I (Heart) Harry Potter

Like millions of adoring HP fans, I anxiously awaited the Half Blood Prince and had movie tickets in advance to view on opening day. The theater was packed with young and young-at-heart alike. I have seen midnight showings, stood in line at midnight for books, and even once had a Canadian concierge deliver a book because we accidentally scheduled a weekend trip on a book release day. (She was also getting one for her daughter at midnight, so it wasn't too terribly inconvenient!) JK Rowling creates a world that mirrors our own in many ways, but has just enough of the fantastic to create an unforgettable coming-of-age epic.

At its most basic, it's a good v. evil costume drama saga (my favorite kind of book and/or movie!), where nearly everything imaginable is possible through wizardry. Plus, the Quidditch effects improve with each film! I am unconcerned with deletions or additions in the translation from book to film - it's a completely different medium for artistic expression so I let a little interpretation here and there slide by. The last books are very dark at times and I was glad to see that the movie doesn't sugar coat the events. (Two of my favorite "evil" characters below.)

Besides the books and movies, one of my favorite elements of the franchise is the variety of industries that also create tie-ins:

• Want to view the first 5 movies? Redmond Library showcased the preceding films in the run up to opening week.
• Want to read about special effects? View this article from Popular Mechanics.
• Want to try a few inspired recipes? Palate Sensations (in Singapore) offered a Harry Potter cooking class.
• Want to see props and learn more about Potter science and technology? Visit Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry exhibit.
• Want to take a vacation? In the next few summers visit Florida's Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

With the Deathly Hallows split into 2 movies, there will be a couple more years of anxious anticipation before I have to say goodbye (again) to "new" Harry Potter adventures.

Read. Flip. Win.

More proof that good books make good "TV". . .the King County Library System is again hosting its summer contest for teens - Video Book Reviews. The King County Library System Foundation sponsors this event. Middle/junior high to high school students are invited to read a great book and then create and post a short (up to 3 minutes) review or trailer to the book. Grand prize winning teens will take home Flip Video Cameras!

A selection of recent entries are posted as they are submitted in June and July - check out the 2008 winners! KCLS embraces Web 2.0 technologies like Facebook and YouTube to host this event - a great way to "partner" with other free services to make participation in this event as easy as possible.

Complete rules for entry are on the KCLS website.

My First Netbook: Inspired by the Acer Aspire

The Acer Aspire One is an amazingly powerful 2.2 lb. netbook computer that's absolutely great for traveling. With a 160GB hard drive and an SD format card reader, it's a great machine for transferring, editing, and posting photos to the Web when you’re on the road. The 1024 x 600 display resolution of the 8.9” LCD screen is easy to read at all levels of lighting.

If you’re looking to get a netbook computer, you should make sure you try out the keyboard first. While my hands aren’t large, the reduced-size keyboard on the Acer Aspire One takes a little getting used to. However, after a while I adapted to the smaller form factor, and found I could type fairly quickly.

The biggest drawback so far is the touchpad with flanking left and right click buttons. The buttons take more effort to press than they really should. Fortunately, the bundled USB mouse comes in handy as a replacement for the touchpad.

The Acer Aspire One comes with Windows XP Home Edition installed. Other hardware feature include a 1.60GHz Intel Atom processer, built-in Web cam, and microphone.

More Information
You can find more info at Acer Aspire One. Staples, in downtown Redmond, has this model on display.

KCLS Featured Book: Race to the Polar Sea

Elisha Kent Kane, scion of a wealthy and influential Philadelphia family, became a legend of 19th-century America. Before he was 30, he had descended into a volcano in the Philippines, infiltrated a company of slave traders in West Africa, and narrowly survived hand-to-hand combat in the Sierra Madre while carrying a secret message from the president of the United States.

Yet Kane would achieve his greatest fame by exploring the High Arctic, an adventure that began when he sailed in search of the lost expedition of Sir John Franklin and the open water of an alleged “polar sea” around the North Pole. In the mid-1850s, Kane pushed farther north than any other voyager, then spent two years trapped in the ice before leading a desperate but heroic retreat that only added to his legend.

Race to the Polar Sea by Ken McGoogan tells the story of a romantic adventurer driven by dreams of glory. It is a tale of heroism, courage and conspiracy that evokes an age when the Arctic seemed a white, booming emptiness, beautiful and unknowable.

The Polar Sea
In 1853, Kane wintered over in Rensselaer Bay, Greenland, which is east of Nunavut, Canada, and north of Baffin Bay.

Baffin Bay (French: Baie de Baffin) is a sea between the Atlantic and Arctic oceans. It is 1130 km (700 mi) across from north to south. It is not navigable most of the year because of the presence of large numbers of icebergs.

About the Author Ken McGoogan
Born in Montreal and raised in a small French-speaking town, Ken has lived all over Canada — Quebec, Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, New Brunswick, and the Yukon — as well as in California, Greece, and Tanzania. In his twenties, Ken worked as a bicycle messenger in San Francisco, a forest fire lookout in the Canadian Rockies, and a French teacher in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Later, he visited the High Arctic, explored Europe and the United States, and rambled around Kenya, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, India and Sri Lanka.

