The Best Book Blurt Books of 2012

Alright everyone, this is something that I haven't done before, but something that was way too much fun to pass up. You know how everyone and their mother is posting a "Best of 2012" right now? Well my coworker, Miss Lauren, suggested that I do one as well.

Now, this isn't necessarily a list of books that were written in 2012; this is a list of books that I read in 2012 =D I try to read a book a week and then post a review of it on Wednesdays as Book Blurt. Even though I've done a much better job of that this year, I still only read 38 books this year. Of that 38, I've selected 9 books that I thought stuck out from the rest (plus 1 book's review that has been read more than any other this year). As I just can't decide which books are better than others, I'm going to put them in chronological order of when I read them.

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher 1/18/12

"While Asher does a good job explaining that we can never know how our small actions will negatively or positively affect others, he also writes that Hannah ultimately chose to give up on herself."

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie 2/8/12

"It all started when Junior threw a dilapidated textbook at his math teacher's head. His teacher could have been furious, but instead, he was truthful. 'Junior,' he said, 'unless you get off of the rez, you are going to wind up like every other Indian here; drunk, hopeless, and going nowhere. But, if you get out of here, you could be someone.'"

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan 2/22/12

 "Ultimately, we get an interesting look at how trying to avoid hurt by not caring might actually hurt more than pouring your life into someone else"

Divergent by Veronica Roth 3/28/12

"Veronica is only 22 years old and this is her debut novel, but it is amazing! She does a great job imagining a world where society members are split by personality, and how focusing on one virtue can mess us up instead of help us"


Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins 4/11/12

"But, this is my take on it: Suzanne was just being true to the world that she created. From the very first chapter of The Hunger Games, Suzanne created a dangerous, violent, unfair and chaotic world, and when the stakes went up, these things took their affect as well; with disastrous consequences"

Dying to Know You by Aidan Chambers 5/2/12

 "I really, really liked this book! It wasn't what I was expecting at all, and it was pleasantly awesome. While the book is written from the perspective of the author (the author in the story, not the perspective of Aidan Chambers, but it might be some of that as well), we never find out the author's name because the book is really about Karl. The author slowly learns more about himself and Karl throughout the book, and the discoveries are hopeful, encouraging, and very truthful"

The Maze Runner by James Dashner 9/12/12

"Like many Dystopian books, the characters inhabit a dangerous world, full of high-stake choices and situations,  where one false move could get you dead. This excitement is coupled with the mystery, right up until the book ends, leaving you begging for the second one, The Scorch Trials. That is what happened with me anyway hehe."

The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl by Barry Lyga 9/26/12

"This book dragged me in and wouldn't let me go. Lyga does an excellent job showing two troubled characters who might have problems with each other, but still find comfort in each other's presence and direction. Ultimately, Donnie finds that he isn't as alone as he once thought, and if you want to find out more about Kyra, you can read my post next week about Goth Girl Rising."

Every Day by David Levithan 11/7/12

"This book was just ridiculously readable. All of the every day events could happen in someone's life, but through it all you know it isn't normal because A is experiencing these things for people, and this gives the book a unique voice and perspective. While the world events seem commonplace, the way they combine to complicate A's life is really fascinating."

BONUS (The most read Book Blurt of the Year)


Lost and Found by Anne Schraff

"The simple writing style just tells you how things are, and even though the conflict is real, it isn’t traumatizing to read. Ultimately, I think it reads like a sitcom. The story takes us through problems that need to be dealt with, lessons that need to be learned, but everyone winds up happy at the end" 

Daybreak and Broxo: Some Zombie Stories

Daybreak by Brian Ralph and Broxo by Zack Giallongo

Why did I read it?

Daybreak: I referenced this book in my Teen Literature class for my Master's in Information and Library Science.
Broxo: It was an advanced reader copy that looked interesting.

What happened?

Daybreak: Your eyes snap open and you see a one-armed man walking toward you. He mentions that you don't want to be out in the open when night falls, so you follow him. After grabbing some food and meeting his dog, you settle in for the night. But sleep won't be easy with a horde of the undead outside...nor will surviving...

Broxo: Princess Zora has traveled way too long for her quest to be this pointless! Hoping to open negotiations with one of her fellow tribes, Zora had traveled for many months only to find the supposed home of the clan abandoned. All she finds instead is a lone warrior named Broxo, who has become accustomed to the harsh landscape and random undead that make life interesting. Even though Broxo doesn't seem to mind, Zora can't rest until she finds out what happened to the missing clan, and the real secret behind these monsters.

What did I like or not like?

You might be wondering why I put 2 reviews into 1 post this week. First of all, I'm taking a break for the holidays, so I figured I'd give you 2 books to try and hold you over lol.

The other reason was even though I heartily enjoyed both books, there wasn't a whole lot to make a review out of. The stories aren't too long, so I didn't want to give too much of the plot away.

But here are some things I can tell you. Both are graphic novels, and both include the undead, but that is really the only similarity between them. Daybreak is first person perspective (in a graphic novel which is cool), and Broxo is third person. Daybreak is more realistic fiction/sci-fi, and Broxo is more fantasy. Daybreak has a very limited color palette, and Broxo has a very lively color palette.

You know how sometimes you read a book and it wasn't necessarily heart-wrenching, hilarious, thought-provoking, or amazing, but was still enjoyable to read and worth your time? That is how I would categorize these 2 titles.

Let me know what you think when you read them, and have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

AsapSCIENCE: Show, don't Tell Science

You know that old idiom, "Show, don't tell?" Well it has finally been applied to science lol.

AsapSCIENCE posts a weekly video on an interesting science topic through YouTube, and has daily content posted to Facebook and Twitter. Their idea is instead of telling you about science, they'll just show you.

Their "showing" method is based on a whiteboard where characters and images are drawn. But, it is much more than that. A narrator breaks down pertinent facts while the drawing is going on, and studies and more information is always referenced.

