5,4, 3, 2, 1 Blast Off!

Forty years ago there was one small step for man and one giant step for mankind.

Bring this incredible event to life for your kids this summer. There are many wonderful books about this event that go way beyond the boring textbook information. One of my favorites is
Forty years ago there was one small step for man and one giant step for mankind.
Bring this incredible event to life for your kids this summer.

One Small Step by P.B. Kerr. Unknown to the rest of us there is a secret mission to land monkeys on the moon before humans. When the lead monkey is unable to complete the mission, NASA discovers Scott MacLeod a talented 13 year old pilot and asks him to be part of this top secret plan. This is the Boys Only Book Club titles for July.



A book with the same title, but very different insides is One Small Step by Jerry Stone is an 'ology scrapbook of the the lunar landing. Nonfiction and lots of flaps to lift and pages to explore.
Last but not least, for the preschooler who's fascinated by astronauts and space there is the Astronaut's Handbook by Meghan MacCarthy explains all of the details of an astronauts life in clear drawings. My son's favorite is the astronaut toilet.

I want to have a lunar party with my kids, where we watch the video of the first landing and have astronaut ice cream and read a lot about this incredible achievement. I guess I've always wanted to travel into outer space and I'm looking forward to sharing this event with my kids. If these books don't seem to fit your kids, I have found many more ranging from a graphic novel about the race to the moon to Stephen and Lucy Hawking (of physicist fame) novel about George's Secret Key to the Universe

Happy Reading !
~Laura DeLaney

Not So "Out" There...

June and July are informally the months when gay pride rallys, parades, and parties celebrate diversity and, well, all things gay. In keeping with that theme, I thought I'd mention some gay-themed titles - from children's books to teen novels to adult literature; biographies/memoirs to religion/spiritual living - that I have enjoyed over the past year. To note, I'm really particular about the content of gay fiction and non-fiction: they cannot be sexually explicit - the following books are works I would feel comfortable handing a teenager or either of my parents; they have to be well-written - I'm a critic of writing styles regardless of the story being told; and they reflect what (I feel) most of us who grow up gay can relate too - sorry, you won't titles like Miami Manhunt or Every Frat Boy Wants It on this list.

Based on the true story of two male penguins at the Central Park Zoo who built a nest and hatched an adopted chick together, this is quirky and fun with a relevant message on diverse families...not to mention the fact that it has been the United States' most banned book since its publication.

Daddy, Papa, and Me - this one's

pretty straight (no pun intended)

forward, not too mention cute: a board book for toddlers.

Rainbow Boys really showcases the "array of gay" that exists: the "flaming queen" with multi- colored hair, the lisp and swish, and feminine tendencies; the guy who's gay, but not too noticably and people silently question; the guy you'd never guess to be gay - popular jock, so normal he's almost boring, but good looking. How all this comes together (dramatically, I might add) in this highschool-set novel is great...I couldn't put it, the sequal, or the third, down!

About the author: this is his first novel, he's a successful attorney, gay, and lives in NYC. Now about the book: it captures teenage emotion about love, family, sexuality, highschool, friends, and more so well that I was up all night - two nights in a row - immeshed in the teens' coming-of-age lives. As with Rainbow Boys, older teens and adults are gonna like this, as well as younger guys ages 13+.

Ellen Hopkins is my favorite teen author of all time. Written in prose, Impulse chronicles the thoughts (and minimal conversations) of three teens, one of which is bisexual, as they are institutionalized for failed suicide attempts. I thought it would be a quick read, but between each chapter, I had to pause, digest what I'd read, reflect, and move onto something else...partly cuz it was intense; partly because I wanted the book to last...indefinitely.

Simple in its complexity of human thought, this reads as smoothly as a love letter. Set in Italy, a young teen male falls in love with his father's graduate assistant who is a foreign exchange student from the United States, and older than he. I fell for this book because of the ambiguity, European setting, and collegiate atmosphere...plus I'm secretly a sap (just don't tell anyone).

Avoidance is not to be missed! Published by Graywolf Press, an independent publisher dedicated quality writing, not to making money with blockbuster titles, has become my favorite small publishing house. This is a POD (print on demand), so we don't readily carry it on the shelves, but one can be printed for you, personally, and shipped to us if you want to special order a copy. I'm super glad that I did.

