Best Books for Young Adult Readers Grades 7 - 12 (Best Books for Young Adult Readers, 1997) Review

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(More customer reviews)Best Books for Young Adult Readers, a title in Bowker's Best Books series, is designed to help librarians, teachers, and other media-related professionals meet both the curriculum-related and recreational reading needs of students in grades 7 to 12. Its goals are to help librarians evaluate the adequacy of existing collections, to provide reading guidance to young adults, and to assist in preparing bibliographies and reading lists. The book contains over 6,500 titles, about two-thirds of them non-fiction, that have been recommended for library collections by at least two of the nine most prominent young-adult book review sources. The citations to these titles contain full bibliographic information for identifying and ordering the books, along with a helpful, brief summary of content. The arrangement of the book is by broad subject, ranging from literary form to history and geography to recreation and sports. Almost 260 pages are devoted to indexes by author, title, and subject/grade level. Although it's unlikely that many parents will want to buy this book, partially because of price, it should be seriously considered for purchase by school and public librarians, along with the companion volume Best Books for Children.

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Combining and updating the popular Best Books for Junior High Readersand Best Books for Senior High Readers, Best Books for Young Adult Readers cumulates titles that will capture-and hold-a teen's attention. Informative listings for some 8,000 fresh, contemporary titles in every genre feature:Recommendations from leading journalsBrief descriptive annotations, bibliographic data, awards, review citations, and moreA clear subject classification scheme enables teachers, librarians, and media specialists to confidently select the right book for every reading level and application.

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The Billion Dollar BET: Robert Johnson and the Inside Story of Black Entertainment Television Review

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(More customer reviews)The Billion Dollar BET is a biography that will surely have you reading until the very last page. The author provides a very clear picture of the man Robert Johnson. From the details of his humble beginnings to his educational background and finally into the business world, Brett Pulley provides the recipe of success that led Mr. Johnson to his ultimate goal of being media titan. This book is a must read for all young entrepenuers as it provides several key lessons that must be mastered if one is to dedicate themselves to an emerging business.
Finally the book is done is with great respect for Robert Johnson as the author dives into all topics, he choses to note how the personal challenges affected his business performance and business relationships.
I am certainly looking forward to Mr. Pulley's next book.

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Sports and Entertainment Marketing Review

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(More customer reviews)I was in Ken Kaser's marketing class for two years and i can honestly say with utmost certainty that Mr. Kaser's sports marketing book is the greatest, most compelling story of human drama and intrigue that i have ever read. It is a poignant and touching journey into the human psyche and inded the very nature of man. Through his stunning portrayal of the book's main character (a Jewish man named Trey), Kaser delves into the relms of intelectual enlightenment and human sexuality. While many subjects are explored through the main character's search for the meaning of life, he ultimately confronts the eternal questions of existence such as "Why am i here?", and "Why is Tenney such a bastard?". This book is a life changing epic full of all the things that make great literature great. Ken Kaser has given the world a gift it will appreciate forever and he will go down in history as the greatest writer in the English language. I give it 5 stars.

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SPORTS AND ENTERTAINMENT MARKETING 3E continues to use sports and entertainment topics as the foundation for teaching marketing concepts. Each marketing function is incorporated throughout the text and is highlighted with an icon to indicate how it is used in the marketing process.

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The World According to Garp (Modern Library) Review

