unbelievable battle at the end. And the illustrations!!! In most books, the pictures are just--well, they're just sort of there and don't really add anything. In Behemoth, the illustrations really take you into the story and bring everything vividly to life. I enjoyed this one and I'm sure you will, too. I can't wait until next year when Goliath, the third book, comes out!!
PS--if you want to see my review of Leviathan, click here. If you haven't read it already, you could go right to Behemoth, but I'd advise you to read Leviathan first so you get a better sense of what's going on.

Season's Greeting From the Iron Guy!

What better way to usher in the holiday weekend than with a little rock and roll?


Yeah, baby, that's the way to rock the night away! Well, the holiday is right around the corner.The library will be closed for three days and I plan to kick back, relax, and spend time with family and friends. I might even get some reading time and I'd love to tell you all about it. I'm only pages away from finishing Behemoth and, MAN, is it good!!! Better than the first one and that's saying a lot. I certainly wish every one of you all the love, joy and peace of the season.

Holiday Advice from the Tomas Clan

This is Agent Flexing Bear, writing from my secret Tomas stronghold. (It's cleverly disguised as a library, the last place you'd expect to see a Tomas) I just received Top Secret instructions on the best way to enjoy the holidays. Memorize it, my Tomas brothers and sisters!! (Yes, I know there are THREE whole sentences--take as many hours as you need to memorize them!!) Here you go:The first sentence about not body-slamming Santa is really good advice-- I got into SO much trouble last year when I body-slammed him after he came down our chimney last year! (Hey, it wasn't MY fault!! I thought he was a Janus in disguise!)