Philip Plait is a writer for Discover Magazine where he has his own column, BAD Astronomy. Here he explains and teaches Astronomy and also debunks common myths about it. In his book BAD Astronomy you learn about every day mistakes dealing with Astrology and then learn the real science and explanations behind them. Myths like water spinning the opposite way down drains in opposite hemispheres, (the chapter us aptly called “Flushed with Embarrassment: The Coriolis Effect and your Bathroom”) and why the sky is blue (this is one of my favorite sections as you can then later lecture your friends, family, whomever, and sound delightfully smart talking about the Spectrum of colors and photons bouncing off nitrogen and oxygen molecules and for a minute you feel like Sheldon talking to Penny.) It’s a definite read if you are interested in knowing and understanding the world around you. Also check out his website www.badastronomy.com and pick up his latest work, Death from the Skies, about all the wonderful ways the Earth is going to end.

The walls speak. They whisper about the distant hours, the stories of people who wander the stone rooms of Milderhurst Castle. Their hopes, their dream, their secrets….
“Have you ever wondered what the stretch of time smells like? I can’t say that I had, not before I set foot inside Midlehurst Castle, but I certainly know now. Mold and ammonia, a pinch of lavender, and a fair whack of dust, the mass disintegration of very old sheets of paper. And there’s the something else, too, something underlying it all, something underlying it all, something verging on rotten or stewed but not. It took me a while to work out what that smell was, but I think I know now. It’s the past. Thought and dreams, hopes and hurts, all brewed together, fermenting slowly in the fusty air, unable to dissipate completely.”
It begins with an excerpt from the story “The History of the Mud Man” a famous book written by Raymond Blythe, whom eventually went mad and fell from a window in Mildlehurt tower. He left behind three daughters, whose life’s where shaped by their mad, genius, ailing father. Their stories are intriguing and sad, and we slowly learn their story, tale by tale, piece by piece, when a young woman shows up to learn more about The Sisters Blythe, and about the years her mother had spent there as a young girl during the war.
The novel is so intriguing, so addictive, leaving you guessing throughout, taking sides with one sister, before changing your mind, following the show more trail of all the women’s life’s within the story and finally, an ending that leaves you clutching the book, the story inhabiting your mind, unwilling to let go. show less

“It goes by many names: “The Crisis”, “The Dark Years”, “The Walking Plague” as well as newer and more “hip” titles such as “World War Z” or “Z War One.” I personally dislike this last moniker as it implies an inevitable “Z War Two”. For me it will always be “The Zombie War” and while many may protest the scientific accuracy of the word zombie, they will be hard-pressed to discover a more globally accepted term for the creatures that almost caused our extinction.”
OMG World War Z. Where to begin. I love love love this book. It’s about a series of interviews taken by a government worker for the United Nation’s Postwar Commission Report. Each story is different and offers completely different views on “The Zombie War”. The interviews are so well written and the mood sucks you in so much that you have expect to turn on your own TV and see a CNN special on “World War Z”. It’s just all so real, the characters, the stories, the media coverage and “drug cures”, Max Brooks writes such a fantastic tale that you just can’t untangle your mind from it. Naturally, it was a New York Times Bestseller and has a movie in the making (Google it!!) . There is also a Zombie Survival Guide Scanner APP (LOL!?) for those of you who love your apps.

Well, I was getting quite bored of the radio on my 45min to 2 hr long winter drives here in the great Albert of A, and so I found myself perusing the audiobook shelves at Leduc Public Library when I came across The Strain. All I really saw was the name Del Toro and thought “Oh hey cool that’s the dude who did Pans Labyrinth” and so I took book one, The Strain, out. Well, turns out the audio book is narrated by Ron Pearlman. Yes you heard me, Ron Perlman. Man it made the whole book better and, later, when I went to finally go read the rest of the books his voice stuck in my head. The Strain is the first book in the series, The Fall is second and last The Night Eternal.
IT starts with a Grandmother telling a story to her young grandson, Abraham. “A Bubbeh Meiseh, a ‘Grandmother’s story’. A fairy tale. A legend.” The story begins with a boy, whose father decides to take him on a hunting trip but while there all of his family is murdered by a “beast of tremendous strength”. The boy goes back to retrieve his family’s body and to avenge their deaths but disappears too. Months later the boy returns to his small town a changed man, “possessed of great strength.” The story is remembered by the young Abraham and becomes his truth when he grows up to discover that the story is real, a historical reference to Vampires.
The next chapter begins with a plane landing at JFK airport, pulling off to the taxiway, and then mysteriously “dying”. The plane is show more black, no lights, no radio contact, no outgoing calls made from panicked passengers, nothing. Everyone aboard the plane is seemingly dead. No sign of struggle. No sign of poison or wounds of any sort. Everyone is sitting in their seats, buckled in, still holding hands with loved ones or hands clasped gently on their laps, heads lolled forward or slumped to the side. Until one person is found alive. And then another. And so it begins. The spread. show less

