You may have heard that we have started a Youth Advisory Council. Yay!

Last April we ran a YAC (great acronym, eh?) for three weeks and we loved all the feedback we got from our youth volunteers. In fact, it went so well that we decided to establish a permanent one.

We started YAC because we realize that the best way to make our teen services and spaces better is to ask teens for their opinions and input. So--YAC will officially start in October.

The thing is, in order for YAC to run we need volunteers! We're looking for youth between the ages of 14-17 to volunteer for approximately 2 hours per week from October – June. If you are interested in this opportunity or have any questions about it please email TeenServices@calgarypubliclibrary.com and tell us why you would like to volunteer.

Now, let me tell you why this is an awesome opportunity. YAC will give you a chance to build leadership skills and to share your ideas. You will be able to help shape library programs and services so that we can make them better for youth throughout Calgary. It'll be great...for so many reasons. A good way to meet people, to have a say, to build your resume and to help make Calgary better.

Going on a school trip? Bored? Get sick reading on the bus? Many of your favourite books are now being produced as Audio Books & Book CD's. Play them in the car while going to Vegas with friends or family. Down load one of our E-Books sound recordings from Overdrive on our e-library and listen on your i-pod while biking around the river or play a book cd on a cd-walkman while on the bus to school. In fact sitting outside sun-tanning while sipping virgin margaritas listening to an Audio Book might just have become one of my favourite weekend pastimes. Especially if they could get Leonard Cohen to do the voice... One of my favourites recently has been Wildwood Dancing by Juliette Marillier narrated by Kim Mai Guest. Kim's soft voice is intruiguing and one of the great things about listening to her describe all the beautiful Romanian worlds like "Piscu Dracuili", from Transalvania, is that I didn't have to guess at the correct pronounciation everytime. On CPL's Overdrive you can listen to an audio sample - giving you a chance to decide whether not the book interests you. You can also search for other audio books narrated by the same narrator (from other authors). Sometimes the author narrates their own book - most times not. Cybele's Secret - a companion novel to Wildwood Dancing is also available on Audio Book - I read this one just to compare - and I admit you can probably read faster than most people can speak... however can you read while baking, knitting, cycling, driving or drawing?

And there's some of your favourite titles! Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld won an award (Read by Alan Cumming). As did Will Grayson, Will Grayson which you'll like if you like Glee! (by John Green and David Leviathan) narrated by Macleod Andrews and Nick Podehl (both Odyssey Honor Audiobooks Award).

And of course there's the Hunger Games Series by Suzanne Colins- all three books are available on Audio and Book CD.

Others that have won awards include Alchmey and Meggy Swan (Karen Cushman, narrated by Katherine Kellgren), The Knife of Never Letting Go (Patrick Ness, Mp3 narrated by Nick Podehl), and Revolution (Jennifer Donnelly, narrated by Emily Janice Card and Emma Bering). (Also Odyssey Honor Audies)

Mirror Mask - by Neil Gaiman Narrated by Stephanie Leonidas was quite enchanting and highlights the complexities of fighting with your mom...

I asked Alex what her Audiobook picks would be. She said, "If you'd rather listen to a book than read one, I highly recommend the mp3 copy of "An Abundance of Katherines" -- John Green's words hardly need someone to read them since they leap right off the page, but the narrator of this one does a great job anyways!

If you've never treated your ear canals to the audioCD of HARRY POTTER, you're in for a real surprise! Jim Dale has won TWO grammies and TEN Audies (Audio Awards) for his readings -- he has a different voice for every character and they're all phenomenal. I fall asleep to one of these books almost every night. I bet I could recite Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Princeby heart!!! There are also loads of audio books that are read by celebrities! Check out titles like "InkHeart", performed by Brendan Fraser and "Series of Unfortunate Events" read by the amazing Tim Curry!"

Personally though I think listening to Harry Potter before bed might explain some of the horrifically fantastic dreams Alex has reported having! Just saying... Those ones might be better for those long rides on the bus ;0)

Here in Calgary summertime is precious -- but without school to go to every day, and if you don't have a job, there aren't always opportunites to socialize so come on down to the Central Library and be part of our ESL Teen Talk program. The cool thing is, this program is especially for newcomer youth who need practice using English. It's super a relaxed event--nothing like school. Basically, we play games, talk about slang and other stuff meant to demystify the English language -- all while hanging out and having fun. Here's what you need to know:

When: Monday August 22 -Friday August 26 from 2-3:30pm daily

Where: 2nd floor Central Library (616 Macleod Trail SE)

Register: by calling 260-2600 OR online

So you've read and own the entire Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins? The Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld? And you're hungry for more? (Pardon my pun).

