Friday Falcon Report & Clues #4 & #5 July 11, 2009

Greetings my fellow detectives, it is I, Detective Percival Falcon. You all have probably already deduced that because I didn’t write a falcon report last Friday, I am including two clues with this weeks report. And you are correct! You all have brilliant minds, someday you will be brilliant private eyes, but I don’t know if you could ever find a detective agency as excellent as the Loft. Where was I last Friday, you wonder, that I was incapable of penning my weekly report? Was I hot on the tail of an evil villain, minutes away from finally closing a case that no one had been able to solve for years? No. I was preparing for my part in the Fourth of July parade. It doesn’t sound as exciting as cracking a case, but just as important. Perhaps you saw me in the parade; many people remarked that I looked quite regal and dignified despite the rain that dampened my feathers. But enough about me! Let’s get back to the library. I have observed many things such as teens signing up for programs like creative writing and Cook it and Book it, the cooking book club held at Whole Foods. The last session is August 5^th. They will be reading and discussing Hot Lunch by Alex Bradley. I have also seen large groups of teens enjoying the loft computers and books.

Now, two clues to solve.

1)      Go to reading recommendations. Go to the readalikes list for an author who had a couple of books adapted into a movie that Mandy Moore starred in. Find the author of the book on that list that shares a title with an ice-cream store.

2)      Go to the catalog on the epl.org website. If you wanted to take out the Adventures of Indiana Jones, how long could you keep it for and where would you find it in the library? 

 

Bonechiller by Graham McNamee
Jim Butcher’s The Dresden Files: Storm Front by Mark Powers
Chinese Handcuffs by Chris Crutcher
The Demon’s Lexicon by Sarah Brennan
Ghostgirl: Homecoming by Tonya Hurley
I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak
Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer
Killer by Sara Shepard
Sleepaway Girls by Jen Calonita
Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler
Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
The Waters & the Wild by Francesca Lia Block
Zoe’s Tale by John Scalzi

Born Confused by Tanuja Desai Hidier July 9, 2009

Born Confused by Tanuja Desai Hidier is about Dimple Lala, an Indian girl who has lived in New Jesery her whole life, with her slightly goofy but loving parents (they seem goofy in the way they are so earnest about everything). She feels like she doesn’t really fit in anywhere, being too American for her Indian family and too Indian for American teenagers. She wants to be more like her effortlessly popular and lovable blond best friend, Gwen. But what Gwen wants is to be more exotic and soon Dimple feels as though Gwen is stealing everything from her including her culture, her family, and the one boy she feels like she finally has a connection with, Karsh – the suitable not so suitable boy, the one her parents want her to be with and the one who understands how she feels about her culture and her photography. This book is very interesting, very humorous, and all of the situations feel very real and believable. It’s a very good coming of age story. I think it’s especially good because as she learns more about her culture through her parents and her cool cousin, Dimple realizes that instead of wanting changing herself, she realizes she likes who she is. (Loft Zoe)

Take a Fantasy Road Trip with Your Favorite YA Characters July 8, 2009

Do you like making videos?  Ever wonder what it would be like to take a cross-country trip with a character (or characters) from your favorite book series?  Then this one’s for you.  Listening Library, a division of Random House books, invites you to enter their exciting short-film contest, Fantasy Road Trip, judged by hit-YA authors Libba Bray (A Great and Terrible Beauty), Tamora Pierce (Melting Stones), and Rick Riordan (The Lightning Thief).  To be eligible you must be between 13-18 years old, and your video must include a reference to Florida (this can be as direct or oblique as you want), a reference to audiobooks, and a clip of audio provided by Listening Library.  Beyond that it’s up to you – Where would you go with your character? What would you do? Create your video with animation, live action, whatever you want.  Entries accepted until August 17, 2009.  Winners will receive an 8GB ipod Touch and signed audiobooks.  For more information about the contest and how to submit your video, visit the contest’s website at www.fantasyroadtripcontest.com.

Video Games Live™ July 8, 2009

Here’s a one-of-a-kind concert experience! Music from some of the most popular video games will be performed by a symphony orchestra – the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra!  This interactive show also includes stage performers, special effects, state-of-the-art lighting, synchronized video clips, a laser show, interactive game demos, and a costume contest. Bring it to Chicago!

 

Created and produced by world famous video game composers Tommy Tallarico and Jack Wall,  Video Games Live™ features the best music from the following games:

Mario™    Zelda®    Halo®    Final Fantasy®    Warcraft®    StarCraft®II    Sonic™    Metal Gear Solid®    Kingdom Hearts    ChronoCross™    Myst®    …and so many more!

