Rick Riordan: The Ultimate Character/Universe Crossover Author

Have you ever loved a character so much that you wished he or she was real? You loved them so much that you devoured every short story or theory about your character on the Internet and got lost? No? Is that just me? Oh.

Well, Percy Jackson is my favorite character ever written by my favorite author Rick Riordan. Percy’s five-book series was never enough for me, so you can imagine how excited I was to read Riordan’s other series and find that Percy just kept popping up when you least expected him to. That’s part of the reason why I keep reading and re-reading Riordan’s various series, but the main reason is that of Riordan’s writing itself. Sure, the main theme of each series is the same — inexperienced demigods from various cultures are sent on quests to save the world from sure destruction — but I never can grow tired of his words, and I have never been bored for one minute.

If you want to read the various series in chronological order, definitely read the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series first. Percy is a young boy from New York City who finds out that his dad is actually a Greek god. Next, you’ll want to read The Kane Chronicles. Brother and sister, Carter and Sadie Kane, find out that they possess the power of the ancient Egyptian magicians. There are also three short stories involving Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase, and Carter and Sadie Kane.

Next is The Heroes of Olympus series, which involves new characters descended from Roman gods as well as old characters from the Greek side. Each book is more intense than the last! Riordan’s newest series takes place simultaneously, but the first Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard — which is about the descendants of Old Norse gods — the book was released before the first The Trials of Apollo book — which revisits Greek and Roman myths — was. The final books for these two series will be released at the end of 2017 and at the beginning of 2018, respectively.

If you’re like me and just can’t let old characters go, then the books in Rick Riordan’s little universe are the ones for you. I might be biased, though, but I think these books are great for all ages. You can find the series in the Juvenile Fiction section of the library, or you can download every title from the Indiana Digital Download Center. You won’t regret it!

Happy Reading!

Series Selection

Cassandra Clare is known for her series: The Mortal Instruments, but many don’t know about the series she wrote after that is supposed to be a prequel series to the Mortal Instruments: The Infernal Devices.

Clockwork AngelThe year is 1878. Tessa Gray descends into London’s dark supernatural underworld in search of her missing brother. She soon discovers that her only allies are the demon-slaying Shadowhunters—including Will and Jem, the mysterious boys she is attracted to. Soon they find themselves up against the Pandemonium Club, a secret organization of vampires, demons, warlocks, and humans. Equipped with a magical army of unstoppable clockwork creatures, the Club is out to rule the British Empire, and only Tessa and her allies can stop them…

Clockwork PrinceIn the magical underworld of Victorian London, Tessa Gray has at last found safety with the Shadowhunters. But that safety proves fleeting when rogue forces in the Clave plot to see her protector, Charlotte, replaced as head of the Institute. If Charlotte loses her position, Tessa will be out on the street—and easy prey for the mysterious Magister, who wants to use Tessa’s powers for his own dark ends. With the help of the handsome, self-destructive Will and the fiercely devoted Jem, Tessa discovers that the Magister’s war on the Shadowhunters is deeply personal. He blames them for a long-ago tragedy that shattered his life. To unravel the secrets of the past, the trio journeys from mist-shrouded Yorkshire to a manor house that holds untold horrors, from the slums of London to an enchanted ballroom where Tessa discovers that the truth of her parentage is more sinister than she had imagined. When they encounter a clockwork demon bearing a warning for Will, they realize that the Magister himself knows their every move—and that one of their own has betrayed them. Tessa finds her heart drawn more and more to Jem, but her longing for Will, despite his dark moods, continues to unsettle her. But something is changing in Will—the wall he has built around himself is crumbling. Could finding the Magister free Will from his secrets and give Tessa the answers about who she is and what she was born to do?

Clockwork PrincessTHE INFERNAL DEVICES WILL NEVER STOP COMING! A net of shadows begins to tighten around the Shadowhunters of the London Institute. Mortmain plans to use his Infernal Devices, an army of pitiless automatons, to destroy the Shadowhunters. He needs only one last item to complete his plan: he needs Tessa Gray. Charlotte Branwell, head of the London Institute, is desperate to find Mortmain before he strikes. But when Mortmain abducts Tessa, the boys who lay equal claim to her heart, Jem and Will, will do anything to save her. For though Tessa and Jem are now engaged, Will is as much in love with her as ever. As those who love Tessa rally to rescue her from Mortmain’s clutches, Tessa realizes that the only person who can save her is herself. But can a single girl, even one who can command the power of angels, face down an entire army?

