Pima County Public Library Ultimate Staff Picks 2012

Library folk love to read, they read terrific books, and they  love to talk about the books they think are terrific. So the Ravenous Readers got to thinking: wouldn't it make a great reading list if we asked library staff from all over the Pima County Public Library system to tell us the name of the single most terrific book they read in 2012?

So that's what we did --  and we gathered the results into the First Annual Pima County Public Library Ultimate Staff Picks List, which we present here, to help you find a good title to start the new year right. Happy New Year, and Happy Reading!

Children's

When Charlie McButton Lost Power
Suzanne Collins (author of The Hunger Games), illustrated by Mike Lester (Children’s Picture Book) A great rhyming story with fantastic illustrations about a boy suffering from electronic toy withdrawal during a power outage. After an episode spent in time-out (tackling his sister’s toys for their batteries), Charlie realizes how much fun he can have--without electricity.  
Elizabeth, Collection Development Office

Fiction
                         

The Age of Miracles 

Karen Thompson Walker

An apocalyptic coming-of-age story: when the earth's rotation slows, day and night are thrown off track and crops start to fail...

Cindy, Nanini Library

Best Books of 2012 Galore!

This is the time of year when I am out in the book stores picking out great reads for my family and friends, especially my nieces and nephews. But which ones? I confess I love love love the "best books of the year" lists that I find all over the internet.

In case you enjoy them too, here is a collection for your perusal. P.S. Unlike the other titles we talk about here, these books aren't necessarily in our catalog.

Here goes:

All Ages
Book Riot's Best Books of 2012
Best Books 2012 (Publisher's Weekly)
Goodreads Choice Awards 2012
Southwest Books of the Year (Pima County Public Library)
25 of the Most Wonderful Book Covers of the Year (Atlantic Wire)

Adults
10 Best Books of 2012 (New York Times Sunday Book Review)
100 Notable Books of 2012 (New York Times Sunday Book Review)
What To Read Awards: The Salon Book Critics’ Poll (Salon Magazine) just added
Notable Books for Adults (ALA/RUSA)
Best Books 2012: Top Ten (Library Journal) just added
Best Books 2012: More of the Best (Library Journal) just added
Librarian Nancy Pearl's Picks For The Omnivorous Reader (NPR Books)
Great Reads In Store: Indie Booksellers Pick 2012's Best (NPR Books) just added
Our Editors Select The Best Books Of 2012 (Huffington Books)
The Slate Book Review Top 10 of 2012 (Slate Magazine)
2012 Books: Slate Staff Picks (Slate Magazine)
Overlooked Books of 2012 (Slate Magazine)
Nerdfighter Book Recommendations (author John Green) just added
The 10 Best Books of 2012 (And 5 Almost Worth Burning) (Hollywood.com)
The Listen List: Outstanding Audiobook Narration (ALA/RUSA)
Best Art Books of 2012 (Brain Pickings)
Best Design Books of 2012 (Brain Pickings)
Best Science Books of 2012 (Brain Pickings)
Best Psychology and Philosophy Books of 2012 (Brain Pickings)
Going Vegan: 5 Favorite Cookbooks from 2012 (Oregon Live)
Favourite Comics, Art Books & More (Drawn blog)

Children and Teens
Best Books 2012 (School Library Journal)
Notable Children’s Books of 2012 (New York Times)
Best Children's Books of 2012 to Give as Gifts (Parenting Magazine)
Children's Books 2012: 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing (NYPL)
Cybils Award Finalists for 2012
The Best Illustrated Children’s Books and Picturebooks of 2012 (Brain Pickings)
My Favorite Nonfiction Books of 2012 (so far) (Abby the Librarian)
Best Young Adult Books of 2012 (Goodreads)
Judy B.'s 2012 Top Teen Fiction Reads (Tattered Cover)
Judy B.'s Favorite 2012 Non-Fiction Teen Reads (Tattered Cover)
Christmas Book Ideas for Teens (YA Nerd blog)
Top 10 Science and Health Books for Youth (Booklist)
Outstanding Science Books for Students K–12 (National Science Teachers Assn)
Children's Books (NPR Books)
Your Favorites: 100 Best-Ever Teen Novels (NPR Books)

--Lisa, your Facebook Librarian

I Am Serious. And Don't Call Me Shirley.

Lately I've been in a rut of very serious books. They're all about the fate of the world, and death and love and other serious matters. They were good, by and large, but I seriously needed a change.

Luckily, the next book in M.T. Anderson's Pals in Peril series came my way. This is an homage to, and send-up of, all those kids' adventure tales of the 40s and 50s. Every time I read one, the sheer madcap fun of it all leaves me smiling. I dare you to keep a straight face when reading even the titles:

Whales on Stilts!
The Clue of the Linoleum Lederhosen
Jasper Dash and the Flame-Pits of Delaware
Agent Q, or the Smell of Danger!
Zombie Mommy

Wait Till Helen Comes: A Ghost Story

Every so often I get the urge to go back and re-read one of my beloved childhood books see how different it is now that I'm an adult. Because of this, I was really excited and surprised to see Wait Till Helen Comes by Mary Downing Hahn cross the shelf at my branch. This was my FAVORITE scary book when I was a tween and I just had to give it a read. This book frightened me back then and I am happy to say that 20ish years later it is just as spooky as I remembered, a perfect Halloween read for any older child looking for a good scare.

