#HarryPotterAtHome for everyone

As the library's foremost Harry Potter fan, I try to create Harry Potter-themed events whenever possible, especially for adults who often get overlooked as fans of this beloved world. In this unusual and difficult time of social distancing, self-isolation and worry, I am happy to note that there are several new access points to Harry Potter material and lore for fans of all ages.

1. J. K. Rowling and WizardingWorld.com have announced the release of the new online Harry Potter hub: Harry Potter at Home. It has info, quizzes, crafts, lore and all sorts of fun Harry Potter resources for parents, teachers, carers, students and adult fans too. Don't forget to get sorted into your house!

2. J. K. Rowling has announced that she has granted open licenses for teachers and now allows them to make and share videos of themselves reading her books for students online.

3. As a part of the #HarryPotterAtHome release, Overdrive has issued free access to the first book in the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. It is accessible through the end of April and available to everyone who has access to Overdrive as a City of Dubuque C-SPL card holder, or Bridges Overdrive, through the Dubuque County Library. What's really cool about this is these are available in many languages and in ebook or downloadable audio formats. May I humbly recommend you try the audio version, as Jim Dale is *amazing* as the narrator of the entire Harry Potter series and is a joy to listen to.

4. Speaking of the joy of audio books, Audible.com is also offering free streaming of the digital audio book version of the first book (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone) under their "Audible Stories" section.  But here is the kicker - they are offering the British version of the audio book, which was narrated by actor and comedian Stephen Fry! As a die-hard Harry Potter fan, I have been aching to get my hands (and ears) on this audio version! While I am committed to Jim Dale forever as the Best. Narrator. Ever...I still wanted to hear a new take by a different narrator. You never know what new details or nuance you might pick up with a new voice.

5. Lastly, how about a Harry Potter themed online escape room? Sounds awesome, right? Sydney Krawiec, Youth Services Librarian at Peters Township Public Library in McMurray, PA created this Hogwarts Digital Escape Room for Harry Potter fans who are stuck at home. Thank you, Sydney!

If you have never read the Harry Potter series, I challenge you to do so now. The options for access and Harry Potter fun are wide open. Who couldn't use a little escape to Hogwarts right about now?

~Angie, Adult Services Librarian and Gryffindor For Life

Great Reading Challenge: Category Spotlight "A Famous Crime"

The Great Reading Challenge of 2018 is in full swing. If you haven't heard, the Great Reading Challenge (GRC) is open to adults 18 and over and is a fun way to engage in reading with a community of like-minded readers, while tracking your books read for the year. You get to choose categories - either before or after you read books. Use the GRC to broaden your reading horizons, or just have fun finding categories to fit the books you were going to read anyway. Maybe you will read more broadly, or maybe you will finally get to some of those books you have meant to read for years! In any case, we hope you'll have fun reading! Register for the GRC here.

This new regular blog spotlight will highlight books we have available for check out at Carnegie-Stout that fulfill different categories of the GRC. All of the book descriptions are courtesy of our NoveList Plus database.

This spotlight covers #11 "Read a book about a famous crime"


In Cold Blood by Truman Capote (364 CAP)
Available in book, ebook and CD Audio Book

"On November 15, 1959, in the small town of Holcomb, Kansas, four members of the Clutter family were savagely murdered by blasts from a shotgun held a few inches from their faces. There was no apparent motive for the crime, and there were almost no clues. As Truman Capote reconstructs the murder and the investigation that led to the capture, trial, and execution of the killers, he generates both mesmerizing suspense and astonishing empathy. In Cold Blood is a work that transcends its moment, yielding poignant insights into the nature of American violence."

Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders by Vincent Bugliosi with Curt Gentry (364.1523 BUG)
Available in book format

"The prosecutor of the Tate-LaBianca trials presents the inside story behind the Manson killings, explaining how Charles Manson was able to make his "family" murder for him, chronicling the investigation, and describing the court trial that brought him and his accomplices to justice."

Ugly Prey: An Innocent Woman and the Death Sentence That Scandalized Jazz Age Chicago by Emilie Le Beau Lucchesi (364.1523 LUC)
 Available in book format

"An Italian immigrant who spoke little English and struggled to scrape together a living on her primitive family farm outside Chicago, Sabella Nitti was arrested in 1923 for the murder of her missing husband. With no evidence and no witnesses, she was quickly found guilty and sentenced to hang. Ugly Prey is a page-turning courtroom drama, but also a thought-provoking look at the intersection of gender, ethnicity, class, and the American justice system."

