Should I let you in on a secret?

I don't know, this is a big undertaking. Trusting you with what could potentially harm you. I could get in a lot of trouble. Dare I tell you of such a mysterious, puzzling phenomena all contained between a set of hard covers?

Well, okay but just this one time.

The name of this book is secret by Pseudonymous Bosch. I read it early in the summer and have managed to keep it a secret so far, but people keep asking. Making it harder and harder for me to keep such a good book safely on the shelves of the library and not in the hands of readers.

Alas I cannot keep it under wraps any longer. I'm gonna spill. It is an alarming account of two extraordinary adventurers, a missing magician’s diary, a symphony of smells and a deadly secret…

For those of you who are fans of Lemony Snicket, mysteries, codes and hidden clues, you might want to give this a try - but beware, it could be detrimental to your health.

PS - don't forget to check out the website: http://www.thenameofthisbookissecret.com/ for more fun stuff.

Oh yeah, I'm currently reading If you're reading this, it's too late also by the same author (but don't tell anyone, I could get in big trouble- as this book was snuck out of the publishing house just for me.)

Read on

Click, one book - ten authors

Click - one book -ten authors. Such an interesting concept, it reminds me of a writing assignment given at a workshop where we were given the starting sentence "It was a dark and stormy night..." and then each person created the next sentence, building this crazy mismash (or terrific) story.

The ten authors of Click each contribute a chapter building the story centred around the character of George "Gee" Keane - renowned photojournalist.

As I read the book, I thought up a bunch of book report ideas, some clever, some straight-forward, some artsy and some just plain out-there, which I guess relates back to how I viewed the book. Some chapters I loved, I thought the writing and tone to be smooth and deliberate, others I thought- where is this going? and a few I had a harder time seeing how it would fit with the overall story. Which I susppose is what you get when you give a novel over to ten authors - endless possibilities.

Read on

Graphic novel weekend

Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island retold by Wim Coleman and Pat Perrin illustrated by Greg Rebis

I love Treasure Island, it's one of those books I end up reading every year, I love the characters, I love the pirates, i love the mystery of the treasure map, and i imagine myself as a bit of a young Jim Hawkins too.

So I was happy to see a graphic novel version of one of my favourites, especially as this version was in colour and appropriate for younger readers (there's a lot more to the pirate language than ARRRR). I thought this version did a great job of summarizing this classic story - I even felt my usual love/hate feelings for Long John Silver. This book even has a glossary for some of those words only used by pirates, a bit about Robert Louis Stevenson, and questions to ponder.

This is a great option for young readers interested in a pirate adventure story.

Read on

Graphic novel weekend

The Regifters by Mike Carey, Sonny Liew and Marc Hempel





"... action, romance and introspection combine in an enjoyable and realistically muliethnic whole"


Booklist, starred review





Regifters is the story of rebellion, crushes and recycled gifts. Jen Dik Seong -or Dixie as she's known to her friends is a gifted hapkido (Korean martial arts) athlete, in fact she could win the up coming nation wide tournament, if only she could focus. Her instructor carefully points out to her that -" you are a good student Jen, perhaps the best I have ever taught, you know that hapkido is much more than a fighting style. You know the importance of Ki. The universal energy that some call spirit. This is not strength of body or mind, but it underlies all strength, and makes strength strong. Where is your Ki Jen? What has become of it?"


Jen unfortunately can only seem to focus on one thing - Adam (a fellow hapkido student) and how to win over her crush. Enter the gift, a sculpture of a Hwarang warrior which Jen decides will win over Adam but also costs her entery fee to the national tournament. As the story develops so does the idea of regifting.

(Re-gift - verb - 1. to give an unwanted gift to someone else; to give as a gift something one previously received as a gift.)

Jen gives the gift to Adam, who gives the gift to Megan, who when she finds out she has been regifted gives it to her brother, who uses it to repay the debt he owes Dillinger, who doesn't know it all started with Jen but for some reason it reminds him of her and she is a true warrior and therefore deserves to have this kind of reminder of who she is. And if that confused you, well check the book out because it won't disappoint.

Thumbs up from me!

Read on

How to Steal a Dog

How to Steal a Dog by Barbara O'Connor

"Half of me was thinking, Georgina, don't do this. Stealing a dog is just plain wrong. The other half of me was thinking, Georgina, you're in a bad fix and you got to do whatever it takes to get yourself out of it."

