Another site about books and reading Readerville Online book club and resource for readers. The Forum section "provides a broad and flexible space for readers, writers, librarians, publishers, critics and anyone else who love books to have thoughtful and engaging discussions about everything from favorite books ... to literary news." The Events section presents discussions by authors and industry experts. Includes specialized discussion groups on young adult literature, new books, and biographies. Registration (free) required to post messages. [from the Librarians' Index to the Internet, NEW THIS WEEK for June 5, 2003] 9:48:44 PM     [comment []];[]

Armchair Trip Hits Some Great Sites A notice in issue 5 of ITEM led me on a merry trip through some fun and inspiring websites. First of all, ITEM is IT in Education Matters, an online newsletter published by Advisory Matters, which is "an organisation dedicated to providing the services of professional education consultants to any organisation wishing to improve teaching and learning through the application of Information and Communication Technology." I subscribe to ITEM because it has news of IT use in education from a UK perspective -- something I don't get from many other sources. It's not always the most current news, however. This issue referred to the suit against four college students for copyright violations -- an issue that was new in early April and has since changed very much from the original story. Another item, which was also not new but which I hadn't seen when it was in the news at the end of April, was about the Cable & Wireless Childnet Awards. A featured winner was a site for former child soldiers in Sierra Leone, as described in a BBC article. This site led me to follow the link to iEARN Sierra Leone, which led me back to the main site for iEARN, the International Education and Resource Network. This site reminded me that I've been following another iEARN project called the Global Nomads Group (GNG), which has been promoting Project Voice, online forums between classes in the US and Iraq, among many other projects. Back at the C&W Childnet Awards site I decided to look at some of the other winners, including especially The Daily Prophet, which won both first prize in the individual category as well as the BBC Newsround viewer's award, voted by CBBC viewers. Created and maintained by a 17-year-old American girl, The Daily Prophet is a Harry Potter fan site that fosters creative writing as much as reading. (Read about it here.) Part of the website is called Calculo, which is a resource to answer the question of what to read after Harry Potter. It includes a collection of classic works of literature, as well as information about authors, references for students, and online teaching resources for teachers and parents. What a trip! And there's more, if I follow more of the links to award-winning sites. This is the kind of travelling I enjoy doing on a quiet Saturday afternoon. 6:20:50 PM     [comment []];[]

Singing, Dancing Hobbits! The Lord of the Rings Will Be Adapted as a Musical."The stunning success of the feature film adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings has prompted London stage producers Kevin Wallace and Saul Zaentz to bring the epic fantasy to the stage as a musical. The two are developing an £8 million production; Shaun McKenna is writing the book and lyrics, while Stephen Keeling pens the music. "Our objective is to create an inclusive piece of theater to satisfy theatergoers and Tolkien fans alike," Wallace said. "It's wonderful material which gives us the chance to pull out all the stops." The Lord of the Rings is scheduled to make its musical debut in 2005 to coincide with the title's 50th anniversary." from Library Journal [LISNews.com] 5:12:42 PM     [comment []];[]