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 Soc. Reading List · Scovill's Skills ·  Heroes |
| FICTION
Samantha Madison is an average, cool Washington, D.C., teen: She loves Gwen Stefani (who doesn't?), can draw like nobody's business, and enjoys being opposite to her sister's annoying ultra-social personality. When she ditches art class one day, however, she doesn't expect to be jumping on the back of a wannabe presidential assassin. Soon, the young hero is receiving worldwide acclaim for her bravery, having dinner with her family at the White House, and is even being named teen ambassador to the UN. As if this weren't enough, she and David, the president's son, strike up a friendship that everyone wants the dirt on, which starts to give her romantic "frisson" feelings.
Meet Tiffany Case, a cold,
gorgeous, hard-boiled blonde; the kind of girl you could get into a lot of
trouble with - if you wanted. She stands between James Bond and the leaders of a
diamond-smuggling ring that stretches from Africa via London to the States. Bond
uses her to infiltrate the gang, but once in America the hunter becomes the
hunted. 007 is in real danger until help comes from an unlikely quarter, the ice
maiden herself.
 Fleming, Ian Dr. No
(Mys Fle) M called this case a soft option. Bond can't quite
agree. The tropical island is luxurious, the seductive Honey Rider is beautiful
and willing, but they are both part of the empire of Dr. No...The doctor is a
worthy adversary, with a mind as hard and cold as his solid steel hands. Dr.
No's obsession is power. His only gifts are strictly pain-shaped.
Fleming, Ian You Only Live Twice (Mys Fle) When Ernst Stravro Blofeld
blasts into eternity the girl whom Bond had married only hours before, the
heart, the zest for life, goes out of Bond. Incredibly, 007, the top agent in
the Secret Service, has gone to pieces and is on the verge of being a security
risk.
On a flight from Chicago to London, several passengers aboard Capt. Rayford Steele's plane suddenly and mysteriously disappear. When Steele radios to London to report the situation, he discovers that the incident on his plane is not an isolated phenomenon but a worldwide occurrence. As Steele begins his search for answers, he learns that the Christ has come to take the faithful with Him in preparation for the coming apocalyptic battle between good and evil and that those who have been left behind must face seven dark and chaotic years in which they must decide to join the forces of Christ or the forces of Anti-Christ.
When
Ellie and six of her friends return home from a camping trip deep in the bush,
they find things hideously wrong -- their families gone, houses empty and
abandoned, pets and stock dead. Gradually they begin to comprehend that their
country has been invaded and everyone in the town has been taken prisoner. As
the horrible reality of the situation becomes evident they have to make a
life-and-death decision: to run back into the bush and hide, to give themselves
up to be with their families, or to stay and try to fight. This reveting,
tautly-drawn novel seems at times to be only a step away from today's
headlines.
 Martel, Yann Life
of Pi (F Mar)
Meet Pi Patel, a young man on the cusp of adulthood when fate steps in and hastens his lessons in maturity. En route with his family from their home in India to Canada, their cargo ship sinks, and Pi finds himself adrift in a lifeboat -- alone, save for a few surviving animals, some of the very same animals Pi's zookeeper father warned him would tear him to pieces if they got a chance. But Pi's seafaring journey is about much more than a struggle for survival. It becomes a test of everything he's learned -- about both man and beast, their creator, and the nature of truth itself.  McCall Smith, Alexander
The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency (Mys
McC) Located in Gaborone, Botswana, the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency
consists of one woman, the engaging Precious Ramotswe. A cross between Kinsey
Millhone and Miss Marple, this unlikely heroine specializes in missing husbands,
wayward daughters, con men and imposters. When she sets out on the trail of a
missing child she is tumbled headlong into some strange situations and not a
little danger. Deftly interweaving tragedy and humor to create a memorable tale
of human desires and foibles, the book is also an evocative portrait of a
distant world. Strohmeyer, Sarah
Bubbles Unbound (Mys Stro)
Dying old ladies' hair blue at
Sandy's House of Beauty has never been enough for hometown girl Bubbles
Yablonsky. So she's taking her big hair and her big dreams back to school to
study journalism, and taking advantage of some on-the-job training at the local
newspaper. But when Bubbles trips over a crime scene on the way home from an
assignment, she finds herself up to her roots in a nasty murder investigation.