I found several of the topics very interesting; Productivity, Alcohol, Zombie Apocalypse, and the Moon Illusion were just a few of them =D

Glancing through their daily content, they have some fascinating facts and pictures as well. I'm always looking for information and inspiration for my Ka-Boom program, and I think this will be another one to add to the list!

P.S. We're taking a break for the Holidays, so I'll see you again on Tuesday, January 8th, 2013 (weird much?) for a discussion of Slideshare. 

High School Literary Character Brawl pt. 2!

As promised in the first High School Literary Character Brawl post, I'm going to talk about the other challenges that we did throughout the night. But before I do, let me tell you a little bit more about how we set up the event.

When everyone walked in, we gave each of them a Brawl Card, and a Character Card. Their Character Card held their life points and defense points (each type of point was a paper clip), and the Brawl Cards were used to determine who would challenge who. Basically, the Brawlmaster (Yours Truly) would randomly shuffle the Brawl Cards, and lay them out in pairs. The pairs would then battle each other in the Brawl Round, or in the challenges in-between.

Each of our Brawl rounds had a slightly different stage. The first round, we gave the characters range of the whole room. Second round they were limited to half of the room, and the third round they were limited to a rectangle of tables that resembled a fencing match. After all of our participants had faced off in the appropriate round, we would move to our secondary challenges.

After our first Brawl round, we played some dodge ball. Brawl Cards were randomly assigned side 1 or side 2, and the side with the last players standing got coin. Those who got hit had to give up a life point. Secondly we tried a Book Cart Drag Race (some things are better shown than talked about). The losers in their heat had to give up a life point as well.

We then did a second round of Brawls with only half of the room available, and then moved onto Ninja (the link brings you to rules and an explanation). The short explanation of this game is taking turns trying to hit another player's hands. If you do, your opponent is out. After that, I had found some riddles (simply typed "riddles" into Google) that were ridiculous and fun. If you answered correctly, you got one coin.

Once our riddles were complete, the only thing left was Brawling in a rectangle of tables, and then counting up our spoils. The event was an absolute ton of fun as I said earlier, but there are always things that one learns while doing programs. So next installment, I'm going to give some participant suggestions that would make the event even more awesome!

P.S. As our next 2 weeks are filled with Holidays (YAY!) my next installment will be the week of January 7th. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Insurgent: Can Pain Lead to Strength?

Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Why did I read it?

Because Divergent was awesome, and I couldn't resist reading it anymore =D

What happened?

SPOILER ALERT

Triss didn't have a choice, but it doesn't mean she doesn't regret killing Will. Why couldn't she just have shot him in the hand? There wasn't anything she could do to stop them, but why did her parents have to sacrifice themselves for her? How can she move on without them?

But move on she must. She and Tobias might have been able to stop the Erudite plot, but there is no telling what might be coming next. With Abnegation all but destroyed, the other three factions have to choice their side, and several of them have close ties to Erudite. Where can she and the other outcasts find safety?

Perhaps its with the factionless, those banished, exiled, or kicked out from their chosen faction. But despite what many said, the factionless aren't as helpless as they might have appeared. In fact, they might have been planning something. But what?

There are also the rumors that Triss has heard. Maybe the Erudite attack on Abnegation might have been about much more than a simple government takeover. It might have been about secrets that could rock their entire world.

What did I like or not like?

As far as Dystopian novels go, this series is one of my favorites. The society is brought to the point of destruction, and yet the characters are still led by values and convictions. The plot and action keep you interested throughout the novel, and the questions that the characters ask in their make-believe circumstances apply to all of our lives today. Ultimately, the book ponders the idea of who we are; what we choose to do, or what we have to do. 

Idaho Careline: Information and Referral Services

While I was bopping around my email, I found some articles on Digital Inclusion (They were very interesting, btw). One of them mentioned a service that sounded familiar but I wasn't completely sure about, so I decided to look it up and talk about it today.

The service is Idaho 211: Idaho Careline, and it is a free statewide community information and referral service. Ultimately, it is a program of the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, but there are a lot of services in the database. The goal is to have information on health and human services in the local communities of Idaho, whether they be government, faith-based, or community resources.

As it turns out, 2-1-1 services are available in pretty much every state in the Union, but Idaho was the fourth in the nation to implement the service statewide.  In Fiscal Year 2012, the Idaho Careline helped 162,500 people. I was curious if the Hayden Library was included as one of the resources, and it turns out that we are. The information was obviously given some time ago, but it will still get you to the right place =D

So the next time you need a referral, try called 2-1-1 and see what they can do for you. Or, you could check out their Helpful Links. If you do, let me know how it goes.

High School Literary Character Brawl!

So, ya, this program was a ton of fun!

While we've been discussing programs at Next-Gen Advisory Team (NGAT), we thought it would be a ton of fun to dress up as literary characters and then have some sort of contest. Originally, we were thinking of playing Mafia (or Murderer or Body/Body or some variation of the bunch) around the library, but with emergency lights, I didn't think it would be dark enough to be ridiculously awesome.

Then I started thinking about Live Action Role Play (LARP) and Cosplay. I figured that basic idea would give a purpose to dressing up, and would let us have a contest. So after discussing my brainstorming ideas with members of NGAT, I set about building a framework for our High School Literary Character Brawl!

The basic idea for the night would be 1-minute rounds where two participants would battle with pool noodles. After each brawl, the audience (the participants waiting their turn to fight) would decide who won and who had lost. The loser had to give 10 of their coin (we used LEGO pieces) to the winner. After all of our brawl rounds and challenges, the person with the most coins would win!

We gave each participant 30 coin at the beginning of the night. They also received 10 health points (they lost 1 point after each brawl lost, and in a couple of our other challenges), and 5 defense points (each 1 defense point meant 2 less coins you had to give your victorious opponent). If our participants had either or those left at the end, a health point was worth 5 coins, and the defense points were worth 1 coin. 

While this program was ultimately pretty simple, there were a few different pieces to it. So, I'm going to be talking about it for the next few weeks on the blog. Check back next week for the other challenges we did in-between the brawl rounds =D

The Death Cure: No More Lies!

