Patrick Ness's top 10 'unsuitable' books for teenagers

1. The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger

The obvious first choice, but not necessarily because of its literary reputation. It needs to be read when you're young. If you first meet Holden Caulfield when you're too old, the desire to give him a good slap might impede your enjoyment.

2. The Stand by Stephen King

For his sheer ability to get teenagers to love reading, Stephen King is a saint. I did a book report on Pet Sematary in 8th grade. My English teacher, bless her forever, gave me an A. I pick The Stand because if you're an adult, it's a bit long. If you're a teenager, it's War and Peace. Scratch that, if you're a teenager, it's better. And that's no bad thing.

3. Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace

Speaking of 1000+page books, Infinite Jest is filled with all the things that are brilliant to read when you're young: unembarrassed cleverness, a cheeky take on the future, hilarious experiments with form, and a serious sense of accomplishment when you're finished.

4. Beloved by Toni Morrison

I read Beloved when I was 15, and it felt like the first time being allowed to sit at the grown-up's table. I may not have followed every word, but I was mesmerised. And I learned without even knowing I was being taught.

5. The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides

One of those literary, award-winning adult novels that I secretly think was written for teens all along (see To Kill A Mockingbird). No, it won't encourage suicide, but it will encourage an appreciation for elegant writing and ring true for how isolating the teenage years can feel. Plus, it's in third person plural! What's not to love?

6. Dracula by Bram Stoker

Next, a couple of classics that are better in your teens. Dracula first because it's still fast-paced, scary and appealingly pervy. Plus, it's important to know that vampires don't play baseball. And honestly? They never would.



 
7. Middlemarch by George Eliot

Because Middlemarch should be read when you're 14. And again when you're 23. And again at 31. And 45. And 52. And 68. And 84. It will, astoundingly, be a different book every time.

8. Maul by Tricia Sullivan

Two personal choices now. Read Tricia Sullivan's fantastic, profane and mind-bending Maul mainly because it's very important to start loving brilliant genre fiction before older readers can tell you to be a snob about it. Plus, far-future gender politics and teenagers with machine guns in a shopping mall. I ask again, what's not to love?

9. Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins

Tom, not Harold. This book is the whole reason for this list. I read it probably a dozen times from ages 15 to 17, and was amazed to discover that fiction could be, of all things, playful. That it didn't always need to be polite. That it could have runaway metaphors just for a laugh. And that the naughty bits could be told with a smile. It opened my eyes to a world of possibilities in my own writing, and is probably the most formative book I ever read. And you know what? I haven't read it since. I can't bear to. Seen through the eyes of my adult self, who knows how disappointed I'd be? Let it remain forever, gloriously, in my teenage years.

10. Unrecommended by Unnamed

And here's where it gets tricky. I can't possibly recommend some of the books that I and others read when we were teenagers. I mean, really, is Trainspotting in any way appropriate for a teenager? And what about the Jilly Coopers and the Jackie Collinses and, heaven help us, Flowers in the Attic? We older folks may have cherished, er, survived reading them at your age, but you're too young, WAY too young, to read any of these books that are easily available at your local library. Listed alphabetically by author. So the Cs would be near the front and Ws near the back. But I couldn't possibly recommend that.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/childrens-books-site/2011/apr/08/patrick-ness-top-10-unsuitable-books-teenagers

Hidden Gems - Diana Wynne Jones

I was sadden to read today that British fantasy/science fiction author Diana Wynne Jones had died from Lung cancer at 76.  Although she is not a popular author at the moment in this area, she does have a huge fan base.  One of her most well-known books, Howl's Moving Castle, was made into a movie by Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away/ Ponyo) in 2004.

It wasn't until about 6-7 years ago, that I discovered her books.  In fact the movie, is really what got me into her books.  The movie was good, but the book was wonderful and since then I have been trying to catch up on the worlds I missed out on as a youth.

As I wandered through our library catalog, I noticed these fantastic gems had check out very few times in the past year, and yet the recently bought e-books were very popular.  So, I challenge you to discover or rediscover this author and the amazing, award winning worlds of Howl, Chrestimanci and Fantasyland!

Culture Kids do St Patrick's Day

Don't miss our St. Patrick's celebrations! Ms Janet will tell tales on Wednesday morning at 9:30am and then join us for Culture Kids to discover Ireland and celebrate St Patrick's Day in style!

