(#50) / Pride and Prejudice / by Jane Austen / (Book)

Opening

Bibliographic Information:

Pride and Prejudice / by Jane Austen

ISBN-10: 0-486-28473-5 / Dover Publications  

p. 262 / $2.00 (Retail)

1813 (Original) / 1995 (Reprint)

Body of Content 

Summary: The novel Pride and Prejudice centers around the courtships and marriages of the Bennett sisters – numbering five in total – Jane, Elizabeth, Mary, Catherine, and Lydia.  Elizabeth Bennett represents the chief protagonist.  The novel starts with a bachelor – Mr. Bingley – looking for a partner to marry – visiting various social events.  His good friend, Mr. Darcy accompanies him – but Elizabeth immediately forms an ill disregard for the friend.  She is prejudiced against him.  But circumstances cause Elizabeth to visit his household attending to another friend who is sick.  Mr. Darcy misperceives her intentions.  The Bennett parents worry about all of their daughters’ futures – as a married life to a wealthy gentlemen is the chief aim of many British females at the time – as a necessary means to secure their future.  Another man, Mr. Collins asks for the hand of Elizabeth – but surprisingly, she declines his offer of marriage.  If Elizabeth does not marry Mr. Collins, then who will she marry?       

Critique: [Spoiler Alert] Novels are based upon building tension to “the climax” of the novel – the zenith of the story’s actions – before the story produces “falling action” to the novel’s conclusion.  But before the climax, it is not uncommon for multiple pivot points to stand as major markers within the story, which help build the tension – serving to complicate and/or resolve narrative issues up to that point.

One of these early pivot points occurs in the form of a letter – or more directly, upon Elizabeth reading a letter written to her by Mr. Darcy.  In the earlier parts of the novel, she had held a prejudice against him for various reasons – causing her to hold a resentment and cautionary attitude towards him.  After his role in breaking up her sister’s engagement, the prejudice only hardened.  Then, the letter came (p. 133).  In the letter, Mr. Darcy explains his actions – how he actually protected Elizabeth’s sister and the Bennett family from a playboy of a prodigal – from Mr. Bingley. 

Elizabeth’s thoughts and attitudes towards Mr. Darcy soften after reading that letter – and the letter itself stands as an early pivot point – which redirects the rest of the novel – towards a conclusion not possible without the inclusion of the handwritten correspondence.

Teaser: “Love is afoot – love is amiss – pray tell of this love!”  

Information about the Author: Jane Austen lived a few centuries removed from modern times – born in 1775 and dying at the age of 41 in 1817.  A famous author of British descent, Austen wrote a handful of novels including the aforementioned Pride and Prejudice, along with Emma, Mansfield Park, and Sense and Sensibility (Wikipedia, 2011).  Her works continue to spawn modern redactions in both literature and cinema including the satirical book Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and the recent film The Jane Austen Book Club.  Actual adaptions of her works are still popular – particularly Pride and Prejudice.  

Her themes often are comedic in nature – center on the perspectives of women – set against middle-class or affluent classes within English society – and deal with relationships, marriage, 
and/or courtship (Wikipedia, 2011).

Supplemental Material

Genre: Drama / Romance / Humor

Curriculum Ties: History – Victorian era, social customs, English history

Booktalking Ideas: 1) How does courtship compare to modern dating? 2) “Have you ever had to tread over a sibling while pursuing a shared love interest?”  

Reading Level: Women are more interested in the title – with readership including ages 15-18.

Challenge Issues and Defense: Some adult situations and content – overall, though, a pretty safe title.

Personal Reasons for Inclusion: I actually like this book – which is a rare circumstance, given my chromosomal predispositions.  

Last Thoughts

References:

Wikipedia. (2011). Jane Austen [Webpage]. Retrieved from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Austen

Listening to (Music):

Artist – Beethoven / Album – “Symphony #9” 

(#48) / InfoTrac Student Edition / (produced) by Gale Cengage Learning / (Database)

Opening

Bibliographic Information:

InfoTrac Student Edition / 
(produced) by Gale Cengage Learning

(Access through Humboldt County Library)

Cost Unknown – Contact the company directly

2011

Body of Content

Summary: This is a high-level database resource for high-school students.  The formats are wide – allowing students to search within magazines, newspapers, standard reference books, along with more recent formats like podcasts.  The content is also diverse – helping students find resources throughout the majority of their coursework subjects– containing information on arts, science, history, sports, popular culture, etc.  The Student Edition searches a total number of nearly 16 million articles as part of its search matrix.  With the articles hailing from the years between 1980 and 2011, the database represents a good source of current information.  The database is very flexible for users – as the site contains a language toggle button to over 30 languages that are possible for information retrieval.  The site contains a simple design – with a homepage where the user does not need to scroll to perceive all options available to them (Gale, 2011).      

