And now we present Four to Read More, mini-collections of four books that share some common theme, whether it’s the name of a character, a cover design quirk, or something else. Inspired by Kelly Jensen’s “Three on a YA Theme” series at Book Riot (take a look – we’ll wait!), this series will highlight some books you may have missed on the shelves.

You’ve seen television shows that deal with crime scene investigations and medical examiners. Now read the real stuff! These books are all about people who have come face-to-face with cadavers.

Nine Years Under by Sheri Booker How’s this for your first job? At age 15, Sheri Booker started working at a funeral home in Baltimore. This is her memoir of the nine years she spent there, with thoughts on mortality, faith, and societal strife. (available in print)	Stiff by Mary Roach Learn all about how students in medical school use cadavers to learn, how autopsies work, and what ancient remedies required imbibing parts of dead bodies. (available in print)
Grounded by Kate Klise A lighter take on the subject, this novel is about a young girl who lives in a town where the main business is a funeral home – and then a stranger comes to town to shake things up. (available in print)	Smoke Gets In Your Eyes by Caitlin Doughty This memoir by a mortician will give you all the details on working in a crematory. It will answer a lot of questions about dead bodies you never knew you had. (available in print)

Do you have an idea for a Four to Read More theme? Email us and let us know!

And now we present Four to Read More, mini-collections of four books that share some common theme, whether it’s the name of a character, a cover design quirk, or something else. Inspired by Kelly Jensen’s “Three on a YA Theme” series at Book Riot (take a look – we’ll wait!), this series will highlight some books you may have missed on the shelves.

Thanks in part to the movie adaptation, the book If I Stay and its sequel have been very popular in the library this semester. You’ve been asking us for more books about girls waking up from comas, having amnesia, or experiencing near-death experiences, and we love to deliver! Here are some more books like If I Stay.

Six Months Later by Natalie Richards Chloe just meant to take a quick catnap in study hall, but when she opened her eyes, it was six months later. And she had no idea how she had earned perfect SAT scores, garnered a hot boyfriend, or alienated her best friend. (available in print and on Overdrive ebooks)	Loud Awake and Lost by Adele Griffin Ember totaled her car in the accident, but that’s all she remembers. If only she could recall the six weeks leading up to her crash, she might be able to figure out why her family and friends won’t talk to her about it or give her any information. (available in print)
Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac by Gabrielle Zevin Naomi hits her head and wakes up with amnesia, but instead of trying to piece together the bits of her life that were lost, she decides to hold on to the one thing she remembers – a strange boy named James. (available in print)	Heaven Looks a Lot Like the Mall by Wendy Mass Tessa’s body is unconscious in the hospital after a dodgeball accident, but she’s also going through past life events, reliving them and analyzing them. A novel in verse. (available on Overdrive ebooks)

Do you have an idea for a Four to Read More theme? Email us and let us know!

Calling all aspiring novelists! National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) starts November 1, and your librarians and Mrs. Pang are excited. If you don’t know NaNoWriMo, it’s a worldwide celebration of novel writing that encourages participants to write an entire draft of a novel in 30 days. Young writers are given a suggested word count of 30,000, but you can modify it to whatever you want. The point is to be creative and to write a lot, without thinking about editing. Words now, refine later!

We’ll be offering you lots of chances all month to get your writing done, read some inspiration, get tips from published authors, and more. Like last year, we will keep a scoreboard in the library so that you can advertise your ever-growing word count, and anyone who signs up will receive a participant pin!

Our first event will take place on Friday, November 7, starting at 3:30. Come to the library for a write-in and get furiously busy at your novel, upping that word count to get a jumpstart on your weekend. The write-in will last until 7pm, when doors open for the Upper School musical, Anything Goes, so while you can take a break at that point, the entertainment won’t end! Please RSVP to library@castilleja.org if you plan to attend this event so that we can be sure to have supplies and snacks for everyone. You bring your device (notebooks and pens count) and inspiration, and we’ll have everything else!

Our next write-in is Tuesday, November 18, at middle school lunch (11:50-12:35). Bring your lunch and writing utensils to Mrs. Pang’s classroom and get to work! YA author J.L. Powers (we have one of her books, This Thing Called the Future, in the library) will drop in to do some of her own writing, and she’s ready to answer your questions about writing and the publishing and editing process. In addition to writing novels, Powers has also edited anthologies, written a picturebook, taught creative writing, and worked in publishing. She has a lot to share with you!

Intimidated? Don’t be! You’re only competing against yourself. And if you want to fully prepare yourself for writing a novel, check out NaNoWriMo’s student handbooks: middle schoolers, click here, and upper schoolers, click here.