It could be the big break she's been waiting for-if she doesn't get sidetracked
by her lowlife ex-husband, her teenage daughter, or her gun-toting mother, who
has just escaped from the Polish Old Folks Apartments.
 Strohmeyer, Sarah Bubbles in Trouble
The adventure begins when Bubbles -- the valentine red
Wonderbra–wearing reporter with a fondness for leopard print and stilettos --
shows up at her friend Janice's wedding only to find that the bride herself is a
no-show. Thinking she's to blame (she did drunkenly perform Lynyrd
Skynyrd's "Free Bird" at the bachelorette party the night before), Bubbles tries
to find Janice and get her to the church on time. But she discovers only foul
play: Janice has disappeared, and her live-in uncle, Elwood, has been murdered.
Finding out what happened to the AWOL bride requires Bubbles to go undercover in
the unlikely guise of a single Amish woman. Strohmeyer, Sarah Bubbles Ablaze
(Mys Str)
Bubbles Ablaze finds the
redoubtable Ms. Bubbles Yablonsky heeding a call from her boss at the News-Times
and racing in her Camaro toward a potentially big news story. But when she
arrives at the abandoned coal mine, she finds the love of her life, Steve
Stiletto, knocked unconscious ... and the body of another man with a sizable
hole in his chest. Moments later, Bubbles and Stiletto are trapped by an
explosion. Convinced that someone wants them dead, they search for their
suspected assassin in coal country, where they uncover a conspiracy at the Main
Mane hairdressing salon, a cadre of women known as the Sirens of Slagville, and
a hot spot called Limbo that's been burning underground for forty years.
 Tolkien, J.R.R.
Lord of the Rings and The
Hobbit (SFF Tol) Through the urgings of the enigmatic wizard
Gandalf, young hobbit Frodo Baggins embarks on an urgent, incredibly treacherous
journey to destroy the One Ring. This ring -- created and then lost by the Dark
Lord, Sauron, centuries earlier -- is a weapon of evil, one that Sauron
desperately wants returned to him. With the power of the ring once again his
own, the Dark Lord will unleash his wrath upon all of Middle-earth. The only way
to prevent this horrible fate from becoming reality is to return the Ring to
Mordor, the only place it can be destroyed. Unfortunately for our heroes, Mordor
is also Sauron's lair.  Voigt, Cynthia
Jackaroo (YA Voi) When hard times among the People
revive the old stories of the hero Jackaroo, an innkeeper's daughter follows her
own quest to unlock the secret reality behind the legend. NONFICTION
 Armstrong, Lance
Every Second Counts (796.6 Arm) Even after his triumph over testicular cancer, Armstrong's
fight goes on. With his indomitable spirit and never-give-up attitude, he
remains an inspiring role model to those who have yet to defeat their own
demons. In this book, he reveals himself as more than just an athlete.
Certainly, he provides details about his storied cycling victories; but he also
reveals the ups and downs of his marriage -- entered into too quickly and far
too young -- and discusses his intensely emotional reaction to visiting New York
after the September 11th terrorist attacks. Armstrong, Lance
It's Not About the Bike (796.6Arm)Multiple Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong is a winner
in the game of life itself: He has survived cancer, found love, and become a
father. In the pages of his memoir, Armstrong tells his own moving and inspiring
story, writing in his signature down-to-earth Texas style. This is an amazing
tale of recovery in the face of tragedy and victory against overwhelming
odds. Beamer, Lisa
Let's Roll! (973.93 Bea) On September 11, 2001, Lisa
Beamer was thrust into the public spotlight after her husband, Todd, died a hero
resisting terrorist hijackers on United Flight 93, which crashed in a
Pennsylvania field. In telling her story, Lisa explores the life of her husband,
telling how and why he was prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice and how she
has found hope, courage, and quiet personal strength. The phrase "Let's Roll"
was a frequent expression of Todd's and the last words the GTE Airfone operator
heard from him before the crash.  Bissinger, H.G.