My favorite scene in this memoir is when Robert "comes out" to his family as being gay and his Texas-raised grandma says, "Honey, we've been working under that assumption since you were a toddler." Fresh, playful, and a happy ending.

Honestly, I picked this one up because of the cover - and its one that I will not ever sell back to the bookshop! In these years when civil unions/gay marriages are so over-controversial, this author has shared his and his partner's quirky love story that reflects the gay community that I see on a regular basis: the lovesick, googley-eyed sap falling for, and creating a life with, the guy who thinks soap is a good anniversary gift or pops the marriage question in a traffic jam (and you know who you are. Haha).

~ Ross

Reminder

Just a reminder to everyone reading today, tomorrow night the Classics You Forgot to Read Book Group will be meeting to chew-over Mark Twain's classic, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. Show up for lively discussion!

-Whitney

The last of the Steve Hely rants, I promise!

Even though How I Became A Famous Novelist isn't released until July 1st, we received our copies today. I snatched it out of Ross's hands, ecstatic to be holding the final version in my hands, and immediately smelled it. That's right, I smelled the book. And for the record, it smelled AMAZING!

-Whitney

In which Wally uses more exclamation points than are really neccessary

Hi-ho, Wally here! The bosses just left with their kids for a much-deserved, week-long vacation. So we, the staff, have been left here unsupervised. Naturally, that means we are having a party, a book release party! Local author Laura Bingham will be here to share her new book: Alvor. It's a fun children's novel that I really enjoyed reading, there are fairies and butterflies and a great set of twins. You should come meet a great new author, and pick up a signed copy of her book on Friday the 26th @7 pm.

As if that weren't enough awesome, there's more!!! Saturday the 27th we are having a sale, The Cats Are Away Sale! We get to decide what books will be on sale, so come by Saturday to find out what we've chosen. It's bound to be fun and somewhat ridiculous, as most great things are.



If you're worried because you have nothing to wear to such amazing events, have no fear! We have the gear!!! We just got in fabulous new Rediscovered Bookshop t-shirts that say: "Read Freely." The gorgeous Whitney was kind enough to model one for us. How can you say 'no' to a beautiful creature like that? So, come see us! That's all for now, Wally out!

Amendment to my author soul mate blog

I got home from my vacation about a week ago, very excited to be back in Boise, but most especially excited to be going to back to work. As I walked in the door of the bookshop everyone reflected my excitement, magnifying my feelings. But once I got back to my locker and retrieved what was posted to it, I just about died! While I was gone Steve Hely (yes, of How I Became A Famous Novelist fame!) had written me a brief note. In it he let me know that some "wag" had written a bit of false information about him on Wikipedia. While I'm not entirely sure how to amend information on Wikipedia, I know how to on here; Steve Hely let me know that he did not, in fact, attend MCI-Concord. It appears that since he wrote me, someone has corrected that bit of information, and Wikipedia is now up to date.
.

-Whitney

The Purpose and Pleasure of Re-reading Books

I have a print of one of my favorite paintings, Flaming June by Frederic Leighton, hanging on my bedroom wall. I have lived in many different places, but that picture is a staple, it is always hanging in my room wherever I go. My favorite things in life are like that, I can appreciate and experience them over and over again with undiminished enthusiasm.

There are many books that fit into this category. I'm just never not in the mood for some books. But the book that's been on my mind lately is Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. As our Classics You Forgot to Read book club is gearing up for another of Twain's works (A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court), I am reminded of just how much I love that book.

When I first read it I was in 6th grade and my Language arts class read it as an assignment. Back then it was just a great adventure story and a classic, but not much more.

Then I moved to another district and had to read it again in 8th grade. At that point I was a little older, a little more attuned to writing devices, and the story unfolded for me. I reveled in Twain's colloquial voice and bold humor. Studying how well this adventure story was written made me a better writer.

Then testing requirements changed and I read it yet again for AP Language in 11th grade. At this point I knew quite a bit about writing, I knew quite a bit about US history, and I was already very familiar with Mr. Huck Finn and Jim. Because of my previous enjoyment and analysis of Twain, the nuances of his prose and social commentary simply came alive.

I can't wait to read A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, with any luck at all it will make me love Twain even more!

~Wally