Society for the Appreciation of Great Literature

A Briefer History of Time by Stephen Hawking

Bluefield Library — Thu, 27 May 2010 11:19:11 +0000

is a non-fiction book worth reading. It’s very accessible, and it gives much insight into many fascinating topics. Stephen Hawking discusses matters such as time travel, string theory, Einstein’s theory of relativity, black holes and wormholes. It’s also shorter than “A Brief History of Time” so if you’re busy, it only takes a couple days to finish, which is convenient. I would recommend this book for anyone. If your interested in physics, you’ll definitely enjoy it, if not, you’ll still enjoy it. You could also read it to impress your physics teacher.

easily 4.9 *
Dalton M

Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell

Bluefield Library — Thu, 27 May 2010 11:16:21 +0000

Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell is a brilliant work of fiction. If you’ve ever read a Utopian novel like “Animal Farm” or “Brave New World”, this one is better. If you’ve ever heard of “Big Brother” or “The Thought Police”, they are concepts that are developed within this novel. In the novel, the world has gone totalitarian. The majority of the world’s land mass is divided between three massive superpowers. The remaining land mass is the subject of a never-ending war. All three superpowers have social class distinctions that are established in a fashion designed to prevent revolutions. Essentially ensuring that the poor stay poor. They simply vaporize anyone who makes the mistake of non-conformity. The novel follows a man named Winston Smith. Winston secretly disagrees with his society. If you want to know what happens to him, read the novel.

4.8 *
Dalton M

Executive Orders by Tom Clancy

Bluefield Library — Thu, 27 May 2010 11:13:51 +0000

Executive Orders by Tom Clancy is a thrilling novel. It’s more of a military/political genre. The protagonist, Jack Ryan is forced unwillingly into presidency. He was supposed to be the vice-president for a couple of relaxing years before retirement. Now due to a massive terrorist attack, the majority of the American congress and cabinet are dead. Jack is left virtually alone to run the country. There are a number threats to the United States that he must deal with. One of the appealing aspects of this novel is that Jack is a normal person, not a politician. He has no hidden agenda, and he does what he thinks is right, not what is deemed to be “politically correct”. Tom Clancy is an exceptional writer, and he demonstrates this clearly with this novel. In the beginning of the novel, there are numerous separate characters and events. As the novel continues, these characters and event begin to entwine to form a solid, and spectacular, plot line.

5.0*
Dalton M

Without Remorse by Tom Clancy

Bluefield Library — Thu, 27 May 2010 11:10:22 +0000

“Without Remorse” , another Tom Clancy novel, is an emotional roller coaster that challenges the reader’s morals. John Kelly,an ex-Navy SEAL, faces many intense challenges in his life. At the beginning of the novel, his pregnant wife is killed in a car crash. Months later, after he has partially recovered from his wife’s death, he becomes involved with a girl he helped escape from a drug ring. Everything is good, for a brief time, then one of her old pimps spots her and a chase ensues. Afterward, she is dead, and he is in the hospital for many weeks. After he has recovered, he begins a journey of revenge, where he murders multiple drug runners and gang members, working his way to those responsible for the death of his girlfriend. Although police are assigned to investigate the series of murders, they figure the culprit they’re trying to capture is a hero. The novel combines this “street” aspect with a military aspect that involves the Vietnamese war. It’s a high-quality read.

4.8*
Dalton M

Is He or Isn’t He? – John Hall

Bluefield Library — Mon, 03 May 2010 14:25:44 +0000

This book was such a fun, easy read. When I first started it I only picked it up because it was new to the shelves and I needed something to read, turns out it was one of those books that is so long that you end up taking your time in reading it, only because you don’t want it to end. Is He or Isn’t He is about two best friends Paige and Anthony, they live in the Upper East Side and are best friends. When new kid Max moves into town, Paige and Anthony are both immediately interested in him. The only problem is, Anthony’s ‘gayday’ (helps him figure out whether or not a guy is gay) doesn’t work on Max and presents the problem of is he or isn’t he. The schemes that these two friends put together would drive most friendships apart but these two remain the best of friends all the while plotting to get the same guy. Such a fun, easy book and definitely worth the read.

