Ms. Suzy Reads | At the Giants Game

Here was our spectacular view at Sunday's Giants game: 

 

 

Photo courtesy of A-Fay Photography

I spent the day with my good buddies cheering for the San Francisco Giants. We didn't win, but I will keep cheering anyway. That's what a true fan does.

I digress. 

While enjoying lots of food, watching the game, and being with my friends, I happened to glance up at a young guy sitting in the row behind us. He was reading. A book. During a baseball game. A book. 

My initial shock turned into: "Right on! He reads!!" Because I get pretty tuned into baseball games, you won't find me reading at a baseball game. Ever. But I have been known to read in some pretty strange places, including the bathtub and at the top of the Statue of Liberty. Hey, I'm afraid of heights so the book kept me calm!

What about you? What's the strangest place you've ever found yourself reading a book?

It's July 1, and I'd like to propose that we all read one book this month...in whatever strange place we wish!

And here are a couple of book suggestions, in case you're looking:

For you young readers: Two Tough Crocs by David Bedford

 

This is the story of Sylvester and Arnold -- two crocodile bullies -- who are competing with each other to be the toughest animal in the swamp. And along comes Betty. Betty the bad. I'm not going to tell you how this turns out, you'll have to read it yourself to see! But it does end with a positive message. Enjoy!

For older readers: The Great Trouble: A Mystery of London, the Blue Death, and a Boy Called Eel by Deborah Hopkinson. 

This is a little bit historical fiction and a LOT of medical mystery! Set amid the 1854 London cholera outbreak, this attention-grabbing story of Eel, an orphan who survives by combing the filthy banks of the Thames for anything he might sell, is a delightful combination of race-against-the-clock medical mystery and outwit-the-bad-guys adventure. Eel, a hardworking and bighearted kid with no shortage of crummy luck, is being hunted by a notoriously mean crook, who happens to be his stepfather. When the first cholera case hits, the town blames the polluted air, but Eel and his mentor, Dr. Snow, have a different theory-that it's being spread through a local water pump-which they set out to prove before the death toll escalates further. 

  

And last but not least...for teens: The latest from the ever-so-popular author John Green: Paper Towns. 

Here is a little bit to whet your appetite: Weeks before graduating from their Orlando-area high school, Quentin Jacobsen's childhood best friend, Margo, reappears in his life, specifically at his window, commanding him to take her on an all-night, score-settling spree. Quentin has loved Margo from not so afar (she lives next door), years after she ditched him for a cooler crowd. Just as suddenly, she disappears again. 

Fans of Green's books -- such as The Fault in Our Stars -- will want to get their hands on this one!

Read wherever you want....just read! And you've still got the whole month of July to finish your reading logs for the Fizz! Boom! Read! Summer Reading Club. 

Stay cool!


 

The Wanderlust Librarian | Books: Armchair Travel at its finest

When I travel, I love when I have a comfortable seat. It's preferable for me to have some premium coffee and some tasty nibbles. Oh, and while I'm at it... my own private bathroom. 

The bloggess has spoken. 

Right. What I meant to say is when i'm at home and traveling to new places in an engaging book. 

Traveling doesn't always mean luxurious places. One place I (armchair) traveled to this year was prison. I learned what it was like to be in a women's prison with Piper Kerman in her biographical book Orange is the New Black. This book is full of gritty descriptions and more prison slang than I can shake a stick at! This book is a cautionary tale at its best. 

I went to Indianapolis to hear the story of Hazel Lancastster, cancer patient and her journey through illness and love in The Fault in Our Stars by the (AWESOME) John Green. My friend, Panteha, chronicled this book in her blog. My 15 year old daughter and I loved this book. I suggested this read to a guy friend who also loved it. One place that was described lovingly in this book was Amsterdam. My cousin recently moved there and between Green's descriptions and his pictures, I'm wondering what's stopping me from going there! The movie comes out next year, so if you want to be ahead of the trend, check out this book. 

