May I Introduce....

Myself! My name is Madeline and I'm one of the trusty reference librarians at Deerfield Public Library.  Evidently I've forced enough "Hey have you read..." and "What did you think of.." conversations on Melissa that she's offered to let me post on the blog! Yippee for me! (and hopefully you)  Let's get this ball rollin...

I recently encouraged/challenged my friends and family to join me in trying to read 50 books this year.  It's something I have attempted in the past and, sadly, never accomplished.  So far, I'm on pace by having had read 3 books!  I thought that in order to try and keep myself in line with this goal, I'm going to try and blog about the books as I finish them.  Which means I need to give you a quick update on the 3 books I've read in January! 

Flawless: Inside the Largest Diamond Heist in History by Scott Andrew Selby and Greg Campbell.
Flawless details the planning and execution of the heist of over $500 million dollars worth of diamonds from the Antwerp Diamond Center.  I could NOT put this book down.  It was Oceans 11 with a bit less sex appeal and a lot more "SERIOUSLY?!?".  The scale of this heist, the ridiculous amounts of luck involved, and the level to which diamonds are vulnerable make this a fascinating read.  I highly recommend it.

The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary Peterson
This story is a bit difficult to sum up.  The best I can explain is that it's set in a slightly updated future where body parts and organs are able to be replicated using synthetic materials.  The title character, Jenna Fox, has awakened from a coma and struggles to make sense of her surroundings and memories.  Let's just say that these two storylines are intertwined in a way that is explained as the story moves along.  This book is intended for a young adult audience and I would say that's pretty appropriate.  I didn't find myself too engaged in the storyline or characters but I found the bioethical questions it raised to be interesting.  On a side note, it seems like young adult novels these days have two themes: slightly sci-fy/paranormal themes or totally overindulged snotty rich kids??  Has that always been the case and I just don't remember?

We Bought a Zoo by Benjamin Mee
Mee and his extended family come together to purchase a dilapidated zoo in the English countryside.  With none of them being particularly knowledgable in the workings of a zoo or its inhabitants, this becomes large project.  There is actually a movie featuring Matt Damon, Scarlett Johansson, and Dakota Fanning scheduled to be released next December.  You would think in a book about family and a zoo, there would be a lot of talk about family and animals?  Evidently, Ben Mee found it more interesting to discuss the general reconstruction of the zoo buildings for a lot of the book.  I found his stories of the animals absolutely entertaining and I wanted to hear more about his family but that wasn't what happened.  The cover of the book said "The amazing true story of a young family, a broken down zoo, and the 200 wild animals that changed their lives forever.  I'm not sure I get how that happened but I'm hoping the movie will fill me in....

On to my next book!