It's Election Time!

Because this is a topic of personal interest, I would like to encourage you to get involved in the political process. If you will be 18 on or before November 4, 2008, register and vote in the upcoming elections. In Lancaster County, you have until Friday October 24, 2008 at 6:00 pm to register in person. If you will not be 18 in time, there are opportunities to volunteer at polling sites and see it in action. It matters not your view of any politician or political party.

I ran across a great website that links with a book about the topic of voting and getting active with the election process. www.declareyourself.com focuses on the importance of the privilege as an American to vote in any and all elections.

Along that same line is a website that encourages you, the voter, to vote smart. In other words, know the issues before casting a ballot. www.votesmart.org has factual information about national, state and local elections.

BANNED BOOKS WEEK

We just finished celebrating Banned Books Week here in the media center. I hope you got a change to check out and read one of the many books that have been challenged and banned in some locations around the nation and world. One of my favorite quotes on book banning is by Joseph Alexandrovitch Brodsky "There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them. " What do you think?

On another note, I hope you were able to get signed up for one of the 2 book related clubs being offered this year. On Club A day you can join A Little kNight Reading which is a traditional book club where everyone reads one book during the month and then we get back together and discuss it. On Club B day you can join A Taste of the Media Center which lets you read 5 minutes worth of 6-8 books during club time. I will pick some of our new books, some student favorites, and some hidden gems that just don't seem to get the attention they deserve. This is a great way to find your next book. See Mrs. Olson in the counseling center to add one of these to your schedule.

Summer's Comin'

So what's on your summer to-read list? Mine is filled with books that I have seen come through the media center but students were too quick for me. 2 authors that have shown up on lists of adult books that young adults love are Nevada Barr and Laurie R. King. So I am giving them a try. Also I had a student recommend a classic by Upton Sinclair titled The Jungle. It supposedly turned the Meat processing industry on its head. Then because I am always intrigued by young people caught in country's in crisis, I am trying I Want To Live: The diary of a young girl in Stalin's Russia.

I have never been a real fan of science fiction or fantasy but Wicked Lovely and Revenge of the Witch (The Last Apprentice: Book One) have made best books lists. Lately the reworking of Fairy Tales has been popular and I have read the Dread Locks by Shusterman (Dark Fusion series) and Snow by Lynn (Once Upon a Time series), which I really enjoyed. So I plan to read The Looking Glass by Beddor about Alyss in Wonderland.

I'll let you know what I thought of them next year! In the mean time, update me with what you are planning.

WOW!! Where did the year go???

It has been a very busy year!! I wanted to take a minute to post about a great book I finished not that long ago. S is for Silence by Sue Grafton. Kinsey Milhone is a private investigator who finds her cases a little larger than what she originally expected. The fast moving chapters paired with ease of reading made it a great book. In this book, Kinsey finds herself helping a daughter solve the mystery of what happened to her mother the night she disappeared when the daughter was 7. Once Kinsey gets involved and ruffles a few local feathers, the story gets interesting.

Have you read any books from our New Book Collection?? What did you think? Let me know by posting a comment!