Food for Thought

Here are some things I've been thinking about:

-Anyone know of any good South Carolina authors out there writing for independent presses?

-What book have you acquired recently (either for yourself or for your public library) that has been truly outstanding?

-Anyone out there read Un Lun Dun? (I recommend it if you haven't). Our library has it classified as an adult book. I personally think it's more of a YA, but I know some libraries have it as juvenile. Where has your library put it, or where do you think it belongs?

-Anyone out there who works with YAs or is attuned to the YA readership- help! It's almost summer, and we want to get them in here for something besides MySpace! Suggestions?

-How can you do something special to promote adult reading during the summer without being completely cheesy? Right now all we have is a Kurt Vonnegut tribute display, and it seems a little morbid to wait for authors to die to create displays. What have you done in the past, or what would you like to see?

I was in contact with the South Carolina Writers Workshop recently and I know they have authors that are publishing in non-mainstream ways. Their website is here: http://www.myscww.org/.

My mother stole my copy of Un Lun Dun and read it first, but she said it was a little creepy, so YA sounds about right.

Kate Salley Palmer is a children's book author who lives in Clemson. She has her own publishing company called Warbranch Press.

As far as YAs go, have you thought about a Blog. What about a book club. My kids at school love to talk about books. You might read a book that has a movie made about it. I really liked the book Hoot by Carl Hiaasen, and it has a movie(I haven't seen it). Then, after you read the book you could have a movie night. You could even compare and contrast the book and the movie. I know you don't have much time before school is out, but you might work with the local media specialists to create a program or at least get the word out about visiting the public library during the summer. I tell students everyday to visit the public library to get books during the summer, especially those that they cannot wait to get their hands on. Also, what about some type of event to tie in with the release of the new Harry Potter book. I don't mean to throw a hundred ideas at you at once, but maybe one of these ideas will work for you!

Hope this helps a little.

Aah, thanks for the recommendation. I'll definitely check that out. I really wish we could get more authors in here to speak, but it's the big (and expensive) names that are the big draw.

Steal your copy of Un Lun Dun back and give it a read-- creepy or not, it's good.

I've thought about the blog, especially since it's easy to monitor and delete any inappropriate comments. Most kids here don't have their own computers, so cyber-activity is pretty much all in the library. I didn't know about the Hoot movie, but there's a possibility for summer. And the Harry Potter idea is good . . .

Thanks for the hundred ideas; we need them!

>4 cherokeelib: -- And isn't it a rule of thumb that the more expensive the author-speaker, the deeper the gratitude expressed for the influence of (penniless) libraries in their lives? If I've heard this once, I've heard it two dozen times at SCLA.

5. The last hot-shot, a very well-known romance author who shall remain nameless, we had here certainly didn't follow that rule- yech.

We used to have a really good, popular speaker in Nancy Roberts-- this has been years and years ago. Her local ghost stories were a huge hit.

Hi, I'm not a librarian, but my overdue fines doubtlessly will one day help construct a new addition, or add staff, to the fabulous Richland County Library!

I haven't read Un Lun Dun, but it sounds very similar to the Philip Pullman "His Dark Materials" trilogy, which I enjoyed very much. I usually encourage my now 16 year old to "vet" YA fiction for me before I'll read it, so thanks for the recommendation.

My teenager reads non-fiction, primarily. She loves memoirs, primarily, and is currently reading the new biography of Alice Waters. (Yes, she's already a "foodie" and an environmentalist.) She also seems to enjoy reading memoirs that are primarily accounts of growing up in foreign countries she'd like to visit one day.

As for local authors and independent presses, you may want to check with The History Press in Charleston. I know they've published several titles from S.C. authors, who are generally happy to come and do book signings and talks on the topics of their books.

Well, I'm not working in a library now (though I did all through school--middleschool-college), but I've been running a program around Clemson the last few years that could be the kind of thing you could do at the libraries. We call it Save the Poets (there's a series of the same in Augusta, GA. too) although we don't limit it to poetry, and we encourage people to bring in excerpts from their favorite writers to share--especially the ones they feel are mostly unknown or unappreciated. Sometimes we give it a theme (our last was political writings), but when I was in middle and high school, it would have been something that would interest me. You sign up to read, and it's all pretty casual, but it gives people an idea of what others are reading, whether they'd like it, or even someone else who might have the same book tastes. Some of us who organize and/or teach usually make up about half the readership, with walk-in volunteers making up the other half. You might think of it partly to gain an audience of adults too--I know that a lot of my YA reading came from my mom's recommendations, and it could be a way to get the older literature back out there, or at least to give parents an idea of what they might get to their kids who are less likely to actually show up. Anyhow, just an idea....