Books On Film | Insurgent & The Prone Gunman

 

This weekend the film adaptation of Insurgent by Veronica Roth, the second book in the Divergent trilogy, will be released. The film adaptation of the first book, Divergent, was released last year and I fully expect the third film to be adapted next year.

As war surges in the dystopian society around her, sixteen-year-old Divergent Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves--and herself--while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.

The film adaption of French crime novelist's Jean-Patrick Manchette's book The Prone Gunman, titled The Gunman and starring Sean Penn, will also be released this weekend.

Martin Terrier is a hired killer who wants out of the game so he can settle down and marry his childhood sweetheart. After all, that's why he took up this profession! But "the company" won't let him go: they have other plans. Once again, the gunman must assume the prone firing position. A tour de force, this violent tale shatters as many illusions about life and politics as it does bodies.

Just Life| Are You A Divergent?

Awhile back, at the movie theater, the movie trailer for Divergent caught my eye. "I bet that is based on a book", I mumbled to my husband sitting next to me. Later that day, I checked our library catalog and found out that the movie Divergent is based on a young adult book series by Veronica Roth.

Here is its storyline:

Imagine living in a rigid society that boxes you in one of its 5 factions. At 16, you are forced to to choose your faction. Sometimes that means leaving your family and friends behind to join a new faction. The book follows Beatrice Prior as she prepares to choose her faction.

The book is a bit of an adventure with a sprinkle of romance. It is also the universal story about struggling to fit in and having the overwhelming feeling of being out of place.  

Here are the factions of this society.

• Candor or the honest ones
• Abnegation or the selfless ones
• Dauntless or the brave ones
• Amity or the peaceful ones
• Erudite or the intelligent ones

Which faction do you think you belong to? Or are you a Divergent like Beatrice?

I bought copies of the first two books and at the end of the first book, there is a questionnaire that you can take to find out which faction you belong to.

Apparently, I am a candor. You better find out which faction you belongs to before watching it on March 21, 2014. 

Here are the books in this series (Divergent, Insurgent, Allegiant)

Signing off until next Monday- Panteha

Book Bucket List | The Latest in your Favorite Series...

One of the many wonderful aspects about working at a library is getting to see all the new releases as they come in.  And boy, have they come in this past October! New books are always great, but when the latest books in a series come in, it's especially exciting. It's even more so when it's a long awaited sequel in a popular series.

The latest in Rick Riordan's Heroes of Olympus series, The House of Hades, was just released.  Percy and Annabeth are trying to escape the underworld while the other young demigods are trying to seal the "Doors of Death".  Yikes.  Seems like things have progressed far beyond training at Camp Half-Blood.  Also, don't forget to checkout the new graphic novel version of The Sea of Monsters!

The final book in Veronica Roth's Divergent series was released a couple of weeks ago as well.  Allegiant is the third book in the trilogy.  It picks up right where Insurgent ended, so the action doesn't stop.  For the first time, readers get to see the perspectives of Tris and Four, so now we can finally see what's been going on inside of his head.  Fans of the trilogy will be not let down with the end of this book.

  

P.C. Cast has just released the latest in her popular vampire series, the House of Night.  In Revealed, Zoey ponders her fate and questions if she is the one who is really powerful enough to bring down the legendary Neferet.  Neferet, who is definitely not dead has been changed in terrible ways since her fall.  She is unleashing her wrath upon humanity, but is Zoey strong enough to fight it?  

So those are three latest in series that I'm pretty excited about. Just more to add on to my ever growing list...

4 Kids | Interview with 2 Readers

A while back I interviewed my 12 year old niece to talk about books and reading. That was quite a bit of fun.

So I thought I'd do it again. 

Photo courtesy of www.ranker.com

I just spent an hour with two of my favorite 5th graders -- Quinn and Zoe. We had some frozen yogurt with a variety of toppings. Let me try that again: we had a variety of toppings with a little frozen yogurt. But mostly we talked books. And life. And reading. And books. I only wish I could have been half that cool when I was in 5th grade!

I've known Quinn and Zoe for quite a while. And by the way, they're twins. Even before they started visiting the library on class visits, they would come to the library with their parents and older brother (a family of readers, by the way) on a very frequent basis.

