Okay, here's the book everyone grabs when given the assignment: read an adventure story. Chris McCandless, fresh out of college, roamed the country for a year as he sought the kind of experiences Jack London invited and endured a century earlier. He ended up hitchhiking and riding the rails as he worked to equip himself to spend a season in Alaska...alone.
Chris turned out to be an incredibly stubborn guy who ultimately entered the Alaskan bush in late spring, ill-prepared and penniless by choice, determined to rely on nothing but native intelligence, rifle, and rice, of course. He left behind a map but carried a field guide to edible plants. The book's cover informs you that his decomposed body was discovered four months after he went in. You know how he ended. The question is: what happened?
Let us know what you find out by posting a comment and offering your opinion: was he just an arrogant rich kid, as many of the Alaskans thought, or did he have something else in mind, something to prove? Tell us, 'cause we want to know what you think!
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
Friday, December 01, 2006
The Lovely Bones
In December, when I hear the jingle bells, I remember The Lovely Bones: A Novel, by Alice Sebold. 14-year-old Susie Salmon (like the fish) died in December, raped and murdered by a neighbor as she took a shortcut home from school. Mr. Gilbert’s dog brought home her elbow.
Susie tells her story from beyond the grave -- from her afterlife, in her heaven. We follow as she watches her friends and family struggle with their grief, and as she imagines and mourns the life she will never live.
This book is at once gripping, powerful, and everyday. We grin as Susie describes the silly hat with pom-poms and bells she puts on to please her mom, but takes off when she's out of sight. We hold our breath as Susie fights to live, and gasp as she jumps to grab death by the hand when the battle is clearly lost. We understand her quest for justice, and her yearning for vengeance.
The Lovely Bones is one of the HHS Library’s most-borrowed books. I thought about it for weeks after I finished it. If you’ve thought about it, too, please leave a comment.
(And the jingle bells? The murderer jams that silly hat into Susie's mouth. When she screams, the only sound is the tinkle of the bells.)
Susie tells her story from beyond the grave -- from her afterlife, in her heaven. We follow as she watches her friends and family struggle with their grief, and as she imagines and mourns the life she will never live.
This book is at once gripping, powerful, and everyday. We grin as Susie describes the silly hat with pom-poms and bells she puts on to please her mom, but takes off when she's out of sight. We hold our breath as Susie fights to live, and gasp as she jumps to grab death by the hand when the battle is clearly lost. We understand her quest for justice, and her yearning for vengeance.
The Lovely Bones is one of the HHS Library’s most-borrowed books. I thought about it for weeks after I finished it. If you’ve thought about it, too, please leave a comment.
(And the jingle bells? The murderer jams that silly hat into Susie's mouth. When she screams, the only sound is the tinkle of the bells.)
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