October 23, 2012
Vote for Teen Program!
We want you to vote on the theme of our next teen/young adult program, which will take place further on this year. (No seriously, vote on it. I'm organizing it, so I promise it will be cool.) The four options are (drumroll please):
1) Zombies: Games and activities related to the upcoming zombie apocalypse
2) Hunger Games: You read the series, now volunteer as tribute yourself (minus the killing and dying part)
3) Be a Kid Again: Listen to your favorite picture books read aloud, color inside the lines (or outside the lines, if you want), and have fun just being a kid again!
4) Crafting Upcycled Holiday Gifts: Learn to make holiday gifts for your friends and family using recycled materials
You can vote at the library main desk. (Ask if you don't see the voting box, I promise none of us bite. Well, I can't vouch for all the library staff's free time activities, but biting in the workplace is something we strongly frown upon.)
October 18, 2012
Around the Web
Tomorrow (Friday 10/19) is Spirit Day, which GLAAD describes as an "annual day in October when millions of Americans wear purple to speak out against bullying and to show their support for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth."
If you like Jessica Shirvington's first novel, Embrace, then I have good (or bad, depending on how you feel about adaptations of your favorite books) news: Th CW television network is turning it into a TV show.
NPR has a really interesting article on Skinny, by Donna Cooner, a YA novel about a teenage girl who decides to undergo weight-loss surgery.
In case you haven't seen it, here is a funy Hunger Games parody, The Hipster Games:
Teens' Top Ten 2012
The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) has announced the winners of the 2012 Teens' Top Ten, an annual list of the best books for young adults. For this list, teens nominate and vote on their favorite books of the year. Which book took the top slot? Divergent, by Veronica Roth.
On Son by Lois Lowry
The Onion A.V. Club has a review of the fourth book in The Giver quartet, published this month. I really want to read it, if only to complete the journey I started at 8ish years old, when I first read The Giver. (Yes, I was a super-book-nerd as a kid. That's who grows up to be librarians. Big shocker.) For those of you that aren't big The Giver fans (although I can't personally imagine how that happens), here is a picture of (apparently) the world's smallest (and quite possibly cutest) deer:
Oops! Correction.
In my enthusiasm for Teen Read Week (which of course I think should be every week...because I'm a librarian), I mistakenly told you it was last week. It's actually this week. If you are heartbroken by my mistake, you should probably get out more. But here is a cute corgi picture to apologize.
October 11, 2012
National Book Award Finalists
The National Book Award Finalists have been announced. The Examiner has a list of the books in the young people's literature category.
Fictional Food
Fictional Food is a website devoted to creating real versions of food that appears in books, TV shows, and other media. WARNING: Do not read while hungry!
BTotW
Un Lun Dun by China Mieville
I haven't actually read this one yet, but I really like his (yes, his) novels for adults, and I'm betting he's done at least a solid job with this one. The trailer starts a bit slowly, but it gets really creepy towards the middle.
TEEN READ WEEK!
This week is/continues to be Teen Read Week! It is, as the name suggests, a week devoted to getting teens to read and become more regular users of the library. You should do that. I should help.
Huffington Post/Los Angeles Public Library asks several YA authors what their favorite YA books are (besides their own).
Also, just because Banned Book Week is over (aawwwww....) doesn't mean we can't read those suckers all year long! (w00t!) Personal banned faves: 1984, Speak, and for a study break, And Tango Makes Three
And, for your viewing pleaure, here's a corgi video, "The Great Corgi Escape."
October 09, 2012
Suggestion Box
This is where you tell me (in the comments) what you'd like to see in this blog. Do you know about an awesome book trailer or parody video? Want to see more nonfiction-related posts? More pictures of cats? Want to contribute to the blog? Are there big categories of interest to you and your friends that I'm totally missing? Am I completely ignoring your favorite author's super-awesome blog or vlog? Tell me about it! Because this blog really is all about you! (If it were about me, it's be significantly more boring. It would also be plastered with more corgi pictures.)
October 04, 2012
Libba Bray
If you have read this blog at all, you know how much I LOVE Libba Bray. So today I'm posting two interviews with her, one in culturemap Austin (Warning: This article contains semi-explicit language...it has "b$#%s%$#" in the title.), and the other in Publishers' Weekly.
Halloween is Coming!
I've scoured the web for resources on literary Halloween costumes for you.
News On Relevant Science has a hilarious list of 20 Clever Halloween Costumes for Literary Nerds. It includes this gem:
Godot: Simply fail to show up at the party. For the ultra-dedicated, send two friends over as Vladimir and Estragon.
LitDrift has an excellent book character costume lists.
Here's an article from Sparknotes on ideas for literary character costumes.
Here is the Flickr Literary Halloween Costumes group.
Can you think of any cool literary Halloween costume ideas? Post them in the comments!
Banned Books Week
Edit: The Hairpin has a great article on Things to Ban Instead of Commonly Banned Books
I feel like a bad librarian for not getting to this until now, but it's still Banned Books Week until October 6! The ALA (American Library Association) has a variety of resources on banned and challenged books. My personal favorite is probably the list of frequently challenged books by year. In 2011, the list included The Hunger Games trilogy, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, and the ttyl; ttfn; l8r, g8r series.
My personal favorite frequently banned/challenged books are probably And Tango Makes Three (sooo cute) and Slaughterhouse Five (which is about the horror of war, so don't read it if you're having a bad day). What are yours?
October 03, 2012
Homework Help
Sorry it's been a while since my last post. Life's been a little crazy recently.
Anyway, we're solidly into the academic year now, so I thought I'd put together some academic resources for you guys.
Purdue University runs OWL, the Purdue Online Writing Lab. It's filled with useful information on writing that's aimed at college students, but can be useful for anyone from middle school to grad school (full disclosure: yes, I have totally used this when writing a paper).
EasyBib's Research Guide is useful for writing papers, too, including a flow chart infographic on how to tell if you are plagiarizing.
Vance-Granville Community College (NC) has a great page of academic resources (designed for high schoolers using their school to start college early, but useful for any high-school aged student).
Share any useful resources you are aware of in the comments. :)