Marlo's comments (member since Apr 24, 2008)

Marlo's comments from the UC San Diego Libraries Summer Reading! group.

After thirteen weeks of reading and reviewing, we’ve reached the end of the UCSD Libraries 6th Annual Summer Reading Contest. We hope that the experience has given you an opportunity to enjoy some great books and also to develop a greater appreciation for the UCSD Libraries. As avid readers, you all know how lucky we are to have such a vast collection at our disposal. We hope that you continue to take advantage of our great resources throughout the rest of the year.

We’ll be revealing our final tally and awarding prizes for top reader, top team and outstanding reviews at the luncheon in August, but as of today, we’ve reached 1088 total reviews! Great job everyone!

Our website has been updated to include profiles of our final two Readers of the Week, Charlotte Curtis and Johnny Nguyen. For their participation and willingness to share a bit about their favorite books and reading habits, they have both been entered in the Reader of the Week raffle for a chance at a special prize. Thank you to all of our ROTWs for their involvement.

We’ll be sending out invitations to the End of Summer Reading Luncheon, scheduled for August 19th to those of you who successfully completed at least 5 reviews. It’s shaping up to be a great party so be sure to get approved time off so you can join in the fun! Don’t forget to bring a few old titles to trade at the book exchange.

The contest does not officially end until midnight, July 31st so for those of you who are on the bubble, there’s still time to submit that 5th review for your luncheon invitation. Keep on Reading!

Hope you’ve been able to find a shady spot or an air-conditioned hideaway this week to enjoy your summer reading. With temperatures in the 80s and 90s it’s hard to think of anything other than the beach or popsicles, but you only have 7 more days to submit your last reviews!

We topped out our count at 995 reviews today . . . the 1000 mark is well within our reach. A special congratulations to Johnny Nguyen who submitted his 100th review this week. Way to go readers – it’s truly been a record setting year.

As fun as it is to watch the numbers rise, we really appreciate all of the effort that has gone into your reviews. We look forward to rewarding some of these literary gems with our category prizes at the luncheon, scheduled for August 19th. Past categories have included, Most Humorous and Most Creative, but we may need to add Most Original and Most Poetic to the list to suit this year’s entries. Additionally, we’ve given University Librarian, Brian Schottlaender and the Friends of the Library Organization their own categories this year - we can’t wait to see which reviews they single out.

Reminder about the luncheon, in addition to great company, food and music we will also be hosting our first book exchange. Bring any used books you’re ready to part with for the opportunity to pick up some recommendations from your fellow summer readers.

Don’t forget, you need at least 5 reviews to be invited to the luncheon! Last day to submit reviews is Friday, July 31st.

The tally is up to 912 Reviews and with two full weeks left in the Contest we’re sure to make it to the Grand mark! 52 of you have already guaranteed your spot at the annual End of Summer Reading Luncheon by submitting 5 reviews. Many more of you are right on the bubble - make sure you submit the last few before July 31st.

Don’t Call it a Comeback continues to lead the team category, but thanks to an impressive run by Johnny Nguyen, Spectacular Spectacular has taken the second place spot. In addition to these speed readers, we continue to receive reviews worthy of our review category prizes. Our staffers are having a great time narrowing the field down to their favorites. For another example of some very creative reviewing, check out Libby Weber’s reviews of Henry VI . . . fabulous!

In case you still haven’t logged on, the Summer Reading Contest has its own group on Goodreads and is still open to new members. Use of the book networking site is not restricted to this contest. Once you create a profile you can continue to update it after summer reading has ended. You may want to connect with Lawanna Richmond, our newest Reader of the Week . She is active on Goodreads and based on her interview responses it sounds like she has a lot of great titles to recommend.

In the spirit of Goodreads, we’re planning to create a physical space for you to share your book collections with one another at the luncheon, August 19th. We’ll be hosting our first book exchange! Bring a used book (or two or three . . .) that you’re ready to part with and trade it in for a donation from one of your fellow summer readers. What a great way to find a new title!

Remember, fifteen days left to get those last reviews in! Happy Reading!

With only three weeks left in the contest, it’s a good time to look back and see how much you’ve accomplished. Based on your reviews, some have discovered a new favorite book, experimented with a different genre or struggled through a real dud. Whatever the experience, the numbers don’t lie . . . you all have been busy! After ten weeks, we’ve racked up a total 742 reviews.

Don’t Call it a Comeback has held the number one team spot all summer, but a number of teams have made a strong showing, including Today’s Specials and Spectacular, Spectacular. The majority of our top readers are affiliated with a team – maybe that unity adds an extra dose of motivation?!

Remember, 5 reviews is all it takes to score an invitation to the Summer Reading Luncheon scheduled for August 19th. Join the 49 others who have already reached that goal and get yours in before July 31st!

