Gift Bag Goodies and More!

Thanks to the 2009 Debutantes, a group of YA and MG authors whose first novels will be published in 2009, our library has won a gift bag full of goodies, including bookmarks and postcards, advanced release copies of several books, and signed first editions! Be sure to stop by to take a look.

National Library Week is coming, and events will include a book swap/sale, and our annual Live READ event. Watch for your favorite teachers reading in the Circle of Life!

Our books to round out the year will be The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins -- one of the hottest novels of the past year -- and Big Fish by Daniel Foster Wallace. We are planning on an end-of-the-year celebration in which we'll watch the movie and do other fun activities.

From Teenreads.com :

Nominate Your Favorite Books of 2008 for the Teen Choice Book Award!

In association with the Children’s Book Council (CBC), Teenreads.com is giving you a very special opportunity to let your voices be heard by telling us your five favorite books of 2008. The five titles that receive the most “votes” will serve as the finalists for the CBC’s 2009 Teen Choice Book Award. Later we will tell you where you can go vote for them once the five finalists have been announced. The winner will be announced in May 2009.

All you have to do is fill out the form found here between now and January 31, 2009. Your top five selections may come from the list provided here, or you can vote for titles not on the list.

Important Note: Please be sure that the book(s) was released for the first time in 2008; this means that paperbacks originally published as hardcovers will not be accepted. If you’re uncertain about a book’s release date, we suggest you search for that title on Amazon.com.

A book nobody really checks out but SHOULD

Check out Repossessed by a chick who's last name is Jenkins.
At a thin 217 pages, 24 chapters, it's a quick read, and you'll find yourself turning the pages to take on the next chapter at the end of each chapter, trying to find out what the heck is going on.
It's fun. It's about this demon who possesses this dude's body. What more do you need to know? That's what I thought.
GO CHECK IT OUT. NOW.




-Rissa

It's here! TWILIGHT!

Don't forget! HHS Reads Twilight by Stephenie Meyer this Thursday, Nov. 20th -- and we will be having a private showing for only HHS students this Saturday, November 22nd at Valley Square Cinema! Please turn in your permission forms ASAP if you will be attending. We will meet at 9am at the high school, with the showing at 10am, and will return after noon on Saturday.

Miscellaneous BITES!

I'll be putting up a Teen Read Week retrospective of all we did for 'Books with Bite', but before I put up pictures and summarize the past week, I'd like to call attention to a few neat opportunities that are available now, or coming up!

First off, author Lauren Myracle (ttyl, ttfn, l8r g8r) has sent us some BLISS-ful goodies -- just in time to highlight her as this month's Author Spotlight to go along with the release of her spooky new book BLISS. More information will be forthcoming soon -- we'll be doing a special BLISS event in the library, and displaying Lauren as the October author.

We've decided to host a regular board-card-roleplaying-game night afterschool in the library. You're welcome to bring the games you'd play at lunch and join us -- watch for advertisements on dates and times. Thanks to those who came to the Teen Read Week gaming events!

Author Alan Gratz has decided to promote his new sequel, Something Wicked: A Horatio Wilkes Mystery by releasing his FIRST Horatio book, Something Rotten, for free on his website. Find it here and be sure to check out the sequel when Junior Library Guild sends it to us later this fall.

Be sure to pick up your copy of our next book club book, the graphic novel The Plain Janes by Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg, that's now available in our library. Next month: TWILIGHT! We'll be putting out a sign-up to see the movie in the theater very soon!

Contests, Links, Fun!

Just a reminder -- for those who love entering contests for the best free book-type stuff, not only does your own library hold a monthly drawing with our reading incentive program, but we provide you with links to other contests you can sign up for! Last year, our very own Haley won a signed advanced release copy from Carrie Jones. A good first contest to try is at TeensReadToo -- it's simple, free, and their swag is the very best.

Another great new site to be aware of is What Should I Read Next?, a book swap and recommendation site that helps people find new reads based on the last book they enjoyed. So far, I've gotten some great suggestions from playing with this search engine!

