There are four authors releasing new books this fall...Gordan Korman (the next 39 Clues book), Brian Selznick (a new book by the author of The Invention of Hugo Cabret), Jeff Kinney (the next Diary of a Wimpy Kid book) and Rick Riordan (the next in the series about Camp Halfblood). Yeah! Check out Scholastic's book blog, InkSplot 26 to view the titles and see a preview of the covers. I'd attach them here, but I'm borrowing a public computer and it won't let me save or copy.
Just finished another book this weekend and almost 3/4 through the next. I'm hooked on a 15 book series and am just on book #4! Loving it!
Happy Reading to you this summer!
Enjoy!
RC
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Library Withdrawals
Here I am, enjoying the third full week day of my summer vacation and I'm having withdrawals...library withdrawals. What's that, you may ask? Well, when I'm at work in the library, I'm very efficient. I work continuously, rarely stopping to take any breaks. Therefore, I accomplish a lot in a very short amount of time. When the work day is over, I can look out across the library and smile with pride at my accomplishments. Very rewarding. Summer days don't give me the same satisfaction and I have to adjust. The transition can be a bit difficult.
On my first summer day, I drove to Hopkinsville to help my sister-in-law with my niece, Tinley Blake. See picture...she is the prettiest little thing, isn't she? I spent most of the day holding her, which I constituted as being VERY helpful since she is just one week old. I drove home that afternoon pleased with myself for being so very helpful and filling my day with a useful service to someone else. Giving is sp very rewarding. Then, once home, I put a healthy, hot meal on the table for my family and proceeded to snuggle up with my own babies. That day goes into the books as a "good day".
On the second summer day, I woke up with a passion to get this house clean! I completely wiped away any winter/spring dust and cleaned from ceiling to floor. Very proud of my work...the house is sparkling. Husband very pleased. Kids impressed. I even finished the day by mowing the yard. Day two in the books as a "good day".
Now that the third summer day is here, I'm suddenly not quite sure what to do with myself. It's storming outside and thus not a good day to go grocery shopping, which would have made this day a good one. I would have thoroughly sanitized the refrigerator before putting anything new in, of course. LOL So with that not possible, I decided that the kids and I would hit our chores early and get our daily reading over with before noon. Okay, that's done. Now what? I have plenty to do, don't get me wrong. Anyone with a house knows that. However, I'm losing the drive, the push, the motivation to do anything but sit and read. What's wrong with that, you ask? Well, nothing. But at the end of the day, I feel so useless. Nothing really got accomplished, other than pages down and another book closer to meeting my yearly goal of 100. I hate this feeling! I love being productive. It's a fatal flaw, I'm afraid. I mean, I could be cleaning out my daughter's bedroom, spackling the walls, sanding the decorative painting down, in preparation for painting the walls "Justin Bieber purple". But after packing out a few items, I quit.
This happens every year. You may be thinking that I should just relax and enjoy the rain. Read, who cares? Guess my Type A personality won't have it. So, I stripped the bed and plan on putting clean sheets on soon. Then what? LOL
This blog entry may not be my usual, but I promise you it is literary related. Characters that I connect with the most are efficient, Type A personalities, who can't sit still and can't stop worrying or thinking about a problem. They act, they don't wait. Authors I prefer are those that get right to the action. They don't bore you with useless detail. The plot moves quickly and there's enough foreshadowing that I can predict and thus become an active participant. No shallow reading for me! Even the historical romances I prefer for summer reading are full of historical figures and thus teach me something! See? I CANNOT RELAX!
So, if you don't know yourself as a person yet, take a look at what you read. It should tell you more about yourself...can't promise you it will fix any problems you may have. LOL
For those who love historical romance, here's the latest book I've finished in the Malory series by Johanna Lindsey. Tender Rebel. I appreciate her plot twists. I love her male characters. They're so sensible in the face of the silly women they seem to have fallen in love with. (That's not very politically correct, is it?)
