Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Trailer Tuesday: Anya's Ghost

I read a healthy number of graphic novels last year, but Anya's Ghost by Verya Brosgol was my favorite:



What was your favorite graphic novel in 2011?

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Trailer Tuesday: Stupid Fast

This is the most insane "book trailer" I've ever seen. It literally made me laugh out loud. The other librarians now think I'm crazy. So, I thought you should all see it. Also, Stupid Fast by Geoff Herbach was my third favorite book last year.* So you should read it. Regardless of whether you think this trailer is as hilarious and random as I do.



*Behind Where Things Come Back and Blood Red Road, which are tied for first.

Friday, February 17, 2012

I don’t remember this from class...

I am sure you are busy planning your big President’s Day celebrations …so if you’re looking for some books to get you in a presidential party mood, here are a couple I read recently:
The Many Faces of George Washington by Carla Killough McClafferty.
The image most people have of George Washington is the portrait on the dollar bill. A portrait he sat for when he was tired and in pain (he’d just had his last tooth pulled). Based on that picture, some people have assumed that he was “boring,” “grumpy,” or “stiff” – which he wasn’t. Even during his lifetime, people said that his portraits didn't look like him. So in 2005, a group of historians, forensic anthropologists, textile experts, taxidermists, scientists, and artists at Mount Vernon decided to try to create life-size models of Washington at three major points in his life. It turns out that George Washington at 19 was kind of hot – who knew! The book combines biographical information on Washington with descriptions of the work that went into creating the three full-body representations.

Abraham Lincon, Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith.
Okay, I was raised in the “Land of Lincoln” and this was news to me. It was also a fun read. “While Abraham Lincoln is widely lauded for saving a Union and freeing millions of slaves, his valiant fight against the forces of the undead has remained in the shadows for hundreds of years. That is, until Seth Grahame-Smith stumbled upon The Secret Journal of Abraham Lincoln, and became the first living person to lay eyes on it in more than 140 years. Using the journal as his guide and writing in the grand biographical style of Doris Kearns Goodwin and David McCullough, Seth has reconstructed the true life story of our greatest president for the first time-all while revealing the hidden history behind the Civil War and uncovering the role vampires played in the birth, growth, and near-death of our nation.” 

This book is currently being made into a movie, produced by Tim Burton. Check out the trailer:

Weekend Book Give-Away: After Obsession

This week's book is beautiful brand new hardcover copy of After Obsession by Carrie Jones and Steven E. Wedel. Some of you may be familiar with Carrie's books Need, Captivate, and Entice.  She also blogs on LiveJournal with hilarious results.  This book is a bit more serious than that, and looks to be really interesting:

When Alan, a half-Navajo in touch with the spiritual mysticism of his ancestors, meets Aimee, a gifted psychic in his new high school, they realize they've had precognitive dreams of each other and that they must confront an evil spirit that has been responsible for mysterious deaths in the river in their small Maine town for hundreds of years and which is now haunting Alan's cousin Courtney.  

To enter to win this book, tell me about either a dream you had that seemed to be a precognition, or an obsession you once had but are now totally over! 

Winner will be selected by my buddy Random Number Generator on Tuesday February 28, 2012 (I'm taking a week off to train to be a lifeguard!). Be sure to leave a name with your entry, and check back to see if you won. To win you must be a teen (6th-12th grade, or 12-18) who uses a Sno-Isle Library.   

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Time To Make Awesome Videos Again

Do you love to Geek Out with a video camera? Here's your chance to show off your stuff and you could win an awesome prize!

Enter our Teen Video Contest and compete to win a Best Buy gift card.
1st Prize $150
2nd Prize $75
Librarians' Choice $75
All finalists will receive an "Infamous for Information" T-shirt

How to Enter:
1. Create a video promoting the library or your favorite book.
2. Video length must be 30 seconds to 3 minutes, including credits.
3. Include credits in the video indicating you produced the video for the Sno-Isle Libraries Video Contest.
4. Post your video to YouTube with the tag "snoisleteens."
5. Submit your YouTube URL through our online entry located below by March 31, 2012.
6. Online voting and winners announced in April.

The Video Contest rules have changed a bit this year.  Go to the website to find out how. (Videos that do not follow rules will be disqualified).

Get creative, have fun and Geek Out!

Supported by the Sno-Isle Libraries Foundation.

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Trailer Tuesday: The Mockingbirds


The sequel to Daisy Whitney's The Mockingbirds called The Rivals will be out in February. Here's a look at the first book:

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Local Author Wins a Bloomer!

