Gaming Tomorrow!

Here's another reminder to come for gaming tomorrow! I won't be in charge of gaming anymore and I'll miss the joy of kids and teens screaming " I just killed you!'' while playing Halo 3 and I will really miss trying to play " Barracuda'' on Guitar Hero, but I know gaming's in better hands with Tom, the real gaming expert. Hope to still see you there every Thursday from 4 to 6!

Read a Comic! Win a Comic!

Since so many kids are excited about the new Wolverine movie and reading graphic novels, why not combine the two? The week of May 11, kids and teens can pick up a comic/graphic novel reading log in the library. Write down your name/number/e-mail ( to notify about comics won), then a list of the 10 comics read that week and return in the file on the glass display case. On Monday, May 18, a person will be chosen at random to win a Wolverine comic. Runners-ups get cool comics, too, so anyone who enters wins! You don't have to wait until May 11, though: Enter today!

Twilight movie and book club this weekend!

It's Twilight weekend at the library! Tomorrow we're showing the movie at 3:30, then the book club starts with the first book this Saturday at 11 AM! If you don't have the book, don't worry: the chapters will be read aloud! There will be snacks, drinks, discussion questions, and crafts every week until the end of May. See you there!

Book of the Week: The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Volume 2 : Kingdom on the Waves

I love this sequel to the first historical novel that I think was based on a true story about Octavian Nothing, a slave used in cruel experiments by his master, Mr. Gitney. In the second book, Octavian escapes his master with the help of Gitney's colleague, Dr. Trefusis. They are on the run from the law and seeking refuge in Boston at the start of the Revolutionary War. They find a boarding house, but can't stay until Octavian finds a job because Dr. Trefusis is too sick to work.

Octavian finds work at an orchestra playing his beloved violin until other musicians convince him to join the British army, where American slaves are promised freedom. Octavian feels torn between loyalty to America, the only home he's known and his mentor who saved his life. However, the hypocrisy of White Americans talking about freedom while still owning slaves hurts him too much. Octavian also wants to play his music as a free man, so he fights for the British.

I can't wait to read all 500 pages of this book. Though, again, the 18th century language is hard to follow at times, it's still worth looking up those words to understand this amazing story about an extraordinary young man trying to find peace in such a violent time in America's history.

New Books at the Library!

We just got some great new books at the library, like Gears of War: Aspho Fields, a book based on the video game, plus the latest in the Pendragon and Maximum Ride series. We're also getting Wintergirls and some Wolverine comics soon, so keep an eye out for those, too!

Wii in trouble?

http://videogames.yahoo.com/events/plugged-in/troubled-times-for-the-wii-/1306341
Here's a short article about Wii games not selling as well as expected.

Is Halo moving beyond Xbox?

http://videogames.yahoo.com/events/plugged-in/new-halo-project-to-exit-xbox-go-mobile-/1305427
Here's a short article about Halo may possibly be moving online beyond Xboxes.

Gaming Friday!

Due to popular demand, there will be gaming tomorrow from 3:30 to 5 PM! The Xboxes and Wii will be out, so come play Halo 3 and Wii Sports tomorrow.

Mario Kart Tournament Thursday!

Tomorrow is the Mario Kart tournament from 4 to 6! It's on the old-school Gamecube and every kid and teen can drop in and enter! There will also be Guitar Hero and Halo 3 for kids to play, too.

For Halo 3 Fans/ Twilight Book Club

http://videogames.yahoo.com/news-1305414
Here's a short article about the amount of kills worldwide in Halo 3. Also, there's still plenty of time to sign up for the Twilight Book Club next Saturday the 25th at 11 and the movie is showing on Friday the 24th at 3:30!

Spring Break Again!

Now it's the private schools' spring break, so get ready for more gaming and more fun this week at the library! It's the same as the last spring break for the public schools. Today it's DDR, Guitar Hero, and Halo from 4 to 6. Also, we have new Pendragon and Naruto books, so come for all the games and books. See you this week!

Book of the Week: Persepolis 2/ Gaming Next Week

I just started reading this sequel to the great graphic novel by Marjane Satrapi. Persepolis was the story of Satrapi growing up in Iran during the revolution in the late '70's that turned her life and her country's upside down. To escape the persecution of radicals, Satrapi's parents send her to live in Austria with relatives. She has a hard time adjusting to her distant relatives and not knowing any German. She's soon sent to a boarding school run by nuns, and Satrapi insults the nuns and is expelled. She finds another school and struggles to fit in with her all-black wearing punk and goth friends. Satrapi is thrown from a traditionalist upbringing into a modern new life and is trying to be independent, while tied to her parents in her turbulent homeland. I can't wait to keep reading Persepolis 2 to see what happened to Satrapi as a smart but troubled teen.

In other news, there's gaming next week for private school spring break, Monday and Thursday from 4 to 6 and Friday from 3:30 to 5. Come play Halo 3, Wii Sports, and Guitar Hero!

Gaming Tomorrow!

There's gaming tomorrow at 4. Guitar Hero Metallica and Wii Sports are the featured games!

New Books I'm excited to read!

I'm so glad there are so many new ( to me) books to read this spring. I can't wait to read Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson, Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, Octavian Nothing Vol. 2 by MT Anderson, and my one adult memoir, This Child Will Be Great by Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, the first female president of Liberia ( a small country in West Africa). What are you excited to read this spring?

Video Games Good for Your Eyes?

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16857-shoot-em-up-video-games-are-good-for-your-eyesight.html

I'm sure you've heard about this, but I can definitely see the benefits of video games. Even shooter games like Halo require you to think and have good strategy skills. Games like DDR are good exercise, and Guitar Hero really requires good hand-eye coordination. I used to hate video games, too, but after playing them with kids at the library and seeing how hard it is to play them( for an old person like me, anyway), I'm a convert. Just as listening to Marilyn Manson didn't make me a devil-worshipper, violent video games don't make a kid violent if they know the difference between fantasy and reality. As I've learned, you have to play the games with the kids to see that video games aren't so bad after all.

Mario Kart Tournament Wins with Kids!/ Why do people like Twilight?

Thanks to all the kids who showed up for the tournament and to play Guitar Hero Metallica! Pictures will be up soon, I promise. I know I haven't done my Book of the Week in a while, but I've been busy with gaming and adult books ( Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell is meh, The Defining Moment by Jonathan Alter is great), but I am reading Twilight for a book club discussion and it's mediocre at best. I can see why teens girls swoon over Edward Cullen, but should girls fall in love with an obsessive vampire? Maybe I'm wrong or judging too soon, but it's no great literature, like Octavian Nothing and it's not even great fun trash like Gossip Girl. Can you Twilight fans tell me why you love the books so much?

Gaming Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday!

There will be gaming at the library Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday this week! Come play Guitar Hero Metallica Wednesday from 1-3, Mario Kart Thursday from 4-6 and win prizes in a championship, and Wii Sports Friday at 3;30!