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This post written by Clint City of Thieves
by David Benioff
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The siege of Leningrad lasted for 872 days and was one of the bloodiest battles in World War II. Over a million people died, but David Benioff’s grandfather survived and had a lot of interesting stories to tell. City of Thieves is based on tape recordings of these stories.
Lev, David’s grandfather, is a Russian firefighter who gets arrested by the Russian army for looting a German corpse. He is thrown in jail with Kolya, who was arrested for deserting the army to hang out with some of his girlfriends. Lev and Kolya are going to be executed, but the Russian colonel makes a deal with them. His daughter wants to get married, but they don’t have enough eggs to make a cake. Remember, this is Russia during World War II, and the Germans have completely surrounded the city. If Lev and Kolya can find enough eggs for the cake, they won’t be executed.
Lev and Kolya hunt for eggs in war-torn Leningrad, but have no luck at all. On their way, they talk about literature, life in the city, the horrors of war, and romance/sex. After they find the last living chicken in Leningrad, who can’t possibly lay all the eggs they need in time for the wedding, they hear about a chicken farm, but it’s out past the German lines. After a nice dinner of chicken soup, they leave the city and sneak into German territory.
During their search they encounter all kinds of strange and disturbing people and situations. This story is often funny, but it takes place during a horrible battle. Things are not pretty. People are eating rats and boiling the glue from books and doing much worse things just to keep from starving to death. Things don’t get any better when they leave the city, either. This is war, and neither side is playing fair. The Russians are desperate and willing to do anything to defend their homeland, and the Nazis are, as you might guess, even worse. There are a couple of scenes that I could have done without, so if you don’t like horrible things happening to people or animals, you might want to skip this one.
You can read an excerpt online at the publisher’s website.
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Where to Find It
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This post written by Clarissa Planetes
by Makoto Yukimura
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A lot of people think this might be the best science fiction manga (and anime) ever–and even if you don’t like manga, but you’re interested in space exploration, or you liked Apollo 13, The Right Stuff, etc., you should find this somewhere. Planetes is an extremely well-drawn and well-told story about several different people who work in space; although the focus of the story changes in different volumes and chapters, the multicultural core characters are debris collectors who clean up the garbage that (even in our time) is cluttering up outer space. One of the characters has a tragic past. Another dreams of owning his own spaceship (almost to the extent of losing his own humanity). Another is trying to remind him that compassion and love can co-exist with ambition and survival in space. Another wants … actually, who knows what Fee wants, except to keep everyone else from screwing up or getting themselves killed or slacking off too much. The characters have to deal with the normal daily-life stuff of their personal demons, their relationships, and their jobs; their bigger goals; and the background problems of terrorism and corporate/governmental questionability as humanity expands toward Jupiter. This excellent series avoids the over-the-top silliness that can make you roll your eyes at some manga; the adventure is just grand enough and the touching moments are just pointed enough. You can finish the series in only 5 books (the last two are both labeled volume 4–part 1 and part 2), which is also nice.
(Warning: volume 3 contains some nudity.)
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Where to Find It
[linkplus name=Planetes url=”http://csul.iii.com/search/X?SEARCH=t:(planetes)+and+a:(yukimura)&SORT=DX&l=eng” series=true]
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This post written by Clint Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist
by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
[cover name=nickandnorahsinfiniteplaylist]
Nick and Norah are two music fans who meet by chance one evening and spend the rest of the night talking about life and relationships, going to different performances, and falling in love.
You can read some of this book online at Google Books.
You can also check out a digital copy to read on your computer, but be sure you read the instructions first. You’ll need Adobe Digital Editions software to do this.
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Where to Find It
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This post written by Clint Quaking
by Kathryn Erskine
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Matt is a sarcastic young woman who has just moved in with her newest foster family. She has to deal with the school bully, politics, and the fact that she might actually like her new foster parents.
