Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Banned Books Week!



Did you know that this week is Banned Books Week at the library?

Click here for more information on Banned Books

Here's a short list of some teens books that have been banned...you might be suprised what you find!

“The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things” by Carolyn Mackler
“The Chocolate War” by Robert Cormier
“The Perks of Being a Wallflower” by Stephen Chbosky


Here's a list of 100 of the Most Frequently Challenged or Banned Books from 1990-2000. Click here!

Monday, September 29, 2008

Cool website for the Week of September 28-October 6



Did you know that the library has its own YouTube Channel?

CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT THE CAPE MAY COUNTY LIBRARY ON YOUTUBE!

Friday, September 26, 2008

Music Review: Amy Winehouse "Back In Black"


I don’t think I am a trendy person, which is why I believe it has taken me so long to listen to Amy Winehouse’s sophomore album, Back to Black. With her messy personal life always the front page news of sensational magazines, I thought she was just another celebrity with a massive amount of addiction problems that have been heavily covered by the media. The world loves to focus on the problems of others—and of course, the turbulent relationships of celebrities, such as her, “Blake Incarcerated.” With all the sensationalism set aside, I have recently discovered why Amy is such a talented musical powerhouse. Back to Black is a refreshing musical masterpiece and it is easy to see why Winehouse is so popular. Her album is a reminiscent of musical greats from the 60’s, such as The Supremes and Etta James, and combines her influences with 70’s soul music. She casually delivers her problems of cheating, addiction, depression, with a vintage air. Even when she is singing about her famous refusal to go to rehab, Winehouse is able to deliver a performance full of satire and a powerful voice. Don’t let her problems dissuade you from checking out this album. It is full of great music and lyrics that are slick and sarcastic, as well as painfully honest. I am looking forward her next album, so far untitled, due out in the beginning of 2009.

I would also like to share a list of new music that will be in the library very, very soon. So make sure to reserve your copy!

Britney Spears-Blackout
Buckcherry-Black Butterfly
Jesse McCartney-Depature
Jessica Simpson-Do You Know
Jonas Brothers-Little Bit Longer
Katy Perry-One of the Boys
Kid Rock-Rock N Roll Genius
Lil Wayne-Tha Carter III
Metro Station-Metro Station
Miley Cyrus-Breakout
Plain White Tees-Big Bad World
Pussycat Dolls-Dolls Dominion
Robin Thicke-Something Else
Tokio Hotel-Scream
(many thanks to Melissa The Librarian for the review and the list of new music. If you want more music at the library, come by and tell us what you want!)

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Halloween Pumpkin Painting Party


WHEN: Thursday October 2nd @ 6:30 PM
WHERE: Main Library in Cape May Court House

Teens ages 12-18 are invited to help the library paint some pumpkins! Help us decorate for Halloween!

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

New Book Wednesday


Fiction
Evernight by Claudia Gray
Twice Upon A Marigold by Jean Farris
(sequel to the book Once Upon A Marigold)
The Latent Powers of Dylan Fontaine by April Lurie
Uninvited by Amanda Marrone
Hero by Perry Moore
Larry and the Meaning of Life by Janet Tashjian
The Chronicles of Vladmir Tod: Ninth Grade Slays by Heather Brewer
The Keys to the Kingdom: Superior Saturday by Garth Nix
Brisingr by Christopher Paolini

Graphic Novels and Manga
Buffy The Vampire Slayer: No Future For You by Various Authors
The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite by Gerard Way and Gabriel Ba
(written by the lead singer of My Chemical Romance)
Zombie Loan 1
Thor by J. Michael Stracyznski and Olivier Coipel
Hellboy: Wake The Devil by Mike Mignola
Freddie and Me by Mike Dawson
The End: Fantastic Four by Alan Davis
The Lindbergh Child by Rick Geary

Audiobooks
Brisingr by Christopher Paolini

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Music CD's in the Teen Zone!

