Books read in 2012

1)Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell - amazing;

2) Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes - good;

3) Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë - good;

4) Hercule Poirot's Christmas by Agatha Christie - good;

5) Prom Nights from Hell by Meg Cabot, Lauren Myracle, Kim Harrison, Michele Jaffe, Stephenie Meyer - bad;

6) Jinx by Meg Cabot - okay;

7) Airhead by Meg Cabot - okay;

8) Being Nikki by Meg Cabot - good

9) Ready or Not by Meg Cabot, okay

10) Vampire Diaries: The Awakening by J.L.Smith - bad;
11) Digital Fortress by Dan Brown - amazing;

12) The da Vinci Code by Dan Brown - good;

13) The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown - okay;

14) Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater - amazing;
15) Linger by Maggie Stiefvater - good;
16) Forever by Maggie Stiefvater - good;

17) Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater - good;
18) Secrets of My Hollywood Life by Jen Calonita - okay;

19) Secrets of My Hollywood Life: On Location by Jen Calonita - okay;
20) Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules by Jeff Kinney - okay;
21) Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw by Jeff Kinney - okay;
22) Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days by Jeff Kinney - okay;
23) Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Ugly Truth by Jeff Kinney - bad;

24) Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever by Jeff Kinney - bad;

25) Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Third Wheel by Jeff Kinney - okay;

26) Angus, thongs and full-frontal snogging by Louise Rennison - good;

27) Withering Tights by Louise Rennison - okay;

28) Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins - amazing;
29) Demonglass by Rachel Hawkins - amazing;

30) Spell Bound by Rachel Hawkins - good;

31) Juliet Spell by Douglas Rees - okay;

32) Notebook by Nicholas Sparks - amazing;

33) Dash and Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan - good; 
34) Forever in Blue: The Fourth Summer of the Sisterhood by Ann Brashares - okay;
35) Divergent by Veronica Roth - amazing;
36) Delirium by Lauren Oliver - amazing;
37) Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver - amazing;

38) 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher - amazing;

39) Future of us by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler - good;

40) The Earth, My Butt and Other Big Round Things by Carolyn Mackler - good;

41) Fallen by Lauren Kate - good;

42) Torment by Lauren Kate - bad;

43) Matched by Ally Condie - good;

44) Crossed by Ally Condie - okay;

45) Reached by Ally Condie - amazing;

46) Gone by Michael Grant - good;

47) City of Bones by Cassandra Clare - good;
48) City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare - amazing;
49) City of Glass by Cassandra Clare - amazibg;

50) Looking for Alaska by John Green - amazing;

51) Sticks and Stones by Beth Goobie - okay;

52) Gossip Girl by Cecily von Ziegaser - bad;

53) Uglies by Scott Westerfield - good;

54) I am Number Four by Pittacus Lore - amazing;

55) Casual Vacancy by J.K.Rowling - okay;

56) Prom and Prejudice by Elizabeth Eulberg - amazing;

57) The Carrie Diaries by Candice Bushnell - good;

58) Anna and a French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins - amazing;

59) Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins - okay;

60) The Second Short Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer - good;

61) Seraphina by Rachel Hartman - amazing;

62) Masque of the Red Death by Bethany Griffin - amazing;
63) Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles - amazing;
64) The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E.Smith - okay.

* published in 2012

2013 Culture Club Diversity Talent Show - Reporters!

Calling all reporters! In know you are all passionate about reading, but what about writing? Perhaps you are looking for your big break? Then this is the opportunity for you! Auditions for the 2013 Richmond Multicultural Talent Show will begin in January and the organizers are looking for teens to follow the contestants during the entire process from auditions to the night of the performance. If you're interested email us at: teens@yourlibrary.ca for more information.

Not interested in writing, but have a passion/talent you are dying to showcase?Then contact Stefanie at: Stefanie@rmcs.bc.ca to register.



National "What did you read today?" Contest

People can tweet what they read to @readingcampaign with #whatdidyoureadtoday? from Nov 14 – Dec 31 for a chance to win a preloaded Kobo eReader. You can enter the contest once per day.

More contest info can be found on the official website.

We will be promoting this on our website, and posters will be sent to each branch.

Not on Twitter? This may be a good opportunity to sign up for an account and check it out.

This is what I read today, how about you?

Rebecca by Du Maurier

"Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again."

Okay seriously, Rebecca is one of the most frustrating, depressing, rip-your-hair-out provoking books I've ever read in my entire life.

And I love it.

Have any of you guys ever read the book? I read it with my English class...fyi...
Anyways, if you haven't I RECOMMEND IT.

It's too good do a thorough review. There are just too many things to comment on.... The characters, the plot, the themes, the foreshadowing... Okay, this sounds like what I say for most of my rave reviews but SERIOUSLY READ THIS BOOK. If you guys have, tell me what you thought about it!

By the way, if you do decided to read it, keep in mind that the plot seems to lag around the middle of the book, but all of a sudden, SOMETHING BIG HAPPENS THAT JUST BLOWS YOUR MIND.

Okay.

PS- The cover does this book no justice. None at all.

“We can never go back again, that much is certain. The past is still close to us. The things we have tried to forget and put behind us would stir again, and that sense of fear, of furtive unrest, struggling at length to blind unreasoning panic - now mercifully stilled, thank God - might in some manner unforeseen become a living companion as it had before.” 

Teen Read Week

It's Teen Read Week!  What is that, you ask?  Teen Read Week is an national literacy initiative of the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the American Library Association.  This year's theme is It Came from the Library!

We dare you to read for the fun of it and celebrate reading in all its forms —books and magazines, e-books, audiobooks and more. 

We're also giving away prizes to celebrate Teen Read Week.  All you need to do is come by the library and fill out an entry form in the teen section at any RPL branch between now and Oct 23rd. Easy as that!

The Mayor of Casterbridge by Tom Hardy

The Mayor of Castrbridge is a Classic novel about a man by the name of Michael Henchard who in a drunken state sells his wife and daughter to a passing sailor at a country fair.  From there on things get more and more dramatic.  Henchard moves to the town of Casterbridge and achieves mayorship while presuming his wife dead, and his daughter lost to him.  But when they arrive in Casterbridge, Henchard's life get's turned upside down.  The reader experiences his ups and downs of his life narrated in parts by Henchard himself, and in parts, his daughter, Elizabeth-Jane.

If I had a choice, I would never read classics, the language is tough, and the setting is constantly being thickly described.  However for this classic, I wouldn't say it was too bad, like most modern novels it carries with it dramatic twists and turns, the reader doesn't experience too much of a lull between one shocking event and the next.  Hardy knows exactly how to write too, he has a nice balance in the book, the shocking events don't overshadow each other, and they have a reason for being.  I haven't read too many classics in my life, I tried Pride and Prejudice, but the extensive plot, and descriptions lacked the proper action and drama to hook a reader.  With the Mayor of Casterbridge, you sympathized with characters more, it was easier to understand, though a longer read, it's not exactly the kind of story you'd find in a small farming village.

Considering my bias against classics and the fact that it's homework rather than leisure reading, I would give this classic a 7/10, for originality, a surprising amount of action and drama, sympathize-able characters, and a nicely scripted, and yet not overwhelming setting.

(The Mayor of Casterbridge 2003 Movie Trailer)

Volunteers needed!

Amazing Astronomy – Saturday October 13^th from 11-3pm
Help kids create telescopes, galaxies and other space related crafts.

 

World Food Day event - Sunday October 14 from 12-4pm
Greet and hand out flyers and hand stamp visitors at tables.

Sound interesting? Email us at teens@yourlibrary.ca to sign up