Ren itibaren Seenamangalam, Tamil Nadu 630411, Indie
Story of the successful attempt to find the bodies of Mallory and Irvine who died attempting to summit Everest in 1924. The mystery of what happened to them is compelling, and the finding of Mallory in 1999 shed some light on what happened although the mystery of whether they made it remains intact. Takes a little time to get going with the story of the difficulties in getting the expedition together but it is gripping when they make the discovery and well told in it's summary of what seemed to have happened. Makes a good point that whether they summited or not, their heroic attempt given the conditions is what really matters. I tend to agree that even if evidence of their success is forthcoming the record books shouldn't be changed - you haeve to return alivve for it to be considered a success
I don't know a lot about Talleyrand or the French Revolution but I enjoyed this book very much. The author creates Talleyrand's character from early childhood on and gives glimpses of French culture, information about Napoleon and the politics of the time and is generally fun to read. No moral judgements about Talleyrand are made by the author. It's a short read at 224 pages.
A classic Cinderella story with a technological, rather than magical, twist. Be More Chill concentrates on the life of Jeremy, the typical high school proto-nerd. The Novel tracks his transformation, facilitated by a supercomputer called the Squib, from social pariah/Jedi apprentice to a full fledged high school rock star. This book is full of adolescent humor, (my favorite kind) as well as strong undertones concerning identity issues. I would like to use a novel like this in the classroom ultimately because it is relatable. The brand of humor Vizzini uses would certainly appeal to the average student, and specifically the theme of needing to fit in speaks loudly to an adolescent audience.