 

“You can’t be serious —” Tessa began, but broke off as the door to the library opened, and Charlotte entered the room. She wasn’t alone. There were at least a dozen men following her, and — Tessa saw, as they filed into the room — two women.

Tessa gazed at them in fascination. So these were Shadowhunters — more Shadowhunters in one place than she’d ever seen before. She stared at the two women, remembering what Will had said about Boadicea, that women could be warriors as well. The taller of the women had powder-white hair wound in into a crown at the back of her head; she looked as if she were well into her sixties, and her presence was regal. The other of the women was younger, with dark hair and catlike eyes. The men were a mixed group, all in carefully tailored dark clothes: the eldest of them was an elegant-looking gentleman with an iron-gray beard and a steely gaze to match; the youngest was a boy probably no more than a year older than Jem or Will. He was handsome in a pretty sort of way, with delicate features, tousled brown hair and a watchful expression.

Jem made a noise of surprise and displeasure. “Gabriel Lightwood,” he muttered to Will, under his breath. “What’s he doing here?”

Will hadn’t moved. He was staring at the brown-haired boy with his eyebrows raised, a faint smile playing about his lips.

“Just don’t get into a fight with him, Will,” Jem added hastily. “Not here. That’s all I ask.”

“Rather a lot to ask, don’t you think?” Will said, without looking at Jem. He was watching Charlotte as she ushered everyone toward the large square table at the front of the room; she seemed to be urging everyone to settle themselves into seats around it. “Mr. Wayland,” she was saying, “and Mr. Harrowgate, here, by the head of the table, if you please. Aunt Callida — if you’d just sit over there by the map —”

“And where is George?” asked the gray-haired man, with an air of brusque politeness. “Your husband? As head of the Institute, he really ought to be here.”

Charlotte hesitated for only a fraction of a second before plastering a smile onto her face. “He’s on his way, Mr. Lightwood,” she said, and Tessa realized two things — one, that the gray-haired man was most likely the father of Gabriel Lightwood, and two, that Charlotte was lying.”

We Were Liars

E. Lockhart captured me from the very first sentence to the very last sentence. She enthralled me and refused to allow me to place the book down. I don’t know what grabbed me, whether it was the similes or the metaphors or Cadence and Gat, or perhaps it was Cadence herself. It was a beautiful story with beautiful characters and a beautiful ending.

Her writing made me love her as well as made me hate her. It made me cry and it made me laugh.

“A beautiful and distinguished family. A private island. A brilliant, damaged girl; a passionate, political boy. A group of four friends—the Liars—whose friendship turns destructive. A revolution. An accident. A secret. Lies upon lies. True love. The truth.” This summary of the book on Goodreads doesn’t do the book any justice.

The story focuses on “The Liars”, and is told from Cadence’s point of view. She speaks of Mirren and Johnny, Gat and herself. She tells her story and how she remembers and how she overcomes the accident. It speaks of young love and it tells us of regret and rebellion.

Reviews:


“Haunting, sophisticated . . . a novel so twisty and well-told that it will appeal to older readers as well as to adolescents
.” —Wall Street Journal

“A rich, stunning summer mystery with a sharp twist that will leave you dying to talk about the book with a pal or ten.” —Parade.com

“Thrilling, beautiful, and blisteringly smart, We Were Liars is utterly unforgettable.” —John Green, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Fault in Our Stars

“You’re going to want to remember the title. Liars details the summers of a girl who harbors a dark secret, and delivers a satisfying, but shocking twist ending.” —Breia Brissey, Entertainment Weekly

 

E. Lockhart tells such a brilliant and tragic story with less than 300 words.

 

Located:

We Were Liars is available at both Dillsboro and Aurora as well as our digital library.

 

Hope you enjoy this book as much as I did!

 

Classic Literature Anniversaries: Persuasion

200 years ago, Jane Austen’s Persuasion was published and became a widely known book throughout the world. Though Jane is known most for her Pride and Prejudice and her Mansfield Park, Persuasion is just another of her many classics.

Just like her others, Jane Austen sticks to her unique heroines. In Persuasion, Anne Elliot is the oldest of all Jane’s heroines at 27. Eight years before the story starts, she’s betrothed to a naval officer, Frederick Wentworth, but she breaks off the engagement due to the persuasion by her friend, Lady Russell, that such a match is unworthy. The breakup leaves Anne with a deep and long-lasting regret. When Wentworth later returns from sea a rich and successful captain, he finds Anne’s family on the brink of financial ruin and his own sister a tenant on the Elliot estate. The novel centers around one question: Will Ann and Wentworth be reunited in their love?