The Teen Zone is happy to announce that starting this month, we'll have a selection of music CD's in the teen zone room at the library...

We'll be selecting a few cool new CD's each month and displaying them in the Teen Zone room. You can check out up to 3 CD's on your library card and keep them for one month. Here's what we've got for September 2008...


The Clash: London Calling



Conor Oberst: Conor Oberst (of the band Bright Eyes)



Hawthorne Heights: Fragile Future



Alicia Keys: As I Am



Nirvana: Nevermind




Check them out and let me know what you think! Give us some suggestions for other new music!

-Justin The Librarian

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Cool website for the Week of September 21-27


MAY THE CUTEST KITTEN WIN!

http://kittenwar.com/

Friday, September 19, 2008

Teen Podcast Episode 1


EPISODE #1 of the TEEN PODCAST is here!

Starring Kaitlyn, Madison, Georgeanne, Beth, Justin The Librarian, Lisa The Technology Librarian, and Mike The Brain.

Featuring a roundtable discussion of Breaking Dawn, the fourth and final book in the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer as well as a discussion of the grossest foods we’ve ever ate.

Want to help us with our next podcast? We need you to help review books, music, DVD's or just talk about some interesting things. We here at the library just want you to be part of the experience!Please reply to me by email justinh@cmclibrary.org if you're interested in helping (or if you'd like just reply to this post)

Any teens ages 12-18 are welcome to join in.


(want to download the podcast? right click here and "save target as")


Thursday, September 18, 2008

Tonight at the library...





TEEN MOVIE NIGHT!
When: 6pm
What: We'll be watching "Juno"
IT'S FREE
See you there...
-Justin The Librarian
PS. What do you think of the new logo at the top of the page? I was going for the "fridge magnet" look.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

New Book Wednesday


Fiction
Melting Stones by Tamora Pierce
(by the way, if you like this book, you should check out the audiobook of Melting Stones here!)
Ghostgirl by Tonya Hurley
Almost Alice by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Prom Dates From Hell by Rosemary Clement-Moore
Hell Week by Rosemary Clement-Moore
The Seer of Shadows by Avi
Night World Volume 1 by L.J. Smith
Jerk, California by Jonathan Friesen

Graphic Novels
Hellboy: Seed of Destruction by Mike Mignola

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Book Review: "Ink Exchange" by Melissa Marr


review by Beth


**Spoiler Warning- you may not want to read if you have not read "Wicked Lovely" by Melissa Marr**

Ink Exchange, by Melissa Marr, is the sequel to the book Wicked Lovely. As a sequel, however, it is rather confusing, because the main characters of the first book become minor characters in the second book, and vice versa. Both books involve humans living unknowingly alongside faeries, who, for the most part, either do not care about or mistreat humans.

The main character of Ink Exchange is Leslie, a human. She has lived a very hard, dark life over the past few years, with her parents almost completely out of the picture and her brother a druggie who puts his habit before his sister's well-being- indeed offers his sister as "payment" to his dealer. The pain of this incident, along with her entire situation, is something Leslie hides from everyone, particularly Aislynn, her best friend, who is hiding secrets of her own.
Leslie decides that she needs to take her life back, that she needs to change, and she feels the need to start that change with a symbol. A tattoo. She goes to a tattoo artist, Rabbit, who is a friend of hers, and asks for recommendations for a design, since she can't find a good one on her own. He reluctantly shows her a book of designs unlike any she has seen before, and in that book she finds an image that calls to her as if it was meant for her- a pair of eyes surrounded by swirls and wings. She insists she must have this one.

Little does she know just how much this tattoo will change her. After getting just the outline, she begins to feel odd- her emotions are no longer making sense, and she believes she is seeing things that aren't there.

While all this is going on, the book explains the backstory of the previous book. The faery world is made of of Courts and solitary faeries. The rulers of the Summer Court happen to be Aislynn and Keenan. Aislynn insists on protecting her human friends from the Faery world, and in order to do that must keep it secret from them. She has Keenan's friend, Niall, invisibly watch over Leslie- oblivious to the fact that Niall is falling for Leslie, which is a situation more dangerous to her than she can know.

