Summer Reads! - July New Books (part5)

Zom-B City by Darren Shan

As zombies overrun London, B battles moral dilemmas and a growing sense of hopelessness at every turn.

 Monument 14: Sky on Fire by Emmy Laybourne

After repairing a school bus, the group of survivors split in two, with one group heading to the airport in hopes of reuniting with their parents and saving their dying friend and the other trying to rebuild the community they lost.

My Friend Dahmer by Derf Backderf

In graphic novel format, the author offers an account of growing up in the same schools as Jeffrey Dahmer, who went on to become one of the most notorious serial killers and cannibals in United States history.

The Rough Guide to the Best iPhone and iPad Apps by Peter Buckley

So many apps and so little time! This guide pinpoints the finest free and paid-for applications across all the categories of the Apple App Store.

April's new books are all vampire romances! (Part 5)

April Fools :)

Undeadly by Michele Vail

The day I turned 16, my boyfriend-to-be died. I brought him back to life. Then things got a little weird…Molly Bartolucci wants to blend in, date hottie Rick and keep her zombie-raising abilities on the down-low. Then the god Anubis chooses her to become a reaper—and she accidentally undoes the work of another reaper, Rath. Within days, she's shipped off to the Nekyia Academy, an elite boarding school that trains the best necromancers in the world. And her personal reaping tutor? Rath.  Life at Nekyia has its pluses. Molly has her own personal ghoul, for one. Rick follows her there out of the blue, for another…except, there's something a little off about him. When students at the academy start to die and Rath disappears, Molly starts to wonder if anything is as it seems. Only one thing is certain—Molly's got an undeadly knack for finding trouble….

If We Survive by Andrew Klaven

They came on a mission of mercy, but now they’re in a fight for their lives.
High schooler Will Peterson and three friends journeyed to Central America to help rebuild a school. In a poor, secluded mountain village, they won the hearts of the local people with their energy and kindness.
But in one sudden moment, everything went horribly wrong. A revolution swept the country. Now, guns and terror are everywhere—and Americans are being targeted as the first to die.
Will and his friends have got to get out fast. But streets full of killers . . . hills patrolled by armies . . . and a jungle rife with danger stand between them and the border. Their one hope of escape lies with a veteran warrior who has lost his faith and may betray them at any moment. Their one dream is to reach freedom and safety and home.
If they can just survive.

 Vampire Knight vol 16 by Matsuri Hino

The Night Class is back in session, but Yuki finds herself quickly becoming second fiddle to Sara Shirabuki. With Kaname gone, Yuki is now desperate for blood, so Zero offers her his own. Will she break her promise to Kaname and drink from Zero?

iPhone Game Development for Teens by Clayton Crooks

 Learn how to create dynamic, published games for the iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch with iPhone Game Development for Teens. This project-based beginner’s game programming book guides new game developers through the complete process of developing a complete game. The book’s high-energy, step-by-step style presents proven consistent processes for creating exciting games and its highly readable style is perfect for teens or other beginners. The book begins by introducing critical gaming concepts before going into the details, sound effects, graphics, and more. While the book focuses on developing games specifically for the iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch, readers can use the author’s solid development process and the book’s open source engine to create effective games for virtually any platform.

Kevin, it's your birthday!

Happy birthday to Kevin Brooks!  Read one of his books to celebrate! :)

Sixteen-year-old Tom Harvey was an ordinary Londoner until an attack that caused fragments of an iPhone to be embedded in his brain, giving him incredible knowledge and power, but using that power against the gang that attacked him and a friend could have deadly consequences.

 Fifteen-year-old Moo Nelson, shy, overweight, and bullied by his classmates, finds his life spinning out of control after he witnesses a car chase and a fight that results in a murder.

New books for the new year =)

Here are the first new books of 2012 for the YA section!

Naruto, vol. 54 by Masashi Kishimoto

Check the Catalog

Naruto and his team engage in an intense battle with the Akatsuki organization as both sides seek the power to determine the future of their land. Internecine fighting weakens the Akatsuki, but will their dark forces sideline Naruto?! (Jan. 3rd)

 Jessica Rules the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey

Check the Catalog

Eighteen-year-old vampire princess Jessica Packwood is in for the fight of her life--and her husband's--when Lucius is accused of a horrible crime and Jessica, trying to prove herself worthy of the throne, faces betrayal by those closest to her.

