This week's STABcast

Our STABcast this week is Cry of the Icemark by Stuart Hill.

Problems, with the player? Try and listen to it from Twango.

Cry of the Icemark is available from KCLS in audio, large print, as a traditional book and also as an enhanced book (which includes a CD-ROM with maps, timelines and an author interview).

On a personal note, Cry of the Icemark was my favorite fantasy novel of 2005. Nonetheless, this review was not coerced from Jackie. (Though I probably would have paid her to give the book a favorable review.) In fact, this is all the payment Jackie will receive: Thanks for the review!

Our newest STABcast!

Our STABcast this week is a review of The Silver Donkey by Sonya Harnett .


Problems with the player? Try getting it directly from Twango.

Thanks, Chelsea, for providing the review.

Sorry, but I canceled the meeting for today, Tuesday, April 3rd. However, we will have 2 more meetings this month:

a STABBBYA Meeting on April 10th

and

a STAB meeting on April 17th

Both are from 4-6pm.

Hope to see you there!

How Brian Michael Bendis stole my baby. (Or what I learned at Emerald City Comiccon.)

To begin with, the title is completely inaccurate. I didn’t learn anything at the Emerald City Comic Con (ECCC). No, wait. That part is right. It was that Bendis didn’t technically “steal” my baby. It was more like I tried to trade her for a comic, but he didn’t wouldn’t take her. But more on that later . . .

So, back to what I learned:


1. Bring a baby stroller with you so you have a place to put all the stuff you buy.
I was fortunate to have Aidan with me so I didn’t have to just bring an empty baby stroller to throw stuff in. Cuz’ I’ve done that before and it looks creepy. You can also use the stroller as a battering ram to get to the good stuff.

2. Bounty Hunters take too many breaks.
We swung by the the 501st Legion’s booth to have my picture taken with characters from the Star Wars movies. However, the magic of the event was somewhat diminished when “Darth Vader” whipped off his helmet and talked about how he couldn’t breathe. (I thought he had some kind of mechanism for that kind of thing in that big old can on his head.) So, Aidan and I stood in line to have our picture taken and I was very pleased becausebo one of my favorite characters from the Star Wars films was there: Boba Fett. However, as they leant me a light saber (I left mine at home) and a Jedi robe I noticed that Mr. Fett had gone away and he was not to be found. I hated to be a pain, but I asked if it would be possible to find him or we could wait. They did a quick search, but couldn’t find him anywhere. But that was when Darth stepped up.

3. Darth Vader isn’t such a bad guy and Storm Troopers are pretty friendly too.
Darth asked if a Strom Trooper and a Darth Vader would work for the picture. “Sure,” I said. So off we went. I figured Darth was kind of mean based on the movies, but I guess that is just another liberal media ploy to vilify the Empire. The Storm Trooper chatted with me while we were waiting for Darth to put his helmet back on. I asked him why he was wearing desert gear in Seattle and he said that he wanted to be prepared. It makes me curious as to whether or not the Boy Scouts and the Storm Troopers share training techniques.

4. Comic book writers and artists don’t want to trade their wares for kids.
Usually I’m not a geek when it comes to meeting famous people. I give them their space and just admire their work. Plus, I never have anything interesting to say. But there is something about being at a comic convention where you just let your geek out. And so I stood in line to have some artists and writers I admire sign some books. One of the individuals signing was a guy named Brian Michael Bendis. He is currently working on a series at Marvel called Civil War. Anyways, I was grabbing one of his books to sign and I said something to the effect of “Do you mind . . . ?” while shifting Aidan on my hip. BMB jumped up and said “Sure” and gestured for Aidan. “Uh. OK” was my sterling response as I handed over my child. He then started to make googly eyes at her which was actually really cute. Aidan seemed to be pretty happy with the arrangement. I almost asked if he wanted to watch her while I wandered around a bit more, but he had a line. Maybe next time.

5. Bounty hunters like to shop for toys.
On my way out, I was wandering by a booth and found Boba Fett shopping for action figures. So I had to stop and ask if we could have a picture. I thought, “Hey, he isn’t pointy like the Tuscan Raider” (pictured above), “Why doesn’t he hold Aidan?" However, when I tried to hand Aidan over, she started crying. Apparently, Aidan must think she has a price on her head. (Which she doesn’t as far as I know.) Regardless, we got our picture with Boba Fett.
6. It is always more fun to hang out with someone else at a costume competition.
Aidan and I made one last stop at the costume competition on our way out. We were accompanied by one of my librarian co-workers, Dawn. More than two-dozen people showed off their creativity at the competition. However, as Dawn and I noted, some people were perhaps “too creative”. When designing a costume, one should refrain from highlighting parts of the body that cellulite can, uh, collect in unpleasant ways. Plus, thigh high boots and hot pants may look good in a comics, but may not look so good in real life. Also, in my opinion, flesh colored tights can cover a multitude of sins.

All in all, it was a good bonding experience between a father and daughter. Remember, it is never too early to introduce your younglings to nerd-dom.

The new Harry Potter cover is out. Looks a little too happy for a title like Deathly Hallows to me.

