Isn't the brain an amazing thing? I just got back from the eye doc's for my second contacts fitting. I have the distance correction in one eye and close up in the other. As long as I don't think about it and start trying to look at something with only one eye, it works great. I was wearing bifocals but getting eye strain from having to move between the transitions as I use two monitors and also look down at print documents in front of me. I hope this works better as I can buy cute, cheap sunglasses again. I was in second heaven once the lasik surgery settled in back in 2001. I had worn glasses since I was in primary school so seeing the depth and variety of colors of the leaves in a tree was a wonderment to me. But, lasik only lasts 5-10 years for most folks and clearly I'm one of them.

I have piles of books all over the floor after a day with my books yesterday. The time just flies by and I am happy as a kid in a candy shop - or me in a dark chocolate only candy shop. :-)

I remember when Aliki’s Digging Up Dinosaurs http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Digging-Up-Dinosaurs/Aliki/e/9780064450782/?itm=1&USRI=digging+up+dinosaurs#TABS first came out and we were all delighted to see female characters in the book and even more delighted when the second edition was published with a female paleontologist on the cover. Back in the 80s we were still seeking out the books that set aside the sexual stereotyping of only men in medical and science professions. So, when I picked up the “almost board book” (slick, thick pages to weather lots of little hands), with the attention-getting cover art, by Jonathan London and David Parkins’ I’m a Truck Driver http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Im-a-Truck-Driver/David-Parkins/e/9780805079890/?itm=1&USRI=i%27m+a+truck+driver I didn’t even question whether or not there would be female truck drivers. Of course there are! Well, maybe not truck drivers as this book addresses many types of big equipment. The pages alternate between a boy and his dog and a girl and her cat operating/driving different piece of large equipment that are all pictured on the endpapers. Perhaps the choice of pets can be seen as sexist to a degree but the girl is clearly loving being a power shovel operator, a big crane operator, a steamroller driver, a fire truck driver, a snowplow driver, and a combine operator. This one is going to my grand kids and I suspect McKinley will be as crazy about this one as will be Kegan who loves trucks.

A gotta have for every middle grade through high school library is Superstar Stats: Everything Cool About Everyone Who’s Hot! http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Superstar-Stats/Jenifer-Morse/e/9780545178211/?itm=1&USRI=superstar+stats by Jenifer Morse and the Scholastic staff. The color photographs of big names in entertainment, sports, business and money and more. A double page spread on each person with basic name/age information and some statistics about how they excel in their areas. The wide range of ages, cultures, backgrounds should pique any level reader’s attention. You may have to buy multiple copies of this one as it is paperback.

I just finished writing the Library Media Connection review for Neal Shusterman's Bruiser http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Bruiser/Neal-Shusterman/e/9780061134081/?itm=1&USRI=bruiser+neal+shusterman that will come out in later this month. I don't think there is a Shusterman book I've read that I haven't enjoyed. This one delves into the question of how far would you go to accept the physical pain of someone you love? I know as a parent I would have gladly endured the pain Mary went through having heart surgery as a toddler. I killed me emotionally to hear her scream with each vial of blood they drew. She'd start screaming as soon as we drove into our family doctor's office building parking lot for almost 2 years afterward. She was traumatized both emotionally and physically by the surgery and the events surrounding it. Today, she remembers little of it other than the scar that curves from her side up her back and the surgical steel clips used to do the repairs that mean she cannot have an MRI. But, I digress - Bruiser is a big lunk of a teen who everyone at school predicts will end up in prison. He doesn't interact with anyone as he fears doing so. He goes home to his abusive, alcoholic uncle and little brother, never complaining about the abuse his uncle inflicts on him. His world is turned upside down with "do-gooder" Bronte decides Bruiser is just misunderstood. He certainly is that but she has no idea the pain she is bringing on him by making him care about her and her family. He literally takes on their pain, bruises, and scars of those he loves. This is one of those books that makes me go back to the fact that every reader has his/her own conversation with a book based on their life experiences.

All for today. Two more late book reviews to write!