Should the Free Library be closed it will affect more than the people’s abilities to borrow books. The Free Library plays host to a variety of computer and adult classes along with numerous programs, and even provides classes for GED, ABE, and ESL programs.

It is my sincere wish that the budget is quickly passed so that the Free Library and its numerous branches can continue operating.

Carroll, whose life was shaped by drug use, gained attention in his teenage years for his poetry, most notably in 1967 for “Organic Trains”. Carroll would continue to write and publish poetry for years to come. In 1978 Carroll pursued his interest in music and formed the punk rock band The Jim Carroll Band. The would go on to release six albums including their 1980 release “Catholic Boy”.

Carroll is possibly best known for his autobiography The Basketball Diaries, which was first published in 1978, told his life at a private school in Manhattan where he attended on a basketball scholarship. The autobiography gained even more acclaim when it hit the big screens in 1995, under the same name, and starred Leonardo DiCaprio.

While I enjoyed Carroll’s music and poetry, I will forever remember him best for his The Basketball Diaries. Reading his autobiography was a thrill, but when I saw it brought to life on the screen, I was blown away.

What will you remember Carroll best for?

(Article source)

Eddings, an American author who was born on July 7th, 1931 in Spokane, Washington, wrote many novels and series. His most well-known series included Belgariad and Malloreon. Eddings’ late wife, Leigh Eddings, was a co-author for the majority of his works but was not credited as such until the late 1990’s.

Eddings’ began his writing career in 1973 with High Hunt, a non-fantasy coming of age novel revolving around four young men hunting deer shortly after the Vietnam War. Eddings contributed his move to fantasy fiction after reading a copy of Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, which he was startled to discover was in its 78th edition.

To enter, all you need to do is follow @glue_genie on Twitter and tweet this message:

Entered to win a Kindle from @glue_genie and www.getglue.com (rules: http://bit.ly/freekindle)

Once you do that you’re entered to win. GetGlue members have the chance to earn multiple entries by advertising GetGlue once a day on Twitter or by getting friends to join GetGlue as well. Each entry betters your odds of winning and GetGlue will also be giving away $25 Amazon.com Gift Certificates to the four people who have the most points/entries. For more rules and details be sure to visit their blog.

Needless to say, I’ve already entered. I can’t see buying a Kindle for myself right now sadly. Winning one would be wonderful however. I’d probably be glued to the thing 24/7 though.

Will you be entering? My GetGlue username is, predictably, joanana (same as my Twitter and Last.fm accounts). So be sure to add me to your friends if you’re a member.

The survey is estimated to take between 12 to 15 minutes of your time, and in return, ReadingGroupGuides.com will be giving the first 2,500 respondents one of twenty-eight free books as a thank you gift. All other respondents will be entered into a random drawing to win one of 200 books. You can see a list of the 28 titles available to win on the survey page.

The survey will be available to take online until April 30th, 2009. So be sure to hurry on over to take the survey before the deadline approaches!

I’m sure you’re wondering why I just don’t make use of the local libraries, right? Here’s the reason, they’re not so local to me. Besides, as I’ve mentioned before, I had a major falling out with the one in Las Cruces and refuse to pay fees for items checked out on a stolen library card that they were supposed to have removed from their system to begin with. I refuse to pay fees for something that is not my fault and should have been handled on their end to begin with. Does that make me weird? I think not.

In any case, that just leaves me the El Paso library and branches and the nearest one is further than the Las Cruces one, we’re talking forty miles one way. That’s quite a distance to travel just to check out some books, and although I work in El Paso, I’m not very likely to want to leave an extra two hours early to go to a library, check out or turn in books, before heading in to work. This is why I found the premise behind Booksfree.com to be so interesting.

Membership rates start at only $9.99 a month, you get free and fast shipping, plus you can keep the books as long as you like. Now, I know you’re probably thinking that just getting a library card would be better, right? I mean hey, it is free. Here’s the thing, if you don’t have quick and easy access to a library then the amount of money you spend on just the gas needed to reach your destination every couple of weeks (to check out and return books) is going to be more than just $9.99. On top of that, if you have a busy lifestyle then there is no guarantee that you will get the chance to read your books before the due date at your library, let alone return them or renew them in time. Now here come the late fees. For this reason, working folks, stay-at-home mothers, senior citizens, frequent travelers, and the disabled, would definately benefit from this site along with those who do not have a library within easy reach.

Not to mention, you do save a whole lot of money and space by renting the books instead of buying every title that catches your eye. And hey, I’m fairly certain that most libraries can’t boast a selection quite like Booksfree.com’s.

