10 of the Most Beautiful Libraries and Bookshops to Visit on Your Travels

You may or may not be a seasoned traveller, but world-wide, "libraries are often distinguished architectural landmarks and can provide deeper insights not only into a country's literature, but also its culture and history as a whole," (according to Bootsnall.com). Plus, libraries are almost always free and open to the public. So why not take a visit in your travels?

BootsNAll has compiled "10 of the Most Beautiful Libraries and Bookshops to Visit on Your Travels" to keep an eye out for as you go.

Have you been to any of these? You can start by taking a look at them online.

Vancouver Public Library (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada)

Royal Danish Library (Copenhagen, Denmark)

Austrian National Library (Vienna, Austria)

National Library Singapore (Singapore, Singapore)

Law Library of the University of Zurich (Zurich, Switzerland)

Great Court and Reading Room, British Museum (London, United Kingdom)

Philological Library of the Free University (Berlin, Germany)

Lello Bookshop (Porto, Portugal)

Bibliothèque Nacionale de France (Paris, France)

Biblioteca Nacional de España (Madrid, Spain)

I've been to so many of the cities listed above, but only one of the libraries! I wish I could go back in time; these look so beautiful.

Happy travels!

Happy New Year!

It's 2012! If you're like a lot of people out there, it's time for you to make a resolution to work on something you've always wanted to improve. No matter what your new year's resolution is, we've got the books to help you get started!

Get more exercise:
Yoga For Teens : How To Improve Your Fitness, Confidence, Appearance, and Health-- And Have Fun Doing It by Thia Luby

Yoga Step-By-Step by Michael Spilling and Liz Lark

Toning For Teens : The 20-Minute Workout That Makes You Look Good and Feel Great! by Joyce L. Vedral

Beyond The Blues : A Workbook to Help Teens Overcome Depression by Lisa M. Schab

Fitness Information for Teens : Health Tips About Exercise, Physical Well-Being, and Health Maintenance Including Facts About Conditioning, Stretching, Strength Training, Body Shape and Body Image, Sports Nutrition, and Specific Activities For Athletes and Non-Athletes by Lisa Bakewell

Recycle more:
The Big Green Book of Recycled Crafts

Recycle This Book : 100 Top Children's Book Authors Tell You How To Go Green edited by Dan Gutman

Recycle : Green Science Projects For A Sustainable Planet by Robert Gardner

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle : An Easy Household Guide by Nicky Scott

Recycle! : Make Your Own Eco-Friendly And Creative Designs : Over 60 Projects For Your Home and Garden by Moira and Nicholas Hankinson

Study harder:
How To Remember Everything : Memory Shortcuts To Help You Study Smarter. Grades 9-12 by Russell Kahn, with Tom Meltzer

The Complete Idiot's Guide To Study Skills by Randall S. Hansen and Katharine Hansen

Super Study Skills : The Ultimate Guide To Tests and Studying by Laurie Rozakis

The Secrets of Taking Any Test by Judith N. Meyers

Study Smart : Hands-On, Nuts-And-Bolts Techniques for Earning Higher Grades by Theodore Silver

Learn a new skill:
Crochet Basics : All You Need To Know To Get Hooked on Crochet by Jan Eaton

The Only Basic Guitar Instruction Book You'll Ever Need : Learn To Play, From Tuning Up To Strumming Your First Chords by Jack Wilkins and Peter Rubie

The Piano : An Illustrated Step-By-Step Guide by Frank Cappelli

Basic Cooking : All You Need To Cook Well Quickly by Jennifer Newens

Pathways In Juggling : Learn How To Juggle With Balls, Clubs, Devil Sticks, Diablos, and Beyond by Robert Irving and Mike Martins

Read more (Here are a few of my favorites that you might not be familiar with):
Every Little Thing In the World by Nina de Gramont

Paper Towns by John Green

The Eternal Smile : Three Stories by Gene Luen Yang

Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer

The First Part Last by Angela Johnson

Or come in to the library to find a book to help you with whatever you want to do or improve!

