Books to Read before the Movie Comes Out

Want to make sure you’ve read the book before the movie comes out?  I enjoy reading the book because it makes me feel like I am some part of secret club that has a better understanding of the characters.  You can always tell who has read the books in the theater - they are the ones laughing along with you at the inside jokes.  Here are some great books to catch before the movies come out this school year. 

Fat Kid Rules the World (2012)

Humorous, emotional, and at times suspenseful, this book is the story of Troy and a somewhat homeless boy, Curt.  The movie came out on limited release this summer with positive reviews.  Book Review.  Movie Info.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower (September 20th, 2012)

 It could be you.  It could be your friend.  This is one tale of life in high school told through the eyes of Charlie, a student dealing with everyday and not so everyday life.  Interestingly enough, the movie is directed by the author and stars Emma Watson, Logan Lerman and Ezra Miller.  Book Review.  Movie Info. 

 
Life of Pi (November 21, 2012)
This story is set on the Pacific Ocean, as Pi Patel tries to survive a shipwreck in the company of a Hyena, a zebra, an orangutan, and a Bengal tiger aboard a small boat.  It will be interesting to see how they attempt to convert this book, which takes place in a relatively small space, to the big screen.  Book Review.  Movie Info. 

The Hobbit (December 14, 2012)

 The Hobbit is the book that start it all.  Taking place before the Lord of the Rings, this book is much less dense and tells the story of how the One Ring came to Bilbo.  Peter Jackson is once again at the helm of this two (or three) part movie. Book Review.  Movie Info. 
Beautiful Creatures (February 13th, 2013)

I confess I have not read this one, but here is the description from the IMDB page: "A supernatural drama centered on a local teenager and the mysterious new girl in town who uncover dark secrets about their respective families." Book Review.  Movie Info.

The innards of the machines around us

One day as I was fixing the copier, I pulled open a side panel and out popped this little guy.  It looked so much like an alien creature I decided to display it on my desk, especially as I couldn't figure out where it went.  It did bring back a fascination of what the inside of the polished gadgets we carry around us everyday.  If you've ever wondered the same, look no further than ifixit, a website dedicated to the repair of gadgets.  I admire their work in this age of throw away technology.  I think we could learn a lot of people who try to fix things rather than just add to to the mounding trash heap.   If you want to know a little bit about where your phone goes to die, check out this video from 60 minutes.

Blog Post about Blogs and Posts

    I first chose to do a blog because I have never had a blog but have already done podcasts.  I didn’t think it would be that difficult to pound out a few posts but quickly ran into a litany of questions.  Who would my audience be?  Teachers?  Students? Parents? Other school librarians?  All of the above?  As a school librarian,  I would want to share with all of the above, but not everything would appeal to all four groups.  Do I have different blogs?  Or just try to stagger the posts so that every other post or so would appeal to different people?  Luckily, I don't have to make these decisions for real yet so rather than losing sleep over this, I'm just going to experiment with what seems fun.