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The Street Lit Book Award Medal Committee comprises of a group of volunteer librarians and library workers from across the U.S. who work with Street Lit and its readers in public and school libraries. The Committee collected, discussed, and nominated titles based on library patron popularity, book club interest, and overall reception of the story as a valuable addition to the Street Literature genre. Three rounds of nominations resulted in the following winners for 2010 publications: 

2011 Street Lit Book Award Medal Winner is: Decoded by Jay-Z

Honor Books (in order of scoring):

Damaged by Kia DuPree

Welfare Wifeys by K'wan

The Streets Keep Calling by Chunichi

Diary of a Young Girl by Mark Anthony 

A full write up of the awards with committee comments and committee member bios can be accessed at the Street Literature blog,

 http://www.streetliterature.com

Tags: Awards, Reviews, Street Lit

<i>Decoded</i> by Jay-Z
Decoded by Jay-Z

What are the kids up to these days? Reading a diverse array of books and graphic novels and watching some clever TV shows and films, as it turns out! Here are our most popular titles for children in a variety of categories. Please note that for book and television series listings, we have multiple records in our catalog!

BOOKS:

Top 10 Children's Book Series of 2010
1. Bob Books by Bobby Lynn Maslen and John R. Maslen
2. Walt Disney Series by various authors
3. My First Bob Books by Lynn Maslen Kertell 
4. Walt Disney Comics by various authors
5. Bionicle by Greg Farshtey
6. Spider-Man by Marc Sumerak
7. Literacy 2000 by Shortland Publications
8. Pokemon by Hideori Kazuko
9. Lost Scrolls by Tom Mason
10. The Boxcar Children Series by Gertrude Warner

Top 10 Children’s Graphic Novels of 2010
1. Pokemon Adventures by Hidenori Kusaka
2. Bone by Jeff Smith
3. Hikaru No Go by Yumi Hotta
4. Whistle by Daisuke Higuchi
5. Leave it to PET: The Misadventures of a Recycled Super Robot by Kenji Sonishi
6. Sonic the Hedgehog Archives by Mike Pellerito
7. Spider-Girl by Tom DeFalco
8. Fairy Idol Kanon by Mera Hakamada
9. Amelia Rules! by Jimmy Gownley
10. Yotsuba by Kiyohiko Azuma

Top 20 Children’s Book Titles of 2010
We included the top 20 children’s books to provide a representational snapshot of various age leves.
1. My Fabulous Friends! by Mary Man-Kong
2. Dora the Explorer: Super Babies' Dream Adventure by Christine Ricci
3. Dora the Explorer: The Puppy Twins by Sarah Wilson
4. Marvel Adventures Animal Attack! Digest by Mark Sumerak
5. Amulet by Robert Bolano
6. When the Ghost Dog Howls by R.L. Stine
7. The 39 Clues: The Maze of Bones by Rick Riordan
8. Dora the Explorer: So Many Butterflies! by Lara Rice Bergen
9. Pokemon Diamond and Pearl Adventure by Shigekatsu Ihara
10. Spongebob to the Rescue! by Gibbs Rainock
11. Walt Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs by Cynthia Rylant
12. Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
13. What a Treasure! by Jane Hillenbrand
14. Barbie Thumbelina by Mary Man-Kong
15. The Very Clumsy Click Beetle by Eric Carle
16. Are You My Mother? by Philip D. Eastman
17. Baby, I Love You by Karma Wilson
18. Where Is Baby’s Belly Button? by Karen Katz
19. Bears in the Night by Stan Berenstain
20. Time for Bed, Spot by Eric Hill

DVDs:

Top 10 Children’s Film Titles of 2010
1. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
2. Madagascar
3. Ice Age
4. The Little Mermaid
5. The Land Before Time
6. Finding Nemo
7. Alice in Wonderland (2010)
8. Up
9. Mary Poppins
10. Bolt

Top 10 Children’s Television Series Titles of 2010
1. Goosebumps
2. Dora the Explorer
3. Thomas & Friends
4. Avatar: The Last Airbender
5. SpongeBob Squarepants
6. Pokemon
7. The Backyardigans
8. Bob the Builder
9. Hannah Montana
10. Go, Diego, Go!

