New Book News for New Year's!

In case you hadn't heard, Rainbow Rowell is spinning off her own book into a new one. For those of you who don't know, Rainbow's Fangirl is about a girl who writes an uber popular fanfic about Simon Snow (think Harry Potter). Fangirl even contains fake excerpts from the original book, from Cath's fanfic ("Carry On"), and news articles about the series. But it's all just pieces of an untold story. Until now. Rainbow is writing a full-length book about Simon Snow called, surprisingly, Carry On. It will focus on Cath's version of the story and characters.

She also announced a special edition release of Fangirl, complete with an excerpt of Carry On.

ON MAY 12, YOU CAN GET A "FANGIRL" SPEC. EDITION WITH GORGEOUS FAN ART & EXCERPT FROM MY SIMON SNOW NOVEL "CARRY ON." pic.twitter.com/0UW6sQ7rVM
— Rainbow Rowell (@rainbowrowell) December 12, 2014

TL;DR It's a book based on a fanfic about a fictional series that appeared in another book. Hope that's not too confusing.

A lot of you asking whether I'm writing Carry On -- or whether Cath or Gemma is. It's me. (They actually don't exist.)
— Rainbow Rowell (@rainbowrowell) December 10, 2014

Here's the synopsis from Rainbow's Tumblr:

Simon Snow just wants to relax and savor his last year at the Watford School of Magicks, but no one will let him. His girlfriend broke up with him, his best friend is a pest, and his mentor keeps trying to hide him away in the mountains where maybe he’ll be safe. Simon can’t even enjoy the fact that his roommate and longtime nemesis is missing, because he can’t stop worrying about the evil git. Plus there are ghosts. And vampires. And actual evil things trying to shut Simon down. When you’re the most powerful magician the world has ever known, you never get to relax and savor anything. Carry On is a ghost story, a love story, a mystery and a melodrama. It has just as much kissing and talking as you’d expect from a Rainbow Rowell story — but far, far more monsters.  

Literary Playlist: The Beginning of Everything

Happy Holidays, everyone! Hope you enjoy this month's literary playlist:


The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Schneider is full of pop culture references. Ezra Faulkner loves reading, listening to music, watching movies (especially when you leave a movie theater and it smells like popcorn and every conversation is about the same thing), talking about comic books with his childhood best friend, Toby Ellicott, and spending time with the new girl at school, Cassidy Thorpe. Before hitting play on this indie playlist, you may want to put on a Gryffindor uniform, take your iPod full of Bob Dylan to the Barnes & Noble cafe, and read The Great Gatsby to prepare. Oh, and don't forget to watch Dead Poets Society, see a performance of Hamlet, and play a Mario game on N64 first.
[NOTE: This is a playlist of songs the author mentioned in the book. MRL is not responsible for nor does it endorse the content of non-MRL websites. Users should use critical judgment in relying on information found in these websites and determine what information is appropriate to their needs.]

More Insurgent News!

You guys, the first full-length trailer for Insurgent was released! Check it out:

What do you guys think of it? Is it living up to your expectations or falling short? Comment with your opinion!

And speaking of falling, check out these new posters:

via thefashionisto.com

via popsugar.com

A Gift from J.K. Rowling!!!

The amazing and wonderful author J.K. Rowling (a.k.a. Queen Jo) has a gift to share with the world this month: 12 new stories taking place in the Harry Potter universe! Apparently they'll feature brand-new "festive surprises and accompanying rhyming riddles" as well as "new potions and Moments" in the Pottermore website. New "gifts" will be released on Pottermore daily from Dec. 12-23.

(If you don't know what Pottermore is, it's an online Harry Potter resource, with games [you can make potions and cast spells!] and a very safe social aspect [it's completely anonymous]. You follow the course of the books through chapters--meaning you answer quiz questions written by Queen Jo herself to get sorted into a house at Hogwarts in the first one! Plus there is so much background on all your favorite characters, locations, potions... It's just really cool and fun! Wait until you read Professor McGonagall's background; she's fantastic.)

Queen Jo has been posting new HP information, backgrounds, and treats through the Pottermore site since it was released in 2011. More recently, she posted an article by Rita Skeeter about the HP crew in their 30's, as well as more background information about the notorious Dolores Umbridge.

Snowflakes!

Don't you guys just love snow? Come into the Main branch to make your own snowflakes! I mean, they're made of paper, but they're cool--and we'll put them on display on our bulletin board! We have a few instructions printed out, but for awesome designs, look at samples online!

And speaking of snow, when people say, "No two snowflakes are alike," they're totally right. But they don't mention how incredible snowflakes are up close! Here are some samples from a photographer named Alexey Kljatov (who even teaches you how to photograph snowflakes on his blog!):

 

Unreal, right?!

And for more snowy weather fun, grab a mug of hot cocoa and settle in with one of these books for snowy days (all of which are available through the library system!):

• Let It Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle
• Dash & Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
• Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
• The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
• My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Holiday Stories by Stephanie Perkins, Holly Black, Ally Carter, Gayle Forman, Jenny Han, David Levithan, Kelly Link, Myra McEntire, Matt de la Pena, Rainbow Rowell, Laini Taylor, and Kiersten White
• Six Months Later by Natalie Richards
• Starry, Starry Night: Three Holiday Stories by Lurlene McDaniel
• The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
• Brian's Winter by Gary Paulsen
• The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan (we have the graphic novel and audiobook, too!)
• Wintersmith by Terry Pratchett
• The Iron Fey series by Julie Kagawa
• Holiday Princess by Meg Cabot
• Tug-of-War by J.C. Pearce
• The Year the Wolves Came by Bebe Faas Rice
• The Diamond of Darkhold by Jeanne DuPrau
• Far North by Will Hobbs
• The Trap by John E. Smelcer
• Winter On Her Own by Elizabeth Howard
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling (or really any HP book; they have great winter scenes)

Literary Playlist: Books by Chuck Black

We were closed last week due to snow and Thanksgiving, so here's a literary playlist to make up for it!
 

The Kingdom Series and the Knights of Arrethtrae Series by Chuck Black contain something special at the end of each book: sheet music. Emily Elizabeth Black wrote a song for each book. The songs were then played on the audiobook versions in the background. They have all the songs on a soundtrack for each series. If you don't want to buy them or want to test them out first, some of the songs are available for preview on their website.

The Kingdom Series

1. Kingdom's Dawn
2. Kingdom's Hope
3. Kingdom's Edge
4. Kingdom's Call
5. Kingdom's Quest
6. Kingdom's Reign

The Knights of Arrethtrae Series

1. Sir Kendrick and the Castle of Bel Lione
2. Sir Bentley and Holbrook Court
3. Sir Dalton and the Shadow Heart
4. Lady Carliss and the Waters of Moorue
5. Sir Quinlan and the Swords of Valor
6. Sir Rowan and the Camerian Quest

[NOTE: MRL is not responsible for nor does it endorse the content of non-MRL websites. Users should use critical judgment in relying on information found in these websites and determine what information is appropriate to their needs.]