At some point in my life, I wanted to be a coroner. Instead of reading about one, I read about the afterlife of a dead body. In the book Stiff: The Curious Lives of Cadavers by Mary Roach, I learned the different ways cadavers are used for medical science, automobile safety and the study of decomposition. Warning, this book is not for the faint of heart. While funny and macabre at times, there are still dead bodies in this book. I revisited this book earlier this year (it was published in 2004) and I was still fascinated by the many voyages the body can take after the soul departs. One of the best opening lines from Mary Roach reads: "The way I see it, being dead is not terribly far off from being on a cruise ship. Most of your time is spent lying on your back".  

Give yourself some time to enjoy some reading time. Read a new book from the library or re-read a favorite! Comfy chairs are out there... and they're waiting for you! 

Teens Only | Looking for Alaska

No, I'm not traveling to Alaska anytime soon. The title of this blog is, alas, the title of a really great book which I highly recommend. Looking for Alaska by John Green will make you think. The publisher's blurb begins like this: 

Miles "Pudge" Halter is abandoning his safe-okay, boring-life. Fascinated by the last words of famous people, Pudge leaves for boarding school to seek what a dying Rabelais called the "Great Perhaps."

I want you all to read this book and talk about what the "Great Perhaps" means. Is it, as some readers have suggested, that one turning point in your life when everything (past, present and future) makes sense? When you find your life's meaning? Is it, as others have suggested, something that is never meant to be known? 

Looking for Alaska is gripping. It's Miles' story as he spends his first year at a prep school (away from home) and is introduced to good friends and some rather outlandish pranks. And then the big plot twist: a devastating event that I won't tell you about because I'm not a book plot spoiler. If you notice the chapters are titled "one hundred twenty seven days before" to "three days before," etc., you'll most likely figure it out. But it's the impact of that event, and the coming to terms it inspires that is just momentous. Huge kudos to author John Green for this really compelling read. And by the way, it's a New York Times Bestseller. 

And lest I forget, Looking for Alaska is part of the Library's One Book, One San Joaquin program which kicks off Saturday, September 7th with a really cool event featuring Nancy Pearl at the Janet Leigh Theatre (located on the University of Pacific campus in Stockton). Every year the Library presents a community reading event centered on one book. This year, that book is Nina Sankovitch's Tolstoy and the Purple Chair. You already know this because you saw my colleague Lisa's blog about this program, right? Nina's book is a beautiful tribute to the magical power of reading; John's book definitely shares some themes with that book. It all comes together as we celebrate the beauty and lasting impact of books and reading.

So read Looking for Alaska. Check out the great programs we have slated for One Book, One San Joaquin. And check out the teen program -- Teen Talk and T-Shirt Fun -- for a discussion of Looking for Alaska and a really cool bleach pen art project. And I'll make it easy for you: we've got 2 of those programs scheduled. The first is Tuesday, September 10th at 4 pm at the Tracy Library. The second is Tuesday, September 17th at 4 pm at the Ripon Library. They're free. Join us.

Happy Reading!

  

Book Bucket List | One Book, One San Joaquin

This year's One Book, One San Joaquin program is just around the corner!  The One Book program is meant to inspire reading and community.  This year, we are featuring Tolstoy and the Purple Chair by Nina Sankovitch, Looking for Alaska by John Green for our teen readers, and After Eli by Rebecca Rupp for children.

We are also excited to announce that this year's program will be kicked off by a visit from librarian and author Nancy Pearl!  She will be speaking at the University of the Pacific's Janet Leigh Theatre on Saturday, September 7 at 2:00 p.m.  Join us to kick off this year's exciting reading program!

The featured title this year is Nina Sankovitch's Tolstoy and the Purple Chair.  Nina describes how books and reading helped her get through the grief she felt after her sister's death. Her plan was to read one book per day for an entire year and is able to use the books to reconnect with her family and friends, and eventually come to terms with the death of her sister.  Sankovitch also tells stories about her family history and how books and reading have been a love shared through the generations.

The Ripon Library will be hosting a discussion on Tolstoy and the Purple Chair on Thursday, September 26 at 6 p.m.  Come and see what others thought about the book and share about the love of books and reading.

The teen selection for this year is John Green's Looking for Alaska.  When Miles, aka Pudge, starts high school at a boarding school in Alabama, he is searching for "the great perhaps."  Once he is there he not only finds his first real friend "the Colonel", but once he meets the beautiful and enigmatic Alaska Young, his life is never the same. For awhile, Miles is content with his interesting classes and pranks on the popular kids at his school, but after a drastic accident, everything in his life changes.

