The Pocket Book of O. Henry Stories

O. Henry Stories
by (real name) William Sidney Porter

I have a warm place in my heart for O. Henry Stories

This Lullaby

This Lullaby
by Sarah Dessen

Great! I heard that Dessen is a really good author, and I'll have to agree. I'll definitely be reading the rest of her books. The ending isn't quite my style but it works.

I love the main character's name, Remy. So cool. Maybe not to be named after an alcoholic beverage (namely rum), but cool sounding and distinctive.

My all time favorite part: when Dexter finds the silverware in Remy's car. That is the best.


This lullaby is only a few words,
A simple run of chords
Quiet here in this spare room
But you can hear it, hear it
Wherever you may go
Even if I let you down
This lullaby plays on . . .

Son of the Mob

Son of the Mob
+ Hollywood Hustle
by Gordon Korman

Loved it. I accidentally read the second one before the first, but it turned out okay, maybe even better for this series.

I was so proud of myself when I guessed almost immediately that Ray was the 'inside man'. And it was nice how for a change the main character got it, not so much beating around the bush. The resolution was cool, I was freaking out when he pulled the gun on Vince, but then his good character pulled through.

That really stinks how Vince's problem was so bad that he had to quit the football team.

My favorite parts of this book: when Vince tells his dad at the end that he's going out with Agent Bite-Me's daughter, how Kendra and Vince are so perfect for each other, and at the end of the year when Vince knows he'll get an A in the class, he tells Mr. Mullinicks, "That's your problem."

Recommended Summer Book List

Recommended Summer Book List
by Mrs. in den Bosch and Mr. Kip Hepfinger

Here are the books recommended for students enterring AP English/British Literature next year. The starred ones are the ones I want to read.

The Namesake -- Jhumpa Lahiri
Angela's Ashes -- Frank McCourt
Disgrace -- J.M. Coetzee
* Girl with a Pearl Earring -- Tracy Chevalier
The Good Earth -- Pearl S. Buck
* Atonement -- Ian McEwan
* Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close -- Jonathan Safron Foer
* Namako: Sea Cucumber -- Linda Watanabe McFerrin
* Dreaming in Cuban -- Cristina Garcia
* Snow Falling on Cedars -- David Guterson
* Peace Like a River -- Leif Enger
The Jungle -- Upton Sinclair
* All the Pretty Horses -- Cormac McCarthy
Night -- Elie Weisel
Been Trees -- Barbara Kingsolver
Animal Dreams -- Barbara Kingsolver
* In the Lake of the Woods -- Tim O'Brien
* Bel Canto -- Ann Patchett
My Sister's Keeper -- Jodi Picoult
The Lovely Bones -- Alice Sebold
The Kite Runner -- Khaled Hosseini
The Curious Incident of the Dog in Nighttime -- Mark Haddon
Nectar in a Sieve -- Kamala Markandaya
* The Tortilla Curtain -- T. Coraghessan Boyle

Catcher in the Rye

Catcher in the Rye
by J.D. Salinger

The classic 'required English 11' reading, controversy included. I don't quite get the ending yet, he says he wishes he wouldn't have told the story because now he misses people? What? Oh well. I'm glad he finally got help and will hopefully return to school the next semester with a better outlook.

Catch

Catch
by Will Leitch

Well, I liked it. Can't say I loved it, it's too much like real life. I think it is a very good examination of the whole college conveyer belt (to quote Rori Gilmore). Tim is just going to college. It's just a fact. But then he really starts to look at it, from the college visit to his plan with Helena to thinking that he might not go, it's important to look something over like that from all angles before jumping in.

It almost killed me when Helena said she never cared about Tim. I'm glad she got a happy ending too. And that Doug will get better. That would be so hard to deal with, the disappointment, the loss, the frustration.

About that 'small' Illinois town Mattoon, I've never even seen that much beer in my life. P.S. to the author, Will Leitch, 10,000 people is moderately small, but barely. I live near a town of 100, a town of 300, a town of 3000, and another of 8000. Ten thousand seems pretty big to me. But totally kudos for writing about your homotown. That would take a lot of guts. I wonder what they thought, how they responded. I remember reading about the response James Herriot got from his books, his boss didn't like how he was portrayed am I think it ruined their relationship.