Books Are For Everyone!

Update

2012-01-31T07:42:00.000-08:00

This blog is going to undergo some changes in the next few weeks as I attempt to make it into a program discussion/book review blog. This is to challenge myself to try something new and hopefully add a new voice to the book blogger community.

Read Alike List: Gay and Lesbian Teen Fiction for the Joliet Public Library

2010-03-02T18:15:00.000-08:00

A genere that is currently on the rise is fiction featuring gay and lesbian teens. Some of the books on this list feature the coming out process, while others focus on the politcal and romantic ramifications of being gay.

If You Like:

Hero by Perry Moore

Hardcover: 432 pages

Who has It: Joliet Public Library Main and Joliet Black Road Branch

Call Number: Teen Fiction Moore

Summary: Thom Creed's father was once Major Might, a well known superhero until an accident turned everyone against him. Now even the word hero is banned from the house as Thom and his father try their best to live a normal life.

But Thom has secrets of his own, for one he's gay, and for the second, he has been asked to join the League of Heroes, the same organization that turned against his father. Now Thom has to hide who he is, while at the time trying to discover who is killing off members of the League.

You Might Like:

Wide Awake by David Levithan

Hardcover: 240 pages

Who has it: Joliet Main Library and Joliet Black Road Branch

Call Number: Teen Fiction Levithan

Summary: A gay Jewish president has just been elected and Duncan Lewis, his boyfriend Jimmy and all their friends are thilled. They believe equality for all is just around the corner until the election results are called into question and Duncan's relationships with Jimmy and his parents are threatened. Now Duncan has to choose, will he fight for what he believes in or sit back and do nothing.

Rainbow Boys by Alex Sanchez

Hardcover: 272 pages

Who has it: Joliet Main Library and Black Road Branch

Call Number: Teen Fiction Sanchez

Summary: Three boys, a sports star who fears he might be gay, a closeted young man in love with his best friend and a flamboyant young man looking for his first love learn the ins, outs in in betweens of love, while fighting fearful parents, bigoted classmates and the threat of AIDS. First in a series.

Ash by Melissa Lo

Hardcover: 272 pages

Who has it: Joliet Main and Black Road Branch

Call Number: Teen Fiction Lo

Summary: Ash longs for a life away from her stepmother and when a fairy prince, cursed to love her, offers her her dreams, Ash must choose between the huntress she loves and a fairy tale come true.

Tale of Two Summers by Brian Slone

Hardcover: 256 pages

Who has it: Joliet Main and Black Road Branch

Call Number: Teen Fiction Sloan

Summary: Two best friends, one gay one straight, use their private blog to talk about life, love and learning to drive during summer vacation.

Freak Show by James St. James

Hardcover: 304 pages

Who has it: Joliet Main and Black Road Branch

Call Number: Teen Fiction St. James

Summary: After a brutral attack by his classmates, drag queen Billy Bloom decides the only way to regain his self esteem is to run for homecoming queen, dispite the disapproval of everyone around him.

Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs

Hardcover: 352 pages

Who has it: Joliet Main Library

Call Number: 813.6 Bur

Summary: Sent to live with his mother's shrink, Augusten discovers a family willing and able to teach him about life in the most wonderful ways. He also discovers what it means to be gay and Catholic in the modern world.

Latter Days by T Farbis

Paperback: 224 pages

Who has it: Joliet Black Road Branch

Call Number: Fiction Farbis

Summary: Christian is a playboy ready and willing to make a bet when a group of Mormon missonaries move in next door. But he never dreamed his slow courtship of Aaron would turn into love.

David Inside Out by Lee F Bantle

Paperback: 224 pages

Who has it: Joliet Main Library

Call Number: Teen Fiction Bantle
Summary: David just finished coming out to everyone he knows and now the teenager has to face the fallout from that choice as he travels the rough road to true love.

Outfield Mence by Mark Roder

Paperback 258 pages

Who has it: Des Plains Valley Library-Lockport

Call Number: YA FIC ROE

Summary: Outfield Menace is the tale of Kurt, a fifteen-year-old baseball player, living in a small, 1950s, Indiana town. During a confrontation with Angel, the resident bad boy of Blackford High School, Kurt attacks Angel, earning the wrath of the most dangerous gang in town. When Angel finally corners Kurt, however, something happens that Kurt wouldn’t have imagined in his wildest dreams.

