Book Bag: Friendswood Youth Services Blog

As all the other blogs have been saying, 2008 really has been quite a year, but we made it through Hurricanes and all. :) I hope you're all having a great holiday, just know that I'm terribly bored and lonely without you! Christmas has come and gone but I definitely still have the holiday spirit in my heart and I'm excited about ringing in the New Year tomorrow! Does anyone have special plans? Tell me about them and a super cool Christmas Pez Dispenser could be your prize! As the New Year draws to a close, I wanted to make a list of my favorite books that came out this year, this will be hard since I can't really think of anything I've disliked so far... :) City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare (sequel to City of Bones and the third City of Glass is out in March!) Paper Towns by John Green Graceling by Kristin Cashore Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman Little Brother by Cory Doctorow and Suite Scarlett by Maureen Johnson There are many other books I've read this y...

From me and lolcats! Much loves, Sti

So I discovered this project this morning: www.projectforawesome.com Check it out! Here's a little explanation from the site to explain what they're trying to accomplish "Sometimes the world just sucks too much. This year is certainly no exception. But it’s the time of the year when we have to think about others instead of ourselves. Which is why the YouTube community is excited, this year, to band together to promote our favorite charities, and to encourage giving among young and old alike... Throughout the day this December 17th, we will be liveblogging the transformation that YouTube is undergoing. As P4A (project for awesome) videos go live throughout the site, and the community promotes those videos, and people give money to the biggest and best charities of the year." The name alone is enough to make me love it, but I also really like the message and goal of the project. Also, here's Hank Green (brother of the 'awesome' YA author John Green and co-fo...

So yes, they exist apparently, how crazy is that? And more than a little creepy! Bella and Edward These are more my style.. The Doctor, Rose and some monsters inside the TARDIS.. Yeah, I'm a dork, so what? :P Much loves, Sti

Here's a video of one my new favorite authors, John Green, facing his fears. It's pretty funny and inspiring: Do you have any fears you'd like to conquer that you would like me to record? Much loves, Sti

So, as excruciating as it is to sit in a car for 12 hours with 4 other people as you drive to Florida, there is one positive thing about all that down-time, and that is reading! On the way there I slept or drove and it was too dark to read (though I did listen to some of Gregor and the Prophecy of the Bane), but on the way back I read the most wonderful book: First of all, isn't the cover gorgeous? My sister didn't think so, but I do. Here's the summary of the book from amazon.com: Graceling takes readers inside the world of Katsa, a warrior-girl in her late teens with one blue eye and one green eye. This gives her haunting beauty, but also marks her as a Graceling. Gracelings are beings with special talents—swimming, storytelling, dancing. Katsa's Grace is considered more useful: her ability to fight (and kill, if she wanted to) is unequaled in the seven kingdoms. Forced to act as a henchman for a manipulative king, Katsa channels her guilt by forming a secret council...

I totally forgot to post this picture, and I know it would make many people happy. Frank J. Brown, founder of Friendswood, gets into the Holiday Cheer! Also, I am uploading some long overdue videos onto my youtube account, including the 7 days of Birthukkah song, and some of the Desert Island videos from a few months back. Here's a link to my page: http://www.youtube.com/user/librariansti And I wanted to warn you all that I won't be here on Friday, Keith is charge of entertaining you for the afternoon. His activity is a doozy so come prepared to use your brains! Much loves, Sti

And I haven't started Christmas shopping yet...Eek! We had our Christmas party on Saturday and it was a lot of fun. There was lots of food, Christmas karaoke, strange white elephant gifts from the house of Sti, and a snowball fight! Here are a few pictures: karaoke! This picture came out dark but it's sooo cute I love this picture of Kathleen and Jenny The Brothers Wimer sing The first throw of the snowball fight Group picture We're collllld, and Zach is creepy Aaaand that's all for now!

:) Did you like my pun there? I love bad jokes. Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! I know I did, I love cooking with my mom, I love eating, I love taking family pictures, I especially LOVE cranberry sauce and PIE, and I even kinds love washing dishes (don't laugh!) so Thanksgiving is pretty much an ideal holiday for me. This year it was also my grandma's birthday so I got to talk to her on the phone for an hour. Well...maybe talk isn't the word I should use, listen is better since my grandma likes to ramble on and on. Remind you of anyone you know? :) Leave a comment to tell me about any fun traditions you have on Thanksgiving? My sister reenacted the funny commercial where the grandpa eats a scoop out of the pumpkin pie and then fills it in with cool whip! Hope everyone also survived the insanity of Black Friday! I ventured out late that evening when it had died down, but I didn't buy much, just an awesome cd and my sister bought a wonderful documentary: ...