Friday Night Lights (796.332 Bis) H. G. Bissinger's
exquisitely written account brings into sharp focus the bitter struggle between
sports and education in Odessa, Texas, as well as in high schools and colleges
nationwide. Bradley, James
Flags of Our Fathers (940.54 Bra) James Bradley's
classic work of American military history fully captures the story behind the
most famous photograph taken during World War II: the raising of the flag at Iwo
Jima. Bradley, the son of one of the flagraisers, exhaustively researched the
lives of the six Easy Company soldiers who participated in the event and
discovered that the adulation the heroes received on their return home was not
always welcome.  Brokaw, Tom The Greatest
Generation (940.54 Bro) In this book, Tom Brokaw goes out into
America, to tell through the stories of individual men and women the story of a
generation, America's citizen heroes and heroines who came of age during the
Great Depression and the Second World War and went on to build modern America.
This generation was united not only by a common purpose, but also by common
values — duty, honor, economy, courage, service, love of family and country,
and, above all, responsibility for oneself. In this book, you will meet people
whose everyday lives reveal how a generation persevered through war, and were
trained by it, and then went on to create interesting and useful lives and the
America we have today. Clary, Robert From the Holocaust to Hogan's Heroes
(B Cla)Although best known to TV viewers as LeBeau on TV's Hogan's
Heroes (1965-1971), Robert Clary has written a new memoir, From the Holocaust to
Hogan's Heroes: The Autobiography of Robert Clary, offering a much more sobering
view of WWII, as he recounts his 31 months in German concentration camps as a
Jewish Parisian teenager.  Cohen, Richard M. Blindsided (B
Coh)Richard M. Cohen was a twenty-five-year-old television news producer when he
was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. For thirty years he has battled MS, along
with two recent bouts of colon cancer. In Blindsided he chronicles a
life characterized by accomplishment and adversity. Cornum, Rhonda She Went to War
(956.7 Cor) Deep inside Iraqi territory, a U.S. Army helicopter on
a medical rescue mission was shot down with eight Americans aboard. Five of them
were killed instantly; the three survivors were captured by Saddam Hussein's
elite Republican Guard. One of the survivors was Maj. Rhonda Cornum, whose diary
of this experience forms the basis of this story.  Frey, Amber Witness for the Prosecution of
Scott Peterson (364.152 Fre) Amber Frey's life was full of
blessings: an exciting new business, a beautiful home, and most of all, her
infant daughter, Ayiana. But Amber had been through some unhappy relationships,
and she longed for a true and loving partner. In November 2002, she went on a
blind date with Scott Peterson. He was handsome, charming, thoughtful, and
romantic. Best of all, he was single and ready to settle down... or so he
said. Greene, Bob Duty (940.54 Gre)
When Bob Greene went home to central Ohio to be with his dying father, it set
off a chain of events that led him to knowing his dad in a way he never had
before, thanks to a quiet man who lived just a few miles away and changed the
history of the world. In 1945, Paul Tibbets had piloted a plane called Enola
Gay to the Japanese city of Hiroshima, where he dropped the atomic bomb. On
the morning after the last meal Greene ever ate with his father, he went to meet
Tibbets. What developed was an unexpected friendship that allowed Greene to
discover things about his father, and his father's generation of soldiers, that
he had never fully understood before. Hamilton, Bethany
Soul Surfer (797.320 Ham) They say Bethany
Hamilton has saltwater in her veins. How else could one explain the tremendous
passion that drives her to surf? How else could one explain that nothing-not
even the loss of her arm in a horrific shark attack-could come between her and
the waves? That Halloween morning in Kauai, Hawaii-a glorious part of the world,
where it's hard to deny the divine-Bethany responded to the shark's stealth
attack with the calm of a girl with God on her side. Pushing pain and panic
aside, she immediately began to paddle with one arm, focusing on a single
thought: "Get to the beach..." Rushed to the hospital, where her father, Tom
Hamilton, was about to undergo knee surgery, Bethany found herself taking his
spot in the O.R. Hockenberry, John Moving Violation
(B Hoc) As a correspondent for ABC's "Day One,
" Hockenberry has traveled SCUD-menaced streets in Jerusalem, the mountains of
war-torn Iraq, and New York's Great White Way--in a wheelchair. Addressing his
subjects as a thought-provoking journalist first, an insightful iconoclast
second, and a man who happens to be physically challenged last, he provides
readers with an intriguing account of his many exploits.
