TheBookJeanie

Welcome to  The Book Jeanie Winter is upon us. . . time to wrap up with a blanket on the couch and spend the day reading. I must admit that I am hopelessly addicted to true accounts of mountain-climbing, a sport that I would never attempt myself but nonetheless find fascinating.   Savage Summit profiles those women who found the thrill, excitement, and danger of high altitude climbing so compelling that it became an obsession.  The five women that Jennifer Jordan came to know intimately through her intensive research and interviews, all succumbed to the lure of the mountain known as K2 and are the only women to ever reach the summit of the peak that is considered more perilous than Everest.  Three of them died on that mountain.  The other two died later while challenging themselves on other peaks.  Jordan explores the lives of these women, the factors that motivated them to face the hardships, discrimination, and ultimately the...

JOIN THEBOOKJEANIE IN C ELEBRATING THE LIFE OF MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. JANUARY 21, 2013 On this special day, take time to read a story or share a memory with a child about the man whose life we celebrate on this day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Here are a couple of favorites that my young students loved listening to .  . . Martin's Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by Doreen Rappaport, illustrated by Bryan Collier Collier's dramatic illustrations capture the spirit of Dr. King as Rappaport uses his words as a framework to tell the story of the strength, perseverance, and courage of this great man. This short but powerful book will help children to appreciate the sacrifices that Martin Luther King made in his life to try and help all people to live together in peace.      Happy Birthday Martin Luther King! by Jean Marzollo, illustrated by J. Bryan Pinkney Suitable for even the youngest listeners, this brief bu...

.     Welcome back to TheBookJeanie!   Another look at notable books from 2012. . . 2012 brought us many unique and finely crafted first novels and Netzer's  Shine, Shine, Shine  ranks as one of the most unusual but compelling reads. The story unfolds as Sunny is trying to cope with her autistic preschooler and the final month of her pregnancy while her astronaut husband, Maxon, is being hurled through space on a mission to the moon. Sunny seems to be the perfect wife and mother but beneath that controlled facade is a woman who is hiding an unusual physical condition, while struggling to present a normal face to the world and protect her genius husband from closer public scrutiny.  Inseparable friends from early childhood, Sunny and Maxon have always depended solely on each other, but an accident suddenly causes Sunny to question the lies and deceptions of their life together. Netzer writes with such a tenderness for her characters that ...

HAPPY NEW YEAR AND WELCOME  TO   THEBOOKJEANIE! Starting 2013 with a new blog that will focus on everything that has to do with books - from book reviews to the latest news about book events around the country, as well as interviews with authors, ways to create home libraries and much more. Taking a look back at notable books from 2012. . . When Kurt Andersen's narrator, accomplished attorney and Supreme Court nominee, Karen Hollander, sits down to write her memoir, she shakes up not only her own comfortable life but threatens to expose a secret that others would prefer to be left buried in the past. If you remember the 60's, or even if you don't, you will revel in the exploits of a teenaged Karen and the two boys who were her best friends since childhood. The James Bond fantasies that they act out in high school eventually become very real as the three shift to radical politics at Harvard against the backdrop of the Vietnam War. The narrative seamles...