Eyes Of The World

Eyes Of The World: Robert Capa, Gerda Taro, And The Invention Of Modern Photojournalism by Marc Arobson & Marina Budhos, 293 pages

“Robert Capa and Gerda Taro were young Jewish refugees, idealistic and in love. As photographers in the 1930s, they set off to capture their generation's most important struggle--the fight against fascism. Among the first to depict modern warfare, Capa, Taro, and their friend Chim took powerful photographs of the Spanish Civil War that went straight from the action to news magazines. They brought a human face to war with their iconic shots of a loving couple resting, a wary orphan, and, always, more and more refugees--people driven from their homes by bombs, guns, and planes. Today, our screens are flooded with images from around the world. But Capa and Taro were pioneers, bringing home the crises and dramas of their time--and helping give birth to the idea of bearing witness through technology. With a cast of characters ranging from Langston Hughes and George Orwell to Pablo Picasso and Ernest Hemingway, and packed with dramatic photos, posters, and cinematic magazine layouts, here is Capa and Taro's riveting, tragic, and ultimately inspiring story.”

Pathfinders

Pathfinders: The Journeys of 16 Extraordinary Black Souls by Tonya Bolden, 124 pages

“Profiles sixteen high-achieving African Americans, including magician Richard Potter, concert singer Sissieretta Jones, and architect Paul R. Williams.” I had heard of many of these people but I was surprised at how many I had never heard of before.  There isn’t a lot of information about any one person, but there is an interesting overview of all of the people included, besides side notes about other people who were in the same field or are otherwise related, and notes about what else was happening in the time during which the person lived.  This was an interesting book and would appeal to kids who like biographies.

Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy

Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy: The Story of Little Women and Why It Still Matters by Anne Boyd Rioux       Audiobook:  9 hours, 39 mins.     Hardback Book:  288 pages.        Genre:  Biography of Louisa May Alcott,  Discussion of her characters and writings based on her own family members,  discussion of films and portrayals of Little Women,  Relevance to today and discussion of required reading statistics today

Good book.    I found out so much about Louisa May Alcott that I never knew before.   The gal had a hard time of it coming up.   Her father considered himself a transcendentalist philosopher and throughout his life followed his muse wherever it led him, whenever he felt led.   He often left the family – his wife and four daughters, to fend for themselves while he took off wherever the wind blew him to pursue whatever quest he chose.   Louisa’s mother took in laundry and sewing doing whatever she could to get scraps of food and manage to clothe them all and try to keep a roof over their heads.  Louisa took on the role of the “man” of the family during these times and did her best to find work or sell her writings while also working in the fields anything and everything to get money to help her mother provide for the family.   It is mentioned in this book that the fathers in Louisa’s books took peripheral background roles where they were mentioned but seldom seen-hmmm-writing from what you know there, Louisa?   Often male characters were flawed, weak, or having peculiar features, dull so much so that the strong female characters shine even brighter in comparison.   Louisa and her sisters adored their dear mother, who worked from sunup to sundown to support her family.   Louisa was always praised highly by both of her parents on her writing and storytelling abilities and writing always seemed her strongsuit as a career.   Marriage was never on her agenda as she never wanted to be stuck in a situation like her mother.   After establishing herself as a successful author, her publisher asked her to write a book about girls as there seemed to be such a glut of books about boys having been written over the years.   Her publisher thought the writing market needed to be evened out with more stories about females.   Louisa balked at the thought of it.    She had found a niche in writing thrillers where people became opium or heroin addicts and females fell prey to the influence of harsh men and drugs.  LOUISA MAY ALCOTT?   WHAT?   Things you never knew about her will come to light in startling ways here.   A very good read once you are a few pages in and know where this book is taking you.   It is really quite interesting and gives you the feel of the times, comparisons of all kinds of thoughts being developed, theories, religion versus agnosticism, gender roles and how they could be made pliable yet still acceptable even in those times as she herself always wanted to be a boy and lived the tomboy life until her mother made her wear dresses when she began her menses which signified a girl was of marrying age in those days and the going from childhood pants and leggings to long dresses with swept up hair told the story like a beacon on what was happening inside her.   Alcott spoke with her own sisters before writing, “Little Women,”   asking if they were alright with her using them as models for her characters, the March sisters.   They were fine with it even offering ideas on the things their characters, liked, would do and would say.   The book practically wrote itself as Louisa sat in her attic garret her father had fixed up for her complete with a desk he made for her.   He did have his good points which kept them all loving him, but, come on Dude, leave something to live on for your bairn and wifey when you decide to go on walkabout for a year or two at a time.   And sending something home money-wise now and then would have been the decent thing to do as husband and father.  But I digress.   This book talks about films and plays that have been done over the years and how closely and how far-a-field some have been.   It also talks about the relevance of the book and the life teachings it offers and the look into the female perspective.   While there have been boys and men who have read the book it has predominantly been perceived to be a book for girls and was not required reading in most classes as many males found it too feminine for their tastes while other males found it to be quite insightful as to the character of women in order to understand them better.    I did enjoy this book and I always enjoy learning new things about people and new bits of trivia about historical and literary characters.    Learning the story behind the story is a special interest of mine and this book gives you that and much, much more.      I highly recommend it to anyone curious about the book Little Women because this is a very well-rounded discussion of many of the facets that brought it to be and continue keeping it in the public eye and the reasoning behind its relevance today.

