Gods Behaving Badly: A Novel by Marie Phillips

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
I picked this book up at the public library because I had recently enjoyed reading about the Greek gods in the Percy Jackson series for kids, most recently The Battle of the Labyrinth. The story in this book was much more light-hearted than the adventure stories in the Percy Jackson books. Also, this book is definitely not one you will find in an elementary or even middle school library since it delves to some extent into the amorous activities of the various gods and goddesses as they attempt to pass the time in what has become, for them, a somewhat boring existence. In some ways, the ending reminded me of Tinkerbelle in the Peter Pan stories who needed the belief of people to revive. Overall I enjoyed this story, but it felt like it ended too soon and I was left wanting more.


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Losing It: And Gaining My Life Back One Pound at a Time by Valerie Bertinelli

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
I enjoyed this look into the life of a celebrity with the same problem many Americans have - excess weight. It is always interesting to get a look inside the life of those we see in movies and on television. I liked the conversational tone of the book and felt that the author was basically honest about the flaws in her life. The message I got from this book was that no weight loss program will work until you are able to face the problems beneath the pounds.


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The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
The book is more in depth that the lecture itself, with more insight into Randy's life as he faces death. I really enjoyed reading this narrative in Randy's own words. I felt like he gave the world a glimpse into his life and he definitely showed his philosophy of life and death. This book was easy to read and hard to put down. The conversational tone made you feel like he was talking directly to you and that you were his friend.


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Tales from Shakespeare: Children's Classics by Charles Lamb

My review

I have never read any of Shakespeare's plays, and after reading Teach Like Your Hair's on Fire, I got this to learn more about his plays. Rafe Esquith said in his book that you really can't get a feeling for the plays from just reading the plays and that this book is a good source for the stories that the plays tell. I will try it and see how long I can stick with it.


I have read all twenty of the stories in this volume and was very interested to read the stories of Shakespeare's plays. The language was a little complex, but easy enough to understand if read carefully. I think this is an excellent introduction to Shakespeare's plays and that it would make a good addition to school libraries, even at the elementary level. Many of the stories seemed familiar since so much of Shakespeare's work has become part of our culture.


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