Thursday, December 29, 2011

Turn the Page

Still waiting for snow... probably won't see even one tiny crystal flake till Janus shows his baby face.  Meanwhile, let's count up the books from 2011.  This year I am weighing in at 141 total books read (131 young adult books, and 10 books from the adult collections), -- could still (probably will) squeeze one more title in before midnight this Saturday.  How do I know how many?  I track and tag what I read using LibraryThing. You could also keep track in your library account using the bookbags feature. 141 total books read in 2011, works out to two and a half books a week. Yay, kudos, tra-la-la for me.  Soooo, which ten from 2011 did I think were tops? :

Seven from the teen collection:


Three from the adult collection:

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

SHOW ME THE SNOW

It's winter, and I am wishing for a little snow to lighten the days.  Maybe you are too.  So, until we get some of the real thing, here are a few books for icy crystals by proxy. This chilly list is a mix of genres. Wintersmith; Stork; Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow; Snow-walker; and East; are fantasy stories.  Whiteout is a mystery.  The White Darkness, Trapped, Revolver, and Brian's Winter are suspenseful, survival, adventure stories. Let It Snow, is a romance. Emperors of the Ice is historical fiction, based on a true story. I have read and can recommend: Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow, and The White Darkness. I gave both books 4 stars. Trapped, while not a favorite of mine (I gave it 2 out of 5 stars), might appeal to those of you who enjoy survival stories.  I gave Stork, three and half out of five stars.  It is an urban fantasy that weaves Norse mythology into a small Minnesota town.  There is a sequel titled, Frost.

Brian's Winter, by Gary Paulsen, 1996. Instead of being rescued from a plane crash, as in the author's book Hatchet, this story portrays what would have happened to Brian had he been forced to survive a winter in the wilderness with only his survival pack and hatchet.
East, by Edith Pattou, 2003.  A young woman journeys to a distant castle on the back of a great white bear who is the victim of a cruel enchantment.


Emperors of the Ice: A True Story of Disaster and Survival in the Antarctic, 1910-13, by Richard Farr, 2008.  Apsley Cherry-Garrard shares his adventures as the youngest member of Robert Scott's expedition to Antarctica in the early 20th century, during which he and Edward Wilson try to learn the evolutionary history of emperor penguins. Includes historical notes.
 
Let It Snow : Three Holiday Romances, by John Green, Maureen Johnson, Lauren Myracle, 2008. In three intertwining short stories, several high school couples experience the trials and tribulations along with the joys of romance during a Christmas Eve snowstorm in a small town.
Revolver, by Marcus Sedgwick, 2010.  Finland, 1910: Fifteen-year-old Sig is shocked to see a hole in the frozen lake outside his family's cabin and to find his father's corpse nearby.  Sig's sister and stepmother go for help, leaving Sig alone with Einar's body in the cabin. Soon after, an armed stranger barges in, demanding a share of Einar's stolen gold.

Snow-walker, by Catherine Fisher, 2004.  The snow-walker Gudrun came from the swirling mists and icy depths beyond the edge of the world to rule the Jarl's people with fear and sorcery, but a small band of outlaws will fight to the death to restore the land to its rightful leader.
Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow, by Jessica Day George, 2008.  A girl travels east of the sun and west of the moon to free her beloved prince from a magic spell.



Stork, by Wendy Delsol, 2010.  After her parents' divorce, Katla and her mother move from Los Angeles to Norse Falls, Minnesota, where Kat immediately alienates two boys at her high school and, improbably, discovers a kinship with a mysterious group of elderly women--the Icelandic Stork Society--who "deliver souls."

Trapped, by Michael Northrop, 2011.  Seven high school students are stranded at their New England high school during a week-long blizzard that shuts down the power and heat, freezes the pipes, and leaves them wondering if they will survive.

The White Darkness, by Geraldine McCaughrean, 2007.  Taken to Antarctica by the man she thinks of as her uncle for what she believes to be a vacation, Symone--a troubled fourteen year old--discovers that he is dangerously obsessed with seeking Symme's Hole, an opening that supposedly leads into the center of a hollow Earth.

Whiteout, by Walter Sorrells, 2009. Sixteen-year-old Chass makes her way through a Minnesota blizzard, seeking not only the murderer of a beloved music teacher, but also something belonging to the killer who has been chasing her mother and herself around the country.

Wintersmith, by  Terry Pratchett, 2006.  When witch-in-training Tiffany Aching accidentally interrupts the Dance of the Seasons and awakens the interest of the elemental spirit of Winter, she requires the help of the six-inch-high, sword-wielding, sheep-stealing Wee Free Men to put the seasons aright.

Friday, December 9, 2011

TEEN THINK TANK'S TOP 44 READS FOR 2011

The Library's teen advisory board met last Thursday, Dec. 1 (next meeting is in February), for pizza, and, well, to meet, and eat pizza. We talked about what the 2012 poetry contest theme might be (good ideas were generated), discussed movies, and books, ate pizza (Thank you, Friends of the Library!), and whether a homework/writing drop-in program was something people would come to here at the library (members all said no).  While we ate more pizza, eleven members of the TTT wrote down their favorite reads from 2011, which I have posted below (all linked to the online catalog, of course).  
To solidify that reading mood here is a video from...
Julian Smith, I'm Reading A Book:

THE TEEN THINK TANK’S
TOP 44 READS OF 2011
  
Fiction : 
Young Samurai: Ring of Earth, by Chris Bradford 
A Clockwork Orange, by Anthony Burgess 
Alice in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll 
Hush, by Eishes Chayil
Nightshade, by Andrea Cremer
Elixir, by Hilary Duff
Hush Hush, by Becca Fitzpatrick
Ranger's Apprentice series, by John Flanagan
Beastly , by Alex Flinn
Tyger, Tyger, by Kerstan Hamilton
Magic the Gathering : Lorwyn, by Cory J. Herndon
Seekers series, by Erin Hunter
Need, by Carrie Jones
Iron King, by Julie Kagawa
A Dragon's Awakening, by Aya Knight
The Power of Six, by Pittacus Lore
Pendragon series, by D.J. MacHale
Wildwood Dancing, by Juliet Marillier
The Murder of Bindy MacKenzie, by Jaclyn Moriarty
All Quiet on the Western Front, by Erich Remarque
Heroes of Olympus series, by Rick Riordan
Holes, by Louis Sachar
Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley
Skinjacker trilogy, by Neal Shusterman
The Help, by Kathryn Stockett
The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien
Cat's Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut
Girl in Hyacinth Blue, by Susan Vreeland
The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak
Skin, by Adrienne Vrettos
Graphic Fiction and Manga :
 The Walking Dead, by Robert Kirkman
Naruto, by Masashi Kishimoto
Bleach, by Tite Kubo
Maximum Ride, by NaRae Lee
Death Note, by Tsugumi Ōba
One Piece, by Eiichiro Oda
American Born Chinese, by Gene Luen Yang
Graphic Format Biography :
Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi
Smile, by Raina Telgemeier
Non-Fiction :
The Anthology of Rap, by Adam Bradley
The Book of Awesome, by Neil Pasricha