Friday 5

Time for another round of the Friday 5! 

Here are some interesting facts about the library for the past few weeks:

(1) We had our very own Black Friday "shopping" experience...twice! All of Evergreen's 8th graders and 6th graders started their 2nd quarter reading project last week. That meant that books for these projects (Sci-Fi/Dystopian/Steampunk for 8th, and Realistic Fiction for 6th) were available for checkout to all students at the same time, first come, first served. And let me tell you, some of these books were "hot commodities." Wednesday was when the 8th Graders stormed the castle, and Friday was 6th Grade's turn. So many students lined up both days before the library opened to get their hands on the perfect book, that our very own principal was called in to action to help with check out. Happy Reading all!

(2) Because of these projects, there is a new list of "most requested." These are currently the Top Holds/requests for Evergreen: Ungifted by Gordon Korman, Almost Home and Close to Famous by Joan Bauer, Son by Lois Lowry, Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan, Starters by Lissa Price, Legend by Marie Lu, Livvie Owen Lived Here by Sarah Dooley, Half Brother by Kenneth Oppel, and of course, The Third Wheel (Wimpy Kid) by Jeff Kinney.

(3) Books make great gifts...for all ages! I have compiled a list of great gift books for this holiday season. Click here to find the link to the Library newsletter for good books for kindergarten through adult. And, if you feel so inclined to include your favorite middle school library on your gift list, we have a wish list of books that our students would like. 

And to show a little bit of holiday spirit, all next week I'll be posting reviews of books that would make great gifts.

Oh, and there's a rumor that I just purchased a gift for the school...something to do with a Skype visit with an author. More details coming in the new year, but I am very excited by this!

(4) Lots and lots of movie buzz around the school! Great movies abound this holiday season, and many are based on books. The library has had a recent run on the following books: The Hobbit (and all of the Lord of the Rings trilogy), Breaking Dawn (and all of the Twilight books), and the Beautiful Creatures series (Garcia/Stohl). This last movie will hit theaters in February 2013 and looks great! (Stay tuned for the trailer on a future Trailer Tuesday). 

Personally, I am most excited for Les Miserables (a movie, based on a musical, based on a book)!

(5) Lastly, on a personal note, this Friday marked my last day at Evergreen for quite some time. On Thursday the 13th, I start the first of 20 weeks of chemotherapy for Stage 3 cancer. This is just the first stage of treatments which will probably continue throughout the summer. I have so appreciated all the thoughts, support, and prayers of my Evergreen family. Please stay tuned to this blog, as I will continue to post reviews of good books, new books, and all things book-related. You can follow the library news by liking our Facebook page.

I do have a separate blog that I am keeping about my journey through this experience. If you are interested in following along, you can find it here.