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(More customer reviews)I first read THE WORLD ACCORDING TO GARP in 1982, the year the movie adaptation came out. I was a great fan of Robin Williams (MORK & MINDY still being on television at the time), and because I was far too young to view the film, I decided to read its source novel. Actually, I did an oral report on it, much to the chagrin of my 6th grade teacher. It's hard to do an oral report when the rest of the class is awestruck at the use of the word 'bastard'. I did very well, but the teacher did recommend that I stick to less challenging works, considering my age. Thankfully, I did not listen.
In the many times I have reread GARP since, I have never failed to be struck dumb by the sheer elegance and beauty, not to mention brutality, of John Irving's novel. While Irving's writing have too often been described as 'Dickensian', it is truly an accurate summation. Irving presents a family saga rife with bizarre yet realistic characters, all swirling around what very well may the finest character put to paper in the 20th century, T.S. Garp.
Garp is the bastard son (there's that word again) of Jenny Fields, a sometimes nurse and headmistress, who doesn't believe in anyone but herself, and her son. As Garp matures, finding success as an author, Jenny inadvertently eclipses his fame with her own autobiography, which catapults her to the forefront of the feminist movement.
I won't say more about the plot, because nothing else would suffice. To try and describe it any further might inadvertently gloss over the innumerable circumstances that make up Garp's life. Already, many single scenes come flooding back to memory: Garp, as a child, stranded precariously on the roof of a dormitory, trying to find a pigeon; Garp as a teen, experiencing his first sexual encounter, as well as a more fierce encounter with a large black dog named Bonkers; Garp (in arguably the most haunting moment) turning off his car's engine and quietly gliding up his driveway in the dark, as his son whispers, "It's like a dream!"
Irving's other characters run the gamut, from odorific professors to brain-dead war heroes. There's Roberta Muldoon, a former linebacker-turned-transexual; Ellen James, the tragic and unwanting figurehead of a truly weird cult; and Poo, the sister of one of Garp's first girlfriends. Irving weaves his characters and situations together in a breathtaking dance. And despite the dance's immense complexity, he never once loses his step.
Irving has also become famous (justifiably so) for a story Garp pens within the novel, THE PENSION GRILLPARZER. While this story is terrific, it has overshadowed the rest of Garp's work found within the pages of the novel. Irving performs a neat trick, in that Garp's style of writing, while similar to Irving's, is not exactly the same. Irving writes from Garp's viewpoint, ensuring that Garp has a voice of his own. While GRILLPARZER is famous, an excerpt from one of Garp's later novels is equally memorable. In the story, a young housewife is raped, while a police officer tracks the rapist down. While it feels like an Irving novel, it also doesn't; it is far nastier and more grotesque than anything else Irving has written. It is not Irving's story, it is Garp's, providing a telling glimpse into Garp's anguished soul.
GARP is a tragedy, with funny parts. It is a comedy, with heart-wrenching moments. It is riotously funny, and crushingly moving. It is a story of writers, and insanity, and adultry, and terminal cases. Like the best novels, it displays the entire life of an individual the reader would not otherwise get to know. It presents you with places you want to see, and people you wouldn't mind sharing a beer with. It is Irving's best work, and a landmark in American literature.

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Gladiator Girl: An Alternate Reality Action-sports Love Story Review

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(More customer reviews)The world R.H. Watson set his story in is futuristic, with cars that drive on their own, person-to-person communication that put today's cell phones to shame, and medical practices beyond anything imaginable in our current world. Yet, when reading "Gladiator Girl," the foreignness of this world fell away as I focused on the characters, especially the protagonist Lucy.
Despite Lucy's almost superhuman skills when playing her sport, it is her human frailties and the fight to overcome them that make her likeable. Lucy's past makes her leery of meaningful relationships. Her temper often threatens to get the best of her. It is these very human struggles that make Lucy's story so good, and "Gladiator Girl" a worthwhile read.
**Originally written for "Books and Pals" book blog.**

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Lucy Star is a hot, up and coming rookie guardian in the sport of Blood Battle. A sport built around the new genetic procedure that allows girls, and only girls, to survive extraordinary injuries up until the age of 25, when they stop growing.Her budding fame catches the eye of Jayzen, favored son of the wealthiest family in the city, entangling her in his and his sister Francine's fortunes. She struggles with career and relationships, and doesn't recognize the spark of love growing right under her nose.But she has a dark past: a family history and childhood she had escaped from when she was 14. With the help of her best friend Charlotte-the only person who ever knew her secret-she had successfully put that life behind her. It was all but forgotten.Then one day, her younger brother, who she hadn't seen since he was 10 years old, walked back into her life, harboring a dark secret of his own, one that threatens to suck her back into the past she thought she had escaped, and destroy her and everyone she loves.Parental Discretion Is Advised.

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Live Albom: The Best of Detroit Free Press Sports Columnist Mitch Albom Review

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(More customer reviews)Being that I'm not much of a sports fan unless it's hockey, I wondered if I would be bored by this book. Quite the contrary! Mitch has the uncanny knack of drawing his readers in and making them feel as if they are part of the story. I laughed out loud on more than one occasion and wanted to cry after reading some selections. I found myself deeply interested in columns about sports I detest. Mitch is truly the most talented sports writer in the country, and possibly the best overall writer as well.

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