Teens Only | It's Hot

Duh, right? And the only thing I want to do on hot, hot days like the ones we had this past week is READ!

So let's chat about what's HOT in teen books right now. Some of these you may have read or heard about. One thing's for sure: you won't be disappointed. So find a cool spot, get comfortable, and read!

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs: Get ready for a mysterious read that will keep you guessing. This story takes place in an abandoned orphanage on a mysterious island.  Sixteen-year-old Jacob unwittingly discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children were not just really peculiar, they may still be alive! You won't be able to put this one down!

If you're in the mood for a love story, try Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell. But it's not just a love story; there are some really big issues that teens Park and Eleanor have to deal with. They are outsiders who come together to form a really cool relationship. Again, it's not just relationship stuff; there's danger too! By the way, this story is set in the 1980s with lots of references to music and pop culture of that decade. It's getting a lot of good hype, so give it a shot! But be forewarned, I'm hearing the ending might not be a happy one. I've already place a request on this one!!

The next great summer read I want to mention is Richard Yancey's The 5th Wave. This sci-fi must-read is set in the aftermath of a crushing alien invasion in which the aliens themselves never appeared. But billions of humans have died in the months following the appearance of a giant mother ship. Think tsunamis, plagues, and implantation of alien intelligence into fetuses. The reviewers are saying this book will grab you from the beginning as venture into this survivalist thriller with characters Cassie and Ben. You'll be hearing lots more about this one, so read it now! I've also got a request on this one!

So 3 hot teen books sure to entertain you....or thrill you...or keep you up at night! As always, if you don't see one of these books at the library branch near you, ask staff to help you place a request. I know you won't be disappointed.

Book Bucket List | Love in the Time of Cholera

Happy Fourth of July!  I hope everyone is having a fun (and cool) holiday.  This week, I am featuring a book from one of my favorite authors, Gabriel Garcia Marquez.  Colombian-born Garcia Marquez won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1982 for his novels and short stories.  By then, one of his most famous works, One Hundred Years of Solitude, was extremely popular and had really put a spotlight on literature from Latin America.  

In 1988, he published Love in the Time of Cholera.  The narrative follows the ill-fated love of Florentino Ariza and Fermina Daza who were at one time young sweethearts, but were forced apart by her family and social expectations.  After their parting,  Florentino Ariza's love for her remains, and goes out of his way to catch glimpses of Fermina throughout their entire lives.  Garcia Marquez said that the intensity of the character's early love affair was based upon his parent's story.  However, his parents eventually married and according to the author "...as soon as they were married, they were no longer interesting as literary figures."  

Garcia Marquez's work could be seen as a heart wrenching love story that spans many decades, featuring many idyllic and romantic details like river boats and 60 page love letters.  However, Love in the Time of Cholera is also a warning for the possible selfish nature of all consuming love and the destruction it can cause.

So if you're in the mood for a truly epic love story, (I'm sorry, I'm a sap) check out the book from one of our many libraries!

4 Kids | Happy Birthday, America

We're getting closer to Independence Day, and all the wonderful events that celebrate the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, which declared independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain.

I have to admit I love this holiday. I love the patriotic wave that washes over all of us lucky to call the United States of America our home. When I visited the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C., I was fortunate to see the original Star-Spangled Banner, the flag that inspired Frances Scott Key to write the song that would become our national anthem. Words just can't describe the feeling you get when you stand mere feet from this amazing symbol of our great nation. If you want to learn more about this display at the Smithsonian, click here.

So in addition to the fireworks, barbecues and other fun activities we'll all partake in this Thursday, how about some great books that celebrate America?

So You Want To Be President by Judith St. George: This is a fun book filled with tons of trivia about our nation's presidents. Did you know that eight of our nation's presidents were born in log cabins? Did you know that William Howard Taft was the biggest president weighing more than 300 pounds? He even had to have a special bathtub built for the White House! And what about the pets that have lived in the White House? Of course there have been lots of cats and dogs, but did you know Benjamin Harrison had a goat and the Coolidges had a pet raccoon? Lots more to learn in this fun book! 

Back a few years ago I got to go on a ferry cruise tour of the Statue of Liberty. To be so close to this symbol of freedom and democracy really took my breath away. Maybe that's why I like Doreen Rappaport's Lady Liberty: A Biography so much. It's a beautiful tribute to the many people who played a role in the constructing of Lady Liberty, and recalls the sentiments of many immigrants who have laid eyes on her as they sailed into New York Harbor. 

