Another Hunger Games t-shirt!

I went to visit my husband in Terre Haute yesterday - he had a long day of drill (Marine Corps) and was staying in a hotel before flying out to Norway today for annual training. Well, his drill went a lot longer than expected, and I was going to just to wait at the hotel for him to arrive, BUT there was a Books a Million next door, so....of course I had to go in! 


I found this Hunger Games t-shirt and had to buy it. Don't you just love it?! 

So my husband was originally scheduled to get home from training on the 29th, but now they're saying it could be a week or so earlier. He told me not to cancel my Hunger Games movie plans because of him though. Aww. That's very sweet of him (usually he teases me relentlessly about my obsession with The Hunger Games! haha). He also confessed that went "hanklerfishing" in a store when he came across copies of The Fault In Our Stars. Be still my heart!  :) 

February 2012 Wrap-up / Blogging break

My new Nook cover. I love it!

Here's what I read in February: 


1. Room by Emma Donoghue
2. Fallout by Ellen Hopkins
3. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
4. Welcome Caller, This Is Chloe by Shelley Corriell
5. The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne   Valente
6. A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly
7. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
8. The Game of Triumphs by Laura Powell
9. The Master of Misrule by Laura Powell (ARC)


Formats: 5 audiobooks, 2 eBooks, and 2 print books


Sources: 5 library books, 2 owned books, and 2 review copies


Challenges: I know it's only the beginning of the year, but I think I'm going to drop out of most of the blog challenges I signed up for. I don't want to feel like I have to read something just because it fits into a particular category. I always get excited about challenges in January and then regret signing up for them later! haha. So for now I'm just going to work on my own personal challenge of reading the books already on my shelves (or on my Nook).


Book clubs: Our staff book club read Room by Emma Donoghue. I had to miss the book club meeting so I could celebrate belated Valentine's Day with my hubby (he had to work on V-day), but I was really intrigued by the audiobook and couldn't stop listening. The FYA Book Club met at Orange Leaf to eat delicious frozen yogurt and discuss The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater. We liked this book much better than last month's pick!


Favorite book of the month: The Hunger Games! I've read the series before, but I'm re-reading them (as audiobooks this time around). I'm enjoying it just as much as I did the first time. 


Currently reading: I'm listening to Mockingjay and am still working on finishing the Tatiana and Alexander eBook. I like it, but I just haven't made time to sit down and finish it. 


Work: Our big event of the month was our annual Anti-Valentine's Day party (a fun alternative to red hearts and roses). We had around 60 teens show up. We kept them busy with games, crafts, and snacks. 


Blogging break: 
I think it's time for another extended blogging break for me. Blogging has started to feel less fun and more like work, so it's time for me to step back from my personal blog for awhile. I maintain the blogs at the library and review books for a teen librarian magazine, and I don't want to burn myself out by trying to keep up my personal blog too. I need to have some time to just read for fun instead of for a challenge or to write a review. I'll probably pop in every once in a while with a blog post, but I won't be keeping up a regular schedule for the near future. Thanks for understanding! 

How was your February? 

Library Blackout Poetry

One of the teen activities we have planned for this spring is blackout poetry - this is a simple activity that doesn't require much material or preparation in advance. We're going to do this in April since it's National Poetry Month. I've seen several examples of blackout poetry online, and I decided to try it out myself and share my first attempt at it. 

You can use newspaper articles, book pages, or magazine/journal pages. Since February is Library Lovers Month, I decided I wanted to do a library themed blackout poem, so I picked up an old edition of College & Research Libraries News that I had in my office and opened it to a random page. 

Then I went through the page and underlined or circled words that I wanted to use to make a poem. 

Then I used a black marker to color in the rest of the page, leaving only the words in my poem visible. 

Since the words are difficult to read in the picture (I took it with my phone so the quality isn't great), I'll share my blackout poem here with a little added punctuation: 

Come to the library!

Our job - 

Value our patrons

Guide to resources, books

Promote content

Select

Ask questions

Provide information

Envision

Proceed

Explore

Think

Librarians: We're significant.

Ok, so it's a little cheesy, but I had fun doing it. A twist on the blackout poetry is to turn it into a work of art with color and designs. Here is one example that I found on Pinterest:

How cool is that? I would definitely frame this and hang it on my wall. 

Have you ever tried blackout poetry?