Louise Rennison passed away today. :(

Lousie Rennison, best know for her hysterical teen novel Angus, Thongs and Full Frontal Snogging, passed away at the age of 63 today. She is fondly remembered in many articles today in The Guardian, BBC, and Huffington Post. As remembered in The Guardian, "One thing is for sure, the world is a less glittering place without Louise Rennison, and we will miss her terribly.."

Here are some of The Guardian's favorite quotes:

He who laughs last laughs the laughiest.

― Dancing in My Nuddy-Pants (book four in the Confessions of Georgia Nicolson series)

He says we should take it easy and that maybe he overreacted a bit.”

Dave said, “A bit? That’s like Hitler saying, ‘Oooh, I just meant to go for a little walk, but then I accidentally invaded Poland.”
― Are These My Basoomas I See Before Me? (the 10th and final Confessions of Georgia Nicolson story)

I am soooo excited, I am over-excited. I’m hysterical, I may have to slap my own face in a minute at this rate.

― Withering Tights (the first book in Louise’s series about the misadventures of Tallulah Casey, Georgia Nicolson’s younger cousin)

Honestly, what planet do these people live on? And why isn’t it farther away?

― It’s OK, I’m Wearing Really Big Knickers (published as On the Bright Side, I’m Now the Girlfriend of a Sex God in the US where people don’t wear knickers as people in the UK wear knickers, book two in the Georgia Nicolson series).

I am going to become a writer for Cosmo - you don’t have to make any sense at all. Or maybe I’ll be a bloke, they don’t have to make sense either.

― Angus, Thongs and Full Frontal Snogging

As she left my room I knew I should shut up. But you know when you should shut up because you really should just shut up… but you keep on and on anyway? Well, I had that.

― Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging

I can already feel myself getting fed up with boys and I haven’t had anything to do with them yet

― Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging

He had everything a dream boy should have. Back, front, sides, Everything. A head.

― Withering Tights

I will not have him in my brain; there is no room for anyone else in the cakeshop of agony. It’s crowded enough in there already.

― Startled by His Furry Shorts (book seven in the Georgia Nicholson series)

"The Martian" and other books to film...

I just saw the movie "The Martian" this weekend - wow that was good! It's like Apollo 13, but funnier. And it has Matt Damon. Enough said. Best of all, we have the DVD available at the library.

 

That being said, I had no idea it was based on a book of the same name written by Andy Weir, which we also own.

Goodreads has created a massive list of lists of books THAT HAVE BEEN turned into movies and books that SHOULD BE turned into movies. My own perfect pair, where I feel both versions are brilliant, is "The Remains of the Day." The 1990 book was written by Kazuo Ishiguro and the 1993 film starred Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson. (The library owns the book, but not the DVD.)

Which list does YOUR favorite book appear on?

Peace out, Butterscouts.

-Miss Sara

Joseph Gordon-Levitt's hitRECord

It PAINED me to my core to discover that the vast majority of TAC members don't know who  Joseph Gordon-Levitt is.

Joe, Joey, JGL, Regular Joe has been acting since he was a child and has NOT imploded like so many other childhood actors. While people MY age know him best for his role in the comedy "Third Rock From the Sun," those of a tender age may know him best as Batman's ally, Officer John Blake, in "The Dark Knight Rises." Joe is an amazingly talented and brilliant individual, so very grounded, and hysterical. Check out his lip sync battle with Jimmy Fallon and Stephen Merchant at the 3:40 and 8:00 minute marks.

Which brings us to the most amazing creative opportunity that I have heard of in a very very very long time. Joe founded and directs hitRECord, an open source collaborative production project. As their website boasts, "We make all kinds of art and media together." And make money in the process! 

Check it out.

Peace out, Butterscouts.
-Miss Sara

 

TGIF!!!

Midterms are FINALLY over. Congrats and thank goodness. Treat yourself to some reading just for fun this weekend!

Peace out, Butterscouts.

-Miss Sara

When your favorite book gets turned into a movie... ARGH!!!!

Baker & Taylor Children's and Teen Services, the vendor that we purchase most of our materials from, recently shared this hysterical story from Bustle.com about the emotional roller coaster we all ride when our favorite book gets made into a movie. As we all know, it often isn't pretty.

How many of the 12 can you relate to? 
 
12 Emotional Stages Of Watching Your Favorite Book Get Turned Into A Movie

ALA Announces 2016 Book Awards

Forget the Golden Globes, the American Library Association (ALA) announced the 2016 Youth Media Award Winners today!!!!!!

You may be most familiar with the Newberry and Caldecott Awards, but there are so many more. Here are some of the awards for teen literature that I've chosen to highlight:

Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in literature written for young adults:
“Bone Gap,” written by Laura Ruby, is the 2016 Printz Award winner. (We own.)
Printz Honor Books: “Out of Darkness,” by Ashley Hope Pérez (On order.)
“The Ghosts of Heaven,” by Marcus Sedgwick (We own.)

Schneider Family Book Award for books that embody an artistic expression of the disability experience:  The teen (ages 13-18) winner: “The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B,” written by Teresa Toten (We own.)

Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement in writing for young adults: David Levithan is the 2016 Edwards Award winner. (We own multiple titles by him.)

YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults: “Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War,” written by Steve Sheinkin (On order.)

View the complete list of winners here. Happy reading!

Peace out, Butterscouts.
-Miss Sara

YALSA's Teens' Top Ten

Suggest a title published in 2015 to be considered for YALSA's Teens' Top Ten - a "teen choice" list, where teens nominate and choose their favorite books of the previous year! The process is very simple. Once nominations are received they are reviewed by a selection committee and are announced during National Library Week, which falls on April 10-16 of this year. Teens are then allowed to vote for their choice between mid-August and Teen Read Week, which falls in mid-October. The winners are announced the week after Teen Read Week.

What is YALSA you ask? It's Young Adult Library Services Association, a division of the American Library Association. While much of this association's function is geared toward teen services' librarians, participating in Teens' Top Ten is one way that YOU, a teen reader, can be involved. 

For more information on YALSA's Teens' Top Ten list, including lists of past winners, visit the Teen's Top Ten website and scroll to the bottom of the page. I always love seeing which books teens are really reading.

Peace out, Butterscouts.
-Miss Sara