Teen Blog
Seventh and eighth graders at Walker-Grant Middle School have chosen their favorite titles from this year's Cafe Book program. Check 'em out!
Top Pick:
Michael Vey: The Prisoner of Cell 25 by Richard Paul Evans
Michael Vey is a small, weak-looking teen with Tourettes who has finally had enough. When a pack of bullies pushes him to use his hidden electric powers, Michael discovers that a beautiful cheerleader has similar skills and soon they must battle a dangerous scheme with a powerful corporation.
Other Favorites:
Bluefish by Pat Schmatz
Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson
Starters by Lissa Price
Sweet Venom by Tera Lynn Childs
The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson
This Dark Endeavor: The Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein by Kenneth Oppel
Cafe Book is supported by a generous donation from the Carver family in memory of their mother Ruth---middle school librarian, literacy advocate, and lover of reading.
It always seems to happen at the most inopportune time. You need to fix your car or small engine, but you don’t have a repair manual. What’s more, the library is closed. Don’t worry! Instead of waiting for the library to open and driving all the way there, you can get the same information at home using two of our online databases. Best of all, they are available 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. Auto Repair Reference Center has information on cars including repairs, wiring diagrams, bulletins, and more. Small Engine Repair has information on all types of small engines, including outdoor equipment, motorcycles, tractors, and more.
In the past I have lambasted Barnes and Noble's Nook products for a number of reasons, but none of them have to do with device itself. I dislike how eBooks purchased from B&N are encrypted with the credit card number used to purchase them (don't forget that number!). I dislike how stripped-down the app selection is. I dislike their severe lack of media offerings. But the device itself? It's got good specs! Nice HD screen, decent processor speed, expandable storage, slick design—it's got all the makings of a great tablet, save for the fact that it has been tethered exclusively to Barnes and Noble's horrible business practices. But that has now changed with a significant price drop and the addition of the Google Play app store. If you're on the fence about a tablet purchase, I now have to actually, grudgingly recommend the Nook HD over everything else!
Congratulations to the 10th Annual Teen Poetry Contest Winners!
Each year we celebrate National Poetry Month in April with our Teen Poetry Contest.
Teens in grades 7-12 from Fredericksburg, Stafford, Spotsylvania, and Westmoreland, are invited to submit up to three original poems. Out-of-region library cardholders may also enter.
This year's winners were chosen (anonymously) by Claudia Emerson, winner of the 2006 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry.
Entries were accepted online between April 1 - 14, 2013, and winners were selected from participants in grades 7-9 and grades 10-12. We had 158 entries this year!
Winners are awarded prizes and invited to read their work at Teen Poetry Night at Headquarters Library, Wednesday, May 1, 7:30-8:30.
And the winners are ...
Nothing Can Possibly Go Wrong is author Prudence Shen's laser-guided, satirical commentary on a clash of the cliques that has the potential to destroy friendships, dreams, and dozens of deadly, armored robots.
Hollow Ridge High School is dealing with the fight of the century. In this corner we have the cheerleadering squad. Popular, gorgeous and fierce, these ladies are looking for some brand-new uniforms. Looking for funds throughout the school, merciless head cheerleader Holly has set her sights on one club's unused budget.
In the other corner is the robotics club. Led by their neurotic but clever president Nate, these geeks are not going down without a fight.
Stuck in the middle of this struggle is poor Charlie, captain of the basketball team. His only crime is being the ex-boyfriend of Holly and Nate's best friend.
Starting tomorrow, our OverDrive eBook web site will have a new look and new features!
You'll be able to take advantage of streamlined checkout with One-Step Checkout, and a new web browsesr-based reader, OverDrive Read, will be available for many titles.
Find out more here and check out this video to see what’s coming soon:
You’ve probably encountered them - big flashing warning boxes on websites that inform you that your computer is infected with hundreds of viruses or malware or some such. Scary, right? You don’t want your computer to be infected with anything! And these nice people are offering to scan your computer to clean it with their free download - how thoughtful! So you click yes, please clean my computer, and it all goes downhill from there.
Sumo, by Thien Pham, is a quiet tale about a sport of epic proportions. Scott is a twenty-something football player who has missed his shot at NFL glory. Now that his girlfriend has left him, he has no sense of himself anymore. So like any lost youth pining for a change, he moves to Japan to become a sumo wrestler.
Each year we celebrate National Poetry Month in April with our Teen Poetry Contest.
Teens in grades 7-12 from Fredericksburg, Stafford, Spotsylvania, and Westmoreland are invited to submit up to three original poems. Out-of-region library cardholders may also enter.
Microsoft Office maybe the go-to suite for businessy type things, but goodness gracious, it is expensive! And copy-protected! A single-PC license for the most stripped-down version of Office, the Home & Student edition which includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote, runs $139.99. That’s for ONE PC and lord help you if you need to reinstall it at any point - you’ll likely end up on the line with Microsoft tech support trying to re-activate your legitimately-purchased software. You’ve also got the option of paying $400 (or as I like to call it, my grocery budget) for the full Office experience with all its bells and whistles . . . again, for one PC. Please. Have some free software, on me!