Have a fantastic year!

The Endangered Species Act of 1973

38 years ago today, President Nixon signed the Endangered Species Act of 1973. This act provides for the conservation of ecosystems that are necessary for the survival of threatened/endangered species of fish, wildlife, and plants.

Find out the endangered species in New York (or any other state) by clicking here.

Or check out a book to learn more about endangered species. Here are a few options that you can reserve right now:

Endangered Species by Sean Sheehan

Endangered Species by Cynthia A. Bily

Endangered Species : Protecting Biodiversity

Endangered Animals of Antarctica and the Arctic by Marie Allgor

Animals on the Edge : Science Races to Save Species Threatened With Extinction by Sandy Pobst

Almost Gone : The World's Rarest Animals by Steve Jenkins

Amphibians In Danger : A Worldwide Warning by Ron Fridell

A Most Dangerous Journey : The Life of an African Elephant by Roger A. Caras

Face to Face With Elephants by Beverly and Dereck Joubert

Bengal Tiger : In Danger of Extinction! by Richard Spilsbury

Chimpanzee Rescue : Changing the Future for Endangered Wildlife by Patricia Bow

Top 50 Reasons To Care About Giant Pandas : Animals in Peril by Mary Firestone

Sea Otter Rescue : The Aftermath Of An Oil Spill by Roland Smith

Great White Shark : In Danger of Extinction! by Richard Spilsbury

Biodiversity edited by Louise I. Gerdes

TAB - Gingerbread Houses

Teen Advisory Board members!

(Grades 6 and up)

Join us on Wednesday, December 21st from 7:00-8:00pm to create your own gingerbread house.  Bring a small milk or juice container as well as a bag of candy to share.

See you there!

James Patterson's College Book Bucks Essay Contest

Are you a high school senior and know that you're heading to college next year?  If so, you may have already heard about how expensive college textbooks can be. (Like seriously expensive!)   So here's a cool opportunity... James Patterson, author of such favorites as the Maximum Ride series and Daniel X, is offering $70,000 in gift certificates redeemable at IndieBound stores.  All you have to do is submit an essay that answers the question “How has your favorite book inspired you toward what you’d like to do in life?”  The contest deadline is December 31, 2011. Winners will be announced nationally on March 1, 2012.

 Read more about this contest here, and if you choose to enter... Good Luck! 

Hunger Games Movie Trailer!

Are... you... ready?



So, who else just got chills from watching that? 

NaNoWriMo '11

Happy November and Happy National Novel Writing Month. Yep, that's right. It's NaNoWriMo again: time to trade in hours of watching and nights out for the joy of writing a 50,000-word novel in one month.

For those of you who not in the know, National Novel Writing Month runs from November 1st-30th, and is a self-proclaimed "fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing" and "thirty days and thirty nights of literary abandon!"

NaNoWriMo encourages quantity, not quality, so don't stop, don't think, just write. Use the opportunity to be free, write what you feel like writing, and see where the journey takes you! And take comfort in knowing that we're all producing mediocrity together.

Despite the fact that we aren't expected to create a work of quality, sometimes luck will have its way and, with enough editing, a NaNoWriMo novel can turn out to be a real masterpiece! Some even become popular, published books. Don't believe it's possible? The following books all started out as NaNoWriMo projects:

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen (a 2007 Alex Award winner)

Persistence of Memory by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes

The Compound by S.A. Bodeen (among YALSA’s 2009 Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers and 2009 Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults)

Livvie Owen Lived Here by Sarah Dooley

Running for My Life by Ann Gonzalez

Losing Faith by Denise Jaden

So, will yours be next?

This is year is my sixth year embarking on the challenging and really kind of silly journey and I'd love for you all to join me! Knowing that you just wrote a whole novel, no matter how terrible, is an AWESOME feeling... and it's only 29 days away!

Want to sign up? Check out the Official National Novel Writing Website for more information.

And be sure to read Figment's NaNoWriMo Approacheth Survival Tips for some genuinely good advice on handling this frenzied month.

Happy writing, everybody!