11th Annual Teen Read Week
Erika Kosin
Do you have a teen that likes to read but doesn’t know which book to read next? Have him or her check out titles that have made the Teens Top Ten List. Each year the Young Adult Library Services Association’s (YALSA) sponsors Teen Read Week an event that helps remind teens to “read for the fun of it” stating that “it’s free, it’s fun and it can be done anywhere”. This year’s 11th annual Teen Read Week event was held from October 12th thru October 18th and many libraries throughout the country helped celebrate. As part of the celebration teens across the nation, ages 12-18, were encouraged to vote for their favorite nominated book published in 2007. All books nominated for the final vote during Teen Read Week were selected by committees of teens throughout the country making this the ultimate recommended for teens by teens list.
Each year to help in the celebration a sub-theme is chosen by teens during the previous Teen Read Week. This year’s theme was “Books With Bite @ Your Library”. This theme served as a possible guide for public and school libraries to center their celebration, whether on books about animals, technology, cooking or even, just in time for Halloween, vampires. The chosen theme is meant remind teens that reading books can be a form of entertainment in an age where reading sounds dull compared to the multi-media competition. With the internet, television, movies, and video games having a flashier appearance, Teen Read Week is a time when libraries and publishers push books to the forefront of the competition boasting an inexpensive way to escape the everyday hassles, especially if you have a library card. Why do we do this? Well studies have shown that teens who read for fun tend to have higher proficiency levels at school and are constantly expanding their language and vocabulary skills.
So what books have topped this year’s list? After over 8,000 teens voted, the top three spots went to:
#1 - Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer
In the third book in “The Twilight Saga” Seattle is being ravaged by a string of murders that seems to be caused by a vampire looking for revenge once again placing Bella in harms way. Meanwhile, Bella is forced to choose between her love for Edward Cullen and her friendship with Jacob Black, knowing that her decision has the power to awaken a battle between the Werewolves and the Vampires that will hurt those she loves. Will Edward and Jacob be able to put their differences aside? Will Bella be able to finally decide whether to remain human or become immortal?
#2 – Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
The seventh and final novel in the Harry Potter Series finds Harry, Hermione, and Ron searching for items that will help them destroy Voldemort while at the same time uncovering the mystery of the Deathly Hallows.
#3 - Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney
Greg Heffley knows he isn’t popular, but he still wants to fit in. Follow along with his journal (NOT a Diary!) as he both illustrates and records his observations of life in middle school. This is a very realistic and funny account of life in the Middle School halls and fun for all ages.
See the complete 2008 Teens Top Ten winner’s at www.ala.org/teenstopten .
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Friday, October 17, 2008
Breads and Soups
Susan Triplett
The shift in the seasons to cooling temperatures and lengthening evenings often brings a welcome switch of mealtime choices. Add the incentive of a painful economic slump, and the timing is nearly sublime for return to a supper classic: the pairing of a full-bodied soup with fresh, fragrant bread. Rowan Public Library invites you to explore its hearty collection of bread and soup cookbooks. RPL also subscribes to an array of excellent magazines which typically include a worldly cuisine of stocks, soups, muffins, and breads of all descriptions. Come on in and take a chance on getting downright inspired!
The library’s bread making how-to books include volumes devoted to quick breads. These may not only hook the novice baker but also soothe any baker’s angst about time shortages. As one such book, Fast Bread (Howard Early and Glenda Morrison) inventively offers the delights of Beer and Cheese Muffins, Potato Crackers, and even Baked Boston Brown Bread, to name but a few. Recipes are generally geared for total prep and bake times combined of no more than 30 - 40 minutes and use easy to find or on-hand ingredients.
At the other end of the bread manuals, the aspiring baker can delve into more complex and time consuming selections which focus on yeast breads. Some of these books - such as The Laurel Kitchen’s Bread Book (Laurel Robertson) and The Bread Baker’s Apprentice (Peter
Reinhart) - render their offerings philosophically and with equal parts care, attention, and joy. Side bars providing detailed definitions, measuring equivalents, and bakerly musings are helpful and entertaining. Laurel Robertson’s book starts off with “a loaf for learning” and it is just that. The Reinhart book presents recipes for many favorites, including sourdough, brioche, stollen, and French and Italian breads. Baking with Julia (based on the Julia Child PBS series) offers a particularly inviting section on rustic or “artisanal” breads, loaves resplendent with earthy and herbal flavors, crackling crusts, and moist interiors.
