Now These Are Some Sweet Books!

That cake looks almost too good to eat! (I said almost folks, I'm not crazy)

Awesome books and cake are quite possibly two of my favorite things ever! Usually the website Cake Wrecks showcases all of the things that can go wrong (horribly wrong) with cake decorations, but on Sundays they devote their posts to cakes that should be considered works of art. A few days ago in honor of National Library week, the website Cake Wrecks dedicated a post to all things literary!

You can check it out here, and man! You would not believe what some people can do with cake!

Sci Fi Comic Free for Reading and Recreating

http://www.visionmachine.net/

This is very cool. Greg Pak and R.B. Silva have published a new free comic under a creative commons license. That means that anybody is free to read and recreate the book as they see fit, as long as the result is noncommercial (you can't sell it!). Characters, storyline, and even images are up for grabs. The creators actually want people to create new works based on their book.

The plot sounds pretty awesome, too:

"In the year 2061, three friends grapple with revolutionary change when Sprout Computers releases the most visionary piece of personal technology ever created. The latest sci-fi mindbender from writer Greg Pak ("Planet Hulk") and penciller R.B. Silva ("Jimmy Olsen")."

The product is called iEye, and it's a recording device people can use anytime, anywhere, to record anything. The catch is that all of these recordings are monitored, and content is policed for copyright infringement-- meaning that simply singing your favorite song as you walk down the street could get you a cease and desist order for breaking the law.

Take a look and see what you think! I'd love to see some local teen creations based on this comic!

Free Music? Sounds Good to Me!

If you have a Henderson Library Card you can download up to 3 songs each week. And the best part? Once they're downloaded you can KEEP them! You can access freegal and other awesome downloadable content from the library webpage here.

Here are the Top 10 Freegal Downloads for Henderson Libraries:

1. Someone Like You - Adele


2. Sing (Glee Cast Version) - Glee Cast


3. Firework (Glee Cast Version) - Glee Cast


4. Thriller/Heads Will Roll (Glee Cast Version) - Glee Cast


5. Hold It Against Me - Britney Spears


6. What the Hell - Avril Lavigne


7. We R Who We R - Ke$ha


8. Hey Soul Sister - Train


9. For the First Time - The Script


10. Strip Me - Natasha Bedingfield
    

Coming to a Theater Near You!

Some pretty awesome YA novels are being made into movies! There's some BIG names attached to the cast so you might want to take a peek below.

You can check out any othese novels at a library branch near you!

I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore

You've probably already seen the trailer for this one; it's due out in theaters February 2011. This action packed flick also has an awesome cast - including Alex Pettyfer as Number Four/John Smith, "Glee" star Dianna Agron as Sarah, and Callan McAuliffe as Sam.

Beastly by Alex Flinn

Vanessa Hudgens and Alex Pettyfer (Yep, he's in "I am Number Fours AND "Beastly!" This guy is busy!) star in this modern, urban retelling of "Beauty in the Beast." Neil Patrick Harris of "How I Met Your Mother" and Mary Kate Olsen also make appearances in the movie. It comes out March 4th.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Lionsgate has a release date set for "The Hunger Games!"The movie will hit theaters March 23, 2012. Now we just have to wait for news about the cast! Check out this article from Entertainment Weekly here where Suzanne Collins talks about writing the screen adaptation! According the magazine, the movie's budget is reported to be $60 million!!! Do you think that's enough?

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

Lily Collins as Clary Fray in the movie version of Cassandra Clare's novel. What do you think about the casting choice?

Wake by Lisa McMann

Miley Cyrus is attached to star in the movie version of "Wake" by Lisa McMann. The movie is being developed by MTV Films. Be sure to check out the sequels "Fade" and "Gone," available through the library. McMann also has a new novel coming out in February called "Cryer's Cross."

Incarceron by Catherine Fisher

Calling all Taylor Lautner fans! He's reported to star in the movie adaptation of "Incarceron." The movie is due to come out sometime in 2013. You'll also want to check out the sequel "Sapphique" at the library!

The Maze Runner by James Dashner
Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke is set to take Dashner's first novel of the sci-fi trilogy to the big screen. Be sure to check out the sequel "The Torch Trials" at the library!

Favorite Blogs and Websites

So, inquiring minds want to know: what's your online routine? Every time I sit down in front of my computer, I wind up staring at Facebook. It's less than amusing most of the time, but the addiction is solidly in place. Leave me a comment and tell me which URLs your fingers automatically type when you sit at your desk! Teach some librarians how to stay in touch with you whipper snappers.

In the mean time, here are a few links to other places that I think you might enjoy visiting.

http://www.xkcd.com/
XKCD is a webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language, according to the website. Hilarious stick figures are what draw me in.

http://www.hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/
Hyperbole and a Half is a blog full of the musings of a really funny chick who creates crazy drawings in Paint. At least, I think it's Paint. Almost a webcomic, but not quite.

http://www.teenreads.com/
I'm a librarian, so of course I had to throw some books at you. Really, though, this website does a swell job of informing readers about the best upcoming YA books. Even if you think you're too mature for YA books, you'll probably be reading them when you're thirty and longing for your younger days, so why not get a head start?

http://figment.com/
Figment is a social neworking community for writers. Post your stuff and get feedback! Also, it's really pretty.

http://pixelgirlpresents.com/
Pixel Girl Presents is my favorite source for awesome desktop backgrounds. They also offer stuff for your phone, iPad, etc. The art is really snazzy.

http://weheartit.com/
This is a visual bookmarking site. Keep track of photos and videos you love, and you'll never find yourself searching Google endlessly for that hilarious picture you KNOW you saw somewhere. Believe me. I've done it.

http://www.delicious.com/
This is just a bookmarking site in general. Save links to websites you want to visit again and tag them for easy retrieval. Also, browse other people's public tags to discover new sites you'll love. Just be careful when you create your tags. I have tags for things like "pop_up_shark," which I can assure you I will never use twice.

http://mashable.com/
Get news updates from all over the web. Being informed is good.

I'm sure there are thousands that I missed, so fill me in!!