Looking for a a funny book?

I don't know about you, but I love a book that makes me laugh out loud. Don Calame's Swim the Fly is one of my go-to funny books. But what if you've read that already?

The Lawrence (Kansas) Public Library has created a humor flowchart to help you find your new favorite funny book.

Pretty genius if you ask me!  You might also want to check out the flowchart for The Hunger Games or their Paranormal Historical Fiction booklist.

What's your favorite funny book?

Vote for Teens' Top Ten

This year our Mukilteo Library teens are involved in an awesome YALSA project: Teens' Top Ten. TTT is all about teen choice! Teen readers at Mukilteo and other libraries around the country picked out the most greatest teen books published this year.

Now you can vote for your favorite books from this year’s list of 25 nominated titles! The resulting Teens' Top Ten will be announced during Teen Read Week.

Here are all the great titles you should read and vote on by September 15, 2011:

Bachorz, Pam. Drought.
Ruby and the Congregants have been enslaved to collect water for Darwin West and his Overseers. Ruby uses her magical blood to bless the water; without her blood, the Congregants will die. She and the Congregants pray to Otto, her father, to return and save them all. One day, Ford, the new overseer, arrives, and he and Ruby fall for each other. Ruby longs to run away with him to the modern world where she can lead a normal teenage life. She is torn between two worlds. Will she choose to be free with her forbidden love, or will she choose to be enslaved with her family?

Beam, Cris. I Am J.
J (Jeni) is a boy and has always identified himself as such, but he was genetically born female. As a teen, J acts like a boy and dresses in baggy clothes to hide his feminine body. He wants to begin testosterone treatments to transfer physically to a man, but his parents and best friend do not accept him as male. J decides to run away and enroll in a school for gay and transgender students, where he is able to begin to find acceptance. More than just a story of a transgender teen, this is the story of how teenagers live and love and cope.

Beaudoin, Sean. You Killed Wesley Payne.
Teenage Dalton Rev is a private eye. He is sent to a high school to find out about the death of Wesley Payne. Was it really a suicide? The school's tight cliques have gone insane and lost control. It’s up to Dalton to sort through a huge mess of betrayal in order to restore the hierarchy.

Black, Holly and Justine Larbalestier. Zombies vs. Unicorns.
Are you Team Unicorn or Team Zombie? In this anthology of twelve fast-paced stories, popular teen authors make strong arguments for both sides in the long and gruesome debate concerning the awesomeness of zombies versus unicorns.

Card, Orson Scott. The Lost Gate.
Danny thought he was a “drekka,” one without magic, until he discovers he has magical powers as a gate mage. The only problem: all the magic families made a pact to kill any person who could make gates to transport themselves. Danny is forced to run from everything and everyone he knows in an attempt to unravel the secrets behind his powers.

Clare, Cassandra. The Clockwork Angel.
In this prequel to the Mortal Instruments series, Tessa Gray travels to England to search for her brother, her only remaining relative. She is captured by the mysterious Dark Sisters and discovers that there is a fantastical world thriving alongside her own. She finds that she must ally with the unknown shadowhunters to save her brother.

Collins, Suzanne. Mockingjay.
The final book in the Hunger Games series finds Katniss Everdeen rescued from the horrific 75th Hunger Games—but not her fellow tribute, Peeta Mallark. Now she must lead a rebellion against the evil capital with the help of District 13, which is not destroyed, but has been quietly sowing the seeds of war for years. As Katniss becomes more entangled in war and revolution, the question of who she can trust becomes ever harder, and she must fight for her life once again.

Collins, Yvonne. Love, Inc.
Zahara, Kali, and Syd meet in a support group when their respective parents get divorced, but it gets so much worse when they realize they’ve all been dating the same guy: Rick, aka Rico, aka Eric! The girls are devastated...until they decide to show the cheater the error of his ways. When more and more people find out about their plots and plans, Zahara, Kali, and Syd realize that they are much more than three girls who were cheated on.

Condie, Ally. Matched.
In Cassia’s society, most of her choices are made for her, including the person with whom she will spend the rest of her life: her Match. At age 17, Cassia is happily surprised when her Match turns out to be her best friend Xander, but when a glitch occurs and another boy’s face appears on her screen, Cassia can’t help but wonder what would happen if she were able to choose her own Match. Now she must decide between conforming to society and pursuing a life where she can make her own choices.

Cremer, Andrea. Nightshade.
When Calla, who is a Guardian, saves a boy on her mountain from a bear attack, the consequences are farther reaching than could be imagined, especially when that boy shows up at her school and appears to be a favored companion of her masters, the Keepers.