Bingeworthy TV: New Girl

Are you a fan of the TV show Friends? New Girl reminds me of Friends. Except, New Girl is more awkward and a touch more racy. Both shows are, however, hilarious and both celebrate the depth and true meaning of friendship and how hard adulting can be sometimes. New Girl is about a group of mismatched oddballs who live together in a large loft apartment. Also similar to the Friends and their New York City apartment - the group in New Girl would scarcely be able to afford their big Los Angeles apartment.

Jess Day (Zooey Deschanel) is the lead. She is energetic, super-awkward, very earnest yet still endearing. She talks her way into living in an apartment full of men (hence the name "The New Girl," much to their chagrin). As a teacher, she is at heart an optimist. Opposite her is Nick Miller (Jake Johnson) - a bartender, opposite in so many ways and ever-dissatisfied with life. Together, their chemistry is perfection and their witty banter is lightning-fast.

Whoever did the casting is genius! Jess, Nick, Schmidt, CeCe, Coach, Winston - they are a group of great characters with unique personalities and the actors fit their parts perfectly. For all the underlying angst, this is a pretty lighthearted show. We get to laugh at their jokes and cringe at their relationships and complicated interactions with each other and the world at large. Somehow, they always end up in the midst of ridiculous and hilarious predicaments.

I think it is a great update to the Friends model.

The show is still being produced. Carnegie-Stout owns the first five seasons on DVD. Season 7, which is the final season, premieres this spring on television. The library will purchase the last two seasons when they are available.

~Angie, Adult Services

Bingeworthy TV: Psych

Attention all 80's trivia lovers (children of the 80s, especially)! Psych is a hilarious cozy mystery television show - with wacky high jinks galore and nods to all sorts of popular culture references of the 1980s and beyond.

The show centers on two friends, Shawn Spencer (James Roday) and Burton Guster - known as Gus (Dulé Hill). Shawn has extremely keen observation skills (drilled in him from an early age by his tough-cop father played by Corbin Bernsen). His observations are so good in fact, that in the pilot episode, he finds himself about to be fingered as the criminal - because no one could possibly know all that he knew about the crime unless he was the one who did it. In an act of desperation and self-preservation, Shawn pretends that he knows all about the crime because he is psychic.

Shawn then decides to capitalize on this and his new relationship with the Santa Barbara Police Department by creating a detective agency called "Pysch" and working for the police on the side. He drags his none-too-enthusiastic best friend Gus into the endeavor.

The episodes treat crime in the typically cozy mystery fashion - not much gore, and very lighthearted given the topic. It is very fast-paced and energetic. The fantastic chemistry between Shawn and Gus is electric: the funny lines are flying and there are blink and you miss it moments of subtle hilarity throughout. The rest of the cast are great too, but the heart of the shows lies with Shawn and Gus and their sincere friendship.

There are cameos by a number of familiar faces from the 80s - these are a particular fun treat. Look for their Halloween episodes, which are surprisingly scary and suspenseful, and the fantastic homages to the film Clue (1985) and the TV show Twin Peaks (1990-1991). There are 8 seasons of Psych and 1 musical (yes, a musical!) - all of which are available to check out at Carnegie-Stout Public Library. These two best friends make great detectives and a great show to binge-watch.

~Angie, Adult Services

Staff Review: Red Rising Trilogy by Pierce Brown - Audio book version

What a trilogy! Wow. It is dark. It is brutal. There are shameful deeds, shocking betrayals, and blood feuds. Wars and reconciliations. Violence and tenderness. This trilogy really covers all areas of human emotion. A friend says it's a cross between Game of Thrones and Hunger Games. I think it also has a dash of Divergent and tiny drop of Harry Potter in there as well. Pierce Brown has created a fascinating world with his Red Rising trilogy.

Darrow grows up as part of a slave race, the Reds. The thing is, they don't realize they are slaves. They think they are doing the hard labor of mining underground on Mars so future generations can come and terraform Mars and create a better future. What the Reds don't know is that they have been lied to.

