Pete's first recommendation

I don't really know much about this book, except that I have had several people tell me it was good, and I know that it was generally well received by the critics. I think it has at least a couple of layers of frame stories going on.

Two Books I Want to Read

Here are two books that I want to read in the near future. They both have had a lot of publicity, so don't expect to get them from the library any time soon.

Cross-X
This non-fiction book is about the debate team from the Central High School in Kansas City. Although underfunded and struggling, just as most inner-city schools are, the high school has a nationally recognized debate squad that uses innovative methods of debate. This book documents the high school's proponents for the creation of the debate team, the squad's success in using new methods of debate to defeat teams from the most elite high schools, and the debate team's success in the 2002 championships. I've included the link to the book's web page in the title. Here are also a few links to radio broadcasts from NPR and local affiliate KCUR featuring the author, Joe Miller, two former students on the debate team, and the creator of the debate team.

A Long Way Gone
A Long Way Gone is an autobiography by Ishmael Beah, who at 11 experienced the outbreak of civil war in his home country Sierra Leone and at 13 years of age was picked up by the government army to become a child soldier. There are several reports and articles about child soldiers, and this is intriguing because it is a personal account of war, murder as a child, and healing. Beah was taken in to be rehabilitated by UNICEF at age 16 and now is an activist and political science graduate living in the United States.

The Walking Dead

This comic sucked me in despite my irrational phobia of zombies. While this does contain gore that's expected with any story plagued with zombies, it's the character development that makes this comic engrossing. Be prepared to read all of the current issues in one sitting.

Published by Image Comics, this series is created by Robert Kirkman and artist Tony Moore.

You can read the first issue online here.