Summer Reading at SAPL

Summer is a perfect time to dip your feet in the ocean and enjoy the sun.

This year, why not Sail Away with Books? Summer reading is a great time to take a break from the school year and explore adventures from stem to stern. Register online or in person and pick up your reading log starting in June at your branch library. Sail into your library for music and magic, ocean crafts and even a fabulous Summerfest party on July 28th. Keep a lookout for the latest news at your branch or on the library website.

Teen Summer 007: Spies, Ciphers and Secret Codes. Are you a mastermind? Participate in a summer reading program that's big on Bond and allure. In June and July, you can register to crack the code in a variety of branch activities, from video gaming tournaments to teen book clubs. There’s something going on every week!

Rewards for finishing your summer reading log include a free book of your choice and two free tickets to a Missions baseball game to share with your family or friends.

Children's and Teens' Reading Programs Sponsors

• Friends of the San Antonio Public Library
• First Book
• Missions San Antonio Baseball
• The San Antonio Express-News
• Target
• CPS Energy
• The San Antonio Public Library Foundation

One Book One San Antonio rounds up its second year with the best-selling book Gates of the Alamo by Stephen Harrigan. Harrigan will visit four branches, starting with Central on June 9th, for a meet-the-author booktalk and signing. Please join us for this special event and others. Other adult programs include Texas Survivor (a camping demonstration), Tejano Heroes of the Alamo, book clubs and kits, wildflower crafts and living history. The summer wouldn't be complete without taking a bite out of Texas history: there's even pioneer cooking to try! Find out more in our One Book One San Antonio calendars, which will be available in early June.

One Book. One San Antonio Sponsors:

• H-E-B
• The San Antonio Express-News
• The San Antonio Public Library Foundation

You’ll find more at www.sanantonio.gov/library/.
 

“Give books away. Get books you want.” That’s the motto of Bookmooch.com just one of many book swapping sites on the Internet. What distinguishes Bookmooch from its competition, such as SwapSimple.com and Whatsonmybookshelf.com, is its simple model for book exchanges and the sheer number of members worldwide and books listed for trade.

Becoming a mooch is pretty straightforward. Once you’ve started an account, you create a catalog of books that you own and are willing to give away. Bookmooch provides the tools for doing this and links to the vast resources of Amazon’s international sites to assist users. Say a moocher finds a book in your catalog they want. They’ll send you a request, you package and mail it to them and you earn credits toward requesting books from other users. Since Bookmooch’s user base is international, you earn additional credits if you agree to send books overseas. A feedback system, like the one at eBay, rates moochers on how well they participate in the swapping community.

So what makes Bookmooch a marketplace preferable to a used bookstore? According to John Buckman, the site’s founder, used bookstores tend to offer little money when they agree to buy books. Additionally, values for books for sale are marked up to cover the cost of doing business (employees’ wages, storage space, etc.). Buckman predicts that Bookmooch will help connect its members to hard-to-find or out-of-print books that bookstores usually pass up in favor of buying popular titles that will be easier to move off the shelf.

Bookmooch is a textbook case of Web 2.0 philosophy and economics in action. It leverages the work of its members who create a shared database of information and who provide a virtual international warehouse, connects to existing websites to assist members and creates a social network of book lovers who value sharing a good book more than making a buck.
 

June marks the beginning of the North Atlantic hurricane season, which runs through November every year. Damage was at an all time high for the hurricane season in 2005, but we were let off easy in 2006. This hurricane season started early on May 9, with named storm Andrea. The storm didn’t produce significant damage, but high winds and rough surf from North Carolina to Florida contributed to the death of one person, a surfer catching the big waves. Many organizations, both official and unofficial, make hurricane season predictions, but at this point only the weather gods know what is in store for 2007.

Tropical cyclone is the proper meteorological term for a warm climate tropical storm characterized by a low-pressure center and strong storms. In some parts of the globe, they are referred to as typhoons, and the rotation will depend on the hemisphere, but the damage can be great anywhere people live by a warm coast.

Hurricanes develop in several different types of weather systems, but are fueled over large warm bodies of water. Hurricanes almost always strike hardest in a tropical, temperate area. Hurricanes do often move inland, but start to lose strength over land. High winds, flooding and storm surges can wreak havoc in warm coastal communities. Sustained winds are what help categorize hurricanes for planning purposes. The Saffir-Simpson scale uses wind speeds to determine the category of a hurricane. Category 5 is the most dangerous, with winds in excess of 156 miles per hour and a 19 + foot storm surge.

Texas is home to the deadliest hurricane to strike in the United States, hitting land in Galveston in September 1900. Possibly over 8,000 people died, and a storm surge washed over the entire island, contributing to the destruction of the whole city. In the rebuilding efforts, a massive sea wall was built and the city was raised several feet. Best selling author Erik Larson wrote a book about the 1900 Galveston storm called Isaac’s Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History.

Other hurricane books can be found at your library today!
 

FEATURED Staff Recommendation

Amy Cline (Librarian, Collins Garden Library) gets up close and personal with To Kill a Mockingbird.

Recently Read Fiction Favorites:
The Girls by Lori Lansens, Life of Pi by Yann Martel, Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides, Blood Memory by Greg Iles

Now Listening:
Double Bind by Chris Bohjalian

FEATURED Event

All films start at 6:30 and will be shown in the Central Library Auditorium. Feel free to bring snacks.
 

SAPL Events

If you have any questions about the library or would like to see something included in this newsletter, please contact our Web Administrator at librarywebadmin@sanantonio.gov.

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