 - Shirley J.

Black Lives Matter Movement

Black Lives Matter Movement by Peggy L. Parks, 80 pages

“Black Lives Matter was born in July 2013 after a jury exonerated the killer of an unarmed black youth named Trayvon Martin. Since that time it has become known as a formidable, often controversial, civil rights movement that seeks equality and fair treatment of black citizens by law enforcement and by society as a whole.” This was a very informative book.  I learned a lot about the movement that I didn’t already know.  This is a great book for kids who want more information about this topic.

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin (5 stars, audio, 260 pages) 

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry shows the life that happens in between all the book reviews. Foul-tempered A.J. Fikry is the reclusive bookseller at Island Books, far removed from the world. He has very specific preferences in his reading material, and will brook no argument as he scares away the vendors who come a long way to visit him. In fact, he would hate this book. His wife died, his store is in a sales slump, and his “pension” vanishes overnight, so all he wants to do is drink himself to death. An unexpected surprise promises to breathe life into this exhausted shell of a man.

As a librarian and book reviewer, I am surely the intended reader of this book, and what can I say except that it worked. The literature reviews at the beginning of each chapter, mostly for short stories, set a perfect tone. The author demonstrates clever knowledge of the book business, with funny and true book banter. Potential complaints against it include: too sappy, too gimmicky, too neat. I liked all of those qualities, though. I essentially told my wife the whole story as it progressed, and she was invested in even the second-hand telling. This is a funny, touching story with characters that feel real. It’s familiar, perhaps even too cliched, but it’s still a short and entertaining read that I enjoyed immensely.   

The Whydah

The Whydah: A Pirate Ship Feared, Wrecked & Found by Martin W. Sandler, 170 pages

“The exciting true story of the captaincy, wreck, and discovery of the Whydah -- the only pirate ship ever found -- and the incredible mysteries it revealed. The 1650s to the 1730s marked the golden age of piracy, when fearsome pirates like Blackbeard ruled the waves, seeking not only treasure but also large and fast ships to carry it. The Whydah was just such a ship, built to ply the Triangular Trade route, which it did until one of the greediest pirates of all, Black Sam Bellamy, commandeered it. Filling the ship to capacity with treasure, Bellamy hoped to retire with his bounty -- but in 1717 the ship sank in a storm off Cape Cod. For more than two hundred years, the wreck of the Whydah (and the riches that went down with it) eluded treasure seekers, until the ship was finally found in 1984 by marine archaeologists. The artifacts brought up from the ocean floor are priceless, both in value and in the picture they reveal of life in that much-mythologized era, changing much of what we know about pirates.” This would be a great read for any kids who were interested in real pirates.  I found the information fascinating, and pirates are not my first choice for non-fiction reads.

A Tale of Two Cities

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, 413 pages

“A Tale of Two Cities is one of Dickens's most exciting books, set against the backdrop of the French revolution, in which two generations struggle against the injustices of first a corrupt aristocracy and then the mindless rule of the mob.”  I have never read this before and decided that I really should.  It was all right, but definitely not one of my favorites by Dickens.  I had actually tried to read it before and put it down because I wasn’t really enjoying it.  It’s well written but it’s just so dense that it’s not much fun to read.  I won’t be recommending it but at least now I can say that I’ve read it.

Being A Teen: Everything Teen Girls & Boys Should Know About Relationships, Sex, Love. Health, Identity & More

Being A Teen: Everything Teen Girls & Boys Should KnowAbout Relationships, Sex, Love. Health, Identity & More by Jane Fonda, 253 pages

Although not fabulously well written, this book does contain a lot of good information for teens about all of the topics mentioned in the title.  It doesn’t shy away from difficult or sensitive topics and includes a lot of resources for teens who may not be getting help or information from home.  The book does encourage teens who are having difficulties to talk to parents or other trusted adults about problems, like depression, pregnancy, bullying, etc., but recognizes the possibility that some teens may not have trusted adults in their lives.  Generally, I would think that a lot of teens could benefit from the book, either reading the whole book or skipping to the topics that interest them specifically.