Teens Only | Scavenger Hunt

So when I was really, really young -- I think this might have been when I was a Camp Fire girl -- I participated in my first ever scavenger hunt. Doesn't "scavenger hunt" just sound so exciting? Of course, none of us really knew what a scavenger hunt was. 

In the days leading up to the big event, I started imagining a group of kids searching through dirty, smelly garbage cans. Let me tell you, the excitement over the upcoming hunt started to lose its allure.

What's a scavenger hunt, you ask? The American Heritage Dictionary defines a scavenger hunt as follows:  A game in which individuals or teams try to locate and bring back miscellaneous items on a list.

That scavenger hunt I was in turned out to be a lot of fun. Groups of us were sent off in search of odd things. We knocked on neighbors' doors and thankfully were met with nice people who were more than happy to help us in our quests. I can't remember what odd things we were sent to find, though. 

Sounds rather fun, don't you think? If you were making a scavenger hunt, what items would be on your list? I'd probably opt for "find a piece of pizza" (preferably fresh...for me to eat). Or maybe something like "find a popsicle stick" (with the popsicle still on it, of course). Hello. You know I'm always thinking of food.

I know what would be fun. Maybe I'd list "take a picture of a human pyramid."

Well, back to scavenger hunts. I've got some exciting news for you. There will be a YA Scavenger Hunt from October 3-6 -- starting and ending at noon. Looks like it's all about great new books and READING! And there are a ton of awesome prizes! You can learn more about it here. And here is the blurb from the website: 

What's This All About?

The YA Scavenger Hunt is a biannual online event that promotes collaboration between YA authors from different publishing houses, offering fans an opportunity to see the latest and greatest in young adult literature. During the hunt, we showcase exclusive bonus material, give readers access to top secret insider information, and offer fabulous prizes and giveaways for zealous YA fans. 

Looks like fun. 

In the meantime, if you want to meet an author live and in person, join us at 6 pm today -- at the Cesar Chavez Central Library -- when we will welcome Nina Sankovitch, author of Tolstoy and the Purple Chair, this year's One Book, One San Joaquin featured title. It promises to be a wonderful evening.

Happy Reading!

Teens Only | True Confessions

Yes, you read that title correctly. This is true confessions time. I feel like I've been harboring a deep, dark secret for too long. It's time to let it out and move past it....if I can. And you, gentle readers and dear friends, are the comfortable place I have chosen to unburden myself.

Here is my true confession: I am a book addict.

Yes, some of you might think you are also addicted to books...and reading. But you must understand: I have it bad. Really bad.

First of all, I don't read one book at a time. Oh no. I have at least 4 books going at the any given time. You'll find these books strewn throughout my house. Right now I'm reading Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John LeCarre, The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett, Witness by Karen Hesse, and The Green Book by Elizabeth Rogers. 

Oh dear. That's 5 books, isn't it. See how bad I am?

Other life problems that arise from this, my book addiction: Laundry. Oh, I can start a load of laundry just fine. Sometimes I even remember to put it in the dryer. But then I see a book just lying there, and I pick it up. And I start reading. And reading. And pretty soon I realize that hours have passed. And the laundry in the dryer? Oh I've forgotten all about that. I told you. I'm addicted to books.

In addition to the 4 (or 5) books I have going at the same time -- in my house -- there is usually a book in my purse too. In fact, I had this really great purse I just loved. Then one day, the strap just broke. I was pretty bummed, and started considering whether that purse was poorly made. But then I looked inside. I had 3 books in there. I'm thinking now that was too many for the little purse strap to bear. Now I just carry one book in my purse. But I've got one in my car trunk and a few under my desk at work. Just in case.

Sometimes I get so caught up in a book I forget to sleep. True story. A few weekends ago I reread Nina Sankovitch's Tolstoy and the Purple Chair, which just happens to be the featured title of this year's One Book, One San Joaquin. I started rereading it around 7 pm. At 3:45 am my stomach started to growl. I wondered for a second whether I had eaten anything in a while. And then I looked at the clock. Darn. I was going to have to get some sleep. But I couldn't stop reading. So I let myself have another 30 minutes and then I went to sleep. Compromise is good. And so was that book!

Lastly. In preparation for this soul-bearing confession, I thought I would count the books I own. So these are all the books in my house, not counting the ones borrowed from the library. Just the ones I own. Total count? 896. Seriously. That's not too many, is it?

But you know what? Despite the lack of sleep and the problem with finishing laundry that this book addiction causes, I wouldn't give up my books for anything!

I love books. And I'm not too proud to admit it.

Happy Reading.

P.S. I just remembered. There's one more book I'm reading: To Stir a Movement: Life, Justice, and Major League Baseball by Jeremy Affeldt (of the San Francisco Giants). I love my Giants!

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!