<p>Cheating thuds from this book&#8217;s heart. A father and son must confront the question: what exactly counts as cheating on work projects or school assignments? And, how much are they cheating themselves by not facing their fears, which are really their sorrows? Oppel, Kenneth. Inkling. Illus. Sydney Smith. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2018. Print.&hellip; <a class="more-link" href="https://jynnemason.com/2019/03/06/inkling/">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text

<p>In this delightful, subversive novel, Voigt gives young readers everything they usually aren&#8217;t supposed to get: strangers, dangers, and unanswered questions. Voigt, Cynthia. Young Fredle. Illus. Louise Yates. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2011. Print. Genre: middle grade Summary: Separated from his home and family in the walls of the house, Fredle the young mouse&hellip; <a class="more-link" href="https://jynnemason.com/2019/02/27/young-fredle/">Continue reading <span c

<p>Is it true that how you acquire, keep, and shelve your books is a reflection of how you maintain friendships? Can a properly folded pair of socks improve your relationship with siblings and parents? Before you dive down the Netflix rabbit hole and bingewatch Marie Kondo&#8217;s hit series on tidying up, check out the book&hellip; <a class="more-link" href="https://jynnemason.com/2019/01/23/tidy-marie-kondo/">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">Tidy Marie Kond

<p>Did you say dragons? In turn-of-the-last-century Vienna?? Enchanted and entrapped as everyday working Joes??? What ought to be a most marvelous storytelling feat turns into a lengthy, dozy tellingstory book. Weyr, Garret. The Language of Spells. Illus. Katie Harnett. Chronicle Books: San Francisco, 2018. Print. Genre: middle grade fantasy Summary: Grisha the dragon and his&hellip; <a class="more-link" href="https://jynnemason.com/2018/12/12/the-language-of-spells/">Continu

<p>In this memoir, doubt dances with glorious vistas where success, aspiration, and limits all fight for a grip on the same dime-thin ledge. Caldwell, Tommy. The Push: A Climber&#8217;s Journey of Endurance, Risk, and Going Beyond Limits. New York: Penguin Publishing Group, 2017. Print. Genre: nonfiction, memoir Summary: Caldwell&#8217;s memoir chaperones readers up treacherous escarpments&hellip; <a class="more-link" href="https://jynnemason.com/2018/12/05/the-push/">Continu

<p>I need only one word whenever I am asked, “What’s your all-time favorite book?” Eliot, George. Middlemarch: A Study of Provincial life. 1872. New York: Penguin Putnam, 1994. Print. Genre: fiction (19th century British) Summary: An idealistic young woman and a noble-minded doctor enter disastrous marriages. The consequences of their choices ripple through the wider&hellip; <a class="more-link" href="https://jynnemason.com/2018/06/07/middlemarch/">Continue reading <span clas

<p>Eyes do not see; they touch. Vision evolved from skin gathering light in minute detail. The brain does not think; it smells. It evolved from a large olfactory nerve in skull. It helped us sew memories and scents together.This book will change how (and who) you are in the world. Meloy, Ellen. The Anthropology of&hellip; <a class="more-link" href="https://jynnemason.com/2018/05/24/the-anthropology-of-turquoise/">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">The Anthropol

<p>Growing up, did you have that slick and sneaky friend who lured you through the slit chain-link fences or the windows left unlocked, into restricted zones, behind the STAY OUT signs, into the smoky dim rooms packed with music so loud it turned your senses sideways? Annie Dillard is that friend. Dillard, Annie. The Abundance:&hellip; <a class="more-link" href="https://jynnemason.com/2018/03/29/the-abundance/">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">The Abundance b

<p>At last—the recipe for limitless, lifelong learning (and remembering) is here! Ingredients include: bean bags, buckets, Mark Twain, England’s monarchs, and some elbow grease. Brown, Peter C., Henry L. Roediger III, and Mark A. McDaniel. Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard UP, 2014. Print. Genre: nonfiction Summary: Researchers&hellip; <a class="more-link" href="https://jynnemason.com/2018/03/14/make-it-stick/">Continue

<p>Imagine Harry Potter as told by Professor McGonagall, Petunia Dursley, Hedwig, and Neville Longbottom&#8217;s grandmother&#8230; Barnhill, Kelly. The Girl Who Drank the Moon. Chapel Hill, NC: Algonquin Young Readers, 2016. Print. Summary: A doddering witch rescues the sacrificial babies abandoned in the woods. Normally, she feeds them starlight before adopting them out to new families.&hellip; <a class="more-link" href="https://jynnemason.com/2018/02/14/the-girl-who-drank-

