Showing posts with label Art and Music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Art and Music. Show all posts

Friday, July 13, 2012

Palmer's Picks: Review of Someday This Pain Will Be Useful To You: A Novel

Hi guys! My name's Palmer, and I work in the Young Adult Services department of the Charleston County Public Library. I love graphic novels, root beer floats and thunderstorms (and flip glasses). I also love finding truly awesome books and sharing them with you avid readers! Remember to click on any title to put it on hold.
by


The facepalm that graces the cover of Someday This Pain Will Be Useful To You speaks more precisely of the plight of our hero, a socially and intellectually frustrated high school senior named James Sveck, than any other illustration I can imagine. James's life seems to encompass everything a facepalm stands for—frustration, humiliation or, to borrow a definition from Urban Dictionary, "The only logical answer to a stupid question or statement."

James, as a highly intelligent but slightly socially awkward teen, finds himself at odds with the world at every turn. He can't identify with other teens his age, his self-described "shark" businessman father, his thrice-divorced mother, or his snobby sister. A botched attempt to establish a connection with the one person he can identify with (other than his grandmother) lands him in hot water, with his sanity and sexuality being questioned by both his family and the new therapist they've enlisted to help wheedle out of James exactly why he doesn't want to go to college.

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Books With Looks

When Words and Images Unite

Is a picture really worth a thousand words? How about a drawing? A painting? A sketch? The books below combine words with images to tell some really amazing stories! (Click on any title to reserve a copy at a CCPL branch, or click here to search our e-books.)




Having just lost his mother and his hearing in a short time, 12-year-old Ben leaves his Minnesota home to find the father he's never known in New York City. There, he meets Rose, who is also longing for something that's missing from her life. Ben's story is told in words; Rose's is told in pictures.

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Book-O-Scope: Your Summer Reading Forecast


Wondering what to read next?
Find answers in the stars!





Gemini
May 21 -- June 21

You’ve been feeling confused lately. Yet, the answers are all there for you to find -- if you look. Read Beatle Meets Destiny by Gabrielle Williams, and find out if John decides to stay with his girlfriend, Cilla, or to take a chance with Destiny.




Monday, June 13, 2011

Take a Picture, Win a Camera

Click here for Stacy Pearsall's blog about the winners!

(Then, come see the fantastic pictures
on display in the Main library's lobby.)


Here I Am


Where exactly are you this summer? First, think literally. Are you going on a trip? Hanging out at the beach? Where do you wish you were going? Now, think in the abstract. Where are you inside your head? Where do you feel most like you?


Now, pick up a camera to illustrate your idea. Envision lighting, angles, and space. Take the picture. Try again. Perfect it. Then, send us your favorite. You might be one of three lucky winners to receive a brand new Nikon digital camera!

Many thanks to the Charleston Center for Photography, which is sponsoring the contest! Check out the center's site -- the photography will inspire you. (Director Stacy Pearsall served three tours in Iraq until she was wounded and received the Bronze Star Medal and Commendation with Valor for heroic actions under fire.)

Friday, May 6, 2011

S.C. Young Adult Book Award




FALL FOR GREAT BOOKS!

From bloody wars and school violence to bullies and cults, there's something for every teen among the South Carolina Young Adult Book Award nominees for 2011-2012. (If you've read any of the books, leave your opinions in the comments section below!) Then, check out some new titles:


Before I Fall
By Lauren Oliver

Samantha Kingston has worked her way up the popularity ladder. Now a senior, she and her friends rule their school. But after she dies in a car crash, Samantha finds herself reliving the day of her death over and over and over again. 





Angry Management
By Chris Crutcher

Chris Crutcher fanatics rejoice! Your favorite characters are back. Mr. Nak from Ironman is holding Angry Management classes with other characters from the Crutcher archives. After a brief intro, each of the three stand-alone stories is preceded by Mr. Nak's file notes on the teen subjects.