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Friday Fifteen

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I feel like it’s been two weeks since our last Friday. High time for another Friday Fifteen!

1. A Brief History of Montmaray by Michelle Cooper
Royals on a nearly empty island on the edge of WWII. SO MUCH YES.

2. As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
A road trip novel with a dead body. Faulkner’s pretty cool, guys.

3. Make and Do (Childcraft: the How and Why Library #11) by World Book-Childcraft International
Probably my favorite in the series. Made puppet shows, shoe box trains, and Halloween costumes.

4. The Berenstain Bears and Too Much TV by Stan and Jan Berenstain
This was not a concern in our household.

5. Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
First book I remember reading that dealt with the Holocaust. Sensitive take for young readers.

Friday Fifteen

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Happy Friday, everyone! Are you ready for this week’s fifteen-word-or-less book reviews? (If you’re not, buckle up!)

1. Dear Genius: The Letters of Ursula Nordstrom by Leonard S. Marcus
A must-read for anyone interested in children’s books. Great glimpse into some classics.

2. Emma by Jane Austen
I tell myself I’m Lizzie. Then I try to match up friends—such an Emma.

3. The King Arthur Flour Baker’s Companion: The All-Purpose Baking Cookbook by King Arthur Flour
Lots of great recipes with explanations of why ingredients and techniques work. Tastiness through science!

4. The Magic School Bus On the Ocean Floor by Joanna Cole
Miss Frizzle and giant sea creatures. I was totally the target audience.

5. The Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare
It’s like an episode of Sister, Sister but with snappier dialogue.

Friday Fifteen

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Happy Friday everyone! Feeling even better because it’s a long weekend. Onto the Friday Fifteen, in which I review five books in fifteen words or less.

1. The Premier Book of Major Poets: an Anthology ed. by Anita Dore
All the heavy-hitters, arranged by theme. Walt gave me his copy early in our relationship.

2. How to Eat: The Pleasures and Principles of Good Food by Nigella Lawson
More of a conversation with a chef than a standard cookbook. Really enjoy her ideas, though.

3. The Goldsmith’s Daughter by Tanya Landman
Wish I had this when I was 12 and reading about the Aztecs in class.

4. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by JK Rowling
Love how the series circled back to this. But JK, seriously, why the spiders? Terrifying!

5. The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg
A Christmas favorite, plus Allsburg’s beautiful art.

Friday Fifteen

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Another Friday, another case of the Friday Fifteens. Check out this week’s fifteen-word book reviews:

1. Hair: A Book of Braiding and Styles by Anne Johnson
One reason I wear my hair short now. (One day, braided crown, one day).

2. Insurgent by Veronica Roth
Not as fast-paced as Divergent, but pretty sure I’ll pick up the next book.

3. In the Devil’s Snare: The Salem Witchcraft Crisis of 1692 by Mary Beth Norton
Norton looks at the First and Second Indian Wars’ effect on Salem. Interesting take.

4. Little Miss Stoneybrook…and Dawn (The Baby-sitters Club #15) by Ann M. Martin
Toddlers and tiaras, plus the BSC.

5. The Art of Fiction: Notes on Craft for Young Writers by John Gardner
You need to read this in workshop at least once. Solid advice, not very dynamic.

Friday Fifteen

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Hey there, Friday fans! Welcome to this week’s edition of the Friday Fifteen, in which I review five books in fifteen words or less.

1. The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
Psychics, ghosts, boarding school–the perfect autumn book. Excellent character development too. Sequel now, please!

2. Kirsten’s Surprise (American Girls: Kirsten #3) by Janet Shaw
A crown of candles and breakfast treats–I want to celebrate St. Lucia Day.

3. Wait Till Next Year: A Memoir by Doris Kearns Goodwin
The closest I’ve come to reading a book about sports.

4. Paradise Lost by John Milton
Dense, but awesomely epic. I feel like this would make for a cool graphic novel.

5. Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke
This gives me unreasonable expectations about writing to and forming relationships with famous writers.

Friday Fifteen

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Man, Friday could not come soon enough this week. So happy to be posting the Friday Fifteen!

1. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
This one sat on my bookshelf for a while; finally started it and was hooked.

2. Claiming Georgia Tate by Gigi Amateau
The sweetness and darkness of family are both very present here. Amateau doesn’t pull punches.

3. Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans
A daring redhead who lives with her friends and has a cool scar? So awesome.

4. Othello by William Shakespeare
Not my favorite, but intriguing ideas about men and women. Also, I dig Emilia.

5. Stone Fox by John Reynolds Gardiner
This is what I think of when I see a samoyed.

Friday Fifteen

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Hey there, Friday Fifteen fans! Here’s this week’s edition of the fifteen-word reviews:

1. Changes for Molly by Valerie Tripp
This is where I learned how women curled their hair in the olden days.

2. Hamlet by William Shakespeare
In high school I thought “Kill him already, you dick!” Reread later, appreciate it more.

3. Julia’s Kitchen Wisdom: Essential Techniques and Recipes from a Lifetime of Cooking by Julia Child and David Nussbaum
More compact version of Julia’s classic style and recipes.

4. Mrs. McNosh Hangs Up Her Wash by Sarah Weeks and Nadine Bernard Westcott
I only wish doing the laundry was this cute. Lots of silliness and rhyming.

5. Buffy Chronicles : The Unofficial Companion to Buffy the Vampire Slayer by Ngaire E. Genge
I bought pretty much everything Buffy-related when I was in 8th grade. Solid trivia.

Friday Fifteen

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Another Friday, another Friday Fifteen! Check out the latest in fifteen-word book reviews.

1. Another Bullshit Night in Suck City by Nick Flynn
Memoir about family and homelessness in Massachusetts. Don’t remember many details, but the vibe sticks.

2. American Girls Cookbook: A Peek at Dining in the Past With Meals You Can Cook Today by American Girl Library, Jeanne Thieme
Never made anything, but loved reading the recipes and history. Might try Kirsten’s bread someday.

3. Pat the Bunny by Dorothy Kunhardt
The cutest form of peer pressure.

4. The Incredible Clay Book by Sherri Haab and Laura Torres
I made so many clay peapods with this.

5. Sailing Alone Around the Room: New and Selected Poems by Billy Collins
I don’t care if it’s not pushing boundaries; Billy Collins has some lovely poems.

Friday Fifteen

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TGIFF–thank goodness it’s the Friday Fifteen! This week’s fifteen-word reviews are inspired by NPR’s recent list of top YA novels (that aren’t all YA but we’ll overlook that for now).

1. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by JK Rowling
Harry gets his owl. Still waiting for mine, Hogwarts.

2. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
Didn’t love it like I thought I would. *ducks fans* Should give it another try.

3. Flowers For Algernon by Daniel Keyes
Almost cried on the middle school bus with this one. Great epistolary novel.

4. A Ring of Endless Light by Madeleine L’Engle
Meditations on life and death, plus dolphins? Sign me up.

5. Dealing with Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede
A princess ditches the castle and hangs out with dragons. And she fights wizards. Love!

Special thanks to WordPress for making the Friday Fifteen a Freshly Pressed pick for July! I’m so honored and hope that you fabulous readers continue to enjoy these mini-reviews.

Also, love the Hub’s take on short form book summaries, including some via haiku.

Friday Fifteen

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Welcome to the Friday Fifteen, in which I review five books in fifteen words or less. It’s all the review you want without any of that excess helpful information. Onto the books!

1. Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri
Lahiri’s writing is gorgeous as always, but this collection didn’t strike me like Maladies.

2. The Chicago Manual of Style, 15th Edition by Staff of the University of Chicago Press
Where does that comma go? The Chicago Manual knows! My grammar book of choice.

3. The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
Man-eating horse races plus amazing characters and writing. What more could you want?! Read immediately.

4. East of Eden by John Steinbeck
Such a page-turner. Great writing, and Cathy rivals Lady Macbeth as craziest lady villain ever.

5. Unlikely Friendships: 47 Remarkable Stories from the Animal Kingdom by Jennifer S. Holland
Guys. Inter-species animal friendships. My heart can’t take this much cute.

Have a great weekend, everybody!