Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Ban Ignorance!

Celebrate Your Freadom, Read a Banned Book Today!

I love this part of the year, so many of the kids kept asking me why we were cautioning them from reading these books! It gave me the opportunity to explain Banned Books Week and what it represents for the community.








What banned book did you read this year? :]

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Pictures Speak a Thousand Words...


Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children
By Ransom Riggs

I found out about this book through multiple blogs that I follow and I was very intrigued at the idea of a story that focused around real photographs that are very out of the ordinary. When this book came into my library I quickly grabbed it and started reading and from the first page it was AHH-MAZING!! So much happens in this book that it is hard to write a review without spoiling part of the plot but here is the official review from amazon.com:

As a kid, Jacob formed a special bond with his grandfather over his bizarre tales and photos of levitating girls and invisible boys. Now at 16, he is reeling from the old man's unexpected death. Then Jacob is given a mysterious letter that propels him on a journey to the remote Welsh island where his grandfather grew up. There, he finds the children from the photographs--alive and well--despite the islanders’ assertion that all were killed decades ago. As Jacob begins to unravel more about his grandfather’s childhood, he suspects he is being trailed by a monster only he can see. A haunting and out-of-the-ordinary read, debut author Ransom Rigg’s first-person narration is convincing and absorbing, and every detail he draws our eye to is deftly woven into an unforgettable whole. Interspersed with photos throughout, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children is a truly atmospheric novel with plot twists, turns, and surprises that will delight readers of any age.

When you start reading this story you really don’t know what to expect. It starts off like a horror novel, the type where you need to turn the page but at the same time are scared to do so. Once you get half way through the story you realize the true plotline and it is so different from anything written before that the reader hardly knows how to feel.

The story ends on a cliff-hanger and one can only hope Ransom Riggs is diligently working on a sequel. Even more exciting, according to the author’s blog 20th Century Fox has purchased the film rights and they are currently working on casting!




5 out of 5 stars!

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Book Art

While casually (obsessively) reading through every "best blog" list I could find on the Internet yesterday I found this awesome article about mysterious paper sculptures being found at multiple libraries! I want to make one! Or even better, find one placed on my library shelves next to The Complete Works of William Shakespeare!

Zombies!





Warm Bodies
By Isaac Marion


I found this book while perusing the shelves at Barnes n Noble a few months back. I was scanning the shelves as I usually do to find barcodes to shamelessly scan into my Goodreads account before borrowing them from the library when BAM! The cover of Warm Bodies hit me like a hammer between the eyes. I was so intrigued, the contrast of dark shades and a red cape flowing from the zombie-esque man to look like gushing blood pulled me right in. Then I read the book jacket: “R is a zombie. He has no name, no memories, and no pulse, but he has dreams. He is a little different from his fellow dead.” That’s it, I had to have this book. There will be no blood sucking vampires or mysterious werewolves, instead there is a main character who eats brains! Brains, because, you know, HE IS A ZOMBIE! As you get further into the story you find that R is a different kind of zombie (are you a good witch, or a bad witch?) and he becomes one of the most lovable characters I have ever met.

Honestly there isn’t much else I can say without giving away the whole novel but check out my book trailer to learn more :]

Warm Bodies


4.5 out of 5 stars
Definitely a top pick for 2011!

Hello!

I have decided to break up my blog into two blogs: personal and library-related. Therefore this is our brand new space to host all things library related! Since I have to move everything around I am going to post some older book reviews to get the ball moving. Happy reading! :]