We are happy to report that Josef Mixon is one of four winners of the 2012 DCPL Teen Summer Reading essay contest. Josef is a regular at the Takoma Park DC Library, and he is an extremely talented writer and artist. He was very excited to learn he had won a Dell laptop for his book review of Sons and Lovers by D. H. Lawrence. He plans to use the laptop for schoolwork and creative writing. Below is a copy of his winning book review. Congratulations, Josef!
When I saw this book title, I just had to check it out. I’m from Iowa. I’m not a princess, per se, but I wondered if this book’s setting would be reminiscent of my youth. Like most readers, I enjoy reading about characters that seem similar to me or to someone I know.
Takoma Park Branch Library will be hosting two story times in support of the Cesar Millan and Scooby-Doo 2nd Annual Pack Walk.
The first will be Wednesday, Sept. 19 at 10:45 a.m. We will celebrate our canine friends with rhymes, songs and stories.
We will repeat the program at our PJ and Stuffed Animal Story Time on Tuesday, Sept. 25 at 7 p.m. We hope that all our dog-loving friends will join us!
Just in case you can’t get enough Olympic coverage, I’ve decided to award medals to the fiction books I’ve read over the past month.
Coming in with the Bronze is Swamplandia! By Karen Russell. I really want to like this book—and I must tell you that I haven’t quite finished it yet—but I’m still finding it slow going. This was one of three books nominated this year for the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction (no award was given.)
Work on your novel or other writing project, meet other local writers, and enjoy free coffee at the Takoma Park Library! We will be holding write-ins every Thursday in August from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the downstairs meeting room.
These write-ins are held as part of Camp Nanowrimo, but you don't need to be committed to writing an entire novel in a month to join us. All current and aspiring writers of any genre or form are welcome to join our write-ins, which will provide a quiet, productive and encouraging atmosphere in which to write, edit or brainstorm.
Looking for a well-written page turner? Try Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater. There's never a boring moment in this book, which has werewolves and was extremely interesting. 
I’ve just read a strange and delightful book by British novelist Sadie Jones. It’s called The Uninvited Guests, and it would make a wonderful stage play. The plot unfolds over the course of a single day and night at a great house in the English countryside, circa 1912. The eldest daughter of the house, Emerald, is having a birthday, and her childhood friends are coming to celebrate.
I liked it! I really, really liked it! (And I didn’t expect to.)
With our summer themes for children (Dream Big) and teens (Own the Night) as our guide, we couldn't resist planning an evening program to kick off summer reading this year. Come by the library Tuesday, June 5 between 6:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. to participate in various themed activities.
Children and teens can make dream catchers and get instructions on keeping and decorating their dream journals. We will also have a dream jar where everyone can put in their reading goals -- or any dreams they hope to accomplish!
It’s no secret around these parts that I’ve been studying hard over the past couple of years for my library school degree. What may not be so well known, however, is that although I spend much of my day suggesting reads for others (readers’ advisory is a large part of what I do), I don’t get to read much for leisure. Sure, I inhale the random Toni Morrison novel every now and again (Turning thirty has suddenly endowed me with the ability to understand them…I couldn’t explain it if I tried!), and I often glance at blurbs about bestsellers in The Wash