Tim Gerard Reynolds narrates all three of these books. Reynolds does such a good job portraying the heart of Darrow, our main character, that he seems the perfect person to read these stories. Reynolds hails from Ireland with classical theater training. His strong Irish accent gives the story depth and character and it is pleasing to listen to.

One initial caveat: Reynolds takes on a haughty voice when he narrates the characters who are Golds (the all-powerful group in Darrow's world), "I do say! My good-man!" and to be honest, this threw me right out of the first book and I did not think I could listen if he did this voice continuously. Luckily, this annoyance fades and you get used to the portrayal. The haughtiness and genteelness make sense for the characters he is portraying - the Golds are nothing if not haughty. 

As the books progress, we find Darrow fighting against a whole society of people who would have him remain a slave and will die trying to keep the status quo. Which leads me to one of the things I am most impressed by with these books. This author really knows how people manipulate others to get what they want and how the minds of warlords might plan their strategies. As I listened, I kept being amazed at the ideas and logic the author created for his characters. This first book does spend a lot of time world-building, which can be get old, but then you are thrust into this amazing world suddenly. It keeps you guessing and you don't know who Darrow should trust or who will betray him.You have to hold on tight, it's quite an adventure. 

Once you have made it through this epic trilogy, be on the lookout for Iron Gold, a new book in the Red Rising Universe, considered to be book four of the Red Rising Saga. It is set to be released in January 2018. It begins ten years after the events of book three and is a start to a new trilogy. Hopefully, Carnegie-Stout will have the audio book soon after its release. It too will be narrated by Tim Gerard Reynolds.

~Angie, Adult Services

NaNoWriMo Coming Soon!

Hello, my literary friends. It's that time again - leaves, freshly fallen, cool night air, bonfires and snuggling under blankets to read on a cozy afternoon. In other words, it is almost November - which means time for frantically trying to meet your daily word count to finish writing an entire novel in 30 days. Right? Sound familiar?

In case you hadn't heard, November is officially National Novel Writing Month, also known as NaNoWriMo. Once a year, a bunch (like thousands!) of wild-at-heart folks try to write an entire book in 30 days. It might seem crazy, it might not seem possible, but people do it every year. When you complete a novel of 50,000 words (or more) you become a winner. Awesome, right?

The goal of NaNoWriMo is to get people writing daily, but with no editing, no second-guessing, just get the words out on paper. When you complete the NaNoWriMo challenge, you have written a novel. You get to say, officially, that you are a novelist - because, hey, you just wrote a book!

Some of us try this every year and don't make it very far (*cough *cough, self) But the real point here is - like so many other things in the world - at least we tried! Its a fun experiment. You never know where it will take you or what you'll end up with in 30 days. Carnegie-Stout is listed as an official "Come Write In" location. This means we are encouraging you to stop by and write your novel at the library! Also, three Sundays in November, the 6th, 13th and 20th, from 1-4 PM, we will have a room dedicated to participants. You can come and write and chat/commiserate with other folks.

For more information about NaNoWriMo, click here.

Staff Review: Harry Potter and The Cursed Child by Rowling, Thorne and Tiffany

Where do I begin? To review something that you have undying affection for is harder than you might think. I suspect I need to delve a bit deeper than: I ♥ Harry Potter ♥ always.

As most of you know, the Harry Potter stories were published in seven books and through these
books, we see the whole story arc of wizard Harry's teen years (the glorious triumphs and far too many tragedies) and the ultimate fight of good versus evil, love versus hate. The last book came out in July 2007. Nine years ago! For those of us who are super-fans, that is eons. My love for Harry Potter knows no bounds and I was beyond thrilled when I realized that there was to be "the eighth Harry Potter story" coming out.

What surprised so many people was that this eighth story is a written as a play. It is being performed this summer in London. So many of us will never get the chance to see this play across the pond, but we do get the script for it.

I knew it was going to be a play script. I knew it would be different. But what I didn't expect was how quickly the story jumps right into the action. But that makes sense, I realized, because a play is all dialogue. All the words need to count and they need to propel the action forward.

I can only hope that someday the play will come to Iowa. I'd even be happy with a DVD of the stage production in London. I think that there must be so much visual storytelling here that we miss a lot of the drama of the words in the script: all the meaningful looks, pregnant pauses, no-doubt gorgeous and magical set pieces. I miss J.K.'s ability to bring you into the story by her fantastic descriptions of magical locations, also the peeks into the minds of the characters and how they are feeling. All of these things are burned in my memory, but for someone who hasn't read these books *cough* so many times, they might not get it at all.