After Eli by Rebecca Rupp is the featured children's book for this year's One Book, One San Joaquin program.  The story follows Daniel, a young boy who is trying to come to terms with the death of his older brother Eli.  Eli died while serving while serving in the military in the Middle East, which obviously, and understandably throws his family's world upside down.  The summer after Eli's death, Daniel starts to learn what really is important to him and what kind of person he wants to become.

You can checkout all of these great books from our libraries! Don't forget to check out our website to see all of the great One Book, One San Joaquin programs coming in September!

Teens Only | In Honor of Best Friends

June 8th is Best Friends Day. I know, I know....there seems to be a "day" for everything, right? But best friends. Here's a "day" I can get behind.

Best friends are really what sustain us, support us, comfort us, stand by us, defend us, and oh so much more. I hope that as you are reading this, your best friend comes to mind. And I hope you smile (just as I am) when you think of the memories you have created with your best friend.

My best friend (or BFF to go with the current vernacular) and I have known each other for over 30 years. And in that time, let me just say: we have laughed and laughed and laughed til we have had tears rolling down our cheeks. 

We have learned many, many things together. But in the interest of not divulging too many of our secrets, I think I'll move forward to some great reading recommendations.

In celebration of best friends, here are four books that celebrate friendship in some way. Two of the titles I've mentioned before, but they're so great they're worth repeating.

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. This is the story of Hazel and Gus who meet in a cancer support group. One of their diagnoses is terminal. And even though this book's premise is based on facing death and handling loss, Green manages to insert quite a bit of humor in these two wonderfully-developed characters. If you haven't read it, read it. It's a beautiful celebration of friendship.

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz. This is a great story about how a friendship can develop between two very different people. As Aristotle and Dante grow their friendship, they learn some really important truths about themselves and the kind of people they want to be. 

The Drowned Cities by Paolo Bacigalupi. This is actually the companion book to Ship Breaker. I haven't read either of these books yet, one look at the review from Publishers Weekly and I'm sold. I'll be reading both this weekend! Here's the blurb about Drowned Cities:  

Set in the same horrific world as Bacigalupi's Printz-winning Ship Breaker, this superb, violent tale concerns "war maggots" Mahlia and Mouse, two kids trying to survive in an impoverished village not far from the tropical Drowned Cities that were once Washington, D.C. Life is a war zone, with gangs of marauders periodically sweeping the area-raping, pillaging, and forcibly recruiting new boy soldiers for their half-remembered patriotic and religious causes. When Mouse is taken by the United Patriot Front, Mahlia, who has already lost a hand to the war, makes a foolhardy rescue attempt, aided by Tool, a hulking, genetically enhanced half-man, a killing machine who has broken away from his masters. Tool still remembers "how he and his pack had run the streets under fire, blades and machine guns held high," but finds himself forming a new pack of sorts with the determined Mahlia. Beautifully written, filled with high-octane action, and featuring badly damaged but fascinating and endearing characters, this fine novel tops its predecessor and can only increase the author's already strong reputation.

The Girls of No Return by Erin Saldin. This one is set in a wilderness school, which already sounds pretty adventure and action-packed. It's about a troubled sixteen-year-old girl attending a wilderness school in the Idaho mountains who must finally face the consequences of her complicated friendships with two of the other girls at the school.Yep, this one is on my weekend reading list too!

A few books that feature friendship on this -- Best Friends Day. 

And of course, a special shout out to my BFF: Thank you for everything.

Until next week, happy reading!

Book Bucket List | The Fault in Our Stars

When I was thinking about what books to talk about here on the blog, I realized that I rarely mention any books for teens.  I only realized this after I finished a really, really good book by young adult fiction author John Green.  In a world where "teen paranormal romance" is one of the more popular genres for teens, (I couldn't believe the size of the shelf space for it at Barnes and Noble!) Green's The Fault in Our Stars is a romance firmly based in reality.

