The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy by Douglas Adams

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy was written by Douglas Adams and is a work of non-fiction. I have read many wonderful books in the past and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is the kind of book I enjoy. 

It is a well-crafted sci-fi story about a man named Arthur Dent who is sort of depressed with the nonsense of his life. He gets taken off the earth after the world’s apocalypse and put into an intergalactic adventure on a spaceship called the “Heart of Gold”. He goes on this adventure that takes him through such an uncomfortably absurd universe. 

There are others on his quest with him, including a friend of his who was secretly an alien living on earth for 15 years before the apocalypse. Also on the adventure were a woman Arthur met at a cocktail party, although he never got fully acquainted with her and a man with his eyes set on traveling through the universe. 

The adventure is set on such an excellent scale. It sometimes has moments when it thinks about the world around us and has an interesting inquiry about the tendencies of us humans. The book is written with a wonderful sense of humor, highlighted by one alien species’ attempts to mess with the protagonists’ heads with bad poetry.

The writing includes a lot of detail and usually makes a joke about the human race. Some jokes may be about digital watches or others about being careful what you say. This book can make you laugh at times and can also allow you to think carefully about a situation so you can get a better understanding of the plot. So hang on tight to your seatbelts and get ready for a wonderful adventure through the universe in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

Louis C.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling

J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is a fantasy/fiction book. This book is the last chapter of the Harry Potter series. If you have read the first six of them, then I would suggest reading this one. 


The book is about Harry Potter and his two friends on an adventure. They are looking for these things called horcruxes, which are pieces of Voldemort’s soul. This is how he keeps bringing himself back to life. Once they are all destroyed, Voldemort can be killed for good. He has even taken over Harry’s magic school. 

Along the course of the book, Harry and his friends come across many obstacles. Voldemort’s death eaters know what Harry wants to do so they keep randomly attacking him. On top of that, there are crazy spells protecting the horcuxes. 

This book answers all of the mysteries from the other books. There are also a lot of surprises in the plot. This book would still probably be interesting even if you hadn't read the other books.

Egan L.

2014 Abraham Lincoln Award Nominees

The new Abraham Lincoln Award nominees have been announced and we are trying to get enough copies in the LRC as quickly as possible. If you are not familiar with the whole Abe Lincoln Award thing, check out our web page on the yearly award. Trust me, it's awesome.



Here is the whole list:

Across the universe by Beth Revis
Ashes by Ilsa J. Bick
Cinder by Marissa Meyer
Daughter of smoke and bone by Lani Taylor
Divergent by Veronica Roth
Every day by  David Levithan
Everybody sees the ants by A.S. King
The fault in our stars by John Green
Five flavors of Dumb by Antony John
Hate list by Jennifer Brown
How to save a life by Sara Zarr
I hunt killers by Barry Lyga
Legend by Marie Lu
Marcelo in the real world by Francisco Stork
The night circus: a novel by  Erin Morgenstern
The Pregnancy project: a memoir by  Gaby Rodriguez with Jenna Glatzer
Purple heart by Patricia McCormick
Ready player one by Ernest Cline
Room by Emma Donoghue
Shadow and bone by Leigh Bardugo
Stupid fast by Geoff Herbach
Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

And here are some other ways of looking at the nominees:

If you liked The Hunger Games....
Across the universe by Beth Revis
Ashes by Ilsa J. Bick
Divergent by Veronica Roth
Legend by Marie Lu
Shadow and bone by Leigh Bardugo

If you like a little magic or little bit of the supernatural with your romance...
Daughter of smoke and bone by Lani Taylor
The night circus: a novel by  Erin Morgenstern

How about an element of mystery?
Across the universe by Beth Revis
Cinder by Marissa Meyer
I hunt killers by Barry Lyga