The Death Cure by James Dashner

Why did I read it?

My boss is an avid reader; she can go through several books in a week. But, sometimes she enjoys a series so much that she desperately needs someone else to discuss it with, and that is what happened with this series. I had read The Maze Runner for TeenBookWorms, but then she pushed me through The Scorch Trials and the prequel, The Kill Order, in addition to this title. I'm really glad she did.

What happened?

SPOILER ALERT

WICKED (World In Catastrophe Killzone Experiment Department) has done terrible things to Thomas and his friends, and the more he remembers about his life before the Maze, the more he realizes that he was one of THEM! With solar flares and The Scorch threatening to destroy humanity, Thomas and others like him believed that the needs of the many outweighed the needs of the few.

But Thomas isn't so sure anymore. After surviving The Maze and The Scorch, friends dying around him, and his best friend betraying him, Thomas has had enough. WICKED might be saying the time for lies is over. They might be saying they will give him back his memory. They might be saying they are so close to developing a cure.

But Thomas no longer believes that "WICKED is good." He has seen the evil that has been perpetrated in the name of science, and he is not going to be a pawn in their game any longer.

What did I like or not like?

One of the awesome things about this series is the fast-paced action coupled with the slow revelation of what is going on, and this third installment is no exception. We have so many more pieces of the puzzle by the beginning of this book, but their are still many questions to be answered.

Have you ever gotten to the end of a series and thought, "I read through all of those pages and THAT is how you are going to end it? You have got to be kidding me!" I don't think that will happen with this one.

Its possible that you won't like it, but similar to my thoughts on Mockingjay (the third book in The Hunger Games series), I don't think the author could have ended it any other way. The ending is definitely bittersweet, but I think it was realistic for the world Dashner set up, and it was still way more hopeful than Mockingjay was =D

Experiment with Things that Glow under a Black Light

As the title suggests, here is my list of things that glow under a black light. After you've read it, you can keep reading for an explanation of black lights and my program, or you could move on. Either way, thanks for reading:)

Things that Glow Under a Black Light:

Tonic water
Laundry detergent
Area around the dark spots of a banana
Highlighter ink
Security strip on a recent US $20
Irish Springs soap
Petroleum jelly
Canola or vegetable oil
White paper
White LEGO pieces
Glow in the dark paint
Glow sticks (alright the last two already glow in the dark, but they glow even brighter under a black light)
Tooth whitening products
and believe it or not, Monster energy drinks

Every month I get the chance to do science experiments at a local private school. Typically my library program happens before I go to the school, which gives me a chance to see what experiments will work well in a classroom setting. But this time, I got an idea for my library program from the school program.

Glow in the Dark Experiments was my topic last month, and while I was there, one of the students mentioned that they had been using black lights to identify certain minerals in rocks. He thought it would be cool for us to experiment with other things that glow under black lights. I agreed =D

I'm sure everyone is familiar with black lights, but I wasn't quite sure how they worked. Black lights are emitting two kinds of light; light we can see, and light we can't see. The light we can see is the purplish color, and the light we can't see is called ultraviolet light. This ultraviolet light (UVA) is the harmless cousin to the harmful ultraviolet light (UVB) that gives you a sunburn.

If something glows under a black light, it is because it contains phosphors. Phosphors are a substance that emit visible light when exposed to radiation. So they are absorbing the ultraviolet light from the black light, and converting it to visible light.

Turns out there are quite a few things that glow under a black light, and I figured I'd list them for you here. My time at the private school was mostly spent seeing what would glow and what wouldn't. If you want to do this program, I would suggest grabbing a mixture of things that glow and things that don't, and see what you see. Also be willing to test things that are around the room...

Sailor Twain: A Woman's Scorn...

Sailor Twain (or The Mermaid in the Hudson) by Mark Siegel

Why did I read it?

There are two reasons that I picked this book up. First, I am apparently on a Romance reading spree (Every Day, Forever..., and Amiri & Odette: A Love Story are the last books I've read lol).

Secondly, while flipping through the work, I found that it featured a topless mermaid. I wanted to ensure that it wasn't gratuitous before I put it onto our young adult shelves.

What happened?

Twain is the captain of a steamboat on the Hudson River near Victorian era New York City. Some days he thinks he is the only one that keeps the wonderful ship afloat. The owner, a French noblemen is bedding every woman that comes aboard, and the engineer was involved in a mysterious explosion on his last expedition.

But Twain's dedication to his ship lessens dramatically when he rescues a wounded mermaid and slowly falls in love with her. Sharing his own personal stories and reading fantastical tales with the creature, Twain makes her promise that she will never sing to him. But Twain's devotion to his ship isn't the only thing affected by his love for the mermaid. He also begins to neglect his crippled wife who he used to visit every weekend...

As the mermaid begins to consume Twain's every waking thought, he can't help but wonder where she came from, and who wounded her in the first place. This search will ultimately lead to a terrible choice that begs question of the difference between love and obsession, selflessness and selfishness, and supernatural forces.

What did I like or not like?

This graphic novel actually began as a serialized webcomic drawn in charcoal. The illustrations are simple, being only black and white, but that aspect keeps them powerful and mysterious.

In addition to fascinating illustrations, the story of love, danger, and consequences is really engrossing and I know that I blazed right through it. But I have to admit that I had to contemplate the ending a little bit to make it make sense to me.

Concerning the topless mermaid issue, pretty much every illustration shows her absolutely bare-chested. While I completely understand if this turns you off from the novel, I think I understand the reason behind it. Siegel was trying to write an original novel based on mythology. Traditionally speaking, mermaids have been drawn topless, and it seems he was trying to remain true to that aspect of the mythos.

So I can't say the toplessness is gratuitous as there is quite a bit of precedent there, but I think it should play a part in whether or not you decide to read the story.