The library’s holdings address the other half of the bread and soup duo with a similarly diverse selection. The Wooden Spoon (Marilyn More) bursts with home-style soups, chowders, stews, chilis, and gumbos. This book provides a very readable, easy format and a fine complement of basic soup terminology. Recipes often call for left-overs or on-hand ingredients - such as in the fixings of Tomato and Bread Soup. The author includes an unusual assortment of fruit-based soups.
Soup’s On! (Janet Lembke) walks the reader through sixty - yes, 60! - flavorful soup concoctions with clear instructions and colorful photos. Information about substitutions as well as the origins of different types of soup is also provided, and narrative sections are kept simple and to the point.
A recent issue of Cook‘s Country magazine reproduces a rich, reader supplied recipe for Hearty Vegetable Soup which can’t be beat for a minimum of time and fuss preparation. Try pairing this with one of the rustic bread loaves or some quick bread muffins!
A meal of soup and bread can indeed be both a stellar seasonal choice and an asset to the family food budget. This is fundamental creature comfort fare yet so much more. Gathering around a duo of such satisfying substance can grace family mealtimes with shared food truly for the soul.
See you at the library for a bon appetit of breads and soups!
Susan Triplett
The shift in the seasons to cooling temperatures and lengthening evenings often brings a welcome switch of mealtime choices. Add the incentive of a painful economic slump, and the timing is nearly sublime for return to a supper classic: the pairing of a full-bodied soup with fresh, fragrant bread. Rowan Public Library invites you to explore its hearty collection of bread and soup cookbooks. RPL also subscribes to an array of excellent magazines which typically include a worldly cuisine of stocks, soups, muffins, and breads of all descriptions. Come on in and take a chance on getting downright inspired!
The library’s bread making how-to books include volumes devoted to quick breads. These may not only hook the novice baker but also soothe any baker’s angst about time shortages. As one such book, Fast Bread (Howard Early and Glenda Morrison) inventively offers the delights of Beer and Cheese Muffins, Potato Crackers, and even Baked Boston Brown Bread, to name but a few. Recipes are generally geared for total prep and bake times combined of no more than 30 - 40 minutes and use easy to find or on-hand ingredients.
At the other end of the bread manuals, the aspiring baker can delve into more complex and time consuming selections which focus on yeast breads. Some of these books - such as The Laurel Kitchen’s Bread Book (Laurel Robertson) and The Bread Baker’s Apprentice (Peter
Reinhart) - render their offerings philosophically and with equal parts care, attention, and joy. Side bars providing detailed definitions, measuring equivalents, and bakerly musings are helpful and entertaining. Laurel Robertson’s book starts off with “a loaf for learning” and it is just that. The Reinhart book presents recipes for many favorites, including sourdough, brioche, stollen, and French and Italian breads. Baking with Julia (based on the Julia Child PBS series) offers a particularly inviting section on rustic or “artisanal” breads, loaves resplendent with earthy and herbal flavors, crackling crusts, and moist interiors.
The library’s holdings address the other half of the bread and soup duo with a similarly diverse selection. The Wooden Spoon (Marilyn More) bursts with home-style soups, chowders, stews, chilis, and gumbos. This book provides a very readable, easy format and a fine complement of basic soup terminology. Recipes often call for left-overs or on-hand ingredients - such as in the fixings of Tomato and Bread Soup. The author includes an unusual assortment of fruit-based soups.
Soup’s On! (Janet Lembke) walks the reader through sixty - yes, 60! - flavorful soup concoctions with clear instructions and colorful photos. Information about substitutions as well as the origins of different types of soup is also provided, and narrative sections are kept simple and to the point.
A recent issue of Cook‘s Country magazine reproduces a rich, reader supplied recipe for Hearty Vegetable Soup which can’t be beat for a minimum of time and fuss preparation. Try pairing this with one of the rustic bread loaves or some quick bread muffins!
A meal of soup and bread can indeed be both a stellar seasonal choice and an asset to the family food budget. This is fundamental creature comfort fare yet so much more. Gathering around a duo of such satisfying substance can grace family mealtimes with shared food truly for the soul.
See you at the library for a bon appetit of breads and soups!
