Time to Brag

I just need to brag a little bit about how great the teens are here at the library. I am so close to reaching by goal of 200 teens signed up for Summer Reading! As of today there are 174 teens signed up! Now we all know that just because they signed up doesn’t mean they will continue to participate, so I decided to find out the “real” scoop on Summer Reading. Here are the numbers for the first half of the summer:

Total readers: 92
74% Girls
26% Boys

Total books read: 416
Most number of books read by 1 person: 34 (I am so impressed by this young man. That’s right, my top teen reader is a guy!)

With 4 more weeks worth of entries to add to these numbers I am pretty confident that I will be sporting some pirate gear and pink hair, and it’s totally worth it! These teens are awesome! Keep it up!

Stay cool this weekend-grab some books, find some AC and read! That’s my plan.

Happy Reading

˜Megan

Mondays with Megan: A Break From YA With Tana French and Christopher Farnsworth

Last week I decided to take a little break from reading YA books.  *Gasp* I know, shocking. But I am finding more and more often that my “go to” adult recommendations are either always checked out or everyone has already read them. It was time to find a few new “go to” adult reads. I will admit that it took me a while to get used to it-the pages are bigger, the print is smaller, and, well, there was no teenaged drama or hot vampires. But once I got over my initial shock I found myself totally absorbed in Tana French’s newest book Faithful Place. I have read and enjoyed her first two books and I enjoy recommending them to others. She writes mysteries that are not gruesome (weak stomach!) or scary (big baby) and she writes about Ireland in a way that makes me feel like I am there. The characters and their lives are as much a part of the story as the mystery. So, if you like mysteries that aren’t scary and stories about Ireland I recommend Tana French. Her first books are In the Woods and The Likeness.

I think I may have mentioned that I am also listening to a non-YA book on cd right now. I am almost finished with Blood Oath by Christopher Farnsworth, which does in fact have a hot vampire! I am really enjoying the story of the vampire that works for the President battling dark and supernatural threats, but I must admit that a few parts have made me a bit squeamish! I will be recommending this to fans of Dan Brown and Stephen King or anyone looking for a vampire story that doesn’t have teenagers or romance in it. I heard that this was the beginning of a series and despite some icky parts, I look forward to listening to more about the adventures of Nathaniel Cade, the President’s Vampire.

The third book that I read this week was a YA book. Letters to a Bullied Girl: Messages of Healing and Hope by Olivia Gardner is a collection of letters that Olivia received from thousands of strangers who felt compelled to reach out to her when they learned of how she was being bullied. This book was both heartbreaking and heartwarming and I am still trying to digest what I read. I think I will have more to say on the subject in the future, but for now I will say that I think this book should be required reading in every middle school and high school.

I am not sure what I am going to listen to next, but I do know that I am getting back into the YA reading with the second book in the Pretty Little Liars series and a werewolf book. I’m excited!

I am also excited to report that I have 158 teens signed up for Summer Reading! I just need 42 more and I am walking the plank as a pirate.

Happy Reading

˜Megan

Mondays with Megan: Enthusiasm by Polly Shulman, the Cure for Glee Withdrawal

Last week I told you about some upcoming movies that are based on books. Tomorrow I will be showing The Princess Bride, a movie based on the book of same title by William Goldman. This is one of my favorite movies because it has a little bit of everything: comedy, action, adventure, and fantasy. If yo u haven’t seen it yet or just want to see it again join us in the auditorium at 3 tomorrow for popcorn and The Princess Bride!

Now, I know a lot of people are disappointed that Lebron is leaving Cleveland (I will admit that I am not among that crowd). Well, I have my own disappointment and it has nothing to do with basketball. Over the weekend I finished listening to Rapture of the Deep by L.A. Meyer, book 7 in the Bloody Jack series. I am not disappointed in the book (it was great, of course!), I am disappointed that it’s the last one…for now. Book 8, The Wake of the Lorelei Lee will be available in September, but I will have to wait until November for the audiobook! Rather than dwell on the sadness of this, I am trying to look on the bright side. I can now listen to the ever-growing stack of audiobooks that have been pushed aside because of dear Jacky! If you haven’t read or listened to any of the books in this series, I will once again highly recommend you do so!

If you are going through Glee withdrawal like I am, I recommend you try reading Enthusiasm by Polly Shulman. This book is the perfect fun, light summer read for both Jane Austen fans and Glee fans alike! Julie’s best friend Ashleigh discovers the joys of Austen’s Pride and Prejudice and is inspired to embark on her own quest for True Love. This quest leads the girls to a local all boys school where they meet the dreamy Grandison Parr. When the girls audition for and get parts in the school’s musical comedy and romance abound! I am so happy my dear coworker introduced me to Polly Shulman, just in time for her new book, The Grimm Legacy, which should be arriving at the library very soon!

