Crisp autumn days are just around the corner!

What a great time to be outdoors. Ah, a brisk walk in the woods, leaves crunching underfoot. Sunlight filtering through a riot of colored leaves.  Warm cider when you return home.

Why not kick it up a notch by adding letterboxing to the adventure?                            

Letterboxing is a hobby that combines hiking with treasure hunting.  It started on the moors of Dartmoor, England, a hundred years ago and is now becoming a popular sport in the USA.

The basics are this: each hiker has their own journal and a rubber stamp. They follow clues to find hidden boxes that also contain rubber stamps and journals.  When a hiker finds a letterbox, they stamp their own journal with the hidden stamp to prove they found it and stamp the journal in the box with their own "signature" stamp to indicate they were there.

Okay, it's simple, straightforward fun. As easy as a walk in the woods. But you can get as crazy-creative as you want. Traditionally, stamps are hand carved. They can be made in just a few minutes by cutting and arranging adhesive craft foam or take days of painstaking, inticate detail.

And then there are the clues. Same thing. As simple as "turn right at the red house and walk 10 paces" or so obscure, you'll have to call in the CIA!

This is some serious fun!

To get started, check out:

http://www.letterboxing.org    The Site to know!  

http://www.geocities.com/rscarpen/Lb/Docs/GreatBoxes   A letterboxer shares ideas and insights      

                                                http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/Stories/PeoplePlaces/Letterboxing  By and for kids- from our friends at NG

www.Shelfari.com    Literary social networking groups, including one for people who love reading and letterboxing!

Cake Wrecks -- cakes gone horribly wrong.

Daunte Culpepper is retiring! Read about that and more sports news and gossip on Deadspin.

Check out Stereogum for music news, free mp3 downloads, leaks, and videos.

HOW GOOD WAS GOSSIP GIRL LAST NIGHT?

Aside from all the awesomeness happening, there were two cameos that I thought were perfect: Tinsley Mortimer, playing herself, and Jay McInerney, playing a New York writer who Dan interns for over the summer. In real life, Jay McInerney is...a writer living in New York City.

Want to read one of McInerney's books? Click here to see what we've got at the Library. I recommend starting with Bright Lights, Big City, which I read the summer I was living in New York in between my junior and senior years of high school.

If you want to read about the Hamptons, definitely check out the Au Pairs series, which is just as juicy as GG but takes place in glam Southampton.

And as a side note, did you all see the preview for Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist? Yay! Read the amazing book by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan before you go see the movie.

Playaways

The best of audio enjoyment

What are Playaways? They are a new offering; digital audio books, preloaded for your convenience. Just check out a book, pull out the unit, press PLAY, and you're on your way to a great story. You can bookmark, pause, even change the speed of the reading.

Check them out from the Children's Room for 3 weeks. They come with batteries, and disposable headphones. You can even check out an FM transmitter which will allow you to play your PLAYAWAY through yoru car radio. Confused? Ask for a demo at the Children's Desk!

What are the newest playaway titles? Here are a bunch of new titles!

Airborn by Kenneth Oppel
Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko
Bandit's Moon by Sid Fleischman
The Body of Christopher Creed by Carol Plum-Ucci
The Boy Who Saved Baseball by John Ritter
The Capture by Kathryn Lasky
Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett
The Chocolate Sundae Mystery by Gertrude Chandler Warner

Click, Clack Moo by Doreen Cronin
The Day of Tears by Julius Lester
Geronimo Stilton books 13 & 14
How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night by Jane Yolen
The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
Just Listen by Sarah Dessen
The Kid Who Ran for President by Dan Gutman
The Last Apprentice by Joseph Delaney
Melting Stones by Tamora Pierce
Miss Nelson is Missing and other stories
Moongobble and Me by Bruce Coville
Mossflower by Brian Jacques
My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George
Needle and Thread by Ann Martin
Ninth Key by Meg Cabot
Once Upon a Marigold by Jean Ferris
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
Paint the Wind by Pam Munoz Ryan
Pretties by Scott Westerfeld
Princess Academy by Shannon Hale
Ruby Holler by Shannon Creech
Sarah Plain and Tall by Patricia Maclachlan
The Sea of Trolls by Nancy Farmer
The Seems by Hulme
Specials by Scott Westerfeld
The Star of Kazan by Eva Ibbotson
Starbeast by Robert Heinlein
Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig
Tangerine by Edward Bloor
Things Hoped for by Andrew Clements
The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi
Twelve by Lauren Myracle
Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
Welcome to Camden Falls by Ann Martin
The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
Will of the Empress by Tamora Pierce

 

What other titles are available?

Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
Eragon by Christopher Paolini
Eldest by Christopher Paolini
The Giver by Lois Lowry
Goose Girl by Shannon Hale
House at Pooh Corner by A.A. Milne
Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell
Juliet Dove, Queen of Love by Bruce Coville
The Kite Rider by Geraldin McCaughrean
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
Lionboy by Zizou Corder
Little Women by Louise M. Alcott
Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall
Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie
Rabbit Ears Treasury of Fairy Tales
Rabbit Ears Treasury of Fables
Railway Children by E. Nesbit
Ravenmaster's Secret by Elmira Woodruff
Raven's Gate by Anthony Horowitz
Sandry's Book by Tamora Pierce
School's Out -- Forever by James Patterson
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
So You Want to be a Wizard by Diane Duane
Spiderweb for Two by Elizabeth Enright
Stop the Train by Geraldine McCaughrean
Story of Doctor Doolittle by Hugh Lofting
Swiss Family Robinson by Johann Wyss
Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
Watsons Go to Birmingham by Christopher Paul Curtis
The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame


Stop by the Children's desk for more information.

Welcome to the new Teen site! I know you'll find some interesting stuff here -- visit often, because we update ALL THE TIME.

I just wanted to let you know what the four tags on this page mean.

made: this tag is for stuff that YOU create. Right now, you'll find mostly book reviews when you click on this tag, but in the future, we'll use made for things like movies, art, writing, and music that you make. (If you have any questions about that, please email me!)

happening: this tag is for labeling upcoming events.

goods: posts labeled with this tag will have information about things you can find at the Darien Library -- books, CDs, DVDs, games, etc.

click!: these posts will have information that we think might be interesting to you, and they'll always have a link in them to another website. The information could be about upcoming movies or TV shows, new technology, funny websites, or gossip. If you'd like to recommend a link, email me.

Any questions about this? Suggestions? Please let me know. Enjoy playing around with the new site!

The next Teen Galley party will be Tuesday, September 9 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. for grades 6 and up.

At the Galley Party, we give away free advance copies of books (aka galleys). Sign up by calling the Library at 655-1234 x117.

New members welcome as well as members of the Teen Book Bloggers who have turned in all their spring reviews! Send those reviews back to crstaff@darienlibrary.org.

cnet came up with a list of 10 absurd iPhone apps -- and then found 10 more.

My favorite? The National Threat Advisory app, which tells you what threat level we're currently at. For the more paranoid among us.

What are your favorite iPhone apps?

Just what you need: more stuff to distract you from studying for the SATs. Here are some of the latest, coolest toys that you'll want to be showing off before anyone else gets them.

The PSP 3000 has a brighter, more colorful screen and hits stores October 14.

Samsung's superskinny X360 laptop is trying to compete with Apple's Air -- and while it'll be available abroad this September, there's no word on when you'll be able to buy it in the US. Worth paying shipping from Hong Kong?

The Blackberry Bold is gorgeous and might actually make you forget about the iphone 3G for a minute or two. Buy it September 12 for $299.

Take HD photos AND movies with the Sony DSC-T500. It'll be available in late September for about $400.

The Creative Zen X-Fi is a sweet-looking mp3 player that has tons of features. There are two versions: one with WiFi and one without. The higher-end 32 GB model is available now and goes for $279.

If you want to see what kinds of gadgets the Library has for you to borrow, visit the gadgets page.

This will be a weekly feature, highlighting funny, interesting blogs and sites that you might like.

Cute Overload. Baby animals...all you need to know.

The "Blog" of "Unecessary" Quotation Marks. Would you eat "fresh" seafood?

Go Fug Yourself. Rich people with bad taste!

Want to submit a blog? Email Sarah!

How excited are you for the new season of Gossip Girl???

The new fall TV season almost makes up for the fact that it's also time to go back to school. Before we preview the upcoming shows you should check out, here's a list of "classic" shows about high school. It is highly recommended that you Netflix all of these.

My So-Called Life. Oh, Jordan Catalano. Who knew you were going to grow up to be Jared Leto in crazy make-up?

Gilmore Girls. Yeah, Rory goes to Yale, but the best seasons take place when she's still in private school, wearing that cute little uniform and trying to decide between Jess and Dean.

The O.C.. Granted, Mischa Barton is one of the worst actresses of all time, and watching Marissa's breakdown by the pool is so unitentionally hilarious, but watching Seth and Summer trade barbs makes this show so worth it.

Freaks and Geeks, Featuring most of the cast of Knocked Up and the writer of Superbad, Seth Rogan, as -- surprise -- the school stoner, this show is obviously FUNNY.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer. What, you don't have to kill demons after 4th period?

Beverly Hills, 90210. The original! Okay, so all the so-called "high school students" looked 35, and they kicked off Shannon Doherty way too soon, but it's worth watching for the early-90s haristyles, the SUPER overdramatic plots, and the Donna/David romance. We love you Tori Spelling!

If you'd like to read about the trials and tribulations of high school, check out these books at the Library:

The New Rules of High School by Blake Nelson

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

Whale Talk by Chris Crutcher

Geography Club by Bret Hartinger

The Earth. My Butt, and Other Big Round Things by Carolyn Mackler