Molly and her brother Michael are less than happy when their mother announces that they will be moving to an old church in rural Maine with her new husband, Dave, and his spoiled rotten and somewhat spooky daughter, Heather. Molly, who is afraid of her own shadow, is even less happy when they arrive and she discovers an old cemetery right in their back yard! Soon Heather is acting even more strangely than usual, claiming that she has made friends with a ghost girl named Helen who would make Molly and Michael ever regret being mean to her. Though no one believes her about the ghost girl, Molly is convinced that Helen is planning to harm Heather and vows to protect her stepsister, no matter how horrible she acts.

On top of being a wonderful ghost story, Wait Till Helen Comes contains some good lessons about love, forgiveness and family. Despite being 25 years old, I still suggest this book to my tweens who are looking for books of scary tales and am always rewarded when they come back with stories of staying up all night in order to find out what happens when Helen finally comes.

Run Away to the Museum

We have blogs for great teen books, and wonderful books and literacy activities for ages birth-to-five. But what about those pesky middle years, when you're too young to drive, but too old to suffer fools (like parents bossing you around) gladly? If you're a tween, or you know one, then I have the classic escapist fantasy to check out: From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, written and illustrated by E. L. Konigsburg.

From Fanfiction to Mainstream

The latest SummerQuest is a really fun challenge involving creating a map of an imaginary place. You have to be a true fan to be that inspired by an imaginary world. Some are inspired to make maps, while others are inspired to write stories. So between that, and the fact that the controversial Fifty Shades of Grey continues to be one of our most-requested books, this seems like a good time to recommend some other authors who, like E.L. James, started out writing fanfiction. (You probably know already that that book started out as Twilight fanfiction...le sigh.)

 There's a good chance that you've seen the multitude of pink, sparkly books we have by popular child, teen, and adult author Meg Cabot. But did you know that she started out writing fanfiction, and is still an active member of that online community? Find out what the heck fanfiction is, and check out some more popular authors who started out writing it, after the jump!

A Book to Luv Bunches

Sometimes it's hard to find a book that really nails the intricacies of budding and changing friendship among tweens. Lucky for us, Lauren Myracle's Luv Ya Bunches is that book.

For quite some time, eleven-year-old Camilla has been struggling to break away from the "friendship" of nasty Modessa and her bullying henchgirl, Quin. She'd rather hang out with Katie-Rose, the quirky budding filmmaker, Yasaman, the quiet and observant web designer, and Violet, the brave and secretive new girl. But people like Modessa and Quin tend to drag you back in.

In the first week of fifth grade, it's going to take a lost (stolen?) turtle toy, a home-grown social website, a sleight of hand with Hershey's syrup, and the courage of true friends to finally set Camilla free.

Jack Gantos - A New Favorite

So I may be a bit late to the party...but I never read anything by Jack Gantos before. Not his popular Rotten Ralph picture books, not his Jack Henry series, not even his Joey Pigza series. Somehow, this award winning author was never on my radar. However, after reading Dead End in Norvelt, Jack Gantos is a new favorite. Even if you don't often read children's books, I urge you to pick up a copy of this one. Read it or listen to the audiobook, read by the author himself. Either way, the voice of 12 year old Jack Gantos will stay with you long after you finish.

The town of Norvelt, Pennslyvania doesn't offer much excitement for Jack Gantos in the summer of 1962. The school holidays look bleak when Jack is grounded for accidently shooting off his father's WWII rifle. The only way Jack can escape the house is by helping his arthritic elderly neighbor, Miss Volker. What follows is a hilarious mix of mysterious events, hijinks and small town zaniness.

The Walking Dead, at Your Library

No question about it, zombies are hot right now. Here are a few notable zombie books I've read recently.

Ever since the first teenager walked the earth, adults have been the enemy. Now it's even more literally true, when a strange virus has turned everyone over sixteen into mindless cannibal monsters, leaving kids and young teenagers to fend for themselves in an increasingly desperate fight. It's not for the faint of stomach, but for those that like their zombie movies both gory and thought-provoking, The Enemy by Charlie Higson is a sure bet.

Vintage Favorites

I've noticed that summer seems to be the time to revisit favorite books.  Maybe it's because, for adults, summer evokes memories of summer vacations, laziness, childhood.  And so we reread the entire Harry Potter series, indulge in beach reads, and turn back the clock to our retro-reads.

I read this vintage classic for the first time last month, and couldn't believe I hadn't read it sooner. The Thirteen Clocks by James Thurber has it all: an evil duke, a clever prince, and an enchanted princess, not to mention delightful illustrations.  Plus, it's a quick read.

Also on my list of retro-summer-reads...

Reading Across the Pond

Lately, I've been reading a lot of kid's books that were originally published in other countries. These are always interesting because the slang, the traditions, the geography, and the history are all different. Here are a few I really enjoy.

Raider's Ransom by Emily Diamand
This book takes place in a post-apocalyptic future, when the oceans have risen, drowning most of the United Kingdom and hurtling humanity back into a more medieval society where only hints and scraps of high technology remain. It follows Lilly, on a quest to rescue the daughter of the prime minister from the Viking-like Raiders, and Zeph, the son and heir to the Raiders' leader. Exciting, fast-paced, and a little haunting when you recognize pieces of our world in the wreck of theirs.

Summer Reading Is Here!

It's that time of year again, when school lets out, vacation begins, and readers across the country crack open their books to get through the long hot months.

This year, as you're thinking about summer reading, remember that it's not just for kids and teens. We're encouraging adults to participate as well - keep an eye out on our public homepage for our summer reading sign up, or ask your local friendly librarian for details.

Without further ado, here are three titles to start out your summer reading.