The Editing Room: Like HISHE in a Written Format

So while I was finding some images for The Amazing Spider-Man movie showing this Saturday (6-8:30pm if you want to come lol), I stumbled across a website that is pretty hilarious. Its called The Editing Room, and it basically abridges the scripts of popular movies. But, it doesn't only abridge them; it abridging them in ways that pokes fun at all the idiosyncrasies, errors, cliches, and plot holes that show up in the movie, and is therefore quiet hilarious.

Thinking about it, this website kind of reminds me of HISHE (How It Should Have Ended) in a written format. We all love movies, and even when a movie has a lot of problems, we still love it. HISHE and The Editing Room play on our love for movies while still admitting that they have problems.

While these problems are typically pronounced, we don't like to admit they have problems because we love the movies anyways. But, HISHE and The Editing Room turn these problems into hilarious videos and scripts, and so we forgive their blatant poking at our favorite movies lol.

While both websites are hilarious, I have a word of caution about The Editing Room. HISHE videos are typically devoid of language or sexual references. The Editing Room on the other hand seems to adapt their script to the movie it is based on. So, if the movie had language and sex in it, The Editing Room script has language and sex in it (and sometimes the abridged scripts has some language even when the movie doesn't). 

Let me know what you think =D

Awesome Monster Bookmarks

I'm really thankful for awesome coworkers who find awesome ideas, and for awesome people who share their awesome ideas online =D

Miss Lauren does a monthly Open Crafts event, and in her searchings for the perfect craft, she stumbled across Monster Bookmarks. As you can tell from the picture, their awesomeness goes without saying (and Miss Lauren's awesomeness for finding them goes without saying as well).

Tally's Treasury is a DIY and crafting idea blog that gets updated every Thursday with new projects. Just bouncing around I found some awesome things to make (like a ping pong eyeball headband, and DIY Glasses and Moustache Disguise) , and she has instructions and a template for the Monster Bookmarks available on the blog as well. 

An awesome (how many more times can I use that word in this post) thing about this activity is that it is really simple to do, and lets the kids create something that makes it easier to read. Have a great time while promoting literacy? Yes, please!

In addition to promoting literacy, the kids that came for this activity were inspired to create their own bookmark designs as well. They might have been simple, but the kids really enjoyed having the freedom to create something from scratch.

Amiri & Odette: The New with the Old

Amiri & Odette: A Love Story by Walter Dean Myers,
with paintings by Javaka Steptoe

Why did I read it?

My sister grabbed this book from the library, and when she finished reading it, I couldn't resist the uniqueness of the cover and idea behind the adaptation.

What happened?

Amiri is the prince of the basketball courts in the Swan Lake Projects. While he appears to own and conquer all he sees and all who challenge him, his mother worries. She understands the violence and danger of his urban life, and wants him to settle down.

Later that night, his mother's desires become his desires, as he meets the girl of his dreams. But a dangerous curse separates their new found love as Odette is promised to Big Red. While Odette believes herself irrevocably chained, Amiri believes their love is stronger than any other tie.

But, defeating Big Red and holding onto the love that they have found will be even more difficult and dangerous than either can imagine.

What did I like or not like?

As Myers puts out in his introduction, the story of Swan Lake has been told in Celtic, Russian, Slavic, and Arabian folklore, and is best known for the Tchaikovsky ballet version of the tale. But Myers felt it appropriate to tell the tale again as he believed modern dangers in young people's lives today are similar to the magic spells of folklore.

Myers sets his retelling of the classic tale in a housing project, relates the action in verse form, and has his words accompanied by collage-on-cinder-block paintings by Javaka Steptoe.

I thought the combination of urban poem and paintings was a new and interesting way to portray the timeless themes and story of Swan Lake.

Allrecipes: Your Socially Connected Cookbook

As you may have noticed, when one of my programs or events requires a recipe, I typically get it from allrecipes.com. As a result, I figured I'd find out a little more about it.

Allrecipes is the world's largest digital food brand. Their website and apps allow users to search for recipes, add their own recipes, plan menus, and share in an online community of home cooks. Recently, Allrecipes started creating ebooks as well.

While they don't have an About Us page on the main part of their site, I was able to find some info about them on their Advertising page. Turns out that a group of anthropology students got together in 1997 to discover and share cookie recipes with Cookierecipes.com. With the success of that site and others like it, the group decided to combine all of them onto one site that has now become Allrecipes.

Even though I've been searching for recipes and have several friends with the apps on their devices, I had no idea just how big this brand was. In addition to 25 million unique visitors a month, they have the most downloaded recipe apps on the market, and is one of the Top 10 Ranked Social Media sites.

So next time you need a recipe, Allrecipes might be the place to be =D

Make Your Own Doughnuts

For a while now, I've been trying to get some Middle School programs off the ground at my library. Over the summer, we had some really fun times with Creepy Scavenger Hunt and Tell Your Own Ghost Stories, but once Fall and Winter shows up, attendance disappears. Well, until we made our own doughnuts =D

When I first started thinking about the program, I thought it might be complicated to make your own doughnuts, but it turned out I was wrong. Crispy and Creamy Doughnuts was a recipe I found on allrecipes.com that had a lot of positive reviews (reviews are awesome!), and the doughnuts themselves turned out to be awesome!

Unless you have a two hour time slot for your program, I would suggest making the actual dough beforehand. (FYI for those who don't know about about cooking, if the yeast won't foam, add a little sugar for the yeast to start eating. Worked like a charm for me, and thank you awesome coworkers for giving me this tip!)

One thing I wasn't planning on, but the students really enjoyed, was making their doughnuts into different shapes. Some looked like stars, pretzels, and twists, while others stuck to a more traditional shape.

The Crispy and Creamy Doughnuts recipe is based on cooking them in oil, and I let each student dunk their own. Please explain that they should place them in the oil instead of dropping them in the oil =D Once the doughnuts were cooked, the recipe called for a glaze. But we decided to melt some chocolate chips with a little butter and made a chocolate sauce instead.

When all was said and done, we had some delicious doughnuts and some happy Middle Schoolers.