Before our meeting, we decided to read 2 books -- R.J. Palacio's Wonder and Katherine Applegate's The One and Only Ivan -- and chat about them. I've mentioned both of these books in earlier blog posts. Applegate's book won the 2013 Newbery Medal, by the way! And I'm quite proud to say that I wasn't wrong about how great these books are; Quinn and Zoe loved them too!

So here's a little recap of my chat with my 2 new BFFs -- Quinn and Zoe.

Me: What did you learn from the book Wonder?

Quinn: Be nice to kids that are different, even if others question you. (In that book, the story revolves around Auggie who is physically deformed and faces many obstacles as he enters public school for the first time as a 5th grader.)

Me: Why the title "Wonder?" What does that mean?

Zoe: People wondered a lot in that book. For example, Jack wondered who he should be friends with.

Needless to say, these girls had the plot down cold. I was quite impressed. So I jumped ahead in my list of questions.

Me: If you were going to write a book for kids your age, what would it be about?

Quinn AND Zoe: We're writing books right now. (Wow!)

Zoe: Actually, our whole family is. (Wow! Wow!)

Me: Tell me what your books are about!

Quinn: I'm writing one about a girl who is an orphan. She really wants to play the piano. But her adoptive parents won't let her play. In fact, they treat her like a visitor.

At this point, Zoe chimed in with further plot descriptions of Quinn's book. I did mention they're twins, right?

Me: And what's yours about, Zoe?

Zoe: Well, it's about a girl whose Dad is taken by the government. In searching for her Dad, she and her brother enter a forest where they meet blue people. And then (gasp) she gets taken by the government too!

I did tell you these are 5th graders, right? Seriously, they're 5th graders! And although these stories aren't completed yet, I'm already waiting anxiously for these young writers to complete their creative adventures. These girls rock!

And now The One and Only Ivan. Remember, this one is about the animals who lives in a "strip mall zoo" off a busy interstate. And it's about a whole lot of other things -- one of the most important being helping out a friend in need.

Me: So, The One and Only Ivan. What did you learn from it?

Quinn: The way we treat animals affects their whole lives. They know. Animals aren't toys to play with and make fun of.

Zoe: We once saw some kids teasing and throwing stuff at a seal on the shore. We called animal control. Animals have their own minds. (I love it! They're readers AND they care about animals!!)

Me: Who was your favorite character in The One and Only Ivan?

Quinn: Stella because she was truthful, helpful, supportive, and not afraid to show her feelings.

Zoe: Ruby because she showed Ivan and Bob not to be afraid of humans.

I hope my new BFFs don't get mad at what I'm about to reveal, but I think you dear readers deserve to know: all three of us cried after reading this book. 

Great books challenge us. They make us think about things we might not have thought about otherwise. And sometimes they dare us to change our minds. 

A few more questions for Quinn and Zoe. 

Me: What does reading mean to you?

Zoe: When I read I get to explore new worlds and meet new friends. (This will come as no surprise, but Zoe's favorite subject in school is Language Arts.)

Quinn: Reading means exploring new things...and just imagining. (Yes! Yes! Yes!)

Both girls agree that the best part of the library is being able to explore all the different types of books...and being able to check them out and READ them. 

Quinn and Zoe have assigned me some reading. No big surprise they want me to read Divergent and Insurgent by Veronica Roth. These books are a HUGE hit with many of my young reading friends. I promise I'll read them very soon!

And together we are also going to read Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time. This is a classic book that I love to recommend to readers. I'll say no more about it now. But stay tuned.

I had such a great time with Quinn and Zoe. And I was reminded of some really important things during our afternoon together: Number 1. Reading is a really cool thing to do. Number 2. You have to stand up for what -- or who -- you believe in. Number 3. Spending an afternoon talking about books and life is a really good thing.

Happy Reading, dear readers. And thank you to Quinn and Zoe (and their wonderful parents) for sharing your time with me.

P.S. Don't forget the Children's Book Week contest. Click here for information!

 

 

Teens Only | Divergent

So I just looked up the definition of divergent: (1) Drawing apart from a common point; diverging.(2) Departing from convention. (3) Differing from another; a divergent opinion. (Source: www.thefreedictionary.com)

Aha. Now I get it.