Along the way, Ken attended universities in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver, earning a bachelor’s degree in journalism (Ryerson) and a master’s degree in creative writing (University of British Columbia). He worked as a journalist at The Toronto Star and The Montreal Star, and spent more than a decade as books editor and columnist at The Calgary Herald.

For more info on the author visit his Web site at Ken McGoogan surfaces at your invitation…

Book Review Podcasts from the New York Times

Each week, Sam Tanenhaus, the editor of the New York Times Book Review, talks to authors, editors, and critics about new books. He also talks with Times colleagues about the literary scene, and checks in with Dwight Garner for best-seller news. The program is available as a podcast on NYTimes.com and iTunes. The downloadable audio files are in mp3 format.

This week
Alex Kuczynski on Alec Baldwin’s memoir of divorce; Charles McGrath on a Nobel Prize controversy; James Traub on Gen. David Petraeus; and Dwight Garner with best-seller news. Sam Tanenhaus is the host.

Book Review Podcast for October 3rd  (mp3)

KCLS Top 5 Children’s Books: Week of August 25th

Here are the top 5 most requested children's titles by KCLS patrons for the week of August 25th:

by Eoin Colfer		Artemis Fowl: The Time Paradox Artemis's mother has contracted a deadly disease—and the only cure lies in the brain fluid of African lemurs. Unfortunately, Artemis himself was responsible for making the lemurs extinct five years ago. Now he must enlist the aid of his fairy friends to travel back in time and save them. Not only that, but he must face his deadliest foe yet...his younger self. check availability
by Erin Hunter		Warriors: Cats of the Clans Hear the stories of the great warriors as they've never been told before! Cats of the Clans is chock-full of visual treats and captivating details, including full-color illustrations and in-depth biographies of important cats—from fierce Clan leaders to wise medicine cats to the most mischievous kits, as well as loners, rogues, and kittypets. check availability
by Erin Hunter		Warriors: Outcast A secret prophecy shapes the lives of Firestar's grandchildren, but only one of the three knows about it. Jaypaw is captivated by the power it promises, and he believes the key to that power may lie buried in the distant past—with the ancient cats who once walked these woods and now prowl through his dreams. His search for answers leads him toward the mountains—the home of the Tribe of Rushing Water. check availability
by Jeff Kinney		Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules Kinney's popular Web comic, which began in 2004, makes its way to print as a laugh-out-loud "novel in cartoons," adapted from the series. Middle school student Greg Heffley takes readers through an academic year's worth of drama. check availability
by Stephenie Meyer		Eclipse High school graduation looms for Bella, and conventional worries over college applications vie with her plans for immortality and marriage to a vampire classmate, Edward Cullen. In this sequel to Meyers TWILIGHT and NEW MOON, Ilyana Kadushins elegant voice again moves from scenes of typical teen angst to moments of horror, including an attack by newborn vampires on the Cullen family. check availability

KCLS Video Book Review Contest: Great Animated Entry!

Read.Flip.Win
The July 31st deadline for submitting entries to the Read.Flip.Win video book review contest has passed. This contest, which was open to teens 13 to 18 years old, required contestants to shoot a short video (up to 3 minutes long) and post it to their YouTube account. Click here to see all the submitted entries on YouTube. The grand prize winner of the contest will win a Flip Ultra Video Camera! Runner-up prizes are Creative MP3 Players. Winners will be announced later in August.

Wendelin’s Animated Entry
Here’s a video contest entry that features a great animated book review by Wendelin:

BookPage: a review of the best in new books

You can pick up a complimentary copy of the BookPage review guide in the hallway of the Redmond Library. This monthly newspaper provides dozens of reviews on the latest fiction, non-fiction, and audiobooks just published. You can also view the online version of this review guide at BookPage.com.

Here are a few books currently featured in BookPage:

Butterfly Swiss author and photographer Thomas Marent is obsessed - in a good way. And his gloriously gigantic new book, simply titled Butterfly, offers a larger than life size look at these 'flying flowers'. The more than 500 stunning photographs in Butterfly - all shot on location in natural habitats - offer an extraordinary portrait of some of the 165,000 species found in almost every region of the world.
The Golf Book This visually stunning coffee table book covers everything from golf history to golf clubs, including an easy-to-understand section with techniques for proper driving, chipping and more, suitable for both the novice and the experienced player. The remainder of the book highlights golf's favorite champions and rounds things out with a beautiful overview of the world's greatest courses.
Buster Goes to Cowboy Camp Brown Shoes is going on vacation. Betty is staying with Mrs. Pink Slippers, but Mrs. Pink Slippers does not like dogs. So Buster will be going to . . . Cowboy Camp! Denise Fleming’s signature style of painting brings her characters to life with vibrant colors and creative compositions, including a fun map of Cowboy Camp.

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