A Bit of Irony?

Many moons and one child ago I was a book reviewer for the Pleasant Hill Community Focus. This was just one of the many extra-curricular activities I partook in on top of being a full-time teacher. About four months into my second child I realized that I needed to start trimming my work load. Sadly, one of the activities that I needed to cut was the monthly book review for the Pleasant Hill Community Focus.

I went back to their website a few days to see if the articles were still available and found something very surprising and ironic. To be clear, I was not surprised (or upset for that matter) to see that my reviews had been taken down. The last one I wrote was December of 2010 (I think). What I did find surprising (and ironic) was that the new book reviewer is non-other than Pleasant Hill City Councilman Micheal G. Harris!

For those new to the blog and/or don't see the irony...
http://pleasanthillbookclub.blogspot.com/search/label/Michael%20Harris

Maybe it's the healing power of time or the fact that the Pleasant Hill Library has shown some solid improvement recently, but I am actually very excited to read his work. In his first post Harris gives an introduction to his life as a reader.
http://www.ourcommunityfocus.com/pages/full_story/push?article-Read+My+Mind%20&id=19176610#comments_19176610

It seems like he'll bring a lot of enthusiasm to his work and I am looking forward to reading his first review which I presume will be published in the August issue. You can find a link to the Pleasant Hill Community Focus book reviews on the right of this page just under the PHBC Book-Montage along with the book reviews of other publications. To see some of my old book reviews, you can travel even further down the right of the page and find them located under the interviews with local authors.

Goodreads Interview With Seth Graham-Smith

Watch live streaming video from goodreads at livestream.com

Some Funny From the Onion

http://www.theonion.com/articles/film-adaptation-of-the-brothers-karamazov-ends-whe,2787/

I wonder how many of us can relate to this.

2012 Annual Book Giveaway!

The World's greatest book giveaway (that I know of) is coming again this August 16th through August 31st from 9am-5pm! Located in the loaded docks of the Pleasant Hill Library, there will be thousands of free books to pick-up!

In years past I have left with literally HUNDREDS of books! I assume the best pickings are early, but I usually go toward the end and still find great picks. If you are also a teacher, this is a great way to built a solid classroom library.

Details:
75 Santa Barbara Road
Pleasant Hill, CA 94523

Books will be sorted into the following sections:
Children’s Fiction
Children's Non-fiction
Adult Fiction
Adult Non-Fiction
Paperbacks
Hardcover books in all subjects

Please bring your own boxes or bags

Because We Love Quizzes!

Here is a fun Stephen King one. I scored 28/30.

Enjoy!

http://www.sporcle.com/games/MrChewypoo/koning-konungur-konge

Best Tweet I've Read In a While

From Steve Martin @SteveMartinToGo

"Just bought an amazing new pen that writes in any language"

If you are on Twitter and don't follow Mr. Martin, I highly recommend that you do.

Can't wait to read one of these

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/technology-blog/book-printed-disappearing-ink-eventually-goes-blank-155955712.html



Though, I wonder what affect it will have on libraries.

Chat With Ernest Cline: Author of Ready Player One

The following is a chat held on goodreads.com with author Ernest Cline. Cline has gained recent notoriety for his novel Ready Player One (which has become a favorite of many PHBC members). From time to time goodreads will hold interactive chats with various authors. To see upcoming author chats you can go to their blog at http://www.goodreads.com/blog.

Watch live streaming video from goodreads at livestream.com

Free Book Alert! Connor Westphal #1

Local author and PHBC interview subject (http://pleasanthillbookclub.blogspot.com/2009/07/interview-with-local-authors-penny.html) Penny Warner is releasing he latest book (Dead Body Language) free for download on Amazon.com. The offer is only good for 6/28 and 6/29, so act fast.

Below is a brief description of the novel from Warner's website:
When deaf reporter Connor Westphal moves to the California Gold Country town of Flat Skunk to publish her own weekly newspaper, she doesn't expect a
murder to be her first headline.

But she's discovered a body lying
on top of a grave instead of it in.

With the help of her hearing-ear signal dog, Casper, her TTY telephone, and her ability to see what others only hear, Connor investigates the mysterious death,
while trying to avoid a cemetery plot of her own.

Support your local authors!

Click the link to amazon.com to download the book:
http://www.amazon.com/LANGUAGE-Connor-Westphal-Mystery-ebook/dp/B00865SOFO

For more information on Penny Warner you can visit her website below:
http://www.pennywarner.com/

PHBC Milestone Alert!

With our July book selection, the Pleasant Hill Book Club has reached book choice number 50! From the Hobbit (#1) to Communion (#50), the book club has read a lot of great books, a lot of ok books, and even some down right garbage ones.

A brief recap of some standout choices:

Books of the Year:
Me Talk Pretty One Day
Cat's Cradle
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
Water for Elephants
(Some honorable mentions go to City of Thieves, The Hunger Games, and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close)

Worst Books of the Year:
You Remind Me of Me
Dumbest Generation
Watership Down
The People of the Book
(Some dishonorable mentions go to Dangerous Days of Daniel X, Then We Came to the End, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, and The Little Book)

Books read before their movies were released:
Watchmen
Hunger Games
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Water for Elephants
(soon to add The Hobbit, Ender's Game, and Before I Go to Sleep)

Shortest Title:
Dry

Longest Title (Not including post colon):
The Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse

Most Read Author:
John Le Carre

Books that are a part of a series:
Dangerous Days of Daniel X
Hunger Games
The Hobbit
When Gravity Fails

Books on the 1001 Books to Read Before You Die List:
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
The Handmaid's Tale
The Time Machine
The Spy Who Came in From the Cold
The Moviegoer
Cat's Cradle
Watchmen
The Hobbit

Books on the Pleasant Hill Book Club 67 Books to Read Before You Die List:
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Sex Lives of Cannibals
Lamb
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
Hunger Games
Me Talk Pretty One Day
City of Thieves
The Time Machine 




For more on the number 50: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/50_%28number%29

July Book of the Month: Communion: A True Story by Whitley Strieber

Via Goodreads.com

On December 26, 1985, at a secluded cabin in upstate New York, Whitley Strieber went siding with his wife and son, ate Christmas dinner leftovers, and went to bed early.
Six hours later, he found himself suddenly awake...and forever changed.
Thus begins the most astonishing true-life odyssey ever recorded -- one man's riveting account of his extraordinary experiences with visitors from"elsewhere..". how they found him, where they took him, what they did to him and why...
Believe it. Or don't believe it. But read it -- for this gripping story will move you like no other... will fascinate you, terrify you, and alter the way you experience your world.

Had to share this

Super Cool!

Google is taking another huge step in becoming the savior of the World's languages and ideas. They have begun a project designed to record all of the World's dying languages. It is a pretty amazing project and worth a look. If you know someone who could help in their quest, please forward this along.

 Explore here: http://www.endangeredlanguages.com