MURRAY LIBRARY | Take Me There

GUEST BLOG BY WHITNEY SCHOFIELD

Posted on January 25, 2012 by Guest Blogger

I read Heaven is for Real: a Little Boy’s Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back. This was a very interesting story to me. I’m Mormon and to read about a different point of view on heaven from a different religious point of view is fascinating. A lot of the stories resonated with me. My favorite stories were when they showed Colton different pictures of Christ that were never “right” and then he saw the one that was drawn by the little girl who had a similar experience he said, “That’s Him.” I also loved that he met and spent time with his sister who was a miscarried baby. The dad is obviously not a writer but if you can see past the writing and let the stories touch your heart you’re in for a good time as well as some thought-provoking and eye-opening experiences.

Posted in Memoir | Tagged Inspirational, Memoir | Leave a comment

1984 BY GEORGE ORWELL

Posted on January 23, 2012 by mharrell

1984 Place A Hold

You know how young adult dystopian trilogies are all the rage right now? Do you ever wonder where they all came from? They came from 1984.

Experience George Orwell’s classic look at tyranny through the eyes of Winston Smith, History Revisionist. In the country of Oceania, Winston’s job is to rewrite history so it fits The Party’s current ideology. He even, from time to time, removes figures who have fallen out of favor, making it as if they had never existed. He enjoys his work and does his best to please The Party and Big Brother, the omnipresent icon. However, Winston has a secret. He hates The Party. He hates being watched constantly. He hates Big Brother. Winston dreams of rebellion but he is too scared to act. In fact, he’s too scared to even think about rebellion, for as Winston writes in his secret journal, “Thoughtcrime does not entail death, Thoughtcrime IS death.”

You will laugh, cry, cheer, rage, and hope. But most importantly you will reconsider your perspective of society. Pick up 1984, the father and king of all dystopian literature, a story of rebellion, manipulation, and sticking it to The Man.

Posted in Adult Fiction, Young Adult Fiction | Tagged Adult, Classic, Dystopian, Fiction, Young Adult | Leave a comment

GUEST BLOG BY SAM SCHOFIELD

Posted on January 20, 2012 by Guest Blogger

Place A Hold

Two things are immediately clear while reading this book: First, this is one of those true stories that everyone should read and be familiar with, because modern day war stories that contain both glory and applicable lessons to our own lives are largely unknown and rare. Secondly, it is evident that the author, Marcus Luttrell, is a Navy Seal by trade and not a writer. In other words, it is a great book if you can get past the less-than-professional writing skill of the author. If the reader can read this book with that in mind, having a forgiving heart, he/she will most likely finish the book being a better person than when he/she started. It was easy for me to forgive the author’s skill when realizing that this is a true story, unfiltered, from the mouth of a battered war hero.

Posted in Adult Nonfiction | Tagged Adult, Memoir, Non-Fiction, War | Leave a comment

THE INVASION (ANIMORPHS #1) BY K. A. APPLEGATE

Posted on January 18, 2012 by murraybookwoman

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Ten years ago, my then fourth-grade son developed an addiction to a 54-book series called “Animorphs.” Originally released in 1996, these action-packed books follow five young teens as they attempt to save the world from being taken over by the Yeerks, evil slug-like aliens who force themselves into the brains of unwitting victims so NO ONE can be trusted. Fortunately, Jake, Rachel, Cassie, Tobias, and Marco have been given one advantage: they can morph into any animal they touch. This is one of the better written series for this age group (4th grade and up), with likable characters, humor, non-stop adventure, and age-appropriate ethical questions. Out of print for many years, the series has just been re-released with super cool holographic covers. I can’t wait to start recommending them to a new generation of boys and girls.

Click here to see videos, take quizzes, and learn more about the characters. http://www.scholastic.com/animorphs/index.htm

Posted in Children's Fiction | Tagged Adventure, Aliens, Animals, Friendship, Sci-Fi, Series | Leave a comment

GUEST BLOG BY YEN VUONG

Posted on January 16, 2012 by Guest Blogger

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Forty years ago, Harriet Vanger, a member of the wealthy Vanger family in Sweden, mysteriously disappeared. Police investigated the case thoroughly, and to this date, the cause of her disappearance remains a mystery. Henrik Vanger, Harriet’s great-uncle, believed that she was murdered by a member of their family. He never gave up, even after the police dropped the unsolvable puzzle.

Since Henrik could not unravel the case himself, he hired Mikael Blomvist, publisher of Millennium, who was ruled with libel, to reinvestigate Harriet’s case. To entice the skeptical Mikael, Henrik offered him a hefty sum of money along with evidence that will clear his libel case. Mikael hired Lisbeth Salander as his assistant. Lisbeth is a unique character, to say the least. She had a dark past, and she is deemed legally incompetent, even at age twenty-four. Her asocial personality separates her from society, but her character is intriguing nevertheless.

Together, Mikael and Lisbeth cracks the forty-year old mystery, but not with ease. Along the way, they–Mikael in particular–received perilous warnings for diving into the history of the Vanger family. Once you start reading, it will be hard to put down the book until you discover the truth.