What We’re Reading This Week

CINDY

The Turtle of Oman by Naomi Shihab Nye

“This chapter book is about Aref and his parents, who are about to move from Oman to Ann Arbor, Michigan. His grandfather takes him around town to do their favorite things together for the last time before he leaves. They go fishing, they sleep on the roof under the stars…The book is a really sweet story about a grandfather and a grandson, and also a window into another culture and its beautiful and idiosyncratic traditions. I love anything by Naomi Shihab Nye and anything that incorporates traditional Middle Eastern storytelling techniques. I would recommend this book to children age 8-12.” You can find The Turtle of Oman on our shelves or via bookpeople.com. Signed copies are available.

THOMAS

Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters written and illustrated by Mike Grell

“I’m reading Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters,  which is best described as The Dark Knight Returns for the Green Arrow. It’s a powerful and somewhat dark tale that takes Oliver Queen from the lighthearted Robin Hood style hero he had been in the Silver Age, and moves him into the Modern Age as a more serious crusader for justice as he hunts down a serioal killer bent on murdering prostitutes. Green Arrow is one of all time and this is the best Green Arrow story ever told; plus its the beginning of a very awesome run written and illustrated by the quintessential Green Arrow scribe Mike Grell.” You can find Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters on our shelves or via bookpeople.com.

SARAH H.

The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin

“A man whose dreams can remake reality is at the mercy of a therapist trying to change the world for the better. But when the aliens land he starts to realize things might be getting just a little out of hand. Le Guin packs a lot of story into a short number of pages, and its frenetic pace barely leaves you time to breath before the next insane thing happens and you have to reorient yourself to yet another new world.” You can find The Lathe of Heaven on our shelves or via bookpeople.com.

JACOB

The Land Where The Blues Began by Alan Lomax

“Alan Lomax went to Memphis in 1939 to record what was left of traditional African-American blues and folk music, where he went up against the extreme segregation in place in the South in his quest to interview and record America’s greatest unheard-of musicians. His account of his travels also explores the Haitian influence in a modern western church setting, with its rhythm and vocal patterns being undoubtedly African, and documents the slow shift from post-Civil War hallies (call & response), led by women, to more westernized music, led by predominantly male church leaders.” You can find The Land Where The Blues Began one our shelves and via bookpeople.com.

JESSE

The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett

“I’ve been down quite a bit for a while, and my reading habits are trending towards books in hopes of raising my spirits. I’ve had some success with books like Redshirts by John Scalzi and The Automatic Detective by A. Lee Martinez. But with all my years on this greenish blue rock, I have not read anything that takes place on the back of a space turtle. I am talking about the Discworld books by Terry Pratchett. Now there is debate on where to start in many books that make up the Discworld setting. I am the type to build a mythos from the beginning, so I am starting with Pratchett’s first, The Color of Magic. Why I waited so long to live in this World, I don’t know. I feel very much like Twoflower in his need to witness the excitement and adventure of distant lands. So here my journey begins, in the wake of Pratchett’s passing, into a world where Death has a sense of humor.” You can find The Color of Magic on our shelves or via bookpeople.com.