As always, Jane Austen fills our hearts with love for her characters.

Source: Goodreads

 

Online Resources: Back to School

Kids are already dreading going back to school in the fall while their parents have had a countdown since May. The Aurora Public Library District’s website has several helpful Online Resources to make the school year a little easier.

Aside from the list of links for local school libraries, there are also links to online encyclopedias. All you need is your library card number to log in in order to have full access to these encyclopedias all the time for free, whether you need them for a research project or you just want to know more about a subject. There are also links to Inspire and Morningstar, which are databases used to locate cited resources that you can also use for research. These links will come in handy when you have a big research paper due this year!

There is also a link to GoodCall Scholarship Engine, which makes it easier for prospective college students find scholarships based on individual preferences. You can research and apply for multiple scholarships without ever having to leave your computer. There is also a link to take Practice Tests for adults and students, like the SAT, ACT, GRE, and many career placement tests. If you’re a nervous test-taker like I am, you can never have too much practice!

Another Online Resource we have is the AR Bookfinder. There is information about every AR book, including how many points each book is worth as well as the reading level, a short synopsis of the book, reading interest levels, and skills that will be used on the quiz. While you’re in the Online Resources, be sure to check out Novelist and Novelist K-8, too, to find author and title read-a-likes for your next great read.

There is also a link to Live Homework Help, where you can get free one-on-one tutoring time from 2 p.m. to 12 a.m. Math was always a difficult subject for me, so I wish I would have known about this amazing tool when I was in school! It would have saved me a lot of tears.

You can always stop in the Library, too, with any questions and we’ll be happy to help you! If you have a valid library card and have access to the public computers and Internet, you can also use one of our public computers for any of these resources as well as to type papers, print, or anything else you need to do. We will be happy to help you make this school year the best one yet!

My Journey Through Genres: Psychological Suspense

We all have a comfort zone when it comes to reading. For some people its an author like Nora Roberts or James Patterson, or genres like romances or thrillers, horrors or fiction. As a librarian, its our job to know authors and books and to be able to recommend books to our patrons. This is where I came up with ‘My Journey Through Genres’. I’ve wanted to broaden my reading horizons and I thought it would not only benefit me with finding new books but benefit me in being able to recommend books from genres to patrons.

The first stop in my journey is Psychological Suspense. I actually happened upon this book by accident as I was looking through our collection requests database to put a request in and the title of this book just drew my eye. So like any curious librarian, I went to Goodreads and typed in the title of the book and from there I was hooked. The book was ordered and a few days later I had it in my hands.

The Marsh King’s Daughter written by Karen Dionne captured my attention by the 27th page. It was everything I expected and yet it was more than I expected.

‘I was born two years into my mother’s captivity. She was three weeks shy of seventeen. If I had known then what I do now, things would have been a lot different. I wouldn’t have adored my father.’

Helena is the product of rape after her father abducted her mother as a fourteen year old. When her father, known as the Marsh King, escapes from a maximum security prison, she immediately suspects that her family is in danger.

Shortly after, Helena must tell her husband about her true past: that she was born into captivity, that she had no contact with the outside world before the age of twelve- or that her father raised her to become a killer.

As Helena hunts and tracks her father, we learn more about her childhood and her mother’s captivity.

The Marsh King’s Daughter was just incredibly well done and well written that it’s left me bereft and wanting more. I enjoyed how the author included Helena’s childhood to explain why Helena thought this way or why she though that way. It was incredibly edge-of-your-seat entertaining. Most of all, it was nice to read that even after all her father did to her and her mother growing up, Helena still loved him and idolized him.

We have a copy at both APL and DPL.

Open Houses!

We’re nearing the end of the Summer Reading Program which means we’re getting closer to drawing your name for the prizes!

All summer long, you’ve been putting your name and telephone number in for the drawing to win the prize of your choice every time you’ve come into one of our branches, whether it’s the $100-worth of books from the New York Times Bestseller List, the family pack with tickets to the Cincinnati Zoo, giftcards to Steak ‘N’ Shake and Greendale cinema, and more, the bicycle, the set of building blocks, or the prize pack with the Cincinnati Red’s tickets, iTunes giftcards, and more.

