Last Blog and suggested books

I guess this is my last blog for the class. It took me a long time to actually get around to blogging, but I kind-of enjoy it. I wanted to give more book reviews, but I don't have time. I really enjoyed James Patterson's Maximum Ride series. Yes, I know that he wrote them for a younger crowd, but they were fast-paced, environmentally conscious, and enjoyable. It was also nice to find a series that I didn't mind my daughter reading. She reads the Harry Potter series forward and when she gets done, she reads it backwards. This never stops. So it was nice to get her interested in another series. At least it kept her from reading Harry Potter for a couple of days! Ironically, I also read State of Fear by Michael Crichton at about the same time as the Maximum Ride series. While Patterson's series extolled environmentalism and doing what you can, even as kids, to save the horrible state we have put the Earth in, Crichton's book gave an eye-opening, well-balanced look at the state of our environment. He included actual studies that show that the wide-spread panic is needless. The note at the end made it clear that we all still need to be responsible, even if we don't necessarily have to believe biased accounts of studies. This book really got me to thinking. The fictional part of it was fun, but the scientific studies and the look at both sides of the issue had me thinking for weeks about the environment, politicians, and our duty to the world we live in. Then I had to go back to thinking about school, work, family, and personal duties! Anyway, they are both great reads.