Whatever you're doing with your summer, be sure to include a book in your plans. And go with your gut instinct when choosing books...it appears to be very revealing. And I suppose I'm not really having "library" withdrawals, but am having trouble transitioning into the laid-back summer Mama I enjoy being so much. Because on a typical summer day, my kids and I don't actually accomplish very much. We just have fun. :)
Happy Reading!
RC
On my first summer day, I drove to Hopkinsville to help my sister-in-law with my niece, Tinley Blake. See picture...she is the prettiest little thing, isn't she? I spent most of the day holding her, which I constituted as being VERY helpful since she is just one week old. I drove home that afternoon pleased with myself for being so very helpful and filling my day with a useful service to someone else. Giving is sp very rewarding. Then, once home, I put a healthy, hot meal on the table for my family and proceeded to snuggle up with my own babies. That day goes into the books as a "good day".On the second summer day, I woke up with a passion to get this house clean! I completely wiped away any winter/spring dust and cleaned from ceiling to floor. Very proud of my work...the house is sparkling. Husband very pleased. Kids impressed. I even finished the day by mowing the yard. Day two in the books as a "good day".
Now that the third summer day is here, I'm suddenly not quite sure what to do with myself. It's storming outside and thus not a good day to go grocery shopping, which would have made this day a good one. I would have thoroughly sanitized the refrigerator before putting anything new in, of course. LOL So with that not possible, I decided that the kids and I would hit our chores early and get our daily reading over with before noon. Okay, that's done. Now what? I have plenty to do, don't get me wrong. Anyone with a house knows that. However, I'm losing the drive, the push, the motivation to do anything but sit and read. What's wrong with that, you ask? Well, nothing. But at the end of the day, I feel so useless. Nothing really got accomplished, other than pages down and another book closer to meeting my yearly goal of 100. I hate this feeling! I love being productive. It's a fatal flaw, I'm afraid. I mean, I could be cleaning out my daughter's bedroom, spackling the walls, sanding the decorative painting down, in preparation for painting the walls "Justin Bieber purple". But after packing out a few items, I quit.
This happens every year. You may be thinking that I should just relax and enjoy the rain. Read, who cares? Guess my Type A personality won't have it. So, I stripped the bed and plan on putting clean sheets on soon. Then what? LOL
This blog entry may not be my usual, but I promise you it is literary related. Characters that I connect with the most are efficient, Type A personalities, who can't sit still and can't stop worrying or thinking about a problem. They act, they don't wait. Authors I prefer are those that get right to the action. They don't bore you with useless detail. The plot moves quickly and there's enough foreshadowing that I can predict and thus become an active participant. No shallow reading for me! Even the historical romances I prefer for summer reading are full of historical figures and thus teach me something! See? I CANNOT RELAX!
So, if you don't know yourself as a person yet, take a look at what you read. It should tell you more about yourself...can't promise you it will fix any problems you may have. LOL
Whatever you're doing with your summer, be sure to include a book in your plans. And go with your gut instinct when choosing books...it appears to be very revealing. And I suppose I'm not really having "library" withdrawals, but am having trouble transitioning into the laid-back summer Mama I enjoy being so much. Because on a typical summer day, my kids and I don't actually accomplish very much. We just have fun. :)
Happy Reading!
RC
Thursday, June 16, 2011
A little of this, a little of that....
Good Morning, bloggers!
This morning marks the last work day of the 2010-2011 school year for me. Whoo Hoo!! My summer can begin! I plan to finish flipping the fiction collection (I am in the "Ls".), move the short story collection, lay out all the new arrivals, catalog everything new I have received so far (look for a list at the end of the blog entry) and mail the letters to students who have neglected to turn in their books. For those parents who wonder why I wait until the middle of June...I check the collection 2 or 3 times before sending a letter home. I want to be 100% sure the book is NOT in this library. I have been burned by several libraries in the past and the last thing I want is to leave a bad taste in the mouth of a student who currently enjoys the library. Also, the custodians are cleaning rooms and they always bring me what they find. I've found several so far...and thus my plan is a good one.
I wanted to let you know that one of our favorite authors has a new book coming out -- Blood Wounds by Susan Beth Pfeffer (author of Life As We Knew It trilogy, or the Moon Crash books as they're so lovingly called by our students...). See the link below to visit one of my favorite blogs that will tell you all the news.