Oh, you might be wondering why I would look up the definition of this word. Last week I ran into three of my favorite young readers -- Q, Z, and J. Each of them were terribly excited to get their hands on the next book in the new series by Veronica Roth.

The first book, as you have probably guessed by now, is Divergent. It's the story of a dystopian society divided into 5 factions, each devoted to the cultivation of a particular virtue: honesty, selflessness, bravery, peacefulness, and intelligence. There comes a day each year when every 16-year-old must choose which faction to dedicate the rest of his/her life. There is a simulation which helps these teens select the faction which best suits them, but sometimes the simulation results in multiple choices. These "multiple choice-ers" are called divergents. And you can bet the leaders of each faction are not too happy with the divergents, since the leaders want people to act and think their way.

Ok, ok. I'm convinced. I'm going to read this first book and then put a hold on the next in the series: Insurgent. I do love books about dystopian societies. (There it is for the second time in this blog -- dystopian. I went back to that ever useful website freedictionary.com and looked up dystopia: An imaginary place or state in which the condition of life is extremely bad, as from deprivation, oppression, or terror.) Oh I'm definitely going to read these books! I'm hoping you will too!

Just the other day my colleague Lori blogged about book recommendations, and how we library people really do pay attention to what our customers are reading -- and recommending! Read Lori's blog here. 

If you're reading this, I know you're not just a reader of blogs, but a reader of books! Do you recommend your favorite books to your friends? Do you read books your friends recommend to you? I do! I do both! And I want to hear your recommendations as well. And I will read them. I promise, promise, promise.

After all....to quote Thomas Jefferson: "I cannot live without books."

So true.

Happy reading. And happy sharing your favorite books with others!

 

Teens Only | Top 10 List of Things To Do

In anticipation of the Thanksgiving holiday -- and days off from school -- I thought I would find 10 things to DO. 10 things that are good for you (and the first one is also good for the community!). So here we go!

1. Join runners and walkers and help out the Emergency Food Bank of Stockton by being part of the Run & Walk Against Hunger on Thanksgiving morning, November 22, 2012.  I did it last year (I walked, just to be clear) and will be out again this year. Takes away the guilt from eating 4 pieces of my sister's great pecan pie later in the day!

2. Catch a Stockton Thunder game! Click here for a schedule of games at the awesome Stockton Arena.

3.Visit Stockton's Haggin Museum. There's so much to see there, including the current exhibit Charreria: The Artisanship of Mexican Equestrian Culture. 

4. Catch a movie! San Joaquin County has some great movie theaters, and there are lots of new movies to choose from. To find a theater near you, click here.

5. If you're not too stuffed after your Thanksgiving dinner, check out Dell'Osso Family Farm Holidays On The Farm. It opens Friday, November 23rd. Fun guaranteed!

6. Listen to a book on CD! This is especially helpful advice if you're going to be in the family car for a long trip over the holidays. Want a suggestion? Ok. How about a wicked mash-up of fairy tale and Terminator, set in a Star Wars kind of world? Listen to Cinder by Marissa Meyer. 

7. Try a little ice skating! Yes, I said ice skating. The Oak Park Ice Arena in Stockton has lots of public sessions...and you can rent skates there too! It's fun AND it's great exercise!

8. Alright, c'mon. I'm a librarian. I've GOT to include some books on this list of things to do. I asked my friend Christine and she suggests Divergent by Veronica Roth. It's the story of 16-year-old Beatrice Prior who lives in a future Chicago where she must choose between five predetermined factions to define her identity for the rest of her life. This decision is only made more difficult when Beatrice discovers she is an anomaly who doesn't fit in to any one group...and that the society she lives in isn't perfect after all! this sounds pretty good....so I'm going to read it. 

9. I can't help it. I have to recommend another book. This time it's a classic: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. My friend Suzanne suggested this one, and I can't agree with her more. Young Scout Finch, the narrator of the story, relates the impact of a trial on her small Alabama town -- a trial of a black man accused of rape who is defended by Scout's father. If you've never read it, read it NOW! It's so good. And it really makes you think. 

10. This one's really easy and it doesn't cost a cent. Just find a quiet moment and think of a few things, or people, that you are truly thankful for. That's what Thanksgiving is all about, after all.

And speaking of which, have a wonderful Thanksgiving!