Monday, October 1, 2007

Review: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Sherman Alexie is one of my favorite authors. So, when I saw that he had written a novel for teens, I couldn’t wait to read it. I finished it today and am amazed at how wonderful the book is.

In many cases, adult novelists who decide to write a book for teens end up having one of two problems. Either the books are too adult for teens or too child-like for teens. Alexie’s book has no such problems.


The story is about a young Spokane Indian boy named Arnold Spirit, but everyone on the reservation calls him Junior. He decides, if he is to have any sort of future, he needs to go to school in the local white farming community. So, early in his freshman year of high school, he transfers and becomes the only Indian kid in his new all-white school.


Junior has lots to deal with after he makes this change – his best friend thinks he’s been betrayed, his new school has a completely different set of unwritten rules Junior has to learn, his sister decides to get married and move to Montana, and he has a semi-girlfriend whose father hates him.


The story is told in Junior’s first-person narrative with his cartoon sketches sprinkled throughout. While this story is very angry, touching on subjects such as poverty, death and teen angst (including rough language), it is also very funny. There is a terrific scene involving the science teacher, Junior, another student and information about petrified wood that made me laugh out loud. And the cartoons, drawn by Ellen Forney, are especially humorous.


I highly recommend this book. It is one of the best teen novels I’ve read in a long time.

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

National Chicken Month

Did you know September is National Chicken Month? So, try some chicken recipes or just learn more about our favorite fowl.

Or, if you want to see something very odd, check this out.

Enjoy!

Well, That Won't Work

Ever thought of some invention that couldn't possibly work? Perhaps you've got an entry in The Museum of Unworkable Devices. I especially enjoy the gallery of 3-D images.

Enjoy!

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Ramadan

The Islamic holiday Ramadan began September 13 and continues through October 11. A month of fasting and prayer, Ramadan is celebrated annually.

For more information, visit the sites for the Islamic Society of Greater Houston and the Masjid El-Farouq.

¡Bienvenidos a la mes de Hispanic Heritage!

September 15 kicked off National Hispanic Heritage Month. An estimated 44 million people in United States identify themselves as Hispanic, including these famous people. About 8 million Hispanics live in Texas.

The library has lots of books featuring Hispanic characters or based on Hispanic folktales. And if you want to read award-winning books by Hispanic authors and illustrators, we have those, too!

¡Adios!

Arrr! It Be a Pirate's Day


Today is International Talk Like a Pirate Day. So, it's a good day to study your pirate lingo and learn your pirate name (mine? Captain Mary Bonney). You could even listen to some pirate music to get yourself in the spirit.



Arrr! What are ye waitin' fer?

Friday, August 24, 2007

How Bionic Are You?

NBC has launched a site to determine how bionic you are. I only got 40% and, therefore, failed miserably. Oh, well.

How did you do?

Monday, August 20, 2007

HSM 2

High School Musical 2 premiered Friday night. How many of you watched it? What did you think?

Thursday, August 16, 2007

More Goofy Fun

This just makes me giggle.

Enjoy!

30th Anniversary

Today is the 30th anniversary of Elvis Presley's death, or not. The King of Rock 'n' Roll died in 1977 at Graceland, his home in Memphis. Fans are gathered in over 100-degree heat to mourn the singer.

Elvis is an icon, and so is Graceland. His mansion is now a National Historic Site.

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Don't Try This At Home

I mentioned in a previous post that you could find some weird stuff online. Well, here's another site that is both weird and wonderful. I love this site. I love the music, the artsy camera angle (inside the microwave!). And I love what they decided to try. I think my favorite is the marshmallows - take that Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man!

Enjoy! But please don't try this at home.

Friday, August 10, 2007

Duran Duran

Today, amazingly enough, is National Duran Duran Appreciation Day. For more information on one of the top groups of the 1980s, check out their entry in Wikipedia or visit the official fan site. You can listen to their music and see the video for "Hungry Like the Wolf."

Enjoy!

Monday, August 6, 2007

Hiroshima & Nagasaki

Today is the 62nd anniversary of the atomic bomb being dropped on Hiroshima, Japan. On August 9, 1945, another bomb was dropped on Nagasaki.

Both cities have been involved in peace movements since their bombings.

You can see old newsreel footage of the bombing of Hiroshima. The Library of Congress has a letter from FDR to Robert Oppenheimer thanking him for his secret atomic research that led to the creation of the atomic bomb.

Tonight, HBO will air the documentary White Light, Black Rain: The Destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at 6:30 p.m.

Did you know ...

Computers can read your mind? Can you figure out how this site works?

Coast Guard Day

Saturday was Coast Guard Day for the 217-year-old organization. The Coast Guard has volunteers who help, and of course, you can join or attend the academy.

This video is of Coast Guard rescues in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. And this video is a commercial, but it's funny and shows up when you do a YouTube search for coast guard.

Friday, August 3, 2007

Author Interview


Entertainment Weekly has an interview with Stephanie Meyer. She's the author of the vampire novels Twilight and New Moon. Here's the description of Twilight:


We have copies of both books in the library, and they're all checked out. But you can request them, and we'll let you know when it's available.


Enjoy!

