There is a new jewel on the Southside of Madison: the Goodman South Madison Library. Members of the South Madison Community love the new building space it provides. They also love the expanded resources and variety programs.
[read more...]The Sun Prairie Public Library is one of my favorite libraries to visit because it’s so big and beautiful. When I enter the building, the atmosphere is welcoming and it makes me feel at home.
[read more...]With the fast-growing trend of e-readers in stores and online, it stands to reason that libraries will follow suit. If other providers can scan books, why can’t libraries? Nevertheless, authors and publishers disagree.
[read more...]I am one of the few people I know who loves great white sharks—or as scientists prefer to call them, white sharks. While most people fear their slit-like gills, rows and rows of sharp teeth, and fierce hunting skills, I cannot help but marvel at these features.
[read more...]Stuck in Neutral is a book by Terry Trueman. The book tells the fascinating story of a 14-year-old boy named Shawn. Shawn has cerebral palsy, a condition that occurs at birth, and results in severe muscular dysfunction. His condition is so bad that Shawn cannot control any parts of his body.
[read more...]On winter Sundays, I love to curl up with a good book and lose myself in a fictional story. This past Sunday, I decided to try a new genre: non-fiction. I picked up a copy of Blue Covenant by Maude Barlow and after just a few pages, I was engrossed in a tale just as exciting as a fictional novel.
[read more...]The book, Touching Spirit Bear, is about a 15-year-old boy named Cole living in Minneapolis. All his life, he commits crimes because his dad beats him and his mother ignores him, making him feel unwanted and alone. When Cole robs a hardware store, Peter Driscall, a classmate, reports him. Seeking vengeance, Cole smashes Peter’s head onto the sidewalk.
[read more...]It’s no secret that the teenage years are hard. The combined stress of school, extra-curricular activities, and pressure from peers and parents often stretches us thin. Omnipresent thoughts of the future are sometimes scary, but it’s a thrill to grow up. And as we gain independence, our choices and decisions start to define our character. With this combination of stressors, anxiety is totally normal for teens.
[read more...]The Outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place written by E.L. Konigsburg tells a story about one girl, Margaret Rose Kane, and her mission to save three towers her uncles fondly constructed over a span of 45 years.
[read more...]Unhealthy eating habits: the bane of the 20th and 21st century. Part of the reason for sky-rocketing obesity rates is the success of fast food restaurants. In Eric Schlosser’s Fast Food Nation, he digs into all the terrifying facts about our country’s system of food production. These are facts that large industries do not want the public to know.
[read more...]Although the Steenbock Library is not the closest library to my dorm, it is my library of choice on campus. Located right by the scenic lakeshore, the fifteen-minute long walk from the Memorial Union presents a feast for the eyes; the green is lush and the lake is calmingly clear. It’s kind of like walking through an Impressionist painting.
[read more...]Ever since I was kid, the Madison Central Library has been my favorite library. My dad and I would always walk up the large staircase to the kids’ section, and there, he would read out loud to me from a picture book. Some of my happiest childhood memories are of times I was at the library with my dad.
[read more...]Verona Public Library is my favorite library to visit. Located on 500 Silent Street, it is right by the Verona Area High School. This is a new library that was recently opened in 2006. It is a very open and welcoming place.
[read more...]The very word Twilight causes girls, and boys, to scream with excitement. Obsessed fans, having chosen their side, can be seen sporting team Edward or team Jacob t-shirts. The Twilight phenomenon has sunk its poisonous claws into teens and adults alike. Personally, when I hear the word, I cringe internally.
[read more...]I glance down at the book in my hand, Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. It is the story of Bella Swan, a clutzy, intelligent girl who moves from Phoenix, Arizona to live with her dad in Forks, Washington. At her new high school, she meets a strange, yet gorgeous boy named Edward Cullen. Bella soon discovers that Edward is a vampire and, despite this, falls madly in love with him. Twilight intertwines the tale of their love, the history of vampires, and the legends of werewolves while explaining the challenges Bella faces as she dates a vampire.
[read more...]The Sequoya Branch of the Madison Public Library system is an exceptional library. Located on the West side of Madison, this library is conveniently situated on Midvale Boulevard, not far from the beltline. It is right on the bus line, which makes it only about five minutes from my house.
[read more...]There are hundreds of libraries in Wisconsin, but the one closest to my heart is the Monona Public Library.
I have been going to this library since before I could even walk. The Monona Public Library started off with only one floor, with books squeezed into every crevice. But, as the book selection expanded and membership grew, the building matured as well.
[read more...]A common characteristic of the modern high school curriculum is a canon of classic literature: a list of books all teens must read before they enter adulthood. But each school year, as perspectives, technology, and entertainment change, the stories of those classic novels become less accessible to today’s teens.
[read more...]In Margaret Mitchell’s Gone With the Wind, Katie Scarlett O’Hara is the most sought after girl in the Georgian region she calls home. Her pretty green eyes, slender waist, snow-white skin and charisma attract all the young men to her. As the daughter of a rich plantation owner, Scarlett does not need to worry about chores; she has slaves for that. The only thing she is concerned with is winning the heart of Ashley Wilkes, the man she sees as her true love.
[read more...]Just Like Josh Gibson, is a wonderful little book by Angela Johnson, and is perfect for young girls aspiring to become baseball players, or just about any other career traditionally thought of as “man’s work.” In this book, a little girl tells the story of her grandmother’s love for baseball as a child growing up in the 1940s.
[read more...]Kira-Kira, by Cynthia Kadohata, is a book about a young Japanese-American girl, Katie Takeshima and the hardships her family has to face when they are forced to relocate to Georgia. This Newbery medal-winning book tells the tale of one family’s journey to a new place, their experiences with racism, and the ability of people to persevere through hard times.
[read more...]They walked hundreds of miles across desert and wilderness, in blisteringly hot daylight and in the blind darkness of night. They were hunted by lions, pursued by violence, threatened by disease. Some were slowly claimed by death. They walked to escape a brutal war, to find freedom, to find peace, and to find hope. These were the lost boys of Sudan, boys who lost their homes, their parents, and their childhoods to a bloody civil war.
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