<p>Was the 2 a.m. emergency room really the best place to tease open the knots life ties between love and loss? I had no choice. I could not be anywhere else. Oliver, Mary. Felicity. New York: Penguin, 2015. Print. Genre: poetry Summary: Mary Oliver&#8217;s poetry and essay collections normally focus on nature. She lays bare her raptures&hellip; <a class="more-link" href="https://jynnemason.com/2018/02/07/felicity/">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">Felicity b

<p>Imagine a children&#8217;s book that combines The Truman Show with The Tale of Desperaux. Peck, Richard. The Mouse with the Question Mark Tail. Illus. Kelly Murhpy. New York: Puffin Books, 2013. Print. Genre: middle grade historical fiction Summary: Days before Queen Victoria&#8217;s Diamond Jubilee, a nameless mouse runs away from the bullies at school. From then on, he is&hellip; <a class="more-link" href="https://jynnemason.com/2018/01/24/the-mouse-with-the-question-mar

<p>Read these three books, my friend gushed, and you’ll experience a gummy, disorienting waltz with truth, memory, and trauma. Krakauer, Jon. Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster. Jon Krakauer, Narr. New York: Random House Audio, 2007. CD. Genre: nonfiction memoir Summary: Krakauer documents his experiences during the Mount Everest disaster&hellip; <a class="more-link" href="https://jynnemason.com/2018/01/18/the-everest-disaster-trilogy-challenge/">

<p>This author is really for e.v.e.r.y.o.n.e on your holiday shopping list. Warning: you will become the heroine dealer of literature. Friends will stalk you, shaky, half-dressed, begging, &#8220;Got any more of that?&#8221; Meloy, Ellen. Eating Stone: Imagination and the Loss of the Wild. New York: Pantheon Books, 2005. Print. Genre: nonfiction Summary: Meloy spends a&hellip; <a class="more-link" href="https://jynnemason.com/2017/12/05/eating-stone/">Continue reading <span c

<p>Need a gift for someone on the &#8220;naughty&#8221; list? No problem. My holiday gift guide excludes no one! Gravett, Emily. Wolves. New York: Simon &amp; Schuster for Young Readers, 2005. Print. Genre: picture book Summary: Rabbit gets a book about wolves from the library. As he reads, he gets more and more engrossed until the&hellip; <a class="more-link" href="https://jynnemason.com/2017/11/28/wolves/">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">Wolves by Emily&nb

<p>Black Friday shopping? What could be better than a guide to world domination!? A perfect gift for the evil or ethically shady scientist and/or science fiction fan in your social circles. The Mad Scientist&#8217;s Guide to World Domination: Original Short Fiction for the Modern Evil Genius. John Joseph Adams, Ed. New York: Tor, 2013. MP3.&hellip; <a class="more-link" href="https://jynnemason.com/2017/11/24/the-mad-scientists-guide/">Continue reading <span class="screen-read

<p>In this edition of my holiday gift guide for book geeks and rabid readers, I bring you the perfect book for the young Tolkien fan, the Beowulf-to-be (boy or girl) who loves an epic tale with a teary twist woven in. Schmidt, Gary. What Came from the Stars. Prince Frederick, MD: Recorded Books, 2013. MP3.&hellip; <a class="more-link" href="https://jynnemason.com/2017/11/22/what-came-from-the-stars/">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">What Came from the Stars b

<p>I spotted this book a while back and have never forgotten its superb blend of crisp rhymes and powerful theme. Add this to your holiday shopping list as the perfect read-together book for little ones learning to embrace their own spots or not-so-spots. Ward, Helen. Spots in a Box. Somerville, MA: Templar Books, 2015. Print.&hellip; <a class="more-link" href="https://jynnemason.com/2017/11/20/spots-in-a-box/">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">Spots in a Box

<p>The holiday gift guide continues! Here&#8217;s one for the history buff in your life. Or the reluctant reader. Or the pot head who rails on and on about states rights vs federal authority. Hennessy, Jonathan. The Gettysburg Address: A Graphic Adaptation. Illus. Aaron McConnell. New York: William Morrow, 2013. Print. Genre: Nonfiction Graphic Novel Summary:&hellip; <a class="more-link" href="https://jynnemason.com/2017/11/16/the-graphic-gettysburg/">Continue reading <span c

<p>With the holidays fast approaching, I’ll spend several posts sharing my top gift picks, fics, nonfics, and everything in between to titillate the book lovers, knowledge hunters, and idea crafters in your life. Flitcroft, Ian. Journey by Starlight: A Time Traveler’s Guide to Life, the Universe, and Everything. Illus. Britt Spencer. Long Island City, NY:&hellip; <a class="more-link" href="https://jynnemason.com/2017/11/07/journey-by-starlight-by-ian-flitcroft/">Continue read