Fitzpatrick, Becca. Crescendo.
In this sequel to Hush, Hush, a few months have passed since Nora’s lab partner Patch, actually a fallen angel, saved her from his murderous vassal Nephil and became her guardian angel. She and Patch are now dating, but she is starting to doubt his love for her. Is he keeping something from her? And is she really safe now?

Grant, Michael. Lies. 2010. HarperCollins/Katherine Tegen Books. (9780061449093). Lies continues the story that began in Gone and Hunger. Is death the only answer? Life is getting hard for the under 15s who survived. Food is running out, the beach is burning, and things are getting tense. The situation is getting worse for the survivors and everyone has their own battles to face.

Hawkins, Rachel. Demonglass. Disney/Hyperion. 2011. (9781423121312). An unbelievable betrayal, an ancient spell, and a love triangle all make Rachel Hawkins’ sequel to Hex Hall impossible to put down. When Sophie goes to her father’s mansion for the summer, she thinks she knows exactly what she wants: to undergo the Removal and get rid of the demon inside of her. But when it turns out that someone else is making demons, she has to question everything and everyone—especially Archer Cross, the boy she can’t get out of her head.

Hakwins, Rachel. Hex Hall. Disney/Hyperion. 2010. (9781423121305). Sixteen-year-old Sophie is a witch sent to live at Hex Hall, a reform school for delinquent Prodigium (witches, faeries, shape-shifters, etc.), after she bungles a spell at prom and attracts too much attention from normal humans. At her new school, Sophie must face the usual teen troubles of mean girls and crushes with the added dimension of magic and learning about her own powers.

Kagawa, Julie. The Iron King. 2010. Harlequin. (9780373210084). On the eve of her 16th birthday, Meghan starts seeing dark creatures in the most unusual places and senses that everything is about to change. But she could never have imagined the truth—that she is a princess, the daughter of a mythical faery king. When she finds out her little brother has been kidnapped and replaced by a changeling, Meghan ventures in to the fey world to rescue him.

Lore, Pittacus. I Am Number Four. HarperCollins. 2010. (9780061969553). Number Four is one of nine aliens that escaped from the planet Lorien just ahead of the evil Mogadorians, a rival alien race bent of their destruction. He’s settling into another new town on Earth, trying to get a handle on his developing powers, when he gets the news: Number Three is dead. If Number Three is dead, that means Number Four is next.

Moore, Peter. Red Moon Rising. Disney/Hyperion. 2011. (9781423116653). In a world dominated by vampires, half-vamp, half-wulf Danny is used to hiding his true nature. When he experiences strange changes, it appears that his wulf side has become active. In a world where wulves are not treated equally, Danny faces a difficult choice: a dreary future as an inmate once a month or life as an illegal, unregistered wulf.

Nelson, Jandy. The Sky is Everywhere. 2010. Penguin/Dial Books for Young Readers. (9780142417805). After Lennie's sister suddenly dies, she finds herself torn between two boys. One is the new boy in town, and the other is her sister’s ex-boyfriend. While she is genuinely attracted to one, the other really understands her feelings, yet she knows it is wrong. Who will she choose?

Oliver, Lauren. Before I Fall. HarperCollins/HarperTeen. 2010. (9780061726804). Popular, rich, and attractive Sam Kingston never worried about how her behavior affected other people. After dying in a car crash, Sam is forced to relive the last day of her life for seven days. She progressively becomes a better person as she realizes the ripple effect of her actions and uses the second chance to fix her most dire mistakes.

O’Neal, Ellis. The False Princess">The False Princess. Egmont USA. 2011. (9781606840795). At sixteen, Princess Nalia learns that the king and queen have used her as a false princess to protect their real daughter from an omen of death. Princess Nalia, now Sinda, is sent away from the palace to live with the one relative she has left in a world she does not know. Sinda struggles with her new life and uncovers a secret that may change her country forever. Magic runs through her veins, and theories of corruption in the royal bloodline keep her entangled in the royal family's affairs.

Patterson, James. Angel: A Maximum Ride Novel. Little, Brown & Company. 2011. (9780316036207). In book seven of the Maximum Ride series, the titular character is devastated after a fellow “bird kid” leaves to start his own flock of mutant heroes. Scientists tell her that another “bird kid”, Dylan, is her perfect mate, and that she’s been created to save the world. When the Doomsday Group starts hypnotizing children, Max heads to Paris with her flock to investigate. Unfortunately, Fang and his new flock are investigating as well.

