Okay, so I’ve fallen a bit behind on this blog. So sorry about that!! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday and that 2012 is treating you right.

As you all may be aware, the Hunger Games movie is coming out in March. If you haven’t already read this book, get your hands on a copy and get reading. This is such an intense trilogy, and I would love to hear what you liked or didn’t like. Are you on Team Peeta or Team Gale? What do you think of Katniss? Do you like her character or does she bug you?

Here’s what I think. I LOVE Hunger Games! I’m so excited to see how they pull everything off in the movie, and hope it is as amazing as I’ve imagined everything in my mind. In the first book, I was definitely a Team Gale supporter. (I won’t tell you where I stood after reading the second book.) Katniss is awesome. She’s tough and violently protective of those she loves, and yet she has an amazing heart. Her interaction with Rue almost made me cry.

So what do you think?

If you want to discuss this in a bookclub setting, just leave a message here, or email me at aburnham@orl.bc.ca, or come into the library and tell me in person. Personally, I think a bookclub would be a ton of fun!

“The book Week 2012 Writing Contest for Kids & Teens invites young writers to let their imaginations soar and share their stories or poems of adventure, humour mystery and fantasy!

“Students from Grades 4 to 12 are eligible to enter and one winner from each grade will receive a $250 gift certificate to the bookstore of his or her choice!

“Writing entries will be posted on the Book Week website www.bookweek.ca.”

Here are the contest details:

• Entries must be postmarked by February 1, 2012
• The story or poem must be written during the current 2011/2012 school year.
• Entrants must be in Grades 4 to 12 at the time of the contest deadline.
• Entries must be written in English and must not exceed 1,500 words.
• All entries must be original content.
• All entries must include a fully complete ENTRY FORM. The form is available at http://www.bookweek.ca/ under “Book Week 2012″.
• No Faxed or emailed entries will be accepted.
• Due to the large volume of entries, we cannot acknowledge receipt of entry.
• Contest open to residents of Canada only.
• For more information on the Writing Contest, contact shannon@bookcentre.ca.
• Winners will be announced on May 9, 2012 during Book Week 2012.

*Please note that entries not accompanied by an ENTRY FORM will not be considered.

**Rating system works like this: 1= Did not like, 2= It was okay, 3= Liked it, 4= Really liked it, 5=It was amazing!

Getting the Girl by Marcus Zusak- It took me a while to get into this book, but I pushed on because, well, quite frankly, I LOVE Zusak’s I am the Messenger and The Book Thief. I’m glad I held on. It ended up being worth my time. 3.5/5

Luxe by Anna Godbersen- Unfortunately, I couldn’t finish this book. After slogging through the first 50 pages and still finding myself bored with the story, I gave up. However, that doesn’t mean it’s a bad book. It just means it wasn’t working for me at that time. So, I won’t give this a rating since I didn’t finish it.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie- Great book! I read it all in one sitting. There was humour, tragedy, and eventual self-realization. 4.5/5

Hatchet by Gary Paulsen- I can’t believe I never read this book in high school. This is such an interesting story on wilderness survival. I know. I just made it sound boring, but trust me. It’s not. 4/5

Prom and Prejudice by Elizabeth Eulberg- True confession. I love Jane Austen, and I especially love her Pride and Prejudice. That’s why I pick up any book that sounds anything like Pride and Prejudice. A silly quirk, I know. But there you have it. (Also, chick lit can sometimes be the perfect cozy read.) Anyway, I found this book to be fun, easy to read, and over all satisfying. 3/5

Wild Geese by Caroline Pignat- This is the sequel to Greener Grass

Victim Rights: A Ryan Dooley mystery by Norah McClintock- Who doesn’t like a good mystery?

Glass by Ellen Hopkins- This is the sequel to CRANK

Deadly Little Games: a Touch Novel by Laurie Faria Stolarz- Camelia and Ben “posses the power to psychometry, the ability to see the future through touch…” Enough said.

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne-A Classic story full of adventure, pursuit, and danger!

Rin-Ne volumes 2 and 3 just came into the library today. They’re brand-spankin’ new, so come be the first to check these out. They are on display in the Graphic Novel section of the library.

NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. Basically it’s 30 days of intense writing. The idea is that by the end of the month, you’ve written a novel. It’s a pretty cool concept for those who secretly dream about writing a book but need a little motivation to get started.

However, writing a book in a month can also be very intimidating. For those of you who want to try your hand at writing, but don’t want to commit to writing 1,667 words a day, try the 750 Words challenge. This seems a lot more do-able to me. In fact, this short little post alone is about 131 words. 750 seems like a breeze now!

Good luck to all who undertake this challenge!!

Now, for those of you who don’t know, The Three Musketeers is a classic novel written by a french writer by the name of Alexandre Dumas. (Dumas also wrote The Count of Monte Cristo which is another fantastic book.) If you haven’t read this book yet, check it out. If Hollywood keeps remaking this classic, there’s got to be something interesting about the book, right?

In other news, I saw the trailers for The Hunger Game. Need I tell you how excited I am for this movie to come out? If you haven’t read it yet, get your hands on a copy and read it before it comes out in theatre. You’ll be glad you did. I promise!

I am also supremely excited about the new Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows that will open in December. You are probably already aware of this, but I just learned a year ago that this series of Sherlock Holmes is based on the graphic novels. Pretty cool! Ever since I learned that, I’ve been wanting to get my hands on those novels. I think it would make a pretty fun read!

I’m excited to announce that Landon will be putting on a special presentation of his book here at the Salmon Arm branch on Saturday, December 3rd at 11:30am. This is a wonderful event for all ages.

Landon’s book is called Spirit Wolf, and is being sold at K&K Bookstore and Bookland in Vernon, as well as other various locations in the Okanagan. The incredibly cool thing about Landon’s book is that half of the proceeds of each sale goes to a special charity. But I’ll let him tell you more about that at his presentation.

So, come to the library on December 3 at 11:30am to meet Landon and hear about his journey in writing!

I’m slowing figuring out how Stephanie organized this blog. However, until I get it completely figured out, I’ll post the most recent new right here on the home page. Bare with me as I learn the ropes here.

Okay, we’ve got some new YA books here at the library. Here are two titles to keep in mind:

1. Katy Lambright Series: Katy’s Decision by Kim Vogel Sawyer

The blurb on the back states:

“Katy is looking forward to time with her closest friend, Shelby, who is staying with Katy’s family for the summer. But when Katy’s aunt faces serious illness and ends the girls to run the fabric store, what should have been a summer of relaxation fills with long hours at the shop.

Then a Mennonite boy visits her community for the summer, complicating her life and her feelings for Bryce, her non-Mennonite crush. Katy has several decisions to make by the time August arrives: Will she attend school in the fall and follow her dreams, or continue on in her Mennonite life to help her family? Katy struggles to choose between the two worlds she loves, but the final decision may be out of her hands.”

2. The Daughters Take the Stage by Joanna Philbin

Blurb on the back of the book states:

“Stylish and sensitive Hudson Jones, the daughter of chart-topping pop star Holla Jones, is on the brink of her own musical debut. Hudson has inherited her mother’s talent, but she hasn’t yet embraced Holla’s love of the megawatt spotlight. Can Hudson find a way to perform that reflects her own personal style? Or will Holla see to it that her only daughter becomes a pop-music sensation?”