Thanks to everyone who came out to celebrate the premiere of Twilight at the Twilight Ball! I think it was a great success! We ate food inspired by the movie, listened to Stephenie Meyer's playlist, judged a costume contest, tested our Twilight trivia knowledge, and discussed whether we liked or disliked the movie. I went and watched the movie Saturday evening, and my verdict is: I liked it! I was very skeptical, especially after watching the previews. I didn't think Robert Pattinson was a good choice for Edward from the start, and he just looked...weird in the previews. But watching the film as a whole I think he did a remarkable good job. There were some awkward moments, and his accent was a little strange sometimes (but come on, he's British and he was supposed to talk like a Chicagoan from the early 1900s!), and his initial reaction to Bella was a little over the top.. But he was very good at showing how much he thinks of himself as a monster, something that never reall...

Just found this great source for Twilight quotes: http://www.twilight-quotes.com/

Sti's Dewey Decimal Section: 909 World history Sti = 909 = 909 = 909 Class: 900 History & Geography Contains: Travel, biographies, ancient history, and histories of continents. What it says about you: You're connected to your past and value the things that have happened to you. You've had some conflicted times in your life, but they've brought you to where you are today and you don't ignore it. Find your Dewey Decimal Section at Spacefem.com

There are new Twilight movie stills up on imdb.com And here's another website with some great pics: http://www.beyondhollywood.com/twilight-2008-movie-images-gallery/ Who's excited? Only 4 days!

So, the word is the publishing corporations aren't doing so hot. It looks like people aren't buying enough books! This is very sad because this means that people who work in publishing are losing their jobs, good authors aren't getting their books published, and sometimes libraries even have to close! *GASP!* So with the holidays approaching I wanted to point out this campaign that's begun. For presents this year, consider giving books away! The link below gives some excellent reasons for giving books as presents, and I know I alwyas love getting books. Big surprise right? http://www.buybooksfortheholidays.com/ I have knocked 2 more books off my tall-as-I-am pile o'books! The first was Let It Snow by Maureen Johnson, John Green and Lauren Myracle. This is an excellent book which is really 3 awesome short stories by 3 really funny YA authors. Some of you may know of my obsession with the great Maureen Johnson (if you don't just ask!), and now I think I'll ...

Hmm, where to start. This Friday we'll be finishing the most awesome (and one of my favorite) movies of all time: Howl's Moving Castle ! It's the extremely strange story of a girl named Sophie who has a spell put on her that makes her look like an old lady. Sophie sets out to find the Witch of the Waste who cursed her and becomes housekeeper to the mysterious Wizard Howl in his moving castle. There is a little boy apprentice, a bespelled scarecrow named Turnip Head, a fire demon named Calcifer, and many more crazy characters we have yet to meet, while Howl tries to avoid becoming part of a war and Sophie attempts to get rid of the spell on her as well as the spell that binds Calcifer to Howl. Come join us! = totally awesome movie. Try the book too! In other news, I stayed home from work yesterday because I was sick (I feel much better today, think I just needed to rest), but that meant I had a chance to catch up on some reading I've been meaning to do (you should...

There's a sign near my house right now that says "Happy Halloween Ya'll"! I kid you not. It's awesome. Last night was Halloween in the Park and it was so much fun! The Library's booth had a Christmas theme (we got lost on the way to the North Pole!). I think we confused some people but that's okay with me, I've been confusing people all my life! I'll post some pictures soon. My Halloween costume is Camilla Cream from one of my favorite books a Bad Case of Stripes. I think I look a little creepy personally, definitely not cute and sad like Camilla. :/ Camilla's Stripes My Stripes Keith aka 'Luigi' and Brenda aka Choo Choo Soul's Genevieve! Much loves and candy! See you at the party today! Sti

