Great Book for the Boys

My husband, Jay from Chicago, is loving a "new" book right now. 

He writes, "If you husband is into sports, played sports in HS or college, he probably would enjoy reading When the Game Stands Tall; The Story of the De La Salle Spartans and Football's Longest Winning Streak.  It's about the Bob Ladouceur, the head football coach (and Asst Coach Tom Edison) of Del La Salle HS in Concord, CA. They won something like 150 games straight. Play all over the country. On ESPN all the time. But the thing is, they are always smaller then their opponent. They play Long Beach Poly from Los Angeles, and yet they still beat them.

How do they do it?  Two things struck me as obvious so far (I'm still reading):
So far, they condition and practice hard on fundamentals. The coaches silently have high expectations of their players individually to take responsibility for themselves and to do their part.
Another thing that I see is that Coach Ladouceur and Edison do is that he doesn't yell too much, but he highlights "it isn't the coaches that will be playing the game, it is you. You have to do your job, you have to talk and communicate with each other, and you can't let your teammates down" He instill a sense of Marine like camaraderie into the boys, makes them feel like they are part of something special; honorable, responsible, physical, sacrificial, selfless....team."

I just read 102 Minutes - recommending it...

Wow.  Just finished 102 Minutes, by Jim Dwyer and Kevin Flynn, as recommended below by Lynn from Austin.  This isn't light reading, but it's eye opening, emotional, gripping and maybe even essential reading.  As much as I hate reliving 9/11, I feel like this book reminded me to remember the human loss, keep the important lessons of the day from fading or going unused, and taught me new things I need to know and share with others.   But there's no sensationalism here.  No fear mongering.  Just humans, learning, surviving, dying, and shining brightly. 

Anyway, I recommend it.  You'll cry - weep even.  But you won't despair.

Sue

September Reader Recs, part III!

Polly from Scottsdale wrote, "I recommend
The Sound of Butterflies by Rachael King - it is a few years old but I really liked it and
Love Walked In by Marisa del Los Santos a feel-good book
- and any book by
Chris Bohjalian - especially Skeletons of the Feast."

Kristy from Scottsdale (where it was 107F yesterday), has a mighty list of books to beat the heat by the pool:
Veil of Roses by Laura Fitzgerald
Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
Certain Girls by Jennifer Weiner
The Bombay Family novels by Leslie Langtry (Guns will Keep us Together, Stand by Your Hitman, I Shot you Babe)
and
the Makin It series from Gemma Halliday (Undercover in High Heels, Killer in High Heels, Spying in High Heels). 
 
Kristy, how you do loves the shoes (and the books).

And finally, Marti from Phoenix "facebooked" these comments:
"My three latest books, all of which I recommend are
The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey, by Candice Millard

Homer and Langley, by E.L. Doctorow

and Shanghai Girls, by Lisa See.

Sue, have you read What Is the What, by Dave Eggars? It's a biographical novel of a Lost Boy.  I am just starting it."

Marti - I haven't read it, but am officially adding it to my queue!  Thank you everyone in AZ!

Coming Soon - a Printable list of books for you

This blog is less than a week old and I am thrilled with the response AND how little TV I've watched in the last 6 days!  I have so many books I want to read now, thanks to all of you. 

Yesterday, before going to the library, I pulled up the blog to print out your posts to take with me.  And I realized I really didn't have a clean list to print.

SO, coming soon (I'm working on it now), I will add a new feature - a simple, printable list that you can click on that will show you all the recommended books from the site, listed by genre!

I hope you like it and use it - I know I will.  And after all, this is about me, right?

Thanks everyone - post your books and comments!
Sue

More September Book Recs

Tris, a voracious reader (and very cool chick) from Eugene sent a fantastic list by email:

"I was traveling a lot...
City of Thieves, by David Benihoff

Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson

A Fairly Honourable Defeat by Iris Murdoch

The Bulwark by Theodore Dreiser

House of Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne

White Noise by Don Delillo

and Wuthering Heights by Anne Bronte
My 12 year-old and I have been reading lots of Jane Austen porn (you know the fan fiction that keeps the story of Pride & Prejudice going and going and...)"  THANKS, TRIS!