Pearce, Jackson. Sisters Red. Little, Brown and Company. 2010. (9780316068680). Sisters Rosie and Scarlett March are left as orphans at eleven after their grandmother is killed by a Fenris, a soulless creature that takes the form of a man and can turn into a wolf. Scarlett loses an eye in the attack and decides to devote her life to hunting the Fenris. Eight years later, the sisters have vowed to protect their town from the Fenris. Silas, a young woodsman, returns to town. Rosie knows the Fenris deserve to die, but she's not ready to commit her entire life to hunting them. Can the sisters learn to live with their differences as Rosie and Silas’s friendship blossoms into something more?

Smith, Cynthia Leitich. Blessed. Candlewick Press. 2011. (9780763643263). Quincie, everyone’s favorite teen restaurateur and vampire, is back in this follow-up to Tantalize and Eternal. This time, she has even more on her plate. She just died, became a vampire, said goodbye to her true love/ werewolf boyfriend Kieren, and she has to stop the most powerful and evil vampire in centuries and find a way to save her own soul and the souls of the soon-to-be evil vampires.

Westerfeld, Scott. Behemoth. Simon Pulse. 2010. (9781416971757). This sequel to Leviathan picks up where the last book left off with Alek, the lost Austro-Hungarian prince, and Deryn, a girl disguised as a boy, on the airship Leviathan heading to the Ottoman Empire. Upon arriving, Alek escapes and starts a revolution to overthrow the Sultan and try to stop a war.

White, Kiersten. Paranormalcy. HarperCollins/HarperTeen. 2010. (9780061985843). Normal? Yeah, right! Evie's biggest dream ever was to be normal, but with a faerie ex-boyfriend and a mermaid for a best friend, she might as well just throw the word “normal” right in the trash can. Evie has the unique ability to see through paranormals’ glamours, which has made her a valued asset of the International Paranormal Containment Agency (IPCA). When someone breaks into the Agency headquarters, Evie meets an unusual Paranormal: a boy who can shape-shift into any human. Can Evie save the lives of unarmed Paranormals from something that is after her too?

Banned Books Week

Banned Books Week starts on SATURDAY. This Saturday. It goes (this is where the week part comes in) until Saturday, October 2nd.

"What's banned books week?" I hear you saying.

Banned Books Week is a national event that celebrates your freedom to read whatever you want to read. The freedom to choose NOT to read, and the rights granted all Americans by the First Amendment of the Constitution.

Many people think that no one prohibits books anymore, but every year hundreds of books are challenged, restricted or removed from libraries nation-wide.

To see a list of all books (well, those that were reported) challenged in the last year click here.

Recently, several books have come to wide attention as people attempt, and in some cases, succeed, in removing books mostly from schools. You've probably heard of some of them:

• Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson (find out more)


• The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie (find out more)


• Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler (find out more)

Books can be challenged for seemingly frivolous things like they "Encourage children to break dishes so they won't have to dry them" (A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein). The original version of Where's Waldo had a small topless sunbather on one of their pages, so that created quite a fuss back in the early 90's (article) .

They can also be challenged with much more serious accusations, such as the above Speak being accused of being "soft pornography" because the main character was raped.

What are you going to do to support the freedom to read during Banned Books Week? Will you read one of the challenged books? Will you participate in the Lynnwood Library Banned Books Week Scavenger Hunt for a chance at the $20 to B&N? *end shameless plug* Will you wear a t-shirt (I'll be sporting this one). Will you send a letter to one of people who are challenging a book?

Comment with what you'll do to celebrate your freedom to read by midnight on October 2nd, and one commenter will win the oft-challenged Gail Giles's new book Dark Song.*

*Winner must be in grades 6-12 and able to pick up their winnings at one of the 21 Sno-Isle Libraries.

When the future sucks.

You've probably either read of have heard of the Hunger Games Trilogy. You may have also read The Giver, The City of Ember, or maybe Fahrenheit 451. The one thing all of those books have in common is a view of a potential future - one that is far from the glory of jet packs and flying cars. They are all part of a subset of Science Fiction called Dystopian Literature. Typical features in dystopias are a totalitarian government, futuristic technology, and the restriction of freedom.

• After by Francine Prose: "In the aftermath of a nearby school shooting, a grief and crisis counselor takes over Central High School and enacts increasingly harsh measures to control students, while those who do not comply disappear".