Finally, because I'm always thinking about food, I have to mention U.S. History Cookbook: Delicious Recipes and Exciting Events From the Past by Joan D'Amico and Karen Eich Drummond. This book is a culinary journey through our country's history -- from cornmeal blueberry mush (believed by historians to be part of the first Thanksgiving) to noodle kugel (popular among the many Jewish people who immigrated to the United States from Europe) to baked macaroni and cheese (popular during the Depression because it was tasty and inexpensive). Check it out and start cooking!

Visit any SSJCPL branch library and check out these books! And in the meantime, have a safe and wonderful 4th of July!

Just Life | My Crazy Postcard Wall

Have you seen our postcard wall at Chavez?

You have got to come and take a look it. It has tons of cool looking postcards.

Let me show you.

Here is the story. We had this long empty wall in our Chavez Library and I wanted to do something to it to make it look a bit cheerful. So I came up with the idea of covering it with postcards. 

My cool co-workers donated a bunch of postcards to this cause. So did some of our wonderful patrons. I brought the rest of cards from home. At the end, I even purchased a few online.

From time to time, I see people taking pictures of this wall and it makes me happy that all of those old postcards ended up decorating a wall in our beloved library.

So if you have cool postcards at home, send them my way and I will make sure to add them to this wall. 

Signing off until next Monday- Panteha

Short Attention Span Challenge | Knotty Knotty!

Why Knot?  As I looked at the library book, Why Knot?, which inspired this week's blog post, I thought the same thing.  Why should I learn how to knot?  I remember briefly learning knots when I was at camp and trying to earn some sort of generic badge, although I couldn't recall how to tie any of the knots now.  I am not a fisherman or a sailor.  I am fairly sure I invented a new knot when I used two hairbands and a ribbon to straighten up my Christmas tree last year. However, according to Philippe Petit (You might have heard of him, the tightrope walker who illegally walked between the World Trade Center's Twin Towers in 1974.), there are many practical uses for knowing specific knots.  Such as, securing items in travel.  So wait, me just tying random twists and pulling the rope into strange convolutions is not the best way to tie that IKEA stuff onto the top of my car?  Who knew?  Another use, he says: rescuing people!  Yeah, I guess that's pretty important.  But the best use (although I'm not sure why this is more important than saving lives), says Petit, is making connections!  Linking pieces of land, creating bridges, and connecting people.  Okay, so knots are pretty important.  In fact, upon reading that, I remembered a  documentary I saw a few years ago about a region in China where people cross a river everyday by sliding across a rope.  So, they probably think effective knots are pretty nice too.

The Challenge:

Learn some useful knots.  I used the book referenced above, which includes a little rope to use while practicing your knots. You can check out the book and the rope at the library, but remember to bring BOTH back!

The Process:

Petit says a good knot has 4 virtues:

1.  It is easy to tie.

2.  It is stable under a load.

3.  It does not reduce the ultimate breaking strength of the rope.

4.  It is easy to untie.

Also it keeps it's shape.  Wait that is five things!  I'm still not sure why there weren't 5 virtues...

And he isn't the only one who thinks knots are important.  In 1933, Clifford Ashley wrote a book with over 7000 drawings and featured 3,854 knots!  I wonder if my double hairband ribbon knot is somewhere in there.  I bet knot! yucka yucka...

The same year, the International Guild of Knot Tyers (IGKT) was established. "Tyer" is intentional; the use of "tier" is ambiguous, they say. 

The IGKT has something called the Six Knot Challenge, where participants must tie six knots as quickly as possible.    The world record is 8.1 seconds.  I will not beat this record, I assure you, but as I am typing this it is 12:58 p.m. on Friday.  My blog is set to run at 2 p.m., so I am giving myself an entire hour.  I know, it is astonishingly fast. To make this more impressive, I will attempt this feat while working on the reference desk (which means I will be happily interrupted several times, for sure).

Sheet Bend Knot

The Result:

The Sheet Bend Knot (Common Bend, Ordinary Bend, Single Bend, Flag Bend, Swab Hitch, and the Barbers' Knot)

Use: This knot has many uses, such as fishing nets.  It can also be doubled and used to tie sheets together and escape out of a window!  Good to know in case I am kidnapped and placed somewhere with excess bedding.

It is now 1:12 p.m....

The Square Knot (Reef Knot, True Knot, Hard Knot, String Tie Knot, Common Knot, Regular Knot, Ordinary Knot, Flat Knot, Hercules Knot)

Use: Close a sack, tie a package, secure a roll, tie scarves, reef or furl sails on a boat.  Petit mentions that there is a Reef Knot in Arizona 9000 years old!  Also, in Ancient Greece brides tied these knots on their belts, and it was supposed to make them fertile.