Though I would love to give this book 5 stars, I can’t bring myself to do so (just because I’ve never given a 5 before)
Is He or Isn’t He gets ** 4.9898969977889099 **

Lynnea

Ghosts of War – Ryan Smithson

Bluefield Library — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 12:22:43 +0000

Ghosts of War is how Ryan Smithson copes with his memories. Ryan Smithson is a private in the U.S. Army. He served in Iraq at the age of nineteen. He enlisted in the reserves at the age of seventeen, when he was in high school. Ryan explains the war in Iraq from the perspective of a soldier, instead of the perspective of a journalist. He tells you the little things, like giving water, and food to starving children. He tells you what it feels like to become brother and sister with those you’ve never met before. He tells you how it feels to lose one of them. He explains the small victories of helping those in need. Victories that the media don’t show you. This book offers much insight into soldiers, and the sacrifices they make. Do not read this book if you want to feel good about yourself. There’s some humor, but the purpose of this book is to teach an understanding of the war, and soldiers who fight for the freedom of others.

rating: 4.7

Dalton M

Doppelganger by Marie Brennan

Bluefield Library — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 14:37:08 +0000

~When a witch is born, a doppelganger is created. For a witch to harness her powers and not be destroyed by them, the doppelganger must be killed. Mirage is a bounty hunter with lethal fighting skills and Miryo, the studying-to-be witch, must hunt the hunter if she wants to live.~

An imaginative, enticing novel. A new and creative take on magic and witches. This is a thoroughly enjoyable read with action packed drama and the mystical. Loved it!

4.9999999789*

Chelsea

J-Pod By Douglas Coupland

Bluefield Library — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 14:19:27 +0000

Life as a techno-geek is well interesting and lately things have been going bat-crazy for Ethan Jarlewski. There is a dead biker in his mother’s basement, smuggled immigrants in his home and read more to find out more bizarre happenings in Ethan’s life. A lethal joy-ride.~ Funny! Freakin’ hilarious! This is an extremely pure-randomness novel and something everyone should atleast sample, but definately indulge some time in it. 5*

Chelsea

Nerd Girl Rocks Paradise City ~ Anne Thomas Soffee

Bluefield Library — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 15:07:02 +0000

Overall this book was a ton of fun to read, it showed a behind the scenes, fun, sometimes dangerous, look at the world of hair metal that most all of us did not have the priviledge of living through. The author was not to afraid to give us the gory details of what living in this time and being a part of this life was like. She suffered with substance abuse and spent most of her time in bars across America but she still managed to keep her dream alive. This memoir is not the usual one you might find on the shelves of the local library or book stores these days. It keeps the readers interest and at the same time shows what happens when you “sell out”. Anne Thomas Soffee is not whinny or regretful, she takes what happened in her early years and makes it a fun read for the rest of us. While reading this book I kept having to remind myself that I was reading a memoir, not a fictional novel. Anne Soffee becomes your best friend in this novel because by the end of it you feel like you know every little thing you possibly could about her and that you even expierienced these moments with her. One downfall of this book however was the fact that although I read this book all in one sitting, by the time I finished it I was left wanting more than what she had given. All in all this is one of the coolest memoirs I have read and I really enjoyed her writing style.

A great read that deserves 4.999999999888877776897544 *stars*

Lynnea

Wuthering Heights – Emily Brontë

Bluefield Library — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 23:12:41 +0000

So, this book is one of my all time favorites, like ever! It is a Christmas tradition of mine to read it every year the week before Christmas and I have done so since grade 7. I am not going to say anything about the plot of this book for the sake of intrigue. Just know that this story surpasses all other love stories, (even Twilight ) So trust my reader’s intuition and get to the library and get this book!

An easy 5 stars, hands down.

Lynnea