First Meetings!

Per the sidebar to the right -- please join us for our first HHS Reads meeting on Thursday, September 11, and for our second meeting to discuss our first book, Whale Talk by Chris Crutcher!

On September 11, we're meeting to eat some of Mrs. Bennett's delicious Better'n Anything cake, discuss the Teen Top Ten nominees and how teen award nominating processes work, and activities throughout the year. Come to hear more about book club through the year! Freshmen are welcome!

On October 2nd, HHS Reads discusses Whale Talk for Banned Books Week. Chris Crutcher has the interesting honor of being one of the ten teen authors most targeted by banning and censorship efforts, and Whale Talk in particular is one of the top challenged books of the last five years. This book is the story of The Tao 'T.J.' Jones, a terrific biracial athlete who doesn't like team sports, and is so a constant source of frustration to his championship-sports-obsessed school, its coaches, and certain redneck elements within the school booster organization. When T.J. is badgered into helping a teacher create a swim team, a different incident inspires him to recruit a team of misfits in an effort to thwart the school's ridiculously strict policies on lettering in sports.

Much like last year's ...Part Time Indian, this is a book that's about much more than its summary, touching on family dynamics, past mistakes, race and class issues, violence, forgiveness, and the emphasis on sports over academics in schools. It's funny and unexpected, and we hope to see you come to discuss it with us!

This summer

I did not do a whole lot of reading this past summer. I read a few books for A.P. Lit and that was about it. I read Lord of the Flies and of Mice and Men. Both were really good, and somewhat sad. I re-read the Time Travelers Wife. My biggest dissapointment was Breaking Dawn. But even though it was not every thing that i thought it would be i still really enjoyed it and am very upset about the leaking of Midnight Sun.

Good Books

Has anyone read good books. I have not been reading many books aside from the teen top ten ones. But the ones that i have read other than them seem to be very interesting. I really enjoyed Chosen. I can hardly wait to read the next books in the series.

Teen Top Ten

I have read a lot of the books so far and most of them seem like they are really good. Sun, Moon, Ice and Snow reminded me a lot of the book East, and I have to say that I thought East was a lot better. I still have not read Harry Potter i guess i will have to get aroud it.

Release Party

On August 2 at 12:00 A.M. Barnes and Noble will be having a release party for Breaking Dawn.

Breaking Dawn Trip

It seems that Stephenie Meyer will not be going on a big tour for Breaking Dawn. She is only doing a few events.
· 8/1 - New York City @ Nokia Theatre at Times Square
· 8/5 - Chicago @ Harris Theater
· 8/7 - Los Angeles @ Royce Hall
· 8/12 - Seattle @ Benaroya Hall
I still really want to go and see her and hope that we could make a trip of it.
http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1589042/story.jhtml has more information about the tour.

A Harry Potter Commencement: JK Rowling speaks at Harvard

You might find it interesting to go here to Harvard Magazine, and read or listen to J.K. Rowling's commencement address to Harvard's graduating class of 2008, in which she talks about her struggles before publishing the books she wanted to write, and discusses the value of personal failure and of imagination. It's a neat look at what Rowling finds important, and a little window on the hurdles to become a writer.

Summer Reading Opportunities at Public Library!

You may want to check out La Crosse County Library's Summer Reading Program literature, found in this link -- they're hosting movie nights this summer, and prize giveaways for books read.

More Breaking Dawn!

Here's a screenshot of the cover:

Talk about ominous! This looks to me like two chess queens in opposition, which should mean the conflict will be ratcheted up to the limit.

What are you reading now that we're heading into summer?

I'm working on a re-read of Jay Asher's Thirteen Reasons Why, recently acquired by the library in the new-books pile. This was one of the YA books I read off the shelf and had to buy for myself; I think its premise (a girl who commits suicide sends a collection of audio tapes in lieu of a note to the thirteen people she thinks could have made a difference) is a real original, and it's both familiar and unforgettable. This was one of my must-reads this year, and you should check it out.

