Tha itibaren Bhala, Fas
An insanely awesome story. It's truly remarkable what Garrard went through on the South Pole and, furthermore, that he managed to survive. The 'Worst Journey' title actually only refers to a small expedition that Garrard undertook along with two others, Dr Bill Wilson and Birdie Bowers. Basically, they set off during the winter time on a many week long odyssey to find Penguin eggs (which they falsely thought could hold the keys to evolution). At any rate, during winter, in Antarctica, it's basically dark the entire time and the conditions that these guys experienced are probably close to the most hellish experienced by humans anywhere ever. Some things that stand out include Garrard having blisters cover his hand after only taking his gloves off for a few seconds, then having these blisters freeze, and having to painfully pop them all in the tent, but there are many many more terrible things that happen to the whole crew. As far as adventure stories go, this one is unparalleled. If you think 'I Shouldn't be alive' episodes on Animal planet are impressive, well this is 'I shouldn't be alive' times 100 hundred - not exaggerating. The writing itself is a little proper and perhaps dated (the book was written over eighty years ago after all) but the story is so compelling and impressive that it will keep you interested regardless.
Does it count to have listened to it on tape? :) I love and respect Oscar Wilde immensely. Everything he writes is so delightfully naughty. This is the playwright's only novel. I recommend this book to my teenage students. It deals with some rather unique themes: the love, worship, and eventual inevitable loss of physical beauty as art; the Faustian bargain; the decadence of the era; murder, confession, absolution. This is a great read--if you have a hard time getting through copious amounts of proper British conversation, you might want to not read this while sitting in bed at night. It's the perfect rainy day, tea, blanket, and introspective thought novel.
Amber is in fourth grade. Her mom wants to get engaged to Max. Amber isn't sure she wants a step dad, but she likes Max. Amber discovers she can cope with change. A story about dealing with divorce and family issues. Again, I like how Amber and her mother talk about their problems, and that they include Max in their discussions as well.