Georgina is pretty mad. Mad at her Dad (for having taken off from the family). Mad at her Mom (who's temporary solution to their housing crisis is to live in the family car). And mad at her little brother who just isn't much help in understanding all this. What Georgina needs is are solutions. There begins Georgina's idea of stealing a dog and then posting reward signs thus getting the reward money, so that her family can find a home again.

There's a few problems with Georgina's plan - unfortunately she acts before she's thought this through. A couple of minor things like, where will she keep the dog (it's not like she can take it back to the car - her Mom can't find out about any of this), what will she feed the dog?, how will she find time to walk the dog?.

I hope you'll check this one out - I loved it :-)

Read on

Shelley Tanaka / Author talk

Last night I went to hear author Shelley Tanaka speak. Tanaka is a non-fiction author and editor. Some of her books include: Amelia Earhart: the legend of the lost aviator, Climate Change, Mummies: the newest, coolest & creepiest, Earthquake, Gettysburg, D-Day, The Alamo, new Dinos, Attack on Pearl Harbor, Footnotes: dancing the world's best loved ballets, In the time of knights, Secrets of the Mummies.

What I found most interesting, was hearing Tanaka speak of her thirty year career in book industry and the changes she has seen and dealt with first hand in the publishing of non-fiction materials. Some of Shelley's earlier works were creative non-fiction (meaning creative narrative was added to enrich the facts). I think young readers enjoy a story that accompanies the factual material but I do understand the argument that they also need to be told which parts of the book might be fictionalized and which parts are factual. The publishing industry has moved away from this creative non-fiction style and seem to be embracing non-fiction books that every fact is thoroughly researched and cited.

I also enjoyed the fact that Tanaka has worn many hats within the book publishing realm. As an author she has argued with editors and publishers to keep certain pieces in a book. Likewise she has probably argued with authors to whittle down words when wearing her editors hat. I think we often forget how many changes a book sees before it ever reaches our hands and that readers sensibilities vary across the country, across our continent and across the world.

Thank you to the Lethbridge Children's Roundtable for bringing authors like Shelley Tanaka in to speak. I am reminded once again how incredible an authors role is to young people and how my role as a librarian can help bring them closer to understanding and appreciating great books.
Read on.

Getting Air by Dan Gutman

This is real good fun. I usually describe this book as a cross between Hatchet and Transworld Skateboarding magazine, and that if liked either one of these you'll like Getting Air.

Jimmy, David and Henry are psyched. It's summer, school's out, and they are on their way to California, where they'll be able to do some major skating. But on the plane the unthinkable happens: They are hijacked by terrorists. As frightened as they may be, they take action and they succeed - sort of. They may have beaten the terrorists, but now their plane has crashed in the middle of nowhere and all of a sudden their summer vacation is about finding food, water, shelter and to get rescued. Can three twelve-year-old boys find a way to survive without fast food and skate parks?

Hope you'll find time to check this one out.

Read on

Childhood favourite

Last year I surprized my sister with the book Ludo and the Star Horse by Mary Stewart. It was a favourite of both of ours growing up and we both wanted to see if it would stand the test of time and it does.

Ludo lives in a little mountain village in Bavaria. One bitter winter's night, Renti, the family's only horse, escapes from the stable and Ludo follows him to bring him back. Here begins a strange and breathtaking adventure. It is hard to see on the dark slopes, and Ludo and Renti find themselves falling into the House of the Archer- a gateway to the star country of the Zodiac. Together they must follow the Sun through the twelve houses of the Zodiac. In the twelfth and final house, their destinies await.

I always loved reading how Ludo and Renti escape through the clutches of the scorpion (my star sign).

Read on

Yes, there is a comic strip about libraries

I've been a huge fan of the comic strip "Unshelved" for years now, so I thought I'd show a couple of their strips here on my blog. Enjoy.

P.S. some days when it looks like a bomb has gone off in the library, I have to remind myself that they're just REALLY enjoying the library.

something fun

Hi, heres a fun quiz - determining what kind of wand you would have if you were a character in the world of Harry Potter.

http://www.helloquizzy.com/tests/the-harry-potter-wand-test

This is my result.
Your result for The Harry Potter Wand Test ...
10", Willow, Veela
You scored 42 wisdom, 28 bravery, 26 emotional, and 17 martyrdom!
A willow wand signifies that you care deeply about emotions, art, and intuition, and that you have a particular knack for charms. The veela hair as a wand core means that you are slightly unpredictable but very powerful.

Read on