London patron of the day

So there was a patron today from London who had a lovely accent when she was telling me about her two boys, and how libraries in London are so different than here. I kept asking her questions so she could keep talking because I just loved hearing her voice. She was funny, too. Making fun of other people. Talking about her favorite yet worst librarian back in London. Best because she was good at her job, but worst because her style and attitude towards things was harsh, and she often used a witch voice. Then she demonstrated, and it was scary! Still, she assured me that the children over there adored her personality. She shared with me the books that she was checking out. There were about 5 picture books, and we got interrupted once because one of her boys was getting ready to fight another little girl off the computer game. She also talked really fast, which made it a challenge for me to figure out what she was saying even though it was still English. Have you ever wanted to just talk forever with a stranger just to hear their voice?

Cutest Patron of the Day

My cute patron of the day was a little girl who in her tiny private school uniform came up to the reference desk to grab some kleenix. Then she waited close by my seat to ask in the highest possible pitch," Oh, I was just wondering...do librarians love to read books?" Her mother pushed her along saying, "Come on..." and I told her, "Yes, I do love to read books!" She was so little! So cute!

Blind Date with a Banned Book

This week is Banned Books Week! Why not go on a blind date with a “bad” book?  This year’s theme pays attention to teen books that have been banned in the past, but now we have the freedom to read. I actually started the display a little too early and I ran out of banned teen titles to display because the teens were checking them out faster than I was putting them on display. This is a good problem though.

Here is the display that I did for the Teen Zone at 2 branches. See the CAUTION yellow tape? That is what I wrapped the teen books in. I also included a review sheet that is wrapped around the middle; asking for their review of the book. If they write a review and submit it, they get a chance to win a prize. My coworker also helped wrap up books for her branch, and I think the banned books look awesome!

Othologies

Patron-of-the-Day:

A polite young boy came up to the desk inquiring,

“Do you have a list of all the othologies?”

He explained to me how he read almost all of them.

“I found Dragonology (he’s read it), Pirateology (read it), Mythology…”

The boy’s eyes got really big with this title.

“Oh! Do you have that one- Mythology?”

I told him to follow me, we went into the stacks where the immortals lived- Zeus, Hades, Prometheus, Aphrodite, etc. As we were approaching the big book, he started saying,

“All of my friends have almost read this book…” (I love how kids get all passionate about things.) “THERE IT IS! THIS IS SUCH A RARE FIND!! THANK YOU!!!”

I was very pleased to have found this treasure for him.

Casual Gamer Gina Reviews Super Mario Bros. Games!

The weather has been colder, and Casual Gamer Gina has been staying indoors mostly playing video games...

Mario Party 9 Wii Game
I have played Mario Party games ever since they were on the N64, and now for the Wii you get 80 all-new minigames! Play the minigames solo or in a group. Whomever collects the most MiniStars on the board game is the Superstar! I would say the boss battles were more fun when you played with friends.

Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games 3DS Game
As a fan of both Mario and Sonic, this sports game was a hit. There are a couple of options to play the Olympic games in single, multiplayer, or story mode. In story mode, Dr. Eggman (Sonic game) creates so much London fog that they’ll have to delay the Olympics. You could also play minigames alone or in teams with your favorite characters from the Nintendo and Sega franchise. It’s interesting that the characters talk after winning/losing a game, but they resort to just grunts during cutscenes. The dialogue in the story mode is quite funny. My favorite player to be is Luigi because whenever he wins 1st place, he busts a breakdance move!

Mariokart DS DS Game
 Mariokart is a pretty fun arcade game, and now you can get it handheld with all the same action. I don’t mean to brag, but I am always first place as Princess Peach.

The Art of Video Games Book
 Are video games art? For those who could not make it out to one of the 10 cities featuring The Art of Video Games National exhibition, you can read about the art of games since the 1970’s Atari system, and all the way to the Playstation 3. I’d recommend this book to gamers of all levels, who appreciate the graphics, storytelling, music, and cinematography of video games.

The Wizard DVD
 Starring a very young Fred Savage, this movie tells a story about a boy who is a video game wiz, who gets a high score on everything he plays, and travels with his brother and friend to a LA National Video Game Championship. The Super Mario Brothers 3 game is featured.

Wonderful World of Disney Games!

For this blog, I will be shortly reviewing video games, along with some other titles that may be of interest to those who like these games.

Disney Epic Mickey Wii game

Mickey has gotten into a painting mess, and now has his magic brush to make everything right. The first thing I noticed was how dark this Disney game was. It had a darker mood and was a little bit more challenging than another Disney character filled game- Kingdom Hearts. The controls were a little interesting, especially with the nunchuk to navigate Mickey around. It was difficult for me to control Mickey whenever the camera angles would change, but it was done for artistic value. It was funny how Mickey opens treasure chests like in the Zelda games. The music sounded like a Danny Elfman soundtrack, which I loved! Overall, I’d recommend this game to anyone who would love seeing Mickey Mouse go on a magical action adventure inspired by real Disney cartoons.







 The Nightmare before Christmas DVD

Not only is this a great Halloween movie, but it is also a dark and unusual Christmas movie.











  Best Of Boingo CD

Before Danny Elfman did music soundtracks for Tim Burton movies (like my favorites Edward Scissorhands , Batman Collection , Pee-Wee's Big Adventure) he also was apart of an eccentric 80's group. 










Alice's Adventures in Wonderland ; And, Through the Looking Glass Book

The original and sequel to Alice in Wonderland’s magical story by Lewis Carroll.











 Kingdom Hearts Graphic novel

Those who enjoyed the game can now read about Sora while he explores a new world, meets some new friends, runs into some familiar characters, and joins a quest to help his friends and find the King! Stay tuned for Epic Mickey 2 for all consoles, as well as the 3DS coming soon!