Eragon by Christopher Paolini

My son, Eric, convinced me, or maybe I should write inspired me to listen to this book on tape. He read the book a few months ago. It's a thick one with approximately 500 pages. He had never read a book that was this long, and he couldn't put this one down. I knew it must have been good, and he was right. We are anxiously awaiting the book on tape for the second installment, The Eldest

Eragon is a story of dragons, magic, swords, and other elements of medieval times. Amazingly, I can summarize this long story in one sentence! To say more means delving into the complicated plot line and attempting to describe the detailed scenes and actions. I can say this is no Harry Potter! It's the story of a quest of honor and the relationships that develop along the way.

Light on Snow by Anita Shreve

I discovered Anita Shreve when reading The Pilot's Wife - one of my all time favorite books. I hesitated to read Light on Snow because the cover has a snow scene. I am not a winter person, and since it's summer, snow is the furthest thing from my mind. But I like the author, so I gave it a whirl. The book was enjoyable. A girl and her father go for a walk in the snowy woods and come across a newborn baby that has just been abandoned. They bring the baby to the hospital and are local heros. Their paths cross with that of the mother, and this meeting causes them to examine some of the difficulties in their own lives.

A Wedding in December by Anita Shreve

A group of high school friends are reunited after 27 years as two members of the group, high school sweethearts who were separated, find each other and get married. Each of the classmates has secrets to share or not share, and the reunion sparks memories of their classmate who died during a beach party. The book contains a story within a story as one of the characters fancies herself an author, and she writes her book over the course of the wedding weekend. I found this to be an intriguing way to carry on a parallel story. When I think back on the book, I see how the two stories are intertwined.

Everything Bad is Good for You by Steven Johnson

I first heard about this book in an article in Time Magazine and found it interesting because the author takes an unusual view about the influence of video games. I find myself in a constant battle with my son about how much time he should spend playing video games. I see (saw) little benefit from these games and picture his brain turning into mush. The author, Steven Johnson, sees video games, especially virtual reality games, as teaching us to think in a new and different way. It's not that our brain is turning into mush, it's that different types of thinking is occuring. With reality games, both reading and writing skills are included when players communicate with each other and they read the cheats or clues for solving the problems in the game. Because of this book, I have had several conversations with my son and stepson about these games. They (and the author) pose some strong arguments about the higher levels of thinking that are required to play these games. I am coming around, very slowly!