A Wind in the Door

 The Second book in the time quintet A Wind in the Door grapples with universes great and small, and the idea that time, size are irrelevant to the task we are given in the universe. There is a lot of talk of Mitochondria, and the ever present spirituality of the text is apparent. I am really enjoying this saga of sorts, it just feels right to be reading these novels at this time in my life, I appreciate it in a way I wasn't ready for when I was young.

Awesome Book(s) of the week

This week I am using a review on Hellogiggles.com for my awesome books of the week. I like the books chosen, and the reviews. Enjoy!!
http://hellogiggles.com/my-recipe-for-post-apocalyptic-affection

The Library Man is Tan in Oceanside

  My name is Cecil the Library Man.. I live in Oceanside. I am the husband of one wife, the owner of one house, one dog, one cat, and two cars. I am a graduate of Mira Costa College and California State University at San Marcos. I have been interested in Library Science and working in a library since my days as a student at Mira Costa College. 

I am taking this course to develop my skills around media and technology in the library setting. It does help though that is fills the requirement for certificate in Library Technology from this college. I like to travel so here a two websites that I use when conducting personal research about traveling. www.gksoft.com/govt is a resource guide that contains links to official government sites. These sites are arranged by continent and country. The benefit here is that you can find out so much about a country before you travel. Another fun an useful website is http://www.lonelyplanet.com . This site is a down-to-earth online guide to world travel and can help you plan and book a trip like many other popular websites.

A Wrinkle in Time

     A Wrinkle in Time is the first novel in what's commonly known at The Time Quintet, a series of novels written by Madeleine L'Engle. the style is young adult Science Fiction/ Fantasy, although you don't have to be young to enjoy the novel. I read this when I was younger and after reading it again, I can say that I didn't pick up on the religous, or spiritual intonation when I was younger. The message that love not hate overcomes "the darkness" was honestly completely lost on the younger me. Back then, I liked the writing, but the idea of a five book series to read gave me hives, so I stopped at this one. But I am excited to continue with my blog experiment, and look forward to reading the second novel A Wind in the Door.
     This novel centers on the Murray Family, a family rife with intelligent eccentrics, and atheletes alike. There are four children the eldest Meg is the most awkward in school, and is having a rough time finding her niche. Sandy and Dennys are twins and the middle children, they are atheletes and seem to be the two chilldren that are most content in school. Charles Wallace is the baby and the town at large thinks he's daft, but he is really brilliant. The Childrens parents are both scientists and their father has been working on a top secret mission and hasn't written  for over a year, and hasn't returned... this is the atmosphere we are plunged into at the beginning of the novel, and the ending leaves the story open for more novels. Which I like because if there were no more, with that ending, I'd feel a little gyped. This book is very good, complex, and worth a read.

The Time Quintet

The Time Quintet refers to Madeleine L'Engle's five young adult novels created over roughly two decades. They are in order A Wrinkle In Time(1962), A Wind in the Door(1973), A Swiftly Tilting Planet(1978), Many Waters(1986), and An Acceptable Time(1989). I will be reading the time quintet and posting my reviews, musings etc. This is a classic Science Fiction/Fantasy epic for young adults and I suggest that since L'Engle is such a prolific writer, and has influenced countless new writers of this genre, that she is worth some study. I myself read A Wrinkle in Time when I was much younger, and am excited to re-read this book, and see if I catch anything new.

Awesome book of the week: Anna Dressed In Blood

(Overview, taken from barnesandnoble.com)

Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead.

So did his father before him, until he was gruesomely murdered by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father's mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. Together they follow legends and local lore, trying to keep up with the murderous dead—keeping pesky things like the future and friends at bay.

When they arrive in a new town in search of a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas doesn't expect anything outside of the ordinary: track, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he's never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, now stained red and dripping with blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian she used to call home.

But she, for whatever reason, spares Cas's life.

Anna Dressed in Blood is a 2011 Kirkus Best Teen Books of the Year title.

One of NPR's Top 5 Young Adult Novels of 2011.