Our first STABcast!

Hopefully this will be our first of many STABcasts! What is a STABcast you ask? A STABcast is podcast book review preformed by members of the Shoreline Teen Advisory Board.

This week we are happy to have Leslie review The astonishing life of Octavian Nothing, traitor to the nation ; v. 1 The Pox party taken from accounts by his own hand and other sundry sources ; collected by M.T. Anderson of Boston by M.T. Anderson.



If the player above is not working trying going directly to the the Twango site.

This book is also available on audio.

Fun fact- Octavian Nothing won a Printz Honor this year.

Another fun fact-this is the longest title of any book. Ever. Probably.

If you missed the STAB meeting, or even if you went and want to relive it, here are some abbreviated notes:

First off we talked about the articles in the PI about STAB @ ALA . Max mentioned that he was quoted in later article dealing with Millennials and computer use. According to the article, Max never leaves his computer.

I also asked you to give me your thoughts on STAB on the blog I’ll leave it up until the end of the month. Hope you get a chance to make a few comments what you think.

I reminded everyone that STAB is on MySpace and I would like to be your “friend”—in a non-creepy way, of course.

We’re thinking of having a Harry Potter Party probably on July 21st. Stay tuned for details.

In regards to volunteering, I’ve got about as many volunteers as I can handle. A few things to remember:
Please come to meetings prepared.
If you have any questions, talk to me before the meeting. That means reviewing books for the “classic” STAB Meetings and reading and commenting on books for the STABBBYA meetings .
Also, we’ve had some issues with volunteers in the back room. Please only come into the staff area if I am there. Please go the Information Desk, and ask them to call me to come out if you don’t see me. Thanks!

Our next STABBBYA meeting is April 3rd, from 4-6pm.

Did I miss anything?

STAB Survey

In an effort to serve you better, I’d like you to post a few comments on the STABlog about your thoughts on our little group.

There is no form, so I’ll give you some suggested topics to discuss:

What do you like most about STAB?

What do you like least about STAB?

Has STAB helped you in your school/work/life?

Why did you join STAB? And why do you continue to attend?

What STAB services do you use? ie: STABlog, MySTAB; STABucket, etc.

Doe STAB encourage you to visit the library more/read more/make new friends?

Does STAB encourage you to use library services (checking out books, use databases, etc.) or come to events (like SAT prep program, Manga classes)?

You should be able to post to the STABlog anonymously, so I would appreciate any comments you have, both good and bad. When you post it, it will say something about seeking administrator approval, which just means that they send me an e-mail telling me that I have a comment.

I’d like to have them done by March 30th, so you have some time to think about what you want to say. Thanks!

The Seattle STAB Intellgencer!

STAB is front page news on the PI! And there was some other stuff in the article as well.

Here are a couple of my thoughts on the articles, though I’ll limit my comments to STAB related stuff.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/books/306531_teenlit08.html

First off—Leslie! What are you doing at LFP? Why are you going to another library? Seriously though, nice picture.

And Jennifer? You are going to something called the Shoreline Teen Advisory Group? Why are you people going to other library’s and library programs? You’re starting to hurt my feelings.

And I’m quoted! Don’t I sound knowledgeable and such! I can tell when my book shelves are empty. Stellar performance!

Also nice to see Holly quoted. Eloquent as always.

Glad to see that Zeno sharp fashion sense is just as keen as his taste in books,

Victor—Stop picking on Delta Force. You don’t want to make them angry.

Terry Pratchett is not a comic genius, Feather, he is a comic demigod!

And Angie! The gang is all here! And you were the guys talking about titles that were more than just the run of the mill popular stuff!

For the other article:
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/books/306478_teenlitsplit08.html

Interesting idea of separating the teen collection. I’ll have you guys start on that at the next STAB meeting. Of course, that would mean that we would have to have a STAB for each collection. So SYAAB, SMSAB, SCAAB? It could work . . . We’ll work on itl

What do you guys think?

When does the New Harry Potter come out? And the movie? Oh, here it is.

Instructions for our STAB Meetings!

Want to know what to expect at a STAB meeting. Here you go! (And don't worry, it is a lot more fun than it sounds.)

-Go to www.bwibooks.com and access our account the STAB account. If you don't remember the login, let me know and I'll e-mail it to you.
-Click on "Your lists" on the right side of the page. Find the list with your name and open it. If you don't see one with your name e-mail me and I can set you up with a list. If you can't get a hold of me, review the list "Extra1" or "Extra2".
-Once you open the list, you'll notice that many of the books have "Full Text Reviews" done by professional publications. You can access them by clicking either the big red "FTR" link or click on the "Details" link to access the cover art, the reviews and a summary of the book.
-Or, if you want, you can look them up in a place like Amazon.com. Remember to look more closely at the professional reviews than at the customer reviews.
-Based on the reviews, what you read in the summary, the cover art and anything else that strikes your fancy, give me a score for the book on a scale from 1-5. 1 is low (don't you dare buy this thing) and 5 being high (I just might go buy this book myself).
-Remember, I'm not expecting you to read the book before the meeting. For the STAB meetings I just need you to come to the meeting ready to give a very brief desription of what you think of the book. I'm looking for your opinions based on whatever information you can gather.