Critique: The search methodology is more professional than the Junior Edition.  And as such, the Student Edition contains more options – showing a more academic approach to research.  The site does contain a “basic search”.  But more interesting, the site contains an “advanced search” option presenting an excellent variety of retrieval options for the user.  For instance, the advanced methodology allows for searches according to keyword, abstract, full document, title of document, publication language, etc. – and contains further helps such as publication date and word count – all of which provide the user the option of creating a Boolean, word-string search with keywords –or a Boolean, organizational-string search with structural data.  The user’s previous research and content knowledge of their topic could certainly help them with so many options.  At the very least, it does not handicap the users – but allows them to search how they best see fit.      

Further search limits include searching only peer-reviewed publications, only full-text documents, and more interestingly, only documents with images.  As a modern database, Student Edition allows for faceted search results – which can receive further specificity and limitations post-search. Overall, this database presents a very clear, clean, and searchable database that any high school student could employ in their research projects.

Teaser: The convenience of Google – plus the expertise of a cache of database resources. 

Information about the Author: See entry #47.

Supplemental Material

Genre: Reference

Curriculum Ties: Library – information retrieval, electronic databases

Booktalking Ideas: 1) Did you know that you can search within different format categories?

Reading Level: The database is intended for use in high-school settings – for ages (15-18). 

Challenge Issues and Defense: Given the educational format and the types of articles as academic in nature, a lack of challenges is expected.

Personal Reasons for Inclusion: I wanted to include a few databases – unfortunately, the local library did not have much of a selection, though this database seems of high quality.   

Last Thoughts

References:

Gale. (2011) InfoTrac Student Edition (Homepage) [Database]. Retrieved from

http://go.galegroup.com/ps/start.do?p=STOM&u=locpac_hucl

Listening to (Music):

Artist – Phil Wickham/ Album – “Heaven and Earth”  

(#46) / The Professor’s Daughter / (story) by Joann Sfar & (artistic design) by Emmanuel Guibert & (translated) by Alexis Siegel / (Book)

Opening

Bibliographic Information:

The Professor’s Daughter / (artistic design) by Emmanuel Guibert

ISBN-13: 978-1-59643-130-0 / First Second

p. 80/ $16.29 (Amazon)

2007

Body of Content

Summary: The Professor’s Daughter is a graphic novel that tells an imaginative story –of a professor’s daughter who is star-crossed with one of her father’s archaeological finds – Immotep IV – a mummified Pharaoh of Egypt.  Set in late 19^th century London, the action unfolds as the professor is away from London – while his daughter Lillian and the Mummy fall head-over-heels in love with each other.  In a series of events, Lillian mistakenly poisons two men – fearing that they would separate her from her love.  The police come to arrest her, and the Mummy must come up with a plan to save her.  Supporting characters include the Queen of England, Lillian’s father, and even the Mummy’s father – Immotep V.

Critique: There is a reoccurring theme in YA literature these days – of female characters falling in love with monsters – or the undead – or some combination of both.  Stephanie Meyer wrote a monster love triangle – in her Twilight series.  Meyer placed a young teen (Bella) between one sparkly vampire and one ferocious werewolf.  A similar treatment occurs in Tantalize – with a vampire cook and werewolf hybrid trying to keep the love and attention of the female protagonist.

In The Professor’s Daughter, the newest addition to the reoccurring theme is a dead mummy.  This novel is a little more self-aware than the aforementioned titles – and overall, the graphic novel fits in the genre of humor (along with a few other genre labels).

The lure of such characterizations is complicated.  At some level, by placing the love interest as a social outcast – as a monster – as someone not fully understood – as off-limits, etc. – the writers appeal to the feelings felt by teenage girls.  In some cases, the teenage girl’s parents do not approve of her love interest – seeing the boyfriend as a rebel, a loser, a misfit, or some combination of lackluster quality.  But in the eyes of the teenager, they believe they have found love, even if others in their life stand as obstacles to her love.

This graphic novel is fully aware of this dynamic – and on repeated occasions, it makes light of the ridiculousness of having a young female feeling hot-and-bothered for a dead pharaoh.  But at the core of the story, obstacles impede the would-be-lovers.  The graphic novel is aware of this characterization in literature – and some of the funnier moments unravel at the expense of the metaphor.      

Teaser: Caught up in a murder case, a young girl faces prison – while her love – a mummy – looks to rescue her into his loving arms.