Check out this awesome review at Kirkus Reviews for Anna Dressed In Blood....

http://www.kirkusreviews.com/blog/young-adult/double-swoon-worthy-anna-dressed-blood/

The Doors Cover Reading Rainbow On Late Night With Jimmy Fallon

The Doors Cover Reading Rainbow On Late Night With Jimmy Fallon

Good News fellow Non Librarians! I can hear ALL our radio stations! excellent!

Maria Poppins here just 'poppin in for a chatter !

Need some help with SAT preparation ?
How about tools for becoming a better student ?

Check out the 'teen web' page at the Los Angeles Public Library for some ideas, and some fun too !

http://www.lapl.org/ya/events/index.html

Who We Are

I thought I should take some time to let people who happen upon this blog site know who we are and why this blog is here. We are a collective of 5 Library Technology students, and this blog is about exporing the wide world of young adult literature, and all that encompasses. We will also discuss the young adult in the library through the lens of media and technology. So join us, we are very amiable and dedicated.

Awesome book of the week: The Night Circus

Amazon Best Book of the Month, September 2011.
The Night Circus begins with a mystery. We meet two children bound together through magic, but not meeting, who must participate in a series of competitions similar to a game of chess but played with magic. Both are illusionists, trained since childhood and both possessing real magical abilities. The contest will be played throughout their lives, they have no rules, and neither have any idea how one wins. The sponsors of the illusionists, one the father of the girl, the other who took the orphan boy in, create through great lengths a circus as the arena for which the competition will take place.  The circus arrives at various locations without announcement, and disappears without warning. It opens at midnight, and has a magical decor of only black and white. Much of the book is told through several intertwined characters who are also involved with the circus and who individually mold the atmosphere. The two young rivals play out their magical contest at The Night Circus, soon intertwining love, magic, joy and heartbreak. 

Maria Poppins changed the font and colors of the font on 2/2/2012 !

Reading choices made easy !

Cheat Sheet for some good reads, check it out!

So, are you looking for something to read, something that has pizzazz and will definitely hold your attention?  Why not check out this website for some insight? Teens and adults alike will be delighted to find resources and suggestions for young adult readers, at this website.  Just below is the Alex Awards list for 2011.  You can find other lists and suggestions, enjoy.

www.ala.org/yalsa

Alex Awards / List

The Boy Who Couldn’t Sleep and Never Had To by DC Pierson, published by Vintage Books, a division of Random House, Inc. (ISBN 9780307474612)

Breaking Night: A Memoir of Forgiveness, Survival, and My Journey from Homeless to Harvard by Liz Murray, published by Hyperion (ISBN 9780786868919)

Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok, published by Riverhead Books, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. (ISBN 9781594487569)

The House of Tomorrow by Peter Bognanni, published by Amy Einhorn Books, an imprint of G.P. Putnam’s Sons, a division of the Penguin Group (ISBN 9780399156090)

The Lock Artist by Steve Hamilton, published by Thomas Dunne Books for Minotaur Books, an imprint of St. Martin’s Press (ISBN 9780312380427)

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake: A Novel by Aimee Bender, published by Doubleday, a division of Random House, Inc. (ISBN 9780385501125)

The Radleys by Matt Haig, published by Free Press, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc. (ISBN 9781439194010)

The Reapers Are the Angels: A Novel by Alden Bell, published by Holt Paperbacks, a division of Henry Holt and Company, LLC (ISBN 9780805092431)

Room: A Novel by Emma Donoghue, published by Little, Brown and Company a division of Hatchette Book Group, Inc. (ISBN 9780316098335)

The Vanishing of Katharina Linden: A Novel by Helen Grant, published by Delacorte Press, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group,  division of Random House, Inc. (ISBN 9780385344173)

Tell me more about Alex

The Alex Awards are given to ten books written for adults that have special appeal to young adults, ages 12 through 18. The winning titles are selected from the previous year's publishing. The Alex Awards were first given annually beginning in 1998 and became an official ALA award in 2002.

The award is sponsored by the Margaret A. Edwards Trust. Edwards pioneered young adult library services and worked for many years at the Enoch Pratt Library in Baltimore. Her work is described in her book Fair Garden and the Swarm of Beasts, and over the years she has served as an inspiration to many librarians who serve young adults. The Alex Awards are named after Edwards, who was called “Alex” by her friends.