...Angie, may I hijack your review for a moment? This is Amy.  I'm also a huge Harry Potter fan, but nowhere near as obsessed as Angie.  Though I enjoyed Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, I feel cheated.  I feel cheated because J.K. Rowling is a masterful story teller and I really want to return to the world of Harry Potter and see Hogwarts as it is now.  With Harry, Hermione, Ron and yes, even Malfoy's children attending school, learning spells, getting into shenanigans and forging their own path in the world.  But alas I don't think that will ever happen. So curse you J.K. Rowling for dangling this carrot and then just taking it away.  Okay, selfish rant over.  You may return to Angie's review now...

Thanks, Amy, for that insight. I will say that I always hold out hope that there will be more written about the wizarding world of J.K. Rowling. This seems to be the case on her website "Pottermore" After the heaviness of what happened in the last few books, however, I don't think we will be able to get our innocence back. Sigh. That doesn't mean I won't keep reading them however. These books are like family to us super-fans.

Update: Rumors are flying that some film producers want to make this play into one, or some say even three movies. Who knows if this is true, but we can always dream.

~Angie (and Amy), Adult Services

Staff Review: Harry Potter and The Cursed Child by Rowling, Thorne and Tiffany

Where do I begin? To review something that you have undying affection for is harder than you might think. I suspect I need to delve a bit deeper than: I ♥ Harry Potter ♥ always.

As most of you know, the Harry Potter stories were published in seven books and through these
books, we see the whole story arc of wizard Harry's teen years (the glorious triumphs and far too many tragedies) and the ultimate fight of good versus evil, love versus hate. The last book came out in July 2007. Nine years ago! For those of us who are super-fans, that is eons. My love for Harry Potter knows no bounds and I was beyond thrilled when I realized that there was to be "the eighth Harry Potter story" coming out.

What surprised so many people was that this eighth story is a written as a play. It is being performed this summer in London. So many of us will never get the chance to see this play across the pond, but we do get the script for it.

I knew it was going to be a play script. I knew it would be different. But what I didn't expect was how quickly the story jumps right into the action. But that makes sense, I realized, because a play is all dialogue. All the words need to count and they need to propel the action forward.

I can only hope that someday the play will come to Iowa. I'd even be happy with a DVD of the stage production in London. I think that there must be so much visual storytelling here that we miss a lot of the drama of the words in the script: all the meaningful looks, pregnant pauses, no-doubt gorgeous and magical set pieces. I miss J.K.'s ability to bring you into the story by her fantastic descriptions of magical locations, also the peeks into the minds of the characters and how they are feeling. All of these things are burned in my memory, but for someone who hasn't read these books *cough* so many times, they might not get it at all.

...Angie, may I hijack your review for a moment? This is Amy.  I'm also a huge Harry Potter fan, but nowhere near as obsessed as Angie.  Though I enjoyed Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, I feel cheated.  I feel cheated because J.K. Rowling is a masterful story teller and I really want to return to the world of Harry Potter and see Hogwarts as it is now.  With Harry, Hermione, Ron and yes, even Malfoy's children attending school, learning spells, getting into shenanigans and forging their own path in the world.  But alas I don't think that will ever happen. So curse you J.K. Rowling for dangling this carrot and then just taking it away.  Okay, selfish rant over.  You may return to Angie's review now...

Thanks, Amy, for that insight. I will say that I always hold out hope that there will be more written about the wizarding world of J.K. Rowling. This seems to be the case on her website "Pottermore" After the heaviness of what happened in the last few books, however, I don't think we will be able to get our innocence back. Sigh. That doesn't mean I won't keep reading them however. These books are like family to us super-fans.

Update: Rumors are flying that some film producers want to make this play into one, or some say even three movies. Who knows if this is true, but we can always dream.

~Angie (and Amy), Adult Services

Staff Review: Girl Waits with Gun by Amy Stewart

What fun this book was! We had a lovely and animated discussion of Girl Waits with Gun by Amy Stewart for August's Book Club.