We’ve been pleased to see that after 9 weeks, your enthusiasm for the contest has not waned. We are up to 647 total reviews! A special congratulations to Cesar Figueroa who has broken the record for most books read in the history of the Summer Reading Contest. Cesar has submitted 107 reviews! With four weeks left, it will be exciting to see how much higher his tally climbs.

Of course we know, it’s not all about quantity. In addition to top reader and top team prizes, we will also be recognizing quality reviews. This year our University Librarian, Brian Schottlaender has been given his own category and will be selecting one of your reviews for a special prize. We already have a number of outstanding candidates, but it’s not too late to submit your most “literary” review.

While you’re in Geisel checking out books for the July 4th Holiday Weekend, be sure to stop by the Graphic Novel Exhibit in the Research Area of the Social Science and Humanities Library. It’s a colorful and informative display of the genre complete with posters and video clips and prizes.

Quick Reminder: Mark your calendar for the Summer Reading Luncheon, scheduled for August 19th and open to all participants who have submitted at least 5 reviews.

Have a safe and happy holiday!

"This is a beautiful, joyous and addictive book that you will likely read in one long, sleep-starved night, but it will be worth it." -Valerie Polichair

Judging by the volume of reviews we’ve received, it looks like many of you have been spending, “sleep- starved nights” with a good book. At the end of Week 8, 202 UCSD staff and students have read and reviewed a total of 562 books! And we’ve still got 5 weeks to go!

It’s fun to see the diversity in everyone’s reading choices. From historical fiction and mysteries to fantasy and non-fiction, we’re hitting on every genre imaginable. Our current Reader of the Week, Michelle Chin prefers to vary her reading choices as well, “books I read can be kind of unpredictable, I can go from a classic novel to a book of poetry followed by a young adult book and then a biography.”

For those interested in the “Contest” aspect of the program, Don’t Call It A Comeback put some distance between themselves and our second place team, Today’s Specials this week and team, Spectacular Spectacular is on the board in third place. 43 participants have earned their 5th Review Prize and are eligible to attend the Summer Reading Luncheon planned for August 19th and 13 of you have not only met, but surpassed the 10th Review mark. Awesome!
We appreciate all of the feedback we’ve been receiving about the Contest and suggestions you have for our Website and these Weekly Updates. Keep ‘em coming!

Happy Reading!

We’ve officially passed the halfway mark! Only 6 weeks left until the Summer Reading Contest ends on July 31st.

As we pass this benchmark, we wanted to take the time to acknowledge that the Summer Reading Contest is a Libraries-wide endeavor. This summer we have staff from as far as the Medical Center Library in Hillcrest helping us to manage the reviews we receive.

Many of us picture Geisel when we think of a UCSD Library, but did you know there are actually 4 separate libraries within Geisel and 5 other libraries spread out across campus? Have you taken the time to explore all of the branches? You may be ordering popular reading titles from CLICS and Biomed, but have you ever toured these modern facilities?

Depending on where you work it may be a fun lunch hour adventure to visit a different library each week. The view from Scripps Oceanography is definitely worth the shuttle trip! Be sure to check the Libraries website for the hours of each of these buildings as most of them have shortened schedules during the summer months. You can also find directions to each location to help you plan your visits.

On the contest front, the team race between Today’s Specials and Don’t Call it a Comeback is as close as it gets. DCC leads by a mere two-tenths of a point! Go, Readers go! We now have 199 registered participants and 38 of you have completed the five reviews needed to attend the End of Summer Reading Luncheon happening on August 19th. With 6 weeks left, there’s still plenty of time for the rest of you to become eligible for an invite!

I’ll leave it to our Reader of the Week, Lea Sapinoso to wrap up this Update with a reminder of what the Contest is all about. This is an excerpt from a creative review she wrote after her recent exposure to author, Chuck Palahniuk.

Priority mission top success to complete. Code name: Summer Reading Contest. Submit reviews books read by this reader to earn prizes, later to eat food of celebration for all who complete mission. Prizes more to those enter drawing, books most read, etc. :)

Finals end today and with their passing, Summer Vacation has officially begun! We have several undergraduates involved in the contest already, but please encourage any students you may know or who may be working in your department over the summer to sign up! These hard working students have earned a break from Engineering textbooks and Political Science articles to have fun with a good book!

With 194 participants, you may be interested in learning more about your fellow readers. Profiles of our first four Readers of the Week are now available on our website. Our Weekly Reader is selected at random and asked to respond to questions about their reading habits. Check out their responses to “favorite genre” and “favorite book” if you’re in need of a reading recommendation. Most of them weren’t able to settle on just one so there are plenty to choose from!

