Weekend Book Giveaway: The Beginning of Everything

This week's book is The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Schneider, which sounds pretty darn good to me:

Golden boy Ezra Faulkner believes everyone has a tragedy waiting for theme"a single encounter after which everything that really matters will happen. His particular tragedy waited until he was primed to lose it all: In one spectacular night, a reckless driver shatters Ezra's knee, his athletic career, and his social life. No longer a front-runner for Homecoming King, Ezra finds himself at the table of misfits, where he encounters new girl Cassidy Thorpe. Cassidy is unlike anyone Ezra's ever mete"achingly effortless and fiercely intelligent. Together, Ezra and Cassidy discover flash mobs, buried treasure, and a poodle that might just be the reincarnation of Jay Gatsby. But as Ezra dives into his new studies, new friendships, and new love, he learns that some people, like books, are easy to misread. And now he must consider: If one's singular tragedy has already hit, what happens when more misfortune strikes? Robyn Schneider's The Beginning of Everything is a lyrical, witty, and heart-wrenching novel about how difficult it is to play the part that people expect, and how new beginnings can stem from abrupt and tragic endings.

For a chance to win a copy of an Advanced Reader Copy of this book (which has 2 people waiting for it already), tell me about an event, big or small, that sent your life in a new direction.

Winner will be selected with Random Number Generator on Tuesday, October 1, 2013. 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. 

Tech Thursday: Learn to create GIFs

 
GIFs* are all the rage, from serious-minded tutorials to funny and entertaining videos to current news stories. The most recent news-related GIF I saw was a satellite image showing extreme flooding along the Russia/China border.



Alarming Satellite GIFs Show Russia's Extreme Flooding retrieved from http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2013-09/alarming-satellite-gifs-russias-extreme-flooding on 9/18/2013


There are lots of really great sites that can teach you how to create these ultra-short movies. The list below is just to get you started:

  
 www.gifsoup.com (has a rotating selection of new and popular GIFs)
 
 
 

 www.makeagif.com in addition to being able to create a GIF from uploaded pictures (typically how it's done), you can also use makeagif to make GIF vids from your webcam or a YouTube url
 
 
 
 

 http://www.supershareware.com/gifs-free/  This is actually a collection of downloadable resources for creating GIFs. While some have an associated fee, there are also several free programs you can download to your computer -- just narrow down the list by clicking on "freeware":

 

--> If you create a GIF (or have created one) we'd love to see it -- just put the link in the comments below.
 

All sites listed above were vetted as "OK" by Norton -- it's a good practice to see reviews of sites to make sure they aren't going to install malicious spyware or adware onto your computer! http://safeweb.norton.com/ 

 
 
 

*Note: This PBS video outlines the history and current -- and profound use of -- animated GIFs. http://video.pbs.org/video/2207348428/

National Book Award Longlist for Young People's Literature Announced

Earlier this week the National Book Foundation announced the longlist for young people's literature. This is the first year for the longlist. Usually five finalists are announced in October and the winner is revealed in November. This year The National Book Award finalists will be announced on October 16th and the winners will be named on November 20th, so you have plenty of time to read all of them.

This year's longlist of authors include former Printz and Newbery Medal honorees and winners and a lot of familiar faces. The topics in these books range from dark magic and wizards to saving squirrels to raccoon brothers to a post-nuclear-apocalyptic world set inside a a city that is a glass pyramid. Talk about an eclectic mix!

Kathi Appelt, The True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp 

Kate DiCamillo, Flora and Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures 

Lisa Graff, A Tangle of Knots 

Alaya Dawn Johnson, The Summer Prince

Cynthia Kadohata, The Thing About Luck 

David Levithan, Two Boys Kissing 

Tom McNeal, Far Far Away 

Meg Rosoff, Picture Me Gone 

Anne Ursu, The Real Boy 

Gene Luen Yang, Boxers & Saints 

There are three other categories for the National Book Awards and they include poetry, fiction and nonfiction. The 2012 winner in the young people's literature category was Goblin Secrets by William Alexander.

Who do you think will win? Which of these have you read? My favorite is David Levithan's Two Boys Kissing.

Weekend Book Giveaway: Steelheart

This week's book Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson describes an super-human Steelheart  who appears invincible and the everyday man heroically standing up to this bigger than life human. Sanderson's new thriller comes out this month and already has 13 holds on it.

Ten years ago, Calamity came. It was a burst in the sky that gave ordinary men and women extraordinary powers. The awed public started calling them Epics. But Epics are no friend of man. With incredible gifts came the desire to rule. And to rule man you must crush his wills. Nobody fights the Epics . . . nobody but the Reckoners. A shadowy group of ordinary humans, they spend their lives studying Epics, finding their weaknesses, and then assassinating them. And David wants in. He wants Steelheart--the Epic who is said to be invincible. The Epic who killed David's father. For years, like the Reckoners, David's been studying, and planning--and he has something they need. Not an object, but an experience. He's seen Steelheart bleed. And he wants revenge.

For a chance to win, tell me what superpower you would have if it could be anything and if you would use if for good or evil.

Winner will be selected with Random Number Generator on Tuesday, September 17, 2013. 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.

Tech Thursday: FIGMENT, Online Younger Writer's Forum

"Figment is a community where you can share your writing, connect with other readers, and discover new stories and authors. Whatever you're into, from sonnets to mysteries, from sci-fi stories to cell phone novels, you can find it all here." (from website home page, http://figment.com/)

Figment allows you to read other young writers' works OR submit your own writing (must have an account) to share with others. Assign your own metadata tags for easy finding. Note that you must sign in to comment (no anonymous comments allowed!).

Signing up is free, and you can connect your Figment account with your Twitter, Facebook, and Tumblrs account for streamlined sharing.


 
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Create a Group or browse existing groups -- groups are your place to meet up with other Figs and talk about the things you love. Ninja's? Sketching? Tolkien? Chat with others who share your interests.

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Issues That Matter: Bullying

What causes bullying? And can we stop it? These are just a few of the tough questions that will be explored during three evenings of panel discussion for our fall Issues That Matter series on Bullying.

Get in on the conversation and join us:

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 7:00pm
Lake Stevens High School
2908 113th Ave NE, Lake Stevens

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 7:00pm
Henry M. Jackson High School
1508 136th St SE, Mill Creek

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 7:00pm
Coupeville High School
501 South Main St, Coupeville

 We'd love to see you there.  This is an important topic that effects people of all ages.

 And of course, we have lots of great books on the topic too.  Here are some we picked out just for teens:

Trailer Tuesday: The Unremembered by Jessica Brody

This week's Tuesday Trailer is The Unremembered by Jessica Brody, which looks to be quite the thriller!

 
A girl, estimated to be sixteen, awakens with amnesia in the wreckage of a plane crash she should not have survived and taken into foster care, and the only clue to her identity is a mysterious boy who claims she was part of a top-secret science experiment. 

Who wants to read it?