It’s Thursday and you know what that means…another edition of Booking Through Thursday is here.

This week’s question is: What’s the best book you’ve read recently? (Tell me you didn’t see this one coming?)

This was a tough decision to make. I’ve read some mediocre books of late, but I’ve read some great ones too and I was having a difficult time choosing between them.

But the winner by a few points is The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan. (Coming in a close second is Generation Dead by Daniel Waters.)

I adored reading The Lightning Thief and its characters and adventuring with Percy. When I finished the book, I was breathless and in a mild state of awe wondering why I had waited so long to start this series. (It’s kind of like Harry Potter in that sense…you’re beating yourself up for being literarily lazy.)

The review is in the queue. Shame on me for still being lazy.

Recent Arrivals chronicles the books that have made their way onto the Today, I Read… bookshelf. Here’s the latest arrival: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

First line: Look, I didn’t want to be a half-blood.

Initial thoughts: I’d seen this title around for a while, but it didn’t hit home until I was standing in line for the November elections and saw a woman well into her fifties reading it. When I asked what she thought about it, she was completely smitten. So that’s when I knew I needed to get a copy of the book. (BTW, she was reading it because she wanted to know what her kids were into.)

Book description:

Percy Jackson is about to be kicked out of boarding school…again. And that’s the least of his troubles. Lately, mythological monsters and the gods of Mount Olympus seem to be walking straight out of the pages of Percy’s Greek mythology textbook and into his life. And worse, he’s angered a few of them. Zeus’s master lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the prime suspect.

Now Percy and his friends have just ten days to find and return Zeus’s stolen property and bring peace to a warring Mount Olympus. But to succeed on his quest, Percy will have to do more than catch the true thief; he must come to terms with the father who abandoned him; solve the riddle of the Oracle, which warns him of betrayal by a friend; and unravel a treachery more powerful than the gods themselves.

Book Details: 392 pages; Miramax Books; Pub. March 21, 2006

Back Cover of The Tales of Beedle the Bard

The Tales of Beedle the Bard, a Wizarding classic, first came to Muggle readers’ attention in the book known as Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Now, thanks to Hermione Granger’s new translation from the ancient runes, we present this stunning edition with an introduction, notes, and illustrations by J. K. Rowling, and extensive commentary by Albus Dumbledore. Never before have Muggles been privy to these richly imaginative tales: “The Wizard and the Hopping Pot,” “The Fountain of Fair Fortune,” “The Warlock’s Hairy Heart,” “Babbitty Rabbitty and Her Cackling Stump,” and of course, “The Tale of the Three Brothers.” But not only are they the equal of fairytales we now know and love, reading them gives new insight into the world of Harry Potter.

Three Quick Points About The Tales of Beedle the Bard

• Point 1: This was a quick read. Coming in at roughly 100 pages, with good spacing, margins, and font size, it could be lazily read in a couple hours or less.
• Point 2: Ms. Rowling channeled the bard himself. The book is not like reading a Harry Potter book, it’s like reading someone else’s text and stories whereas J.K.R. just interjects a few footnotes. (Totally cute.)
• Point 3: J.K. Rowling is a skilled illustrator. Illustrations appear throughout the book, and though they have the wispy quality of doodles, they are quite well done and add to the book’s atmosphere.

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Childhood, it’s a place we’ve all been at one time or another, where anything is possible and there’s usually that one (or possibly two or three) story that is its cornerstone.

Yesterday, I went on a mini-adventure as I was perusing the aisles of Amazon. I went through the usual adult fare, plucking out titles and covers I thought sounded or looked interesting. My shopping list grew, as usual. But before I clicked on the purchase button, I did something unexpected…I typed in the word unicorns. Continue reading »

From the Back Cover of Coraline

When Coraline steps through a door to find another house strangely similar to her own (only better), things seem marvelous. But there’s another mother there, and another father, and they want her to stay and be their little girl. They want to change her and never let her go.

Coraline will have to fight with all her wits and courage if she is to save herself and return to her ordinary life.

Three Quick Points About Coraline

• Point 1: This book is absolutely riveting. Who knew I’d ever use the term riveting to describe a short novel penned for third-graders?
• Point 2: I’m sure some children will wind up with nightmares after reading it (or having it read to them). I can’t deny that I’m a huge fan of horror and creepy stories; my library as a youth (and even today) tells this tale. But, reading Coraline definitely sent a few chills up my spine…more so than some of the adult novels I’ve read.
• Point 3: Coraline is a splendid reminder that we (children and adults alike) are all capable of great courage. Coraline has a real child’s personality–not some fantasized version of one–which made her courageous adventures incredibly relatable. I was able to see much of myself, when I was a child, in her and watching her dig deep to find her courage made me want to dig deep and rediscover my own.

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