Here are some fun St Patrick's Day facts to keep you going till the fun starts!

Did you know this religious feast day held on the anniversary of St Patrick's death in the fifth century has been going for over 1000 years?

Irish families would traditionally attend church in the morning and celebrate in the afternoon. Though this holiday is usually in Lent, a time of Christian fasting the Irish would dance, drink and feast—on the traditional meal of Irish bacon and cabbage.

The first St. Patrick's Day parade took place not in Ireland but in the United States. Irish soldiers serving in the English military marched through New York City on March 17, 1762.

Original St Patrick was associated with the color blue. But over the years, it has changed to green. The phrase "the wearing of the green", meaning to wear a shamrock on one's clothing, derives from a song of the same name.

Temporary Policy for Donations

I know this blog isn't exactly teen related, but I want to get the news out to everyone who who checks our pages!

Thanks to everyone for all the great donations over the last year! We’ve gotten so many and it really helps us to provide a good selection. We get a lot of great items! Also, it has contributed greatly to our ability to have awesome and successful booksales in the last year, helping us raise several thousand dollars for our building fund.

But for the next several months (until our building expansion is completed) we will not be able to take as many donations.

Here is what we will gladly take off of your hands throughout the expansion:
- DVDs
- Audiobooks on CD
- Books with copyright dates 2009 and up

Here are the items we will not be able to take until the expansion is complete:
- Encyclopedia sets or other sets of books
- Audiobooks on cassette
- Magazines
- Books with copyright dates below 2009
- Large quantities of any items

We ask that you either donate these items to another library who would like the donations, donate the items to your local thrift store, or hang onto those items until we are done with the expansion and then when we are ready and able to store and process them bring them on in to us!

Culture Kids do England!

Toad in the Hole recipe (via Jamie Oliver) Yum!

INGREDIENTS
• sunflower/canola oil
• 8 large good-quality sausages
• 4 sprigs of fresh rosemary

FOR THE BATTER

• 1 1/4 cup milk
• 1 cup plain flour
• a pinch of salt
• 3 eggs

Mix the batter ingredients together, and put to one side.

Put just under ½ inch of oil into a baking pan, then place this on the middle shelf of your oven at its highest setting (475ºF). Place a larger tray underneath it to catch any oil that overflows from the tin while cooking. When the oil is very hot, add your sausages. Keep your eye on them and allow them to colour until lightly golden.


At this point, take the tin out of the oven, being very careful, and pour your batter over the sausages. Throw a couple of sprigs of rosemary into the batter. It will bubble and possibly even spit a little, so carefully put the tin back in the oven, and close the door. Don't open it for at least 20 minutes, as Yorkshire puddings can be a bit temperamental when rising. Remove from the oven when golden and crisp.

JCLC Downloadable books on ipad or iphone!

Now you can read our e-books on Apple mobile devices! All you need to do is login to your account on the JCLC downloadable webpage with your library card, get Adobe editions software on your computer, pick out your e-books and download it and transfer it to your favorite Apple device.  Here's how:

 

Installation:

1. On your computer, download Adobe Digital Editions and create an account. Authorize the Adobe Digital Editions (ADE) program with your Adobe ID. ADE will act as “home base” and authenticate your eBooks.

 

2. On your Apple device, download the free BlueFire Reader app (iTunes App Store) and create an account.

 

3. Launch BlueFire Reader. Tap “Info” and authorize the app with your Adobe Digital Editions ID.

Download an e-book:

1. On your computer, open a browser, go to the JCLC downloadable website and log in.

 

2. Find an e-book (Make sure it is epub, not mp3!). Click "download". A dialog box will open, select “Open with Adobe Digital Editions”. This will download the .epub (the actual book) file to your computer. The eBook will appear in ADE.

 

3. On your computer, locate the .epub file in the (My) Documents/My Digital Editions folder (or the equivalent on a Mac). Send yourself an email, with that .epub file as an attachment.

 

4. On your Apple device, check your email.

 

5. Tap on and hold the attachment’s icon until the fly-out menu appears which says “Open with BlueFire Reader”, then select it. The attachment’s icon will change to the BlueFire Reader logo.

 

6. The BlueFire Reader app will now launch and you can start reading! Once the checkout period has expired the file will deactivate from your device and your computer desktop.