1:22 p.m....

Square Knot

Round Turn and Two Half Hitches

The Round Turn and Two Half Hitches

Use: to tie something to another object like a pole or mast.  It will not slip up and down on the object it is tied to.

1:36 p.m.

The Bowline (pronounced Bo-lynn or boo-lynn. Like Anne?)

You can tie this knot around yourself if you are about to fall down a cliff.  I'm not sure I ever quite got it right, so I think I'm doomed.

1:53 p.m....

My unsuccessful Bowline

Sheepshank (Dogshank, Catshank)

Use: To repair a damaged rope or shorten a rope.  Petit suggests using the loops to hang stuff when camping.

Sheepshank

1:59 p.m...

Clove Hitch

(Builder's Hitch, Boatman's Hitch, Peg Knot, Double Half Hitch, Steamboat Hitch)

Use: Attach a rope to a post (or water bottle) super fast.

2:03 p.m.!  On no!!!!  In my defense, in this last hour I signed about 20 people up for our summer reading program, Reading is so Delicious! It has my stomach tied up in knots!  Have you signed up yet???

Clove Hitch

The Wanderlust Librarian | (Rules for) Leavin' on a Jetplane

This summer has been unusually high in air travel for me. I usually drive, but this year I have been lucky to snag some great deals at just the right time! Don't get me wrong, driving is great, but the gas prices have made my pocketbook sad. This year, I'll be traveling to 3 locations: Las Vegas, Los Angeles and San Diego. All 3 places are within an hour and a half plane ride from my favorite airport, so they're not too far away. I do, though, have some great tips for plane travel that might just save your sanity! 

Pre-flight preparations: 

1) Go to your local library: Did you know the library lends e-books? You can bring your Nook or Kindle on your flight and hold tons of books with no weight at all! The library is also a great place to buy books at the Friends of the Library booksale. If you like the feeling of a book in your hand, this is the place for you. The cost is right under $1.00 per item (sometimes less!) and it's also helpful if you accidentally leave the book somewhere.

2) Pack Efficiently: This is much easier than it sounds. I try to plan outfits that can be mixed and matched into other outfits. I recently bought a cotton stretchy dress that can double from casual (with sandals) to fancy (with a colorful necklace and heels). If you're going to be gone for more than 5 days, see if there's a place where you can do laundry. I have these all in one sheets in my suitcase for just that purpose. There are smaller travel packs at your local store! 

3) Have a comfortable shoulder bag: For me, the shoulder bag doubles as my purse on the plane. I can hold my Nook, my wallet, camera, empty water bottle, magazines, cell phone, lip gloss, electronic plugs and chargers and gum all in there for easy access during the flight! (No lie... I carry all of that in my bag).  I keep my nicer purse wrapped up safely in my luggage for use over vacation with way less to carry! 

4) Print out your boarding passes at home: A majority of airlines allow you to print out your travel documents at home. This will save you time so you don's have to stand in line at the airport.

At the airport: 

4) SHOW UP EARLY: It's better to be safe than sorry. It's never easy to gauge if there will be a lot of people in the security line or if you'll breeze right through. Feeling worry about a line or rushing is never a good way to start a trip and if you're early, you have more time to relax at your gate and read!

5) Check the departure boards often: Many times, I have been met by a gate change before I get out of the security line. A lot of airlines will also offer a text message 

6) Find a comfy place with a plug for your electronics: I love knowing I'm not using any juice when I'm fiddling around on my cell phone or reading my Nook! If not for your electronics, then a comfortable spot for you to wait for your flight. 

7) Relax because you're on your way!

Please don't feel like you have to take all of my advice, but being organized and timely will help you to feel less anxiety at the start of your adventure. 

Stress-free adventures in the air are out there! 

:) 

Book Bucket List | Board Books Galore!

In honor of the very new addition to my family, this week I'm going to feature a few of my favorite board books.  Board books are printed on a very thick cardboard, which allow little hands to be a little more rough with them than other books.  I have to admit that I've already started a collection for our family's newest member!

Dear Zoo is a classic children's book and features lots of fun animals for the little ones.

Oops! by David Shannon is one of my favorites.  We get to see the ever energetic David as a baby and all of the trouble he is able to cause.

 W is for Wombat is a very colorful and bright alphabet book.  For each letter, a different Australian word is featured with an illustration.

The Runaway Bunny is one of my favorite books.  Baby bunny is always playing hide and seek, but his mother is able to find him every time!