Friday, February 28, 2014

Friday Finds for February 28, 2014

This is a sometimes weekly blog post featuring what the Dorris Van Doren staff members are reading, watching, playing, making, or listening to. Share your finds with us here in the comments or on twitter (@elpasolibrary) and we'll retweet you!

This week, we have two recommendations for your listening and reading pleasure!

Lluvia: Carrie by Stephen King (Playaway)
This is the well known story of the creepy girl with telekinesis, in which the 70’s movie was based on, and this audio version of the book is so entwined with the film version that Sissy Spacek does the narration. What makes the difference in this edition of the novel is the introduction done by the author Steven King, in which he recounts the heartbreaking inspirations for the main character. That is when you realize that, telekinesis aside, Carrie is a real girl with real problems and that changes the whole story. It goes from creepy girl to painfully bullied girl and you feel for her. I recommend reading the novel for more a human connection to the character that the films do not seem to reach.

If you tuned into this blog a couple of weeks ago, you'll know that I'm participating in YALSA's The Hub Reading Challenge. Click here to read about it and find out what I read first. 

This is the second book that I read for the challenge, and I loved it, but not at first. It took me time to get into it because it begins with the end of the story, and I wasn't clear where the author was going. It's about a British teenager who is famous for surviving being struck by a meteorite when he was ten. Alex ends up befriending an elderly American. The book is about meteors, epilepsy, Kurt Vonnegut, marijuana, and more!

It's funny, sad, and endearing. Check it out! Unfortunately, we only have it available as an ebook. 
This book won an Alex Award, which is given to 10 books written for adults that have special appeal to young adults, ages 12-18.

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