BOOK NOOK

Because I love to read and share. My aim is to promote reading and sharing one book to one person at a time. 
The name "Book Nook" came from a used bookstore I used to frequent in Tel Aviv while living in Israel.  

BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS

Book Review for Book Nook: By Jaleesa Leslie

Dork Diaries: Tales From a Not So Popular Party Girl

Written by Rachel Renee Russell

This is my niece, Jaleesa Leslie and when not on the tennis court playing in a match or training, she enjoys reading. Reading has been one of her favorite past times for as long as I can remember. She is currently reading the “Dork Diaries” series. Here is what she has to say about “Tales From A Not So Popular Party Girl.”

“This book is about a girl Nikki and her friends in her teens. There’s a crush on Nikki and he asked to go to the dance with her, but Mackenkie, who is not Nikki’s friend stopped the dance. She did that because she wants to dance with Brandon, Nikki’s crush. Mackenkie is the president of the student body and she has the power to stop the dance. Nikki and the rest of her friends will try to stop Mackenzie from cancelling the dance.

“I like this book because it is full of mystery and it is also funny. The book is exciting, too! I like this book and all of them in the series. It is easy to read and I read them at school when I finish all my work.

“I would like to recommend this book and all in the series ‘Dork Diaries’ to all teens, especially girls, who love to read.” 

Jaleesa Leslie is a normal 10 year old who started playing tennis at the age of 4 and began competing at the age of 7.  Right away we know Jaleesa was going to be a good tennis player.  By the time she was 8 she was dominating the Grand Prix tournament; she then excelled at the 10 and under US Tennis Association (USTA) tournaments. 

At age 9 she was ranked in the top 5 in the 10 and under bracket in the state of Florida and was competing with 12 year olds.  Jaleesa was invited to a USTA 12 and under Spring Tennis Camp in Daytona Beach this year. She was hand picked because of the way she plays and the impression she makes on everyone that sees her play.  She did so well at that camp that the USTA gave her another offer of free training with two of Florida's best tennis coaches,  Rick Macci and Martin Blackman.  Jaleesa and her parents Garreth and Maggie Leslie felt that meeting with these coaches was a privilege and she enjoyed her meet and learned a lot from both of them, especially coach Macci as she knew him to be the coach that trained their favorite pro stars Serena and Venus Williams and also Maria Sharapova.

Jaleesa and coach Rick Macci 

Two weeks ago, Jaleesa went to Boca Raton, Florida for a three week tennis training camp courtesy of the USTA.  When she is not on the court she will be reading one of her favorites from the "Dork Diaries". 

For Jaleesa, reading and playing tennis will keep her focused on reaching her goal, which she is not ashamed of revealing: "COLLEGE". That's what she has her eyes set on and her parents will make sure they help her along the way and give her all the support and love she needs.

Jaleesa is a student at Wolf Lake Elementary School in Apopka, Florida. She is in 5^th Grade and is an honor roll student.

Jaleesa is the grand-daughter of Laura Crawford of Crooked Tree Village, Belize and Mrs. Elsie Gentle of Belize City.

Lu Hsun Selected Stories: August 20, 2012

Just hanging out with my new friend! 

Most of these stories are fictional, but still requiring a decent background in Chinese history and some ability for literary analysis. I'm not even close to a complete understanding of many of them, but the insight these stories have given me into Chinese history have been among the most pleasurable. 

This book is indispensable for anyone who wishes to understand China; Lu is a great Chinese writer.

Constantinople: City of the World's Desire by Philip Mansel......July 14, 2012

This is one of the best history books I have read in a long time; it's elegantly written, fairly easy to read and creates a strong mental picture for a vanished multi-racial empire and city. It contains a very helpful bibliography for those of you that are interested in learning more about this time period and history. For anyone who has a casual interest in Istanbul's history, social structure and architecture, this book is a must read. 

The book starts off by telling the story from the very beginning of the conquest of the city by the Ottoman Empire in 1453.  It is so well organized! And just to be sure to avoid confusion, this book is only about Istanbul-Constantinople, and not about the Ottoman Empire.

Mansel's tracking of well known families of Genoese, Venetian, Greek, Armenian, Arab, Jewish and Turkish origins, from medival times to modern times was very interesting and unique. It highlights the global nature of the city and the rich multi-cultural heritage of the Ottomans.

If this book has any weakness it is that, at times it covers a tad too many topics. And I think it is impossible to cover all the truly interesting things about Istanbul in one book. It is definitely not a light read. If you want to learn about Istanbul, I would recommend this one as a serious book on the topic.

In short, this is one of the most enjoyable history books I've read and should be read before visiting this glorious city.  

For anyone visiting Istanbul, this is a good book to take with you, along with your travel guide.

The Diary of Anne Frank......June 25, 2012

Today, June 25, 2012, it's been 65 years since the publication of Anne Frank's Diary, written during the two years the teenager and her family hid from the Nazis in occupied Amsterdam.  The Jewish girl Annelies "Anne" Marie Frank wrote the first entry of her famous diary on June 12, 1942, her 13th birthday.

Decades after the horror of World War II, Anne’s diary has now turned 70. Her first entry reads, “I hope I will be able to confide everything to you, as I have never been able to confide in anyone, and I hope you will be a great source of comfort and support.”

Frank, one of the most discussed Jewish victims of the Holocaust, was born in the city of Frankfurt am Main in Weimar Germany, although she lived most of her life in or near Amsterdam in the Netherlands. As a German national, she lost her citizenship in 1941 when Nazi Germany passed the anti-Semitic Nuremberg Laws.

Her family then survived by hiding in attics and hidden corners. Frank stayed true to her journal until she and her family were betrayed and captured by the Germans in August 1944.

Anne Frank died in a Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in March of 1945, at age 15. After the war, Otto Frank, Anne Frank’s father and the only survivor of the family, returned to Amsterdam and published the diary that would touch the hearts and minds of generations to come.

The diary of Anne begins when she is 13 years of age at a time when the Jews were wearing yellow stars in Amsterdam. Anne is your usual precocious girl, flirting with boys and being impudent when she can get away with it. When at last the time comes for the Franks to go into hiding (Margot Frank, Anne's sister, has been issued an order for her removal) they do so with another family, the Van Daans.

In a small floor hidden above Otto Frank's old workplace, the two families are aided by faithful friends and employees. Over the course of the diary we watch and listen through Anne's eyes as, for two years, the people in the attic are put through terrible deprivations and trials; through good times and bad times.

After a while you become so comfortable with Anne's observations and voice that the final page of the narrative comes as a shock when the capture of Anne and her family is finally announced.

The diary holds the remarkably deep thoughts of a young thirteen year old. I think young teenage girls will understand Anne's plight intrinsically. By the end of the diary, Anne becomes far more philosophical. She no longer records the family's every move and action. Instead, she ponders questions like whether or not young people are lonelier than old people. Or what it means to be good. Though you may not like the protagonist of this book at all times, you come to understand and sympathize with her. Anne is a remarkable writer, all the more so when you consider that this diary was written for her alone.  I would strongly encourage kids to read Anne’s diary. In my opinion it is the best Holocaust-related children's book anywhere today.

History of Annelies "Anne" Marie Frank http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Frank
Book Photo: http://www.indiebound.org/book/9780553296983