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Đang hiển thị bài đăng từ Tháng 9, 2010

Banned Books Week

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Ok, yes everyone is doing it, so I am hopping on the bandwagon and blogging about Banned Books Week.  I think so far my favorite blog coverage of the week has been over at  Forever Young Adult .  I mean the coverage has included a Golden Girls photo with The Hunger Games proudly displayed.  Also, the Forever YA folks have explained to us why some of the most banned books need to be banned by sharing their experiences of how banned books have  ruined their lives . In all seriousness though.  This is a week when people recognize the books that make a few select people so uncomfortable that those people feel the need to tell *everyone* that the book should not be read.  These people are not content with choosing not to read it themselves, or deciding that (within their right to do so) their children should not read the book, no instead they decide they know what is best for everyone and decide that no one should read the book. One book that has come under...
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The Eternal Ones by Kirsten Miller

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This review is based on an Advanced Reader's Copy that I received in the mail. Have you ever fallen in love at first sight?  Had memories of a past life?  Known all about and longed to visit a place you've never seen?  Well, then you might have had a past life. The Eternal Ones centers around the character of Haven Moore.  A young woman who grew up in a small town in Tennessee, but has always longed to go to New York and search out her lost love, Ethan.  Haven believes that in a past life she (as Constance) and Ethan were meant to be together, but died before their time, and now she must seek out Ethan so that their love can be rightfully lived. But, what Haven finds isn't only love.  There's deceit, a murder mystery, and not everything in NYC is always as it seems.  Now Haven isn't sure if that man she believes is Ethan is the love of her life, or a killer from her past who is ready to end her life again. I have to say, I was not really looking forwar...
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Book Club attendance

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One area I've had trouble with at the library is book club attendance.  We'll have teens show up one month, and then not be back the next.  Since one of the main points of our book club is that we give teens books to keep, it's very hard on our budget to give out books, but get no return on the investment.  So, I started thinking of ways I could get the teens to come every month, or almost every month at least. Then it came to me!  Last spring we as a book club went to see the Percy Jackson movie.  The teens had a great time, and did ask to do something like that again.  I decided that I would hand out punch cards to the teens in the book club.  Every meeting they come to, they get a "punch" (or really more a date on the card).  After 6 punches the teen earns the right to attend a movie outing with the library Teen Book Club. We've just launched this plan today, and I am hoping that it works well.  I really enjoyed the movie outing last time ...
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John Hughes

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On my way to work this morning, my mind drifted off thinking about the beautiful sunshine out and how the day was all fresh with possibility, and how I am kinda anxious with a sorta new boyfriend, and all this kind of stuff makes me feel younger, almost like a teen again.  And whenever I think of those teen years, I can't help but think of a man who helped shape them: John Hughes.  Now, I never met him, sent him a fan letter, nothing.  But, I grew up on his movies. The first time I can think of hearing a Beatles' song was on Ferris Bueller's Day Off.  I had a crush on Wyatt on Weird Science.  I remember standing with my friend (and our baby-sitter) in the cold to watch Home Alone.  Christmas Vacation is a staple in my family during the holidays. The movie where I really clicked with Hughes though is The Breakfast Club.  I still remember the very first time I watched it, and how much that movie instantly mattered to me.  My friends and I spent a go...
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Books I can't wait to read

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I've been on a bit of a roll here with my blog lately with my blog, and I figured I'd try to keep it up.  Today I thought I'd write about books that I am looking forward to reading. New books are exciting.  One of the best parts of my job is getting to order new books every month.  When they come in, I get all excited and I love being able to interact with them, and yes smell them.  And I love looking online to see what new and exciting books are coming out.  Here are some of the books that have either pretty recently come out, or are coming out soon, that I can't wait to read.  Some of the summaries come from Amazon.com, since they were already typed up and succinct, I decided not to retype them. 1.  Accomplice by Eireann Corrigan Finn and Chloe have it all figured out. Their school guidance counselor has told everyone that it's not enough to get good grades or do community service anymore - kids like that are everywhere, and colleges are bored of the...
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Weeding