I am really excited by the buzz around a new series called Divergent by Veronica Roth - apparently worked on during college when she should have been doing her creative writing homework at Northwestern University, a choice, which has transformed her into a graduate and full time writer. I, for one, am really excited because everyone is abuzz about a new series called Divergent by Veronica Roth - apparently worked on during college when she should have been doing her creative writing homework @ Northwestern University - a choice - which has now transformed Veronica into a graduate and full time writer.

A Dystopian novel at it's best, the heroine Beatrice, lives in a society where ONE choice made at the age of 16 determines - your friends - your beliefs - and your loyalties FOREVER. The choice - which of the 5 factions: Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful) and Erudite (the intelligent)- to belong to, can seperate or unite you with you family, previous friends, schoolmates and former interests. One is not supposed to be "Divergent" (gifted in more than one faction). If one is - as Beatirce discovers, it can mean death. She makes a choice and renames herself Tris, joining her faction hiding a pretty big secret. Tris then discovers a growing conflict threatening to unravel her seemingly perfect society. Her secret may destroy her or help her save those she loves most...

The first book has just come out and hit CPL's library stacks. There will be two sequels books to follow.

I'm all in!

If you liked the Hunger games you might also check out Graceling by Kirstin Cashore and the companion novel Fire - both gripping all night reads. In Graceling if a person is born with 2 different coloured eyes they are "graced" with a special gift or ability that becomes aparrent as they mature. When Katsa discovers that she is graced with killing she becomes a pawn used by her uncle, the king. Katsa, however, has other ideas about how she wants to live her life and a gripping suspense/romance novel ensues.

And if you like Graceling you will also enjoy The Healer's Keep a companion novel to Vicoria Hanley's The Seer and the Sword

"The Giver" by Lois Lowry will also interest those who like Divergent as well as 1984 (George Orwell) and Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)(both found in our adult fiction collection)

NOT interested in dating? Ever wonder how to be alone? Into Spoken Word? Poetry Slammin? The Jams going on @ CPL every 2nd Saturday of the month. The next one is Saturday May 14th 2011. Wonder how all this could be related?

Tanya Davis' video "How to be Alone" went viral on the internet in 2010 watch it here check out her website here. She did an outstanding performance at Extra-Sensory In-vox-ication- Poetry and Music Event #3 on Wednesday March 30th at the Calgary Spoken Word Festival.

Also performing that night were Ian Ferrier, Louise Bernice Halfe - Sky Dancer, Tyler Perry and Robert Priest.

Robert Priest performed a VERY uh - short- poem - uh hum which surmised all of the word - "Brevity". Start. Finish. That's all folks. He is one on the writers in the FREE Online Words Aloud Study Guide for High School Drama, LA and Media Arts. Check it out and brush up on your slamin' skills!

The Golden Beret Award was given to Ian Ferrier from Montreal by last year's winner, Calgary's own Sarah Murphy.

The Spoken Word Festival continues in Banff this week if you want to go to the mountains and check out some rockin' poetry! - April 15th Student Speak check it out here.

April is National Poetry Month in Canada! Upcoming Poetry events in Calgary include:

April 11th 8pm - Salon: A Gathering of Word Artists - Cafe Koi 1011 1st SW - Come perform on the open mic!

It’s also time for Flywheel!

April 14th 7:30pm Pages Books on Kensington - 1135 Kensington Road NW

Join host Meghan Doraty for the April Flywheel Reading Series with readings from local poets Beth Langford, Stuart McKay and Juliet Burgess. Gayleen Froese will be launching her new book, Grayling Cross (NeWestPress).

April 20th 7-9pm - City of Poets: New Poetry Celebration in the John Dutton Theatre @ Central - Celebrate the launch of new books by Calgary poets Rosemary Griebel and Kirk Ramdath. Listen to readings from Calgary favourites Weyman Chan, Richard Harrison, Jen Kunlire, and Bob Stallworthy. Kirk Ramdath has been doing a lot to promote the spoken word scene in Calgary with his blog Passion Pitch and the FREE magazine WAX check it out here.

Last Saturday, April 9th, The Calgary Public Library held it's first Youth Advisory Council! We're pretty stoked.

