Welcome Back!

How was your summer reading? I'm anxious to hear all about it. You know me, I've been reading all summer. What's that? You're wondering where do I read? What do I read? How often do I read? Wow! You're curious.

Let's just say reading is a guilty pleasure. I feel guilty taking time away from other summer activities that I could/should be doing. A pleasure because once I'm immersed in a great story, I can't put it down. I read outdoors in the sunshine on our deck in my favorite lounge chair (now that's summer), I also read at the kitchen counter while having my breakfast. You can find me relaxing in my favorite chair with my new MacBook Pro (see my photo) and reading online - news, tutorials, emails, FB, blogs, my RSS feeds, etc. I don't feel like I'm reading too much of my time but I will admit, not too much housecleaning gets done around here. ;-)

Drop me an email or post a comment. Tell me what do you do as a reader? Not a reader? Why is that? If you're just not finding the kinds of things you're hoping to read here in the BHS media center, it's my job to correct that. Let's talk.

Let's keep this reading thing going!

Review by Mrs. Boehm

2010 Teens' Top Ten

This is your opportunity to vote for your favorite books. Each year a group of teens from several book clubs around the U.S. compiles a list of books from the previous year that they think have the potential to be a Top Ten - it's a "Teens Choice" award. During the weeks of August 23 to September 17 teens around the country vote online. If you'd like to get in on this action, browse this list of titles, read, and be ready to vote.

2010 Nominations

Reviewed by Mrs. Boehm

Free audiobooks!!

Sync is offering two free audiobook downloads each week this summer. Wow, that's a deal! They are pairing a contemporary title with a classic AND offering an online community just to chat about them. This is worth your time to check it out. :-)

Sync info and list of titles here.

Sync download help here.

Sync chat forum here.

Reviewed by Mrs. Boehm

Make Waves @ Your Library

The seniors had their last day at BHS today. Congrats to the Class of 2010 - we give you the rest of your LIFE!! Make us proud. The halls will be noticeably quiet Monday. Summer is in the air and the anticipation of nearly 3 months without school is putting smiles on many faces. Here's another smile maker for you.

How would you like a chance to win a Flip camera, a digital camera, an iPod Shuffle, a $75.00 Target gift card, or the Twilight series and DVD? Do I have your attention now? It's all very easy - Make Waves at the Brighton District Library. BDL wants Brighton teens to read and to use some of their great resources and services. If you read a book or magazine AND do three other activities, you can enter the contest to win these great prizes. That's it! A total of 4 things to do! And you have most of the summer - that lazy, relaxing summer that awaits you today.

What three things can you do? Well, you could borrow one of their movies and watch it - check! You could try Live Homework Help - check! There's always an audio book to listen to - check! Are those three something you can manage? If not, how would you like to volunteer at the library? They can use your help with the kids' summer reading program. So you've read one book, then read another - check! You could attend a library event - sewing, gaming, knitting, writing, or a pizza party. There's even a spa day! Read all about how you can Make Waves.

If you can manage any of these activities, you'll soon be entering your name into the contest for these awesome prizes. Spend some time this summer at BDL. Before you know it, you'll be ready to return to [oops - I better not say it].

Enjoy your summer vacation. Be safe. Be wise. Be smart. See you in September. I'll be waiting to hear about the books you've read. :-)

Review by Mrs. Boehm

Google Books by Sergey Brin and Larry Page, Google co-founders

Rather than share one book with you, I want you to know about many and where to find them - Google Books.

The co-founders of Google, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, have always had as their goal for people to search through the world's books and find what they were looking for. As computer science graduate students, they hoped to create a web crawler that would index books. They theorized that by analyzing the citations in books (you know, those Works Cited lists that teachers require) they could determine the relevance and usefulness of a given book based on the quality and number of times it was cited in other books. How genius! Google's searching ability was the result of this research at Stanford University.

Soon Page and Brin were working with major libraries digitizing the library's collection. The University of Michigan, Larry Page's alma mater, was the first to agree. Work is still underway scanning the university's seven million volumes and many other libraries around the world are now involved. Some current authors and publishers are also supportive of this initiative.

There have been lawsuits due to copyright law concerns. Books in the public domain (copyright-free) are available in their entirety. Books under copyright are shown with segments missing. Google Books will link you to an online book seller or a library in your area that owns the book.

Give Google Books a try. Many times I've found that I don't need to read the full book to find just what I'm seeking. Magazines are also included in the collection. You can search by subject, author, title, or simply browse the collection. You can create favorite book lists to share with friends.

Let me know if you find Google Books helpful. Stay tuned. Page and Brin are always up to something new and innovative. :-)

Reviewed by Mrs. Boehm

The Elements by Theodore Gray

Hey, science lovers! You might like to check out a new book in the media center - The Elements by Theodore Gray. If you're already familiar with him, you'll know about this book and his work creating visual representations of the periodic table. The book has a two page spread for each element that includes a description as well as stunning photos of the element in various forms.

BUT WAIT! There's more. Now he has written an app for the new iPad that's taken from this book and even more incredible. I read about it here: The Periodic Table Goes Touchscreen.

Be sure to watch the video. Mr. Gray's 'elements desk' is sweet but what he's done for the iPad - priceless!

Reviewed by Mrs. Boehm

Kids Are Americans Too by Bill O'Reilly

I know. You either love him or you hate him. His points of view can be contentious but in Kids Are Americans Too by Bill O'Reilly, you will find great advice about your rights. Mr. O'Reilly is quite fair and balanced in this book.

As a high school librarian I've had students ask for help locating books and online resources that explain the law as it pertains to many teen issues - using cell phones at school, curfew, driving privileges, home life, and more. Bill O'Reilly breaks it all down for you here. Beginning with an overview of the works of our Founding Fathers as they wrote the U.S. Constitution, in a humorous, light-hearted way the author points out what governing bodies influence the laws that affect you, how laws are fluid and changing, and differ from state-to-state. The book is organized with break-out sections that include news flashes, multiple-choice quizzes, and true story examples. It's a quick read but a great resource if you're ever wondering, "What are my rights?".

Reviewed by Mrs. Boehm