Band Fags by Frank Anthony Pallo
Paperback 352 pages

Who has it: Bettendorf Public Library

Call Number: YA FIC POLI

Summary: Jack Paterno is a straight-A student living in the Detroit suburb of Hazel Park, with his own Atari 5200, a Beta VCR, and everything a seventh-grader could ask for. The only thing he has in common with foul-mouthed Brad Dayton, who lives on the gritty south side near 8 Mile, is that both are in Varsity Band. Or maybe that's not the only thing. Because Jack is discovering that while hanging around with girls in elementary school was perfectly acceptable, having lots of girl friends (as opposed to girlfriends) now is getting him and Brad labeled as Band Fags. And Jack is no fag. Is he?

Thinking Straight by Robin Reardon

Paperback 304 pages

Who has it: Moline Public Library

Call Number: Fic Rea

Summary: If only Taylor Adams had kept on lying to his parents, none of this would have happened. He wouldn't have been shipped off to Straight to God, an institution devoted to "deprogramming" troubled teenagers and ridding them of their vices--whether it's drugs, violence, or in Taylor's case, other boys. Not that Taylor has a problem with being gay, or with reconciling his love for God with his love for his boyfriend Will.

Out of the Pocket by Bill Konigsberg

Hardcover 272 pages

Who has it: Joliet Main Library

Call Number: TEEN FICTION KONIGSBERG

Summary: Bobby Framingham is one of the top high-school quarterback prospects in California. He’s troubled, though, by his growing realization that he is gay—not easy in the homophobic world of school sports. He confides in his coach, a teacher, and a few friends before he is outed by an unscrupulous reporter for the school newspaper. This sets off a firestorm of national media attention, which Bobby faces bravely.

The Vast Fields of Ordinary by Nick Burd
Hardcover 309 pages

Who has it: Joliet Main Library

Call Number: Teen Fiction Burd

Summary: It’s Dade’s last summer at home. He has a crappy job at Food World, a boyfriend who won't publicly acknowledge his existence (maybe because Pablo also has a girlfriend), and parents on the verge of a divorce. College is Dade’s shining beacon of possibility, a horizon to keep him from floating away.

Annie on my Mind by Nancy Garden

Paperback 272 pages

Who has it: Joliet Main Library

Call Number: Teen Fiction Garden

Summary: Liza never knew that falling in love could be so wonderful . . . and so confusing, when she meets her new classmate Annie.

I

n Mike We Trust by P.E. Ryan

Hardcover 336 pages

Who has it: Des Plains Valley Library-Lockport

Call Number: YA FIC RYA

Summary: Fifteen-year-old Garth Rudd, more comfortable with his homosexuality than his 5' 2" stature, is grieving his father's recent death. Forced to get a job, his understandably overprotective mother has asked him to temporarily keep his sexual orientation secret. When his father's estranged twin appears for a summer visit, Garth's trust is easily gained. Secretly Mike helps him navigate the unfamiliar waters of gay relationships by taking him to bookstores and facilitating dates with Adam, a school friend. Before long, Mike exploits Garth's trust and encourages him to quit his job, lie to his mother, and secretly help him collect money for "charities" instead.

ALL IMAGES CAME FROM GOOGLE IMAGES AND ALL SUMMARIES CAME FROM AMAZON.COM

Wrap Up

2009-10-22T12:18:00.000-07:00

I have to say I really enjoyed doing this program and would love to do it again at a more advanced level if given the chance. I loved learning about Google Reader and Flicker. I got to share some my favorite sites with my co-workers and it taught me to remember to check my Twitter and Yammer accounts much more then I used to.

It was great seeing what my co-workers posted about each week and I might keep this blog updated with book reviews and the like just to see what happens.

See you on the flip side!

