Thursday, May 15, 2008

SUMMER READING LISTS HAVE ARRIVED!!!!

Copy and paste this address to get to the Mountain Brook School summer reading lists:
http://tinyurl.com/5s5mzq


Then come browse our reading list shelves and get a jump-start on your summer reading.




14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Book: The Big Three
Author: Peter May

"The Big Three" is about the original Boston Celtics' three greatest players at one point; Kevin McHale, Robert Parish, and most famous out of the three, Larry Bird. The book talks about their early life, how they came to love, play, and excel at basketball. Then, it goes on to explain how they got together, and later, the great years they had together as the Boston Celtics. With the Big Three, the Celtics won 3 NBA World Championships, made it to the NBA Finals 5 times, and Larry Bird won 6 MVP trophies; 3 for the Finals MVP, and 3 for the regular season MVP. That's like saying you travel around de world in 1 day, man. Dang, you know what I'm talkin' bout, you know, dem winning all those championships? Well, they did, but sadly, injuries finally plagued them forever, and they went their seperate ways in the early 1990's. I would reconmend this book to people who would love to explore the rich history of the game of basketball(American, European, and Asian, plus FIBA), but not for those that would say, "Who the h-e-double hockey sticks is that???" but I like it. Of course, I've read some books that others would never read, such as the deep rivalry between William Felton "Bill" Russell and Wilt the "Stilt" Chamberlain. Somewhere, somebody's gonna say, "Who the crap are those people?" But I don't mind that; not everyone's interested in the history of basketball as I am.

Name: Stephen Y.

Anonymous said...

Book: Out of the Silent Planet
Author: C.S. Lewis

This book is about a man named Ransom who gets kidnapped by some vicious humans and goes to Malacandra, or in human language, Mars. There, he meets the three main species of Malacandra, and begins to learn their language. Note that this book was written from the late 1930's to the early 1940's, so the idea of a man travelling to outer space would be like saying a newborn baby can climb Mount Everest by his/herself. Ransom later meets the king of Malacandra, Oyarssa, and learns that he shouldn't haven't hitckhiked all over his planet. Oyarssa knows about the 2 evil kidnappers, Weston and Devine, and wants to question Ransom about some things about Earth. The story later ends.
I liked this book, but the proper speaking terms were a tad bit too much. But still, this book was written by a British author in the mid-1900's, so I think that it is normal. The book, however, never says anything about how the spaceship works. That was one part that I didn't like. I would reconmend this book to other people who have nothing else to read.

Name: Stephen Y.

Anonymous said...

Book: Hondo
Author: Louis L'Amour

I liked this book for its simplicity and great plot. I liked it when the author described the desert in southeastern Arizona because he almost made me feel as if I was there. What I didn't like, though, was the ending; it was vague and could've been described more in detail. But overall, I think that L'Amour is a great author who understands the culture of the wild West.

Stars: ***
Initial: S.Y.

Anonymous said...

Book: ESPN the Magazine(June 16th, 2008 edition)
Author: Entertainment and Programming Sports Network(ESPN)

Everytime I read a sports column written by someone that works for ESPN, I not only find it humerous by very informative as well. I enjoy read ESPN the Magazine very much because it has the latest sports news and occasionally has a professional athlete as the "editor"(like this one; Chad Johnson was the "editor"). There was only one part that I disliked about it, and that was the NHL insider part. I mean, who likes ice hockey, for goodness sake? I would not, however, reconmend this specific edition to readers because the sports news in it will get old sooner or later. BUT, I strongly reconmend that people who love sports read the Magazine and could even order it on ESPNthemag.com. Overall, I love ESPN the Magazine, especially this one because it featured Chad Johnson as on "Revenge of the Jocks II"(the first jock was Matt Leinart).

Stars: *****
Initials: S.Y.

Anonymous said...

Book: April Morning
Author: Howard Fast

Not everyone may like to learn a little about history, but I surely do. Though I liked reading this book, I would probably think that others wouldn't read it because it is set in the 18th Century, a time where proper speech was commonly used, unlike today(for example, "Man, why you ain't gonna go ova dere, man, whatchu talkin' 'bout, I ain't got no nothing, man!"). I liked this book because it is in the eyes of a 15-year old, and because it is in that 1st person perspective, it allows me to see how life was for a teenager during the Battles of Lexington and Concord. I would rconmend this book to others because it is a very enjoyable book and has some interesting slang words that were used back in the old days.

Stars: ***
Initials: S.Y.

Anonymous said...

Book: The Transall Saga
Author: Gary Paulsen

I liked this book very much for its exciting plot and great characters. There were no parts that I disliked; Paulsen is simply a magnificent author. This book is about a boy named Mark that gets sucked up into another planet, away from Earth. The creatures he meets are indeed very similar to the ones on earth, and I think that the ancient tribes he meets are very interesting people. I would strongly reconmend this book to other readers ages 9 and up.