British Crime Writer Association
Lucinda Epperson
How would you like to be a member of Britain's only "club" for crime writers? If you are a published crime writer, reviewer, editor, or publisher, you can join The British Crime Writer Association, a fifty year old club with 450 members who help support crime writers. One of your obligations would be to read and select the most prestigious awards for crime writing, like the Cartier Diamond Dagger Award. The Diamond Dagger, awarded for “sustained excellence in the genre of crime writing,” was given to Sue Grafton in 2008.
If you do not think you are going to be able to join the “club,” you might be interested in finding a list of the award winning authors and titles. Simply go to The British Crime Writer Association link in the green box on the Rowan Public Library homepage. This year I have found and enjoyed several authors with books translated into English.
Donna Leon is an American author who has lived and taught in Venice for twenty years. She offers us a series of crime novels set in Venice featuring the fictional hero Commissario Guideo Brunetti. Her novel, Friends in High Places won the Crime Writers’ Association’s Silver Dagger in 2000, and it has been translated into many foreign languages although not Italian. A word of advice: If you choose one of Leon’s novels do not read it when you are hungry, she has a great gift for describing what her characters have for meals and it all sounds delicious.
Ann Cleeves’ book, The Raven Black, won the Duncan Lawrie Dagger Award for the best crime fiction of 2006. It is the first in The Shetland Quartet series, set on the Island of Shetland, one of the large groups of small islands in the North of Scotland. It is a small isolated place, where strangers are noticed, hierarchies are unacknowledged, and open secrets are never spoken. I thought it was a great mystery set in an isolated and intriguing location.
Karen Fossum is a Scandinavian writer of potent psychological thrillers. Her Indian Bride is very different from American thrillers. The characters and plot are excellent, action is slow but steady, there are no guns or shootouts, and the suspense is powerful.
Even if you are not a member of the British Crime Writer Association, you can enjoy reading the many prestigious award winning titles available at Rowan Public Library.
Lucinda Epperson
How would you like to be a member of Britain's only "club" for crime writers? If you are a published crime writer, reviewer, editor, or publisher, you can join The British Crime Writer Association, a fifty year old club with 450 members who help support crime writers. One of your obligations would be to read and select the most prestigious awards for crime writing, like the Cartier Diamond Dagger Award. The Diamond Dagger, awarded for “sustained excellence in the genre of crime writing,” was given to Sue Grafton in 2008.
If you do not think you are going to be able to join the “club,” you might be interested in finding a list of the award winning authors and titles. Simply go to The British Crime Writer Association link in the green box on the Rowan Public Library homepage. This year I have found and enjoyed several authors with books translated into English.
Donna Leon is an American author who has lived and taught in Venice for twenty years. She offers us a series of crime novels set in Venice featuring the fictional hero Commissario Guideo Brunetti. Her novel, Friends in High Places won the Crime Writers’ Association’s Silver Dagger in 2000, and it has been translated into many foreign languages although not Italian. A word of advice: If you choose one of Leon’s novels do not read it when you are hungry, she has a great gift for describing what her characters have for meals and it all sounds delicious.
Ann Cleeves’ book, The Raven Black, won the Duncan Lawrie Dagger Award for the best crime fiction of 2006. It is the first in The Shetland Quartet series, set on the Island of Shetland, one of the large groups of small islands in the North of Scotland. It is a small isolated place, where strangers are noticed, hierarchies are unacknowledged, and open secrets are never spoken. I thought it was a great mystery set in an isolated and intriguing location.
Karen Fossum is a Scandinavian writer of potent psychological thrillers. Her Indian Bride is very different from American thrillers. The characters and plot are excellent, action is slow but steady, there are no guns or shootouts, and the suspense is powerful.
Even if you are not a member of the British Crime Writer Association, you can enjoy reading the many prestigious award winning titles available at Rowan Public Library.
Gardening for Wildlife
Marissa Creamer
Petunias are past their prime. Perennials are losing steam. Even some tree leaves are beginning to turn colors and will soon cover our lawns. It seems that the gardening season is over. But the truth is, fall gardening has just begun. Although things above ground appear to be at a standstill, there is much activity below. The soil is still warm, and given enough moisture, roots are growing. Fall is a wonderful time for planting; giving your trees and shrubs a chance to get established before the cold of winter. This fall, why not enhance your landscape by adding some plants that will attract and support wildlife in your yard? Rowan Public Library has all kinds of books to guide you in making your landscape more wildlife-friendly.
