Johnsenclan

Happy 4th to everyone.

Tags: 4th of july, flag, park city, photos, vacation

This is book twenty-seven in 52 books in 52 weeks

First of all, I’m sorry for the quick review this week.  We are leaving on vacation, and I had to write this two days early not knowing what kind of internet access we’d have.  All the other posts from Wednesday to Friday were pre-written as well, so hopefully they aren’t full of mistakes.

Howard Zinn is the author of the excellent People’s History of the United States, and this is a graphical adaptation of much of the material in the book.  It’s similar to the book Lies My Teacher Told Me, going through different events and talking about what most of us have been taught about history is usually full of factual errors.

He discusses the many events that have led the United States to go to war, how  big business reacted when workers decided to form unions, and different cultural battles throughout time.  Like many problems, almost everything seems to come down to money.  While giving a mostly upbeat look at the United States, he doesn’t shy away from showing how we used things like the belief that God gave us this land as an excuse to kill native Americans, enslave blacks and put Japanese people into prison camps.

It’s simple to follow unlike some of his previous books that spend chapters on each area, the art is mediocre, but not a distraction.  I was Continue Reading »

Tags: 52 books in 52 weeks, book, review

Wyatt singing one of his favorite They Might Be Giants songs, Go for G.  Listen to their version (that’s almost as good) here on itunes.

Tags: Brother, music

Tags: isaac, photos

Tanner after swimming.

Sidney after swimming, trying to get a sugar Continue Reading »

Tags: eating, Family, jen, play, reunion, roberts, Sister

Syracuse Days is the yearly celebration that for some reason takes place right before the 4th of July.  We missed it this year to go to a family reunion, but at the last minute I decided to try and take some pictures of fireworks to see how they’d turn out.

I kept the aperture between 8 and 13, then set the camera to bulb mode. Then I just kept the shutter open until I thought I’d captured enough to fill the frame. It’s really hard Continue Reading »

Tags: fireworks, photos, shutter, Sister, syracuse

On Saturday we went down to Orem for the annual Roberts family party.  The park down there is perfet because there is shade everywhere, and a great swiming pool.  We ate a ton of food and swam until we were pink (especially Sid, her cheeks are the color of a stop sign).

A day of junk food for Wyatt.  He usually had some cake, a cookie or a piece of candy in his mouth.  When we left he waved bye-bye to everyone, then after a quick look left and right, took off to the M&M bag and grabbed a handful before Britnie could grab him.

Mmmmhhh, root beer floats.  Better than pretty much any Continue Reading »

Britnie and I took the day off to escort some of the kids in Sidney’s class at the zoo.  They had a great time and I survived the heat.

Most of these were taken at the bird show, which is pretty fun.  They have trained animals swooping over the crowds, one actually hit Continue Reading »

Tags: animals, birds, school, show, Sister, zoo

This is book twenty-six in 52 books in 52 weeks

Another book set in a post-apocalyptic future, I can’t get enough of them.  Jeanne DuPrau sets the scene in a brief prologue.  Something major is about to happen on Earth, thought we aren’t told what that is.  A city is created deep underground, along with enough supplies for people to live safely for two hundred years.  After the two hundred years is up, the current mayor of the city will recieve instructions on how to return to the surface, and hopefully begin civilization again.

I saw the trailer for an upcoming movie based on this book, that’s what got me interested.  It’s a short novel, easily read in a day or two.  I didn’t realize it’s part of an ongoing series, which really bothers me.  I should have checked it out a bit more before I started reading.  The book stands well on it’s own, though it does leave the reader hanging a bit at the end.  Everthing is resolved, but it happens so quickly it’s almost as if the author was anxious to move on to the next group fo characters and stories she had created.

In the early parts of the book, something goes wrong.  The instructions on how the city is to begin their exodus are lost, and the city is falling apart.  It was only meant to stay underground for a set amount of time, and they are running out of food, their electrical equipment is failing, and because there isn’t a path out the people have no where to go.

The two main characters Lina and Doon, are curious enough to try and unravel the mystery and figure out a way to save their city.  One is assigned to work near an underground river, the other is to become a messenger.  Through their jobs, and by putting clues together, they start to figure out how Ember was created and how they can save it.

The book is interesting, if not a little bit simple.  The author makes some decisions that are almost unbelievable.  In two hundred years people hadn’t figured out some of these things that the children figure out in a few weeks?  Of course they have a major clue nobody else had, but it stil seemed strange that nobody succeded in going further with it.  It’s not a huge issue though, and the plot and setting are interesting enough that I’ll read the next book.

Grade B

Other people doing 52 books in 52 weeks

• Jamie reviews Einstein by Walter Isaacson
• Heliologue reviews Musicophilia by Oliver Sacks
• Kevin reviews The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler

Other reviews of City of Ember

Marianne thought it was a bit implausible

Rebecca thought it was a fun adventure

My other 52 books in 52 weeks book reviews are here

Tags: 52 books in 52 weeks, books, ember, review