Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Monday, May 23, 2011

Globetrotter

--n. a habitual worldwide traveler.


Synonyms:  adventurer, barnstormer, beachcomberbum, commutercyclist, day-tripperdrifter, equestrian, excursionist, expeditionist, explorer, floater,
foot passenger, gadabout, gadling, hiker, itinerant, jetsetter, journeyer, junketerlandlopermigrant
mountaineernavigator, nomad, passenger, peddlerpedestrian, peregrinator,
   peripateticpilgrim, ramblerrider, roamer, rover,  runaboutrunner, sailor,
       scatterling, seafarer, sightseer, stragglerstranger,        straphanger, tourist, tramp, transmigranttravelertrekker, tripper, trouper, truant, touristvacationistvagabond,    vagrant, visitor, voyagerwaifs and estrayswalkerwanderer, wayfarer
   wheelman






        

Thursday, April 21, 2011

A Bevy of Howl's Moving Castle Book Covers

How could there be so many book covers for one book, and yet none of them portrays the castle properly?

"Wizard Howl's castle was rumbling and bumping toward her across the moorland. Black smoke was blowing up in clouds from behind its black battlements. It looked tall and thin and heavy and ugly and very sinister indeed."
-Howl's Moving Castle, "Chapter Two: In Which Sophie Is Compelled to Seek Her Fortune"

"The castle was uglier than ever close to. It was far too tall for its height and not a very regular shape. As far as Sophie could see in the growing darkness, it was build of hugh black blocks, like coal, and, like coal, the blocks were all different shapes and sizes."
-Howl's Moving Castle, "Chapter Three: In Which Sophie Enters Into a Castle and a Bargain"





(This one is actually Howl's Moving Castle and Castle in the Air in one volume.)

































Which cover is your favorite and why?

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Book Review: Killer Pizza


Killer Pizza by Greg Taylor

When Toby, Annabel, and Strobe start new summer jobs at the new pizza place in town (Killer Pizza), one of them finds a new passion, and the job is not all what it seems.


I'm going to stop before I spoil it, even though if you read the inside cover, you probably will know more about the story than with my one sentence.

Anyway, this book was AMAZING! It made me laugh out loud, which is hard for me when I get in my reading "zone." I give it a 4 1/2 out of 5 star-rating! Definitely worth a read! I love the style, the suspense, and the character devlelopment and maturity.

--review by Zach M.


[librarian note: check out the website!]

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Graphic Novel Challenge: Can...can I read a different sort of book, please?

Confession:
I have. I couldn't take it!





Ok, so, technically I've been cheating since Christmas. 




To make it up to you, I'm going to tell you all about them! :D







The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King





FUN! In 1915 Sherlock Holmes meets 15 year old Mary Russell, a young woman who is newly orphaned, intelligent, and independent. Holmes takes her on as an apprentice, but the bond that forms between them could endanger their lives.









Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith


Grahame-Smith tells of the secret war Abraham Lincoln waged against vampires and vampire-supporters. Learn of the evil plot to destroy mankind that nearly succeeded--and sent the United States into a violent Civil War.



The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett








Something odd is happening on Tiffany Aching's farm. A strange monster in the river tries to eat her and her brother, tiny blue-skinned men keep helping out at her farm, and her younger brother disappears. Tiffany sets out to rescue him--and comes to terms with herself along the way.








The Song of the Whales by Uri Orlev
*children's book


Michael doesn't fit in with other children. He prefers to spend his time with adults or alone with his collections. But when his family moves to Israel to ensure that they inherit from Michael's grandfather, Michael and Grandfather form a close bond--and Michael learns about a mystical family secret.









Boom! by Mark Haddon






This book is fabulous. You should read it. That is all.











The Firefly Letters: A Suffragette's Journey to Cuba by Margarita Engle





Fredrika Bremer, Sweden's first woman novelist and early advocate of women's rights, spent 3 months in Cuba in 1851 and wrote about her experiences. The Firefly Letters is a beautiful verse novelization of Bremer's stay and of the contrasts she finds among the beauty of Cuba, the horrors of slavery, and the restricted existence of upper class women.




Aren't you glad you know about these books?! (I'm sure glad you know!)


But don't worry, I've been reading graphic novels, too!
Warriors: Ravenpaw's Path
Books 1, 2, & 3
by Erin Hunter
Ravenpaw wants to enjoy life on the farm, but will his past leave him in peace?

Yummy: The Last Days of a Southside Shorty by G. Neri
"You make it past 19 these days, you a senior citizen around here." Robert "Yummy" Sandifer was an 11-year-old kid from Chicago who shot and killed someone to impress his gang and move up in the ranks--but he killed the wrong person. Based on a true story and told from the perspective of a fictional classmate, this graphic novel deals with Yummy's last days and the impact his actions had on his community.

Ghostopolis by Doug TenNapel
Awesome, awesome, awesome. Garth Hale is dealing with a lot. He never knew his grandfather, his father abandoned the family, and he's been diagnosed with an incurable disease. To top it all off, when Frank Gallows, a washed-up ghost wranger arrives to send a night mare to the ghost world, Frank accidentally sends Garth there as well.

.Hack//Legend of the Twilight written by Tatsuya Hamazaki and drawn by Rei Izumi 


Twins Shugo and Rena won two limited edition character models of the legendary ".hacker" characters Kite and Blackrose. They use these characters to enter and play in "The World," the most advanced online game ever made. But when Shugo has a strange encounter with the mysterious Aura, The World becomes more than just a game.

Series In Process:

D. Gray-Man by Katsura Hoshino
Allen Walker is a born exorcist chosen to kill demons known as akuma. Together with other exorcists of the Black Order, Allen fights against the Millenium Earl, the evil being who creates akuma.
Ordinarily, I'm not drawn to exorcism-type stuff. But this isn't tremendously creepy, and I <3 Allen Walker.

Yu Gi Oh! by Kazuki Takahashi
Yugi is trying to solve the Millenium Puzzle, an ancient Egyptian artifact that he got from his grandfather. But what will happen when he solves it? Equally important: will he ever find any friends?
Ok, so, I totally judged this series based on the tv show. It's much better. While nothing may ever take Fullmetal Alchemist's place as my favorite, Yugi has managed to worm his way into my melodramatic little heart.

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Your librarian is a slacker

Can you say "slacker"?
Yeah, so I've been reading, but not blogging about reading. I blame the holidays.



If you want to catch up with everything I've read, please go here: http://www.starkville.lib.ms.us/Youngadult.html.


Otherwise, here's a happy picture of ALL OF THE BOOKS THAT I'VE READ since I last posted:










You can tell that I haven't actually finished my challenge. :/ Still plugging away, though!




























Announcements:






Anime Day today at 4 pm in the tv corner!








Book clubs meet Wednesdays at 4 for 












The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum








and Thursdays at 4 for












Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins








Tired of seeing just my posts (or, more accurately, my non-posts)?
SEND ME BOOK REVIEWS!!!!
yabookreviewsSPL@yahoo.com