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Hi all,

Well Jay Piscopo was here in Charlotte last week, Monday and Tuesday, visiting different branches of the PLCMC Library System. I hope some of you reading this got the chance to see him, the Drawing Workshop he put on was awesome!!!!!!!! If you did miss him, he will be coming back down in June for Heroes Con (for more information on that click HERE). While he was here in addition to the Drawing Workshop he also talked about "The Undersea Adventures of Capt'n Eli"and signed free Capt'n Eli Comics that he was so generous in giving to the guys and girls who attended his visits. I know for a fact that he is hard at work on the third Capt'n Eli GN and I can't wait till it comes out!!!! Here are some photos from his visit:

Hey, again, reader guys, it's Carl with some random cool stuff.


There are some great original Commander X stories on The Undersea Adventures of Capt'n Eli site. Go to their link on the left-hand side of the page or click here. There's one story in a classic Silver Age comic format and two stories that look like they came from old pulp magazines from the '40's or 50's. But, once again, these stories aren't just nostalgia rip-offs; they're exciting stories on their own. Jay Piscopo has created a fascinating and mysterious figure in Commander X and these stories make you want to read more stories to find out more about this man of mystery!


And, as we all know, The Last Olympian comes out on May 5. That's only 22 days!! If you go to the Percy Jackson Book Site on the left-hand side of this page (or click here), you'll see some good trailer videos and have a chance to read the first chapter. The library has ordered 10 copies and we won't get them on May 5 (DRAT!!!) but, as Master Zack pointed out, you can go to the library's catalog page, type in the name, and go to the book's page and reserve a copy. I reserved mine a long time ago, so I hope to get one quickly.


Speaking of Percy, I just put up a link in our Links section that I should have included a long time ago. It's Percyquest, a truly cool fan site devoted to all things Percy Jackson. There's a recent post about who got cast as Luke and Mrs. Dodds (the pre-algebra teacher who got vaporized) in the new Lightning Thief movie as well as a video of Mr. Riordan reading from Chapter 1 of the new book. Have I got you interested???

I've just started a new book called The Roar by Emma Clayton and I think I'm going to like it a lot. Eoin Colfer, who wrote the Artemis Foul books, certainly liked it. I'm in good company!


You all have GOT to read Found by Margaret Peterson Haddix! (go to my post of 4-2-09 if you want to read more) GO GO GO get it!!!

Hi all,

I know it's been awhile sense I last posted, but I've been reading about 5 books at the same time. It is a little known fact that Sith Lords are ravenous readers!!!!!!



As you can see, we are very competitive!!!!!!



The first thing I need to do is remind everyone that Jay Piscopo of "The Undersea Adventures of Capt'n Eli" will be here visiting the PLCMC System on Monday and Tuesday of next week (April 6 and 7)!!!!!!!!!!!














What: Jay Piscopo , author and illustrator of “The Undersea Adventures of Capt’n Eli,” will be visiting various PLCMC locations in April presenting Drawing Workshops, discussing his Graphic Novel Series and answering any questions you have about Comics and Graphic Novels. If you have any questions about these events please call the participating libraries. Reservations for kids 7 - 12 years old is encouraged.

When & Where:

Monday, April 6:

ImaginOn 11:30 AM
704-973-2720

North County 2:30 PM
704-416-6000

ImaginOn 6:30 PM
704-973-2720

Tuesday, April 7:

Mountain Island 11:30 AM
704-416-5630

Morrison 3:00 PM
704-416-5421

Matthews 7:00 PM
704-416-5000

On another topic which just happens to concern Mr. Piscopo, I have to say I am very excited about the writers (and in one case an illustrator also) in the Final Two of our Boys Rule Boys Read Tournament. Obviously as you can tell I am a big fan of Jay's work, but I am also a big fan of Neil Gaimen (The Graveyard Book, Interworld, Coraline and so much more). However wins I will be very happy for, but it makes voting very hard as they are both awesome!!!!!!!

Sigh. Back to school we go. The break was fun, wasn't it? We had a good time here at the Imaginon library. One of our regular guys, Clinton, came with his dad and mom to do some djembe drumming:

Another day we had a Silly Fashion Show, in which we made goofy clothes out of leftover wrapping paper:

One manly man made (I didn't get his name) made himself into a paper elf:

Looky there--not even Legolas could look better!!