It could happen to you (or someone you know)...
Everybody sees the ants by A.S. King
The fault in our stars by John Green
Five flavors of Dumb by Antony John
Hate list by Jennifer Brown
How to save a life by Sara Zarr
The pregnancy project: a memoir by  Gaby Rodriguez with Jenna Glatzer
Purple heart by Patricia McCormick
Stupid fast by Geoff Herbach
Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

Happening now in an alternate universe or in the future...
Across the universe by Beth Revis
Ashes by Ilsa J. Bick
Cinder by Marissa Meyer
Daughter of smoke and bone by Lani Taylor
Divergent by Veronica Roth
Legend by Marie Lu
The night circus: a novel by  Erin Morgenstern
Ready player one by Ernest Cline
Shadow and bone by Leigh Bardugo

A dude's point of view...
Everybody sees the ants by A.S. King
I hunt killers by Barry Lyga
Purple heart by Patricia McCormick
Ready player one by Ernest Cline
Stupid fast by Geoff Herbach

A different point of view...
Cinder by Marissa Meyer
Every day by  David Levithan
Five flavors of Dumb by Antony John
Marcelo in the real world by Francisco Stork
Room by Emma Donoghue

Most likely to make you think of Dexter or Hannibal Lecter...
I hunt killers by Barry Lyga

Most likely to make you laugh....
Stupid fast by Geoff Herbach

If you liked Thirteen Reasons Why...
The fault in our stars by John Green
Hate list by Jennifer Brown
How to save a life by Sara Zarr
Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

Author Spotlight: James Patterson

Today's post is about one of my favorite authors. His writings are diverse, intense and not always expected.

BIO: James Patterson was born 1947 in Newburgh, NY. Graduated valedictorian of his class in 1965. He claims to be a reluctant reader while he was in high school but majored in English at Manhattan College. He never planned to be a writer, “that seemed to presumptuous of me”. After graduation from college he landed a job as a junior copywriter but quickly advanced in his career becoming a CEO of a major New York advertising firm. All the while he continued to write in his spare time.

A contributor to Publishers Weekly called Patterson "always a generous author (lots of plot and intrigue) if not a stylish one." In 2008, Patterson announced plans to develop his novels into computer games. For more information visit his website http://www.jamespatterson.com/

Among my favorites:

Alex Cross Series        

The Beach House

Maximum Ride

Link to more books by James Patterson on our shelves

Read a review by Ethan W. The Jester

"James Patterson." Contemporary Authors Online. Detroit: Gale, 2013. Biography In Context. Web.
          7  Mar. 2013.
James Patterson Author Biographies. Ezine Articles, Oct. 2009. Web. 7 Mar. 2013.
     <http://ezinearticles.com/ ?James-Patterson---Author-Biographies&id=3036955>.

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

The Road is a very interesting post-apocalyptic adventure thriller about a man and his son. They travel rough ruined cities and burnt forests and they fight bandits and raiders. I liked this book because I liked the time setting and its survival scenarios. I think people who like survival and adventure books will also like this book.

Matt I.

Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe

Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe is an excellent tail of adventure and survival. This book tells the story of Robinson Crusoe, a man who is ship wrecked and has to fight to survive. He endures many hardships throughout the book. This book is a great book for any one who wants to read about a great adventure. This book is sure to keep you on the edge of your seat.

The Thief Lord By Cornelia Funke

I liked the book The Thief Lord because it was a good story about how kids can live on their own. The kids in this book had to get food for themselves and find a place to stay. When all this was happening there was a detective after them. So I thought it was an exciting book to read.

Other people might like to read this book because it is an interesting story about how these kids had to steal stuff to get money and how they lived in an abandoned theater. Another reason why people might want to read this book is because you will want to keep reading it since the next chapter is as good as the last.

Tommy K.

Grudges, Guts, and Glory: By Les Krantz

Grudges, Guts and Glory is a book with about 50 short stories inside containing the best sports stories of all time. Stories are included about every sport at any time in history ever recorded from the great Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier to more recently when Notre Dame played USC with the infamous Bush Push.

