I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban

by Malala Yousafzai and Christina Lamb
Hennepin County Library hardcover 327 pages
genre: non-fiction, biography

This is a fascinating book. It seems hard for me to believe that just over a year ago, this teenager was shot in the head and not killed. Her love for Swat valley in Pakistan is eye-opening to me. She grew up there and loves her homeland (and wishes she could go back), but to me, the presence of the Taliban and the dangers to people who live there is just too scary. This is a wonderful book, but the difficulty of helping people who have such unique challenges (military, Taliban, cultural differences, etc.) is daunting. What a unique girl (and what an amazing dad she has!). I wonder if she'll ever be able to go back to Pakistan.

Ten Tales from Shakespeare

by Charles & Mary Lamb
Scott County Library, hardcover, unpaged
illustrated by Janusz Grabianski

What an intriguing find! Originally written in 1807, this edition dates from 1969. The Lambs intended this volume as a prose introduction to Shakespeare for children. Since Shakespeare's plays were written to be performed on stage, not read in a book, this was a daunting task. The preface (from the 1807 original) is enlightening! I would love to own a copy of this book.

The plays themselves are more enjoyable when read singly, for the story-after-story makes them feel like ridiculous caricatures of humanity. The ones I enjoyed the most are the ones that I have either read or watched in the original Elizabethan language. I think this version of Hamlet is my favorite. :-) All in all, a very interesting collection of stories.