Adriana Puckett

The 2009 National Book Awards have been announced. The winners are:

Fiction

Winner: Colum McCann, Let the Great World Spin

Finalists: Bonnie Jo Campbell, American Salvage
Daniyal Mueenuddin, In Other Rooms, Other Wonders
Jayne Anne Phillips, Lark and Termite
Marcel Theroux, Far North

Library staff recently shared what they are reading. Pick up one of these today and you may find a new favorite read!

Fiction:

Water Lily Cross: An English Garden Mystery by Anthony Eglin

The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

Stardust by Neil Gaiman

Club Dead by Charlaine Harris

Today, Sesame Street turns 40 years old. As a child of the '70's, Oscar the Grouch, Big Bird, and Grover became my very close pals. The music–from the uplifting "Sunny Days" intro theme to the swinging "1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-tweeeelve" pinball disco song–became personal anthems. I learned phonics from the letter of the day and counting from...who else?...The Count.

There will be no late charges for overdue materials returned October 19-25 (extended through November 1 for Bookmobile patrons).

National Teen Read Week and Fine Free Week are both October 19-25, providing two great reasons to celebrate at your local library. Spend time with a book each day, and spend less on overdue fines next week!

The Vampire Diaries by L.J. Smith is a popular series! If you liked that series, you may also like these titles:

Marked by PC Cast and Kristin Cast
Enter the dark, magical world of The House of Night, a world where vampyres have always existed. Sixteen-year-old Zoey Redbird has just been Marked as a fledgling vampyre and joins the House of Night, a school where she will train to become an adult vampire. That is, if she makes it through the Change--and not all of those who are Marked do.
(Catalog summary). This is the first book in a series.

Students in grades K-12 and college-intro classes can get live homework help through the library's Web sites. Connect with real tutors online in sessions up to 20 minutes. Available 3 pm - 10 pm seven days a week. Spanish-speaking tutors are available 4 pm - 9 pm Sunday-Thursday. For minimum system requirements, click here.

To access Live Homework Help all you need is your 14-digit barcode (located on the back of your library card). If you don't have one, click here to fill out an application online.

Connect now!

Talk about hearing voices in your head. On New World, all men, boys, and animals can hear each other's thoughts, also called "noise." There's ways to cover up or mask your thoughts, but it's hard to do. Todd Hewitt is the last boy in Prentisstown, on the cusp of his 13th birthday, which will make him a man. One day, while running an errand, he notices a silence in the noise - something that has never happened before - and comes upon someone who changes his perception of his world forever.

 Your library card is your key to countless services, programs, research opportunities, and, of course, great books. If you don't yet have a library card, click here to request one. If you already have a card, read on for 52 ways to use it - one for each week of the year.

The new kids and teens library Web sites have now launched!  With a similar design to LibraryPoint, they feature a blog, articles, booklists, and more content to help kids and teens find great books, complete homework assignments, and have fun. Visit kids.librarypoint.org and teens.librarypoint.org today!