Meet Briana Jackson

If you need help finding a great book at Paducah Tilghman Library, make sure to find Briana Jackson!  She has read almost the entire library from front to back!  Briana is a 16 year old, soon-to-be senior who reads about 10 books each week!   She believes reading is the key to knowledge and if you think reading is boring, you must be doing it wrong.  Briana is actually writing her own book and has also written lots of poetry using many of the big or interesting words she's stumbled upon in books. 

Since Briana reads almost every new book that arrives in the library, I asked her to share a few of her favorites from the year....
Her fave has been "The Fault in our Stars" but we've reviewed that already on this blog.  So I asked her about the other books that have impacted her this year...

She highly recommends "Ten" by Gretchen McNeil.  This thriller/love story will keep you on the edge of your seat.  Ten teens, three days...one killer.  Briana says this book shows that everyone has feelings and we should be careful with them.  It will teach us to try to live by the Golden Rule and not to judge others.

The other book she had to mention was "Generation Dead" by Daniel Waters.  This is a book that promises to be sharp, funny and original while showing us the importance of getting to know other people...even if they have disabilities.  She highly recommends you give it a try. 

If you can't find Briana, make sure to check in the library!  She'll most likely be happily searching for her next great read.

A Review of "The Fault in Our Stars" by John Green

by  Beth Wyant

It's been awhile since I've delved into Young Adult literature and it's a little out of my comfort zone.  But since our high school library is my new stomping grounds, I figured now was a good time to begin.  I decided to begin my journey by choosing a book that achieved huge national recognition and was also awarded the Bluegrass Book Award in Kentucky.  It's called "The Fault in Our Stars" by John Green.

This book is about kids with cancer.  Yuck!  Who would want to read something that is sappy, sentimental and depressing too?  Not to worry.  Green's book is intelligent, honest and raw and I highly recommend it to readers of all ages. 

The book begins when two intellectually-precocious  teenagers with cancer meet in a Cancer Kid Support Group.  Hazel has  terminal lung cancer but has been given a few extra years with the help of a new drug.  Augustus has a rare cancer that has taken one of his legs.  The two fall in love and their stories are rewritten.  Hazel is consumed by a book about cancer written by an expatriate in Amsterdam.  When Augustus uses his "cancer wish" to buy them tickets to Amsterdam to meet the author, the plot begins to twist and turn magically.  What happens next is not to be spoiled by my review. 

I loved this novel and immediately shared it with my own teen.  We both found ourselves laughing, bawling and daydreaming about what it would be like to have terminal cancer and to be a heartbeat away from death.  I highly recommend you stop by PT's library and check it out.

Blind Date with a Book!

No one has to be dateless this Valentine's Day at PTHS!  Our Valentine's display generated lots of interest and the books were checked out in record time!  We wrapped another set and those disappeared too.  Hope our PT students are enjoying some quiet time reading with their romantic books.  Sounds heavenly.

Mark Your Calendars!

Coming in March

Jeannette Walls
New York Times best-selling author of Half Broke Horses

Appearance Information

• Thursday, March 14, 2013
  2:30 - Discussion with WKCTC students, Crounse 101
  5:00 p.m. -- VIP Reception, Clemens Student Center
  7:00 p.m. - Public Presentation and Q&A, Clemens Center Theatre
  8:15 p.m. - Book signing - Clemens Center Gallery
• Friday, March 15, 2013
  9:30 a.m. - Presentation to 9 - 12 grade students

Get the Book

• WKCTC Bookstore
• WKCTC Matheson Library
• Paducah-McCracken County Library

Project Partners

• West Kentucky Community and Technical College
• McCracken County Public Library
• Paducah-McCracken County Public Schools
• McNet

At Last!

6th hour aides-Zach, Griffin, Brock and Alex

Mrs.Wyant breathing a sigh of relief

Mrs. Adams had the best idea for the horse ears!

We've had quite a time finishing up our book horse sculpture.  Right before Thanksgiving, we put the finishing touches on him and rolled him out to be admired.   We enlisted our strongest guys, but they pushed just a little too hard and the horse was a little too wobbly.  The book horse collapsed into hundreds of pieces while we watched helplessly.  We were defeated for a few weeks, but then we decided he was worth the effort.  After a week of intense work, we rebuilt our horse and once again...rolled him out to be admired.  He looks awesome, doesn't he?  Thank, 6th hour library aides for all your help!

Literary Circle

Literary Circle meets each Wednesday at 7:00 am in the library.  You are invited to join us as we read "Half-Broke Horses" by Jeannette Walls

Kentucky Bluegrass Awards...Have You Voted?

The Kentucky Bluegrass Award is a student choice program that promotes and encourages Kentucky students in kindergarten through 12th grade to read a variety of quality literature.  The winner is chosen by our Kentucky students as they vote for their favorites.  PT's library has a great selection of all the top picks.  Hope you'll stop in and read a few and don't forget to vote for your favorite!