2,500 books

were read between June 12 and August 7! Great job!

Below are some photos from the Summer Reading Celebration.

The room was full of families--all eager to say, "Congratulations!" to our amazing Summer Readers.

Everyone has fun designing their own "Love Guppy" after dining on some yummy pizza.

This table is packed with kids making origami whales.

Though school is starting up in just a matter of days, please don’t forget to keep up that great reading all year long! We’re always happy to recommend good reads and encourage page-turning even as the daylight hours dwindle.

Congratulations, again, and thank you for helping to make this summer such a huge success!

The following books were rated “Bingo!” by our readers—certified good reads.

Living Oprah: My One-Year Experiment to Walk the Walk of the Queen of Talk  by Robyn Okrant
Emily A. writes: “Living Oprah is a fun guilty pleasure read with a few scattered incisive comments on the nature of pop culture and the phenomenon of Oprah.”

The Witching Hour by Anne Rice
Tiffany G. writes: “Introduced to me by Ms. Westervelt [branch manager], this book has it all…suspense, drama, murder, money, sex, AND THE PARANORMAL???! Who can ask for anything more? This book goes great with a glass of Riesling.”

High Five by Janet Evanovich
Tiffany G. writes: “Evanovich does it again in this rib tickling mystery of bounty hunter Stephanie Plum. Very quick read, perfect for a weekend alone. One question…How much does Stephanie pay in car insurance premiums???”

Baby Proof by Emily Giffin
Eileen L. writes: “Great summer beach book—thoroughly charming characters. Engrossing read (one night, for me!).”

Temptation by Victoria Christopher Murray
Sandra W. writes: “Watching Kyla handle the situation with Jasmine and Jefferson gave me confidence to “stand” and not be swayed by life’s trials.”

Strip by Thomas Perry
Sandra W. writes: “My goodness, I was on the edge of my seat from the beginning to the end! The ending really threw me for a loop! A MUST READ!!”

Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson
Ruth H. writes: “An amazing and inspiring tale. It offers a perspective on a part of the world that we rarely see despite it being in the news so often in the last ten years.”

Uh-oh! Watch out for these duds our readers rated “Wipeout!”

Sand Sharks by Margaret Maron
Emily A. writes: “This entry in the Knott series is regrettably tired and predictable. Tensions between Dwight and Deborah, the inevitable murder at a judges’ conference are all uncomfortable but lack the punch of earlier books in the series.”

Known to Evil by Walter Mosley
Tiffany G. writes: “I’ve read almost all of Mr. Mosley, and ALL of them were HITS! Except this one. This mystery took too long to carry out and for a while took the place of my usual dose of melatonin.”

Thanks to all our readers for their participation this summer, and to our reviewers for their helpful commentary!

It might be easy to guess from his name what Charlie "The Noise Guy" Williams is known for: his ability to make noises! And not just any noises. He can imitate, a bird, a plane, a flushing toilet, a ukulele, an electric guitar, ocean waves, splashing water, bubbles, and almost anything you can name! The Noise Guy started off by showing us just a few of the noises and sounds he can make, then read the entire alphabet with a completely unique sound for each letter! The audience was invited and encouraged to participate as The Noise Guy taught us all how to make some of the sounds ourselves. 

The fun didn't end there! We were treated to a reading of Flush: An Ode to Toilets (written by The Noise Guy himself!) about a boy who's just learning to use the toilet and is having trouble getting used to all the different steps involved in going to the bathroom, not to mention all the different types of toilets he encounters! What was already a giggle-inducing book became even funnier thanks to all the additional sound effects! The book and The Noise Guy support the "Literacy on the Loo" campaign, which really doesn't need much explanation, but you can click the link to find out more.

As our visit drew to a close, The Noise Guy invited us to use our imaginations to think up different actions and objects that a tennis racket might be. Lots of creative ideas were shared and the range was pretty impressive: everything from a beaver's tail to an electric guitar to a frying pan! And of course, there was a different sound for each idea. The Noise Guy was very entertaining, very silly, and lots of fun to experience. If you missed his performance, don't worry! There's lots of exciting programming coming to Govans as the summer moves along (check out the Aquarium on Wheels presentation of "Puffin: Little Brother of the North" this Thursday at 3:00 pm!).

If you are wondering what Ops handles: Imagine you are at the rave given by the con and due to all the heavy back beats of the thumpa thumpa and the zany lyrics from the opening theme of your favorite anime playing, you have been dancing up a storm. You decide to quench your thirst with some refreshing water. When you notice there is no more water left (OH, NO!). What do you do? Well, you inform someone working at the rave that there is no more aqua and they inform Operations and we make sure you get the water and continue to enjoy the rave. Operations is an important part of a con, we make sure whatever you need gets done. We are connected to the medical team, volunteers, security, and the hotel liaison. We are 24 hours, we have no breaks. We are awesome. So whenever you are at a con, stop by the Operations Department and give them a high five or chocolate to help them stay awake. Trust me they will need it, ‘cause around 3 a.m. things start to get loopy, they do weird things like have a Pokémon battle over the intercom system with medical and volunteers. I'm telling you loopy.

Rock out and read a book!

Miss Kelly

If you experienced computer withdrawal during the storms come on up and check your e-mail, view pictures of the snow on-line, pay those bills, or get going on your homework. We now have Wi-Fi at Govans. Bring your laptop and try it out.

Its time to stock up on more books, cds, and dvds for the winter is not over yet.

This morning I participated in a workshop to hopefully become more skilled at and comfortable with blogging. You'll be hearing from me again soon.

1. Give It Up by Marvin Gaye
2. Dance to the Music by Sly and the Family Stone
3. Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) by Sly and the Family Stone
4. Boogie Wonderland by Earth, Wind and Fire
5. Tank! by The Seatbelts