Mondays with Megan, Arg

I am going to be honest with you. It’s a bit difficult to concentrate on work today, what with all stares and whispers all around me. I can’t blame people, I do look quite shocking with my bubble-gum pink hair and ruffled pirate shirt, but it is none the less distracting. It’s all for a good cause, and it is actually kind of fun. I am looking forward to seeing the reactions of the teens this afternoon. If you can’t stop in to see me check out the library’s Facebook page, there should be pictures up sometime today. Be sure to check back throughout the week to see which pirate costume I am wearing (thanks to many awesome coworkers, I have a variety of pirate outfits).

 Here’s a little peek for you:

 

Dyed my hair, accidentally dyed my friend’s orange cat, and I think I read some books too! I’ll tell you about it some other time. I have to get ready for the first day of school crowd.

Happy Reading

˜Megan

Waiting for Mockingjay

Are you waiting for a copy of Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins to be available? Well, take comfort in the knowing that you are not alone. I promise I will finish it soon and bring it back to the library right away (and I won’t say a word about it until everyone has had a chance to read it!).  While you wait why not check out one of these fantastically exciting futuristic/dystopian society/survival stories?

The Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld
The Gone series by Michael Grant
The Giver by Lois Lowery
Restoring Harmony by Joelle Anthony
The Line by Teri Hall
Candor by Pam Bachorz
Feed by M.T. Anderson
Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi
Maze Runner by James Dashner
Little Brother by E.L. Doctorow
House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer
Incarceron by Catherine Fisher
Truancy by Isami Fukui
Rash by Pete Hautman
Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
The Sky Inside by Clare B. Dunkle
Epic by Conor Kostick
City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau
Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Unwind by Neal Shusterman
Life as We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer
The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary Pearson
Birthmarked by Caragh O’Brien
Tomorrow When the War Began by John Marsden
Salt by Maurice Gee
Carbon Diaries 2015 and 2017 by Saci Lloyd
The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness
The Forest of Hands and Teeth and The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan

That’s a lot of choices! I have read most of them and you will find many of them in The Reading Room. I highly recommend Uglies, Gone, Feed, Birthmarked, House of the Scorpion, The Forest of Hands and Teeth and The Dead-Tossed Waves.

Happy Reading

ˆMegan

Teens’ Top Ten 2010

It’s time for teens to vote for their favorite books of 2010. Voting is open until September 17th and the winners will be announced during Teen Read Week, October 17-23. Here are this years nominees:

Watersmeet by Ellen Jensen Abbott.
Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson
Hate List by Jennifer Brown
Heist Society by Ally Carter
Fire by Kristin Cashore
City of Glass by Cassandra Clare
The Roar by Emma Clayton
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins 
Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen
Incarceron by Catherine Fisher
hush hush by Becca Fitzpatrick
If I Stay by Gayle Forman
Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
Geektastic: Stories from the Nerd Herd edited by Holly Black and Cecil Castellucci
Dragonfly by Julia Golding
The Reformed Vampire Support Group by Catherine Jinks
I Am a Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I Want to Be Your Class President by Josh Lieb
Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler
Witch and Wizard by James Patterson
By the Time You Read This, I’ll Be Dead by Julie Anne Peters
Bloodhound by Tamora Pierce
Strange Angels by Lili St. Crow
Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya by Nagaru Tanigawa
Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld
City of Fire by Laurence Yep

Is your favorite on the list? If it is head on over to the official voting site and cast your vote! You are allowed to vote for 3 titles. This is a tough call. If I could vote I think I would vote for Heist Society, Catching Fire, and Twenty Boy Summer. Or maybe City of Glass and Beautiful Creatures. Wait, wait…maybe Hate List and If I Stay. Oh jeez, good thing I don’t get to vote, I can’t make up my mind!

If you haven’t read these I recommend you check them out, then go vote!

Happy Reading

˜Megan

Mondays with Megan: Summer Reading 2010 Wrap-Up

Boy oh boy time sure flies when you’re having fun (busy reading), and the teens in Rocky River certainly were busy reading (I have the proof). Last week I was so busy counting all the summer reading entries that I didn’t have time to blog. So, drum roll please, here are the numbers to prove just how busy you guys were this summer. These numbers also explain why I will be wearing a pirate costume and sporting pink hair. A bet’s a bet….

232 teens signed up for the teen summer reading program (that’s 83% more than last year!)