Tags: Children's books, Recommendations, Reviews

Our most popular children's series
Our most popular children's series
Our most popular children's graphic novel
Our most popular children's graphic novel
Our most popular children's film
Our most popular children's film

Last Monday, we revealed the most circulated books, DVD films, and DVD television shows for adults at the Free Library in 2010. This week, we're revealing the most circulated digital titles of 2010--both ebooks and downloadable audiobooks! Use of our downloadable media increased dramatically in 2010, and while we have a few repeat appearances--hi, again, James Patterson--the downloadable media belonged solidly to Stieg Larsson's Millennium Trilogy.

Top 10 eBook Titles of 2010
1. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
2. The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson
3. Private by James Patterson
4. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson
5. The 9th Judgment by James Patterson
6. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
7. The Passage by Justin Cronin
8. The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
9. The Search by Nora Roberts
10. Sh*t My Dad Says by Justin Halpern

Top 10 eAudiobook Titles of 2010
1. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
2. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson
3. The 9th Judgment by James Patterson
4. Sizzling Sixteen by Janet Evanovich
5. Twilight by Stephanie Meyer
6. The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
7. The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson
8. Savor the Moment by Nora Roberts
9. Deliver Us from Evil by David Baldacci
10. Guilty Pleasures by Laurell K. Hamilton

Are your reading habits different when choosing an ebook versus a physical book? Are there certain authors or genres you prefer to read (or listen to) in one format or the other?

Tags: Recommendations, Reviews, ebooks

The most popular ebook <i>and</i> digital audiobook at the Free Library in 2010!
The most popular ebook and digital audiobook at the Free Library in 2010!

We are often asked which titles are the most frequently checked out here at the Free Library. To answer this question, our hardworking Materials Management staff has compiled several lists of the top 10 circulated book and DVD titles throughout the Free Library system in 2010. Free Library patrons really seem to love James Patterson--FOUR of his novels made the cut!

Keep in mind that these lists only encompass adult titles--blog entries featuring the most circulated children's book and DVD titles, as well as the most circulated ebook titles are coming soon!

Top 10 Most Circulated Book Titles of 2010
1. The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
2. I, Alex Cross by James Patterson
3. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
4. Worst Case: A Novel by James Patterson
5. Push: A Novel by Sapphire
6. Alex Cross’s Trial by James Patterson
7. U is for Undertow by Sue Grafton
8. The Complete Persepolis (Movie Tie-In Edition) by Marjane Satrapi
9. The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks
10. The 9th Judgment by James Patterson
(11. Think Twice by Lisa Scottoline – She just barely missed the top 10!)

Top 10 Most Circulated DVD Feature Film Titles of 2010
1. Avatar
2. I Love You, Man
3. The Soloist
4. Inglourious Basterds
5. Night at the Museum
6. Iron Man
7. Wanted
8. The Dark Knight
9. He’s Just Not That Into You
10. The Hangover

Top 10 Most Circulated DVD Television Series Titles of 2010
1. The Sopranos
2. Bleach
3. 24
4. Sex and the City
5. Roots
6. The Wire
7. Dexter
8. The Office
9. Lost
10. Six Feet Under
NOTE: These titles are linked to our catalog listing for the first season in the series, but we have multiple seasons of each in our collection.

Tags: Recommendations, Reviews

The Lost Symbol
The Lost Symbol
Avatar
Avatar
The Sopranos
The Sopranos

The National Film Registry Board under the Library of Congress selected 25 films they deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" for the 2010 year. I was happy to see a couple of my favorites made the list, Airplane!, All the President's Men, The Empire Strikes Back, Grey Gardens, Malcolm X and Saturday Night Fever.  

 Check out the full list below (films we currently have in our catalog are linked): 

What do you think of the year's selections?

Remember the National Film Preservation Board allows you to nominate films each year by email or postal mail. Or check out a list of films not yet named to the National Film Registry (you can always re-nominate your favorites) or view all films in the registry from 1989 - 2009.

Tags: Reviews

Grey Gardens movie poster © The Criterion Collection
Grey Gardens movie poster © The Criterion Collection
The Empire Strikes Back movie poster © 20th Century Fox
The Empire Strikes Back movie poster © 20th Century Fox
Malcolm X DVD cover © Warner Bros. Pictures
Malcolm X DVD cover © Warner Bros. Pictures