Hey Everyone, the votes have been tallied and here are the results! The first 2 were a given, I think and I'm really happy to see my favorite books--except for Jinx by Meg Cabot.. :( -- also made the Top Ten! Thanks to everyone for voting!!! The 2008 Teens' Top Ten is: Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney Vampire Academy by Rachel Mead Maximum Ride: Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports by James Patterson City of Bones by Cassandra Clare The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray Extras by Scott Westerfeld Before I Die by Jenny Downham Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson So if you're looking for a good read, here are the books other teens are reading and loving! The links should take you to the Library's catalog so you can put them on hold if they're checked out, and show you where they are if they're checked in! Readingly yours, Sti

Have I told ya'll how much I am seriously digging Halloween this year? I mean I like it every year but this year it's getting a little crazy. I bought 4 new pairs of Halloween earrings this weekend (now I have 7). I'll be wearing them in rotation so be sure to check out which ones I'm wearing when you see me next! :) Anywho! Tonight is our Movie Night with Bite ! Which I'm also really excited about since we'll be watching Dracula ! I hope you guys will come out and eat the popcorn and drink the sodas I've bought! That reminds me, I need to put them in the fridge....done! They should be nice and cold when we start the movie at 6:30pm in the meeting room. Isn't he awesomely creepy? :D Now for something that makes me very very happy. And it goes with my Halloween theme! Here's the trailer (did you know books get previews too) for a new book by one of my very favorite authors Neil Gaiman. Much loves! Sti

Next week is Teen Read Week! This is a week that spotlights the importance of reading in the lives of teens. We know you have a lot of other things on your plate: school, extra-curricular activities, family and friends and that there are a lot of other things you could do with your time besides read. But the American Library Association (ALA) wants everyone to know how awesome reading is--something you probably already know. But, did you know that teens who read for fun score higher on tests and 'are more likely to succeed in the workforce.' Isn't that cool? I think it is. :) So I'll be spotlighting Books with Bite (mostly vampire/zombie/monsters, maybe some books about food too. Mmmm food. Now I'm hungry). I'll also be showing a classic horror movie with some bite. On Wednesday October 15th at 6:30 we'll be watching Dracula starring Bela Lugosi. There will be snacks and drinks as well! And in honor of Teen Read Week, I'll be giving a prize to the first ...

If you're of voting age, here's a cool site where you can educate yourself about why you should vote, how to get register, how to vote early, and information on the issues. Get educated and make an informed choice. Your vote does matter! http://www.declareyourself.com/ We also have an awesome book by the same name: It's a book full of essays about 'civic duty' by some awesome people, including one of my favorite people, Meg Cabot!

That was nerdy, I know...sorry. Friday we're playing games and having snacks (snacks which the 8th graders who won Jeopardy got to choose....BROWNIES!!!) A few fun things: Meg Cabot and I are obviously soul mates. Also, Matt one of our librarians is showing the most excellent movie ever tomorrow night at 6:30. It's called Bringing Up Baby and is one of my favorite movies of all time, so you know I'll be staying after work to watch one the big screen in the meeting room! With popcorn and drinks!! If you don't have too much homework, come join us! here's the imdb link to it: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0029947/ Oh and I'll be wearing the tshirt I designed! I really love this movie! Much Love, Sti

It looks like we will be able to play some video games tomorrow afternoon! I think the consensus was SingStar? Which is like competitive karaoke! Awesome right? So 4:00 tomorrow in the meeting room! See you there! ~Sti

Okay, I know that school is out and things are crazy but if anyone is in the area and bored around 4:00 tomorrow afternoon, I'll still have a program. We'll watch a movie or play a game, I can't promise snacks though... But we've power, a/c and the internet here so come by and visit! I miss you guys! Sti

It probably goes without saying, but the library is closing today at noon and we'll be closed tomorrow and Saturday. So there's no program this week. :( Stay safe whatever your families' plans are! See you soon, Sti

If anyone's interested there is an organization called the Carnegie Corporation who's having a contest called I Love my Librarian : "Librarians in our nation’s 123,000 libraries make a difference in the lives of millions of Americans every day. Now is your chance to tell us why we should shine the spotlight on a librarian at your public, school, college, community college or university library. Nominate your librarian for the Carnegie Corporation of New York/ New York Times I Love My Librarian Award! Up to ten librarians will be honored. Each will receive $5,000 and be recognized at an awards ceremony hosted by The New York Times at TheTimesCenter in December 2008." So if you have a favorite librarian at this library (ahem, me! :P), or at your school, or in some town you used to live in please nominate them! We don't always get a lot of praise, and we love to know we've made a difference in some small way! See ya'll this afternoon for some Rock Band!! Sti

Quick post about Duct Tape Art yesterday. So much fun!! Congrats to the winners, I wish I had enough prizes for everyone because you all deserved them for your wonderful inventions! And now, a few of my favorite pictures: First place winner: Brian! All of the nominees :) Best Picture Ever!