Information about the Author: Emmanuel Guibert specializes in graphic novels – most notable the aforementioned The Professor’s Daughter, along with a series called Sardine in Outer Space.  A more recent project, Guibert follows the story of a reporter in The Photographer – with the titled protagionist following a doctor’s mission in Afghanistan during the 1980s.  Guibert lives in France – in the capital city with his wife and daughter (First Second, 2011). 

Supplemental Material

Genre: Crime Drama / Romance /Graphic Novel / Humor

Curriculum Ties: History – England, Egypt, archaeology

Booktalking Ideas: 1) What are some of the unusual love interests in literature? 2) “How many mummy puns can you think of in two minutes?”  

Reading Level: The reading level is aimed at teens – of high-school age – (15-18).  Interest level could drop to ages 12+ given that 6^th graders study Egyptian history within their social studies curriculum.

Challenge Issues and Defense: There is one brief scene of partial male (mummified) nudity. There are some scenes of violence – including gunfire.  Serious challenges are unlikely to arise.   

Personal Reasons for Inclusion: The title of the book intrigued me.  After reading it, I loved the ridiculousness of the premise and subsequent plot.

Last Thoughts

References:

First Second. (2011). Guibert [Webpage]. Retrieved from http://www.firstsecondbooks.com/

guibert.html

Listening to (Music):

Artist – Hans Zimmer & Klaus Badelt / Album – “Pirates of the Caribbean: Original Score”  

(#43) / John Elway: Armed and Dangerous / by Clay Latimer / (Book)

Opening

Bibliographic Information:

John Elway: Armed and Dangerous / by Clay Latimer

ISBN-10: 1-886110-53-0 / Addax Publishing Group

p. 240 / $14.95 (Retail)

1998

Body of Content

Summary: The book is a biographical look into the life and career of John Elway – the legendary quarterback for the Denver Broncos football team – predominately playing through the 1980s and 1990s.  The book starts with his personal life – noting his strong relationship with his father, a college football coach on a rival team.  The book goes through the NFL Draft and early Super Bowl losses.  As the book talks in more depth, Latimer walks readers through Elway’s style and talent under the coaches of Dan Reeves, Wade Phillips, and Mike Shanahan.  The book takes readers through the highs and lows of Elway’s storied career – filled with interviews and quotes.  The book is predominately narrative in themes and content, but it does include 20-30 pages worth of pictures of Elway in action.  

Critique: The book is largely narrative in form.  It does contain a few metaphors throughout its course.  One heavily emphasized simile was the comparison of John Elway to a “gunslinger”.  The imagery is used throughout – the book even devotes an entire chapter to his favorite weapon – “The Arm” – demonstrating the key to his NFL success (p. 10).  Elsewhere, the western simile continues to find resonance as the author notes that Elway was “John Wayne in cleats” (p. 18). Elsewhere, Elway is comparable to other quarterbacks who are fellow “gunslingers” – like Packers-great Brett Favre (p. 202).  The imagery helps produce a picture of Elway – of an independent, football-throwing player capable of wild-west ideals and miraculous fourth-quarter comebacks.  Elway was the face of the franchise for many years and continually carried mediocre teams deep into the playoffs with his gunslinger of an arm.      

Teaser: A storied quarterback’s humble beginnings to his Cinderella conclusion – the career of NFL-great John Elway.

Information about the Author: Currently, Latimer is a freelance writer, though he worked as a sports writer for the Rocky Mountain News for the better part of three decades.  While a newspaper writer, Latimer covered Nuggets basketball and Broncos football.  Education wise, he attended the University of Colorado (Linkedin, 2011).  

Latimer other works include biographies about the lives of Mia Hamm and Muhammad Ali, along with Special Delivery: The Amazing Basketball Career of Karl Malone.  Other topical books in sports include It’s 3^rd & Long So … : 101 Ways to Improve the Game of Football and VIP Pass to a Pro Basketball Game Day: From the Locker Room to the Press Box (and Everything in Between) (BookFinder, 2011).

Supplemental Material

Genre: Sports / Biography

Curriculum Ties: Math – statistics / Physical Education – football, game theory, coach-player dynamics

Booktalking Ideas: 1) Before Tim Tebow, there was one quarterback in Denver who held the sway over the hearts of all those within Colorado. 2) How many wide receivers can you name who caught a pass from John Elway? 

Reading Level: Male teens will likely generate more interest to this football title than female teens – best suited from all ages of high school (15-18).

