Books I have Read in 2011

I am going to keep a list of books that I have read this year. Hopefully next year this list will be doubled. This list does not include picture books:
1)The Rest of the Story: A Study of the Lives of the Apostles by James Fleming
2) Quiet Please: Dispatches from a Public Librarian by Scott Douglas
3) Technology made Simple by Kimberly Bolan and Robert Cullin
4) The Chronicles of Narnia: The Magician's Nephew
5) Radical by David Platt
6) The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan
7) A Popular Survey of the Old Testament by Norman Geisler
8) Crazy Love by Francis Chan
9) Son of a Witch by Gregory MacGuire
10) Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austin and Seth Grahme-Smith
11) Dracula: The Undead by Dacre Stoker and Ian Holt
12) gods in Alabama by Jessolyn Jackson
13) New Testament Survey by Merril C. Tenney
14) Interview with a Vampire by Anne Rice
15) The Gunslinger by Stephen King
16) Radical Together by David Platt
17) The Great Hunt by Robert Jordan
18) The Dragon Reborn by Robert Jordan
19) The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, Witch, and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
20) Knowing God by J.I  Packer
21) The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger
22) The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
23) Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
24) Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
25) Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordian
26) The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
27) When you Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
28) The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
29) Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney
30) Galaxy Games: The Challengers by Greg Fishbone
31) Dragon Rider by Cornelia Funke
32) One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia
33) The Last Dragon by Silvania de Mari
34) Absolute True Story of A Part Time Indian by Shermin Alexi
35) Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin
36) Return to Sender by Julia Alvarez
37) The Shepard's Grandaughter by Anne Laurel Carter

REFORMA

    Okay, so I am super, duper late on this post. Grad school has consumed my life lately.  I wanted to talk about the REFORMA I went to a few months ago. REFORMA is the Latin American division of the American Library Association (ALA). It concentrates on services and outreach to the Latino community.  REFORMA also informs libraries on high quality Latino literature that accurately represents their culture. A group from the library school present posters on different issues in Latino children's and YA literature.  Our merry little band included Allison Scanlan, Lacee Nisbitt,Bekah Wood, Katy Olson, Beth Dobson, and Kelly  I did my poster on the relationship between Latino children and their parents and grandparents in picture books.  We all traveled in an Enterprise van with Dr. Jamie Naidoo from Tuscaloosa, Alabama to Denver, Colorado. That is a twenty something hour drive one way. At least I had a few books with me. However, we did listen to this creepy audio book that Dr. N got at a Crackle Barrel called What the Night Knows. Do your self a favor and do not read this book. It will give you nightmares for a month.

These are some eyes that Dr. Naidoo bought and put on the back of our van.
Picture taken by Beth Dobson

    The conference was very enjoyable. I learned a lot about Latinos and the struggles they go through. I learned more about literature in general.  The poster presentation went very well.  I was a little nervous at first, but I was able to eloquently talk about what I found. I even got to meet a couple of authors and had them autograph children's books for me. I got  The Tooth Fairy meets El Raton Perez signed by Rene Calato Lainez. He also signed my poster, because I examined the father/son relation in his book My Shoes and I.  I also got Book Fiesta singed by Pat Mora. They only gave a few of those away in a drawing. A lot of us SLISers won. Was it rigged, you decide. Anyways, it was a fantastic conference. I definitely want to continue presenting at conferences throughout my career.

The SLIS winners of the Book Fiesta Drawing. Bekah Wood, Allison Scanlan, Lacee Nisbitt, and me.
Picture taken by Beth Dobson

Poster Presentation
Picture by Beth Dobson

Rene Calato Lainez signing my poster
Picture by Beth Dobson

Here is my poster for Reforma.