Stories are told about many countries such as from the Olympics to the amazing races to simple basketball games.

If you like sports stories, this book has the best of the best, which is exactly the reason why I liked this book so much and why you might too. I would recommend this book to any person who loves reading adrenalin rushing sports stories.

Josh S.

Salt By: Maurice Gee.

SALT By: Maurice Gee.

Salt is a fiction book that got my attention when I saw it because the cover looked like it was an interesting book to read. The book cover had a hunting knife. This book is about two characters who got enslaved by a company and had to work in a place called Deep Salt. One of them is named Hari and the other one is Tarl.

Tarl gets captured and sent to Deep Salt were no one comes out alive. Although no one ever came out alive from that place before Tarl proved them wrong thanks to Hari. Hari later came to rescue him from Deep Salt. Hari had to go through a long journey to help Tarl escape from Deep Salt. And even though it's hard for Hari to help Tarl he knows he can do it and he can't let Tarl down.

Hari had a long journey to go through but he was able to make it because Hari was tough, smart and also had a gift of being able to talk to animals. If you like fiction, action and want to know how this journey ends check out this book and find out.

Jose R.

Crocodile Tears by: Anthony Horowitz

Anthony Horowitz's book “Crocodile Tears” is fiction. This book is the seventh of the series about the teenage boy, Alex Rider, who is a spy for MI6. Alex always tries to live a normal life but seems to run into trouble. This leads to him getting recruited again. In this book, the focus is on genetically modified plants and how this one man is using them to make millions but this would kill many. In the end, Alex is able to flood all the plants that were intended to be used for destruction. He is thanked tremendously for this which saves the lives of many but he hopes this is his last involvement with MI6.

Nathan O.

Surviving the Toughest Race on Earth by Martin Dugard

"Surviving the Toughest Race on Earth" by Martin Dugard is a non fiction book. It is a story about Martin and how he quits his job as a writer to cover extreme racing. The main endurance race is called the raid and it is universally known as the hardest race on the face of the planet. Because of its intense nature it has helped create other extreme racing events like the Eco-Challenge in America. After covering the raid a couple of times, Martin decides to create a team of his own. He wants to run in the raid and see exactly how hard the raid truly is. If you enjoy endurance racing and being outdoors, then you will enjoy reading about how people survive when they are thrust into harsh environments.

Scott H.

The Good Guy by Dean Koontz

This is the story of an ordinary mason (a person who makes walls and such). He went to a bar after a hard day of work and drank a beer. He ran into this guy (unknown name) and after having a very interesting conversation about skydiving with dogs the unknown person hands Tim Carrier an envelope and says, "Here is half; you get the rest after the job is done." He handed him an envelope that contained ten-thousand dollars in cash and a picture of a lady with a name that read Linda Paquette. Tim is no dummy; he knows this guy meant to kill this lady. When the real hit man arrives, Tim gives Larry Kravet the money. Then he runs off to warn this Linda character to run away from home. He gets caught up in this messy situation and the next thing Tim knows he is running for his life with Linda trying to escape a killer who won't give up. Will Tim survive? Will he and Linda get killed? Will he live to tell the tale? Find out if Tim is really a "Good Guy".I think this book is amazing. It was packed with action and adventure. I wish there were a series of these books. Dean Koontz does an amazing job with description and detail. This is one thriller you have to read to know the ending. I will admit it had its twists and turns but the ending is unforgettable.I recommend this book to any thrill-seeker who is looking for a good tale about a good guy.

Preet M.

The Bourne Identity by Robertr Ludlum

This book starts with a man who isn't named at first and who mysteriously finds himself at the Pacific Ocean under the midnight sky in a storm. He tries to stay above the surface but he struggles to endure the storm while swimming to a large ship. When he manages to swim and climb onto the ship, he tries to conceal himself from the people on the ship.

