Howard County Library announces a new initiative, Pass the Book. During Teen Read Week 2009, the Library will distribute copies of  The Secret Hour by Scott Westerfeld to teen readers throughout the community.

The Secret Hour follows Jessica Day as she arrives in Bixby, Oklahoma, only to discover she’s at the center of a strange convergence of mystical energy. Sharing "the secret hour" between midnight and 12:01 with four of her classmates, Day finds herself on the front lines of a battle for the future of humanity; primeval "slithers" and "darklings" are using the secret hour to find their way back into our reality, intent on reclaiming the planet. The Midnighters must harness the unique properties of the secret hour to fight back using their own special abilities.

The Secret Hour is a great book to share, and with Pass the Book you’ll have the chance to introduce this title to readers in Howard County and beyond. Teens receiving a specially labeled copy of The Secret Hour are encouraged to read the book, track the book (by registering their copy at hclibrary.org/passthebook) and pass the book to another teen reader. Readers can return to the web site to see where their books have traveled. Throughout the year they will have the opportunity to participate in online discussions and challenges based on events in the novel. A display in each branch features read-a-like titles and the other books in the Midnighters series — Touching Darkness and Blue Noon. A number of Midnighter-themed events are also planned in connection with this initiative, including Midnighter Lore at Central Library, Slither Repellant at Elkridge Branch, and Triskaidekamania at Savage Branch.

Copies of The Secret Hour will be available on Monday, October 19. Join us online and in-person throughout the year for quizzes, reviews, and Midnighter-themed events as we pass this exceptional teen adventure around Howard County and beyond.

John Jewitt – Savage Branch

My life has been irreversibly shaped by Bill Waterson’s Calvin & Hobbes. One of the comic’s most imaginative recurring elements was Calvin’s cardboard box, which, when set upside down was a Transmogrifier, and when set on its side was a Duplicator. Step inside the Duplicator, wait a couple minutes, and when you walk out, you are accompanied by an exact duplicate of yourself.

Primer, a low-budget film that milked every dollar director Shane Carruth had, brought me back to the wonder of Calvin’s Duplicator box, mingled with the horror of human selfishness. This is a time-travel movie that isn’t about time travel. It’s about human relationships and motivations, and it uses the vehicle of time travel to reveal aspects of human nature that we may have taken for granted.

Primer works for a number of reasons, the least of which is that it’s about normal guys who have normal jobs and normal families. This is not Back to the Future (which I love). It is about jealousy, greed, friendship, betrayal, love, and hate. It also works because it doesn’t try to make sense. The characters use technical jargon that, for the most part, went well over my head, but isn’t that what we would expect real engineers to say? Even with all the twists and turns, and all the questions of who, what, and when, I was able to follow it well enough to still get the final twist (I think!). Subsequent viewings have helped me understand the time line, but the time line isn’t nearly as interesting, or as important, as the brilliant character development. Highly recommended viewing!

Dan Curry – Savage Branch

I know you’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but it took me a long time to get past the strange artwork on this one. Tinker by Wen Spencer was recommended to me in a variety of places, so I decided to take a chance on it. I’m so glad I did because this is one terrific story!

Imagine a world in which Pittsburgh resides on Elfhome except for one day a month. In this book, a space travel gate didn’t work quite the way it was designed, sending Pittsburgh to the elven wilderness. So, Steel City is now home to humans stranded from Earth, scientists, elves, and other strange creatures. One of the new, transformed city’s denizens is Tinker, girl genius and salvage yard operator. Tinker works complex mathematics in her head and builds hover bikes from scratch. On the other hand, this newly minted 18-year-old has never had a real date, has little working knowledge of local politics, and refuses to go to college on Earth.

Through a series of coincidences and adventures, Tinker becomes tangled up with the Elven high court… as in, she becomes part of it. Tinker has to figure out her new life at court while solving the twin problems of the space gate and the elves’ hereditary enemies, who are on the war path. The cast of supporting characters includes Tinker’s cousin Oilcan, her mentor Lain, the elvin Viceroy Windwolf, and the warrior Pony. Spencer does a great job of making secondary characters interesting, too.

Tinker is a light-hearted adventure and romance novel, with a sly sense of humor and fun characters. The book starts with a bang — a fight with magically constructed Foo dogs in Tinker’s salvage yard — and gallops through at breakneck pace. Spencer mixes magic and science in new, unexpected ways. Be careful when you start reading this book as it’s been known to eat an afternoon or two. The adventure continues in Wolf Who Rules, as Tinker and her new elven friends struggle to clean up the mess they made in the first book.

Ignore the cover art and check this one out today!

Kristen Blount – Administration

Robotic surgeons? Nanodevices? Regenerative medicine? How will these and other innovations impact your health?

Learn how rapid advances in science and technology will affect health care in the future. Local author, Dr. Stephen Schimpff, retired CEO of the University of Maryland Medical Center, is currently a professor of medicine and public policy at the University of Maryland. Dr. Schimpff has authored the book, The Future of Medicine: Megatrends in Health CareThat Will Improve Your Quality of Life. He will give a presentation at the Miller Branch on Tuesday, April 29 at 2:00 pm.

Dr. Shimpff explains complex applications of medical technology in a layperson’s terms. This presentation is for anyone interested in learning how megatrends in health care will affect health care delivery and quality of life, as well as life expectancy. For more information on this exciting topic visit Dr. Schimpff’s website, www.medicalmegatrends.com.

Dr. Schimpff delivers a dynamic presentation that draws an audience ranging from the general public, health care professionals, business and political leaders.

Books will be available for sale and signing.

Cynthia Cedeno- Miller Branch