Quick update on numbers! Ten readers have broken the tenth review mark and more than twenty-five of you have submitted at least five! Even with volume like that, we’re continuing to see some excellent reviews. Thank you for taking the time to provide genuine feedback on the books you’re reading!

Lastly, preparations are underway for the Summer Reading Luncheon to be held August 19th. We’ll be sure to fill you in on time and location details as soon as they have been confirmed. Remember, you must submit five reviews before July 31st to be eligible to attend. We’d love to see you all there! Happy Reading!

Wow, time is flying! Our staffers have been busy keeping up with the over 339 reviews submitted so far (yes, we read every single one!).

It is apparent that reading is not just a hobby, but a priority for many of you. Just ask Rosa, one of our featured Readers of the Week . “I actually wake up every morning 30 minutes early so I can read before work. Neurotic and crazy, I know!”

Don’t worry Rosa, that’s just the kind of enthusiasm for reading we love here at the Summer Reading Contest. She and each of our randomly selected Readers of the Week have the opportunity to be rewarded for their zest for reading in a special raffle to be drawn at the Summer Reading Awards Celebration.

We have been dropping hints about the Summer Reading Awards Celebration since Week 1 and we are excited to finally be able to divulge some details. The lunch is scheduled for the afternoon of August 19th. Summer Reading Staffers have already begun the early stages of planning - with good food and plenty of prizes to give away it’s sure to be a fun time!

Remember, you must have submitted at least 5 reviews by July 31st to be eligible to attend.

As always, email us if you have any interesting information, facts, quotes, or ideas to share in the Weekly Updates! Happy Reading!

Eat, Pray, Love is a great book, if you're interested in traveling through Italy, India, and Indonesia :) The book is humorous with self-reflection throughout. Highly recommend this one. I didn't want it to end!
http://roger.ucsd.edu/record=b5196848~S9

Cool...thanks, Lea!

If you haven’t been reading the reviews of your fellow readers take some time this week to do so! http://sshl.ucsd.edu/summer/reviews.html

It’s clear that many of you are not only avid readers, but creative writers as well! Reading these reviews is a great way to discover a new author or title, or in the case of the above reviews make you aware of books you might want to avoid.

We appreciate your efforts to honestly and creatively describe your experience with each of the titles you read and we will be rewarding some of your outstanding reviews with a number of category prizes at the end of the contest.

Speaking of the end, be on the lookout for details about our End of Summer Reading Awards Celebration to be held sometime in August!
Happy Reading!

We’re up to 157 participants representing not only Undergraduates and Library Staff but readers in the Admissions Office, Women’s Center, Rady School of Management and beyond. Cesar from Warren Residence Life continues to maintain a strong lead, but many others around campus are on the verge of breaking the 10th review mark! Numbers aside, Summer Reading is about taking a break from the grind of work and other stressors.

Looking for some guilty pleasure reading of your own? The popular reading shelves at CLICS are a great resource for finding a good beach read! http://libraries.ucsd.edu/locations/clic... Keep in mind that you may be competing for these new releases.

Hope you all find time amidst the beach and barbeques this holiday weekend to relax with a good book!

Check out the Summer Reading Contest's website for more Reading Suggestions :)
http://sshl.ucsd.edu/summer/suggestions....

Great work in Week 2! Thirty-four of you have already submitted your 1st review and six readers are already eligible for their 5th review prize!

Don’t Call it a Comeback continues to lead the team category thanks to Cesar’s tremendous effort, but Rosa Longacre and Kim Schwenk have been busy securing the second place spot for Today’s Specials. It’s going to be a fun race to watch!

Visit the UCSD Libraries Summer Reading Website http://sshl.ucsd.edu/summer/ for rules and updates. We’ve created a section of Reading Suggestions with links to some popular reading lists. The Modern Library’s 100 Best Novels might be a great checklist if you wanted to catch up on the classics this summer.

Please let us know if you have any website recommendations or tips to share with your fellow readers! Happy Reading!

Thank you for sharing your comments on graphic novels and the Summer Reading Contest rules. You all raise some very good points.

We will continue to monitor and discuss the inclusion of graphic novels in the Summer Reading Contest to ensure fairness.

We prefer that you read and review books starting May 1st, but we can’t (and won’t) stop you from submitting a review on May 1st.

Thanks for the question, Colleen.

Marlo Young

Get ready for the UCSD Libraries 6th annual Summer Reading Contest, which runs May 1 - July 31.
http://sshl.ucsd.edu/summer

Read books and write reviews, either solo or with a team. There are prizes, of course, and other fun stuff like the Reader of the Week.

Use our GoodReads group to discuss books, ask questions, get reading suggestions, and meet other participants.