We've established the Youth Advisory Council (YAC) because we want to hear what you want from us. YAC provides a way for you to express your ideas and to help us shape your library service into something that works for you.

So far we've only had one meeting. We will have two more and then break for the summer. However, starting in September 2011 we will establish a permanent YAC that will meet monthly. We are looking for youth volunteers who are interested in expressing their ideas. If you are keen to volunteer and are between 13-18 years old, please email Jilliane at jilliane.yawney@calgarypubliclibrary.com and explain why you'd like to be involved. We look forward to hearing from you!

Looking for something to do over Spring Break?

Come to Nose Hill library.

Drop-in gaming from 2 – 4 pm every day Mon – Fri (Mar 28 – Apr 1)

The Wii will be out as well as board games, card games, and life sized checkers.

Oh, and we’ll have some books too.

There once was a woman in Calgary,

She was OUTRAGEOUS, her name was Sheri-D

She made jokes 'bout her age,

brought her dog on the stage,

and now we all love Slam Poetry.

(Sheri-D Wilson @ The Calgary Spoken Word Fesitival. Photo by James Tworow)

Sheri-D would hate that. She would absolutely loathe it. It's too "lalalalalalalalala" and not enough "ZWEEEEEEEP deepee DA de zoop DWA da". Sheri-D Wilson, called "The Mama of Dada" (well, she certainly is surreal...) is one of Calgary's most successful spoken word poets. AND NOW (imagine this next part as if I were a radio-announcer) FOR A LIMITED TIME ONLY (okay, back to normal), she is appearing at CPL's "2nd Saturday Slam" -- a series of workshops and competitions taking place on the second Saturday of every month.

Last week, youth from around the city came to the Central Library for a two-hour long workshop with Sheri-D and Tyler Perry, teammates from the Calgary Spoken Word Society. Participants received constructive (if slightly psychotic) criticism about their poetry and lyrical stylings that was well-worth the trip downtown: One guy had to translate, ON THE SPOT, every other line of his poem into his native Creole and then SING IT to a room full of people. It was suggested to another girl that she re-write her intensely emotional and angry poem as if it were a love letter. Yet another poet had to read her work as if it were a children's storybook -- Sheri-D sat on the side acting like a three-year-old to help the artist visualize the scenario better. Feedback was as entertaining for the audience as I'm sure it was enlightening and frustrating for the performers.

The day was a complete blast, with advice that ranged from language lessons ("Observe the slight cliches..." Sheri-D says, "Poetry is Manipulation") to life lessons ("Empower yourself! Get mad! Take 'em down!"), and even included some words for your L.A. and English Teachers:

"If your teacher asks you 'What does this Poem mean?', you just give them my number and I'll teach them a thing or two about poetry. POEMS HAVE NO MEANINGS".

The next Saturday Slam will take place on March 12th from 1:00-2:30 in the John Dutton Theatre at the Central Library. This event will be an actual slam competition, and some exciting news was given to prepare us for it: The ultimate winner of the Second Saturday Slam series will be given a spot on the Calgary Slam Youth team, and a chance to go to finals in 2012 as an adult performer!

If you have any questions about Slam Poetry and Sheri-D's work in particular, you can check out her homepage. The links for the Calgary Spoken Word Society and Youth Slam can be found here or here. Any questions regarding the Second Saturday Slam series at the Library can be phoned in to (403) 260-2657 (Services for Children, Teens and Families). And if you want to get a jumpstart on your entry for the competition, check out resources like this one, this one and this one.

See you on the 12th!

If you're 15 or younger, you can enter the Children's Fiction Writing Awards - and get published!

Winning stories will be published in an anthology. Your biography and photo will be in there too, so start practicing your Top Model smile. But hurry - the deadline is October 10th.

In the 12-15 year old category, stories need to be at least 3000 words (about 6 pages).

The stories must fall within one of the following genres: Science Fiction, Fantasy, or Mystery. So if your story has vampires, spaceships, or secrets, you're good.

Check out the Calgary Book Fair site for details.

Writer's block? Check out these collections to get some ideas:

Lay-Ups and Long Shots: an Anthology of Short Stories

Angry Management by Chris Crutcher

The Starry Rift: Tales of New Tomorrows (includes stories by Scott Westerfeld and Neil Gaiman)

Firebirds Rising (includes stories from Tamora Pierce and Diana Wyne Jones)

Prom Nights from Hell (includes stories by Stephenie Meyer and Meg Cabot)

It’s summer!