According to Karen, who read The Given Day recently, "historically its cool, just consider the story about the exploding molasses truck and what that did to Boston, I mean how do you believe that someone could drown in a 50 foot molasses wave. The other thing that I kept thinking about was the strong undercurrent of distrust an dislike of the government which speaks strongly to our current situation. Over all, I would say that if you have plenty of time to sit and read this book it's a worthwhile read. There's a cast of characters in the front, which can be very helpful," she added. ...More

This week features a major release by Maya Angelou, Letter to my Daughter. According to the jacket this book is "dedicated to the daughter she never had but sees all around her." As Angelou puts it "I gave birth to one child, a son, but I have thousands of daughters. You are Black and White, Jewish and Muslim, Asian, Spanish-speaking, Native American and Aleut. You are fat and thin and pretty and plain, gay and straight, educated and unlettered,and I am speaking to you all. Here is my offering to you." This does cover a fairly broad audience, but one does note that many women are off the hook, Hindus and Buddhists for example, as well as moderately educated Russians. Seriously though, there is a point at which someone's appreciation of themselves starts providing diminishing returns in the inspiration department. I do feel that Angelou has reached that point here. This is, after all, about her sixth book in a row whose driving concept has been the transcendent quality of her own sagacity and wisdom. One simply can't help feeling that Angelou's relentless promotion of herself as sage and wise almost completely undercuts her attempts to be sage and wise. For example, when she produces a chapter entitled In The Valley of Humility, can the reader really suspend disbelief and imagine that Angelou has visited there recently? When she ends her topical essay on Mother's Long View with the phrase, "Imagine, I might really be somebody. Somebody.", the reader is not quite elevated to the peaks of inspiration, so much as exasperated by a self regard which has been allowed to subsume the very qualities upon which it was originally founded. ...More

Oliver Sacks' best selling Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain," has been revised and expanded for the paperback edition. As usual Sacks leaves no doubt that neurology, in the hands of a scientist who can really write, is a source of both interest and pleasure. ...More

Osamu Tezuka, creator of Kimba and Astro Boy, is one of Japan's greatest manga artists. Black Jack, an exploration of the role of medicine in society is considered one of his greatest efforts. Originally produced in 1973 it has, at long last, been translated and published in English. ...More

Hate That Cat follows Creech's beloved Love That Dog. Early assessments by booksellers have indicated that Creech has reached anew high water mark here. As Kat Goddard of The Book Loft put it, "I liked Love That Dog, but I love Hate That Cat. Creech has picked it up a notch with this sequel. Jack and Miss Stretchberry are both back. Jack is still writing his life in poetry but now he has to deal with an uncle who insists that poetry must rhyme and have certain meter. His explorations of alliteration and onomatopoeia lead him to wonder if his deaf mother can hear the sounds he hears when he reads them. Good stuff." ...More

No surprise here, but the adventures and reflections of DiCamillo's chicken are sure to delight. The size, 48 pages, and balance of text and illustration will make this a very satisfying book to share for the Holidays. As per usual Bliss' illustrations are a source of delight throughout....More