Category: Graphic Novel

Free Comic Book Day 2019!

Every year, I’m so fortuitous to have a wonderful library system and support group that enables us to have a smooth Free Comic Book Day!

This year I tried something different. Previous years, I had all comic stacks sitting on the table. Anyone can come up and look and see the quantity of comics we have to determine what they wanted. Then they communicate to the volunteers what they want and that they’ll take the comic issue they want. The reason why it was set up as so was I wanted to emulate the tables seen at our local anime convention. Plus anyone could browse and not feel pressured to pick a comic if they didn’t want. The downside was, we would get patrons asking to switch out comics after they finished reading. I don’t want to say no but it wouldn’t be fair, right? There’s always having a sample for patrons to read before as an option, so there’s a positive side to this!

For the display, I labeled them with letters. That way people can see the covers and if interested but unsure about the character, they can give the volunteer a letter. Our volunteers sometimes have a list of titles but may not be well versed in graphic novels; I’ve received positive comments from volunteers that they like having this system of patrons saying they want letter A comic. Fast and efficient service!

Happy gif
Happy day!

Local artists drew and printed bookmarks which patrons can pick with their comic of choice. In addition to the comic and bookmark, patrons could enter for a chance to win one of two $20 gift certificates from Dragon’s Lair.

Accurate gif of happy people

We gave away over 200 comics from 10 am – 4:30 pm with the help of 4 volunteers! It was a rainy day but we made it through. Many thanks to the Friends of the Library of Hawaii, Hawaii State Public Library System, Friends of Mililani Public Library, Dragon’s Lair for the gift certificates and you!

For more information on Free Comic Book Day, check out their website at https://www.freecomicbookday.com/. Free Comic Book Day is held on the first Saturday of May. Contact your nearest library to find out if they’re participating in Free Comic Book Day!

Podcast Recommended List!

I only recently got into the activity of listening to podcasts on my daily commute to and from work. It is definitely different from reading a book or watching television so it took quite a while for me to adjust to. I know I need to get into audiobooks sooner than later when it comes to reading my book backlog however I feel positive and accomplished I got out of my shell to listen to podcasts. I’m all about visuals! 

Speaking of podcasts, I’m excited to say I was invited and recorded an episode of Read ‘Em & Weep, talking about one of my favorite literature topics ever: Graphic Novels. It was a very invigorating experience to speak clearly with a consistent speed without going off the rails within a time limit. It was tough to talk about graphic novels without graphics because, that’s one of the best visually appealing characteristics about graphic novels! A challenge? Yes! Was it fun? YES! Read ‘Em & Weep host Kimberly has done it again! For information, look under “Ep 3 – Illustrated History”.

Read 'Em & Weep Graphic
Credit: Kimberly Jackson of ReadĀ ‘EmĀ & Weep

Recommended podcast list:

  • Stuff You Missed in History Class. Holly and Tracy are excellent researchers, hosting an engaging podcast that feels as if you’re sitting at the table with them. History has never sounded so awesome!
  • The Classic Tales Podcast. Award-winning narrator B.J. Harrison reads classics, ranging from novels to short stories.
  • Binge Mode. I love listening to hosts Mallory and Jason talk shop on pop culture topics such as “Harry Potter” or “Game of Thrones”. They take information from both media and books so be wary of spoilers. (Warning: Features adult content)
  • Welcome to Night Vale. A story of magical realism and paranormal horror, enjoy the soothing voice of Cecil Baldwin as you attempt to determine what is real and what is imaginary.

Hearts for All – A Romance Booklist

Love is in the air!

kagomexinuyasha
Kagome and Inuyasha denying the attraction via giphy

A booklist on romance, relationships, and friendship! Recommended for 6th ā€“ 12th graders.Ā 

Non-Fiction:
155.519 Ch
Chapman, Gary. Teenā€™s Guide to the 5 Love Languages. Includes a straightforward guide on the 5 love languages and practical tips for how to apply each language in a teenā€™s context.

306.73 Ea
Eastham, Chad. The Truth about Breaking Up, Making Up, & Moving On. Explains why some people find happiness and others heartache, when to break up and when to make up. A Christian faith-based relationship guide.

Fiction:

Albertalli, Becky. Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda. Sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly gay Simon Spier prefers to save his drama for the school musical but when his secret is at risk of being exposed, Simon must decide what to do about a cute guy and his friends.

Cass, Kiera. The Siren. Forced to work as a Siren and lure strangers to their deaths after being rescued from drowning by the Ocean, Kahlen falls in love with a human and defies the rules of her service in order to follow her heart.

Nakano, Hitori.Ā Train Man: The NovelĀ orĀ Densha Otoko.Ā An instant bestseller when it was first published in Japan, Train Man became a multimedia sensation, generating a smash-hit TV series, a blockbuster film, and multiple manga series. Now hereā€™s the novel that started it all.

Niven, Jennifer. Holding Up the Universe. A boy with face blindness and a girl who struggles with weight fall in love.

Silvera, Adam. History Is All You Left Me. Secrets are revealed as OCD-afflicted Griffin grieves for his first love, Theo, who died in a drowning accident.

Yoon, Nicola. Everything Everything. A girl confined to her house by rare and profound allergies falls hopelessly in love with her new neighbor, in a story told through vignettes, diary entries, texts, charts, lists and illustrations.

