2007 Teens Top Ten announced

During Teen Read Week, over 6,000 votes were submitted to decide what books were teens' favorites. So if you're looking for something good to read, this might be a good place to start. Here's the rundown:

10. Road of the Dead by Kevin Brooks
Two brothers, sons of an incarcerated gypsy, leave London traveling to an
isolated and desolate village, in search of the brutal killer of their sister.

9. Bad Kitty by Michele Jaffe
While vacationing with her family in Las Vegas, seventeen-year-old Jasmine
stumbles upon a murder mystery that she attempts to solve with the help of her friends, recently arrived from California.

8. River Secrets by Shannon Hale
Young Razo travels from Bayern to Tira at war's end as part of a diplomatic corps, but mysterious events in the Tiran capital fuel simmering suspicions and anger, and Razo must spy out who is responsible before it is too late and he becomes trapped in an enemy land.

7. Life as We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer
Through journal entries sixteen-year-old Miranda describes her family's struggle to survive after a meteor hits the moon, causing worldwide tsunamis, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions.

6. All Hallows Eve: 13 Stories by Vivian Vande Velde
Presents thirteen tales of Halloween horrors, including ghosts, vampires, and pranks gone awry.

5. Firegirl by Tony Abbott
A middle school boy's life is changed when Jessica, a girl disfigured by burns, starts attending his Catholic school while receiving treatment at a local hospital.

4. Maximum Ride: School's Out -- Forever by James Patterson
After a short stay with an FBI agent who gives them a chance to attend school and live a normal life, the six genetically-altered, winged youths head toward Florida and Max's ultimate destiny--to save the world, whether she wants to or not.

3. How to Ruin a Summer Vacation by Simone Elkes
When sixteen-year-old Amy, a spoiled American, goes to Israel for a three-month summer vacation with a father she barely knows, she is not prepared for his Jewish family and the changes they bring about in her life.

2. Just Listen by Sarah Dessen
Suddenly unpopular sixteen-year-old Annabel finds an ally in classmate Owen, whose honesty and passion for music help her to face what really happened at the end-of-the-year party that changed her life.

1. New Moon by Stephenie Meyer
When the Cullens, including her beloved Edward, leave Forks rather than risk revealing that they are vampires, it is almost too much for eighteen-year-old Bella to bear, but she finds solace in her friend Jacob until he is drawn into a "cult" and changesin terrible ways.

What do you think? Is there a book they left off the list? Have you read and loved any of the books on the list? Let us know what you think.

Fun with Food

Go ahead...tomorrow you can stuff yourself full of delish food that Mom or Dad or Grandma slaved over for hours. That's what's fun about Turkey Day right?

Next Tuesday (Nov. 27) though, from 6:30-8 p.m., you'll get the chance to show off your culinary creativity in the return of Iron Chef!

Choose from a wide variety of foods we provide to create your own dishes. Past creations have included "Grilled Cheese Supremo" and "Strawberry S'mores."

The judges will determine whose cuisine reigns supreme based on taste, creativity and presentation. Sounds like fun, yes? For all the info, click here. Finish digesting your turkey, and head on over this Tuesday.

I'll see you at the Library.

Yikes! Correction on Director's Chair contest deadline

My total bad...I put the deadline as January 18, 2009 rather than 2008. You really don't have over a year to create your entry, so you'd better cancel that meeting with Industrial Light and Magic.

The actual deadline: January 18, 2008 at 11:59 p.m.

Good luck!

What magazine should be in YA?

I was recently told that one of our magazines, Guideposts Sweet 16, would no longer be available for subscription. This is an excellent time to get your input on what magazines we should offer in the YA department.

What I'd like to know is, what else should we have? What should we be getting rid of?

Click Here to take survey

Thanks a bunch for your input, and I'll see you at the library!

Bring out your inner movie maker

Ask a Librarian has this contest going on where you can create a 30-second video that promotes Ask a Librarian. If you're in grades 9-12, you can enter. I would so love for the winner to be from Winter Park!

What is Ask a Librarian?
It’s a free online service that allows you to chat with a Florida librarian for instant help with homework, papers and general questions.

What do you have to do?
Well...just make a creative and entertaining 30-second video that tells the world just how wonderful Ask a Librarian is and post it to YouTube. It can be funny, serious, a spoof, a dramedy...whatever you want.


What's in it for you?
The grand prize is a JVC hard-drive video camera. Second prize isn't too shabby either...a Nintendo Wii!!


How long do you have? You have until January 18, 2008 at 11:59 p.m. to post your video on YouTube, so get cracking!

Sounds like fun, yeah? For all the details, click here. Have fun, and I'll see you at the library

Vote For Teen Read Week Stuff

To kick off Teen Read Week (which is this week!) our library hosted a reading marathon on Saturday, and every single participant read over seven hours. Congratulations to Delaney D. for winning the event, not only by reading the longest, but by hopping, reading aloud, and waving one arm in the air all at the same time!

The theme of this year's Teen Read Week is LOL @ Your Library. To celebrate we made Gocks--that's goth sock puppets to you--on Tuesday night. There were some WILD creations. I'll post pictures soon.

There are several opportunities to get your voice heard during Teen Read Week. Click on the links below and vote!

Teens' Top Ten
Every year during TRW, you can vote for your favorite new books to create a national top ten list. Visit this link to vote for the 2007 list and to see past lists.

Future Teen Read Weeks
You can vote for next year's TRW theme on this site. The choices are Books with Bite, Find Magic, or Your Quest Begins. You can also add your own idea!

TRW Reading Survey
Take this survey about your reading habits to help librarians provide better teen services.

If you're looking for something funny to read, take a look at some of the things we have in the library.

Stop by the library and tell me a joke so I can LOL too! ;-) I'll see you there.

Want to go to New York?

I read today about a cool contest hosted by The Olive Garden. It's called "Pasta Tales," and the winner receives a trip to The Big Apple and a $2500 savings bond. There are also winners in each grade category and they will receive a $500 savings bond and dinner with their family at a local Olive Garden. Not too shabby.

Here's what you have to do:

“In today’s fast-paced society, time spent with family is precious,” said Steve Coe, spokesperson for Olive Garden. “This year’s essay question allows young writers to reflect upon their family’s activities and describe the qualities that make them memorable.”

From Oct. 1 through Nov. 30, Olive Garden will accept essays of 50 to 250 words from students in the U.S. and Canada.

For all the info, visit the Olive Garden web site.

What have you got to lose? Get writing, good luck, and I'll see you at the library.