Best albums of 2012
With the year winding down, The Guardian, The Onion A.V. Club, Paste, Pitchfork.com, Rolling Stone, and Spin have all posted their "best albums of 2012" lists. The library owns almost all of the CDs that appeared on two or more lists. Check them out to decide for yourself it the buzz is worth it!
Actress -- RIP (The Guardian #25, Pitchfork.com #29).
General Election is November 6
Tuesday, November 6 is Election Day.
If you are voting, be sure to check your polling location! Redistricting resulted in a number of changes--some polling places moved, some polling places closed, and some polling places now serve a different district.
You can verify your voter information online, and get the address and a photo of your polling location, at the Supervisor of Elections' page. Once you've verified your information you can see a sample ballot for the upcoming election.
Millhopper and Tower holds extended due to the extreme traffic
We're delighted with the amount of early voting taking place at the Millhopper and Tower branches.
In an attempt to accommodate patron needs in spite of the extreme traffic, we have extended holds pickup deadlines at those two locations.
If you have any holds available this week for pickup at Tower or Millhopper, we have extended your pickup deadline to Monday, November 5.
Voter registration deadline is October 9!
October 9 is the deadline for voter registration for the general election on November 6.
All library branches have copies of the Voter's Registration forms which you can fill out and either turn in at the Supervisor of Elections Office or leave with your local library branch for us to forward to the Supervisor of Elections.
Please be aware that recent redistricting resulted in a number of changes--some polling places have moved, some polling places have closed, and some polling places now serve a different district.
Check for your new voter information card this week!
The state of Florida recently redrew congressional, House, and Senate districts, resulting in a number of changes: Alachua County now has 63 precincts rather than 69, precincts have been renumbered, some former polling places are no longer in use, and some polling places are now being used for different communities than before.
On Monday, July 9, the Supervisor of Elections of Alachua County began mailing out new voter information cards. Please check yours to make sure that your name, address, and political party are all current and correct. The card will also list your new precinct – which, again, might be in a different location than it used to be, even if the precinct number is the same.
Free Comic Book Day
Join us for Free Comic Book Day at the library! Saturday, May 5th.
Local comics artist and author Tom Hart will be holding a workshop at the Headquarters branch on how to make comics, starting at 3 p.m. Before the workshop we'll be showing superhero movies in the new teen area, starting at 10 a.m.
Big Read Art Contest and art exhibition
The library is having an art contest and exhibition of works by artists ages 10 to 18, inspired by the book A Wizard of Earthsea.
Big Read Art Exhibition
Come enjoy some refreshments and help us honor the work of young artists and wrap up The Big Read on Saturday, April 28, 2 to 4 pm, at the Headquarters library.
Reception with refreshments starts at 2:00; welcome and presentation of awards begins at 3:00 pm.
Attn: Big Read Art Contest
In honor of the Big Read and in celebration of Ursula K. Le Guin’s novel A Wizard of Earthsea, the Alachua County Library District is holding an art contest. This contest is open to 2-D art. No entries larger than 11x17”, please. Entrants must be 10-18 years of age.
FCAT help!
With FCAT testing coming up, you might be wondering if the library can help you prepare. It can!
I Live Real Close To Where You Used to Live
In this funny, sweet, and sometimes sad follow-up to Thanks and Have Fun Running the Country, students write letters to First Lady Michelle Obama to offer advice, ask for help, and talk about their favorite topics.
"Please help to stop bullying so the kids can be safe in school." -- Derrick Perez, age 9.
"You're a better dancer than your husband." -- Tatiana Morales, age 10.
The Things a Brother Knows
Levi's older brother Boaz was smart and popular in school, and everyone expected him to go to college, so it's a surprise when he announces that he's joining the Marines instead. Even Levi's father and grandfather are surprised, though they're Israeli-American and were required to serve in the military in Israel. Naturally they're worried about Boaz's decision, given that the U.S. is fighting two wars.
Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes
Sarah Byrnes makes everyone call her by her full name because she was burnt horribly as a child and can't stand waiting for bullies to make the inevitable joke about her scars.
Eric Calhoune has heard so many fat jokes since he was young that he doesn't mind that everyone calls him "Moby."
Banned Books Week is September 24 - October 1, 2011
Banned Books Week is held every year in the last week of September to celebrate the right to read.
Libraries during this time typically display banned and challenged books--books found objectionable for one reason or another. Books might get challenged for any number of reasons, though commonly cited ones include violence, profanity, religious views, adult situations, racism, politics, and disrespect for authority.
Axe Cop, by Malachai Nicolle and Ethan Nicolle
Axe Cop is a webcomic written by a five-year-old, Malachai Nicolle, and drawn by his twenty-nine-year old brother, Ethan Nicolle.
Revolver, by Maurice Sedgwick
In the Arctic north during the Gold Rush, Sig's father died in an unusual accident: he tried crossing the ice at a time when he knew it was dangerous and when he could have just taken a slightly longer route around it. The ice broke and he fell in, then froze to death after managing to pull himself back out.
