Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Teaser trailer released July 30, 2008!



Mark your calendar! The movie will be released November 21st!

And if you haven't read it yet, feel free to reserve a copy of the book, tape, or CD by visiting the library's catalog.

See you at the library!

The earth, my butt, and other round objects

I finally finished listening to The earth, my butt, and other round objects by Carolyn Mackler. I promised you my response, but first a short synopsis.

So, it’s all about this girl named Virginia, or Gin, and her coming to terms with her identity. She lives in NYC, which sounds like a dream, right?, but attends a snotty school and her best friend, and life support, moves to Walla Walla, Washington. What, doesn’t she have other friends or a family? No, she doesn’t have any other friends and Gin’s family is not the most supportive. You see, her mother is a well-known shrink for teens, but she barely talks to her own teenager daughter. She is also obsessed with not only her weight, but with Gin’s, making Gin uncomfortable with her own body. Her father is always on business trips and likes to make comments about other women, causing Gin further discomfort with her own body. And her parents go off nearly every weekend to Connecticut, leaving Gin alone. What, no siblings? No, she has two, but her sister is off in Africa and her brother, who attends Columbia University, turns out not to the ideal man Gin always assumed—he does something to get kicked out of Columbia.

What does Gin do? How can she survive such a life? Well, I’ll tell you that it takes a whole lot of time, effort, and honesty to turn her life from something she and others thought was abhorrent into something she accepts as precious—and it doesn’t include losing weight or being someone other than Gin.
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Like most stories, I am glad I finished it. I always recommend finishing what you start; it is worth it. The earth, my butt, and other round objects definitely empowers you to not only accept who you are, but to love who you are, regardless of who, what, where, when, and why.

Semi-reviews

Hey, guys! David shared with you all about our new eAudio books. I am extremely pleased with this new format because (1) we, i.e., JPL, do not have many YA audio books from which to choose and (2) those we do have are not in the formats I or yourself may need. I can now log into http://www.netlibrary.com/ with my login name and password, download some title, and listen to it in a matter of minutes (and of course it will depend on connection speeds as to how MANY MINUTES).

I am listening to The earth, my butt, and other big, round objects by the ever clever Carolyn Mackler. It’s basically about that… well it’s really about the protagonist’s weight issues thanks to her family, her peers, and her own views (the discussion on how big her butt is absence, if you are wondering!). I ain’t done with it yet and my opinion of the book is a bit wishy-washy. Mostly, it makes me start to get paranoid about my own weight and makes me uncomfortable every once in awhile. While librarians are defenders of the freedom to read, please note that this book has been banned by entities. I’ll just go out on a limb and suggest it’s due to sexual content.

I’ll give you my complete verdict after another 2:45:20 of listening time elapses.

Another good Mackler book, Vegan virgin valentine, is also available via eAudio books. This book is less explicit and is about—you got it! wow aren’t titles great!?—a vegan, virgin gal with the last name of Valentine. It’s all about her senior year of high school and romance and family. It leaves you hanging with a mysterious dreamy feeling, or it did me.

'late,

C.

On the go...

Miss Jo brought up a valid point when she mentioned that she "doesn't have time to read." True, in her case (and in mine, and in many people's), it was just a matter of setting priorities -- taking time to read vs. taking time to watch TV, watch a movie, etc.

But it often seems that even if we have time to read, we don't have enough time to finish what we start reading. And when you have to read something for school, or if you just want to read a particular book your friends have read to find out what all the fuss is about, that can be frustrating.

That's one of the reasons why the library has partnered with netLibrary and Recorded Books to offer you downloadable eAudiobooks. These are the same books on tape/CD that you've seen or listened to for years, but with a difference: you can download these at home.

Once downloaded, you can either listen to them on your computer, or transfer them to a portable media player to take with you. Just as easy as downloading music from the 'net, and more convenient than trying to squeeze in time to read -- you can just listen to the book in the car on the way to school, to practice, or whenever.

There are over 1800 titles to choose from, including many particularly aimed at Young Adults. Several hundred more are aimed at "Children", but don't let the tag fool you -- these aren't easy readers. A lot of these are just as challenging as the Young Adult titles, but the subject matter may not be "mature" enough to place it in the Young Adult category.

In addition, there are classics, the Pimsleur language series (in case you need some extra help or just want to learn a new language), the Contemporary English Version of the Holy Bible, and popular adult fiction and nonfiction (which could come in handy when you have that history report on the life of Abraham Lincoln staring you in the face...).

For more information about the program, how it works and which devices are compatible (sorry, no iPods or Zunes at the moment -- complain to Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, respectively), you can visit the library's Web site at: http://www.jacksonvillelibrary.com/eaudio.htm

As always, please leave any questions or comments and we'll be happy to help.