Teen Read Week

Teen Read Week™ is a national program created by the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). It began in 1998 and is held annually during the thirdweekofOctober. Its purpose is to encourage teens to be regular readers and library users. Teen Read Week's sub-theme for this year is Seek the Unknown @ your library, which encourages teens to explore and learn about the unknown through mystery, adventure, sci-fi, and fantasy books.

This would be a great time to try out our Online Teen Book Club. 
Each week you'll receive a daily email with one to three chapters of the featured title.  It's a great way to read new

authors and try genres you might not have thought about.  Recently I ready The Alchemist: the Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel  by Michael Scott.  Now I'm a hard-core mystery reader and venturing out to a fantasy novel was not in my comfort zone.  Don't tell anyone but I never really got into the Harry Potter series.  Now I've completed all six books in the series along with some short stories that were available to download as ebooks.

Seek the unknown. Browse the shelves for titles and try out the online book club.  You can get a virtual inside look and some new titles and you just might find a new favorite author.

What's the Assignment?

School is well underway and we've had lots of students coming in looking for that required book that they need for an assignment.  Maybe you need a science fiction book or historical fiction read.  Some classes have had to have a biography, which has been pretty picked over as of late.  Most biographies are either about 125 pages (check the Sterling biographies) or 400 pages and involve a lot of dead presidents.

The Amherst Public Library has put together a page of links to make it easy to find an available book here at the library to fit your assignment.  Check out the school assignments link for quick access to updated feeds for various lists such as mystery books and fantasy books. From there you can check to see if the book is available, how many pages it is, and even reserve the book to be waiting at the library when you get here.

 Remember that we do not sort books by reading level, ever.  So check both Junior Fiction and Young Adult sections for available books. Still can't find a book?  Stop at the Reference Desk and ask for some suggestions.  We can also check to see when a book will be back and help you put a book on reserve.

The Library has Gotcha Covered!

Have a stack of new textbooks you need covered right away?  Students heading back to school are invited to the Amherst Public Library where they can cover their books and grab a snack after school.  Stop in the library August 20, 21, 22 and also August 27 and 28 from 3:00 – 5:00 p.m., to make use of our book covering supplies.


Heading back to school means new friends, new teachers....and new textbooks to cover.  You've got enough to worry about with learning that locker combination and figuring out the bus schedule.  We'll see you at the library.

Of course we'll have cookies!

Last year we covered over 500 books!  Mrs. Ashton might need more coffee.

 

Teen Summer Reading

Looking for some MineCraft maniacs.  Mrs. Ashton is trying to set up some Minecraft game days.  Anyone with any server administration experience should volunteer this summer to help with our programs.  We are hoping to have an online version as well as some game days at the library.

Registration for summer reading begins June 3 at the library.  Still looking for a few good volunteers to help at craft days and at the registration desk.

Valen-tangle

We've been getting a lot of press about our teen Zentangle workshops. Teens have learned the basics of what it takes to create different tangles and have branched out into creating their own works of art. 

Check out the cool lotion dispenser the brought me!  Wait....look at the other side...

Don't limit your tangling to just paper!  It's great to see everyone so excited about learning this new art form.  Leave no empty space untangled.

For anyone wanting to learn more about Zentangle, the library has several books to help you get started.  Check out our catalogue here.

There are lots of internet resources but the official Zentangle home page would be the first place to start. After you read about how it started you might want to check out all the tangle patterns available on this site.  It's a great resource for learning and finding your favorites.

Teens are welcome to join us for our next workshop on Thursday, February 14 at 4 p.m. when we'll do a Valen-tangle! Stop by.  No registration needed and new people are always welcome.

New Year Coming Soon

Many people are busy with holiday parties, shopping, and other activities but at the library we've been coming up with some new classes and resources that we hope will be on your list, no matter if you've been naughty or nice.

The library just added TumbleBook products. 
TumbleBook Cloud is an online collection of eBooks, graphic novels audio books and even some short videos for middle school and high school students with hundreds of titles to choose from.  Just click and read..listen...or watch.  No library card or special software needed. 

AudioBook Cloud features streaming audio books for all ages. Listen to titles like The Great Gatsby or Alice in Wonderland or maybe Romeo & Juliet (were you supposed to have that read over Christmas break?)  Don't panic.  Titles can be viewed by multiple users and there are no due dates or items to return. 

Have a younger brother or sister?  Set them up viewing TumbleBooks, eBooks just for kids in grades K - 4.  They've added lots of animation, sounds, and bling to make reading even more fun and maybe keep them busy so you can share books with friends, set up your favorites, and watch TumbleTV. 

All the TumbleBook products can be viewed on any computer or mobile device through the links provided on the library website or this page.  Many of the books are also compatible with your iPad and automatically conform to the device you're using. Let us know what you think.

Look for our Teen Zentangle class coming January 17, at 4 p.m.  If you can draw a line and a circle then you can create a Zentangle.

Back to School....WHAT!

It's hard to think about class schedules and cafeteria rules when August arrives with warm weather and sunny skies.  When the big day does arrive remember the Amherst Library has you covered with our annual text book covering event that begins August 21 from 3 - 5 p.m. 

Stop by the library and use our supplies for covering those textbooks and have a snack provided by the library staff bakers.  Sort of like Keebler Elves with sensible shoes who make a mean chocolate chip drop cookie.

Remember we have 12 public computers when it comes to writing those term papers and more important, printing those papers off.  Check out our catalogue for your school's reading list and use our online databases for sourcing out journal articles.

Yes, the school year is fast approaching but there's still time to check out a good book and kick back and relax before the first day of school.  Perhaps you could consider these books research, as in, "Sorry, can't mow the grass right now because I'm researching the psychological conundrum of sophomoric interactions."  That should get you some time.  Read on:

10th Grade by Joseph Weinberg

Jeremiah Reskin chronicles his sophomore year by writing his own novel even though he's not what you would call an honors English student.  Along with some less than honorable thoughts and some throw back Bohemian peers, student life doesn't really change.

Bleachers by John Grisham

Every football player likes to reminisce about the glory days. When a funeral brings all the boys back to town will Neely Crenshaw be able to forgive his coach and move on with his life?

Code Orange by Caroline B. Cooney
While conducting research for a school paper on smallpox, Mitty finds an envelope containing 100-year-old smallpox scabs and fears that he has infected himself and all of New York City.  Talk about stress.

The Taker by J. M. Steele
There's a lot of pressure to score high, especially if you're family plans on you attending an Ivy League school.  And what's up with that geeky tutor that Carley has hired?