Hazel, a sixteen year old girl miraculously surviving terminal lung cancer, is utterly bored and hates feeling like she is a "professional sick person."  However, at a teen cancer survivor support group meeting, she meets Augustus Waters, a seventeen year old survivor of osteosarcoma. The incredibly good looking, charismatic, and intellectually stimulating boy takes Hazel on an adventure of which she never thought she'd be capable.

Obviously, as both main characters have cancer, this is not always a happy tale. "The world is not a wish making factory" is a common theme and quote throughout the book.  It is however, the best teen book I've read in awhile, so if you're in the mood for some young adult fiction, (though this book could really be loved by teens and former teens alike) definitely check this one out. 

BONUS BLOGGING MATERIAL:

John Green, the author, is a good time:

Teens Only | What's Hot in 2012

The weekend is upon us, and for those of you lucky enough to be enjoying 3 days off in honor of our veterans, I thought I'd share some great books published in 2012. Pick one up, read it, and share your thoughts with me by posting a comment to this blog. 

First off, John Green's The Fault in Our Stars. I asked a young friend of mine for a book recommendation a few months ago, and this is what she gave me. This is the love story of Hazel and Augustus. But it's not your typical teen love story (and there are no vampires). Hazel and Augustus meet at a cancer support group. And they're not there to support others. They both have cancer, and Hazel's is terminal. You will laugh at the funny dialogue, but also within the pages are some very poignant and powerful thoughts. For example: "The marks humans leave are too often scars." Think about it. 

Another must read for this weekend is Every Day by David Levithan. This is also a love story, but a really quirky and unique one! It's the story of A who wakes up every morning in a different body, living a different life. Can you even imagine? Reminds me of that movie "Fifty First Dates." A doesn't identify with a specific gender, so sometimes it's a guy's body, and sometimes it's a girl's. Because of this transient existence, A develops a strong moral code based on respect for the person who's life is disrupted and the consequences that person will have to face. Oh and the love story? Well, you'll just have to read it to find out more.

My final recommendation for the weekend is Never Fall Down by Patricia McCormick. This is a gripping, powerful novel based on the true story of Arn Chorn Pond, a boy who survived the Killing Fields of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia and became a human rights activist. In the face of fear, starvation, and humiliation, Arn finds an inner strength and will to survive that is simply incredible. This is a great read which inspires us -- all of us -- that even in the face of struggles and obstacles, we can make it. We really can. To learn more about this incredible man, check out his website. 

As always, these books are available for checking out from your SSJCPL libraries. If you don't find it on the shelf, request it! You won't be sorry.

Have a great weekend....and happy reading!

Book Bucket List | The Outsiders and Looking for Alaska

When I was thinking of types of books that should make anyone's book bucket list, one of the first things that came to mind was a coming of age story.  I really can't decide between two of my favorites, so I am going to write about S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders and John Green's Looking for Alaska.

In The Outsiders, Ponyboy is a fourteen year old boy that belongs to a local gang that call themselves the Greasers.  Even within his group of friends, Ponyboy feels like an outsider as he feels his interests in books and movies can't be shared with anyone.  But once things flair up with a rival gang and Ponyboy's friend accidentally kills a member of that rival gang, Ponyboy is forced to grow up very quickly. 

The Outsiders was written by Hinton when she was only sixteen years old.  Even at that young age she told a story that many generations have been able to relate to.  Any reader would be able to see some part of themselves in her vast cast of characters.  If you're looking for a classic coming of age story, this would be it.

In 1983, The Outsiders movie was released featuring huge names like Tom Cruise, Rob Lowe, and Matt Dillon.  So once you finish the book, you can go and watch the movie! Check out the trailer below.

One of my favorite books that I have read this year is John Green's Looking for Alaska.  When Miles Halter gets bored with public school and convinces his parents to ship him off to his father's former boarding school in Alabama to seek what he calls "the great perhaps".  Once there, he befriends the non-popular group including the beautiful and quirky Alaska Young.  For awhile, Miles is content with his interesting classes and pranks on the popular kids at his school, but after a drastic accident, everything in his life changes.

In 2006, Looking for Alaska won the Michael L. Printz award from the American Library Association for "best book written for teens, based entirely on its literary merit."   It really is a great book that completely blindsides you from where you think the story is headed!