If this is the first time you've read this blog because of my Blog Contest: Welcome! Post a comment to say hi! (Don't forget to sign your name!) Bookmark this site because I'll be posting that all important post soon (just not quite yet!), and the first person to post will win! In other news: Did you know- today in 1698 Russia imposed a tax on beards?? How crazy is that? I found this awesome website today called Instructables which has tons of DIY (Do It Yourself) projects, some of them are crazy complicated but it's fun to see what some people do in their spare time! Another fun website I love to hang out is I Can Has Cheezburgers? Which is basically just funny pictures of cats and other animals...I showed this site to a few of you guys the other day and it provided lots of entertainment :) Did you know we also have a myspace page? Here's the link: http://www.myspace.com/friendswoodlibrary Want some proof of how bad I am at DDR? Here ya go! (Notice, I can't e...

Hey everyone, hope you're all having a great time at school so far. And I hope everything isn't too overwhelming! My classes have started up too, and it's going to take a while for my life to settle down into a semi-normal routine, so I definitely understand all the upheaval the first weeks of school can cause. However! I'm sooo happy to have a lot of you guys in the library more often. I hope you'll all start coming to play video games with us every Tuesday and our regular crafts and stuff on Fridays! Next Tuesday we will be playing Rock Band, which I have only played a few times and really loved (even though I was terrible!) Tomorrow we're making things out of duct tape! For those of you who didn't come to this craft last year, let me tell you, it is awesome! I'll have a few instructions on things to make out of duct tape, or you can make up your own design. At the end of the hour your creations will be judged by another librarian and the winners will ...

Warning: If you don't like to see your favorite vampires and Bella mocked- DO NOT WATCH. If you like a few laughs, then DO WATCH! :)

Back to school anyway! I wonder if anyone is as excited/nervous about school starting again as I am...(Last night I actually had a nightmare about not being able to find my classroom on the first day of class! I even remember what the class was, American History This makes no sense, first because my classes are all online now, and I am done with American History classes for the rest of my life!) Okay, besides that weird nightmare, I have good news! I have finished the planning of fall programs here at the library! If you would like a beautiful, full-color brochure of your very own you can pick one up here at the library in the juvenile dept. or in the YA area. If you're trying to be more green (and know you'll lose your brochure as soon as you walk out of the building! :P), I will post everything here as the year progresses. First off, every Tuesday we'll be having Gaming Tuesdays. This means we're going to be playing some multi-player video games such as Wii, Guitar He...

Sorry it's been so long since I've updated, things get a little crazy around here during the summer. Buuut, my summer programs are drawing to close so I should be making more updates here to keep you informed about things that are coming up, as well as reviews of some of the books I've been reading (I'm almost done with Gregor the Overlander!!) But don't be too sad that the summer is almost over, I'm going to have a ton of fun things to do here at the library after school. The new brochure for the fall schedule will be out soon. Tomorrow is Freaky Friday and I hope everyone who turned in their permission slips will be able to come! If you're wondering what do with your time while you're waiting for school to start, you can spend part of it with me on Wednesday nights in August. I'll be showing The Emperor's New Groove and Sky High (I know most people have seen them, but I love those movies!) on August 13th and 20th at 6:30pm. I'll have popcor...

Hey ya'll! I just put a new link up for a great website called Teen Ink, it's a literary magazine that features poetry, art, and writing by teens like you. It's free to submit, so you should take a look when you get the chance.

