New Arrivals - February 26th!


A librarian's dream - new books! I have a larger batch coming in next week so if you don't see what you like today, check back then. You fantasy/adventure lovers should be happy with these titles. More titles next week including some new manga. Happy reading!

Beckham: Both Feet on the Ground. Autobiography by David Beckham
If you don't know who this is, you probably won't want the book - but if you do...you're gonna want it! I got 2 copies. Published in 2004, it includes his first season at Real Madrid and lots of photos, stats and info about how he got to where he is. Come get a copy before my husband does!

Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier (Fantasy/Supernatural)
From the inside flap...Five adventerous sisters...four dark creatures...three magical gifts...two forbidden lovers...one enchanted frog. Cross the threshold into the Wildwood, and enter a land of magic, daring, betrayal...and true love.

The New Policeman by Kate Thompson (Fantasy/Time travel)
From Booklist - "When J. J. Liddy is 15, his mother jokingly asks for a birthday present of more time. From an eccentric neighbor, J. J. learns to his astonishment that his mother's request may not be impossible to fill. Bravely venturing into an alternate fairy world, J. J. takes on a thrilling, epic quest in which he confronts dark family rumors and tries to repair a cosmic time leak between his world and "the land of eternal youth."

Flora Segunda by Ysabeau S. Wilce (Fantasy)
The sub-title which says it all and then some - Being the Magickal Mishaps of a Girl of Spirit, Her Glass-Gazing Sidekick, Two Ominous Butlers (One Blue), a House with Eleven Thousand Rooms and a Red Dog.

Tamar by Mal Peet (Spy Novel) Winner if the Carnegie Medal in 2005
In England in 1995, fifteen-year-old Tamar, grief-stricken by the puzzling death of her beloved grandfather, slowly begins to uncover the secrets of his life in the Dutch resistance during the last year of the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands, and the climactic events that forever cast a shadow on his life and that of his family.
Peet also wrote The Keeper, about a fictional world class goalkeeper from South America. Worth checking out if you are a soccer lover!

The Navigator by Eoin McNamee Fantasy and Adventure)
Owen has always been different, and not only because his father committed suicide, but he is not prepared for the knowledge that he has a mission to help the Wakeful--the custodians of time--to stop the Harsh from reversing the flow of time.

I should put the photos of the covers next to the titles, huh? I'll work on that....

It's Been Awhile...What have we been doing?

Teaching chess for one thing....


Jack Yang, an 8th grader who is a local and state champion, ran a 4 week program that was very well-attended! We averaged 25 teens per session and all got to learn some new strategies and try out their new skills on one another and many got to "verse" Jack! All had fun and impressed me with their skill and sportsmanship. Good job to all and a huge thank you to Jack for running it for us.
The winners are shown below with their "teacher"




And knitting.....
Harriet Gordon, who is a local, retired and much loved math teacher led the 4 week program that was also very well-attended! We had all levels of knitters and many came just to help us out, which we all greatly appreciated! Thanks to those teens and adults who were there to help us cast-on and fix our mistakes(yes, we make mistakes...sometimes). A huge thank you to Harriet for giving up her spare time to not only teach us, but to make it look like it was something we could do! Many of you finished your projects and are working on a second. I was impressed by all. And, I actually think I might finish my scarf...although I'll need Anna to show how to get it off the needles!
No rush I'm only 2/3 of the way done. I'll post the final result, just don't look for it any time soon.

Next up - Anime Artist, Doug Baron is coming to show us how to draw some of our favorite characters and how to create our own on Feb 26th at 7:30. Please call to register so we can plan accordingly.

Yu-gi-oh this Friday, Feb 23rd at 3 pm. Bring your best deck and a smile.

Next Book Club is March 5th at 7 pm. We'll discuss the classic, Jonathan Livingston Seagull (ask your parents about it, I'll bet they read it years ago!) Bring some questions or favorite passages to discuss.
Bring suggestions for titles you would like us to read as a group. Be prepared to tell us a little about the book and why it might be a good one for discussion.
I'll send out a pre-list of my own suggestions beforehand.

