Some of the high school library aides heard about the blogging and were asked for some blogging suggestions. Aimee said that a good topic for a blog would be books that had literary value, but were still cool. The examples given were Pride and Prejudice, The Three Musketeers, and The Poisonwood Bible.
Matt M. offered the idea of featuring an author. This idea resonated with me because Tuesday night my husband and I were digging up information about Clive Cussler. We really like the movie Sahara and wanted to know more about the author who inspired the movie and why there had not been more Cussler movies made. What we uncovered was very interesting!
In real life Clive Cussler is an American adventure writer and a marine archaeologist. Cussler has been on The New York Times best-seller list at least seventeen times. Cussler has also discovered more than sixty shipwreck sites.
In 1965 Cussler began writing when his wife took a night job. He was bored by himself and started writing adventure novels about Dirk Pitt.
In 2005 the movie Sahara was released. Even before the picture was finished Cussler had filed a lawsuit against the film company because the film company deviated too much from the novel. In the end Cussler lost the law suit and had to pay a total settlement amount of $20 million to the production company. That means selling a lot of books! It is easy to understand why there have not been more Cussler movies like Sahara.
In the Piedmont High School Library there are several books that have been written by Clive Cussler. The titles are Iceberg, Raise the Titanic!, Inca Gold, Pacific Vortex, Atlantis Found, Treasure, Shock Wave, Serpent, Valhalla Rising, and Fire Ice. Inca Gold was suggested by Emily another PHS library aide as the best Cussler book in the library.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Please Pass the Popcorn
What do you like when you watch a movie? Is it popcorn, a pop, or a certain kind of candy? Maybe it is just hanging out with your friends? Whatever you like, teens do like going to movies.
One of the reasons certain books are read is because there is a companion movie to go with the book. This is the case for The Lightning Thief which we have been talking about. However, there are several other books in the library that fit this category.
It seems like ancient history, but this fall Twilight and New Moon were reread because the movie New Moon was coming out. Were you one of those students who waited in line with Mrs. Boesch for the midnight performance at the mall?
Some book/movie combinations that have male leading characters are in the library. These books include I Am Legend, Slumdog Millionaire, and Blindside. My family and I watched Blindside this past weekend. It was still a great movie! Some thought it was sad and others were inspired by it.
Why do students like to read the book first? Is it because they want to have their own imaginary version? Do they like to compare their imaginary version to the filmmakers' version? Or, do students just want to be comfortable with the storyline before they see it? Regardless of the reason people do like to read the book first. I am among that group, too.
Other book/movie combinations that appeal to females are among the next group of books. These books include Lovely Bones, Dear John, and Last Song. Students have said that there is quite a bit of difference between the book and the movie when it comes to Dear John. There is a difference in the relationship between the two main male characters and the ending is different.
Whatever you like to eat at the movies, I hope that you read the book about the movie first. Compare the book and movie and see which one you like better.
One of the reasons certain books are read is because there is a companion movie to go with the book. This is the case for The Lightning Thief which we have been talking about. However, there are several other books in the library that fit this category.
It seems like ancient history, but this fall Twilight and New Moon were reread because the movie New Moon was coming out. Were you one of those students who waited in line with Mrs. Boesch for the midnight performance at the mall?
Some book/movie combinations that have male leading characters are in the library. These books include I Am Legend, Slumdog Millionaire, and Blindside. My family and I watched Blindside this past weekend. It was still a great movie! Some thought it was sad and others were inspired by it.
Why do students like to read the book first? Is it because they want to have their own imaginary version? Do they like to compare their imaginary version to the filmmakers' version? Or, do students just want to be comfortable with the storyline before they see it? Regardless of the reason people do like to read the book first. I am among that group, too.
Other book/movie combinations that appeal to females are among the next group of books. These books include Lovely Bones, Dear John, and Last Song. Students have said that there is quite a bit of difference between the book and the movie when it comes to Dear John. There is a difference in the relationship between the two main male characters and the ending is different.
Whatever you like to eat at the movies, I hope that you read the book about the movie first. Compare the book and movie and see which one you like better.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Booktalk of The Lightning Thief
For those of you who have not read the book and have not seen the movie, here is an overview, or what librarians call a booktalk. The main character is Percy Jackson who is a twelve-year-old boy who lives in the New York City area. He thinks he has problems because he is dyslexic and has ADHD. While on a field trip he KNOWS he has problems when his Algebra teacher turns into a horrible monster with yellow fangs, glowing eyes, and bat wings. She tries to kill Percy! Just in the nick of time his Latin teacher throws him a pen that turns into a sword and Percy does away with the monster. Not long after this incident Percy discovers he is a half-blood which is half human and half Greek god. However, which Greek god is his father? At Camp Half-Blood he meets other demigods or half-bloods and is accused of stealing Zeus' lightning bolt. The rest of the time is spent trying to find the lightning bolt and discover who his father is.
It does help Percy when he figures out who his father is. Percy then knows where and how his strength and abilities can be used most effectively.
One of the library aides at PHS and I were talking about the movie versus the book. She did like the movie. However, she was disappointed in the movie ending because the ending gave away details that were in book three of the series.
It does help Percy when he figures out who his father is. Percy then knows where and how his strength and abilities can be used most effectively.
One of the library aides at PHS and I were talking about the movie versus the book. She did like the movie. However, she was disappointed in the movie ending because the ending gave away details that were in book three of the series.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
The Lightning Thief
This blog is about books in the Piedmont High School Library. Will it be a booktalk? Sometimes it will have elements of a booktalk. Is it a book review? It will have a touch of that, too.
The blog is about The Lightning Thief. It has a been a recipe for success in the PHS Library. It takes a cup full of characters who become well-known as the author uses the characters in a series. There are a total of five books in the series. The books are The Lightning Thief, The Sea Monsters, The Titans Curse, The Battle of the Labyrinth, and The Last Olympian.
There are several things that can make a series very appealing; what are they? Is it the fact that if you like one book, you think the next book will be similar? Or, is it the fact that you want the storyline to keep going? Or, is it the fact that it is easier to stick with a book series you know rather than trying something new?
The Lightning Thief has a cup full of characters but adds two more cups of ingredients, one of fantasy and one of Greek mythology making a great mix. According to my college-age source the Greek mythology in the storyline is pretty accurate.
The "icing on the cake" for The Lightning Thief is that a movie has been made about this book. This fact instantly draws potential reader's attention to the book. For those of you who read the book and went to see the movie, were the book and the movie similar or not? Hopefully, you read the book first.
The blog is about The Lightning Thief. It has a been a recipe for success in the PHS Library. It takes a cup full of characters who become well-known as the author uses the characters in a series. There are a total of five books in the series. The books are The Lightning Thief, The Sea Monsters, The Titans Curse, The Battle of the Labyrinth, and The Last Olympian.
There are several things that can make a series very appealing; what are they? Is it the fact that if you like one book, you think the next book will be similar? Or, is it the fact that you want the storyline to keep going? Or, is it the fact that it is easier to stick with a book series you know rather than trying something new?
The Lightning Thief has a cup full of characters but adds two more cups of ingredients, one of fantasy and one of Greek mythology making a great mix. According to my college-age source the Greek mythology in the storyline is pretty accurate.
The "icing on the cake" for The Lightning Thief is that a movie has been made about this book. This fact instantly draws potential reader's attention to the book. For those of you who read the book and went to see the movie, were the book and the movie similar or not? Hopefully, you read the book first.
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