Forever: Realistic or Substantial?

Forever... by Judy Blume

Why did I read it?

Originally written in 1975, this book has become a classic in Young Adult literature. I figured a young adult librarian should probably read the classics of his own genre =D This book was quite controversial when it was first published, and remains that way to this day. I wanted to see where I fell on that controversy.

What happened?

Katherine and Michael are both seniors in high school, and after meeting at a friend's party, they have an immediate connection. Pretty soon, they are doing everything together.

Once things get a little bit more serious, both Katherine and Michael have to decide how far they are going to take this relationship physically. Katherine is a virgin, and wants her first time to be absolutely perfect. She is pretty sure it will be with Michael because he is worth the commitment of taking it all the way.

But, things don't always go as we'd like them to. While the school year was practically perfect, they are separated for the summer, and they really have to consider whether this is a love that will last a lifetime.

What did I like or not like?

It is always interesting to read novels that were written a few years ago. Most of the time, they kind of feel dated. While that was kind of the case with this title, the situations and issues that Katherine and Michael deal with are very much still alive to this day.

Now let's get to the interesting part. What did I think about the controversy? Forever... is largely an exploration of two teens' sexuality and how that fits into love, and consequently, this book has quite a bit of sexual content and discussions in it. I think some readers will appreciate these discussions, while others probably won't, but I think it should be left on shelves so readers have a choice to decide for themselves.

One thing that did surprise me was the parallels I drew between Forever... and David Levithan's Every Day. (SPOILER ALERT) Both relationships didn't make it, and both relationships involved some sex. But I couldn't help but think that A and Rhiannon's relationship in Every Day was based on something more substantial than Katherine and Michel's relationship in Forever...


I understand that Katherine and Michael's kind of relationship is common in real life and the literary world, and as a book about a sexually active boyfriend and girlfriend, the book rings true and honest and important. This frankness and honesty is probably the main reason that it has become a classic YA work, and why it is still read to this day.

But I prefer relationships in real life and books that are a little more...substantial, worthwhile, deeper, in for the long term, able to handle some struggles?? Agree, disagree, think I'm crazy??
Let me know :)

Klout: Measuring Your Influence

How do you measure influence on social media? How much content you post? How many retweets you have? How many people friend you?

Well, this is a question that Klout seeks to answer by gathering data from all of your social media outlets, and giving you a score from 1 to 100. Instead of just counting data, Klout strives to measure the actual influence you possess by comparing different data on social media as well.

Klout started in 2008 with the basic idea that everyone has influence, and with the rise of social media, this influence has become even more democratized.

Over the past few weeks, I've been taking a look at what I actually do at my job. What programs I do, what outreach I do, and what I do on social media. While I think I definitely do some things well, I'm always wondering how I can do things better. Although I just started using Klout, it seemed to be a qualitative way to see how effective I am really being at social media.

Currently, I have a Klout score of 42, and I'm hoping that this number will go up as I keep get better at social media, and my job in general =D

Show The Hunger Games Movie!

Through the month of October, the Hayden Library was involved with our area-wide program called North Idaho Reads, and one of the programs we got to do was show The Hunger Games movie.

North Idaho Reads was a collaboration between Community Library Network, Coeur d' Alene Public Library, East Bonner County Library District and West Bonner Library District to promote one book (Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury), and then offer programs to support people talking about it.

Fahrenheit 451 is a classic dystopian novel, so when our committee considered what kind of programs we could offer, we thought a Dystopian Movie Festival would be really cool. So, we made sure all the libraries had a projector and a DVD player or compatible computer, and showed some movies =D

The Hayden Library chose to show Fahrenheit 451, Children of Men, Serenity, and then finally The Hunger Games. While I don't have any pictures (I'll make sure I do that next time), we decorated the Bookmobile garage with rugs, tables, and Christmas lights, and made it feel like a movie theater.

In addition to watching the movie, we ordered some pizza afterwards and chatted about what we thought about the movie, how it compared to the book, and what other dystopian stories we had heard.

Obviously, The Hunger Games is under copyright protection, so to legally showed it, we purchased a license from Movie Licensing USA, which is also going to let us show The Amazing Spider-Man in December. I'm stoked already!

Every Day: Torn from the Girl You Love

Every Day by David Levithan 

Why did I read it?

Because I'm a fan of Quantum Leap and other similar sci-fi shows, and the synopsis made it sound super interesting!

What happened?

For as long as he can remember, A has borrowed someone else's body for the day, and then bounced to someone else the next day. He can remember what happened the day before, but he can also remember past experiences from the person he is currently borrowing from.

When he was younger, this quick attraction and then swift separation was devastating. His 'parents-for-the-day' couldn't figure out why their 'child' didn't want to go to bed at night. But, A has since accepted his fate, and actually finds some amazement in the everyday occurrences that are so similar and yet so different. Every day he does his best to leave his host's life in as close to the same shape as he can, and he has gotten pretty good at it. 

That is, until he borrows Justin's life for a day and meets his girlfriend, Rhiannon. There is something about her perseverance, love of life, and inherent sweetness that A can't ignore. So instead of acting like Justin for the day, A hopes that she can somehow see past the outside and see the real him on the inside. Just like every other day, A jumps to someone else the following morning. But, he refuses to lose the connection, the enormity, of what happened with Rhiannon.

What did I like or not like?

This book was just ridiculously readable. All of the every day events could happen in someone's life, but through it all you know it isn't normal because A is experiencing these things for people, and this gives the book a unique voice and perspective. While the world events seem commonplace, the way they combine to complicate A's life is really fascinating.

I started this book really excited, couldn't put it down because it kept me gripped the whole time, and thought it followed through on its promising story line all the way to the ending. Read it!

P.S. There is very slight cussing, and one scene with some sexual content.

POPVOX: Ensuring Congress Hears

A couple weeks ago, I received an email from Netted by the Webbys that had election related apps and websites. Unfortunately, I didn't have a chance to highlight some of their finds before the election was upon us. But, one of the sites will be very useful to us even when the election is totally over.

