Summer Reading - "Realms of Reading"

And the theme for the summer is.... FANTASY!! Stay tuned for movie dates, contests, and fun programming that you'll find both at the library and online!!

Movie Night

Come see a thrilling high-seas pirate adventure starring Johnny Depp. You're encouraged to come in costume, but it isn't required. We'll be showing this movie in the Meeting Room on Thursday, May 25 at 5:30 p.m. Bring a friend, too!

A look back in history

Here’s something different. It's called The Girls Who Went Away: the hidden history of women who surrendered children for adoption in the decades before Roe v. Wade, by Ann Fessler. It’s not a YA book, but it is a fascinating account of what happened to young women your age when they had an unplanned pregnancy. It might be hard for you to believe in this day and age, but girls who got pregnant often got sent away to “visit an aunt” for many months. It might have been an aunt, but more likely it was a "
home for unwed mothers."This book tells the tales of these women who got pregnant in high school or college and were forced to give their babies away. The stories are interspersed with some of the history of the times. It’s very readable and it will make you appreciate the options you now have. You will also be amazed to find out how very little sexual health education that your mothers and grandmothers got!

What's the buzz?

[more information on upcoming events to come!]

Fun stuff

Which is Japanese for "fall down seven times, get up eight." It's something about persevering in times of trouble. If you want to write your own ninja code, check out this link. Sometimes you just have to have fun!

The Real World

Want to "go" to UC Berkeley? For free? You can do it here. Just follow the links to get to some of their college courses right on line. Recently some colleges are experimenting with using podcasting for lectures. But Berkeley is the only one (so far?) that has made course lectures available to anyone. All you need is a version of iTunes to listen to lectures on biology, economics, history, polysci and more. If you’re going to college next year and are nervous about what college will be like, try listening to some of these lectures to prepare yourself. I haven't tried it, but I'm guessing you can listen on your iPod as well.
Switching gears, I’ve been reading in the Reformer about CLEA advocating for a “sweat-free” school. If you’re interested in what you can do to help make the world a better place when you shop, check out Good Stuff.