 Keller, Helen The
Story of My Life (B Kel) The Story of My Life is Helen
Keller's own account of how she miraculously triumphed over blindness and
deafness-and became one of the most inspiring and intriguing figures
of our time.
 Longman, Jere
Among the Heroes (974.8 Lon) Of the four horrific
hijackings on September 11, Flight 93 resonates as one of epic resistance. At a
time when the United States appeared defenseless against an unfamiliar foe, the
gallant passengers and crew of Flight 93 provided for many Americans a measure
of victory in the midst of unthinkable defeat. Together, they seemingly
accomplished what all the security guards and soldiers, military plots and
government officials, could not - they thwarted the terrorists, sacrificing
their own lives so that others might live. Lynch, Jessica I Am
a Soldier, Too (B Lyn) On March 23, 2003, Private First Class
Jessica Lynch was crossing the Iraqi desert with the 507th Maintenance Company
when the convoy she was traveling in was ambushed, caught in enemy cross fire.
All four soldiers traveling with her died in the attack. Lynch, one of the most
famous P.O.W.'s this country has ever known, was taken prisoner and held captive
in an Iraqi hospital for nine days. Her rescue galvanized the nation; she became
a symbol of victory, of innocence and courage, of heroism; and then, just as
quickly, of deceit and manipulation. What never changed, as the nation veered
wildly between these extremes of mythmaking, was her story, the events and the
experiences of a nineteen-year-old girl caught up in what was and will remain
the battle of her life: what she saw, what she felt, what she experienced, what
she survived. McCain, John Faith
of My Fathers (B McC) The descendant of two four-star admirals,
"silver spoon sailor" McCain bucked his reputation in Vietnam, becoming a
battle-hungry naval aviator. After being shot down over Hanoi in 1967, McCain
once again found himself singled out because of his family's celebrity status.
Offered early release by his North Vietnamese captors, he refused, opting
instead for continued imprisonment, and the systematic torture it entailed.
 Nielsen, Jerri Ice
Bound (616.99 Nie) Most of us harbor a fear of falling ill while
away from home, but Dr. Jerri Nielsen experienced perhaps the ultimate
sojourner's nightmare: While on a year's sabbatical to provide medical care at
Antarctica's Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, she discovered a lump in her
breast. That's not a development ever to be welcomed, but especially not when
one is stranded in one of the most remote spots on earth. Nielsen was forced to
perform her own biopsy and to self-administer chemotherapy treatments for some
four months until weather conditions allowed for her to be rescued. Norman, Elizabeth
We Band of Angels (940.54 Nor) In the fall of 1941, the Philippines was a gardenia-scented
paradise for the American Army and Navy nurses stationed there. War was a
distant rumor, life a routine of easy shifts and evenings of dinner and dancing
under the stars. On December 8 all that changed, as Japanese bombs rained on
American bases in Luzon, and the women's paradise became a fiery hell. Caught in
the raging battle, the nurses set up field hospitals in the jungles of Bataan
and the tunnels of Corregidor, where they saw the most devastating injuries of
war, and suffered the terrors of shells and shrapnel. Parks, Rosa Rosa
Parks: My Story (B Par) The only tired I was, was tired of giving
in." These are the simple yet eloquent words of Rosa Parks, who on December 1,
1955, refused to give up her seat to a white man on a segregated bus, sparking
the Montgomery, Alabama, bus boycott. Written in her own straightforward and
moving language, this is Parks's compelling story.  Steins, Richard
Colin Powell (B Pow)Colin Powell epitomizes the
American success story, yet his heroism is uncommon and unique. Beginning with
his humble origins, this biography traces Powell's experiences from childhood,
moving from his early days in the military through his climb to the highest
echelons of power in Washington D.C.  Ralston, Aron
Between a Rock and a Hard Place (796.52 Ral)
In late April 2003, hiker Aron Ralston was trekking through a canyon in
southeast Utah when an 800-pound boulder shifted and pinned his right arm.
Inextricably stuck, alone for five and a half days, armed only with a bottle of
water and a few burritos, he became hypothermic and dehydrated and slipped into
visions and despair. Finally, in a last desperate attempt, he severed his own
arm. Then, dripping blood all the way, he rappelled 60 feet and walked eight
miles to rescue. Runyan, Marla No
Finish Line (796.42 Run)
In the 2000 Olympic finals,
Marla Runyan made American Olympic history. Her eighth-place finish in the
1,500-meter finals was the highest U.S. achievement in the history of the event.