To be quit frank, I was a fan of her Twitter page long before I was a fan of the stories. And it was how funny and outgoing she was that made me grab her newest book “The Name of the Star”.
The story is of a young girl, Rory, from Louisiana who moves to London to go to school and while she is there a series of Jack the Ripper style murders occur. Unfortunately, Rory happens to see the killer and gets involved unwillingly in the murder investigations. The twist is that all the murders have happened in front of security cameras but the killer is seemingly invisible…so how is it the Rory has seen him twice?
I thought this book was a wonderful read. I sat down one morning and read it until dinner time; I was completely pulled into the story line and loved the characters. The Author is actually very funny and it definitely seeps into her writing as in some spots a burst right out laughing scaring the crap out of my cat who was napping peacefully beside me. If you are into fantasy stories were a normal person gets thrown into a fantasy world this is a must read. I look forward to reading more of her books. OH and follow her on Twitter, she’s pretty entertaining @maureenjohnson.

I sat down and read this book in a couple hours, and other than there being a little to much time wasted on the main character and her BF at the beginning of the book, the story keeps you fairly entertained until the end (best story is the Ivory's past). Some parts where the Author wrote a scary scene I would actually shiver! She can definitely write horror scenes! I will definitely by book two when it comes out (hopefully soon!!).

Reign of the nightmare price is based on various groups of Natives fighting against a unknown "advance" enemy who comes to claim their land as their own. Now, I did get a little lost in the details at some points, but i think most people will like the story line because almost everywhere in the world Natives fought for their homeland against Settlers. Characters were very interesting and most of the time the writing had you right there in the thick of it. I am going to assume that this is Mike Phillips first book, which make me a little more lenient because when it did get going you couldn't put it down, but the parts where you were lost really did throw you off. Im going it give it 3 stars.

I read this book because it was recommended, having no real idea what it was actually about, lol, but I was quite pleased that i did. Now, I am under 25 so some of the book I skimmed through as I couldn't relate, BUT the main idea of just being more happy really spoke to me. Gretchen Rubin really does have the right idea and I genuinely think she started a movement. You don't have to have the same opinions as her, or want to do everything exactly like she did but does she ever help you out, pushing you in the right direction. The website is so helpful, the blog is fun to read and heck if you hate HER book, she has a massive list or OTHER books to read and get idea's and inspiration from. Definitely worth adding to your home library.

Flipping through the other reviews of this book I think everything that needs to be said, has been said. You should BUY this this book (some money from the book go towards his orphanage Next Generation Nepal) and also buy it for others to read (good gift idea). The book is great, you can become a Facebook and Twitter fan and get newsletters sent to you. The website is really nice as they put up quite a few pictures which really makes you see what your money is going towards.

A book on drugs sex and rock and roll, from the point of view of the..... guy behind the scenes? Music producer? Music Promoter? Seems this guy had his fingers in everything music in Australia since he little duffer. I brought this book for the plane ride home and loved it.

Davita's Harp is one of the books that show you the world through a child's eye. It takes you through war, politics, Religion and makes you open your mind to new ways of thinking and new ideas. I loved all the extra learning that came with this book too. I had never heard of Guernica or Centralia, and had to teach myself a little about Judaism too. Jacob Daws story's are amazing and everyone has different view on them (which makes me think that this book would be perfect for a book club and school reading).

OH what a great story, short and sweet, the perfect book to cuddle up with in your few spare hours. We see the story through a child's ey (innocent eye) and have to piece together all the information that is giving to us, which gives the book a different feeling than your usual War story. Definitely in instant favorite.

Like a rom-com based in a fantasy world Graceling is an imaginative book that will hold the attention of the reader from beginning to end. This is a fantastic read that i was completely surprised to find out that this is her first novel and It has won an impressive list of awards (go to her blog and find out all you want to know about the author.) Can not wait to go onto her next novel Fire which unsurprisingly has also won numerous awards.

Well quite frankly i was never much of a King fan, other than the dark tower series, but now after reading this i might start picking up some more of his books and trying them out again. This book was just a collection of his short stories but they were excellent and definately held my attention, left me wanting more.

Very well written simple guide to wine. A must have for anyone interested in learning more about wine, wine regions, and food pairings.

