Monday Morning Book Review--When Everything Changed

When Everything Changed: The Amazing Journey of American Women form 1960 to the Present by Gail Collins covers the history of women's rights from the rise of the women's liberation movement through the 2008 election cycle.  An in depth look at how women's roles have changed over the last 50 years and what remains the same.  A must read for anyone wanting to understand the not so distant past and how it shapes the future.

Monday Morning Book Review--Between the World and Me

Between the World and Me--Ta-Nehisi Coates writes to his teenage son about navigating the world as a black man.  He starts with his own teenage perceptions of what it means to be black in the US and he takes it forward into the world of today and what he is viewing in his own son's silent questions.  This thought provoking work, should spark conversations about race and perceptions of race.

Monday Morning Book Review--50 Years, 50 Moments

50 Years, 50 Moments:  The Most Unforgettable Plays in Super Bowl History  by Jerry Rice & Randy O. Williams

Football fans and Super Bowl buffs alike will enjoy reading the moments that made the contests great.  Read anecdotes from the players involved on both sides of the ball.  Statistics fans will enjoy the detailed stats on each match profiled.  Approaching  Super Bowl 50 to be held in Santa Clara it's a great way to get yourself ready for some football.

Monday Morning Book Review--How to Bake Pi

How to Bake Pi: An Edible Exploration of the Mathematics of Mathematics by Eugenia Cheng--A math book that uses cooking and recipes to explain how and why math works the way that it does.  Cheng's style helps math lovers and non-math lovers understand the complexity of math and category theory through food.  An enjoyable read that just may need a snack to go along with it.

Monday Morning Book Review: This Star Won't Go Out

This Star Won't Go Out by Esther Earl--These are the blog entries, diary entries and drawings of Esther who died of cancer.  John Green credits her with inspiring The Fault in Our Stars after he met her through Catitude a fan fiction site.  Esther's story will inspire readers that liked Green's book.  Her raw honesty about cancer yet her positive outlook on life can teach us all how to live to inspire others in our sphere.

Monday Morning Book Review--The Shallows

The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains by Nicholas Carr is one of the Silicon Valley Reads selections for this year.  Carr realized he wasn't able to concentrate on reading a book like he once had, so he decided to find out why.  His book looks at technology and how it's changing our brains physiologically.  He doesn't limit himself to today's technology but actually looks back at the advent of the book, radio and television and those impacts upon our brains and behavior.  A thought provoking read.

Monday Morning Student Book Review--How to be a High School Superstar

Today's review comes from a student using the Student Book Notes Form.
Title/Author:  How to be a High School Superstar by Cal Newport  
Summary: "How to Be a High School Superstar: A Revolutionary Plan to Get into College by Standing Out (Without Burning Out)" by Cal Newport is a revolutionary plan to get into a good or top tier college by unorthodox student methods. Many students believe that to get into schools like Stanford or MIT, straight A's are essential. However, Cal Newport explains the backgrounds of unique students who were accepted and had a sub-par GPA. In this book, you'll learn that school and college applications are more than just grades.
Why I picked it up:  The title caught my interest.
Why I kept reading it:  It was interesting.
Who would I give it to next:  Other students thinking about getting into college.
Reviewed by:  A. Bang

Monday Morning Book Review--Tell My Sons

Tell My Sons by Lt.Col.Mark M.Weber was headed to Afghanistan but a routine physical showed he had intestinal cancer. Knowing he wouldn't survive to see his three sons reach adulthood, he began writing life lessons for them.  Weber's frank approach to life and strong messages about growing into manhood presents a refreshing look at how to be a young man.

Monday Morning Book Review--Exploding the Phone

Exploding the Phone by Phil Lapsley--Before there was illegal downloading, before pirated movies, before the Internet and hackers, there were Phone Phreaks.  Tech curious teenagers that were fascinated with the telephone and how it worked.  This book follows the history of phone phreaking and the phone networking system that eventually led to our high-tech world we take for granted.  This is a great read for anyone who likes history of our high tech world in a readable format. 

Monday Morning Book Review--The Butterfly Mosque

The Butterfly Mosque by G. Willow Wilson.  The author of this book was here on campus on Friday 1/27.  This memoir details her journey as a young American college graduate to Egypt, converting to Islam, falling in love and bridging the gap between two cultures.  The book is a love story, an insight into a religion that came sharply into focus after 9/11, and a unique look at the culture and beliefs of the Middle East beyond the media.  This book is one of the two Silicon Valley Reads selections for this year. 