153 teens read and filled out entry forms for 694 books (it’s a little shy of the 1,000 book goal so I am only going to have pink hair for about 3 weeks instead of the whole month. Better luck next summer guys!). WOW! I am so impressed! I am already thinking about next year’s challenge *gulp*.

Curious about what everyone read this summer? I was. Here are the top 10 books read this summer:

10. The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer
9. Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
8. Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt
7. The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
6. Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer
5. Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen
4. Written in Bone by Sally Walker
3. New Moon by Stephenie Meyer
2. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
and the most read book?
1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling

Enjoy the rest of summer vacation! See you all back at the library next week.

˜Megan

Mondays with Megan: White Cat by Holly Black Review

Is it Monday again already? I will try to keep my tired eyes open long enough to finish this post *yawn* Maybe a piece of chocolate will help…

First a Summer Reading update: 226 teens have signed up and so far have those who have participated have read over 500 books! It’s not too late to join. This is your last week to get all of your entries into the raffle box. Next week is the grand prize drawing. I think I will also have some extra prizes for top readers (surprise!). So, stop in a get your entry forms because the more you enter the better your chances of winning.

I didn’t get much reading done this past week, but I did finish White Cat by Holly Black. For me it had a bit of a slow start, but once the action picked up I couldn’t put it down! This is the first book in a new series set in an alternate reality America where some people have the supernatural ability to manipulate the minds, memories, emotions, and luck of others with the touch of a hand. Some curse workers even have the power to kill, transform, or physically injure others. Curse work is illegal, workers are feared, and most are criminals, mobsters, and con artists. Cassel Sharpe comes from a family of workers but he has no curse skill. He is an outcast, a con artist, and a murderer.

Three years ago Cassel killed his friend Lila, the daughter of a powerful worker mob boss. Since then he has carefully isolated himself from others and constructed a facade of normalcy. His protective wall crumbles when his disturbing dreams of a white cat cause him to sleep walk. He is kicked out of boarding school and sent to live with his brother. Back at his family’s home he begins to realize that things are not what they seem. He suspects that he has been worked and he sets out to uncover the dangerous secrets that his family is keeping.

This was a fascinating story with plenty of danger, mystery, and surprise twists. It’s a little like a supernatural Sopranos. A huge secret is revealed in this book and I am looking forward to seeing what happens to Cassel and his brothers in the next book, The Red Glove.

Ok, that is all my sleepy head can do for today.

Happy Reading

˜Megan

Mondays With Megan, In Which I Reaffirm That The Wolves of Mercy Falls Series is Not For Me

Where has the summer gone?!? I can’t believe it is already August. I am sure many of you are dreading going back to school, but maybe knowing that I will be looking like a silly pink-haired pirate will help ease the feeling. That’s right, it’s official. As of today 207 teens have signed up and sealed my fate. Awesome work all you teen readers. If you haven’t joined there is still time. I still have one more weekly prize to give away before the grand prize drawing. Get those reading slips in for a chance to win. Enough about back to school, that’s weeks away. Put it out of your mind for now.

My last book read for the month of July was Linger, book 2 in The Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy by Maggie Stiefvater. You may recall that I was not a fan of the first book, Shiver. Still, I was willing to give this one a try. This book picks up right where the last one left off (***if you are planning to read Shiver you might want to stop reading!***). Sam and Grace are now together, but they still face many challenges. Sam is the new pack leader (even though he is no longer a wolf) and there are new wolves to look out for. Grace’s parents have forbidden the couple from seeing each other and Grace is plagued by illness. Even though I enjoyed the addition of Cole and Isabel’s expanded role, this still is not the series for me. I suspect we will be having another I’m Right, She’s Wrong post shortly! Stay tuned for round two of the debate.

And now for a sneak peek at upcoming Fall Teen Programs:

This year I am hosting a book club for 7th and 8th graders. Space is limited so be sure to watch the mail for your copy of the Inside View for all the registration information. I have already selected the first two books (you’ll have to wait a little while longer to find out what they are) and I am open to suggestions for the December book selection.

A free practice SAT test and review session is scheduled for September and I am taking early registration for that program. Again, registration is a must for this one too.

I will continue with the monthly video game days on the third Tuesday of every month and in November I will be having a program based on the show Minute to Win It. Finally, we will end the year with a holiday craft program (winter seems so far away right now!) For now enjoy the sunshine and free time!

Happy Reading

˜Megan