"Outside a dog a book is man's best friend, inside a dog it is too dark to read!" -Groucho Marx========="The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid." -Jane Austen========="I don’t believe in the kind of magic in my books. But I do believe something very magical can happen when you read a good book."-JK Rowling========"I spend a lot of time reading." -Bill Gates=========“Ahhh. Bed, book, kitten, sandwich. All one needed in life, really.” -Jacqueline Kelly=========

Thursday, October 27, 2011

What's hot and what's not in the library now.

It's nearing the end of 1st quarter. Time to take a temperature check. What are students reading?

Our school asks each student to read a book during the summer and then they have an accountability activity once school starts up in the fall. The three books that they read are:
  • Uglies by Scott Westerfeld  (10th grade)
  • Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (11th grade)
  • The Alchemist by Paolo Coelho (12th grade)
These three books are my highest circulating books, for obvious reasons.  Uglies and Hunger Games are the first books in a series.  All the books in these series are very popular here in the library.  That makes me happy.  Our summer assignment works if it gets students to read beyond the assignment.

What's hot...


The list below reflects the most popular books in the library that kids selected themselves.  I skipped over books that were part of an assignment.
  1. Pretties by Scott Westerfeld, #2 in Uglies series
  2. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collin, #2 in Hunger Games series
  3. Specials by Scott Westerfeld, #3 in Uglies series
  4. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins, #3 in Hunger Games series
  5. Divergent by Veronica Roth
  6. Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
  7. Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld
  8. Maze Runner by James Dashner
  9. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, I'm glad to see a classic on the list!
  10. Candor by Pam Bachorz, this was one of my top 20 summer books so I've promoted it.
  11. Extras by Scott Westerfeld, #4 in Uglies series
  12. Goliath by Scott Westerfeld
  13. Graceling by Kristin Cashore
  14. The Power of Six by Pitticus Lore
  15. Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson
  16. Unwind by Neal Shusterman
  17. Where She Went by Gayle Forman
  18. Amy and Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson, my #1 summer read. I've been pushing it!
  19. Bloodlines by Richelle Mead
  20. City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare
  21. Deadline by Chris Crutcher, a Washington author!
  22. North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley, another Washington author!
  23. Paranormalcy by Keirsten White
  24. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
Looking over the list I'd say that dystopian novels and realism are the hottest books in the library. 
The other thing that is hot in my library right now is my Mock Printz Workshop.  I have over 50 kids participating this year and the books we are reading are always checked out!  It is so cool. None of the 15 books on that list are reflected on this list because I considered them as part of an "assignment." My 2012 Mock Printz list is here.

What's not...
  • Books in a series. I've heard more kids complain about all the series they have to keep track of and how they are getting tired of them.
  • Paranormal Romances. Though we aren't quite done yet, I'd say that the paranormal romances aren't as hot as in years past.  Evidenced by the fact that the #3 book in the The Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy, Forever, hasn't even cracked my top 25 books. And kids were crazy for that series last year.
  • My three-week due dates!  Kids groan about overdue books. What's a librarian to do?
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