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It's not the most glamorous job in the library, but weeding the collection is very important.  I admit, I tend to be a bit lax when it comes to weeding, and I usually only do it when one of the pages is at me, practically in tears, because the shelves are too full and she can no longer fit even one more book on them. I've attended a few conferences where weeding has been a topic of discussion, and I've learned a lot from other librarians on the topic.  I've mixed that knowledge, and just my own bit of insight, and come up with a way that I think works well for weeding the YA section at my library. First of all, there are some books that are just never going to get weeded while I am in control.  I don't care how dated the cover of Losing Joe's Place  is, I loved that book when I was in middle school and as long as the pages are still sticking in the book, I refuse to remove it from my shelves.  Also, while not many teens are all hip on the Dumas work of art ...
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Favorite Picture Books

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A co-worker is currently taking a Children's Literature course.  Of course, like most Children's Lit courses, her first assignment is to bring in a favorite picture book.  While she was searching through the library's collection, and telling my boss and me about the assignment, I started thinking back to some of my favorite picture books.  It's been like two decades since I read some of these books, but they've stuck with me through the years.  Here's a run down of some of my favorite picture books. 1. The Story About Ping by Marjorie Flack My mother likes to tell me that I always giggled with my father tried to pronounce the name of the river in this book.  Apparently the name Yangtze River was a bit of a mouthful for my poor dad. I know I had this book read to me over and over as a kid, and I remember loving that little yellow duck.  This book was one of the first things I looked for when I started working at my library. 2.  Alexander and the Terribl...
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Machete: a review

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I. love. horror. movies.  Srsly love them.  In October, in celebration of Halloween, I watch a horror movie or Halloween themed show or movie every night for the entire month. Now, you are probably wondering what any of this has to do with Machete?  Well, those of you that are familiar with the Robert Rodriguez/Quentin Tarantino collaboration Grindhouse, would know that Machete is based off of a "fake" movie trailer that was shown between the two main features:  Planet Terror and Death Proof. So, I, being the horror movie and Robert Rodriguez fan that I am, have known about, and been anticipating Machete for awhile now.  Then I found out through the blogosphere, and elsewhere, that Rodriquez was going to take his fun, campy, movie concept and make it a mouthpiece for the illegal alien situation.  That pissed me off.  Not gonna lie.  I get it, movie makers are allowed to be political, everyone's allowed to be political, blah blah blah. It was with ...
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The Little Things

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" My outlook is that little things are the trip. I’m very happy with very little. Maybe that’s why I have so much." - Linda McCartney I am not sure when, how, or where I came across this quote.  Maybe it was back in middle school when we were doing a calligraphy project.  Who knows.  What I do know, is that like many a song lyric, and other random pop culture worthless-ness, this quote has stuck with me. In this world that is full of crap so much of the time, full of things that dissappoint (like a certain third book in a triology that shall remain nameless, and the movie Phenomenon), it's sometimes important to really enjoy the little things.  Now, for granted I am going to come across as some Tony Robbins/hippie mix that's all sunshine and rainbows, but I guess I'll just have to live with that. For example, today I was driving downtown, the window was open, the music was playing, and the sun was on my skin.  It was awesome.  Also, coming home from work...
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Glee

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In this episode, I will try to explain my reasons for loving Glee. Yeah, I know, pretty much anyone that would be reading my blog probably knows I love Glee.  Hell, most of you also probably love Glee (the whole 1 of you that might be out there).  But, and this may come as a shock, there are actually people out there that don't dig the show.  So, I've found myself in a position of trying to explain what it is that I love about the show...you know besides Kurt being teh awesome, Brittany and her inane comments, and Puck being the most dudalicious bad ass GLEE CLUB member ever! The thing that really gets me about Glee, the thing that makes me keep coming back, and the thing that has made me cry multiple times over the first season (aside from the introduction of Sue's sister), is the relationship Will Shuster has with the students in his Glee Club.  You see that relationship from the very first episode.  During "Don't Stop Believing" we see Shue go into the audi...
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Mockingjay

