Laura's Book Picks

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Having seen an article in Time magazine about this book and the others in the series, I just had to go out and purchase this one to see what it was all about. I have a whole book shelf bulging with books for children of all ages and love to add to it. I have reached page ninety-five so far and am loving it. This would definitely be a good read-aloud book for teachers if their students have not already read the entire series.

Update on Potter----I have finished the first book and am in the midst of the next one in the series. I wish I had time to actually read more often.

Stephen Jay Gould books

I do not even remember who introduced me to this author. I think I may have found one of his books, The Panda's Thumb, in my local library when I was in junior high or high school. Gould is a professor who writes about scientific ideas. I have found all of his books to be extremely interesting.

Gould has written a book about the millennium (yes, two n's.) The book is entitled Questioning The Millennium. It is a quick read that discusses all the reasons why we should not really worry about the year 2000. For example, it is not really two thousand years after Christ's birth, so biblical connections won't work for predicting disaster.

The Parrot's Lament

I just saw something on television about this one and just had to purchase the book. I sat down and read it in about a day one weekend. It is all about the intelligence that our fellow animals show us when we don't necessarily want them to. For example, it shares stories of great escapes by orangutans from zoos. It also shares stories of the trust animals place in us. For example, one animal actually handed over her baby to get a shot when it was sick.

Pay It Forward

This is an absolutely incredible book. I would love to see it put into action. I found out about this book in a book review newspaper sent to me with a book order from either Amazon.com or BooksAMillion. I decided I needed to buy the book after reading the review. I sent for the book and then did not immediately have time to read it.

This Sunday I sat down to read the book and did not put it down until I finished it. The premise is this ---- a social studies teacher (my favorite job) gives an extra credit assignment to his students every year. This year, however, something is different. A student takes the assignment seriously. The assignment is this: Come up with a plan to change the world and implement it. The idea, which is beautifully simple, is amazing.

The author does a good job of describing events from different points of view. She also does a good job of letting you find out things just a little ahead of the other characters, but not immediately. That way, you know how the character who did not know feels and find out in enough time to build some suspense.

GUNS, GERMS, AND STEEL

This is a non-fiction book. It discusses the reason why some cultures "advanced" more quickly than others, resulting in the distruction of the less "advanced" cultures upon encounter. The book is absolutely fascinating and deserves the Pulitzer Prize it received. I have nearly finished it and have learned an amazing number of things about history, especially the ancient history of Africa, Asia, and Austronesia. I have been talking about this book to everyone I know, even those who do not seem to be the type to read non-fiction books.