An absolute read for those that love classic fairy tales with a little bit of a modern twist. It is beautifully written and keeps your interest going right to the end.

ADICTIVE, ADICTIVE, ADICTIVE!! Even the web site is neat. And now a movie! Definately happy i stumbled across this series.

Anyone looking for that little bit of extra information for there budding photography hobby/business should buy this book. Informative, to the point and its always nice to read about other photographers and there tips/tricks. If you are serious about a caree in travel photography /journalism a National Geographic book is a must, they've been in buisiness for this long for a reason.

OK, I reeeeeeealy just want Zoey to pick a guy and be done with it so that the rest of the stories would start to shine though. I really like the way these two write/plot a book BUT it all gets pushed to the side because of the awful plot of Zoey being a complete floozy. Dont get me wrong the parts you dont skim through out of complete annoyance are fantastic, and i love the characters and the cliffhanger plots but the stupid teenager drama has got to go.

What a fantastic fresh book. I am completely hooked on Christopher Moore. I read A Dirty Job and was so in love with his writing i tried to get Fool, but only managed to get it as an audiobook. It was fantastic, making a normally stressful day at work fly by, making me want to yell at my Vendors, "this is heinous fuckery!" You cant help but love the main character Pocket and his apprentice Drool. Moore definately made a fan out of me.

So i didnt actually read this, i got he audiobook (first time ever) because i heard Ron Pearlman was the narrator. Fantastic! I was sold! The story was good and with the great imagination of Del Toro behind it, how could it not be? I even brought it to work and refused to talk to anyone, i just had to find out what happened next. Then i went to the web site out of curiosity; officially the creepiest book website ever. This book was a great experience, one that i'm happy i experienced.

Right from the get go this book had my attention and good opinion. I read the first 100 pages with out moving, lost in the great writing and interesting plot line. Not only that but a wonderful woman's point of view. I love Cleopatra's character and was more than willing to follow Shophia through the story. I will definitely read more form this author (she has several books under the Seven Wonders series)and recommend her. Her books are well researched (as you will find out by going to her neat website) and she weaves stories beautifully.

This book is officially one of my favorites. Finally veering away from a complete make believe, romance vampire type book, this novel throws real history and real daily life into the mix making it an amazing believable story. I also loved how there was lots of traveling and amazing descriptions (although some were a little to long). My favorite described Venice perfectly `` You`ve got an eye for atmosphere, Venice is famous for her stage show, and she doesn't mind if she gets a little run down, as long as the world pours in here to worship her.Wait till evening and you wont be disappointed. a stage set needs a softer kind of light than this. You`ll be surprised by the transformation`` Now, the reason i only gave it four stars is because Kostova went a little overboard with describing everything, thus making it a little too long. But i have been recommending this book left right and center.

I am in love with this series! I love how the books have a theme of outsiders coming together, of loving people no matter what. And the Authors keep you wanting more with a great story line and fantastic imagination!

I was looking forward to another series of books on the supernatural but felt slightly cheated when i found out that these books are all short stories. Now, don't get me wrong, the stories are good, very imaginative and keep you flipping the page, BUT if you are a person who likes closure, mmmmmm, not so much the books for you. I was left wanting more, i wanted to find out what happened after, the endings felt rushed and left me expecting more.

Well, i waited eagerly for this book to come out hoping for a nice big "step" in ANY part of Stephanies life. I was hoping for a great epiphany where the book could be brought in a new exciting direction and i would be left happy if it ended OR possibly wanting more IF the plot could be lead in a new direction. But sadly, the book drones on just like the last few. I really enjoy this series but, enough is enough. It seems like we will be kept waiting forever! (reminiscent of archie comics and how it frustrated me that archie never could choose! And now, years later he picks veronica! WHAT!)
I feel like this series needs to come to an end! I love Evanovich and her writing/books, but i think im ready for some closure.

Every once in a while a book comes along that amazes you and leaves you wanting more. The idea behind this book is so original and creative that anyone of any age can read it and fall in love. The main character is raised by ghosts and, once ready, set free into the world of the living, never aloud to look back upon the dead. It's just so sad but inspirational. I think that Tim Burton could do a lot with a book like this, where the beauty and the soul of the book is not based in the normal everyday acceptance of love/family/friendship, but instead wrapped in darkness and depressing reality. A definate read if you are wanting something fresh and new and not the norm.

So good, would reccomend reading it.

All of these books are really good, have not read finger likin good yet though. Very easy reading and very enjoyable!!

i've read a couple of these, pretty funny, this guys got a great imagination!!