Dreamology, by Lucy Keating

Max is the boy of Alice's dreams. Literally. Ever since her father took her to the Center for Dream Discovery (CDD) to help rid her of her nightmares, she's been dreaming about Max. Each night, they eat Oreo pizzas in museums while wearing black tie attire, ride pink elephants along the Great Wall of China, bounce on clouds amid technicolor hot air balloons, and have many a trippy nighttime adventure. Then Alice moves from New York to Boston and... SURPRISE! Who should show up in her class but Max. In the waking-world flesh. After some awkward encounters where Max swears he doesn't know Alice, he finally admits he remembers his dreams of her as well. Unfortunately for the Dream Couple, Max has a girlfriend who is supernice and is becoming friends with Alice. And class clown Oliver (Max's former BFF) is interested in Alice as more than just a friend. So Max and Alice must keep their attraction a secret. But of course secrets like this don't stay secrets for long. What follows is a hot mess of Drama.

And if you think that sounds convoluted, just wait: 

As their waking and dreaming worlds begin to blend together in some very odd ways (bulldogs riding motorcycles, anyone?), Max and Alice realize they're in danger of losing their sanity. They track down Dr. Petermann, the scientist who worked the CDD when they were patients there, and he referrs them to Professor Yang, another (former) CDD scientist...just as he is arrested for illegal parrot smuggling. 

Soon Max and Alice, along with Oliver and Alice's NYC BFF Sophie, are road tripping from Boston to Maine to track down Dr. Yang, who is apparently the one responsible for their condition. But will she be able to stop Max ans Alice's dreams before they permanently lose their grip on reality? 

To find out, you'll have to read!

Dreamology, the debut novel for author Lucy Keating, was a quick and fun read I breezed through in less than 48 hours (I took several breaks in between sessions). Unfortunately, it wasn't very deep. The romance lacked chemistry, characters lacked dimension, and the dream sequences seemed forced-weird (and were so frequent that they actually kind of took away from the story). Overall, Dreamology was a decent first book effort for Keating. But as is with most dreams upon waking, it isn't particularly memorable. --AJB

1339 Quite Interesting Facts to Make Your Jaw Drop

Did you know....

Edgar Allan Poe's iconic poem, "The Raven" was originally going to be about a talking parrot. (changes things, doesn't it?)

Or... The artificial sweetener Splenda was originally going to be marketed as an insecticide, but became a sweetener when an assistant misheard an order to "test" the product and tasted it instead. (good thing it wasn't poisonous)

Or... Elvis really did wear Blue Suede Shoes--to his senior prom. (Ah, irony)

Or... The first ever hot-air balloon passengers were a sheep, a rooster, and a duck. (There's a bad joke in there somewhere)

Or... There exists a type of horsefly that is named after Beyonce. (That fly must be pretty fly)

Or... An Olympic gold medal is 92.5% silver. (makes you wonder what silver medals are made of, doesn't it?)

Impress your friends and your teachers with weird, wild, wacky and, in some cases, totally freaky facts from John Lloyd's 1339 Quite Interesting Facts to Make Your Jaw Drop (dewey# T031.02L). From the creators of the BBC quiz show QI and the sequel to 1227 Quite Interesting Facts to Blow Your Socks Off, 1339 Quite Interesting Facts to Make Your Jaw Drop is positively addicting! Read it cover to cover or open it open it at random. Either way, you're sure to learn something new that will change the way you view the world! I know I'll never look at the Jurassic Park movie the same way again! Or Walt Disney, for that matter... I now know which curious tourist attractions to visit if I ever find myself in South Korea with a few hours to kill (I just won't use the Korean version of "lol" when I'm texting my American friends about it, 'cause that could be very awkward!)... I know that Winston (or any of our aquarium fish friends) should never, under any circumstances, be given Prozac... AND I know who first used "u" as an abbreviation for "you" (and it wasn't the texting generation).

Each fact in this fun book has been researched and proven true to the best of the authors' abilities. 

For more, visit the website.

p.s. In case you're wondering: Despite what Mythbusters say, you CAN fold a piece of paper in half more than 7 times (you can fold it 13 times, to be exact).

Don't Live a Boring Life

Is your life stuck in a boring rut of sleep, ear, school, homework, and Facebook? STOP RIGHT NOW!!!  Break from that routine that's eating up valuable moments that could be spent doing something awesome! And Jessica Hagey's How to Be Interesting is a quick start guide on how to do just that in 10 Easy Steps! This book discusses how to Explore and Discover. Why it's important to embrace your individuality, no matter how quirky or weird (hint: weird is good!). When and why you need to turn off/unplug from that TV/computer/iPhone/whatever and Do Something (and I don't just mean signing up for a different social networking website)...and do something often! And don't be afraid to try something new. And don't follow the crowd.

But better yet, put down the book and actually get out there in the world and experience life as it was meant to be. You'll be glad you did!