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This post written by Clint Safe
by Susan Shaw
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Safe is the story of a thirteen-year-old girl, Tracy, who is raped on the way home from school. Safe never describes the rape and focuses instead on the aftermath – Tracy’s emotions and, eventually, her healing process.
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Where to Find It
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This post written by Clint Street Pharm
by Allison van Diepen
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Ty Johnson is trying to go to school and hold the family business together. The catch is that the family business is dealing drugs. When things get rough, Ty has to decide who he is and how he wants to live his life.
You can read some of it online at Google Books.
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Where to Find It
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This post written by Clarissa Shrine of the Morning Mist
by Hiroki Ugawa
[cover name=shrineofthemorningmist]
This often comedic series, about schoolgirls who serve as shrine maidens and fight evil monsters, gently spoofs other series such as “Sailor Moon.” Several sisters and their school friends use divine magic to protect their shrine, their town, and a distant cousin who has the ability to see the other world. In the meantime, of course, their school gets smashed up by giant monsters and wacky hijinks ensue.
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Where to Find It
You’re going to have to check a bookstore for this one. Sorry about that.
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This post written by Clarissa Nana
by Yazawa Ai
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Two young women with the same name (one ordinary, slightly ditzy country girl and one rebellious aspiring rock star) encounter love, sex, and heartbreak in Tokyo. It’s been a huge hit in Japan, already resulting an animated TV series, two live-action films, video games, and a tribute album with major Japanese pop stars. This series has striking, stylized art.
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Where to Find It
[linkplus name=”Nana” url=”http://csul.iii.com/search/X?SEARCH=t:(nana)+and+a:(yazawa)&SORT=DX&l=eng” series=true cchasone=notvolume1]
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This post written by Clint Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
by J. K. Rowling
[cover name=harrypotter]
You may think this book is for kids, but it’s smart enough that adults can enjoy it, too. If you somehow haven’t heard about these books, Harry Potter is an orphan living a very boring, miserable life with his aunt and uncle. He enters a world of magic when he is invited to Hogwarts, a school for wizards. For the first time in his life, Harry starts making friends and goes from being a nobody to being a celebrity. Unfortunately, something evil is going on at Hogwarts, and it is up to Harry and his friends to stop it.
You can look it up on Wikipedia.
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Where to Find It
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This post written by Clint Master and Commander
by Patrick O’Brian
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Jack Aubrey, a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy, makes friends with Stephen Maturin, a doctor, naturalist, and geek. When Jack is given command of HMS Speedy, he invites Stephen to come along and be the ship’s surgeon. Jack is an absolutely fantastic commander, but he’s completely lost away from the sea. Stephen is an absolutely fantastic surgeon and scientist, but he’s completely lost on a ship. This “Odd Couple” relationship is really the main focus of the story.
There is plenty of action, too. Jack Aubrey is based on Thomas Cochrane, one of the most awesome naval officers ever, and many of the battles described in the book and the rest of the series actually happened.
There is a fair amount of naval slang in the book. If you don’t know what a “fo’c’sle” is, neither does Stephen. You can count on him to ask about some of the words, but if he doesn’t, or if your eyes glaze over when Jack explains what a mizzenmast is, don’t worry. You don’t need to know. If you do really want to know all the details and definitions, though, you might want to check out the book A Sea of Words.
You can look it up on Wikipedia. You can also read some of it online at Google Books.
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Other books you might want to check out
- A Sea of Words, 3rd Edition, by Dean King, John B. Hattendorf, and J. Worth Estes
Defines all of the terms used in the series, and gives a whole lot of other information that you might find interesting if you are really into the series.
- Cochrane: The Life and Exploits of a Fighting Captain, by Robert Harvey
This is a good biography of Thomas Cochrane, the person Jack Aubrey (and Horatio Hornblower and pretty much every other fictional sea captain) is based on. This is one of those times when truth is stranger than fiction: I’m amazed by a lot of the crazy stunts Cochrane was able to get away with.
Where to Find It
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