We're meeting again, because I just can't stand more than a week without you guys! :P See you at 6:00! ~Sti

That's right, it's that time again! I know you've all been eagerly anticipating the next TAG meeting, so here it is tomorrow June 8th at 6:00pm. If you're free be sure to come, we'll be choosing officers for the new year. Here's a list of offices you'll be able to nominate yourself for: Co-President (2) Historian (1 or 2) Fundraising Coordinator (1) Public Relations(1-3) This is how psyched I am to see ya'll! See you tomorrow! Sti

Calling all TAG members! We're going to be handing out water and lemonade during the 4th of July Parade on Friday (the parade starts at 10am), so if you're in TAG and in town, we'd love for you to come help us out. And if you're not in TAG you should still come visit us during the parade for some cool drinks! (I love fireworks!) In other news, I thought I'd gush about a few of the books I read this weekend. First let's start with MVP by Douglas Evans. The cover of this book was enough to hook me, a kid with a blue backpack racing across the globe and being chased by what I can only assume are poisoned darts, looks intriguing to me! On his 12th birthday Adam Story is approached by a mysterious man who calls himself Prince Oh and invites Adam to take part in a competition to circle the globe in 40 days using only land transportation (that means no planes!). If he makes the deadline, Adam and his lunch-lady mom will win 4 Million Dollars. But it couldn't be th...

Extra! Extra! Read all about it! I know you've all been waiting with bated breath to hear about the TAG Meeting Schedule for the summer. I had no idea you would all still want to meet! Here it is! Tuesday June 24th 6:00-7:00 Tuesday July 8th 6:00-7:00 Tuesday July 15th 6:00-7:00 Tuesday August 5th 6:00-7:00 Tuesday August 19th 6:00-7:00 Also, I may be able to get permission for us to meet somewhere besides the library in August...stay tuned about that! Aaaaand here's our summer schedule! Come hang out with me! Young Adult Programs Wednesdays & Fridays from 3:30-4:30pm. Ages 11-14 6/4 Wind Chimes. Catch those summer breezes! 6/6 Banana Jousting. Test your medieval skills by making your own shield and challenging your friends to a match! 6/11 Crafts with Lisa! 6/13 Crafts with Lisa! 6/17 Tuesday Night Movie for 'Tweens and YAs. Join us for a movie from 6:30-8:30pm! 6/18 Simple Meal. Concoct your own menu! 6/20 Sock Bunnies. Create these cut...

School is almost over!!! I know these last few weeks are crazy and stressful so we're having a party to celebrate the ending of another school year and the beginning of summer. Our party will be way more awesome. :) We will be eating many tasty snacks and playing a few games. Hope you can take a break from your studies long enough to join us this Friday from 4:00-5:00!! Later, Sti

We had a great TAG meeting yesterday, just wanted to post about some of the stuff we discussed. End of School Parties: That's right, I said parties! We're having one party on the 23rd (next Friday) from 4-5, just like the regular YA Friday programs, only we'll be having more snacks and games. Our second party will be Wednesday the 28th for the 'Tweens (8-10 year olds) from 4:30-5:00 which will be similar just shorter. :P If you want to help out at either of these, let me know. Summer TAG meetings: I don't know what we've done in the past, but I asked if anyone would be interested in having meetings over the summer and I got a resounding YES. Sooooo, we will be having meetings over the summer. We'll have them twice a month like usual-the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays. Here's a rough list of the nights of our meetings-- this list may change! June (we'll be skipping the 10th in June because I will be out of town, don't cry too much!) ...

Looks like we'll be having our TAG meeting here tonight, the boss lady wasn't crazy about us eating out again so soon. Maybe next time! See you guys soon!

Hey all you Edward & Bella lovers (or Jacob lovers if that's how you roll)! I found this video of Stephenie Meyers talking about the books! http://www.bordersmedia.com/shows/bookclub/meyer.asp

Sorry it's been so long since I posted last! It's been a busy few weeks. Let's see, what have we been up to here at the library? We created some much needed spaced in the YA department! Now you can browse for books without bothering the people sitting in the big arm chairs. We're also open to hear any of your ideas about improving the space, so let me know what you want to see in that area and I'll see if I can make it happen! We've played some games--Apples to Apples which is a hilarious game. We worked on our Deconstructive Journals and watched Nanny Mcphee. The TAG kids handed out lots of free goodies at the FIG Festival. All in all, it's been crazy but a lot of fun. And I suspect it's going to get crazier with End of the School Year Madness. :) Luckily, my semester is almost over. This means that I finally have time to read anything I want! I've got a whole stack to go through including Peter and the Starcatchers by...