In Too Deep (The 39 Clues #6)

Title: In Too Deep (The 39 Clues #6)

Author: Jude Watson

Pages: 4 discs

Genre: Children's Fiction

Grade: B

Synopsis: The clue hunt takes Amy, Dan and their au pair Nellie to Sydney Australia where they meet up with Shep who is an old friend of their parents.  He flies them across Australia and then to Indonesia as they continue to try and follow the path for clues and the journey their parents took many years before. Through it all Dan and Amy continue to outsmart all of the other teams in the clue hunt.

My Review: I always enjoy the clue hunt books that take place either somewhere that I've been or somewhere that I'm going.  Ada and I continue to enjoy each step of the journey.

The Greater Journey - Americans In Paris

Title: The Greater Journey - Americans In Paris

Author: David McCullough

Pages: 16 discs

Genre: History, Non-Fiction

Grade: B+

Synopsis: During the 19th century not all pioneers went west.  Many American artists, doctors, writers and others made journey eastward across the ocean to study and hone their craft in Paris. Between the 1830's and 1900 hundreds of Americans went to Paris seeking inspiration, education and the chance to mingle with the greatest minds of the day.

My Review: I don't put this on the same pedestal as John Adam, Truman or The Path Between the Seas (my favorites of the 7 David McCullough books that I've read), but this was another interesting, unique and enjoyable book by one of my favorite authors.  I especially enjoyed the book because I read it in the weeks leading up to my own first visit to Paris and many of the same wonders that were present in the city over a hundred years ago are still there today.

Too Far From Home

Title: Too Far From Home

Author: Chris Jones

Pages: 304

Genre: Non-Fiction, Science

Grade: B+

Synopsis: When the Columbia space shuttle disintegrated on its return to earth there were three astronauts orbiting the earth in the International Space Station.  Once the disaster struck nobody knew for a long time how or when these men would get home. This book focuses on the lives, careers and time spent in space of the Americans Don Petit and Ken Bowersox and the Russian Nikolai Budarin.  At the time, the International Space Station was fairly new, as was spending long amounts of time in space.  It was supposed to be a routine 14 week mission, which turned out to be much longer.

My Review: It took me a while to really get into this book, and it took me longer than I would have liked to finish it, but I did enjoy it.  It's not really a thriller, but it is centered around events that most of us probably remember.

Silk

Title: Silk

Author: Alessandro Baricco

Pages: 132

Genre: Fiction, Historical Fiction

Grade: B

Synopsis: Herve Joncour is a Frenchman who deals in silkworms.  After an epidemic decimates the European supply in the late 1800's, Joncour begins to travel further and further to find healthy silkworms to bring back to France.  On his visit to Japan he comes across a woman with whom he never speaks, but who enchants him and becomes an obsession for him.

My Review: This is a short read (I finished in around an hour I think) and is a lovely story.  I believe the book has since been made into a movie, but I have not seen it.