Wednesday, December 29, 2010

For the Kid in You...

And, the adult in your kid.
Maybe we don't need yet another
Best of 2010 List, but since I'm the
(Adult) Teen Librarian, humor me. :)
Best Teen Fiction for Old Folks Like Us:
**Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
**Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly
Twin's Daughter by Lauren Baratz-Logstead
I am Number Four by "Pittacus Lore"
The 10 P.M. Question by Kate De Goldi
Violence 101: A Novel by Denis Wright
Dirty Little Secrets by Cynthia Jaynes Omololu
**The Cardturner: A Novel About a King, a Queen,
and a Joker by Louis Sachar
**The Prince of Mist by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
**The Marbury Lens by Andrew Smith
No and Me by Delphine de Vigan
Wildthorn by Jane Eagland
**White Cat by Holly Black
Stolen by Lucy Christopher
Virals by Kathy Reichs
Best Adult Books with Teen Appeal:
Beautiful Malice: a Novel by Rebecca James
**Blacklands by Belinda Bauer
**Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin
Crossing by Andrew Xia Fukuda
The Four Stages of Cruelty by Keith Hollihan
**The Girl Who Fell From the Sky by Heidi W. Durrow
Greyhound: A Novel by Steffan Piper
Hello Kitty Must Die by Angela S. Choi
The Madonnas of Echo Park by Brando Skyhorse
**The Tale of Halcyon Crane by Wendy Webb
**So Cold the River by Michael Koryta
**Also available & equally excellent on audio

Listen Up! (Best of 2010)


Best Audiobook:

Precious by Sapphire
Or, maybe the best one ever. Top 10, without a doubt.
Note: But, best not to drive & listen, lest you become engrossed and veer off road.

Best (Music) CD:

You Are Not Alone by Mavis Staples
Repeat Track #2. Repeat Track #2, then listen to the entire CD repeatedly. Now that's a voice.

Best DVD (You Probably Didn't See):
The Stoning of Soraya M.
Iranian honor killings, gender roles, & cultural divide. Difficult to watch, impossible to look away.





Sunday, December 26, 2010

Best Books of 2010



If we're gonna be frank, a disproportionate number of this year's "buzz" books proved rather unbuzzworthy. It did, however, make it that much easier to weed through the superfluous fluff, and lo and behold, we had ourselves something akin to the proverbial Christmas miracle...

We 3 wise women agreed, these be the best of 2010:

Still Missing by Chevy Stevens
This nailbiting thriller is sadistically addictive from start to finish. And, just when you think you've got it all figured out...

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
Exquisitely written & meticulously researched, this book is guaranteed thought-provoker, no matter your interests (medicine, genetics, ethics, race relations etc.) If this one doesn't stiumulate some serious contemplation, you seriously need a boob tube hiatus.

The Unnamed by Joshua Ferris
A middle aged man afflicted with the compulsion to run (and run and run) does unique a protagonist make. Unnamed is a seriously strange & simultaneously sad story of a family ravaged by a mysterious illness. It's sure to stick with you.

Hellhound on His Trail: The Stalking of Martin Luther King Jr., and the International Hunt for His Assassin by Hampton Sides
The assassination of MLK has been done before. It's never been done like this.

Room by Emma Donoghue
Readers who enter Room will encounter a story of survival in captivity and its subsequent release as recounted by a 5-year-old. Disturbingly realistic, yet impossible to put down.

Running the Books: The Adventures of an Accidental Prison Librarian
by Avi Steinberg
Call us biased, but any book with a line like, "Pimps make the best librarians" is an absolute must-read. So, no matter your vice--thugs, thieves, or Jew boy geeks--go ahead, do the jailhouse rock!

A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
Hailed by Entertainment Weekly as "a frequently dazzling piece of layer-cake metafiction," we agree. Plus, there's really cool PowerPoint. Just trust us.

Committed: A Skeptic Makes Peace with Marriage by Elizabeth Gilbert
Not the "megajumbo international bestseller" that was Eat, Pray, Love, the "once bitten, twice shy," (and ultimately happy-to-be-hitched once again) Gilbert thoughtfully explores the making of a marriage within the greater sociocultural context.

The Handbook for Lightning Strike Survivors by Michele Young-Stone
We were struck by this luminescent debut novel that follows the lives of two people who are forever changed by lightning strikes. The parallel stories, quirky characters, & curious path convergence will keep you turning the pages.

Unbroken: A World War 2 Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption
by Laura Hillenbrand
Heartwarming, horrifying, and historically rich, Unbroken is an ode to our men of days gone by. The tale of a true American icon, Louie Zamperini--a juvenile delinquent-turned-Olympic runner-turned-Army hero--is the perfect book for anyone looking for some serious inspiration.

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

OverDrive’s Audiobook App for iPhone

OverDrive, the leading global distributor of audiobooks and eBooks to libraries, has announced the availability of OverDrive's free audiobook application for iPhone®, iPadTM, and iPod touch®. With OverDrive® Media ConsoleTM for iPhone, users can now wirelessly download MP3 audiobooks from OverDrive-powered library websites to their Apple® device.

The free audiobook app for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch can be accessed in iTunes® and on the Apple App Store (http://bit.ly/OverDriveiPhone). Go to http://bit.ly/epw8pm to check out available titles.

Friday, December 3, 2010

E-Reader Demonstration


Thinking about buying an e-reader soon? Not sure which one suits your needs? Librarians will be conducting demonstrations of the Kindle2, Sony Reader, the Nook and the iPad before the holidays. Demonstrations will take place in the Conference Room on 12/16 and 12/18 from 12-1 pm, on 12/21 from 6-7 pm and on 12/22 from 4-5 pm. Call 825-0702 or email sunref@scls.lib.wi.us for information.