Teddy in Chicago barked a question at me: “Has anyone read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies? I’m intrigued, but not enough to invest in it yet – need to hear reviews from you guys, reviewers I trust!"

Reader Recommendations - September

Julie from Phoenix emailed:  "I have about 60 pages left in the new Dan Brown book - The Lost Symbol. I have really enjoyed it. Zooming though it about 10 days."

Amy from Boston wrote:  "Here are some of my recent fav's:"
 
Mountains Beyond Mountains, Tracy Kidder
Non-fiction

The Informant: A True Story, Kurt Eichenwald
I read this before I knew it was going to be a movie. A great book

Loving Frank, Nancy Horan
Fiction (but based on historical characters)

Sue from Stockton says, "Hey Sue! Try The Help by Kathryn Stocket. Best book I read this summer."

Lynn from Austin casts another vote for The Help!
She also suggests these powerful reads:

102 Minutes, by Jim Dwyer and Kevin Flynn

The Weight of Silence, by Heather Gudenkauf

Columbine, by Dave Cullen
and
The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist

Thanks to my first contributors!  I'm off to the library tomorrow to begin my journey back to literacy.  Bye bye VH1 and TLC!

The Lovers by John Connolly

I don't usually pick out thrillers from the bestseller list, but this time I did:  just finished The Lovers by John Connolly, writer of a thriller series starring a private eye named Charlie Parker.

This book is the latest installment, but is also a complete book all on its own.   I haven't read the earlier books...but that didn't present a problem at all. 

And I liked it!  I thought it was a subtle mixture of Law & Order meets True Blood meets the DaVinci Code.  This page turner will definitely give you wierd (but not too scary) dreams if you read it before falling asleep at night.  Which I did for 4 nights in a row.  Freaky, haunting dreams all week...

I recommend this book if you're looking for good nightly escapism that will keep you enthralled for a week and keep the TV off and the reality shows out of your life - if only temporarily!

WANT MORE DETAIL?  READ THESE REVIEWS - I CONCUR WITH BOTH!

Here's a newspaper review:  http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/the-lovers-by-john-connolly-1757393.html

and here's a regular reader review (via Amazon): 


5.0 out of 5 stars Trust Me--Do Not Pass On This One!!, June 14, 2009
"The Lovers" is Connolly's latest installment of his Charlie Parker series. For those loyal readers who have wondered about Charlie's background and how it might relate and animate his life as a private investigator, paranormal sleuth, and magnet for supernatural enigmas, many answers and a few more questions appear and are examined in this very focused effort.
"The Lovers" is a very personal examination of Parker's background as he begins seeking the answers to festering questions about his past. It is different from past installments as most of Parker's recurring characters and support network are reduced to cameos (much as he was in "The Reapers") and it is left to Charlie to carry the storyline and action through his persistent and unrelenting investigation that seeks the truth to his father's suicide after apparently killing a young couple who were not armed.

Old wounds are reopened and new wounds are discovered--many of which ultimately explain some recurring elements in the Parker series and others which open new story lines. There may be very few signature characters in the thriller genre that are as complex, as powerful, yet as vulnerable as Charlie Parker. This reader is never disappointed in the complexity and the credibilty of Connolly's plotting, detailed storylines, and breathless pacing.

The author is a master of establishing mood and motivation through the psychological maneuverings of his characters and his readers. Connolly's work is at once atmospheric, moody, dark and disturbing--yet compelling and hard to put down. His prose is sometimes so lyrical and so defining that I find myself rereading a sentence or paragraph just to marvel at his styling. He can establish mood, a sense of disquiet, peril, or supernatural unease with a few well turned phrases. And his ability to build suspense and an impending sense of doom that is almost palpable to the reader is extraordinary. I highly recommend this series to those attracted to intense, pyschologically intricate, suspense thrillers.