Gotta run. My next blog will be about new book arrivals! Can't wait! I just love when a box of my book orders arrives! And, I've been reading quite a bit so look for my recommendations...coming soon to the HP teen blog nearest you. Let me know what you've been reading...post a comment!

"Banned Books" Discussion...ooooohhh, sounds exciting doesn't it?

Well, it was! There were only seven of us, but, as usual, we had a LOT to say! It's a long post - so get a cup of tea and settle in. Write back to us if you want to share your own ideas about censorhsip or your favorite quote.

Quote of the evening by Joel, our favorite newcomer,
"This group opens our eyes to things other people close their eyes to".
We love Joel.

Each of us read a different book that has been banned or challenged in a library or a school. Just to clarify - a banned book is one that has been removed from a library (not ours!) or school because "someone" has deemed it offensive or inappropriate. There are organizations that track this kind of information, namely the American Library Association's Office of Intellectual Freedom.
Here is a blurb from their website:
The Office for Intellectual Freedom is charged with implementing ALA policies concerning the concept of intellectual freedom as embodied in the Library Bill of Rights, the Association’s basic policy on free access to libraries and library materials. The goal of the office is to educate librarians and the general public about the nature and importance of intellectual freedom in libraries. You can vist them online at, http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/Default622.htm

Please also visit ALA's Banned Books week webpages for more info
http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/bannedbooksweek/bannedbooksweek.htm

Joel read To Kill a Mockingbird, which has been banned for racism and vulgarity.
Elias read Captain Underpants, banned for vulgarity and some parents have complained about the mispelled words.
Bobby read Fallen Angels, banned for foul language, violence and gore.
Simon read And Tango Makes Three, about two male penguins at the zoo, who fall in love and raise a baby penguin as their own. Banned for "guess what?" Turns out this is actually a true story.
Tami read Harry Potter which has been banned for witchcraft and wizardry.
Sophia only reads banned books - just kidding - but she is very well-read and could comment on all of the books the others had read. And..we were so happy to have her back!

We discussed each book and why or to whom it might be offensive. While we understood why each book might offend one or more persons, we agreed that one should never be able to say "no one" should read the book. A book about 2 gay males rasing a child obviously has a place on someone's bookshelf. It was a lively discussion about censorship and we asked the question, "Is it ever appropriate?". We think it has it's place. We agreed that parents are often good judges of what you may or may not read, especially when you are young. Perhaps they want to protect you from things you are not emotionally ready for or subjects that might frighten you. We decided this was okay - big of us, huh? We also said that sometimes we do our own self-censoring, the best kind. When YOU decide you don't want to read something. Maybe the whole book, or maybe you just want to skip over passages that make you uncomfortable. Some may ONLY want to read those uncomfortable passages :)

As part of our discussion, I had printed and cut out various quotes on censorship. Periodically we would select a quote to discuss and determine whether it was blog-worthy enough to share. Here are our favorites.

Sophia led the way with the following Emily Dickinson poem.
Emily Dickinson (1830–86). Complete Poems. 1924.
Part One: Life
LXXXVII

FORBIDDEN fruit a flavor has
That lawful orchards mocks;
How luscious lies the pea within
The pod that Duty locks!


A good follow-up is this one

"To forbid anything is to make us have a mind for it" - Michel de Montaigne, Essays 1959

Elias pointed this one out to us -
"I am thankful for all the complaining I hear about our government because it means we have freedom of speech" - Nancie Carmody

We all really liked this one, too
"Adam was but human - this explains it all. He did not want the apple for the apple's sake, he wanted it only because it was forbidden. The mistake was in not forbidding the serpent: then he would have eaten the serpent" - Mark Twain

Good reverse psychology!

"Books and ideas are the most effective weapons against intolerance and ignorance" - Lyndon Baines Johnson
This one set Sophia off. She objected to the reference to books as weapons and would prefer a gentler word, but the rest of us thought it helped make the point.
It made us think (what a good thing!) Can you think of a better word than "weapon?"

Here are some others that we agreed we'd like to share....