• Battle Royal by Koushun Takami: This is the closest to The Hunger Games that you'll find - but it's shelved in the adult section for a reason. As bloody and brutal as The Hunger Games is, Battle Royal ups the ante in both novel and graphic novel format.
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• Candor by Pam Bachorz: Oscar's dad has created the ideal community full of perfect people. Of course, they're only perfect because of the subliminal messages Oscar's dad plants in all of music piped in across the community. Oscar knows things he shouldn't, and if his dad finds out, well, he just can't let that happen...



• The Declaration by Gemma Malley and its sequel, The Resistance: When people can live forever, why would anyone have children? In a futurist England, children are illegal. Those that do exist, are called "Surplus" are sent to training houses to become servants. Most are resigned to their fate, but when obediant Anna finds out her parents are trying to find her, everything changes.



• Feed by MT Anderson: "We went to the moon to have fun, but the moon turned out to completely suck." You don't really need computers when everyone has the Feed implanted in their brains, but when Titus meets Violet, who grew up without the Feed, he starts to see that the barrage of messages planted in his head might not be the whole truth about the world.



• The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer: "In a future where humans despise clones, Matt enjoys special status as the young clone of El Patrón, the 142-year-old leader of a corrupt drug empire nestled between Mexico and the United States."



• The Maze Runner by James Dashner: Thomas wakes up in an elevator. The only thing he can remember about before is his name. Unfortunately, that's not his only problem. The elevator has delivered him to The Glade, where 60 other boys have been trying to escape for as long as they can remember and trying to escape sometimes means death - or worse.



• Rash by Pete Hautman: "In a future society that has decided it would "rather be safe than free," sixteen-year-old Bo's anger control problems land him in a tundra jail where he survives with the help of his running skills and an artificial intelligence program named Bork."



• Truancy by Isamu Fukui: "In the City, where an iron-fisted Mayor's goal is perfect control through education, fifteen-year-old Tack is torn between a growing sympathy for the Truancy, an underground movement determined to bring down the system at any cost, and the desire to avenge a death caused by a Truant.'



• The Uglies Trilogy by Scott Westerfeld: "In Tally's world, your sixteenth birthday brings an operation that turns you from a repellent ugly into a stunningly attractive pretty and catapults you into a high-tech paradise where your only job is to have a really great time. In just a few weeks Tally will be there. But Tally's new friend Shay isn't sure she wants to be pretty. She'd rather risk life on the outside. When Shay runs away, Tally learns about a whole new side of the pretty world -- and it isn't very pretty. The authorities offer Tally the worst choice she can imagine: find her friend and turn her in, or never turn pretty at all. The choice Tally makes changes her world forever."

Tell us which one of the books mentioned above make you want to read it - or share your favorite dystopian book in the comments and your comment will enter you in to win a hardcover copy of The Gardener by S.A. Bodeen.*

The Gardener by S.A. Bodeen: When Mason rescues a frightened girl, he finds himself on the wrong side of the people behind the greenhouse and find his life in danger because they will stop at nothing to get her back.

Want more? Check out our list of Post-Apocalyptic and Dystopian Fiction.

You have until midnight on Thursday, August 26th to share your comment, and we'll post the winner shortly thereafter. I can't wait to see your favorites! Good luck!

*you must be a teen between the ages 12-18 and able to pick up your prize at one of the 21 Sno-Isle Libraries.

A best books list that's a little different

As you know I'm regularly sharing lists of books people think are the best of whatever category they are concerned with (I like books! I can't help it!). What makes this list just a little different is that it's mostly full of books (with a few exceptions) you've probably never heard of. The reason for that is the companies that published these books are more likely to be smaller and not have money to spend making book trailers or putting ads into magazines and websites. Basically, reading a book on this list is like going to Dave's Burgers instead of McDonald's, or going to the corner espresso stand rather than Starbucks.

It's also a great time to remember not to judge a book by its cover (although some of these are admittedly attractive) - 'cause another thing many small publishing houses can't really afford are super awesome graphic designers that make you drool before you even know what the book is about.

So, here are the best books you've (mostly) never heard of:

BOTYA 2009 Finalists in Young Adult Fiction Category

1. Ballad by Maggie Stiefvater
   When music prodigy James Morgan and his best friend, Deirdre, join a private conservatory for musicians, his talent attracts Nuala, a faerie muse who fosters and feeds on creative energies, but soon he finds himself battling the Queen of the Fey for the very lives of Deirdre and Nuala.


2. Eli the Good by Silas House
   In the summer of 1976, ten-year-old Eli Book's excitement over Bicentennial celebrations is tempered by his father's flashbacks to the Vietnam War and other family problems, as well as concern about his tough but troubled best friend, Edie.


