Remember, bold piratey band, those joyous days of yore? (That's "yore," not "yaaaar.") When every summer there was even better plunder out there to be had, and more time to spend hunting it down? Ah, the riches that were available to us back then... the bookmarks... the shiny pencils... the t-shirts... the gift certificates for free ice-cream cones...
That's right, I'm talking about Summer Reading Programs! And if your local library doesn't offer a summer reading program for pirates, ask them why not! (Wear the eyepatch. That should get their attention.)
But if that doesn't work, don't despair. Because the crew at HMS Libris is announcing the first annual HMS Libris Summer Reading Program. Here's how it works.
Set your own goal, whether it's to read a certain number of books, to try a new author you've been meaning to read, or to check out a different genre, like mysteries or manga. When you meet your goal, you can either email us with your piratey alias so we can congratulate you here on the site, or if you'd prefer to stay anonymous, you can download our Official HMS Libris T-Shirt Artwork (look for it next month...) and make yourself an official piratey shirt. (I like tie-die myself.) And if you need some ideas for books to start off with, the crew can help you with that right here!
This month John Carter McKnight is back with a review of Joss Whedon's graphic novel Frey. We all know that Buffy the Vampire Slayer had a tough time balancing her career with the demands of high school, but her troubles were nothing compared to those of 200-years-in-the-future slayer Melaka Frey. If you want to know what could be worse than having vampires ruin your prom, read John's review here!
If gorgeous art and the world of Neverland is your style, Mrs. Chippy has a review for you! Gail Carson Levine, the author of Ella Enchanted, writes about the fairies of Never Land in the beautiful book Fairy Dust and the Quest for the Egg. See what Mrs. Chippy has to say about it here!
The awesome Stella Maris is also back with a review of another book by Gail Carson Levine, Fairest. Fairest is set in the same world as Ella Enchanted, but it's not a sequel - in fact, it changes up the formula you might have come to expect quite a bit. If you're intrigued by the idea of another book in the Ellaverse, read Stella Maris' review here!
And I have a review of a book you may have seen in the bookstore or in your library's new book section, even though it's not, strictly speaking, new: Johnny and the Dead, the second in the recently rereleased Johnny Maxwell series by Terry Pratchett. Not particularly scary, but very, very funny, this book tells the story of Johnny and his friends Yo-less, Wobbler, and Bigmac and the tribulations in dealing with their town cemetery's vertically-challenged denizens. If you want to laugh until you're hiccupping, read the review here, and then check out the book!