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This is good! Peace reigns throughout the galaxy! The mutual love of reading has made even a Sith and Jedi call a truce--for now! The CARLMAN wonders what will happen when they meet face-to-face at WordPlay Saturday. Stay tuned to find out!

BTW, I've started reading The Boys Start the War by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, the first book in the Girls Against the Boys series. I've read only four chapters but I've already laughed so much that my coworker at the next desk wondered what was going on! AND I've read The Maze of Bones. WOW!!! It's one fantastic book. The CARLMAN would say more, but he is busy stopping clone-vs-droid wars, so I'll write about it later.

The 39 Clues, Book 1: The Maze of Bones by Rick Riordan - How would you feel if you had a close relative who you thought you knew very well and they passed away leaving you wondering if you really knew them at all? Add to this that you find out that you belong to a huge family whose family tree is divided into four clans that includes some of the most famous individuals in world history such as Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Harry Houdini, Mozart, Annie Oakley, Marie Currie and so many more. Finally let include one more ingredient, you along with many other relatives, some you know, some you do not, are invited to the reading of the will and given the choice between receiving 1 million dollars or receiving a clue that could lead to something so grand and wonderful that its value is incalculable. Well this is exactly what happens to orphaned brother and sister Dan and Amy Cahill. They find out near the start of the book that their beloved Grandmother Grace, whom they were both close to, has passed away and that they along with many other relatives are in her will that offers the strange and challenging choice described above. Of course Dan and Amy take the clue and thus begins a great story that you will not be able to put down and will keep you up into the late hours of the night reading.

Now the book alone would be cool, but if you go to the very cool "39 Clues Website" at http://www.the39clues.com/ you can sign-up and chase after clues with the characters of this great book series. As a part of the signing up process, you get to learn what clan of the Cahill Family you belong to of the four that exist (Janus - that's what clan I the Great Dark Sith Lord Darth Bill belongs to, Lucian, Ekatrina and Thomas). After that you can start searching the web site for more clues and information not included in the books. There are also cards you can purchase that will help you as seek to solve the mystery that is the "39 Clues." There will be ten books in all each written by a different author. The next book in the series to come out will be written by Gordon Korman and will be titled One False Note. This is a great book without the website, but I highly encourage everyone to checkout the website. I will warn you though that once you do you will not have any choice be to keep revisiting.

Hey, guys, it's Carl. I get a message last week from someone named Deasy who runs a very cool Percy Jackson fan website (fansite) called PercyQuest and she wanted to add our blog to her Top Affiliates. So I said, "Sure!" and now it's up there, right on the front page. THANKS, Deasy!!!! I checked out the site and, as I said, it's very cool. There are forums, a blog, links to other PJ fansites, and there will be places for fan art and fiction. There's even a link to place to learn Roamn numerals! There are links to the books PLUS links to three PJ SHORT STORIES, including one called "The Bronze Dragon", which I had never heard of. You can read it online. It's good!! I also found out that the title to Percy Jackson 5 is out--it's called The Last Olympian. Deasy talks about it on her site. Check it out at Percy Quest or go to http://www.percyquest.com/ This site is so cool and Deasy is so great for making us a Top Affiliate that we're going to give her the highest honor we can bestow and make her an Honorary Guy. You deserve it!

While I was on her site, I also checked out Rick Riordan' latest project, The 39 Clues. This is a very exciting project that Scholastic publishers and Mr. Riordan started.There will be a series of ten books. The basic premise is that two kids get involved in a chance to solve a mystery that could change (or save) human history. But it's dangerous--so dangerous that they're given the choice to solve the mystery and become unbelievably rich (while possibly losing their lives) or taking one million dollars on the spot and walking away. What would you do? Well, the kids obviously choose to take up the challenge and find that they must go around the world and find 39 clues. But there are other people, some who are not friendly, who have also looking for the clues. Does this sound good so far? Well, there's a whole lot more! Each book in the series will be written by a famous kid's author. Rick Riordan has done the first one; Gordon Korman, who wrote the terrifically exciting Island trilogy and the hilarious No More Dead Dogs, will write the second. I went from Percy Quest to Rick Riordan's blog and the 39 Clues website to check all this out and got hooked!! I read an excerpt from the first book, The Maze of Bones and, wow, was it great!! This book has the potential to be every bit as exciting as the PJ books. But there's a whole lot more--as I said, this book is the first in a series of 10 books! But wait--there's more!! Not only are there books, but there is also an online game in which you can look for the clues and win prizes. And there are collectible cards to go with the books and game. BUT WAIT, THERE'S EVEN MORE--the first book, The Maze of Bones, will be made into a movie directed by none other than Steven Spielberg!!! Man, this all sounds exciting!! The Maze of Bones has been released today. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Library system has ordered several copies and I have one on hold. You can do the same. What are you waiting for? Go check out Rick Riordan's blog and The 39 Clues sites and then go online or go to your local library and request your copy now!!! And if you play the game or read the book, tell me what you think!

PS--Don't forget to go to Bill's Capt'n Eli event here at Imaginon tomorrow from 4-6. Plenty of time to get there after school. Click here to find out more.