Each year the Amelia Bloomer Project chooses the top appealing feminist books for young readers, ages birth through 18. And this year it features one of our local authors (and a former librarian to boot) Carole Dagg for her wonderful book The Year We Were Famous, which is based on the true story of her ancestors walking across America!  

In 1896, Clara and her suffragist mother accept a challenge to walk across the United States to win $10,000 and save their family farm. Their endurance and fortitude change perceptions of women’s abilities and fashion.

To learn about more great titles on the Amelia Bloomer list, click here.

Friday, February 10, 2012

Weekend Book Give-Away: A Wrinkle in Time - 50th Anniversary Edition

This Monday February 13th is the 50th anniversary of the publication of Madeleine L'Engle's wonderful book A Wrinkle in Time, which I would argue is some of the best science fiction written for youth EVER.

When an atomic physicist disappears on a secret mission, his son, daughter and their friend search for him, going on an interplanetary journey through time and space.

I have loved this book for eons, and am excited to celebrate it with another reading.  And then I plan to also re-read the delightful When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead, which is about a girl who is obsessed with A Wrinkle in Time.  


As her mother prepares to be a contestant on the 1980s television game show, "The $20,000 Pyramid," a twelve-year-old New York City girl tries to make sense of a series of mysterious notes received from an anonymous source that seems to defy the laws of time and space.

 To win a beautiful shiny 50th Anniversary Edition paperback of A Wrinkle in Time, convince me that you love the book the most of all our readers!  What do you love about it?  What fond memories do you have of reading it?  What does this book mean to you? Share your joy for a chance to win!


If there is not a clear winner, one will be selected by my buddy Random Number Generator on Tuesday February 14, 2012. Be sure to leave a name with your entry, and check back to see if you won. To win you must be a teen (6th-12th grade, or 12-18) who uses a Sno-Isle Library.   

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

2012 Alex Award Winners


The Alex Awards are given to ten books written for adults that have special appeal to young adults, ages 12 through 18. The winning titles are selected from the previous year's publishing. The Alex Awards were first given annually beginning in 1998 and became an official ALA award in 2002.

The award is sponsored by the Margaret A. Edwards Trust. Edwards pioneered young adult library services and worked for many years at the Enoch Pratt Library in Baltimore. Her work is described in her book Fair Garden and the Swarm of Beasts, and over the years she has served as an inspiration to many librarians who serve young adults. The Alex Awards are named after Edwards, who was called “Alex” by her friends.

Over the last year I've had the pleasure of serving on the Alex Awards Committee, where we choose the best adult books with teen appeal. Over the year I've hinted at some of the books I've loved.  Recently at the Youth Media Awards we announced the ten best adult books that we think teens will enjoy. The list contains some obvious favorites and some dark horses. “The 2012 Alex Awards will take readers from rural New Hampshire to the robot apocalypse to Katrina-ravaged Mississippi to a magical circus. The Alex Award winners are as diverse and eclectic as the teens who will read them,” said Karen Keys, chair of the 2012 Alex Awards Committee.”

These ten books were selected from close to 50 nominations, and I'll confess narrowing the choices down was very hard. There were about 20 books I wanted in my top ten!  The committee created a vetted list of about twenty titles that we thought teens might also like. You can find the list here. 

As a side note, anyone can nominate a title. If you stumble across an adult book that you think has teen appeal, you should nominate it! Don't be shy!

Have you read any of the Alex Award winners? Which was your favorite? 

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Trailer Tuesday: Reckless

If this makes you want to immediately pick up Reckless by Cornelia Funke, don't forget to check the Teen Explore shelf! It can magically appear there.

Friday, February 3, 2012

Weekend Book Give-Away: Robopocalypse

Are you afraid of robots?  Always wanted to build one?  Think they are useful tools?  Or do you welcome our robot overlords with open arms?  This week's book is a lovely advanced readers copy of Robopocalypse by Daniel H. Wilson.

Two decades into the future humans are battling for their very survival when a powerful AI computer goes rogue, and all the machines on earth rebel against their human controllers.

Robopocalypse is one of YALSA's 2012 Alex Award winners, a short list of awesome books published for adults, that teens will love!  It is also available on audiobook.

To enter to win Robopocalypse, tell me what sort of robot you would want in your life...or why you don't want a robot ever.


Winner will be selected by my buddy Random Number Generator on Tuesday February 7, 2012. Be sure to leave a name with your entry, and check back to see if you won. To win you must be a teen (6th-12th grade, or 12-18) who uses a Sno-Isle Library.