Tsar or Czar

It is spelled either way.  I prefer to spell it tsar, probably just because that was the way it was spelled in Nicholas and Alexandra, which I had to read in tenth grade and loved.  I was sad to see that N and A is not available on audio, but then I found The Family Romanov:  murder, mayhem and fall of Imperial Russia, a recommended audio, downloaded it and loved it.
One of the most intriguing characters in this whole story is Rasputin, but he wasn't mentioned as much as I had hoped in this book.  One of the main reasons why I loved Norbit is that his girl friend was named Rasputia!
This was a very interesting and well done non-fiction book for tweens and teen.

A MUST-READ

Now I know, I know, I KNOW I say this a lot.  But seriously, Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy is a must-read for everyone.   That cover over there is terrible.  Terrible.  The one under it is much better. Still, no cover could be good enough for this book.  It is just unreal and fantastic.  And I have no idea what kind of experience Gary D. Schmidt, who is one of my new most favorite writers, has with churches and working in church, but man, man, man he was right on with this one.  Right on!  Unreal!  Here is a great quote, "The congregation, Minister, will tell you what it thinks and what it wants you to think."  When I first typed that in, and I am sure this was a Freudian slip, I capitalized the word congregation.  Because some congregations (or at least some people in them) think that they are holier than God.  I am not saying that the church I served was like that.  It was a lovely, lovely place.  But there were a couple of folks who could have said that very sentence right there.  I am pretty sure they did, actually.

LBATBB introduced me to the horror of what happened on Malaga Island.  I had never heard of this island or the people who lived there and were forced to leave because of the color of their skin.  This is the story of a young boy who really stands up against a whole town.  It made me cry several times.  We should be ashamed, ashamed of the way that we have treated one another.  And the way we still treat one another.  

This is an incredible, incredible story.  Read it.  Now.

misleading title, but full of information!

Flesh and Blood So Cheap:  the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire and Its Legacy was a really good book for me to read because I don't remember as much as I wish I remembered about the second wave immigration and the history of labor relations in the US.  This book contained a really great recap and gave me a lot of information that I didn't have before, including some personal stories about big names in the history of it.  If you want a good book about the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, even though it is historical fiction, I would recommend Uprising.
The end of the book talks about modern day sweatshops, especially in Bangladesh.  It sites a 2009 fire.  But sadly, in 2013 there was another fire that killed more than 1,000.  I found it here on this page first.  Another super-sad thing about reading books that talk about immigration to the US is that today there are so many who want to put up walls, when on our Statue of Liberty it still says, "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses, yearning to breath free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore, Send these, the homeless tost to me, I lift my lamp, beside the golden door."- Emma Lazarus.  If we don't feel that way anymore, then we need to take that statue down, scribble off the words, at least or change them, as some have jokingly suggested.  Because what a joke that is now, to have those words there, when we really don't seem to mean them anymore.

Not My Usual Style

but Here Lies the Librarian is a terrific book. My buddy Karen recommended it to me and I needed something to listen to and so it was perfect timing. Here is set in 1914 in a small town near Indianapolis. I have been lost there, after midnight with my VZ Navigator not working and no map. It is a very nice city, but there was a lot of detours and I never thought I'd get out! Still, I liked driving around and around and around the outside of the Speedway. But, as usual, I disgress. The auto is just coming of age as the story begins and we meet a 14 year old girl who goes by PeeWee and her older brother, Jake. They both love cars and are awesome mechanics, especially Jake who is trying to build his own car.

PeeWee and Jake's really small town decides to reopen their public library and the librarians are library science students from Butler University. The characters are quirky and endearing and reminded me of people I've known. There are many great quotes about librarians, too! A great period piece and fun for family listening as well. Though some younger kids might be a little bored. There isn't a lot of action, but the characters are charming and the story makes you want to keep reading.