Well, school is important, so it's good we go back. In the menatime, we have lots of exciting books to tell you about this year. There's a terrific new one set in the Old West and there's a new one called Mudville about a baseball game that's been rained out for 22 years! This book's so new that it hasn't been published yet! In fact, it will be the first book this author has ever published. I'm hoping that the author will write to us and tell us what it's like to have a book published for the first time. Anddddd--The Demigod Files and The Last Olympian will come out this year, as well as the new Erec Rex and Barmstormers books. 2009 ought to be exciting!!

But I want to talk about a book that Master Jedi Zack mentioned on his 12-29-08 post, Lincoln Through the Lens: How Photography Revealed and Shaped an Extraordinary Life by Martin W. Sandler. Biographies are full of great stories and this one is no exception! Abraham Lincoln lived an incredible life, going from a nobody out in the country to president!! This book gives the story a twist and shows how the "new" process of photography helped him get elected and shped his presidency. There are a lot of great vintage photos here, including some rare (and sometimes grisly) photos from the Civil War, Lincoln's funeral, the Gettysburg Address, and an eerie photo of his second inagural speech--with an insert of John Wilkes Booth watching the whole thing!! This is another good book that's really good because the story is true!!

One last thing. Darth Bill wants to give a great big "I'M NOT WORTHY!!" to the Undersea Adventures of Cap'n Eli author. One very sharp reader, Joe Z., caught Bill saying on that Joe Piscopo, not Jay Piscopo, was the Cap'n Eli author:

Hi guys! Just a quick note to say that The Undersea Adventures of Capt'n Eli #2 is by Jay Piscopo, not Joe Piscopo. It should also be noted that Jay is way funnier than Joe ;)

Joe Piscopo is the movie actor! Even though he's been in some funny movies, we'd all agree that Jay is much funnier. Please do not be angry with us, oh Jay Piscopo! Bill made an honest mistake. WE ARE NOT WORTHY!!!

What humility!! What honesty!! You have to admire a guy like that.

Carl

Hey, guys, this is Carl wishing you a Happy New Year! Hope the new year will be good for you. 2008 was good for me, especially for reading. I found some some awesome books this year. There were the biggies--The Battle of the Labyrinth, The 39 Clues--but I'd like to tell you about some books that didn't get as much attention but were terrific reads. Some were published this year and some were older, but I read them in 2008 and that's what counts. (I've put the dates of the original reviews in parentheses after each one)

Funniest Book of the Year--The Boys Start the War by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. This the first in the Girls Against the Boys series. This one is so funny that I laughed out loud. I laughed so hard, in fact, that people in my office wondered what was so funny!! (reviewed 9-23-08)

Best Nonfiction--The Last River: John Wesley Powell and the Colorado River Expedition by Stuart Waldman. It doesn't get better than this!! John Wesley Powell had lost an arm in the Civil War but was still determined to be the first human being to explore the Colorado River as it went through the Grand Canyon, an area so wild and dangerous that even the Native Americans wouldn't go there. An amazing story and all the more amazing because it's true!!! (reviewed 8-27-08)

Best Series That Doesn't Get the Attention It Deserves--The Barnstormers Series By Loren Long and Phil Bildner. Set in 1899, it's got baseball, magic, mystery, villains--in other words, everything you could want!! The next one comes out in May 2009 and I can't wait!!!

(reviewed 8-30-08)

Best Graphic Novel--The Undersea Adventures of Cap'n Eli by Jay Piscopo. No question about it, guys, this is the best. It's a mix of classic comic styles but NOT a rip-off!! I haven't enjoyed a comic series this much since I read Iron Man, Nick Fury, and The Fantastic Four back in the Silver Age. Stand by for adventure!!
(reviewed 7-27-08; interview with Jay Piscopo 7-26-08)

The Book I'd Like Most To Read Again--The Postcard by Tony Abbott. 13-year-old Jason has to go to St. Augustine, Florida for his grandmother's funeral, but there are all sorts of strange things surrounding his grandmother that Jason's dad doesn't want to talk about. A mysterious phone call, a postcard showing an old hotel that's about to be torn down, and a mystery story from an old detective magazine set Jason on a trail to find his grandmother's past. A terrific story that keeps you turning page after page. (reviewed 7-14-08)

Best New Discovery--the Erec Rex series by the great Kaza Kingsley. Wow, wow, wow!!!! Exciting, funny, full of adventure, with one of the creepiest bad guys ever, these are the books I'd like to put into the hands of every guy out there. The next one comes in 2009, and, once again, I can't wait!!! (reviewed 8-21-08; interview with Kaza Kingsley 9-13-08)

HAPPY READING IN 2009!