The Secret of Lost Things

by Sheridan Hay | 354 pgs, published 2007

A Tasmanian girl comes to New York and works in a huge, well-known used bookstore. Her boss is an albino with failing eyesight. There’s an under-the-table attempt to sell – maybe? – an unpublished (maybe) Herman Melville manuscript. The author spent a lot of time creating unique characters, but at some point, you need an average person in your book. Right?

The narration is fine, but then there’s this scene. It’s weird. Weird is too subtle a term for it. What’s beyond “bizarre”? The narrator is so passive, and it’s never more irritating (or bizarre) than in this one scene.

If you’re really intrigued by my vague description, I guess I could understand that. I finished the book feeling slightly creeped out, and just odd. And not really like I’d read something I enjoyed.

So…I wouldn’t recommend it, because it was “meh” at best, and why waste time on books like that?

Buy The Secret of Lost Things on Amazon

The Unwanteds

by Lisa McMann | 400 pgs, published 2011

I was so excited to read this book. As a general rule, I don’t care for twins as main characters, because it seems like such an easy plot device. But here it sounded fascinating: in a society where you are classified as Wanted or Unwanted at age 13, twin brothers are split up. Alex is Unwanted and he knows this means he will be sent to a death farm. And die.

I’m sorry for all the spoilers that are about to follow…

When Alex and the other Unwanted 13-year-olds get to the death farm, it turns out to be an illusion. It’s magically a place called [insert fantasy place name here], a school/haven for the creatively-minded Unwanteds. You see, what makes a person Unwanted is failure to follow the society’s rules, like no drawing, singing, dancing, acting, and so on. In the X-Men school of [fantasy place name], the kids learn how to let their creativity develop, and then how to use it as a weapon so they can defend themselves against the Wanteds if necessary. (Remember that the Wanteds think the Unwanteds have all been shipped off to die in a pit of boiling tar or something.)

Also, there was a weird romance in there. Awkward teenage crushes. Really awkward.

So the book ended up seeming like a PSA for creativity. Let your child be themselves! Don’t force them to think like everyone else!

I’m all for creativity, and I hope my kids can think in a variety of ways, including the ways that will be most useful to society. And hopefully earn money and stuff because let’s face it, unless you produce every item you need to consume, you’ll need money.

…Ahem. I got sidetracked there. Not a huge fan of this book, that’s what I was trying to get at.

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Willpower

by Roy F. Baumeister and John Tierney | 304 pgs, published 2011

Non-fiction! Shocking!

Baumeister and Tierney are researchers, and they’ve done countless studies of their own; the book also draws on studies done by other researchers to give convincing evidence in favor of their conclusions. Of course, that could just mean the authors are skilled writers.

The point of the book is that it takes energy to exercise willpower; you need to eat the right kinds of foods to give your brain the necessary fuel; willpower can be strengthened by frequent use. Most importantly, developing small habits (like shaving every morning or having good posture) strengthens your willpower, and it will be easier to have self-control in other areas of your life.

Basically, think of willpower like a muscle. Be strong!

Buy Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength on Amazon