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While one of the bloggers at  Forever Young Adult  has pretty much said everything I'd want to say about Mockingjay , I thought I would post about it here anyways.  It's not really fair to review a book unless you've read the whole thing, but you know what?  I don't really care. As has been mentioned before, I have a love of The Hunger Games that may border slightly on obsession, and I was all a twitter to have Mockingjay come out.  I even dragged my ass to Meijer at 1:30 am release day to see if I could purchase a copy.  No such luck for me.  I did eventually get my hands on the coveted book and started reading.  But, something was amiss about Mockingjay .  It was just different.  Some other librarians had said that they thought it started slowly, and I do know that even people who love The Hunger Games said that started slowly for them, so I worked on sticking with it. Then, last Sunday, I really got time to sit and dig my teeth int...
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The Mockingjay thing

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I am sure many, if not all, if you who would read this know about The Hunger Games , and it's third and final installment that just came out:   Mockingjay .  Any of you that know me, know that I LOVE The Hunger Games , in fact, one of my tattoos is slightly based on the cover of that book. So, why is it taking me so long to get done with Mockingjay ?  I know many librarians, authors, and other readers went through that book within a day of it being released, but I've been working on it for more than a week now. I think my problem with this book, much like the problem I had with Deathly Hallows (the last Harry Potter book), is that I don't want my experience with these characters to end.  I want to know what happens, but I am going to miss them and their adventures once I finish that last page.  So, while I want to fly through the book, I am stopped by the fact that I also *don't* want to know.   Does anyone else feel like this?
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Book Spotlight: Air

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On May 31, Air became available via Barnes & Noble - it's a new YA contemporary novel by Ryan Gattis. What's it about, you ask? Synopsis: When 17-year-old Grey witnesses the tragic death of his mother in Colorado, he is shipped off to live with his aunt in inner-city Baltimore. Grey struggles to fit in to his new school and environment until his new friend, Akil, introduces him to the enigmatic Kurtis, the leader of a group that uses high-octane sports as a form of social activism. By challenging the police with death-defying stunts and then posting videos of them online, Kurtis, Grey, and their group become unlikely heroes in the fight against the prejudice that surrounds them. As Kurtis takes Grey under his wing, they come up with a name, an insignia and attract more and more followers to their extreme acts. The lines between social activism and criminal behavior blur and their escalating stunts become a rallying point for the underprivileged and disenfranch...
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Book Promo - School of Deaths

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The Scythe Wielder’s Secret is a thrilling young adult fantasy/adventure series by Christopher Mannino. The first two books in the trilogy, School of Deaths and Sword of Deaths , are out now, with the third book Daughter of Deaths expected to be released next year. The Scythe Wielder’s Secret series has received rave reviews and been compared to bestsellers like Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, and Percy Jackson. It is recommended for readers who enjoy magical realism, fantasy, paranormal, middle grade, young adult, and/or books with a strong female protagonist. School of Deaths ( The Scythe Wielder’s Secret, Book 1) : Thrust into a world of men, can a timid girl find bravery as the first female Death?  Suzie Sarnio is a thirteen-year-old whose world is turned upside down when she discovers that she is destined to be a Death. She always believed the Grim Reaper was a fairy tale image of a skeleton with a scythe, but now, forced to enter the College of Deaths, she finds ...
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Book Spotlight: Ninth City Burning

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This upcoming September, keep your eyes open for this red and orange cover! Ninth City Burning is the first in a new epic science fiction series from the debut novelist J. Patrick Black. As all best books are, it has a YA and mainstream crossover audience appeal. And if that doesn't whet your appetite enough already, below you'll find an excerpt and some additional info! Excerpt The Valentine War, Earth 500 Years Ago It starts with the world how it used to be, with countries and billions of people living everywhere. Back then there was no such thing as thelemity, and people built houses and machines sort of like they have in settlements today, but all of that changed when the Valentines came. The reason we call them the Valentines is that the day they first attacked, February 14 on the old Western Calendar, was called “Valentine’s Day”. We still don’t know what the Valentines call themselves, because we’ve never been able to talk to them. We don’t even know what they look like...
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