Favorite Moments in Library School

This is a list of my favorite moments in library school at the University of Alabama. This list will continuously be added to. These are in no particular order.If any one has particular moment that they wish to share then send me a message.
* Dr. Riter going on his long rants about how much he hates the sun.
* Miranda Webster and I going through the stacks while I was in my Hannibal Lector mask. I am pretty sure I scared the Civil War out of Katie Deale.
* Lizzy Theris accidentally making puppies into the wallpaper at one of the computers at the Information Desk. We had to call Office of Library Technology to get the puppies off. Those puppies sure were cute.
* Dr. Dalton giving a five minute lecture on the difference between its and it's. (One of the funniest moments in my life)
* Denise, Miranda, and I going to Buffalo Wild Wings to get footballs signed by Nick Saban at "Hey Coach". We sold each football for a 100 dollars and were able to buy a kids book for every student at a school of under privileged children.
* Dr. Dalton explaining the difference between the Jews and Palestinians after some people botched up one of the questions for an assignment. She then told them to read a newspaper. (OUCH!!!) I love Dr. Dalton.
* Susan DeBruin's "yo Mama" jokes.
* Helga informing me of how Iceland helped the allies in WWII. Apparently, Iceland was very essential to the war effort.
* Dr. Knuckles(Is this a real person) calling the Information Desk asking us to spell words that I am pretty sure he was making up.
* Dr. Dalton telling me that she was very proud of the job that I did in her class. ( I almost cried) [Okay I did cry]
* The Ghost Hunter coming to the Information Desk.
* Dorothy's corny jokes
* Denise Christa's pithy comments.
* The moment that Lizzy and I both realized we had plans for taking over the world. (Watch Out)
* Christian Robochaud always bringing up the topic of teen pregnancy around me (WHAT???)
* Pretending to work at the Information Desk and stealing questions from Allison Ladd, Lizzy Theris, Stuart Waugh, Rachel Rennick, Amy Yonts and Courtney Hicks.
* Benita talking about J.R.R. Tolkein for about twenty minutes.
* Planning Family Weekend Story Time at McLure.
* The Reforma conference was one of the most enjoyable weeks of my life.
* SLIS students and faculty pulling together after the tornado. Many students checked on each other and dispersed information about that they had found.
* Dr. Naidoo getting pulled over for speeding in Kansas coming back from the Reforma conference.
* Trying to convince Lizzy that I was not in my thirties.
 * Claire Veach referring to a certain professor as "Dr. Stupid Head".
* Amy Yonts refusing to sing a song from a Winnie the Pooh movie for Dr. Naidoo
*  Allison Ladd's Wedding Shower Picnic
* Edible Book Festival.

Catching Fire and Mockingjay

    

       I finished the Hunger Games Trilogy this week. I just thought I would add my reviews of those books to my blog. Overall, I really enjoyed the trilogy. Catching Fire was amazing. It picked up right where the first book left off. Katniss and Peeta have both survived the Hunger Games. Which is a problem since since the games can only have one winner. However, since Katniss and Peeta claimed to be lovers and were about to commit suicide at the very end of the tournament, they were allowed to live. However, even though it was as act of love(maybe, at least for Peeta) it was a way of rebelling against the Capital. Districts start questioning and rebelling against the Capital. In order to end this rebellion, the Capital celebrates the seventy fifth Hunger Games by choosing victorious tributes from each district. These tributes are not all young. Many of them are older. Of course Katniss and Peeta have to go into the game again. Overall, I thought this book was more exciting then the first book. I was a little bit distracted by the love triangle that they put with Katniss, Peeta, and Gale (a friend from Katniss' district). I felt like it was a cop out to Twilight fans.  There are characters such as President Snow and Gale that become more involved in the story. The character of Finnick starts off as a tool, but you later see that is is quite a complicated character. This is definitely a sequel that surpasses the first one. Will they be able to survive against ruthless people who have won the games?Will they still be able to convince Panem of their love to survive again?  Does Katniss really love Peeta? What will become of this rebellion? Find out by reading Catching Fire.

       I really enjoyed Mockingjay. It was very different from the rest of the books. Instead being about the Hunger Games, the book was about the districts rebelling against the Capital. The rebellion was lead by District 13 (a district everyone was led to believe was destroyed). Katniss, Gale, and Finnick start out living with District 13 and training for the rebellion. Peeta has been captured by the Capital. Peeta is tortured throughout the book. When he is saved by the rebels, it is found that they broke his mind. They altered his mind to believe that Katniss was evil. It takes most of the book to recover. Peeta and Katniss have some very beautifully sad encounters. After seeing what the Capital has done to Peeta and to the other districts, Katniss makes it her priority to rid Panem of President Snow. This book was the most exciting of the trilogy to me. And yes, I did keep wondering if Katniss would end up with Peeta or Gale. You will be able to figure out by simply reading into the text. You can see which one she has her funny and sweet moments around. The Hunger Games Trilogy is very chilling. However, it is definitely worth reading. The ending will not disappoint you. It has a wonderful ending. I am very excited to see the movies. I have no doubt that Jennifer Lawrence will do an amazing job as Katniss. She was wonderful in X-Men: First Class as Mystique. She added a lot of depth to a non talking character that basically just walked around and killed people in the other movies.

Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games

Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique Darkholme in X-Men First Class

Percy Jackson and the Replacement for my Harry Potter fix

     So,  I decided to check out Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief.  I knew that it was Harry Potter-ish, so I thought to give it a try. I really enjoyed it. Basically the premise is that the Greek gods still exist. They have been traveling through the ages wherever Western civilization spreads. Currently they are in America. Percy Jackson is a young boy who has been kicked out of several schools. He has never known his father. His only family is his mother and good for nothing step dad. Percy's life changes when one of Hades Furies, disguised at a math teacher, attacks him on a school field trip. However, after the incident his mind gets wiped and he things it might have all been an illusion.
    When he goes home for the summer, his mom takes him on a vacation. Everything goes well until they are attacked by the Minotaur. His mother was able to get him to a summer camp that his father always wanted him to go to, before the Minotaur kills her.  It turns out that these monsters are hunting Percy because he is a son of a Greek god. The gods still like mating with mortals and having children. The summer camp that he goes to trains these "half-bloods." Percy is not just the son of any god, but of Poseidon, god of the sea. This is significant, because Poseidon, Zeus, and Hades all agreed to longer have mortal children since they are the most powerful gods. It is revealed that WWII was caused by their offspring. After, Percy goes through some basic training and catches up on his Greek, he is sent on a quest. He is suppose to retrieve Zeus's thunderbolt, because he has been blamed for it. Zeus thinks that Poseidon told Percy to steal it in order to overthrow him. If Percy does not find it, then a huge war will break out among the gods. And that is never good. If you like Harry Potter, fantasy, or Greek myths, then you will probably want to give this series a try. 

The Strange Case of Origami Yoda

   

       So, I saw this book at Vestavia Hills Library in the Forest a few weeks ago and I had to check it out. It is the story of a boy named Tommy who is trying to figure out if Origami Yoda is real. Origami Yoda is a paper puppet that exists on the finger of a boy named Dwight. Dwight claims that Origami Yoda speaks through him. However, Dwight is the weirdest boy in school. He is the kind of guy who wears the same t-shirt everyday, fails every class except math, and sits in holes. Origami Yoda is able to prophesy and give good advice. So, Origami Yoda has to be real. right? He has to be channeling the Force. How else can Dwight be able to give good advice and tell the future? However, Tommy needs to know if Origami Yoda is real, because he needs to ask him if a certain girl in his class likes him. If you are a Star Wars fan, then you will love this book. I was pretty much laughing on every single page. They also make references to Spider-Man and Lord of the Rings. This is a terrific book for children from fourth to sixth grade.

An End of an Era

    So, I recently saw Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2. I have to say that it was a pretty emotional experience for me. My generation got to be apart of something special. We got to grow up with Harry Potter.  The books and movies were being written and filmed as we were in middles school, high school, and college.I was in middle school when I started reading the Harry Potter books. The first movie came out when I was in eighth grade.
     Harry Potter is wonderful and exciting to read. I recommend it to any one of all ages who like fantasy. I very deep connection to Harry Potter. I was never much of a reader before I started reading those books. Reading was very difficult for me. I had trouble with comprehension. Many books that my mom got me to read never gauged my interest. However, J.K. Rowling's books helped me love reading. I remember that Harry Potter was a way for me to escape from the real world. The first movie came out about a week after I had written a suicide letter in eighth grade.You see I was going through some rough times. I was diagnosed with depression. I also remember reading the third book  in the office when my parents were meeting with the counselors, teachers, and principals at the school. Harry Potter was a place I could go to where I didn't have to worry about bullies in PE, hard classes, and self image issues.
     It is almost a miracle in that Warner Brothers signed on to make movies from all seven Harry Potter books. The movies were so well done. J.K. Rowling was very involved in ensuring the movies were faithful adaptations. The movies aren't perfect. They leave out a lot of important details, but overall they were well done. I consider the movies as companions to the books. The acting was amazing. My personal favorites were Alan Rickman as Severus Snape(One of the greatest characters ever created) and Emma Watson as Hermione Grangier (aka my one true love). The effects were fantastic.  The musical scores were fantastic (I do wish John Williams could have done the score for all eight movies instead of just two).
     It is with a heavy heart that I say good-bye to Harry Potter. There has never been anything like and there will probably never be anything like it that will come about. I hope that J.K. Rowling does write again. I would like her to write another book that takes place in the Harry Potter world. However, even if she does not visit that world again, I know that whatever she writes will be brilliant.

If only you were real, Hermione.

One of the best HP characters. I wish he could have had more screen time.

I want to go to school at Hogwarts.