Stars: *****
Initials: S.Y.

Anonymous said...

Book: Watership Down
Author: Richard Adams

Man, it took me 2 and a half weeks to finish this book(and take notes on each chapter at the same time). About 60% of the time, the book described where the characters were. Also, the book used terms that I had to go to dictionary.com to find out the proper meaning. Examples include: the common, the heather, and the combe. But overall, this book was okay. In other words(this is in my opinion, please don't be offended by it if you think otherwise), Watership Down is a standard book and I find no special differences other than it using too many urbane words(not that I'm tawdry, mind).

Stars:**
Initials: S.Y.

Anonymous said...

Book: ESPN the Magazine(June 30th, 2008 edition)
Author: Entertainment and Programming Sports Network(ESPN)

As usual, I like anything that has to do with ESPN except the World Series of Poker, professional competetive fishing, drag racing, NASCAR, and deer/pigeon/turkey/dove hunting. This issue of The MAG was a good one; most of the things I read in it were something that I had a minimum interest in or a lot of interest in. My favorite part of this edition was when Chad Ford(an ESPN NBA expert analyst) made his Mock Draft 5.0(or is it 6.0? I can't remember....). I agree with him on most of the picks except that the Seattle Supersonics shouldn't pick Russell Westbrook with the 4th overall pick. I always love reading an issue of the MAG because the writers make a lot of funny jokes in their columns. But I wouldn't reconmend it to anyone because the sports news in it will quickly get old.

Stars:*****
Initials: S.Y.

Anonymous said...

Book: The Lost Colonies
Author: Grady Kelvin

I didn't like this book one bit, but I read it anyway because it was a short book and earned me 13 points. The book is in a comic-book format/style, and you really don't know the main plot, conflict, or the main characters until in the late rising action part. Man, I gotta tell you, it you want to torture yourself and earn some easy points at the same time, you should read this book. Other than that, I reconmend that you remain at least 100 feet away from it.

Stars:*
Initials: S.Y.

Anonymous said...

Boook: Salmon Doubts
Author: Adam Sacks

Like "The Lost Colonies", this book is in a comic book format. It was better than "The Lost Colonies", but the literary part was absolutely awful. There were no traces of any archetypal theme, the wording was 2nd gradish, and there were just pictures for 2 or 3 pages in a row! But I read it just so I could get the 13 points. I wouldn't reconmend this book to anyone above 2nd grade.

Stars: *
Initials: S.Y.

Anonymous said...

Book: A Walk Across America
Author: Peter Jenkins

This was one of the best books I ever read. Not only is it extremly interesting, the words of this book comes from the heart. Mr. Jenkins is saying what he was truly thinking back then, and he has revealed to me a side of America that I have never seen before: the rural side. The book talked a lot about the wilderness, and is also a non-fiction book. I would definitely reconmend this book to anyone that would like to to discover America and the people.

Stars:*****
Initials: S.Y.

Anonymous said...

Book: Chicago Bulls: The Authorized Pictorial
Authors: Roland Lazenby; picturres by Bill Smith

This book was not just pictures; it also had a lot of words, which is why it took me an hour to read. It was pretty intersting. This book talked about the Chicago Bulls' 1996-1997 championship season, their 5th title so far. Also, I got to know what Dennis Rodman looked like; that guy has a lotta tattoos, and always dyes his hair a weird color. I also learned that it is so hard to win even win one NBA game, so to win 5 titles in 7 years is really quite something. I'd reconmend this book to anyone that would like to know more about Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and the other Bulls.

Stars: ***
Initials: S.Y.

Anonymous said...

Book: Alas, Babylon
Author: Pat Frank

At first, this book didn't sound and look too interesting to me. But as I kept reading it, it turned out to be a beautifully written book. This book is about how the United States would operate in the 1950's and so on if the Soviet Union had bomnbarded us with hydrogen and atomic bombs. I now realize why Americans back then were so afraid if the U.S.S.R. was going to spend another Sputnik to spy on the United States; no wonder they created bomb shelters, and the children at school learned where to go if a nuclear missile struck them. Also, I learned how dangerous nuclear radiation can be. Once, I had studied the Chernobyl accident for a project, and it always said something about dangerous radiation. I didn't understand that back then, but now I do. I would highly reconmend this book to everyone; just be a little patient is all I say.

Stars:*****
Initials: S.Y.

Anonymous said...

Book: Nine Coaches Waiting
Author: Mary Stewart

This book was really good, despite me not liking the title of it. It's like another kind of mysterious romantic stories. The main plot is a little confusing at first, but the reader eventually gets what it's trying to tell you. If you read this book, be sure to keep reading through the first 20 pages; the beginning is pretty boring, but those courageous enough to keep reading will love this book. I would reconmend this book to readers 13 ages and up.

Stars:*****
Initials: S.Y.