But this Eugene, Oregon, runner can boast an even more impressive claim to fame:
She was the first legally blind athlete ever to compete in the Olympics! After
losing her sight at the age of nine, Runyan fought back, studying hard, teaching
herself Braille, and competing in high school athletics. Not content with her
Paraolympic gold medals, she began to focus on qualifying for the "normal
people" Olympics. She did, and the rest is history.
 Sides, Hampton Ghost Soldiers
(940.54 Sid) A breathtaking chronicle of one of WW II's most
dramatic yet virtually forgotten events. On January 28, 1945, 121 hand-selected
troops from the elite U.S. Army 6th Ranger Battalion slipped behind enemy lines
in the Philippines. Their mission: March thirty miles in a daring attempt to
rescue 513 American and British POWs--the last survivors of the Bataan death
march--who had spent three years in a hellish camp near the city of Cabanatuan.
In this thrilling minute-by-minute narration of the raid, author Hampton Sides
chronicles a battle saga of breathtaking proportions. From the resilience of the
prisoners who survive through unspeakable horrors to the soldiers who risked
their lives to save their fellow Americans, this is a gripping depiction of men
at war and a compelling story of redemption. Siedlecki, Janusz We Were in
Auschwitz (940.54 Sie) The books under review represent both the
earliest and most recent of Holocaust memoirs. We Were in Auschwitz was written
by a trio of former inmates in 1945, the most famous of whom was Tadusz
Borowski, author of This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen. The book gives
an insightful depiction of camp life, in particular the use and meaning of such
slang terms as "Canada" (which refers to "prosperity," or the looted wealth
stored at Auschwitz). The brutality of daily life and the guilt of survival come
through clearly. Swofford, Anthony Jarhead (956.7
Swo) On the surface, Anthony Swofford seemed to be the quintessential "jarhead";
a front-line combat Marine who shouldered 100-pound packs and waded into
battle-torn Iraq with little or no hesitation. But, as this harrowing memoir
shows, Desert Storm veteran Swofford carried mental baggage far heavier than
duffel bags with bed rolls and rifles. Jarhead brandishes the intensity
of military life in all its maddening contradictions. By turns, Swofford is
presented as terrified, bored, and remorseful; a victim of his own memories and
the captain of his own renewal. From boot camp to post-battle doldrums, he
struggles through mental minefields and wartime doubts.
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Christie, Agatha Death
on the Nile (Mys Chr) Linnet Doyle is young, beautiful, and
rich. She's the girl who has everything--including the man her best friend
loves. When Linnet and her new husband take a cruise on the Nile, they meet
brilliant detective Hercule Poirot. It should be an idyllic trip, yet Poirot
feels that something is amiss. 
Christie, Agatha Evil
Under the Sun (Mys Chr) Hercule Poirot is enjoying a well-deserved
break on Smugglers' Island, but when glamorous actress Arlena Stuart is found
strangled on the beach of a small out-of-the-way cove, Poirot becomes embroiled
in a murder investigation. With his clever and methodical questioning he
discovers that nearly all the guests have a connection to Arlena. But which of
these suspects felt strongly enough about Arlena Stuart to kill her?
Cormier, Robert
Heroes (YA Cor) After serving in the United States Army in World War II and
having his face blown off by a grenade, Francis, a young soldier, returns home
hoping to find--and kill--the former childhood hero he feels betrayed him.
Fleming, Ian Diamonds are Forever
(Mys Fle)
Homer Iliad and the
Odyssey (812 Hom) Two of the greatest adventure stories of all time, these
timeless epics of war, duty, honor, and revenge are filled with magic, mystery,
and an assortment of gods and goddesses who meddle freely in the affairs of men.
The Iliad recounts the war between the Trojans and Achaeans and the
personal and tragic struggle of the fiery-tempered Achilles. The Odyssey
chronicles Odysseus's return from the Trojan War and the trials he endures on
his journey home.
LaHaye, Tim and Jerry Jenkins Left Behind
series (SFF LaH)
Marsden, John Tomorrow, When the War Began
series (YA Mar)