The site is called POPVOX, and it gives constituents a chance to more effectively communicate with Congress. Basically, POPVOX asks you to create an account so they can verify whether or not you are a legitimate constituent. Once that's accomplished, they have bills pending before Congress on their website, and you choose to support or oppose them. After you've done this, you have the option of commenting on the legislation and sharing what you find via social media.

One of the major stands of POPVOX is not editorializing, so instead of commenting on the bills themselves, they let advocacy organizations log onto POPVOX and give their two cents.They also tabulate the number of people who are supporting or opposing each bill, and tracking what they are saying about them.

In addition to bill information, POPVOX contains info on Members of Congress, states, and districts. This gives you an idea of what is going on, and also makes it easy for Congress to see what people are concerned about. Ultimately, POPVOX gives you an easy way to look up what bills are coming down the pike, and then gives you an easy way to say something about them.

The result; congress hears what you say. The POPVOX site comments, "When the information coming into your Members of Congress is public, counted, sorted and searchable, your voice is amplified — and Congress can’t ignore it."

If you are interested, you can visit the Why POPVOX Works page for more information. 

Glow in the Dark Experiments

Who doesn't like stuff that glows, and I figured it was appropriate for Halloween :)

Glow Sticks

An easy way to get glowing is glow sticks. Basically it is a chemical reaction between two compounds that, when mixed, release excess energy as light. If you are interested, it is a process called chemiluminescence.I found that the kids understood the idea of a chemical reaction if you talk about mixing baking soda and vinegar, as most have done that.

Once we understood a little more about chemical reactions, I actually cut open one of the glow sticks. Each glow stick is actually made of two sticks; one plastic one that you feel, and one glass one that is lodged inside. When you crack a glow stick you are actually breaking the inner glass tube that releases one chemical into the other and presto, instant light!

Glow Paint

Let your participants paint a design on a black piece of paper without telling them that it is glow in the dark paint. Once they are finished, turn off the lights and watch their surprise. Once they've seen the affect, you can talk about the science behind it called photoluminescence (the paint absorbs photons and then releases them in the dark is the short answer hehe. Another way of thinking about it is the paint getting excited and then releasing this excitement as light, just like we might release our excitement by dancing).

Finally, we mixed some GAK with glow paint (but glow powder would work just as well). This experiment is fun to do no matter what, and seeing it glow in the dark after you mix it just makes it that much cooler =D

The Scorch Trials: Out of the Maze, Into the Fire

The Scorch Trials by James Dashner

Why did I read it?

Because I couldn't stop reading the series after The Maze Runner =D

What happened?

SPOILER ALERT

While Thomas and others from The Glade thought they were finally safe...nothing could be further from the truth. It turns out that the very people who "saved" them were the very people who had put them in the maze in the beginning, and their next challenge starts now!

In the maze, the Gladers had a sense of control. They had figured out their surroundings and their was a certain amount of safety behind the walls of The Glade. But now, there is nothing protecting the Gladers from the terrifying reality of planet Earth. Apparently, huge solar flares have ravaged the surface of the planet, and if Thomas and his friends want to survive, they have to reach a haven that rests on the other side of the worst desert on the planet.

But, getting across The Scorch is going to be everything but easy. If the lightning storms don't kill them, it will be the Cranks (people who have been affected by a terrible disease called The Flare). Or will it be each other?

What did I like or not like?

Dashner does a great job of keeping this story fast-paced, exciting, and mysterious. Around each turn and new character there is danger, and slowly, ever slowly, we start getting glimpses of what might be going on here.

Thomas helps us with this as he slowly starts to remember things that happened before the Glade. But, the more he remembers, the more he wonders if he ever wants to remember at all...

While many second books suffer from a lack of story line as the author waits for the third installment, this book has plenty of action, character development, and plot. Once I got done with it, I had a hard time not reading the third and final book, The Death Cure. 

Infographic About How the Internet Works

Posted from Open-Site.org

Goth Girl Rising: Lashing Out or Moving On

Goth Girl Rising by Barry Lyga

Why did I read it?

Because I finished The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl and had to know if Kyra was going to be able to work through her problems, or if she was going to get worse...

What happened?

SPOILER ALERT

So Donnie thought that he might have unintentionally told Kyra to kill herself, so he freaked out and called her Dad who swiftly dropped her back in the mental hospital. Oh sweet!

Well, Kyra just got released, and she is still ticked at her Dad and Fanboy (Donnie)! But, she is willing to give Fanboy a chance because she really did like him, and even though he still has a lot of work to do on Schemata (his graphic novel), he understands girls better than any other boy she knows.

But, she very quickly realizes that she can't forgive Fanboy like she thought. Not only did he not write her a single email while she was imprisoned, he seemed to forget she even existed and completely move on without her. He even had the nerve to publish Schemata in the ridiculous school art paper.

So needless to say, Kyra is not happy, and she is going to stop at nothing until she has absolutely destroyed Fanboy!

What did I like or not like?

As I mentioned, I decided to read the sequel because I had to figure out what was going to happen to Kyra, and I also got totally drawn into these characters and this world. Lyga's sequel doesn't disappoint. You still have the same interaction and characters from Fanboy and Goth Girl, but instead of it being from Donnie's perspective, this time we get a peek inside of Kyra's head.

Similarly to Donnie's experience, Kyra goes through a whole bunch of things that ultimately make her realize that she isn't as alone as she might have thought. But even more ultimately, Krya finds a way to deal with her anger, and her mother's death, that is both realistic and hopeful.

P.S. Just like the first title, there is language and sexual references throughout this one.

"Five Things I've Learned" from Yours Truly

Hey everybody =D

So I was looking through the statistics on my blog yesterday, and this is my 202 post! Thank you to everyone who reads and supports me. You are awesome!

While this isn't quite a Techno Tuesday, I thought it would be cool to link to my earliest post, and give you a synopsis of what I've learned since then. 