Currently reading: How to Ruin a Summer Vacation by Simone Elkeles
Currently listening to: Blood Oath by Christopher Farnsworth

Happy Reading!

˜Megan

Read it Before You See it-Books into Movies

2010 has been a banner year for movies based on books! The recent release of Eclipse means that once again, almost all of our many copies of the book are checked out. In case you missed a movie or a book here’s a review of what we have seen so far this year:

The Lightning Thief (Rick Riordan)
Dear John and The Last Song (Nicholas Sparks)
Alice in Wonderland (Lewis Carroll)
Diary of a Wimpy Kid (Jeff Kinney)
Youth in Revolt (C.D. Payne)
Angus, Thongs, and Perfect Snogging based on the book Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging (Louise Rennison)
Letters to Juliet (Juliette White)
Eclipse (Stephenie Meyer)

There have also been new TV shows based on books. Pretty Little Liars is based on a series of books by Sara Shepard and Huge is based on the book by Sasha Paley.

That brings us (mostly) up to date. Now, if you want to get a head start on some books that are being made into movies, here is what you have to look forward to:

Ramona and Beezus (Beverly Cleary) July 23rd
Beastly (Alex Flinn) July 30th
Flipped (Wendelin Van Draanen) September 17th
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part I (J.K Rowling) November 19th
Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader (C.S. Lewis) December 10th

And there are many projects “In Development.”
The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
Wings by Aprilynne Pike (starring Miley Cyrus)
Maximum Ride Series by James Patterson
Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr
City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

Phew! That’s a lot of reading/watching and summer is the perfect time for both, so get busy.

˜Megan

Mondays with Megan: No Time to Read, But Plenty of Time to Listen

Hot dogs, bocce ball, bug bites, and fireworks-that was my weekend! I was so busy I didn’t have any time to read (gasp!). I did spend a lot of time driving to and from picnics, which meant lots of time with my dear friend, Jacky Faber! I am listening to Rapture of the Deep, in which Jacky is deep-sea diving for sunken treasures. It’s been a little over a year now since I began listening to books on cd and I just love it. Here at the library our audio and digital collections continue to grow and our download station is getting lots of use. Audio and digital books are especially convenient for “reading” on the go!

I recently learned that a company called SYNC is having a special summer audio event for teens. Every week from now until September 1 two teen titles will be available in MP3 format to download for free. Each week will feature a newer title and a classic. For more information and a complete list of free books check out this site. I highly recommend Bloody Jack, available July 15th. The Hunger Games, which is a summer reading choice (and a fantastic book), is available July 29th and Beastly, which has been made into a movie, will be available August 12th. If you miss any of these, don’t fret, free digital and audio books are available at the library year round!

Whether you download a book to your iPod or prefer the old-fashioned paper kind, this hot hot weather is a perfect excuse to crank up the AC and read!

˜Megan

June in Review

Goodbye June, Hello July.

We are half way through 2010, which seems to be a good time to access my progress on my reading goals. I have read 90 books so far this year. If I continue at this rate I will exceed my goal of 150 books read or listened to! I have already read 16 debut authors (the goal was 12) and I am definitely getting better at including graphic novels (I am up to 10 so far this year). The hardest part of my personal challenge has been reading a variety of genres. There is still an overwhelming majority of Sci-Fi/Fantasy books on my read list. I can’t help it that I love a good dystopian fiction or vampire love story! I am pleased to see more mysteries and even a few historical fiction books on my list this year. In fact, I think it is safe to say that my beloved Blood Jack series is historical fiction-not a vampire in sight, that’s for sure! I am still struggling with nonfiction. It’s just not my thing, but I am trying!

For some reason I am on a werewolf kick. Maybe I am subconsciously preparing myself for Linger, the sequel to Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater? Some of you may know that I was not very fond of that book, but have vowed to give the second one a chance since EVERYONE else thought it was the best book ever. Hmph. Anyway, the werewolf list:

Claire de Lune by Christine Johnson (read)
The Sisters Red by Pearce Jackson (reading-but I may have to pause in order to read the newest Ally Carter :))
Raised by Wolves by Jennifer Barnes (to read)
Wereling by Steve Feasey (to read)

With the release of the movie Eclipse I image the Vampires vs. Werewolves debate will continue. Up until recently I was most definitely on the Vampire side of the debate, but maybe some of these cool new werewolf books can change my mind. We’ll just have to wait and see…

˜Megan