Author Not to Miss: Alexander Gordon Smith Part 1

It's hard sometimes to get in the mood for Halloween here in So-Cal with our lack of a true fall season, but not for teens in Escondido! To celebrate this horrific holiday we Skyped live with Alexander Gordon Smith, author of the Escape from Furnace series.

As Darren Shan wrote, "Furnace is hotter than hell and twice as much fun! Sign me up for a life sentence of Alexander Gordon Smith."

This nightmarish edge-of-your-seat thriller is perfect for this time of year and will have your reluctant readers clamoring for the rest of the books that have yet to be published in the U.S. Whether you're a veteran Skyper or have never chatted live online with an author, I highly recommend that you bring Gordon to your library. The reason he goes by Gordon and not Alex is a funny story that I'll let him tell you!

View pictures from the event, stay tuned for a video, and read the next post with the full interview...you'll be glad you did.

Library Teen Music Group News

Our library has a music group program where teens jam out in the library's community room every Wednesday. Music instruction was their #1 request in a teen council survey. Thanks to community support and funding from the Friends of the Library, the group now has access to instruments and two musical instructors. The program has been ongoing for 9 months with 15 to 20 teens participating in both teen council and teen music group weekly. The group is called Project Unknown and performs at library and community venues. Project Unknown also participates in fundraising programs, volunteers at library events, and plans programs that are of interest to their peers. The music program gives teens a voice at the library, motivating them to get involved in activities and give back to their community. Currently the teens are working on a video for the "Why I Need My Library!" video contest. Their goal is to win one of the cash prizes and use the money to create and furnish their teen space. I'm so proud of our teens and their dedication to their programs--programs that serve the community. Check out the SLJTeen article published today highlighting the Logan Heights Library Teen Music Group"Project Unknown".