Monday Morning Book Review--I Want My MTV

I Want My MTV: the Uncensored Story of the Music Video Revolution by Craig Marks.  Before there was Jersey Shore, Teen Mom and the Real World, MTV was about music and music videos.  MTV launched in 1981.  This book looks at MTV through interviews with those who where there at the beginning through the beginning of the reality shows that began in the early 90's.  If you want a sense of a small piece of music history this is a book to read.

Monday Morning Book Review--Always On

Always On:  How the iPhone Unlocked the Anything-Anytime-Anywhere Future and Locked Us In--Brian X. Chen.  A timely look at our connected world and how Apple's market share has changed the world in which we live.  If you like computers, cellphone technology and anything else geeky...you'll enjoy this book that looks at how our connected world has changed us.  (Note:   Chinese Language Teacher, Ms. Kang donated the book to MHS because her son is the author)

Monday Morning Book Review(on Tuesday)--I Am Nujood

I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced by Nujood Ali with Delphine Monoui--Nujood's father arranged her marriage to a man in his 30's when she was only a child.  This true story of her experience and fight for a divorce in Yemen opens the eyes to a world far beyond our own. 

Monday Morning Book Review--Heaven is for Real

Heaven is for real:  A little boy's astounding story of his trip to heaven and back by Todd Burpo--Colton Burpo had an emergency appendectomy when he was four years old.  After his surgery, he told his parents about leaving his body during surgery and taking a trip to heaven.  His details and encounters with family members he never met made his parents pause and wonder about what really happened.  Read about Colton's experience and decide for yourself if heaven is for real.

Monday Morning Book Review--It Gets Better

It Gets Better is a series of essays based on You Tube videos that were uploaded beginning in the fall of 2010 to combat bullying of gay teens that led to a rash of suicides.  President Obama, Hillary Clinton, Ellen deGeneres, David Sedaris and Tim Gunn are some of the celebrity contributors to the book.  Included are essays from young and old that have survived the bullying and put down of being an LGBT youth.

Monday Morning Book Review--The Calculus Diaries

The Calculus Diaries:  How Math Can Help You Lose Weight, Win in Vegas and Survive a Zombie Apocalypse by Jennifer Ouellette   Wonder why you would want to take calculus or are you taking calculus and don't see why you need that derivative or integral to survive in the future?  Then this is the book for you.  Ouellette takes on the world of calculus in an easy to read and understand way using every day examples.  The main chapters of the book cover the basics but don't delve into the mathematical details.  The history and key people involved in calculus are also profiled in the book.  This is a good read making an often abstract subject much more concrete. Anyone interested in physics or math will enjoy this book but the non-math person might discover a new reason to like math. (Disclaimer:  Ms. M taught math for 18 years before morphing into a librarian)

Monday Morning Book Review--The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot is a wonderfully accessible book about the HeLa cells that have been used in medical science since the 1950's.  Henrietta's cells were taken during a cervical cancer procedure, and while she did not survive, her cells continue to live and be used today.  Read about medical advances as well as  Henrietta and her family's story.  This is an engaging read that shows biology in action along with the human side of medical research.

Monday Morning Book Review--What the Dog Saw

What the dog saw and other adventures by Malcolm Gladwell--This collection of Gladwell's New Yorker essays challenges readers to think about everyday things in a new light.  The author of Blink  and The Tipping Point demonstrates once again that anything from hair dye to the Dog Whisperer can make an interesting topic of exploration.  This is a great read for someone looking for a book to pick up and put down at various times.

Monday Morning Book Review--Have a Little Faith

Have a Little Faith by Mitch Albom--This book looks at the relationship between the author and the rabbi of his childhood.  When asked to be the one to deliver the Reb's eulogy, Albom decides he needs to know about the man and his faith.  At the same time, he meets a protestant minister who's journey of faith had it's own unique twists.  This inspirational look at two faiths and the men who lead in very different ways is uplifting and humbling at the same time. 

Monday Morning Book Review--The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer--This is a non-fiction book with a great message.  William was born and raised in Malawi Africa.  He's the son of a farmer who was unable to continue sending him to school because of the cost.  William took advantage of the small three-shelf library to continue reading and educating himself in physics and electricity.  Using what he learned, he scavenged the parts to build a windmill to bring light into his family home.  Read this book for an uplifiting story of the difference books and education are making to those who don't have the privelege we take for granted.