Teens Only | Lead a Better Life

I've got a poster above my computer that says: Read Every Day. Lead a Better Life. 

I do hope you've not grown weary of my always promoting reading. I am a librarian, after all. And beyond that, I love reading and want all of you to experience the awesomeness of reading a really great book.

So along those lines, let me ask you: Did you know you can check out ebooks from the Library. I imagine there were a couple of gasps of surprise there. No? Well, it's true. The Library has access to two great services (Overdrive and Axis360) providing ebooks and audiobooks that can be checked out and enjoyed on your own device. 

All you have to do is go to the Library's website -- www.ssjcpl.org -- and click under the "Books & More" tab for ebooks and audiobooks. On that first page you'll see what you need (apps and such) to enjoy your favorite books. But it's so easy and with a SSJCPL library card, it's free. Yes, I said free. 

I was just browsing in the recently returned titles on Axis360. Oh. My. Gosh. So many great titles that I just know you've been waiting with bated breath to read:

Anthony Horowitz' Oblivion, the final installment of the Gatekeepers series, is available on Axis360. If you've been reading this series, here's your chance to find out how it all ends. Matt, Pedro, Scott, Jamie and Scar. Five Gatekeepers have finally found one another. And only the five of them can fight the evil force that is on the rise, threatening the destruction of the world. No light reading there, right? BTW, you can also check out this book in book form. But ebooks are fun, don't you think? (The link above takes you to the book. Like I said earlier, to see ebooks the Library has access to, go to ebooks and audiobooks under the Books & More tab.)

I've just gotten back into listening to audiobooks while I'm driving, or just hanging out at home. It's way relaxing to have someone read a book to you. And again, there are lots of great audiobook titles to choose from.

Browsing again in Axis360 I found Discovering Wes Moore, the story of a Rhodes scholar who looks at the factors that influenced him as well as another man of the same name and from the same neighborhood who was drawn into a life of drugs and crime and ended up serving life in prison. In fact, Wes Moore is the subject of the #ReInventStockton Summer Book Club being led by City Councilman Michael Tubbs at the Maya Angelou Branch Library on Wednesdays at 3 pm (through July 31). You really should check that out! (P.S. The link above also takes you to the book.)

I've gotta say: SSJCPL rocks. We've got it going on. Check us out, and remember to look at the events calendar often. There's always something going on.

Read Every Day. Lead a Better Life. (And it's so easy at your Library!!)

Teens Only | One Name, Two People

Maybe you've heard of this book -- The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates. It's about two guys -- both named Wes Moore and born blocks apart in Baltimore, Maryland -- and the very different paths their lives take.

In the review from Publishers Weekly, the reviewer says this: "Two hauntingly similar boys take starkly different paths in this searing tale of the ghetto...Moore writes with subtlety and insight about the plight of ghetto youth, viewing it from inside and out; he probes beneath the pathologies to reveal the pressures -- poverty, a lack of prospects, the need to respond to violence with greater violence -- that propelled the other Wes to his doom. The result is a moving exploration of roads not taken."

This is such a powerful book with an incredible message. The library has several copies of this book, and if you need further encouragement to pick up this book and give it a read, I've got some really great news.

The Other Wes Moore is THE featured book at a special book club for tweens and teens this summer: #ReinventStockton Summer Book Club with Councilman Michael Tubbs. The #ReinventStockton Book Club will meet Wednesdays from 3-5 pm at the Maya Angelou Branch Library. The book club will run from June 12 through July 31, 2013. Registration is not required, but check out a copy of the book soon and be a part of this transformative discussion!

The Maya Angelou Branch Library is located at 2324 Pock Lane in Stockton. To learn more about the Angelou Library, click here.

This is an opportunity to be a part of something really special. Join us at the #ReinventStockton Summer Book Club.

See you there!