There is also the Dark Court, which has been suffering ever since Aislynn took the throne of the Summer Court. The Dark Court feeds off emotions of Faeries, mostly dark emotions- rage, lust, greed, envy. Aislynn's reign has begun to create peace in the Faery world, which is slowly starving the Dark Court. The King, Irial, sets up a temporary fix for his Court- he has a half-fae friend, who happens to be a tattoo artist, begin ink exchanges between the dark faeries and mortals. These will put the mark of a certain fae onto a human's skin, etched in the fae's own blood and tears. This connection will allow the dark fae to feed off humans, as well as faeries. When Leslie chooses Irial's own mark, she seems to be the solution he has been looking for, since only the King can share his sustenance with the entire court.

This book is set in a very dark style, dealing with many sensitive issues. The set-up is rather confusing. There are some characters mentioned that you never entirely figure out who they are. There are minor back-stories that don't seem to go anywhere, or be worth anything. The perspective switches around frequently, sometimes during the same scene. Sometimes, if you do not remember the original story, this sequel talks of things that make no sense whatsoever to the reader.

Ink Exchange has a very good storyline, however dark and confusing it is. If you want to find out what happens to Leslie and the Faery courts, and do not mind reading a book that mentions drugs, rape and suicide, then Ink Exchange could be the story for you.


Check out Ink Exchange by Melissa Marr at the library

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Cool website for the Week of September 14-20






Raina Telgemeier is a most excellent artist from Queens, NY. She's illustrated some of the Babysitter's Club graphic novels as well as a title from DC Comics. Her website (click the link above!) has a WONDERFUL ongoing comic that she creates called Smile.

I highly suggest you check it out!

Friday, September 12, 2008

Justin's Pick O' The Week


A girl name Jane moves to a new town where she becomes friends with four other girls named Jane. She's out of place in her new school and so are the other three unique Janes. The four of them bond and form a sort of renegade art group named The Plain Janes and set about to decorate the town. Some people like it, some people hate it...but nonetheless the whole town is talking about them.

I just loved the story and the characters. They were all so cool and likeable. What makes it even better is the art. All the panels in this graphic novel are wonderfully illustrated and packed with great detail.

Enjoy and have a great weekend.
-Justin The Librarian

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Headphones!


WE'VE GOT HEADPHONES IN THE TEEN ROOM!

Rejoice. Now you can listen to the Teen Podcast at the library...






CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE TEEN PODCAST!
(if you get any error message or pop-up, just click cancel and it will work just fine)

...as well as watch YouTube videos and more




Enjoy the headphones, and please take care of them so that everyone else can use them!

-Justin The Librarian

(many thanks to Beth and Jesse for modeling the new headphones)

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

New Book Wednesday




Non-Fiction
Cool Stuff 2.0 and How It Works
M.L.K: Journey of a King
by Tonya Bolden
46 Science Fair Projects for the Evil Genius by Bob Bonnet and Dan Keen
Comic Book Century by Stephen Krensky
Up Close: Johnny Cash by Anne E. Neimark
Up Close: Elvis Presley by Wilborn Hampton
Declare Yourself: Speak. Connect. Act. Vote by Various Authors

Video Game Strategy Guides
Kingdom Hearts Official Strategy Guide

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Book Review: "Screwball" by Keri Mikulski


Review by Beth

Screwball, by Keri Mikulski, is a locally-set YA book about an average high school girl, Ashley, who tries to balance her social life with her school and sports practice. Ashley goes through her relationship with her first boyfriend, Andrew, while also starting on a new softball team. She gets into arguments with one of the girls on the team, who seems to dislike her for no particular reason, and arguments with her parents for trying to put her boyfriend before softball. Even Andrew is displeased with the fact that Ashley tries to change her lifestyle for him, and dumps her, leaving her heartbroken. After this, she tries to change her life back, so she can be her pre-Andrew self, throwing herself into sports once again and refusing to date boys. But this can only last for so long....

