Reading Around the Summer Town

VPL Plans for Summer Readers:

• In July, there will be Chilean Poetry recitals (in Spanish), including works by Neruda, my favourite; Saturday morning Search Smart for learning how to use databases; the Summer Book Sale on July 3 (bring your own bags!); more chances to join One Book, One Vancouver author Karen X. Tulchinsky for discussions of her book The Five Books of Moses Lapinsky
  


• The Adult Summer Reading Club invites you to read in any language and at multiple locations!
  


• On August 15, 8 pm, why not attend the screening of the documentary The Riot at Christie Pits in remembrance of the 75th anniversary of the 1933 race riots in Toronto
  


• Check out the August TechnoTuesdays as they seem perfect for educators. Google Basics, Choosing a Digital Cameria, and internet tools and technologies for enhancing reading, a session called Fiction Resources.
  


• Looking for a Book Club for the Fall? There's the Thursday Night, or Saturday Morning, Non-Fiction, Classics, and/or Ancient Classics Book Clubs to choose from. The Classics include Jane Austen. The Non-Fiction readers will be doing The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester, a book about the Victorian "grand" project of researching and writing The Oxford English Dictionary, a resource that requires its own shelf and that researches the history of the use of each word in the language. I loved the tale and the writing, and I wish I'd been able to see him when he was here recently. Check for this and more information at the VPL website.
  


• For kids, there's the Summer Reading Club: Reading all Over the Map and the Multilingual Reading Club as well. Children are also invited to events that celebrate Korean, Russian, and Vietnamese cultures.
  
  
• For pre-teens, just teens, and other teens, there's the Canadian Book Camp: Read it Write Now! and speakers Richard VanCamp, Andrea Spalding, Norma Charles, Nikki Tate, and more. Information online.
  Read the research about Canadian children and summer reading -- here's the IRA report.

Other summer reading opportunities:

• Check out O (July) magazine; see Oprah's online Summer Reading lists for adults and for kids. While you won't find a lot of Canadian material, you have to love her spirited endorsement of reading, reading, reading.
  


• Library and Archives Canada, along with TD, have kids' reading lists in both English and French. This year's theme is LOL (Laugh Out Loud, if you aren't familiar with chat abbrevs).
  


• TeensSRC is brand new. Teens across Canada can submit online reviews, participate in discussion forums, and take part in librarian-moderated chats. The site is run by the British Columbia Library Association with support from the British Columbia Ministry of Education and the Greater Victoria Public Library.
  


• The Dewey Divas and Dudes blog is wonderful. This is a group of Canadian publishers’ reps who blog-talk their favourite reads of the upcoming season to librarians and school teachers. What a great resource this is.
  


• Maclean's senior writer Brian Bethune muses on all things literary in his infrequent postings to the blog: Bethune on Books
  


• Have a peek at what is suggested for St George's high-school-age boys' summer reading. I also liked these Washington International school lists (in French and Spanish, as well as English). Included in some of the lists are Canadian authors, non-fiction, poetry, and novels in translation. These are great lists.
  


• Canada Reads 2008: Paul Quarrington's King Leary
  


• You will love this one: travel to Reading Places! Check out the Wikireadia. Celebrate 2008 which is the national Year of Reading in the UK
  
• The LA Times offers summer book choices by month: June to August
  


• Read online: The world's 50 most powerful blogs! Now there's something to aspire to ...
  


• Travelling in the UK? Here are Richard and Judy's TV Book Club choices for this summer.
  


• Here's a list in many genres from The Telegraph -- the best books for beach, garden or rooftop from those most enjoyed by Telegraph critics this year
  
• All right, so it's compiled in 2002, but I always think this is a great reference when you are looking for something great: The Top 100 Books of All Time from The Guardian
  
• The ALA's Reading List Council seeks outstanding genre fiction that merits special attention by general adult readers and librarians. Ten librarians, experts in readers’ advisory and collection development, select adrenaline titles in eight different categories: suspense, thrillers, and action adventure; Fantasy; Historical Fiction; Horror; Mystery; Romance; Science Fiction; and Women’s Fiction. The page reads, "This inaugural juried list features established voices and debut novelists and suggests titles that will thrill avid fans and entice new readers." See also the Notables List and the Current Notable Children's List for 2008.
  
• There are several booklists now available from Booklists on the VSB School Libraries and Learning Resources page. The most recent MARBLES (Multicultural, Anti-racist Book-Loving EducatorS) list features Canadian titles for K-12, is being regularly updated, and was developed by Vancouver TLs and Angela Brown, our Diversity Consultant.

How's that? Make sure to share this Summer Reading blog with your colleagues, and add other lists you use in the form of Comments (or email me and I will add them).