Challenge Issues and Defense: The book is pretty clean – I would not expect any challenges – though some may come from Raiders fans – though those challenges are not based upon the book’s content, per se.

Personal Reasons for Inclusion: I grew up watching the Broncos play.

Last Thoughts

References:

BookFinder. (2011). Clay Latimer [Webpage].Retrieved from http://www.bookfinder.com/

search/?st=xl&ac=qr&src=dir&author=Clay%20Latimer

Linkedin. (2011). Clay Latimer [Webpage]. Retrieved from http://www.linkedin.com/pub/clay-

latimer/10/687/245

Listening to (Music):

Artist – David Crowder Band / Album – “Church Music” 

(#40) / Anne Frank: The Anne Frank House Authorized Graphic Biography / (authored) by Sid Jacobson & (art design) by Ernie Colon / (Book)

Opening

Bibliographic Information:

Anne Frank: The Anne Frank House Authorized Graphic Biography /

(authored) by Sid Jacobson & (art design) by Ernie Colon

ISBN-13:9780809026852 / Hill and Wang /

p. 152/ $16.95 (Retail)

2010

Body of Content

Summary: This graphic novel recounts the story of Anne Frank – a Jewish girl who hid with her family in an attic – attempting to hide in the Netherlands from the Nazi regime.  This adaption of her diary goes a bit beyond the confines of the original journal.  The graphic novel breaks into ten chapters – with the early sections detailing her family history.  Before entering the world depicted in the diary itself, the authors detail the events that led up to the Second World War – basically providing a history lesson.  After the conclusion of Anne’s story, the novel finishes with some historical follow-up – on the legacy of her story to wider audiences.  A helpful chronology also accompanies the work as a reference. 

Critique: In much the same way that Katniss stands as a symbol for resistance in The Hunger Games against a totalitarian government, the figure of Anne Frank stands as a symbol for the war atrocities perpetrated by the Nazis.

[Spoiler Alert] The story is a thoroughly tragic one.  The end result of the story finds Anne Frank – with her family – dying in a German concentration camp.  Only her father escapes with his life. Their only fault – so perceived by the Nazi regime – was their Jewish faith and heritage.  Anne Frank – just a girl – never grew up – never received the opportunity to live an adult life – never married – never had a family.  She stands as a symbol – that the Germany war machine would consider her the enemy – only furthers the horribleness of the Nazi’s actions.  In the graphic novel, readers see the first-hand account of an intelligent, innocent, brave girl – and cannot help but wonder how humans can treat fellow humans so badly.  The book frames Anne as this symbol – even devoting the last chapter to the events after the war – and her legacy in the West.                                                                                                                

Teaser: The story of a brave Jewish girl set against some of the most cowardly acts in history.   

Information about the Author: Sid Jacobson is a well-known writer – mostly in the field of comic books and children’s literature.  Earlier in his life – for he is now 82 – Jacobson was the chief editor at Harvey Comics – where he created and wrote popular comics – like Richie Rich, Hot Stuff, and Casper the Friendly Ghost.  More recently, Jacobson teamed with Ernie Colon – the two serving as writer and artist (respectively) on a few graphic novels dealing with historical issues – such as the aforementioned Anne Frank – but also a book titled The 9/11 Report: A Graphic Adaption.  Jacobson resides in Los Angeles – he is married – and he has two adult children (Wikipedia, 2011).

Supplemental Material

Genre: Biography / Historical Nonfiction / Graphic Novel

Curriculum Ties: History – Nazism, WWII, Holocaust, Judaism 

Booktalking Ideas: 1) The rise of Nazism affected many German families – perhaps none more than those from Jewish backgrounds. 2) Why does Anne’s story still have universal elements to it – when people read it today?

Reading Level: Interest more from females – given the female, first-hand account of the book.  Overall, interest level is pretty broad – from teens (14-19).

Challenge Issues and Defense: The story is such an emotional one – that pretexted tension and stress might lead some parents – not so much to a challenge – as much as a “wait” until their child is ready to read the story.  This is a true circumstance for younger ages – but I feel teenagers (14-19) can handle the premise.  Events during the WWII are hard to sugar-coat – but this graphic novel treats the events respectfully – and the story’s conclusion is not graphically displayed.  The historical and biographical nature of the book help any challenges made on the title – as it shows the educational value of the book.    

Personal Reasons for Inclusion: The story of Anne Frank is a meaningful one – regardless of the format of the title.

Last Thoughts

References:

Wikipedia. (2011). Sid Jacobson [Webpage]. Retrieved from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sid_Jacobson

Listening to (Music):

Artist – Michelle Branch / Album – “Paper Hotel”