This book was written for girls who are reluctant to read, and it shows. The storyline is complex only in the way that gossip is. The part of the story that I enjoyed the most was the references- the island the characters lived on was split into two parts, one of which was named "Cape Towne." Sound familiar? The ice cream shop they went to at one point was called Danny's- the inspiration for which, Little Danny's, happens to be on the same street I used to live on. The classic rock station Ashley complained about her dad listening happens to be the station I most frequently listen to.The characters of the story are, for the most part, completely normal teenagers. However, to me, they seemed somewhat shallow and self-absorbed. They noticed only their social lives and that of their friends', nothing else. Screwball would not have been a story I would have picked out for myself- it is not my typical genre, and this book has not swayed me to sports chic-lit. However, I am looking forward to reading the sequel.

(many thanks to Beth for her review)

Monday, September 8, 2008

Cool website for the Week of September 7-13


The Library Calculator

What is your library worth to you?
How much would you pay out-of-pocket each year for your library services?

What a great site. Many thanks to the Northland Public Library (Justin The Librarian's Hometown Library!)for this excellent tool!

Friday, September 5, 2008

Teen Halloween Party!


(click on the picture to enlarge)

What: Teen Halloween Party and Costume Contest

When: Friday October 31st, 2008 @ 6:45pm at the Main Library

What: Teens ages 13-18 are invited to join us for the first ever Teen Halloween Party! We'll be watching a (semi) scary movie, Arachnophobia (PG-13) or Young Frankenstein (PG) and it's up to you to decide! Check the right side of this webpage for the poll...vote on which movie you want to see. We'll also be sponsoring a costume event as well so dress up in your finest halloween costume...the best costume will win a prize.

And yes...we'll have pizza and soda.

(Movies selected have been chosen with a teen audience in mind, however, parents are encouraged to review ratings of each movie prior to allowing their teens to attend)

PS. Join us that same day from 4:30-6:30 at the same place for Game Night.

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Interview with author Walter Dean Myers



NPR has a great new interview up with teen author Walter Dean Myers.
You may remember him as the author who wrote the Michael L. Printz award winning book Monster. He just recently released Sunrise Over Fallujah, which you can find at the Cape May County Library.

Click here to check out the interview:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93699480

Walter Dean Myers' website:
http://www.walterdeanmyers.net/

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

New Book Wednesday


Fiction
The Last Apprentice: Wrath of the Bloodeye by Joseph Delaney
Forever Changes by Brendan Halpin

Non-Fiction
Kiss My Math by Danica McKellar
Manga for the Beginner by Christopher Hart

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Music Review: Flight of The Conchords


If you’re in the mood for laugh-out-loud hilarity, then it’s about time you check-out (literally,) Flight of the Conchords’ self-titled album. The comic duo has had 4 Emmy nominations and won a 2007 Grammy for Best Comedy Album. Flight of the Conchords uses hip-hop, rock soul, pop and glam rock to deliver their powerfully funny and sarcastic messages, while also paying homage to the Pet Shop Boys, David Bowie, Marvin Gaye, and even Shabba Ranks. Although the album pokes fun at a variety of themes, including the French language, attractive women, how humans have contracted disease from monkeys, and the violence of inter-city life, “killing each other using knives and forks,” the album is very well done. Check out the tracks Faux da Fafa, Inner City Pressure (my personal favorite,) Ladies of the World, and Hiphopopotamus vs. Rhymenoceros.

-Review by Melissa The Librarian


I second Melissa's excellent review. Ever since I got Flight of the Conchords I cannot stop listening to it. They've managed to somehow mix their hillarious comedy with fantastic songs.

Monday, September 1, 2008

Happy Labor Day!


Happy Labor Day to all!

The library will be closed today, but we'll be open at 8:30am tomorrow.

Until then...