I started posting on April 9, 2012 with a post called From Page to Librarian, which told a little bit about how I got from shelving the books to working as the Young Adult Librarian.

Since that time, I've learned quite a bit more about how to do my job, and these are some of the highlights =D

Let me preface by saying I haven't perfected any of these, and that I'm a big advocate of the first one!

1. Be Teachable

Things are always going to be changing, so be willing to roll with the punches.

2. Be Fearless

Things aren't always going to be easy, but the hard stuff often pays off.

3. Be Consistent

Things need to build on themselves, and it works really well if you get them out consistently.

4. Be Collaborative

Things don't always work in a vacuum, so ask questions and be willing to ask for help. 

5. Be Resilient

Things aren't always going to work or work out, so keep on trying.

Thanks again for reading, and here's to constantly growing and improving!

Make Your Own Pretzels

Does anybody else ever have trouble coming up with program ideas? At the end of the summer, we obviously start planning for our Fall programs, and its always a crazy time trying to figure out what we're going to be doing.

One of the programs I struggle with the most is our Play With Your Food cooking program. While I'm not totally inept in the kitchen, it is still a little intimidating to be in charge of telling kids how to cook something that is going to taste good when you are finished.

But, the programs we've done so far have been successful, fun, and have tasted pretty good, so I guess I'll just try to do what I've been doing =D

All of that to say, the first program we held for 3-5 graders this Fall was Make Your Own Pretzels. I grabbed a recipe from allrecipes.com, and went for it. Turns out that the recipe is quite fabulous, and the kids had a really good time making them.

One thing the recipe didn't mention that we tried was making our own shapes instead of everyone sticking with the traditional pretzel shape. We made chips, hearts, balls, and even a lizard.

While the program worked really well, the one problem we had was with the dough. It tended to be a little dry which made it harder to mold, but adding a little bit of extra oil seemed to help, and they turned out awesome in the end.

Fanboy and Goth Girl: You're Not Alone

The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl by Barry Lyga

Why did I read it?

This novel has showed up on multiple teen lists that I keep track of, so when I had a long drive to a library training ahead of me, I figured I'd get the CD book and listen to it. 

What happened?

Donnie sometimes wishes that all the jock jerks in his school would get killed by some terrorists. For absolutely no reason they trip him, beat him up, pick on him, and generally make his life miserable.

That isn't the only thing; his Mom doesn't get him at all, and the step-fascist (his Mom's new husband) got her pregnant. Now he has to hear about all the terrible things that he is doing in the context of what a terrible older brother (step-brother!) he is going to be.

The only thing that makes his life worth living is the graphic novel he is working on. Donnie is convinced that this graphic novel is the key to getting out of his small town, and show all those jock idiots who is really the boss.

Enter Kyra, the weird Goth chick who loves his graphic novel and hates the jocks as much as he does. They would be a perfect team...if she wasn't possibly serious about killing the jocks and have some disturbing problems in her own past as well.

What did I like or not like?

This book dragged me in and wouldn't let me go. Lyga does an excellent job showing two troubled characters who might have problems with each other, but still find comfort in each other's presence and direction.

Ultimately, Donnie finds that he isn't as alone as he once thought, and if you want to find out more about Kyra, you can read my post next week about Goth Girl Rising.

P.S. There is language and sexual references throughout this one. 

Bacon Number: 6 Degrees of Kevin Bacon

Has anyone seen the original Footloose? Well, Kevin Bacon was in that movie and just over 70 others (according to the ever trusty and awesome Internet Movie Database). But, something that you might hear is 6 Degrees of Kevin Bacon. What is that?

Basically, that is the notion that pretty much every actor in Hollywood can be connected to Kevin Bacon through movies that both have been in. For instance:

Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter appeared in Dark Shadows.

Helena Bonham Carter and Kevin Bacon appeared in Novocaine.

You get the idea. Now, it used to be that people would try to figure out these connections on their own, but now with the trusty help of Google, you can figure out any actor's "Bacon Number" by typing it into Google after an actor's or actress's name. (Hence Johnny Depp's Bacon Number is 2, and I got that by typing "Johnny Depp Bacon Number" into Google).

 If you don't know too much about Kevin Bacon, this might seem like an exercise in futility. But, I challenge you to find any actor that appears on Google's list that is more than a 4, even a 3, Bacon Number. Good luck and have fun (btw this is really fun with some crazy friends lol).

Book Fair of Death: Murder Mystery

One of the final High School programs that we did over the summer was a Murder Mystery Night. It was called Book Fair of Death, and it gave participants a chance to take on a role, and solve a mystery.

Emily Thornton was supposed to appear at a book fair and author signing at the Hayden Library, but just hours before the event, she was found dead! But, don't worry. Detective Bibliophile is on the scene, and he is going to get to the bottom of it...with a little help from the program participants.

Ultimately I got the idea and the majority of how to run this program from the Collaborative Summer Library Program 2012 Teen Summer Reading manual. They had already written the scenario, given some short character sketches, and a list of the props necessary.

The manual mentioned two different ways of running the program: getting volunteers and staff to appear as the characters in the murder mystery, and then the teens that came would just be asking questions and trying to piece together what happened. Or, the teens that came could be the characters, and try to figure out which one of them had murdered the victim. We kind of blended the two ideas with a couple staff members and volunteers mixed in with our teen participants who also played some characters.

Between examining evidence, getting statements from the characters, asking questions, and accusing someone, the program took about an hour and a half and was way too much fun! The teens really got into asking other characters questions and trying to figure out which one of them had done it.

If you would like to run a similar program, you can purchase scripts and character lists from MyMysteryParty.com, or you could get a hold of me and I could most likely share more information about the script and characters that we used =D

Stinky Cheese Man: A Fairly Stupid (Hilarious) Tale

The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales by Jon Scieszka and illustrated by Lane Smith

Why did I read it?

We purchased a new copy of this book (I say new because I know that we had one before, so we must have replaced it), and I couldn't help but read it, and then I couldn't help but laugh hilariously.

What happened?