Thursday, August 2, 2007

When I Snap My Fingers

Today is Hypnosis Day. You can find out about hypnosis here or at the library. And, this site explains how hypnosis works.

Enjoy!

Games and More Games

If you like playing online games, here are some you might try.

Presidential Pong - it's like the original Pong game, only you and your computer opponent are current presidential hopefuls
Darfur Is Dying - a game that allows you to put yourself in the place of a Darfur refugee and forage for water or survive in the refugee camp. While it seems kind of trite to be sitting at a computer playing a game about genocide, you are reminded of just what a nightmare life in Darfur is.

There are more games available at Persuasive Games.

Wednesday, August 1, 2007

Learn Japanese

Konnichi wa! August is Learn Japanese Month, and we've got a few sites for you to do just that.

Free Japanese Lessons
Nihongo o Narau Learn Japanese
Learn to Speak Japanese Online
Japanese Language

The library also has books and sound recordings to help you learn Japanese.

Happy learning! Sayonara!

Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Free Audiobooks

Do you prefer to listen to books rather than read them? Then, this site is perfect for you. It's the Audiobook Podcast Collection - some are available ast mp3s while others are only available through iTunes. They're all free, though, so you can listen all of them without paying a penny. Most of them are older titles like The Call of the Wild or The Metamorphosis. The site also includes a list of other podcast sites on the Internet.

And, of course, you can always check out the BCLS Podcasts.

Happy listening!

Attention Incoming Seniors!

For those of you who are getting ready to start your senior year in high school next month, you're probably also getting ready to apply to colleges and universities. In addition to using our College & University page, you might try Campus Explorer. This site allows you to search for colleges based on field of study, degree type or location. You can get information about the students and admissions requirements for specific schools, as well. Here's the information about The University of Texas at Austin.

Friday, July 27, 2007

Don't Forget

The library book sale continues today and tomorrow 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Come to the Angleton Library for some genuine book bargains!

You Can Find Some Strange Stuff Online

Proof that the web hosts some odd sites: there's Ian's Shoelace Site. It teaches you various ways to tie your shoes including how to get your shoelace bows straight. There's even a shoelace photo of the week!

Movie Cliches

Heard about this fantastic website all about movie cliches. The Movie Cliches List posts various movie cliches about all kinds of topics. Here are the cliches about teenagers in movies.

Another site that lists cliches in movies is Ebert's Little Movie Glossary. The site lists cliches as definitions, such as this one for the bungee shot.

Enjoy!

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Library Videos

We've been slowly, very slowly, creating library videos. We finished our first one in January and just wrapped up our second video last week. Here is the finished product.




We had a great group of teens who were excited about the project. They came up with the idea and most of the scenes. We filmed one evening after the library was closed. This is the Angleton Library. Our previous video took place at the Danbury Library.






We hope to film one at every branch, and we'd love for more teens to get involved. We may be at your branch soon. Keep a lookout.

Book Sale

The library system is having a book sale! It starts tomorrow (Thursday, July 26) at 5 p.m. and is all day Friday and Saturday.

Most of the books are $1 or less, and there are always some great titles. There are also books on tape and videos.

The book sale is at the Angleton Library, and new stuff is being brought out every day, so come as many times as you want.

See you there!

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Well, I got the book at about 3:30 Saturday afternoon, and I finished it at 7 a.m. the next morning - reading nonstop. I thought the book was excellent. A very fitting conclusion for a wonderful series.

What did you think?

And if you're not Harry Potter'd out, come to the Alvin Library on July 31 at 2 p.m. to celebrate our hero's birthday!

All Consuming

All Consuming is a site that allows people to talk about books, movies, music, even food that they have consumed, are consuming, plan to consume. Check out their Huh? section for more info. This is their entry for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - watch out for spoilers in the comments section if you haven't read the book yet! It's a pretty great site, and you could get sucked in pretty quickly and easily.

Enjoy!

Teen Read Week

Teen Read Week, a week in which we librarians like to emphasize reading for teens (as if we don't do that all the time), is in October. This year it's October 14-20 and the theme is LOL @ your library. So, to help us prepare for that week (and any other time, really), tell us what your favorite funny books are. They don't have to be for teens - just books that make you laugh.

Some of my favorites are:
The Giggler Treatment - Roddy Doyle
The Princess Diaries series - Meg Cabot (her blog is funny, too)
Invincible: Family Matters - Robert Kirkman
Wizard at Work - Vivian Vande Velde
the Amelia Rules comics - Jimmy Gownley
the Bone comics - Jeff Smith
George Speaks - Dick King-Smith
Howie Monroe and the Doghouse of Doom - James Howe (a parody of Harry Potter)
the Pagan series - Catherine Jinks
Son of the Mob - Gordon Korman
Scrib - David Ives

Welcome to the New Teens Blog!

For those of you who have been to the teens site before, this is a little bit of a change. For those of you who haven't been here before: Welcome!

This is the new teens blog. I'm going to try to post interesting news and links and reviews and such. All of the links that were on the previous Teens Only page are still here. They're all to the right - Homework, Books, Movies, Music, all of them.

In the meantime, you can still see the original Teens Only site.