YA Nonfiction Review: Dating Declassified by Jeanne Mayo

Dating Declassified: The Uncensored Truth About Friendship, Dating and Sex by Jeanne Mayo
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

There are two things that young adults value over anything:
1. Honesty
2. Trust in their abilities and maturity.
Jeanne Mayo has without a doubt made it clear that she gives these two things freely.

The attractive cover and enticing table of contents made me grab this book and I'm glad that I did. I was not aware of the fact that it was written from a Christian perspective until I had already been caught up in the captivating narration. For somewhat of a "self-help" book, Mayo doesn't sound as though she is telling the readers what to do, but merely reminding them that they already know what and how to do what they need to. (Slow down, read that again)
The fact that the book is written by a Christian Youth pastor is not covered up or hidden, but many of her suggestions and statements can apply to ALL youth (and some adults).

Nonfiction Review: My Life as a Furry Red Monster

My Life as a Furry Red Monster: What Being Elmo Has Taught Me About Life, Love and Laughing Out Loud by Kevin Clash My rating: 4 of 5 stars

 Very sweet. Almost too sweet. But then, what would you expect from Elmo!?

Banned Books Week Passive Programming

It is Banned Books Week!!

I don't know why I get so excited about BBW each year.  I think it has something to do with the rebel in me. LOL  Something about sharing things with people that for whatever reason, someone else has deemed inappropriate for the rest of the world, gives me a rush.  This year, my greatest kick came out of telling people that "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" had been challenged at one point.

Most of my FB friends and younger patrons were completely taken aback by this news and it sparked an outstanding discussion about the other books people have challenged in the past.  My Facebook discussion lasted about three hours actually, and garnered great comments from friends who had no idea how passionate they were or could become about the subject..  Take THAT, Social Media critics!  

Gaming Review: Mortal Kombat 9

There are some game franchises that will forever be a part of the history of modern gaming.  Super Mario is a family classic.  Resident Evil is a horror classic.  Sonic the Hedgehog is an adrenaline staple.  And Mortal Kombat is the reason we all started catching hell from our parents about what we played.

That "ABACABB" blood code got a lot of us in a lot of trouble.

But it was so fun.

YA Review: Ghostopolis by Doug TenNapel

Ghostopolis by Doug TenNapel
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Imagine God.
Now Imagine God as a 12 foot tall Tuskeegee Airman named Joe.
Now Imagine God, the Tuskeegee Airman named Joe, creating a place for all ghosts to dwell in six days.
Because of course on the seventh day, he rests.

The place he's built is called Ghostopolis, and all the types of the dead (live) there: Specters, Wisps, Bony Skeletons, Mummies and more. They reside in somewhat perfect harmony until a stranger named Vaughn appears and stirs up rumors and trouble between all the groups only to then present himself as the only one to bring peace. He uses giant bugs, summoned from the Underworld, to help him police Ghostopolis, and he secretly works to ensure that he will soon be as powerful and in control as Joe, who no one has seen for years.

And he would be successful too, if not for two problems: Traitors and Living People.

Books to Movies: Breaking Dawn Trailer

Are You Listening? *Giveaway*

As you can probably tell, I'm a bit of a nerd.
Aside from finding great nerdy things for myself, I tend to seek out nerdalicious things to share with my nieces and godchildren.  My goal is to make them the coolest little nerds you ever did see.  But I want them to have fun at the same time.

I came across the Noodleboro Playskool games on a recent trip to Five Below.  I like to keep games and books at my house for family members that visit, and I thought these would make for cute additions to my arsenal of activities.  There was a Pizza Listening game as well as a Manners game.  I grabbed the Listening game to try out.  What attracted me to these sets was the fact that each came with game pieces, a music cd, and also a book!  A complete activity set for $5!!

I knew I liked it, but would it pass the niece test?

YA Review: My Life Undecided by Jessica Brody

My Life Undecided by Jessica Brody
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Brooklyn Pierce is no stranger to catastrophic trouble. When she was two years old, she captured the hearts of millions when she fell down a mine shaft and was trapped for fifty-two hours. Now, at 15 years old, "Baby" Brooklyn is re-examining her life. Because "when you're being handcuffed and lowered into the backseat of a squad car," you kind of have to. She's just let a load of peer-pressure by her best friend Shayne Kingsley land her in serious trouble. Again.

This time, things can't be smoothed over by a flip of Shayne's gorgeous blonde hair, or by her quick ideas on what Brooks should say. No, burning down one of her mother's model homes can't be fixed by anyone but Brooklyn herself, by completing 200 hours of community service at a nearby nursing home and devoting her time to helping rebuild the home. Instead of focusing on the trouble she's in though, Brooklyn is more concerned with finding out what has happened to Shayne, since she hasn't seen or heard from her since they were busted by the cops.

Movies that Make Librarianship Haute.

Desk Set - Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy.

When you hear these dolls rattle off information like it ain't a thang, it is a priceless glance at what reference librarianship is like. There is also a sadly realistic view at how regardless of the skill we possess, computers and technology threaten to ruin it. Machines make things fast and easy, but there is NOTHING like the brainpower and service you can gain from a talented librarian. Google can get you the answer to your question but a good librarian can show you what your real question is and THEN answer it.

NonFiction Review: A Belle In Brooklyn by Demetria Lucas

A Belle in Brooklyn: Advice for Living Your Single Life and Enjoying Mr. Right Now by Demetria L Lucas
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I always, ALWAYS try and keep an open mind when reading. I also try and keep an open mind in terms of the differences and similarities of married and single lives. I try and read lots of books on dating and single life, because they truly benefit relationships as a whole, and not just new ones. With all that being said, this book was a perfect fit for me.

First of all, I have to admit that what I enjoyed most about Ms. Lucas' book...is Ms. Lucas. I may not agree with each and every philosophy or idea she presents, but I am greatly impressed and supportive of her reasoning behind them (if that makes sense). Her blues aren't like mine: I was married for most of my twenties while she explored singlehood and what it had to offer, but she is a thinker. And as a thinker, I feel on some level we are kindred spirits.

Weeding: A Spooky Trip Through our YA Fiction

I often visit AwfulLibraryBooks.net to laugh at the ridiculous things some librarians find on their shelves during weeding.  This week, however, I didn't even have to leave my own library to get a good chuckle.  With the summer being so busy, there isn't time for things like weeding and reorganizing so it is one of the first things we're getting started on now that the kids are back in school.

Each member of my department has an assigned section to weed, and I am the proud gardener of our Young Adult books, movies, and series.  When I tell you I have literally guffawed this week at some of the things I've come across, I am not exaggerating.  While some of these were taken off primarily because of age, and the fact that I doubt any of our current teens would touch them, there were also a few that contained just enough bad or misleading information to make me cringe, but just enough ironic cover-choices or contents to make me laugh out loud.

I use the MUSTY system when weeding:
Misleading (factually inaccurate),
Ugly (covers or damages that make you cringe),
Superseded (a better edition has come about),
Trivial (of no merit),
Your collection (The book is not of interest to the members of your library community or out of place in your collection)

Some of the books I found were in fact still relevant, but the covers were so bad that I had to pull them anyway and put in an order for updated copies. Others were ancient, the oldest I found had been purchased in 1987, but hadn't been checked out in years, or not at all.  I've decided to showcase a few of my favorite weeds of the week.
Enjoy, LOL.