“The National Wildlife Federation’s Guide to Gardening for Wildlife” is a great place to start. Written by Craig Tufts and Peter Loewer, this handbook will help you transform your backyard into a year-round haven for birds, mammals, and amphibians. It provides detailed garden plans and plant lists as well as basic organic gardening information. There are chapters to guide you in establishing woodland gardens, meadow and prairie gardens, and water gardens, as well as chapters devoted to gardening for birds, butterflies, and nightlife.
Many of us have birdfeeders in our yards, enjoying the brilliant colors and cheerful songs that birds bring to the landscape. But if you really want to make your yard inviting to the songbirds, think about the habitat you offer. Are your trees suited for nesting and perching? Do you have shrubs to provide hiding places and plants that provide seeds and insects? “Birds in Your Backyard: a Bird Lover’s guide to Creating a Garden Sanctuary” by Robert J. Dolezal, tells you how plan your garden to offer food, water, protection, shelter, and nesting locations. The plant guide will help you choose plants that are most attractive to desired species, with suggestions for flowering plants, ground covers, vines, ornamental grasses, shrubs, and small trees.
Before you head to the garden center, take some time to peruse “Bringing Nature Home: How Native Plants Sustain Wildlife in Our Gardens,” by Douglas W. Tallamy. Concerned about the aggressive nature of alien plant species and the decline of native wildlife, Tallamy makes a compelling argument for planting native plant species to provide a welcoming environment for wildlife of all kinds. He explains how gardening with natives can create plantings that will stay beautiful and in balance without the use of pesticides. His basic message is simple: “By favoring native plants over aliens in the suburban landscape, gardeners can do much to sustain the biodiversity that has been one of this country’s richest assets.”
These books and many other gardening guides can be found at Rowan Public Library.
Marissa Creamer
Petunias are past their prime. Perennials are losing steam. Even some tree leaves are beginning to turn colors and will soon cover our lawns. It seems that the gardening season is over. But the truth is, fall gardening has just begun. Although things above ground appear to be at a standstill, there is much activity below. The soil is still warm, and given enough moisture, roots are growing. Fall is a wonderful time for planting; giving your trees and shrubs a chance to get established before the cold of winter. This fall, why not enhance your landscape by adding some plants that will attract and support wildlife in your yard? Rowan Public Library has all kinds of books to guide you in making your landscape more wildlife-friendly.
“The National Wildlife Federation’s Guide to Gardening for Wildlife” is a great place to start. Written by Craig Tufts and Peter Loewer, this handbook will help you transform your backyard into a year-round haven for birds, mammals, and amphibians. It provides detailed garden plans and plant lists as well as basic organic gardening information. There are chapters to guide you in establishing woodland gardens, meadow and prairie gardens, and water gardens, as well as chapters devoted to gardening for birds, butterflies, and nightlife.
Many of us have birdfeeders in our yards, enjoying the brilliant colors and cheerful songs that birds bring to the landscape. But if you really want to make your yard inviting to the songbirds, think about the habitat you offer. Are your trees suited for nesting and perching? Do you have shrubs to provide hiding places and plants that provide seeds and insects? “Birds in Your Backyard: a Bird Lover’s guide to Creating a Garden Sanctuary” by Robert J. Dolezal, tells you how plan your garden to offer food, water, protection, shelter, and nesting locations. The plant guide will help you choose plants that are most attractive to desired species, with suggestions for flowering plants, ground covers, vines, ornamental grasses, shrubs, and small trees.
Before you head to the garden center, take some time to peruse “Bringing Nature Home: How Native Plants Sustain Wildlife in Our Gardens,” by Douglas W. Tallamy. Concerned about the aggressive nature of alien plant species and the decline of native wildlife, Tallamy makes a compelling argument for planting native plant species to provide a welcoming environment for wildlife of all kinds. He explains how gardening with natives can create plantings that will stay beautiful and in balance without the use of pesticides. His basic message is simple: “By favoring native plants over aliens in the suburban landscape, gardeners can do much to sustain the biodiversity that has been one of this country’s richest assets.”
These books and many other gardening guides can be found at Rowan Public Library.
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