Meanwhile
In Jason Shiga's book Meanwhile, reminiscent of the Choose Your Own Adventure series but in graphic novel form, readers start off with a simple choice at the ice cream shop: chocolate or vanilla? From there the main character can take wildly different paths to a number of different conclusions, but along the way he is likely to meet up with an eccentric scientist presenting him with the opportunity
Fist, Stick, Knife, Gun: A Personal History of Violence by Geoffrey Canada
Geoffrey Canada's earlier memoir Fist, Stick, Knife, Gun: A Personal History of Violence in America is here re-released as a graphic novel removing most of the commentary and recommendations for social change and focusing instead of the personal anecdotes.
The Beginner's Guide To Living by Lia Hills
God, Mom, where are you? Are you disappointed I'm crap at all this? You never told me what to do when you died, but you should've, because it's the only thing we can be sure of. Death gets all of us in the end. And then I see her, this girl, in the light by the window, long hair, eternal legs, generous smile she's trying to hold on to as she talks to my dad. She looks about my age and she's in a white dress--didn't anyone tell her you're meant to wear black to a wake? She touches her fingers to her lips.... I am the king of bad timing.
Comic books and reluctant readers
The Lumière brothers showed their first actualities--very short films documenting things like a train's arrival--in France in December 1895. The first comic strip published in a newspaper was also in 1895.
Since then movies have grown in scope and sophistication to include a range of genres and stylistic approaches, resulting in a number of acknowledged masterpieces. Comic strips, comic books, and graphic novels have experienced similar growth since 1895, yet it's not uncommon to find well-meaning adults discouraging children from reading comics.
Rot and Ruin
The world has changed since First Night, the night of the first zombie attack. Society has collapsed, with survivors forming small towns in defensible areas, and a variety of jobs springing up around the existence of zombies.
At 15, Benny has to find a job or have his rations cut in half. Some people patrol the fence; others test it for weaknesses; others still rattle the links to attract zombies away from the gates when people leave or arrive.
Good picture books about African-American fathers
Our UF intern Jehri put together a great list of good picture books about African-American fathers. In these books are fathers passing on family traditions, fathers starting new traditions, fathers returned to homes near and far, fathers showing strength and tenderness and offering guidance and assurance. While the family circumstances differ from book to book, all of the books show the ways in which family bonds nourish young children.
Please Ignore Vera Dietz, by A.S. King
Charlie Kahn was Vera Dietz's best friend and she loved him, at least until she came to hate him, but now mostly she is exasperated with him and misses him. Charlie died in unusual circumstances on the night that the local pet store caught fire, killing most of the animals inside.
Scars by Cheryl Rainfield
At fifteen, Kendra is haunted by the sexual abuse she suffered when much younger. Unable to remember who her abuser is, she's suspicious of nearly every man in her life, including both her gay neighbor and her father; and her mother doesn't provide much comfort either. Even the relief she gets from her therapy sessions is at risk after her father loses his job--her parents want to end her therapy sessions.
Cosmic by Frank Cottrell Boyce
Liam Digby is very tall for his age. In fact he's tall enough, big enough, and hairy enough that he's frequently mistaken for an adult. It's a small consolation for constantly having the adults around him tell him things like "you should know better, a big lad like you."
The Call: The Magnificent Twelve v. 1
Mack MacAvoy has a serious case of mediumness: he has medium looks and medium grades and in fact is so medium that his parents barely notice him. What he isn't medium at is being afraid--he's afraid of spiders, and snakes, and the ocean, and heights, and very nearly everything it might be sensible to be afraid of except bullies.
Meet an author: Terry Pratchett
Terry Pratchett is probably best known for his Discworld books, a series of satirical fantasies set on a disc-shaped world balanced on the back of four elephants standing on the back of A'Tuin, a giant turtle swimming through space. The series skewers typical fantasy tropes (one recurring character is Cohen the Barbarian, who is in his nineties and very grumpy; another recurring character is Susan, Death's granddaughter).
Hear Me Out
In response to a spate of teen suicides last month, each attributed to anti-gay bullying, media covering the issue have largely focused on the controversy between people urging schools to address anti-gay bullying in particular and people arguing that doing so would amount to endorsement of homosexuality. Meanwhile Valerie Jarrett, Senior Advisor to the President, states unequivocally that everyone deserves to live a life free of harassment.
Mother, Come Home
After the death of his mother, a seven-year-old boy takes to wearing the lion mask that his mother had given him: it's a brave face to present to the world. Through this mask Thomas imagines himself braver, fiercer, and more capable, though the enemies he faces might be daunting.
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
As a young boy in Malawi, William Kamkwamba wanted to get a good education so that he'd have more options than his parents had as subsistence farmers. But his plans are put on hold when his country is hit by a drought: his family doesn't have extra food to sell and so can't afford to keep him in school, leaving William to sneak into school as much as possible. This plan comes to an end too when he's caught in school.
The Great Wide Sea
Ben is 15 when his mother dies and his father decides to sell their house and buy a boat so the family can sail the world for a year.