Popular YA Romance Series:

  • Anna and the French Kiss series by Stephanie Perkins
  • To All the Boys Iā€™ve Loved Before series by Jenny Han
  • A Brideā€™s Story by Kaoru Mori (Graphic Novel)
  • The Glittering Court series by Richelle Mead
  • Honey So Sweet series by Amu Meguro (Graphic Novel)
  • If I Stay series by Gayle Forman
  • Kamisama Kiss by Julietta Suzuki (Graphic Novel)
  • The Selection series by Kiera Cass
  • The Summer I Turned Pretty series by Jenny Han

Popular YA Romance Authors:

  • Jenny Han
  • Rachel Cohn
  • Maurene Goo
  • Rainbow Rowell
  • Sarah Dessen
  • Kami Garcia
  • Deb Caletti
  • Kiera Cass
  • Aylson Noel
  • Stephanie Perkins
  • David Leviathan
  • Richelle Mead
  • Nicola Yoon

Compiled from Novelist and Amazon.

Every Dog Has Its Day – A Dog Booklist

I made a dog-theme booklist for work and want to share!

doge
Cute dog via giphy

A booklist on everything dogs! Recommended for 6th ā€“ 12th graders.Ā 

Browse these non-fiction sections for more:
Dog Breeds: 636.7 or 636.71

Non-Fiction:
636.71 Kr
KrƤmer, Eva-Maria. Get to Know Dog Breeds: The 200 Most Popular Breeds. Discusses the appearance, origin, and temperament of more than two hundred dog breeds categorized into groups according to the tasks they were original bred for, including herding dogs, hunting dogs, sled dogs, lap dogs, and more.

636.70887 Da
Dainty, Suellen. 50 Games to Play with your Dog. Discover games that are both easy to teach and fun for your canine pal. The book includes challenging mental games for indoors as well as stimulating physical games for outside the home. Learn ideas for group games that are ideal for multi-dog households and doggy play dates.

Dogs in Fiction:
Ando, Yuma. Sherlock Bones. After adopting a dog, Takeru discovers that his new pet is the reincarnation of Sherlock Holmes, and that he himself must act as Dr. Watson and help his canine solve crimes.

Cameron, W. Bruce. A Dogā€™s Journey. Believing that he has achieved his purpose throughout several eventful lives, Buddy the dog is drawn to a vibrant but troubled teen who he struggles to help when they are separated.

London, Jack. Call of the Wild. The adventures of an unusual dog, part St. Bernard, part Scotch Shepherd, that was kidnapped and shipped off to Alaska to work on the Klondike Gold Rush. Buck the dog quickly learns how to survive in the wild and also learns the call of the wolf.

London, Jack. White Fang. The adventures in the northern wilderness of a dog who is part wolf and how he comes to make his peace with man.

King, Stephen. Cujo. A family’s two-hundred-pound Saint Bernard is transformed by rabies and the insidious guidance of demonic forces into a terrifying monster.

Murakami, Takashi. Stargazing Dog. Fed up with his down-and-out life, Daddy sets out in his car to just get away from it all to nowhere in particular. His family and friends have abandoned him. The one companion he can count on completely, his dog, follows him blindly and faithfully to the end.

Orwell, George. Animal Farm. A satire on totalitarianism in which farm animals overthrow their human owner and set up their own government.

Reichs, Kathy. Virals. Tory Brennan is the leader of a band of teenage ‘sci-philes’ who live on an island off the coast of South Carolina and when the group rescues a dog caged for medical testing, they are exposed to an experimental strain of canine parvovirus that changes their lives forever.

Sakuragi, Yukiya. Inubaka: Crazy for Dogs. When eighteen-year-old Suguri moves from the countryside to the big city to find a career and a new life, she lands her first job at a pet store and meets an assortment of quirky dogs and even stranger owners.

(GN for Graphic Novel)Ā Compiled from Novelist and Amazon.

Catalog Confusion?Ā Soviet Daughter : A Graphic Revolution

soviet daughter

I had recently created a small section of Biographical Graphic Novels and Non-Fiction Graphic Novels at the library I work at. It’s a little section but I’m proud of creating a visible assertion that graphic novels aren’t 100% superheroes. That non-fiction and memoirs have been in the graphic medium and will continue to grow.

So imagine my confusion receivingĀ Soviet Daughter : A Graphic RevolutionĀ by Julia Alekseyeva to have processed. I figured it was a memoir and would be placed under our Biographical Graphic Novels because Julia uses information provided by her great-grandmother, Lola from her days growing up in the USSR to witnessing the Fall of the Soviet Union and moving to the United States. At the same time, moments of Julia’s story is interwoven, reminiscentlyĀ reminding me of Alison Bechdel’sĀ Fun Home, where she revisits her relationship with her father prior to his death.Ā However the library system placed it as a Fiction.

So I dug deeper and ran across more confusion. Amazon listsĀ Soviet DaughterĀ under Amazon Best Seller RanksĀ as “Educational and Non-Fiction” (#164) but “Historical and Biographical Fiction” (#96). The publisher, Microcosm Publishing, markets it as a “graphic novel memoir unites two generations of strong, independent women against a sweeping backdrop of the history of the USSR.” A memoir is a biography, written from personal sources. If this was fiction, the marketing would say so since it would put the book in a tricky situation. WorldCat lists it as “Biography, Fiction” with Similar Items listing subjects including “Nonfiction/Biography/Memoir”.

Food for thought when looking at books in the library. The collection says a lot if books are placed in Fiction or Non-Fiction. For now,Ā SovietĀ Daughter: A Graphic RevolutionĀ will be under Fiction. If there are any changes, we’ll see!