"All of us can think of a book... that we hope none of our children or any other children have taken off the shelf. But if I have the right to remove that book from the shelf - that work I abhor - then you also have exactly the same right and so does everyone else. And then we have no books left on the shelf for any of us."
-- Katherine Paterson, American author of childrens books

"If we don't believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don't believe in it at all." - Noam Chomsky

"What is freedom of expression? Without the freedom to offend, it ceases to exist." Salman Rushdie

And as we ended the evening, so I will end this post....

"Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? - Who will watch the watchers?" - Juvenal

Until we meet again.

Through the Looking Glasses

As you can see, I've got my 2007 goggles on and I'm ready to jump on in! I hope you'll join me. Glasses not required, but they do make it more fun!

I know I said I would do a year in review post, but I'll do that later - or not. What I will say is that I really did enjoy working here and spending time with all of you in 2006. So much so, that I'll be working full-time in 2007! AAGH! For you, it means I'll be here every day after school and Monday evenings until 9. It may also mean we actually get Expresso out on time (maybe, I said). For me, it means I do less around my house. You know what that means for my kids...

Anyway, if you were with us in 2006, you know how it went. If we missed you, well, we hope you'll join us in the new year. So, let's look forward and see what we have planned and think about what we might like to do. For starters, we will continue our teen book club, anime days and our magazine, Expresso. We will add chess, knitting, and yoga and meditation to our list of activities in January/February/March.

Please start thinking about other activities that might be of interest to you.

I'd like to create a wiki. Do you know what that is? Supposedly, it is easier than a blog to post to and have "chats". We could use it to have an online book discussion, either about one book or about the books you are each reading. You could provide suggestions to one another on good books, good movies, music, etc. Interest, no interest?

We could also highlight some social issue and plan programs around it. For instance, in January, local resident Tina Weishaus will come and speak to us about Global Warming. We could have a filmfest around that or any other issue that is important to you. Think about it. Perhaps you can start by sugggesting topics. Check out Patricia McCormick's new novel Sold for one idea. She also wrote Cut and My Brother's Keeper.

Technology...is there some technology you would like to learn? HTML, creating videos, working with photos, teaching one on one computer classes to seniors...you tell me. This would require some $ and planning, so if you're interested we have to start working on a plan.

Art? Writing? Poetry? We could have more workshops. Open Mic? Comedy and Improv again? Post, post, post, or...stop by and let me know what you think, or...send me an e-mail. mreasso@hpplnj.org

And, in general, I want to remind you that I am here to help you. Whether you are looking for a book, need help getting some information, or just want to say hello,
I would be happy look up from my desk and find you there.

I wish you all peace, love and laughter in your brand new year!

Tis the good reader that makes the good book;
a good head cannot read amiss:
in every book he finds passages which seem confidences
or asides hidden from all else and unmistakably meant for his ear.
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson ~

New Arrivals!
In no particular order...bad librarian. Actually, good librarian. I'm making you read all the way to the end to make sure you see them all.

An Abundance of Katherines by John Green, the author of Printz award-winning, Looking for Alaska. Colin has been getting dumped by girls named Katherine all his life. 19 of them to be exact. Will his Theorom of Underlying Katherine Predictability help him get the girl of his dreams?


Getting It by Alex Sanchez - Carlos wants a make-over in order to attract the object of his desire so enlists the help of Sal, the guy at school everyone thinks is gay. In return, Sal wants help starting a Gay-Straight Alliance group. Will Carlos be willing to help Sal?

Street Love by Walter Dean Myers the author of many books,including Monster. Here he writes about first love and how it can be totally wrong for you, yet feel so right. Told in verse.

What Happened to Cass McBride by Gail Giles. Creepy. Cass gets buried alive. Need I say more? I'm taking it home tonight. You'll have to wait!

If I Have a Wicked Stepmother Where's My Prince? by Melissa Kantor.
You get the idea from the title?

Chinese Cinderella and the Secret Dragon Society by Adeline Yen Mah
From the back cover...Should anyone insult you, tell yourself this: I am a child of destiny who will unite the east and west and change the world.
I love it already!