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare July 2, 2009

 City of Bones by Cassandra Clare is a great urban fantasy novel. Readers of Holly Black’s Modern Faerie Tales will especially enjoy this novel as it has the similar style of a strong female character fighting against dark forces. There is a lot of action and violence that is balanced by the wise-cracking humor and the clever banter that the central characters use throughout the novel. The story follows a teenager, Clary, who suddenly realizes that she has the power to see Shadowhunters and the demons that they have vowed to kill, as well as vampires, werewolves, mages, and fey. When a powerful and corrupt Shadowhunter that had been thought to be dead takes Clary’s mom, Carly and her best friend Simon are thrust into a strange, exciting, dark world that they never knew exsisted, led by teenage Shadowhunters Jace, Alec, and Isabelle. Not only does Clary have to deal with a past that she never knew exsisted, she also has to navigate ever-shifting alliances and personal relationships. This cleverly written book will pull you into Clary’s world and you will fell strongly connected to each of the teenage characters. Luckily the next two books in the series, City of Ashes and City of Glass are both released. (Loft Zoë)

 

City of Bones is also available on CD.

Characters that leap off the pages… June 30, 2009

In Cornelia Funke’s Inkheart, Meggie’s father can literally “read” characters out of books. It seems as if some Loft patrons have the ability to “sew” characters right out of a book from our collection. Sprite leaped out of the pages of Cute Dolls and landed on one of the Loft’s bookshelves (he’s the blue guy to the right). Quentin escaped out of the book to wrock out at the Wizard Rock concert  (he’s the wizard rock moose on Toby’s shoulders). What character will be next?

 

Check out the Loft’s collection of DIY books! Pass the long, lazy days of summer “sewing” characters right out of a book, or fashioning a crab from a napkin, or playing simulalia or the “a” language game. (see Stuntology for the napkin crab & word games). We have books on filmmaking, jewelry making, knitting, journaling, wacky things to do with your digital camera, 304 pranks, tricks & challenges to amuse & annoy your friends, 99 ways to cut, sew, & deck out your denim, transform a t-shirt, manga/graphic novel drawing, and more!!

Ken Becomes a Member of the Living Dead June 29, 2009

New Barbies are being released to capitalize on the commercial success of Twilight. To represent Edward, Ken’s usual tan is gone and has been replaced with a sparkling pallor. Somehow they even managed to give him a slightly tortured expression. To represent Bella they made Barbie a brunette and gave her a hoodie. I don’t think Barbie reacted well to being told she had to be klutzy so she is poised with model-like grace (check out her feet). What will be their next gimmick? Will they make a Jacob doll that can morph into a wolf? I don’t think that there has ever been a Barbie love triangle before. What are your thoughts on this new development in the Twilight franchise? Do these toys seem desirable in any way?

(Loft Zoë)

A Certain Slant of Light June 29, 2009

A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb, is another novel about a paranormal romance. But the relationship makes more sense and is more mature than many of the relationships in this genre. But perhaps this is because the relationship is between two adults who have been around for many years, in ghost form. The novel focuses on Helen, a ghost who is 27 and has been dead for 130 years, who first meets James when she is haunting a teacher and notices that a teenage boy is staring at her. The teenage boy turns out to be James, a ghost who is really 29 and has been dead for 83 years, who is possessing the body which has been left vacant by its spirit. In order to be with James, Helen posses the body of teenage girl whose spirit has wandered off. Helen and James fall in love and together they work through the difficulties they face being two teenagers with two types of very extreme family backgrounds. They also deal with the  traumatic events surrounding their deaths when James is accepted into heaven, Helen struggles with her personal hell, not sure if God will ever be able to accept her. This is a well-written, thought provoking novel, while also being very entertaining and unique. It manages to cover the oppression that teenagers can face from their parents, the question of what happens to us after we are dead, and the nature of true love. (Loft Zoë)

A Complicated Kindness by Miriam Toews June 28, 2009

Nomi Nickel, the lead character in Miriam Toews’s book, A Complicated Kindness, is a 16-year-old girl living in a Mennonite community in rural Canada and hating every second of it. When her rebellious older sister and long suffering mother flee for greener pastures, Nomi is left alone with her father trying to figure out what went wrong, where to go from here, and how to avoid her seemingly inevitable fate beheading chickens at the local slaughterhouse. The character of Nomi is beautifully written, wrenching your heart, tickling your gut, and punching your funny bone on nearly every page, with her fairly typical coming-of-age woes here thrown into sharp relief by the repressive religious community where she lives. Nomi’s achingly tender, awkwardly hilarious relationship with her father gives the book its sad, strange heart as the two try to prop each other up and move towards the future. Toews has written a coming of age masterpiece, equal parts Catcher in the Rye and Abbott and Costello.  (Andy R., Reader’s Services)

Books I’m Taking To Camp* June 27, 2009

Camp Minnetonkahaka in Wisconsin . . .  gonna be a blast!  Can’t wait to kayak, and I get to bring my cell phone and flat iron!  We have internet, too!  No parents for eight weeks plus my older cousin Suki is a head counselor!  She is so cool!  I’m bringing aaallll these books cuz they look good!!!

Lovestruck Summer by Melissa Walker

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

Sleepaway Girls by Jen Calonita

Carbon Diaries by Saci Lloyd

Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles

Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

I can’t decide, so I’m bringing a ton of stuff!  How do I know what I’ll be in the mood for?!

ooohhh, I also have the whole Twilight series on my ipod.  huge sigh . . .

(The Loft-Mercedes) *p.s. I’m just playing pretend!