Join us for the end of the Summer Reading Program Open Houses at all three branches throughout the Aurora Public Library District to hear your name called for a prize! Starting at 1 p.m. you can stroll around the branches and look at pictures from programs and events that took place during the Summer Reading Program while enjoying refreshments or painting rocks for Dearborn County Rocks. At 2 p.m. the prize drawings will begin!

The Dillsboro Public Library’s Open House will take place on Tuesday, July 25 beginning at 1 p.m. The Aurora Public Library’s Open House will take place on Wednesday, July 26 also beginning at 1 p.m. Open House at the Local History Library @ the Depot will take place on Tuesday, July 25 beginning at 1 p.m. as well.

You can come and go as you please or come at 1 and stay the whole time! You do not have to be present if your name is called to claim the prize.

We can’t wait to see you!

Jane Austen’s 200th Death Day

One of the pioneers of women’s authorship, Jane Austen’s 200th death day will be celebrated on July 18, 2017. One of the most renown authors of all time, Austen did not gain fame until after her death in 1817, at 41 years of age.

Born on December 16, 1775 in Steventon, Hampshire, England, Jane Austen was the seventh child and second daughter of well-respected Cassandra and George Austen. Jane was close with all of her siblings, but especially her only sister, Cassandra, and grew up in a home where creativity and learning were cherished. Jane and Cassandra were eventually sent to boarding school for a formal education, but were sent home when both of them caught typhus and Jane nearly died. The rest of her education came from her father and reading whatever she could, including books that belonged to the boys her father tutored.

Jane began writing poems and stories for herself and her family when she was around eleven years old. Twenty-nine works written from 1787 to 1793 are referred to as the Juvenelia of Jane Austen. Many of the works are written as parodies and satire of popular novels of the time. Most of the works were accompanied by watercolors done by Cassandra. Jane also attended church regularly and social functions, where she became an excellent dancer.

Jane’s first publication was Sense and Sensibility, which was published in 1811 by “A Lady” and was well-received. Pride and Prejudice was then published in 1813, followed by Mansfield Park in 1814. By now, Jane was earning enough money to support herself as a professional writer although she never revealed herself except to those in her immediate family. Emma was published in 1815 and Jane dedicated the novel to the Prince Regent, George IV, who admired her novels. Jane completed the first draft of Persuasion in July 1816. Jane was also able to repurchase her copyright to an earlier novel, Lady Susan, an epistolary novella that differs greatly from her other work, for publication.

In 1816, Jane’s health began deteriorating slowly and irregularly with which most scholars have determined to be Addison’s disease and Hodgkin’s lymphoma. She continued to write when she could through her decline, finishing the drafts of novels. Jane died on July 18, 1817 at the age of 41 and is buried at Winchester Cathedral.

After her death, Jane’s siblings and publisher arranged for the publication of Persuasion and Northanger Abbey, revealing that she was the author all along. She was known for her critique of novels from the Regency period, often parodying or mocking plots and characters. She is also known for her strong female characters in a time when girls were meant to be meek. It was not until after her death that her novels became popular and appreciated for how progressive they are.

Join the Aurora Public Library District during the week of July 18 as we celebrate Jane Austen and the great contribution she made to literature. Look for a display during the week of July 18! What is your favorite novel by Jane Austen? How has she impacted how you read or write?

Happy Reading!

Classic Literature Anniversaries: Jane Eyre

A heroine full of yearning, the dangerous secrets she encounters, and the choices she makes, Charlotte Bronte‘s innovative and enduring romantic novel: Jane Eyre turns 170 years old this year!

Jane is orphaned into the household of her Aunt Reed at Gateshead and is the subject to the cruel rule at Lowood charity school, she nonetheless emerges unbroken in spirit and honesty. She becomes a governess at Thornfield, falls in love with Mr. Rochester, and discovers the impediment to their lawful marriage.

Source: Goodreads

 

 

Time Capsule Books

Most people shy away from “classic” books, thinking them to be outdated or written in a way that’s hard to read. While this is true of many classic novels, there are plenty of classics that stand the test of time. I like to call them “Time Capsule Books,” because you could lock the book away and dig it up again a hundred years later and it would still be relevant. Here are some Time Capsule Books you might enjoy:

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Are you There, God? It’s me, Margaret by Judy Blume

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Lord of the Flies by William Golding

A Time to Kill by John Grisham

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

Number the Stars by Lewis Lowry

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell

Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

Animal Farm by George Orwell

The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

The Lord of the Rings trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien

Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf

What books would you add to this list? Would you take any of them away?