-JP

Web 2.0 Award Winners

2009-10-21T11:15:00.000-07:00

I checked out Wet Paint for this assignment. This is a websites made by TV fans for TV fans. Almost any show you could think of has it's own page on this including Heroes, Glee and Supernatural. Each separate site has a wiki, forums, games and even links to where you can watch episodes on line.

This would be a great resource for those patrons looking for that one bit of trivia they can't find. My only beef with the site was it was so loaded with content that it ran a little slow.

Zoho Writer

2009-10-18T11:40:00.000-07:00

In all honesty I like open source software but Zoho needs some work. Unlike MS Office, which allows you to spell check each word as it comes up and fix a mistake right in the document, Zoho requires you to run a spell check any time an issue comes up. Not only that, but the software does pick up some mistakes while glossing over others.

I did like that they had buttons for certain options that MS Word did not. For example. Zoho Writer had a strike out option that with Word you would have had to enter in a code to get.

Overall, I liked the software and would use it in the future when I do not have access to Word or any other Office program. However, if given the choice I would still head to a program I know before signing into Zoho.

Library Thing

2009-10-13T12:13:00.000-07:00

I was using this site back when it was in it's beta form and I have to say I like it much better now then it was then. It's much easier to use, search and tag and also it allows you to leave reviews and rate each of the books in your library. I've only added five books for now here, but the moment I get a chance I hope to add more.

-JP

Social Bookmarking

2009-10-08T07:53:00.000-07:00

I enjoyed surfing around Delicious for a while with the exercise. I wasn't really thrilled with the most popular book marks, they all seemed to be about how to design stuff, either web based or decorating wise.

The geek tag was fun to click on, I discovered Star Wars Uncut a parody of the film made by fans, who each choose a scene from the movie and recreate it using a different style.

This site is something I've used before and I will definitely look into creating my own account for the fun of it.

-JP

Podcasts

2009-10-06T12:11:00.000-07:00

For my podcast I chose the Library Survival guide podcast. It's a fun look at how a university library works as well as offering patrons general information on how navigate a library. It's fun, quick and informative, so please check it out.

Have fun!

-JP

RSS Feeds: Putting Information All in One Place

2009-10-01T12:21:00.000-07:00

I adore RSS Feeds when I remember to check them. It's a great way gather all the information you want or need all in one place. The problem is, I sign up for these things all the time and then promptly forget to check my reader account everyday to see what has been going on.

I took the assignment to mean I could subscribe to any type of feed I wanted to, so that is what I did. Below you will find a list of the blogs I have added to my reader account, check them out won't you.

Library Related:
Unshelved
The Annoyed Librarian
The Shifted Librarian
librarians.net

Comics:
Real Life Comics
Calvin and Hobbs
Dilbert

Musicals:
The Musical Reviewer

Doctor Who/Torchwood:
Torchwood News Page via the BBC
The Doctor Who News Feed

I know I went over the limit, but hey it was fun hunting around and I didn't want to stop.

Enjoy!

-JP

WELCOME TO THE FUTURE!

2009-09-29T09:16:00.000-07:00

If you want to take a look at where we will be techwise in 100 years just watch Futurama. *waits for the giggles to die down* I'm serious, Matt Groening has created a world where the technology makes sense. Tubes to take you anywhere you want to go, delivery companies that send packages by space ship, robots designed to do almost anything you want.

Granted some of what Groening came up with is a bit wild, suicide booths for example, but much of what he has envisioned might one day be real. We already have robots vacuums after all. How long do you think it would be before Planet Express becomes a reality too.

Something to think about isn't it?

-JP

You Tube aka How Do You Know

2009-09-25T13:26:00.000-07:00

I adore You Tube, surfing it at the end of a day never fails to bring a smile to my face. I dug up two videos for you all to play with, the first is "How Do You Know" from the movie Enchanted. It lightens my heart and makes me believe that everyone can enjoy kids movies in this day and age.

The second is a Doctor Who fanvideo that combines my love of Who and Cole Porter all in one shot. This is sung by John Barrowman, a local boy, who also plays Captain Jack Harkness seen in this video. Nine is played by the wonderful actor Chris Eccelston, who has been seen in everything from Doctor Who, Heroes and even the GI Joe movie just released this summer.

