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Name: Eli
Interests: Music is what we do! The best rock, pop, and hip hop with the greatest message. Every Thursday I review a book at 1 p.m. on Paper Cuts!
Expertise: Music, Books
Industry: Radio
Message: message me
Website: visit my website
Member Since:
6/26/2006
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| OK, it's been a while. Sorry about that. Here's the deal--I'll list the books and give a quick rundown of each, but check out the PaperCuts podcast for the full review.
The Weight of Glory, C.S. Lewis
Amazing book. I've never read anything by C.S. Lewis (Chronicles of Narnia, Mere Christianity, etc...) that I didn't like. And learn from. This is one that I want to read again, because I know I just skimmed the surface of what's really there. It would be great to read with someone else, either a book club or a friend that likes to talk about books and what they're learning, because I think it's one of those books you get more out of that way.
Going Postal, Terry Pratchett
Going Postal got Terry Pratchett shortlisted for the Nebula award (big deal in sci-fi/fantasy lit) and would have gotten him shortlisted for the Hugo (the other big deal in sci-fi/fantasy lit), but he took himself off the list. The novel is set in his fantasy universe Discworld. In the last 25 years Pratchett has written 36 Discworld novels. Some stand alone and some fit better if you read them chronologically. I've read a couple, and I think I'm getting addicted. I like that there are deep moral issues for the main characters to deal with in the midst of whatever crisis makes up the book.
The Bourne Betrayal, Eric VanLustabader
It turns out this is actually the fifth novel featuring Jason Bourne, not the fourth like I thought. Robert Ludlum wrote the first three, the ones that were made into movies: The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy, and The Bourne Ultimatum. The book was a lot like the movies--it's fast-paced, moves around a lot (geographically), has lots of characters that are a little bit hard to keep track of at first, and it's violent. In fact, it was probably the bloodiest book I've ever read. (Coming in second, to the best of my memory, is Desecration from the Left Behind series. I stopped in the middle of that book and never got back into it.)
Like I said, I thought this was the fourth book, but Eric VanLustabader wrote The Bourne Legacy and then this one. There's a sixth book coming out this summer. (I probably won't get it.) I actually got this one for my dad, and wound up reading it when I didn't take enough books with me on vacation a month ago!
<>< Eli
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| I'm a big sci-fi and fantasy fan now, but when I was growing up my first book-love was historical fiction. I particularly liked US history from the Revolutionary through Civil War periods. (Pioneers and other American West stories were favorites, too).
One of the most amazing (and accurate) historical fiction writers in the young adult literary scene is Ann Rinaldi. (Young adult means that's who the books are for, not that she's a young adult, by the way.) Some of her books are kind of girly: The Last Silk Dress and Wolf By The Ears are both pretty romantic, but others are just really good looks at interesting events in history through the eyes of teen characters. (One of my favorites is An Acquaintance With Darkness, about a young girl in Washington when Lincoln is assassinated. Even my dad liked that one.)
I found another Ann Rinaldi book at a used bookstore in Midland a few months ago, and hadn't gotten around to reading it yet. I picked it up last night and couldn't put it down. This one is called Cast Two Shadows, and it's about Caroline Whitaker, the daughter of a "rebel"--a Patriot--in South Carolina during the Revolutionary War. Her father is in prison and her brother is fighting for the British at the beginning of the book. There's a lot more to Caroline's family than just split loyalties, though: her grandmother is one of the slaves on the plantation. When Caroline and her grandma Miz Melindy are sent on a trip together, she starts to discover what her brother meant when he told her she was one of the special people who could "cast two shadows," the one everybody sees and the one that ties her to the hidden parts of her past.
One of the things I like best about Rinaldi's books is the depth of her characters. Even though the main character in each novel is young, they have to deal with deep issues that force moral and philosophical decisions. I think it's great for real young people to see that and begin to think about doing it themselves.
<>< Eli
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| I'm so excited that I've had a chance to read so many Michigan authors for the past month or so of PaperCuts! They've been quite a range of books, too. Jonathan Rand's Michigan Chillers, Claudia Mair Burney's Amanda Bell Brown books, and now, poetry from a Fuse listener!
Philip & the Poet is a chapbook, which means it's a short book of poetry. (Chapbooks are a good place to start if you're new to poetry: not so much to wade through!) I like Andy Christ's poetry because there are light moments and deeper ones.
You can find the PaperCuts review at www.1017thefuse.com and you can find Philip & the Poet at www.mayapplepress.com .
BOOK READING & SIGNING
Philip & the Poet by Andy Christ
April 29th 7 p.m.
The White Crow Conservatory of Music
3736 Mackinaw Rd., Saginaw
<>< Eli
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| I am really excited to be reviewing Murder, Mayhem, and a Fine Man for PaperCuts this week. I've been following the author, Claudia Mair Burney, on her blog for a year or so, now. I think I found the address in an article she wrote for Relevant Magazine. It was a blast to finally read her fiction!
As you may have guessed by the title, Murder, Mayhem, and a Fine Man is a murder mystery. It's also got a bit of reluctant romance, and I like that it doesn't dwell too much on the mystery side of things--although things do break loose at the end of the book.
I'm not going to give you a whole lot of information right now, because Thursday we'll be talking to Claudia Mair Burney for PaperCuts! Don't forget, if you can't catch it Thursday at 1 p.m. you can always download the podcast at www.1017thefuse.com.
<>< Eli
OH! I almost forgot. I wanted to post today because Mair's next two books hit shelves this morning! I know Barnes & Noble in Midland's got them.
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|  I feel bad! The books I've been reviewing on Paper Cuts have been really good, but I haven't been posting. Forgive me! And now I'll get on to the books. I'm going to start with this week's, and then I'll blog on the last couple books I've read.
Michigan Chillers
If you're a parent of elementary students right now, you've probably heard of Jonathan Rand and his Michigan Chillers/American Chillers series of books. I read the first of the Michigan Chillers, Mayhem on Mackinac Island, this week. I wasn't sure what I'd think of it, because I'm not a scary book fan, and as a kid I was a total wimp when it came to that stuff. (OK, I'm still a total wimp.) But the wartwings and blinkmongers in Mayhem were cartoonish enough to not be too scary. They might make "creature under the bed" status, but not something that kids are normally going to think is coming after them. The other aspect of the scary stuff that I really appreciated was that Sandy & Tim, the kids trying to save the world, were never totally alone when it got dangerous. There were several other crazy creatures that were good, and always showed up at just the right time. It may seem like a little thing, because the kids thought they were going to be on their own facing the bad guys, but I think it's less scary when there's an otterpuss (an otter/octopus with a furry body, cute face, and 8 slimy legs) or a bull dog (a cute puppy with horns) to rescue them.
Jonathan Rand says people like to be scared (adrenaline can be addicting, I suppose), and that books provide a safe distance from the danger and are a great way to get that scare. You know your kids better than I do, so give the books a read and decide whether it's something they can handle before they dive in.
One big plus with the Michigan Chillers? Jonathan Rand lives in northern Michigan and if you look, you can probably find autographed copies of a lot of his books. I just picked mine up at Meijer in Midland, but it was signed!
<>< Eli
P.S. Check out his website, www.americanchillers.com , for more info and for information on AuthorQuest, the summer camp Jonathan Rand runs up north for young writers.
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