Susan Beth Pfeffer news
For those bookworms out there...please let me encourage you to read as much as you can this summer. Carry your book with you everywhere you go. Even if you should only get 10-15 minutes at a time with your book, that amount of time will keep you emerged in the plot and will help you enjoy your book that much more. Now that I'm officially going to be off work, (I never stop being a librarian. :)), I'll read more young adult fiction and post my reviews here. Currently, I'm reading an adult romance. For those young adults who like adult romances, Johanna Lindsey is a pretty safe author. She usually includes one "romantic" scene, but you could skip that. The "romantical history" (GENRE I CREATED, THANK YOU--ha!) is fantastic.
Well, off to flip some more fiction!
Enjoy your day. Looks to be a beautiful one here in Western Kentucky. Good day to take that book outside.
*See below my signature for a list of new arrivals to the MNMS Library.
Happy Reading!
RC
These are in random order. These were the profit from our May Book Fair. Google these for a synopsis.
Tennyson by Lesley M.M. Blume
Chronicles of the Red King: The Secret Kingdom Book 1 by Jenny Nimmo
Mockingbird (5 paperback copies) by Kathryn Erskine
Troubletwisters by Garth Nix and Sean Williams
I Survived the Shark Attacks of 1916 by Lauren Tarshis
Watch Wolf: Wolves of the Beyond Book 3 by Kathryn Lasky
Vespers Rising The 39 Clues Book 11 by Rick Riordan, Peter Lerangis, Gordon Korman and Jude Watson
Liar, Liar by Gary Paulsen
Flood and Fire by Emily Diamand
Waiting for Normal (5 paperback copies) by Leslie Connor
The Healing Spell by Kimberley Griffiths Little
*Lots of nonfiction including books about football, basketball, rodeo, stock cars, motorcycles, rock climbing, baseball, Henry Ford bio, paintball, dirt bikes, BigFoot, soccer, roller coasters, and a Ripley's 2011.
This morning marks the last work day of the 2010-2011 school year for me. Whoo Hoo!! My summer can begin! I plan to finish flipping the fiction collection (I am in the "Ls".), move the short story collection, lay out all the new arrivals, catalog everything new I have received so far (look for a list at the end of the blog entry) and mail the letters to students who have neglected to turn in their books. For those parents who wonder why I wait until the middle of June...I check the collection 2 or 3 times before sending a letter home. I want to be 100% sure the book is NOT in this library. I have been burned by several libraries in the past and the last thing I want is to leave a bad taste in the mouth of a student who currently enjoys the library. Also, the custodians are cleaning rooms and they always bring me what they find. I've found several so far...and thus my plan is a good one.
Susan Beth Pfeffer news
For those bookworms out there...please let me encourage you to read as much as you can this summer. Carry your book with you everywhere you go. Even if you should only get 10-15 minutes at a time with your book, that amount of time will keep you emerged in the plot and will help you enjoy your book that much more. Now that I'm officially going to be off work, (I never stop being a librarian. :)), I'll read more young adult fiction and post my reviews here. Currently, I'm reading an adult romance. For those young adults who like adult romances, Johanna Lindsey is a pretty safe author. She usually includes one "romantic" scene, but you could skip that. The "romantical history" (GENRE I CREATED, THANK YOU--ha!) is fantastic.
Well, off to flip some more fiction!
Enjoy your day. Looks to be a beautiful one here in Western Kentucky. Good day to take that book outside.
*See below my signature for a list of new arrivals to the MNMS Library.
Happy Reading!
RC
These are in random order. These were the profit from our May Book Fair. Google these for a synopsis.
