With so many books being published each year, it is very easy to overlook certain books or authors.  So I am recommending giving the books written by Tera Lynn Childs a second look!  So far I have read books from three of her series and have enjoyed them all.  The books are witty and fast-paced with characters who are interesting and fresh.

Most recently I read Sweet Venom, the first book in the Medusa Girls series.  While most books portray Medusa as a monster, this book portrays Medusa and her sisters as guardians.   The second book, Sweet Shadows, is already available.

I have also read Forgive My Fins (one of my favorite covers) and Fins Are Forever from the Fins series.  These are stories about teenage mermaids who, by choice or force, spend time with humans.

And don’t forget Oh. My. Gods.  This is about a school that trains descendants of the Greek gods.  The school is located in Greece so the first book is primarily about an American teenager adjusting to her new school and then discovering what is really going on around her.  The second book, Goddess Boot Camp, has already been published.

Although there are many books I love that have been banned, one of my personal favorites is the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. The series has been challenged or banned for a variety of reasons including: satanism, violence and anti-family sentiments.

I can actually attribute my reading of the first book to the publicity that surrounded the publication of the first book back in 1999.  My hometown high school was being challenged for having the book in the library so I figured I should give it a try just to see what all the fuss was about.  Well, I was totally hooked!  I have attended midnight release parties and midnight movies.  I have made scarfs and predictions for what was going to happen in the next book.  And I still listen to podcasts dedicated to Harry Potter and news from J.K. Rowling.  The audiobooks are still among my favorites because of the soothing voice and I never get lost, no matter where the audiobook starts.

I know that the Harry Potter series is not for everyone but I am thankful that I had the opportunity to read and share these books with my family!

One of the newer trends is using e-invites instead of a formal, mailed invitation.  First, do not panic!  These are very easy to use and usually only require a few clicks of the mouse to let the host know whether you are planning on attending or not. These invitations are usually received via an email with a link.  Just click on the link to view the invitation and respond with an “attending” or “not attending.”  There is probably an area to post comments so feel free to ask questions there.  You might not be the only one with that question.

It is very easy to send out invitations as well.  There are many different sites that offer fill-in-the-blank cards that format automatically.  A popular site is evite.com.  This free site has some very nice looking invitations, although you will have to create an account to send out an invitation.  First you need to select your card.  Some of them have titles that cannot be changed, but usually you can add a title yourself.  Then it is a matter of going through each of the fields below the preview card and filling in information.  Next you will need to add the emails of people you are inviting.  This can easily be done by coping and pasting email addresses from a list or contact file.  With just a few more clicks, you are on your way to having a party!

Don’t be afraid to call you favorite techy to watch over your shoulder.  They probably won’t mind, especially if you give them chocolate!

With Halloween fast approaching, now is the perfect time to check out two new spooky stories from well-known teen authors Libba Bray and Maggie Stiefvater.

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater is the first in the series from the author of The Scorpio Races (another great Halloween read).  Blue knows that her true love will die after their first kiss (as told by her psychic mother).  This seriously limits her dating possibilities and is her first rule.  Her second rule is to have nothing to do with the Raven Boys who attend the local private school.  But everything changes when Blue sees a spirit for the first time on her family’s annual trek to the corpse road and the spirit, wearing the blazer with the raven emblem, tells her his name is Gansey.

Libba Bray‘s latest series starts with The Diviners.  Set in New York City during the roaring twenties, Evie is thrilled to be staying with her uncle and helping out at his museum of “creepy crawlies.”  But when bodies start turning up with occult symbols near them, her uncle is drawn into the investigation to help solve the crimes, along with Evie.  But the evil in the city might also be affecting Evie and others in ways she hasn’t discovered yet. Will she be able to uncover the killer before it is too late?

The genealogy community was buzzing with excitement earlier this year when the 1940 census was released.  The problem with the original release was that none of the names were indexed. Only a page by page search could be done if you knew where your family had been living in 1940.  Not that searching page after page isn’t fun, but now the huge indexing project has been completed.

There are two main sites that have indexed versions.  The first one is familysearch.org.  Their site is free to everyone and will be available online permanently.  The other big source is Ancestry.com.  Right now anyone can access the 1940 census on Ancestry, but at some point only subscribers will have access. The good news is that KDL does subscribe to Ancestry.com (available on library computers only).

Katie L. loves to read, so she has put together a list of some great early literacy books.  While the bigger kids go back to school, make sure to sit down with your pre-readers and enjoy some drawing, rhyming and great stories!

Alphabeasties by Sharon Werner and Sarah Forss is a fun way to share the alphabet as well as looking at pictures of animals.  Young children will love naming the animals and will start to learn the importance of letters.

Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes by Eric Litwin turns into a fun adventure when Pete the Cat discovers how hard it is to keep his shoes white.  But that doesn’t keep him from enjoying his new shoes.

Check out these and other great books!

Looking for some books to read on a dark and stormy night?  KDL has created a selection of spooky stories that have guy appeal.  This list features short stories as well as books in series.

Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy is a personal favorite which isn’t very spooky but does feature an animated skeleton detective!  Skullduggery and his apprentice Valkyrie work together to save the world from the return off the Faceless Ones.

For a spooky ghost story that also features videos that can be access online, try Skeleton Creek by Patrick Carman.  Two teenagers set out to discover the spooky history of the old dredge but with disastrous consequences.

If you are a reader of Historical Fiction or Science Fiction, don’t miss the opportunity to read some Steampunk suggestions!  Steampunk is a wonderful blend of historical fiction and science fiction, taking a Victorian setting (traditionally) and adding steam-powered technology.

While KDL has a great selection of fiction titles, don’t pass up the nonfiction books.  The Steampunk Bible is a great introduction to the genre and demonstrates the versatility of the craft and role-playing.

Voting has started for YALSA’s Top Ten Teen Books!  24 books have been selected and now Teens can use the online voting form to nominate their favorite books until September 15.  The 10 books with the most votes will be announced during the week of October 14, which has been designated as Teen Read Week.  Following is the complete list of books:

• All Good Children by Catherine Austen
• Ashes by Ilsa J. Bick
• Abandon by Meg Cabot
• Tempest by Julie Cross
• What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen
• Wither by Lauren DeStefano
• Where She Went by Gayle Forman
• Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen
• Eona: The Last Dragoneye by Alison Goodman
• The Fault In Our Stars by John Green
• Page by Paige by Laura Lee Gulledge
• Legend by Marie Lu
• Hourglass by Myra McEntire
• Cinder by Marissa Meyer
• Shine by Lauren Myracle
• A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
• This Dark Endeavor by Kenneth Oppel
• Across the Universe by Beth Revis
• Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
• Divergent by Veronica Roth
• Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys
• The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
• How To Save a Life by Sara Zarr
• All These Things I’ve Done by Gabrielle Zevin

With The Hunger Games movie to be released on DVD tomorrow, the popularity of the books has continued. KDL has put together a list of books for younger readers who just might not be ready to read The Hunger Games trilogy. These books share characteristics to The Hunger Games but are more suited to a younger reader.

Gregor the Overlander is one of the books on the list and was written by Suzanne Collins before she wrote The Hunger Games. She wrote the series for her own kids to give them a modern urban fairy tale. The main character Gregor actually discovers a hidden world underneath New York City populated with humans and large rats, bats and spiders!

So check out the list of other great books today!