A Guide to Navigating NPR’s Top 100 Science Fiction and Fantasy

Click to head to the guide

SF Signal has put together a kind of “Choose Your Own Adventure” guide to NPR’s Top 100 Science Fiction and Fantasy.  It is equal parts hilarious and amazing – check it out by clicking the image above.

Rookie Mag

This week a new online magazine designed for teenagers debuted called Rookie Mag.  Tavi Gevinson is a 15 year old whose blog, the Style Rookie, has been admired by the New York Times and Lady Gaga.  Rookie Mag has monthly themes (this month is Beginnings) and the young editor publishes three posts a day – after she gets home from school, during dinner, and before bed.  My Twitter feed had about a million tweets talking about this new site – all from adults.  The first article I clicked on, Cartoon Characters and Their Teenage Alter Egos: A List had shows like My So-Called Life  (CRPL the complete series – search our catalog here!) and movies like 10 Things I Hate About You (Marion and Hiawatha both have copies).  Much like (way before my time)  Sassy Magazine, a favorite of Tavi’s, it seems like Rookie is intended for teens but adults are the main audience.   I liked the site overall but I’d like to hear your thoughts on Tavi, the magazine, other sites you like…leave any comments below.

9 more days…

…until the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 comes to the big screen and it all ends!  As part of our Teen Summer Reading Program, stop by between today and the 12th of July and get entered to win a pair of tickets to the midnight screening at the Wynnsong Cinemas on Edgewood Road.  There will be an entry box at the Summer Reading Table.  Can’t make it into the library?  Fill out the form below to be entered to win!  Contest is open to all 6th-12th graders in the Cedar Rapids area, and the winner will be notified on July 12th! CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED.  CONGRATS TO JESSE, OUR WINNER!

P.S. Have you heard about Pottermore yet? What do you think?

Reach Out Reads

The website Reach Out has so much information about dealing with some tough issues, like depression, anxiety, eating disorders, and violence. If you are looking for hotlines, advice, facts, or stories from others who are dealing with something similar, I would suggest heading here to check it out.

I’ve been reading a lot about bibliotherapy lately, which is a form of healing through reading and where you use your relationship with books and poetry as a form of therapy.  I was really excited to learn that Reach Out has a Read Out Reads section, where there are book suggestions based on real life problems.  Reach Out Reads also has an author chat feature, where Young Adult authors are available once a week in a live, streaming chat.  The next one is tonight at 7:00 pm here, and the author is Lisa McMann, author of Wake and Fade.  McMann’s newest book is titled Cryer’s Cross.  We have two copies of it at the Cedar Rapids Public Library just waiting to you to check out.   Here is a brief description of the book.

Kendall loves her life in small town Cryer’s Cross, Montana, but she also longs for something more. But when Cryer’s Cross is rocked by unspeakable tragedy, Kendall shoves her dreams aside and focuses on just one goal: help find her missing friends.

If you’d like to check out more upcoming Reach Out Reads authors, you can do so here.  If you need someone to talk to in Iowa, the Iowa Teen Hotline is 1-800-443-8336 and is totally free to call and open 24 hours a day. 

Are you on GoodReads?

Do any readers out there have a GoodReads account?  If you do, you can stop reading this now and start adding some “To-Reads” to your list or play the Never-Ending Book Quiz.

If you have never heard about GoodReads, and you like to read just as much as you like the internet, I have some great news for you!  You can combine these loves in this awesome site, which lets you add books you are reading, want to read, or have already read to your collection and also lets you review them, add friends, and recommend books to others you may know.  You can also follow your favorite authors and sign up to win Advanced Reader Copies of books that are not out yet.  I’ve already won a few and I’m excited to give them out during our Summer Reading Program.

If you are curious to see what other Cedar Rapids teens are reading, I created a GoodReads account for their reviews they submitted to our on-going review contest.  If you do sign up for an account, add us and tell us what you are reading!

There are other similar social-networking book sites, like LibraryThing and Shelfari…they are pretty great too.  Let me know in the comments you user name for your book site of choice and maybe we can be friends?