3. Gringolandia by Lyn Miller-Lachmann
   In 1986, when seventeen-year-old Daniel's father arrives in Madison, Wisconsin, after five years of torture as a political prisoner in Chile, Daniel and his eighteen-year-old "gringa" girlfriend, Courtney, use different methods to help this bitter, self-destructive stranger who yearns to return home and continue his work.


4. Hellie Jondoe by Randall Platt
   In 1918, as the Great War ends and the Spanish influenza pandemic begins, thirteen-year-old Hellie Jondoe survives on the streets of New York as a beggar and pickpocket until she boards the orphan train to Oregon, where she learns about loyalty, honesty, and the meaning of family.


5. Shadow of the Leopard by Henning Mankell
   Sofia, who lost her legs as a child, is now grown up with children in Mozambique, but when she discovers that Armando, the father of her children, is cheating on her, she leaves him, igniting his terrible rage.


6. The Hourglass Door by Lisa Mangum
   Dante, a prisoner sent from fifteenth-century Italy into the present time as punishment, meets and falls in love with Abby, a high school senior who may be the only one who can save him.
   


7. Vanishing Girl by Shane Peacock
   In broad daylight, a high society girl vanishes on a crowded street. Days pass, then weeks; the daring abduction remains an impenetrable mystery, without a ransom note, a single clue, or even public information. The moment young Sherlock reads about it, he knows that it's the case that will make his name.
   

For the whole list: ForeWord
via SLJ

(Summaries taken from the library catalog)

Top Ten Sci-fi & Fantasy in the last year

at least, according to Ian Chipman at Booklist. Here's his list, with his comments:

1. The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness
   The middle volume in the Chaos Walking trilogy expands the series’ litany of heavy themes (genocide, extremism, civil war, terrorism), all while delivering some of the most pulse-pounding action around.



2. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
   The deal was, if you win the Hunger Games, you get to live out your life in fame and comfort. The Capitol, however, has other plans for last year’s heroes, Katniss and Peeta, as whispers of growing unrest flit about the Districts.



3. A Conspiracy of Kings by Megan Whalen Turner
   In this stand-alone return to the series begun in Turner’s 1997 Newbery Honor Book The Thief, the focus shifts from Eugenides to Sophos, the reluctant king of Sounis, who relates his own rise to power, which is fraught with political intrigue.



4. Cosmic by Frank Cottrell Boyce
   People always mistake 12-year-old Liam for a grown-up, which might help explain how he got to be the adult chaperone for a bunch of kids in a rocket hurtling through space 200,000 miles above Earth.



5. Enchanted Glass by Diana Wynne Jones
   Fantasy veteran Jones hits a high note with this tale of a boy who is stalked by dangerous magical beings and seeks help from a powerful sorcerer. Instead, he finds the magician’s grandson, who has forgotten everything he was taught.



6. Fever Crumb by Philip Reeve
   Set hundreds of years before the Hungry City Chronicles, this story of young Fever Crumb digs into the foundations of Reeve’s intricately imagined future, including how cities started gobbling each other up.



7. Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta
   Ten years ago, the royal family of Lumatere was murdered by assassins and the kingdom ravaged by a blood curse. Now, a group of outcasts, led by the son of a former royal guard, look to resurrect the hopes of their people.



8. Fireby Kristin Cashore
   This romantic and suspenseful fantasy, a prequel of sorts to Graceling (2008) set in an adjoining kingdom, introduces another deadly strong heroine who struggles to use her formidable powers for good.



9. Incarceron by Catherine Fisher
   No one from Outside ever goes into Incarceron, a vast futuristic prison gripped by tyranny and strife, and no one Inside ever escapes. Until Finn finds a crystal key that unlocks every door, and the great escape is on.



10. For your younger sibling:
    The Night Fairy by Laura Amy Schlitz
    This uncommonly dynamic story of a wee sprite is set in the familiar yet exotic landscape of a backyard, where a determined and egocentric young fairy weathers peril and finds redemption.

My opinion? I think Incarceron was slow, that Fire & Catching Fire were good, but not as good as their predecessors (Graceling & The Hunger Games, respectively), and that A Conspiracy of Kings about gave me a heart attack whilst lying in bed it was so awesome (read The Thief, The Queen of Attolia, then The King of Attolia first, though!).

What do you think? Have you read any of these? What's YOUR favorite fantasy/sci-fi book you've read in the last year?