 Shimmer by Alyson Noel

Check the Catalog

Riley, dead at age twelve and now a Soul Catcher, works with her teacher Bodhi to help Rebecca, the daughter of a former plantation owner who, furious about being murdered during a 1733 slave revolt, is keeping those who died with her from crossing over.

 On the Come Up by Travis Hunter

Check the Catalog

Growing up in the heart of the Atlanta ghetto, siblings DeMarco and Jasmine Winslow have developed a talent for survival. By the time DeMarco was fifteen, being locked up was better than being at home. So whenever he got hungry or cold or just plain tired of living in the ghetto, he'd steal something and make sure he got caught. Jasmine, DeMarco's twin sister, hasn't had the luxury of vacationing in juvie. She's had to balance being an honor roll student with fighting off advances from her mother's boyfriend. After her mom sides with her boyfriend, Jasmine's out on the streets and running with the DIVAs, a rough group of girls.

 iBoy by Kevin Brooks

Check the Catalog

Sixteen-year-old Tom Harvey was an ordinary Londoner until an attack that caused fragments of an iPhone to be embedded in his brain, giving him incredible knowledge and power, but using that power against the gang that attacked him and a friend could have deadly consequences.

 Stefan's Diaries: The Ripper by L. J. Smith

Check the Catalog

The year is 1888, and the scent of blood lingers heavy in the London air.  Stefan Salvatore thought he could escape his violent origins by settling in the peaceful countryside of England, but when a heinous murderer named Jack the Ripper surfaces, Stefan fears darkness will always follow him.  Drawn into the investigation, Stefan assumes the worst: This is the work of a vampire.  And the more he learns, the more he becomes convinced that the killer is someone close to him- and that he can never outrun his past.

Reader's Apps

I am very excited about a recent purchase of mine!  Soon, I will be the proud owner of an ipod touch!  So, I'm doing a little research on the best apps for readers, reading, and books and I thought I would share my discoveries with you here.  I haven't been able to try any of these yet, as my touch has not yet arrived, but if I have future information on how useful they are, I'll be sure to share.  Get out your ipod touches, ipads, and/or iphones and lets see what we can find!

Let's start out with the top general apps.  There are iBooks and the Kindle app, both of which are FREE.  However, getting the actual books for these apps may cost you.  Amazon has a lot of free ebooks available which you would be able to read on the Kindle app.  I haven't had the change to look around on iBooks to see if there are some free books on there as well.

Now let's go on to some unique and interesting ones~

Marvel Comics/DC Comics- Comic book fan?  Get this FREE app and download plenty of free comics as well as the regular ones which you will have to pay for.

Audiobooks - Prefer to listen to your book?  Audiobooks is another FREE app with over 3,500 free audiobooks.  There are also more audiobooks available for purchase.

Overdrive Media Console - Ever noticed this on our website?  Overdrive is a digital library used by Durham and many other public libraries.  Use your library card to download audiobooks and ebooks.  Oh and of course, this app is FREE.

Constitution - Studying American history in school?  You can study on the go with the entire Constitution with this app, for FREE

GoodReads - Good Reads is a social site for people who like to read and keep track of what they're reading.  You can use your Facebook ID to log in, or create an entirely new account.  I use this website myself, and I can't wait to see how the app measures up.  Another wonderfully FREE app  Book Crawler is another similar app, but take care, only Book Crawler Lite is free.

Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen - I love fairy tales, especially these classic ones!  132 FREE fairy tales, with an app that scrolls nicely while you read.

No Fear Shakespeare - I remember studying Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet in school and I think how awesome it would have been back then to have a modern English translation of these plays to help me find the meanings and just really understand what was going on.  This app does just that for you.  However, while the app itself is FREE, most of the plays are $0.99 to download them.  A small price, but a price just the same.

Touch Bible Free - A free app for reading the Bible.  Additional versions of the Bible are available and most are free, look around for the one you like the best.
( I looked for a free version of the Koran, but could not find one.  Cheapest one I saw was $1.99.  Same thing with the Torah)

Local Books - Going someplace new?  Local Books can tell you libraries, bookstores, and other literary related places near you!  And of course, the best part, its FREE =)

Well, those are some of the best sounding and free apps I could find.  If you know or find some more good ones, please do post your findings, and of course, enjoy these I have found as well.  Until next time!