Need some ideas for that special reader on your list?

“Reader Perfect” suggestions cover many categories, formats and genres, as well as age groups.

Amazon.com gives you not only the Best Books of 2005, but also the
Top 50 Editors' Picks.

For the wee bookworms on your list, there's the age-appropriate Parents’ Choice Holiday Gift Guide.

And don't forget The New York Times Editor's Choice and the 100 Notable Books of the Year.

A book is a gift you can open again and again. ~ Garrison Keillor

Liz Hall is killed in a car accident and when she awakes, finds herself in a place not unlike her earthly home. Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin is the story of a place where people go after death to carry on their existence. The main difference from Earth is that people age backwards, finally returning to earth as infants. Liz is not happy in Elsewhere. She wants to attend her prom, learn to drive and go to college. She spends much of her time peering through a telescope at her family and friends on Earth. But Liz eventually finds that Elsewhere is where she wants to be for the remaining fifteen years of her life. Life, she learns, no matter where, even in death, is best experienced in the present. Elsewhereturns many questions about existence on their heads and gets one thinking about what's really important.

The books are in for the next teen book group discussion! We are reading Bodies in Motion and at Rest, a collection of essays by Thomas Lynch. He is a funeral director from Milford, Michigan, so you’ve guessed it, he writes a lot about death and religion, which should make for a great discussion on Monday, January 9th from 7-8pm. So come sign up at the Downtown Library, receive your own copy to keep, and then join in on the discussion. On January 10th, Thomas Lynch will be speaking at the Neutral Zone from 7-9pm, and you can get your copy signed! A2 Public School students may be able to receive CR (Community Resource) credit for participating.

What group will be remembered for being one of the most significant music creators of the twentieth century?
If you answered, the BEATLES, you'd be right. How many other music stars can put together a CD of just Number One Hits? Recently was the 25th Anniversary of John Lennon's death. Elizabeth Partridge, an award-winning author, wrote Lennon a photographic biography, with over 140 black-and-white photos bridging his life. There's also in-depth coverage of John's adolescence and stories from those who knew him best.

AADL-GT: Ann Arbor District Library Game Tournaments

The Grand Championships of the 2005 season are barely a week away, and you've got questions about how it's all going to work. Well, you're in the right place for answers. Here's how it's all going to happen.

First, the Clan Cup will start promptly at 12:00 on Saturday, December 17th, so if you're a primary or a sub for one of the top 8 clans, be there on time (or even early), or forfeit your first match. Subs can absolutely be used in the Clan Cup, but at least one primary must be present, and the four players who play for the winning clan at the Clan Cup are the ones who will get the prize, 4 512mb iPod shuffles. Now, your Clan's standing is going to figure heavily in how much opposition stands between you and victory; not only will the higher-ranked clans get byes for the first rounds, but also, any ties will be broken by the clan standings. So, read on for full details.

A spanking new website will now allow you to listen to your favorite English-language poets read their own works.
The Poetry Archive, under the auspices of Andrew Motion, the poet laureate of Britain, is nothing if not impressive.
You can browse by poets, titles, theme and poetic forms. Try out ones by Margaret Atwood; Seamus Heaney and Allen Ginsberg.
There is even an entire archive for children.

Tohru Freaking Out. Nuff said.

*****************Thank your for coming to MC Otakon!!************************
********************I feel rather deaf after that wonderful, but very loud program***************

Now that all the books have (hopefully) found their new owners, let's start the conversation. For everyone reading at the moment, please tell me ONE Incident/Situation/Chapter in the new books that made you:
a) Laugh
b)Get emotional
c) Want to throw the book across the room

My thoughts, plus a surprise after the break.

If anyone has specific manga you want to talk about, or anime you want to see, write your ideas down here. I will be taking them into consideration for upcoming Animanga club programs.

Just to let you know, we will be having a Naruto-themed program, with dibs on new library copies of the manga (sorry, giving away a lot of free manga, which I would prefer, is expensive!). I don't have the exact Animanga Club date for that set yet, but keep your eyes open for the new Axis (coming soon!) and mark your calendars accordingly.

Streetball:All the Ballers, Moves, Slams and Shine by Chris Palmer is a flashy spread on the urban streetball phenomenon, also featured on ESPN's program http://espn.go.com/eoe/streetball. Palmer has collaborated with And 1, a highly successful basketball apparel company, to produce this overview and to promote their Mix Tape Tours dvd's. You can read about the rise of streetball players like Rafer Alston to the NBA and other players who started out at the now famous New York's Rucker Park. In years past, many of these players succumbed to drugs but with the support of sports organizations, this is not a current trend. Many pictures of guys like Sik Wit It, Prime and Escalade fill these pages along with a fascinating history of the sport.

AADL-GT: Ann Arbor District Library Game Tournaments

Round 4, Thanksgiving weekend, marked the end of the AADL-GT Regular season, and heading into the Grand Championships, the competition is intense and the stakes are high. Round 4 saw many new faces, several powerful rookies, and a skill vacuum as [gtplayer:143] and his brother, [gtplayer:146] were unable to attend. Perhaps the most important moment of Round 4 was the definitive discovery of the fact that Eli apparently made up the phrase 'Master Shell', despite the fact that I'm certain it was called that in some manual somewhere.

Read on for full Round 4 details.