Booksfree.com also offers up gift certificates and gift memberships, so with the holidays coming up, you may want to look into this for the bookworm in your life.

September 15th through the 19th denotes the first annual Book Blogger Appreciation Week. Book blogging can be difficult, but it is most assuredly a labor of love. I don’t know a single book blogger who does it for any other reason but because they enjoy reading and discussing books.

These are the book bloggers I love to visit, all of whom have a place on my blogroll as well, in no particular order:

• Bloody Kisses
• Fantasy & Sci-Fi Lovin’ Book Reviews
• Puss Reboots
• Reading Matters
• SMS Book Reviews
• Once Upon A Bookshelf
• Kate’s Book Blog
• Breeni Books
• In My Books

The book blogs listed above are my absolute favorites. The writers do their utmost best to give insightful and honest reviews that are colorful and filled with wit. Never a boring read!

Unfortunately, I found out about this campaign a little late and so I am even later in helping to spread the word. But until midnight on September 15th, First Book is asking readers to visit the site and enter the name of the book that first got you hooked on reading as well as the state that you would like to see receive the 50,000 books. You can vote once a day, so hurry on over and cast your vote today!

What Book Got You Hooked?

First Book is also asking readers to share which book it is that got you hooked. In order to truly answer this question truthfully I turned to my mother and asked her what book she remembered me, as a child, clamoring for her to read or checkout from the library the most. The book that she remembers being most asked for, and one that I even remember enjoying, is Danny and the Dinosaur by Syd Hoff. As a child I was obsessed with dinosaurs, and even not, the interest still remains. The thought of having a dinosaur for a friend was a magical one to me and as a child this book truly called out to me.

Sadly, right now New Mexico is number 37 on the list. NM is a pretty poor state, I actually think we are the poorest or down there in the bottom five. It would be wonderful if New Mexico could win as the children could really use some free books to get that love of reading going. Especially given how many public schools in my area alone are on academic probation and warning.

The Bruja’s Tale is the first book in a series of mystery thrillers that pit the heroes against the spiritual as they struggle to solve the case. Sounds interesting doesn’t it? The protagonist of this tale, Tomas Guzman Schoen, is a European-educated bachelor who boasts a home in Guatemala City, a ranch in the Peten, and a lover who “resembles Salma Hayek”. Guzman is basically a guy who has it all. That all changes when his uncle, the Chief of Police in El Paraiso, asks him to investigate two deaths before he himself dies under suspect circumstances. Throw in a Mayan bruja who seduces him in an attempt to possess his soul and you have a story that is ripe for the picking.

For more information about the book you can visit the book’s homepage, and if your interests run like mine, you’ll be please to note there is even a link at the top of the site where you can buy the book. When you order online through the website there is a code on the checkout page that you can use to apply a 25% discount to your purchase. I tried to add this book to my wishlist at Paperback Swap, but alas, it didn’t show up on their radar.

Now while this book sounds like it could be the beginning of a promising new series, I can already see some aspects that have the potential to turn this gripping read into something less than amusing. After all, the basic premise of taking a well educated man and plunking him down into a society steeped with magic and shamanism is a very common one. There are many trappings that the author could fall into that would bring the story down, so it may be interesting to see how this tale plays out.

Author Terry Pratchett has donated $1 million USD (£500,000) to help fund research for Alzheimer’s disease. Pratchett himself recently posted, on December 11, 2007, that he had been diagnosed with a rare form of early onset Alzheimer’s disease called posterior cortical atrophy. PCA causes portions of the (posterior) brain to shrivel up. Previously, Pratchett had been diagnosed as having had a stroke, which was held responsible for his impaired motor skills.

In response to Pratchett’s generous donation, his fans (and fellow book lovers) are attempting to match his donation. The Match It for Pratchett organization, as of March 19th, has already raised a total of $3821.78 USD via donations and t-shirt sales.

Alzheimer’s is a serious disease that is not yet fully understood and has no cure. It is the common cause of dementia and most commonly afflicts people 65 years of age or older, although, as you can see, there are cases of early onset as well. This is a very worthy cause I ask that you visit the site and (if possible) donate to the cause. You can donate directly to the Alzheimer’s Research Trust or via the Match It for Pratchett Donation Jar on the site. You can even go a step further and help spread the word on your blog or purchase a t-shirt to show your support of the cause and help get the word out. All donations and proceeds from t-shirt sales go directly to the Alzheimer’s Research Trust.