I liked the beginning because it describes the character without you knowing his name or how he got there or why he can't remember anything from his life. I thought it was a great story because the main character is only relying on instinct and for some reason, he knows how to fight very well and uses his surroundings as a weapon. Also, he had to enter a high security bank because he needed something in storage that would prove to be useful and he got the information from a person who led him there. After leaving through the window, he gets onto the rooftop where he finds a woman who is going through hard times. He asks her if he can travel with her, far away from that place, in exchange for a large amount of money.

I think other people will like this story because it leads the main character to an assassin who could possibly be a threat to the government.

Carlos G.

"The Running Man" Stephen King

"In the year 2025, the best men don't run for president, they run for their lives". It's the year 2025, Ben Richards is a poor man living in Co-Op City where he lives in Old Town. The city’s sky scrapers seem more like prison cells than the cheep assisted living apartments they are. By law, every place of living is required to have "Free-Vee" which plays the network’s game shows all day, every day. Ben's eighteen month old daughter is sick with influenza and he doesn't even have enough money to buy her a pair of used socks. Ever since his daughter became sick Ben has been watching the "Free-Vee" more and more. Every time a new game comes on he becomes more and more tempted. Finally, he musters up enough courage to walk the three miles to the new city where the network’s sky scrapers rule as king of the city.

Brendan C.

The White Mountains by John Christopher

I liked this book because it's full of action and adventure. It's about a boy in another country where alien tripods control earth and he is told by a strange man of a land where men are free and not under mind control of the tripods. The book is mostly about the boy’s adventure to a mountain in Switzerland where there are no tripods. If you like science fiction, you will like this book which is the first book in a series.

Tyler M.

Tommorrow, When the War Began by John Marsden

“Tomorrow, When the War Began” is a book about a group of teenagers who go camping and come back to find their country has been invaded by a mysterious country. All their family members are being held in the fair grounds. They return to their camp site where they plan what to do. This story is packed with action, adventure and drama. I liked this book a lot because of all the action plus it was a fast paced book. I think any high school student who wants to read a book with non stop adventure and action would enjoy this book.

Zach M.

Sure Fire by Jack Higgins

In this story two men infiltrate an oil factory and retrieve a sample of something. John Chance was one of the two men infiltrating that factory. Later, he gets a call telling him he has two orphan kids, products of a past relationship. The kids have to live with their father, who, at the moment is having trouble hiding what he stole. When Chance tries to take the sample to his contact, he's kidnapped in front of his children. This unleashes a search that involves the police and foreign spies, all of them trying to get their hands on the sample and the kids.
The book centers on the relationship that's developing between the kids and their father and their differences as well as adding action and suspense to the story.

Alejandro V.

Halo: The Cole Protocol by Tobias S. Buckell

The Cole Protocol is a good book to read if you're into science fiction and action and if you are a fan of the halo series. This book tells the story of Captain Keyeses before he was ever a captain. This book is relatively easy to read although it is a long book with over 260 pages.

Tim G.

The Mediterranean Caper by Clive Cussler

This book is full of action and adventure. Dirk Pitt, Special Projects Director for the National Underwater and Marine Agency, tries to stop an evil World War I fighter pilot and his massive drug ring. With his long time friend, Al Giordino, Dirk tries to uncover the mystery and the two get into a little trouble in the process. With a lot of conflict and action, this is a great book for any reader.

Ryan K.

The Bourne Supremacy by Robert Ludlum

Jason Bourne is back after the first novel, The Bourne Identity. Bourne is now accused of the assassination of the Chinese Vice Premiere and once again, he's being hunted. With an attempt to get to the personal side of Jason, his wife is kidnapped and brought to Hong Kong. Bourne hears of this news and heads to China, battling and defeating many enemies along the way. This book is suspenseful and keeps you hanging on to the edge of your seat and wanting more. It may look like it's a lot to read but once you start, it flows easily and goes by pretty quickly. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys an action packed book.

Brian S.