I love the cover of this song, John's voice is perfectly suited to Cole Porter and the words just flow right along with the visuals. Enjoy! Oh and there is a brief sweet kiss between John and Chris in this video just to warn you guys.

Flick aka You Do Something to Me

2009-09-23T09:00:00.000-07:00

I like Flickr alot, we use it at Youth Services to post pictures of events, I like surfing it to find fanart to make desktop wallpapers on my computer at home. For this assigment I uploaded my second try at a Face Your Manga avatar because my first one wasn't saved on my computer.

I might upload pictures of my dogs later on, if I can get my scanner working again, but don't expect any camera pictures from me. I'm rubbish at picture taking I kid you not, I went to Mount Rushmore and managed to cut off all the heads in one shot.

Wiki's and Microblogging aka Don't Fence Me In

2009-09-17T12:10:00.000-07:00

Look Ma, two blog posts in one day!

Anyway.... Wiki's. I am addicted to these things. However, that is in the reading sense, not the editing sense. The moment I want to look something up off I go to find a Wiki that has it. My personal favorite is Wikiquote. I love looking up quotes that make me laugh, when I'm having a rough day. My most visited pages are the Torchwood quote page and the MST3K quote page.

I also surf Wiki's that are specific to things I like doing, watching or learning about, such as the TARDIS Wiki, which is dedicated to Doctor Who and it's spin offs and the how to Wiki, where you can learn how to fix, cook, make or build anything.

But ask me to edit or make a Wiki and I run away. They claim they are easy to create but that a laugh riot. I spent two hours trying to edit one once and gave up, because no matter what I did the page never turned out right.

I bow to those who are expert Wiki makers, but me I would prefer to remain a fan.

Now Microblogging.....when I remember to do it, it's fun. I have a Yammer account and a Twitter and I always enjoy what people are saying. I even find the traffic reports from the police great when I can't turn my radio on.

However, what I don't like is those Twitters who tell you everything they are doing every second of the day. I can't tell you how many interesting Tweets I've missed because of an ad bot spamming my feed or someone moving through a airport and ticking off the gates they are going past. I believe less is more when it comes to Twittering.

Other then that, Twitter is a great way to keep in touch with people and learn the news as it happens. If you want to follow me, my Twitter account is Jania28. I will warn you some of the people I follow use strong language when they tweet.

See you next week!

-JP

Technorati aka Be A Clown!

2009-09-17T11:59:00.000-07:00

I do not, and I repeat do not like this website, search engine whatever you call it. Figuring out how to search for something is like wading through your old clothes to give to Goodwill.

Five minutes of surfing around made me never want to go back again, thought thanks to Miss Manners I now know it's bad to send wedding invitations and then expect people to sent a gift, but not show up.

And that came up during a search for blogs about libraries!

What Is This Thing Called Love

2009-09-09T08:50:00.000-07:00

So Blogger we meet again. *does a Bond villain finger steeple*

Anyway......this blog, designed for a Web 2.0 training program, will most likely become a place I can talk about my favorite books, muse about going back to school and just generally talk about library type stuff.

Some general information about me, in case you want to know.

Favorite Book: Elaine the Fair by Timothy Taylor

Currently Reading: Where Do I Go by Neta Jackson

Currently Watching: Torchwood Series One, Doctor Who Series Three

Currently Listening To: John Barrowman Swings Cole Porter (The subject line for this post is the title of a Cole Porter song I currently have stuck in my head)

Idol: It's a toss up between Cole Porter, Gandhi and Barack Obama, all three do what they know is right and don't care who doesn't like it.

Favorite Song: In the Still of the Night by Cole Porter (I love the classics, and John B does a fantastic cover of this that is a must listen for Porter fans!)

Favorite Show: I don't really have a favorite, but I do watch Heroes, 30 Rock and History Detectives on a weekly basis.

Favorite Movies: Night at the Museum 1 and 2, Star Trek (both the reboot and the originals,) Star Wars, Delovely (biopic of Cole Porter)

Favorite Quote: "Like Alice I like to believe three impossible things before breakfast"-The Fifth Doctor

That was most likely much more then you wanted to know, but there it is!

See you next time!

-JP