Wide Awake by David Levithan
The presidential election has just been decided. The next president, gay and jewish. Would you be willing to support that and if you wanted to, would you have the courage?

Life as We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer
A lunar impact knocks the moon closer in orbit to the earth, drastically changing its climate. Miranda's life changes dramtically as she struggles to hold on to hope in a time when that is very difficult to do.

Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard
From the cover...Never trust a pretty girl with an ugly secret.

The World of Eldaterra by P.RT. Moredun
The Dragon Conspiracy
Mystery, fantasy and adventure!

The Black Tattoo by Sam Enthoven
Charlie has fallen under The Scourge's dark spell and Jack and Esme must find their friend and save him from the streets of Hell. Can they stop the evil?

Empress of the World by Sara Ryan
What do do when you thought you were attracted to guys and all of the sudden you find yourself in love with your best girlfriend? It happens. Very well-written fictional account what that must be like.

The Insiders by J. Minter
I got a few more volumes in the series. The day to day world of popular guys. According to the book, it's hard not to love them!

Ronaldo a biography by James Mosley
The life to date of famous Brazilian football star, Ronaldo.

Also - a few more Darwin award books came in for your laughing pleasure.

Please post comments on what you read. Let us know what you think! Enjoy!

Holiday Hugs from Project Linus

I know you couldn't all make it this year to the Project Linus blanket making event, but I know you would have been if you could - and you remembered! It was a really nice evening with friends, warm fleece, hot chocolate and quiet conversations - and a little bit of dancing :). We saw some new faces which always makes me happy - and we made seven adorable blankets to be donated to Project Linus NJ.
Check your e-mail for the beautiful thank you note we got from them. You can see how many children and families benefit from your efforts. Give yourself a hug. We'll do it again some time soon. Let me know if you are interested.

Here are a few photos of our "blanketeers"! Thanks to all of you and to The Friends of the Library for donating the materials and the refreshments.






Next events - Yu-Gi-Oh, Thursday, Dec 7 at 3 pm
Crochet, Tuesday Dec. 12 at 3 pm
Zine deadline Thursday Dec 7th......printing on Friday!
We'll save any new stuff for next edition if you don't make it.

Check out our new website for more photos and info www.hpplnj.org

To Catch a Peep

10 of you showed up, thank you! And, we had a special guest, Pauly, the "gangsta rat". Thanks, Anna for bringing him. I have a new appreciation and fondness for rats.

Now, about your "anathemas"....

What is an anthema? According to MSN encarta
a·nath·e·ma [ ə náthəmə ] (plural a·nath·e·mas) noun
Definition:
1. object of loathing: somebody or something that is greatly disliked or detested and is therefore shunned

We use anathemas to disable peeps so we can catch them. This is what we would need to catch all the peeps that came to the meeting:

Tina Fey dressed as Marilyn Monroe, juggling a soccer ball while singing the Russian national anthem and eating pizza. There will be a homework assignment about whales in her backpack. Did I mention "Marilyn" would be wearing a Nightwish t-shirt, having just come from one of their concerts?

And the the peeps we would catch.....

Sophia Weissman
Shimoen
Harry Greenburg
Henry Greenburg
Daniel Segal
Nicholas Baay
Elias Bull
Simon Davis
Rebecca George
Anna Fadeeva

Can you match them up with their anathemas? Have fun! What would we need to catch you?

Can you guess who my mom is? Hint: What? You need a hint? If so, scroll down to my first post.

Okay, I know you're reading it, all the copies are out! So, please be here Monday night, October 30th at 7 pm for discussion.
It is a fascinating, says me, book about the world of parasites, rats and vampires, with just a tad of romance. How can you have a vampire story without a little creepy romance?


Come find out the answers to these important questions...Why aren't some snails able to enjoy their little snaily lives? Who's been laying their eggs in someone's left eye? What exactly are YOUR anathemas and does your mother know
about them?

We may have a special guest. I suggest garlic with your dinner. Just in case.

This is not me. This my dog, but he is going to dress up like me for Halloween. I will return the favor. Photos to follow.