Each year it's something different. Last year it was all about VAMPIRES. I'm sure the culmination of the Twilight film series had something to do with that. This year, it's ZOMBIES. The TV series The Walking Dead is huge and the adaptation of the book World War Z into a major movie starring Brad Pitt is definitely driving interest in the genre.
Now I'm a simple librarian. I like Lord of the Rings and Walter Dean Myers and Sharon Draper and Ellen Hopkins and the list goes on and on...but I could never get into ZOMBIE books. They always seemed like the same plot over and over. So when I picked up ASHES, the first book of the trilogy by the same name, I thought it was going to bore me to death. I was wrong.
The story is about Alex, a young girl who is having a rough go of it. She goes for a walk in the woods....
Then there's an explosion......
And people are...."CHANGED"
check it out:
I loved this book...Not your average Zombie story!
1. Regents is next week...Yes...NEXT WEEK! With that said, you might want to brush up on the information presented on the Regents exams. I have every workbook known to man that will help you with some of the more difficult Regents questions. Stop by the library to check them out today!
2. Book of the Week- Oddly enough, my Book(s) of the Week are the aforementioned REGENTS WORKBOOKS!
GET IN HERE...TAKE OUT THESE BOOKS...PASS YOUR REGENTS!
This book deals with my favorite protagonists, Ingrid....she's cool- plays soccer, smart, and just snagged the role of Alice in the production of Alice In Wonderland. Now, she usually gets a ride from her mom to soccer practice, but her life is about to change when she decides to walk home...and gets lost...
Thirteen-year-old Ingrid
Levin-Hill decides to be independent and walk to soccer practice. After
getting lost on the way, she meets a woman people call Cracked-Up Katie and
calls a taxi from Katie’s house. Ingrid is horrified to hear Katie’s
murder announced on the news the next day. She is afraid to tell anyone
she was at Katie’s house, and then realizes she left her soccer shoes in
Katie’s living room. Thinking she might be fingered as a suspect, she
secretly heads off to retrieve her shoes in the middle of the night. The
plot thickens when she sees another intruder in the house while she is
there. She knows the wrong men have been arrested for the crime—but is
afraid to talk, even when the police chief questions her directly about those
red soccer shoes. In the meantime, the chief’s cute son starts calling
her, she gets the lead role in the community play, and her relationship with
her older brother Ty has its ups and downs. She continues a positive
relationship with her Grampy, a lively character in the family. Ingrid
independently investigates, trying to figure out whodunnit.
Happy New Year Everyone! Welcome back- So what does January bring us?
1. The second batch of new library books have arrived. I will be advertising the covers around the school and Marcus will be reading a couple reviews on the announcements.
2. REGENTS ARE THIS MONTH - There will be a review session on Saturday Jan. 12...stay tuned
3. Overdue notices will be sent out via Facebook and, if books are not returned, phone calls will be made home!
4. BOOK OF THE WEEK TIME! This is a slight twist on the Cinderella Story...and by slight I mean, wicked awesome! This book is called Cinder by Marissa Meyer. Just think if Cinderella was a cyborg (robot human hybrid) and the fate of the world lay in her hands...
From Amazon.com
Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . .
Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.
GET YOUR BOOKS! The holiday break is approaching and if there is one thing I hear every time I come back from a break, "Mr. Bott, I was bored..." to which I always say- PICK UP A BOOK! This isn't just me being a librarian here, but think of me as your brain's personal trainer. The weights are the books I supply and you better get lifting. Look, if you think you're going to sit and read a Regents exam for 3 hours in January after not having read a lick for the past two years, you're crazy!
All books checked out this week will not be due until AFTER THE BREAK- So get in here start exercising...err....READING!
Hi Everyone! I hope everyone is ready for the holiday break....I suppose I should start shopping now.
My book of the week is Fat Kid Rules the World by K.L. Going
Troy Billings is seventeen, 296 pounds, friendless, utterly miserable, and about to step off a New York subway platform in front of an oncoming train. Until he meets Curt MacCrae, an emaciated, semi-homeless, high school dropout guitar genius, the stuff of which Lower East Side punk rock legends are made. Never mind that Troy’s dad thinks Curt’s a drug addict and Troy’s brother thinks Troy’s the biggest (literally) loser in Manhattan. Soon, Curt’s recruited Troy as his new drummer—even though Troy can’t play the drums. Together, Curt and Troy will change the world of punk, and Troy’s own life, forever.
Hello everyone- I have been getting questions about the Philosophy Spot. I was out for a while to celebrate the birth of my son Oliver so the Philosophy Spot kind of took a back seat. I'm hoping to start it up again this Friday.
Circulation - We passed 600 books circulated for the school year so far! Awesome job SCLA!
As for the Book of the Week...Have you ever skipped school? Good luck trying that in Education City, the setting of my book of the week: Truancy by Isamu Fukui
In an alternate world, in a nameless totalitarian city, the autocratic Mayor rules the school system with an iron fist, with the help of his Educators. Fighting against the Mayor and his repressive Educators is a group of former students called the Truancy, whose goal is to take down the system by any means possible—at any cost.
Against this backdrop, fifteen-year-old Tack is just trying to survive. His days are filled with sadistic teachers, unrelenting schoolwork, and indifferent parents. Things start to look up when he meets Umasi, a mysterious boy who runs a lemonade stand in an uninhabited district.
Then someone close to Tack gets killed in the crossfire between the Educators and the Truants, and Tack swears vengeance. To achieve his purpose, he abandons his old life and joins the Truancy. There, he confronts Zyid, an enigmatic leader with his own plans for Tack. But Tack soon finds himself torn between his desire for vengeance and his growing sympathy for the Truants….
Isamu Fukui wrote Truancy during the summer of his fifteenth year. The author’s purpose is not just to entertain, but to make a statement about the futility of the endless cycle of violence in the world as well as the state of the educational system. And, as he put it, “I need to be in school myself if I want to write about it.”
Hey SCLA, I'm back! I want to thank everyone who has sent their congrats to me over the past 2 weeks. Now for some library updates:
1. We are rearranging the library! I am currently in the process of labeling all the fiction books according to genre. This means when you want a vampire book, you can go to the actual VAMPIRE section. Currently, all the fiction books are organized by author's last name. Hopefully the rearranging will make it easier for you to find books you want. This is going to take about 2 weeks as I have research classes to teach and things to catch up on. I'll keep you updated and have it on the announcements :)
2. IF YOU HAVE A BOOK TO RETURN, DROP BY THE LIBRARY!
- You will not be fined or penalized for a book that was due over the past two weeks.
3. BOOK OF THE WEEK! Mr. Bott's Book of the Week: Please Ignore Vera Dietz by AS King.
***I LOVED this book*** It reminded me of how many times I wanted to forget something; something bad...but the problem seemed to follow me. This book captures that feeling!
Vera’s spent her whole life secretly in love with her best friend, Charlie Kahn. And over the years she’s kept a lot of his secrets. Even after he betrayed her. Even after he ruined everything.
So when Charlie dies in dark circumstances, Vera knows a lot more than anyone—the kids at school, his family, even the police. But will she emerge to clear his name? Does she even want to?
Edgy and gripping, Please Ignore Vera Dietz is an unforgettable novel: smart, funny, dramatic, and always surprising.