This is a book that is making fun of books in general and fairy tales specifically, and that is just funny. The back cover of the book features a chicken making fun of the fact that there is an ISBN number. The dedication page is being held upside down by an elf who comments that no one reads the dedication pages anyway.

Then you get to the actual stories. Instead of being Fairy Tales, they are Fairly Stupid Tales. So Goldilocks goes into the home of three elephants instead of three bears, and can't come close to using any of their stuff because it is sssooo big!

Instead of Little Red Riding Hood, the story is Little Red Riding Shorts. Instead of The Ugly Duckling, its The Really Ugly Duckling, and then the topper is the combined story of Cinderumpelstiltskin.

What did I like or not like?

I've read The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Scieszka before, and this one is just as funny. Scieszka has a great way of staying true to the story while turning everything on its head.

The added elements of some of the characters knowing they are in a book adds another angle of hilariousness to it.

Smith, the illustrator, has a cooky style that fits right along with Scieszka's crazy stories!

Another reason I liked it is because it is short, so you can enjoy the stories without having to put too much time into it hehe.

Awesome Space Pictures: One Small Post for Me...

Anybody think that space is cool?

If you do, I think you'll appreciate these things.

NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), has a website set up that gives you an Astronomy Picture of the Day. Sound boring? You should check them out!

These pictures are legit, not fabricated, and are ridiculously high quality. Another cool fact: NASA has been doing this since June 16, 1995 (if you noticed, consistently since June 20th).

A friend mentioned this site to me yesterday, and I couldn't resist sharing it =D

Something else he mentioned that blew my mind was the Kerbal Space Program. Its a game that allows you to build your own space program. Build your own rocket or shuttle with different features and parts, and see if you can get into space.There is a free demo version available, but the whole program costs $18.

Not sure if you'll find these things as interesting as I did, but I figured I might as well try hehe.

The Maze Runner: Mystery Within, Death Without

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

Why did I read it?

This was the title for our TeenBookWorms group in July, but it took me a while to get a blog post up about it.

What happened?

After waking in an elevator, Thomas finds himself in The Glade, with no memory of what brought him to that point.

The Glade is a society, made up of entirely teenage boys, that depend on their own strength, wit, and ordered existence to survive in the center of an ever-changing maze, inhabited by the mysterious and deadly Grievers.

Their only chance of escape is to explore the maze, hoping that an exit presents itself. But,
their society is turned on its head when a girl arrives only days after Thomas, and claims that everything is going to change.

As if that wasn't strange enough, she is the only person that Thomas can seem to remember...from whatever happened before...

What did I like or not like?

While the book takes a little while to get going, it is totally worth it once it does. The plot is something that you aren't expecting, and the mystery surrounding what is going on keeps you guessing the whole time.

Like many Dystopian books, the characters inhabit a dangerous world, full of high-stake choices and situations,  where one false move could get you dead. This excitement is coupled with the mystery, right up until the book ends, leaving you begging for the second one, The Scorch Trials. That is what happened with me anyway hehe.

Counting Down To: Your Program

Have you ever wondered how a website gets a countdown timer on it? Ever wanted it for a program that you are having?

WEBSITE COUNTDOWN WIDGET

Well countingdownto.com lets you do it. You can either choose to create a simple widget, or an actual web page that you can link to.

Obviously, most free websites are there to make money, and this one is no exception. If you want more features, you have to pay for the lifetime membership Pro version. It gives you more color options, more text options, and doesn't have countingdownto's link at the bottom of your timer.

But, for a simple widget or link, the free version does a pretty snazzy job of giving you a feature that I know I normally don't get =D

An example of the widget is above, and here is an example of the web page. (FYI, we actually are doing a Hunger Games showing on October 20 from 6-9pm. Pizza and snacks will be provided, and we'll have a few discussion questions at the end while we're munching. This program is a part of North Idaho Reads (more info will be coming in another post, but if you want more info now, you can check out the website.)

Darth Vader and Son: What if Vader raised Luke? LOL!

Darth Vader and Son by Jeffrey Brown

Why did I read it?

I popped into work today, my second day after a two-week vacation, and my boss was checking in some new books. I recognized some of the artwork from some posts on Pinterest, and I couldn't resist reading it.

What happened?

Anybody remember Star Wars? Everybody right! =D

Well, instead of Darth Vader being reunited with his long lost son and having some problems, imagine Darth Vader raising Luke Skywalker instead.

Now, imagine that this is actually in a comic strip format and its actually for laughs instead of a serious story.

You would be imagining Darth Vader and Son, and you would be laughing a part of your body clean off!

What did I like or not like?

This collection of strips isn't very long, but it is so worth it! The author did an excellent job taking all of the quintessential lines from Star Wars, and working them into a comic situation between Darth Vader and a four-year-old Luke Skywalker.

As an example to whet your appetite, this is one of the ones I really liked:

Darth Vader is looking over the shoulder of his young son, and demands, "Luke, why aren't you ready for school? I'm here to put you back on schedule. Perhaps I can find new ways to motivate you."

Obviously it's so much better with the illustrations, but that gives you a taste of this witty collection of awesomeness :)

Jing: Screen Video Capture

For a little while now, I've wanted to know how to capture video from my computer screen. If you click the "Print Screen" button on your PC, you can get a picture of your screen and then paste it into a program. But, I've seen several companies make tutorials and introductions while recording what they are doing on their screen. I wanted to figure out how to do that.

So, I asked some of my colleagues and they mentioned Camtasia. This software allows you to capture video from your computer screen, and then edit it inside Camtasia. The only problem is that you have to purchase this software. The good news is that there is a free trial available from the website.

But, there is even better news. The same people that make Camtasia also offer Jing. Jing only allows you to create 5 minute videos, but it is absolutely free =D. The website does want you to make an account, and sign up for the newsletter from TechSmith, the creators. But the software works really well, allows you to capture videos and photos, and then it gives you a link to share with others. Here's a quick video I created, that shows you what it looks like and what it does.