I chose this book in particular because it was a mystery and very much outside of my normal reading habits. I do like to stretch my reading boundaries and it also happens to fulfill the "Read a Mystery" challenge for the Great Reading Challenge! The premise seemed intriguing too: The year is 1915, the location: New Jersey, USA. There are three sisters living on a farm and taking care of themselves just fine, thank you very much. The story begins as the sisters are out shopping. Along comes a newfangled automobile which quite suddenly and rather rudely smashes into the ladies' horse-drawn buggy.

What starts as a simple quest to recoup the cost of a demolished buggy turns into an all-out war with the corrupt factory owner (and errant automobile driver) who refuses to pay and in fact, insists on harassing and taunting these ladies with threats and bullets until they feel they are trapped in their home and under siege. But even as we can feel their fear and worry, and the unfairness of the general treatment of women at this time, we also see their strength and fortitude.

Constance, Norma and Fleurette Kopp just wanted to go about their own business, but as they are thrust into an unwanted struggle, they grow to meet the challenge and then some. All three end up being a hero in their own way in this story. As we watch them take on the corrupt boss and his henchmen (as well as some of the gender norms expected during this era), we get to savor some sweet justice. The best part of the whole story, to me, is the fact that it is based on a true story. The Kopp sisters were real and they were actually involved in a story much like this one! It is great that this tale of three incredible women is finally being told.

This mystery isn't a whodunit, not really. But it does keep us on the edge of our seat wondering how all the pieces fit and how things happened the way they did. I recommend this for anyone who can appreciate sharp and capable main characters who are up against a society that doesn't really respect them, but who do what needs to be done regardless. There are some great one-liners in this book and a general sense of playfulness, even as there are some more serious and thoughtful elements that pin the story together. A great read overall! And it's a series too - Book 2 will be out in September and it is called Lady Cop Makes Trouble.

~Angie, Adult Services

Great Reading Challenge Big Summer Giveaway!!

If you love to read, you may have noticed that the best books take us to places beyond imagination - whether it is a space station in some distant galaxy, a wizard’s lair, a World War II battlefield, or a villa on the coast of Italy – chances are, you have felt transported through space and time to become a seasoned armchair traveler.

For me, this week has been a trip to Hogwarts and beyond in the play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. I am also visiting the fantastical and dangerous world called Erilea in the Sarah J. Maas Throne of Glass series. 

For this giveaway, comment below and tell us where you have armchair “traveled” while reading this summer.

To be eligible to win: You must be 18+ and be registered for the Great Reading Challenge.

Register Here or at the Recommendations Desk at Carnegie-Stout Public Library. Entries for this giveaway will also be accepted at the C-SPL Facebook page, C-SPL Twitter (@Carnegie_Stout  use #24reads2016) and at the Recommendations Desk. One entry per person total. You must be able to pick up your prize in person at the library. Giveaway begins Thursday, August 4th at 12 noon CT and ends Sunday, August 14th at 11:59 PM CT. Winners will be drawn and notified on Monday, August 15th.

There will be 3 winners!

Prizes:

Each winner will receive:

1 East Mill Bakery Gift Certificate for $5

1 Copper Kettle Gift Certificate for $5

1 Dubuque Food Co-Op Gift Card for $5

1 Candle Ready Cakes Coupon for a Buy-One-Get-One Free cupcake

The Great Reading Challenge Update

The Great Reading Challenge has now reached the half-way point!

The GRC, as we like to call it, is the reading program we are offering adults this year, instead of the traditional Adult summer reading program we have had in years past.

The goal is simple: Read 24 books by December 31, 2016.

So what is the challenge part, you might ask: You can pick any books you like, BUT they do have to fit into one of the 60 categories we have chosen. One book for one category. No duplicates.

Fun categories include: Read a book with a blue cover,  Read a book that scares you, Re-read your favorite book, Read a book with an ugly cover . . . and many more!

Since we are well into July, some may be worried they won't have time to complete the challenge with half the year gone. Well, we say, "the glass is half full" and you have almost 6 more months to complete the challenge!

Also, to make things easier we have a couple of "cheats" for you: If you attend events at C-SPL that are held by Adult Services and let us know at the Recommendations Desk, we will consider that attendance to be the same as one book. You can substitute up to 12 of your 24 books by coming to events.

Or you can do a short review of a book you read for the challenge (we have bookmarks at the Recommendations Desk with more info on writing the review) and that will count as a book!

