CATCH-22

The December book for discussion is Catch-22 by Joseph Heller.  Catch-22 tells the story of a bombardier named Yossarian.  He wants to complete his service with the army, but the army continues to increase the number of missions that men must fly before their service is over.  If Yossarian tries to get out of the mission, then he is in violation of Catch-22: a man is considered insane if he willingly flies dangerous missions, but if he makes an attempt to be removed from duty, then he is proven sane and cannot be removed.  Catch-22 has been applauded for its depiction of war and has introduced the phrase Catch-22 into the American language.

Other work by Joseph Heller:
Something Happened
Good as Gold
God Knows
Picture This
Closing Time
Portrait of an Artist, as an Old Man

Books similar to Catch-22:
Slaughterhouse-Five, or The Children's Crusade by Kurt Vonnegut
Fight Club by Chuck Palahnuik
Everything Is Illuminated by Jonathan Safron Foer
Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut
The Yellow Birds by Kevin Powers
Fobbit by David Abrams
The Uglies by Scott Westerfeld


1984 by George Orwell
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

Picture from http://syndetics.com/index.php?isbn=9781451621174/lc.jpg&client=arrowheadlbs&type=rn12

A WRINKLE IN TIME

The 6th Grade Book Club chose A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle as it's pick for November.  Madeleine L'Engle was born in 1918 and spent the early years of her life in New York City.  She later moved to the French Alps with her family and attended a boarding school before returning to the United States.  She studied English at Smith College and began her writing career which resulted in publishing over 60 books!

For more information on Madeleine L'Engle and her work, visit http://www.madeleinelengle.com/







The Time Quintet:
1. A Wrinkle in Time
2. A Wind in the Door
3. A Swiftly Tilting Planet
4. Many Waters
5. An Acceptable TIme

The O'Keefe Family Series:
1. The Arm of the Starfish
2. Dragons in the Waters
3. A House Like a Lotus

The Austin Family Series:
1. Meet the Austins
2. The Moon by Night
3. The Twenty-Four Days Before Christmas
4. The Young Unicorns
5. A Ring of Endless Light
6. Troubling a Star
7. A Full House

Already finished with the Time Quintet?  Looking for something similar?  Try one of these titles!

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead: As her mother prepares to be a contest on a television show, a 12 year old girl tries to solve a the mystery around a series of notes that she received from an unknown source that seem to defy the laws of space and time.
 
Coraline by Neil Gaiman tells the story of a young girl who goes through a door into another world.  The new world is similar to her own, but also quite different.  She must challenge an enemy in order to save herself and her family.

The Time Hackers by Gary Paulsen follows Dorso Clayman and his best friend as they take a journey through space and time to try and stop the those who are endangering the universe.
 
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis is the story of four children who find their way into the magic land of Narnia.  Once there, they assist Aslan in order to defeat the White Witch who has cursed the land.

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster:  This fantasy centers around Milo, a bored child, who comes home to fine a tollbooth sitting in his room.  Milo passes through the tollbooth's gates and embarks on a memorable journey.
 
Picture from http://syndetics.com/index.php?isbn=0374386137/lc.jpg&client=arrowheadlbs&type=rn12

JOHN STEINBECK

This month's selection for Book to Movie Club is East of Eden by John Steinbeck.  John Steinbeck was an American author of numerous novels, short stories, and nonfiction.  He was born in 1902 and died in 1968.  During his lifetime, he attended Stanford University, worked as a war reporter for the New York Herald Tribune, and won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.  For more information on John Steinbeck and his work, visit http://www.steinbeck.org/

East of Eden is set in the farmland of California and follows the intertwined lives of two families: the Trasks and the Hamiltons.  These families helplessly reenact the fall of Adam and Eve and the rivalry of Cain and Abel.  The 1955 film stars James Dean and Jo Van Fleet and was nominated for four Academy Awards.

If you enjoyed East of Eden, try one of these similar works:

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez is the story of the rise and fall of the town of Macondo through the history of the Buendia family.

Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner is a Pulitzer Prize winning novel that tells the story of Lyman Ward and his family.

Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell won the Pulitzer Prize that depicts the Civil War and Reconstruction.  It is the story of Scarlett O'Hara and how the war changes her life.

Want more Steinbeck?  Check out some of his work today!
East of Eden
The Grapes of Wrath
Cannery Row
Of Mice and Men
The Pearl
The Red Pony
Sweet Thursday
The Moon Is Down
Travels With Charley
The Winter of Our Discontent

Picture from http://syndetics.com/index.php?isbn=0670033049/lc.jpg&client=arrowheadlbs&type=rn12

THE TUDORS

Philippa Gregory's latest novel in the Cousins' War series, The King's Curse, came out a little over a month ago.  This work centers around lady-in-waiting Margaret Pole.  Margaret Pole was the cousin to Elizabeth of York and married to Sir Richard Pole.  For his loyalty, Sir Richard is given the governorship of Wales and the care of Arthur, the Prince of Wales and his bride Katherine of Aragon.  Margaret Pole later becomes a lady-in-waiting to Queen Katherine after Katherine's marriage to Henry VIII.  Margaret is around to see the rise of Anne Boleyn and the deterioration of the Tudor court.  In the end, Margaret must choose between her king and her queen.

The Cousins's War Series:
The White Queen
The Red Queen
The Lady of the Rivers
The Kingmaker's Daughter
The White Princess
The King's Curse

Already read all of the books in the Cousins' War?  Try some of the works below to get your Tudor fix!

Fiction:
The Boleyn King by Laura Andersen
The Lady Elizabeth by Alison Weir
Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel
The King's Deception by Steve Berry
Dark Aemilia by Sally O'Reilly
Mary Queen of Scotland and the Isles by Margaret George
The Autobiography of Henry VIII by Margaret George
Queen's Gambit by Elizabeth Fremantle
At the Mercy of the Queen by Anne Clinard Barnhill
To Die For by Sandra Byrd
The Constant Princess by Philippa Gregory
The Rose Without a Thorn by Jean Plaidy
The Spanish Queen: A Novel of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon by Carolly Erickson


Nonfiction:
The Children of Henry VIII by Alison Weir
Elizabeth of York: A Tudor Queen and Her World by Alison Weir
The Lady in the Tower: The Fall of Anne Boleyn by Alison Weir
Mistress Anne by Carolly Erickson

DVDs:
Elizabeth I: The Virgin Queen
Elizabeth I
Anonymous
The White Queen

Place a hold on these titles by clicking the hyperlink, visiting RockCat, or giving the Library a call at 882-2260.

Picture from http://syndetics.com/index.php?isbn=9781451626117/lc.jpg&client=arrowheadlbs&type=rn12