I just finished The Market by J.M. Steele, and despite a few bumpy moments -- there were a few instances of sloppy writing habits that made me want to play editor -- it's a really fascinating look at popularity through the lens of a mock-internet stock market of girls at a particular school. The twists were both well foreshadowed and really surprising, and the viewpoint character is incredibly engaging, even as she succumbs to less-than-perfect behavior.

I tried the new Meg Cabot, Airhead -- and despite glowing reviews around, I was less than enthused. I LOVE the premise -- it's one of the best don't-spoil-this twists in awhile -- and yet...

There was just something missing there. I think it's the part where we don't get to really get a good handle on the character the narrator is crushing on, so her crush on him is virtually the only reason we care. There's also no real resolution, as Cabot is looking to make a series of these books. That's all well and good, but I expect more from the mistress of serial fiction that way.

PERCY JACKSON 4.

It's hard to type out squealing noises. Book 5 can't come fast enough. This was the book that finally decided it for me: I DO love the Percy Jackson books more than Harry Potter. Battle for the Labyrinth was yet another stellar entry into this series. I was thrilled to see Tyson's return, and the dimensions revealed behind other familiar faces - from Annabelle to Clarisse to Nico to, of all people, the briefly mentioned Rachel Elizabeth Dare, here a fascinating new force in the Olympian world even as a mortal girl. There's a ton of subtle foreshadowing for the climax to come - ranging from the progress of BFF Grover's quest to find the great god Pan to discussions of the nature of the combat between the Olympian gods and their older counterparts the Titans, and who takes which sides in that conflict and their reasons for so doing. Percy's mom remains one of the coolest parents in literature, and it's nice to see Riordan's great handling of the mortal sides of Percy's relationships. I laughed! I cried! I want book 5.

I've recently finished Barry Lyga's Cybil-winning Boy Toy, and I hardly know where to begin with this book. It's a difficult topic; it examines the emotions of an eighteen-year-old male high school baseball star who, at age thirteen, was molested by his female teacher, and whose life was turned upside-down for years to come by the subsequent trial and reputation thus acquired. This is, as you probably can guess, NOT an easy read, and not for everybody, but it's unquestionably well done. I don't know if I've read many more powerful books this year, and Lyga handles character like almost nobody else. If you like difficult realistic fiction, this is worth a look.

That's my recent reading list (ie, just this last week). What are you reading as summer winds down?

PS: Little Brother fanatics -- I know where Cory Doctorow stores his how-to-be-an-awesome-hacker instruction starters!

Breaking Dawn

While browsing Stephenie Meyer's website I found this link. It is a sneak peak at chapter one of Breaking Dawn. The full chapter will come out in the Eclipse Special Edition. So make sure to check it out.

Feedback!

Hi guys,

Anyone who attended the event with Tiffany Trent, either in your classes or at the lunchtime meet-and-greet -- do you have any suggestions or feedback? Tiffany's interested in how people responded to her presentations and what you might like to see in the future. As Tiffany's in this area yearly (or maybe more often!), if you'd like to see her come back and do other things (such as talk about the haunted steamship she researched for Book 2 of Hallowmere, or give a reading), please give some feedback here or in the library so we can pass it along!

NEW BOOKS!!!!!!!!!!

It is so exciting that the LMTC has bought a ton of new books. So many of them look really good. I will even try some of the graphic novels for you Martha, if they are on the list. Hopefully, we will get the chance to check them out during this school year. I can hardly wait to start reading.

2

NOT A LOCK IN

thank you for having the not a lock in this past saturday. I had a great time and hope that we could maybe do a lock in next year. I really love the shirts, the color is great and the saying is catchy and i don't mind wearing it. Hopefully next year we can be a bigger group so that there can be more discussion. A craft would have also been fun, but maybe we can plan a little more so that we are not scrambling for ideas at the last minute. The movie was fantastic, I had already seen it, but even though it deviates from the book it was not an awful way to have made the book into a movie. So thank you for hosting this event again.