We have already read 1339 books this year. Care to join us?

Staff Review: Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas is a young adult fantasy novel - the first in a series by the same name. It was published in 2012 and book number five is due out later this year (Empire of Storms). I heard the author speak last year and the audience went wild when she discussed the main character - Celaena Sardothien. My interest was piqued. This book has been hovering at the top of my to-be-read list ever since.

The story begins with our main character, seventeen year old Celaena Sardothien as she is being escorted out of the Endovier Salt Mines and into an audience with the crown prince of the country Erilea. Celaena was sentenced to Endovier - which is basically a death camp. People rarely last a month there. Celaena has been there for one year.

Celaena's crime? She is an assassin. Indeed, a notorious assassin who is considered to be the best in all of Erilea. She is brought before the prince and given an offer she can't refuse. Due to her notoriety and skill set, the royal offers her a chance to be in a competition to become the King's Assassin. If she wins, she works for the King for three years and is set free. If she loses, she has to go back to a bleak and short future at Endovier.

Celaena agrees to the proposition and lives in the castle under guard and an alias - so her competitors aren't intimidated by her reputation. Soon, one by one, the other competitors are killed in the same most gruesome manner. Who or what is killing Celaena's competition? Is she next? As Celaena begins to investigate, she finds there are dark and dangerous elements that are infecting the Kingdom. When Celaena finds herself in the center of this mystery, we want to know more. Celaena's epic story is firmly established in this first book. I have just checked out the second book (Crown of Midnight) to find out what happens next.

Throne of Glass has elements of action, danger, supernatural fantasy, mystery and touches on issues of war, violence, power and social injustice. The story moves at a nice clip and keeps you guessing. Celaena holds her own among some of the better tough and flawed female protagonists in young adult fiction.

If you like your fantasy novels to have adventure, fighting and forbidden romance, you might also like:

The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Legend by Marie Lu

The Young Elites by Marie Lu

The Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

Shatter Me by Teherah Mafi

Poison Study by Marie V. Snyder

Blood Red Road by Moira Young 

Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers

New Movies - If you like it, you should put a hold on it!

Have you looked at our movies lately? Carnegie-Stout Public Library has a lot of fantastic movies, old and new. We are getting new movies in all the time. Check out our website, or come down to the library to find out the latest and greatest releases on DVD and BluRay.

If the movie is on the shelf right now, we can pull it for you tomorrow. If it is checked out, you will be in line to get it when it becomes available. Ask a Librarian at the Recommendations Desk if you have questions. We are always happy to help. We love movies too.

A Prophecy, A Quest and A Fatal Flaw: One Adult's Case for Reading Kid Lit

  

 
If you haven’t been reading kids' books, you are missing out. The drama, complexity and humor of many juvenile fiction books make for great reads, no matter your age. As a die-hard Harry Potter fan, and one who was well into adulthood when they were first published, I learned that a good story can simply be a good story. It is said that J.K. Rowling did not write Harry Potter as a kids' book on purpose; she was just telling the story of a boy wizard. The characters mature in her seven-book series, and we often see that similar arc in other juvenile fiction series. These stories grow in depth and maturity the further we get. 

Once I had read all the HP books, I was in search of more – the same magic, drama and sincerity that I found reading Rowling’s work. There are tons of great books to explore, many of which, I've found, share these compelling characteristics:

• It seems like most of the time, good wins over evil -- mostly. But we do see sadness, we even see death. Such is real life. But still, most of these tales are full of heart and hope. 
• They are real page-turners. They are written to keep you engrossed in the story. There are prophecies and quests and characters learning about their strengths and their fatal flaws.
• You might even learn something! Riordan’s Percy Jackson books are full of mythological characters that – though tweaked for these stories -- are actually based on the myths we were supposed to read in high school and college.
• You won’t get much swearing or any R-rated stuff here. These books are squeaky clean. 
• You want adventure? You got it! These are some crazy stories and will keep you on the edge of   your seat.
• If you are feeling generous, you can totally share these with the kids in your life. Listening to audio books of kids' lit is a near-daily activity in my household. Better yet, check out the book too and listen as you read along. It’s a very good way to help see how challenging words are spelled – especially in the Percy Jackson/mythology books.
• Stop by the Kids Desk or the Recommendations Desk to learn more about the many great tales of adventure.