More STAB@ALA talk:

This appeared in the King County Library System weekly Memo on Febraury 13th, 2007:

The Shoreline Teen Advisory Board visits the American Library Association’s Midwinter Conference (or STAB@ALA)

On January 21^st, twenty-one teens from the Shoreline Teen Advisory Board (also known as STAB), descended on the American Library Association’s Midwinter conference in downtown Seattle. Clad in identical black t-shirts, the group’s mission (other than to gather as much free stuff at the exhibits as they could carry), was to discuss some of the 232 books nominated to the 2007 Best Books for Young Adults selection list before a standing room only crowd of 300 people. The crowd consisted of librarians, publishers, agents, editors and other adults curious to know what teens think about young adult literature today.

The STABies did extremely well. Audience members commented on the group’s thoughtfulness, insights and passion. One publisher was heard to remark that this was the best teen participation forum he had seen. Best Books for Young Adults committee members praised the teens for their critical reading and examinations of the books nominated.

The teens enjoyed themselves immensely. Apart from their erudite discussion of the books at the teen forum, each of them returned with bags full of books, pens, note pads, water bottles and other assorted convention giveaways. More importantly, the teens returned with a sense of a job well done, a greater understanding of libraries and an even deeper love of reading. They also had sore backs from carrying around all of their free stuff.
The trip was sponsored by the Friends of Shoreline Library. The STABies were chaperoned by Yoshiko and Jeanne of the Friends of Shoreline Library, Alene and Aarene of the Richmond Beach-Shoreline cluster and Gail, a volunteer from the community.

For a complete listing of the titles that made the Best Books for Young Adults list visit
http://www.ala.org/ala/yalsa/booklistsawards/bestbooksya/bestbooksyoung.htm

For some photos from the event, visit:
http://s153.photobucket.com/albums/s216/librarylad/

More thoughts on STAB @ ALA.

From Jennifer
My favorite part of STAB@ALA was having lunch with the publisher and then speaking to the committee. I hadn’t realized that books had to be repackaged to make them more appealing every five or ten years, but when they showed us old covers, it made sense. It made me realize how much people actually spend time thinking about how to make books more popular and how there’s lots of people whose jobs are all about books.
Even though speaking to the room full of people was probably the most intimidating part of the day, I liked it because I got to say what I really thought about the books and I knew people were taking me seriously. I felt like the librarians were interested in what I had to say, which was a pretty cool feeling. Until I found out that the Printz Award went to American-Born Chinese instead of The Book Thief.

Here is a post from Victor:

Being there at the convention was easily one of the most crazy moments EVER
in STAB history, probably the most significant thing we've done. From
roaming the show floor to get endless amounts of free books, t-shirts, hats,
and publisher comments to the actual speaking engagement, ALA 2007 was
totally insanity on so many good levels.

The endless flow of freebies weren't only the best thing on the show floor.
Our STAB shirts got us the best reactions from other show attendees as some
were actually appalled from it while others were just happy to see some
teens flock in. That along with the DDR station, creepy and insidious robot
version 1.0 (patent pending), and Baker and Taylor models made the whole
darn show floor very lively, since our 6+ bags of SWAG were the buzzkill to
our energy.

The speaking session was a lot of fun just either extolling a book to the
high heavens or ranting a book down to the ground. Props to Max and Zeno for
really making this portion really hilarious; their witty and clever humor
was totally awesome. Most surprising was the amount of people that bothered
to come in and listen to us. I was not expecting the high amount of people
that showed up.

Overall, this probably was the defining moment in STAB's illustrious history
and a lot of fun to be a part of. Now to continue reading my free books I
acquired...

Philadelphia in 2008, here we come?

Blogs from our trip to ALA.

Some of the STABies have written up blogs about the experiences with STAB @ ALA. Here is one from Jesse:

Anyways, cool stuffs. My sister and I went to the American Library Association Convention in Seattle today from eight in the morning to five o'clock at night. Yes, we skipped church. It just so happens that God wrote the best book in history, so we figured that he's okay with reading. We wandered around for about three hours and got swag (a.k.a. cool stuff like unreleased books) while wearing our awesome shirts that say STAB in big messy red letters. That stands for Shoreline Teen Advisory Board, not Socialist Terrorism And Blackmail, just to let you know. I will be wearing my shirt tomorrow. After lugging about 40 pounds of swag around, we finally went up to the conference room, where we ate lunch, expounded upon the joys of reading, and disagreed with a nervous boy named Quentin. Sorry, Quenty old boy, that's just the way the nation crumbles. Or cookie. Or book's reputation. After this, we swaggered out and went swagging some more, then retired to the van for some de-swagging, feeling 50 pounds and 15 pens lighter. I shall endeavor to obtain some photographic memorabilia to enpost upon my blog, so you can all see our glorious swagdom. Until then, you'll have to be content with my disjointed narrative.
One last note: If any of the HaLo executives are reading this, it's somewhat difficult to swing dance to Justin Timberlake. And swing tag is fun. And my leg hurts.