Tennyson by Lesley M.M. Blume
Chronicles of the Red King: The Secret Kingdom Book 1 by Jenny Nimmo
Mockingbird (5 paperback copies) by Kathryn Erskine
Troubletwisters by Garth Nix and Sean Williams
I Survived the Shark Attacks of 1916 by Lauren Tarshis
Watch Wolf: Wolves of the Beyond Book 3 by Kathryn Lasky
Vespers Rising The 39 Clues Book 11 by Rick Riordan, Peter Lerangis, Gordon Korman and Jude Watson
Liar, Liar by Gary Paulsen
Flood and Fire by Emily Diamand
Waiting for Normal (5 paperback copies) by Leslie Connor
The Healing Spell by Kimberley Griffiths Little
*Lots of nonfiction including books about football, basketball, rodeo, stock cars, motorcycles, rock climbing, baseball, Henry Ford bio, paintball, dirt bikes, BigFoot, soccer, roller coasters, and a Ripley's 2011.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Dead Reckoning
(This is an adult title. The book is not for young adult readers, but my blog entries are always safe.)
The latest Sookie Stackhouse book is in the reading record as FINISHED! Whoo Hoo! Although I am really disappointed in yet another Charlaine Harris novel, I can't NOT read them as soon as they're published! They take precedence over any other book in the line-up. LOL
Why am I so disappointed in Dead Reckoning? It has nothing to do with the HBO series, I assure you. Harris has yet to thrill me with her character development and plot sequence since book #5. I'm bored. I can sum up the entire plot with one short sentence and I don't like that! I love plot twists and flashbacks and lots of mystery. Everything was so predictable. Again!
So, as if the author would even care what I think, I'd love to ask Charlaine Harris to kick it up a notch!!!!! haha
Anyhow, this is one more for the reading record as I'm on my way to my goal of 100.
Hope you're pleased with your latest read. I hate it when I can finish the entire 250 page book in one day. Hate it!
Anyhow, Happy Reading to YOU!
RC
The latest Sookie Stackhouse book is in the reading record as FINISHED! Whoo Hoo! Although I am really disappointed in yet another Charlaine Harris novel, I can't NOT read them as soon as they're published! They take precedence over any other book in the line-up. LOL
So, as if the author would even care what I think, I'd love to ask Charlaine Harris to kick it up a notch!!!!! haha
Anyhow, this is one more for the reading record as I'm on my way to my goal of 100.
Hope you're pleased with your latest read. I hate it when I can finish the entire 250 page book in one day. Hate it!
Anyhow, Happy Reading to YOU!
RC
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
It's Moving Time!
Hello fellow readers!
It's moving time here at the North Middle Library! Each of the five years I've been in this position, I've attempted to make one drastically necessary change each June to the library's collection or physical environment. This year, I've decided to move the biography collection across the library so it will be housed in the nonfiction collection, where it belongs. That way, when I teach the incoming sixth graders that there are virtually two sides to our library, a fiction and a nonfiction side, I will not have to offer the disclaimer, "Except for the biographies of course..." What a job it has been weeding and rearranging the 900s to fit the biographies. But it was about time!!! I'm excited about the students returning and using the collection now.
So what am I going to do with all those bare shelves that used to hold biographies? Well, I can't just leave them, now can I? I am going to flip the fiction section so that the books are arranged A-Z instead of Z-A. Don't ask me why...I'm not sure why they were arranged that way. It's confusing. I'm ordering new shelf labels and all will be much better by August.
Whew!
My mother always said that anything worth doing was worth doing well. She was exactly right!
Happy Reading to you all! Can't wait for my students to see the library at Open House.
*There will be a HUGE freebie table set up on Open House night. Hope to see you there.
RC
Friday, June 3, 2011
The Hunger Games casting is complete!
Hunger Games fan? Check out the blog address below to see who has been cast as Cinna and President Snow! There are videos of "Peeta" and "Gale" as well. I can't wait until next summer!
InkSplot26
Enjoy!
RC
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Warlock
Sorry it's been so long since my last post, but I've been rather busy with the last few weeks of school and of course, there are loads of excuses as to why I haven't posted lately, but I always check the blog daily, just in case there are comments or questions from you!
Want you to know that I'm also reading a book by one of my new favorite adult authors, Johanna Lindsey. She writes for adult women. (Nothing you guys would be interested in!) However, it will be an addition to my reading record and should take me to book #37 for the year so far. How is your reading record going?
Happy Summer Reading!
RC
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)