Whether or not you can attend our first write-in, be sure to sign up online for the NaNoWriMo Young Writer’s Program website and join Castilleja’s virtual classroom so that you can keep track of your word count, cheer your friends on, and get a little inspiration every day. You can visit this link to sign up for the Young Writer’s Program. Once you have an account, email Ms. Gómez or Mrs. Pang with your username to be added to the virtual classroom. Or you can simply go to the Join a Classroom link and search for Castilleja.

We are excited to provide you with inspiration, writing prompts, and writing opportunities all month long. Keep checking this page for more events!

Inspired by Kelly Jensen’s “Three on a YA Theme” series at Book Riot (take a look – we’ll wait!), we present Four to Read More, mini-collections of four books that share some common theme, whether it’s the name of a character, a cover design quirk, or something else. Check back frequently for a new one, and be sure to email us if you come up with your own!

This time, the theme is Gloucester font. I noticed a bunch of books in the library that had this serif font. It looks like a mix of the fonts used on circus posters and fancy newspaper fonts of yore. Since these books are so disparate, I’m sure one of them will appeal. Enjoy!

The Madman’s Daughter by Megan Shepherd In this take on The Island of Dr. Moreau, Juliet Moreau learns that her estranged father has been doing strange experiments on a remote island. (available in print and on Overdrive ebooks)	Complete Poems by e. e. cummings This unique poet was at times funny, at times lyrical, and utterly unique. This collection has every poem he ever wanted published. (available in print)
Dreamquake by Elizabeth Knox This sequel to Dreamhunter is another unique fantasy about The Place, a land where dreams are harvested. Laura Hame finds herself in the midst of another adventure. (available in print)	Prisoner of Night and Fog by Anne Blankman It’s hard being young and in love with someone who seems unattainable. But when the man you love is a Jewish journalist and you’re Hitler’s niece, it may be even harder. (available in print and on Overdrive ebooks)

Do you have an idea for a Four to Read More theme? Email us and let us know!

Author visits galore are coming up through the end of the semester! Get ready to hear inside accounts of the publishing process, hear inspiring stories of rejection and success, and get your books signed!

October 16, 6pm, at Sports Basement SF
As part of San Francisco’s weeklong event Litquake, YA superstars A.S. King and Paolo Bacigalupi will appear to present their latest books. King’s is Glory O’Brien’s History of the Future and features her signature magical realism style. Bacigalupi’s book, The Doubt Factory, is a thriller that responds to contemporary issues in society. You won’t want to miss this!

October 21, 7:30pm, @ The Booksmith
The first rule about Chuck Palahniuk is you don’t talk about Chuck Palahniuk. No, wait, that’s Fight Club. The author of Fight Club has a new book coming out, Beautiful You, and this is your chance to learn all about it.

October 22, 7pm, @ Books Inc – Opera Plaza
What better way to get into gear for NaNoWriMo than to hang out with an established, bestselling author? Scott Westerfeld (Uglies, Leviathan) will appear to present his latest book, Afteworlds, a novel-inside-a-novel starring a teen girl who is about to publish her first YA novel. Time to get inspired! (This is a ticketed event. $22 includes a copy of the book.)

October 22, 7:30pm, @ The Booksmith
If you’re a fan of true tales of adventure and drama, you’ll want to read Alice + Freda Forever: A Murder in Memphis. The author, Alexis Coe, will appear at the bookstore in conversation with Mallory Ortberg (of The-Toast.net) to talk about this book, about two young girls who hatched a dangerous plan so that they could be together forever.

October 23, 7pm, @ Kepler’s
You loved meeting Sabriel and Abhorsen. Now the trilogy becomes a quartet with the release of Clariel, Garth Nix’s new novel. Get to the bookstore to see Nix in conversation with author Michael Grant, of the popular Gone and BZRK series, and then leave with an armload of new reads!

October 25, 2pm, @ The Reading Bug
It’s Graphic Novel Day! Your favorite graphic memoirist, Raina Telgemeier, will appear alongside superstar artist Kazu Kabuishi (you’ve seen his art in the Amulet series and on the new covers of the Harry Potter books) and talk about their latest works!

October 25, 4pm, @ Linden Tree Books
Older teens who are fans of horror writer Kendare Blake should hurry over to hear all about the second book in her Goddess War series, which started with Antigoddess (available here in the library!). This new book is titled Mortal Gods and releases on October 14.

October 27, 7pm, @ Kepler’s
YA trendsters need to get to this event to see Sara Raasch, Corrine Jackson, and Kasie West present their latest books. Raasch’s novel, Snow Like Ashes, is a fantasy for fans of Graceling. West’s latest, On the Fence, is a realistic fiction novel starring a girl who is surprised to find a different side to herself when she gets a summer job. Jackson’s book is a paranormal fiction novel called Ignited, about a world of Healers and Protectors.

October 28, 7pm, at Kepler’s
Are you a YouTube addict? Then you probably know Michelle Phan, a self-made celebrity known for her beauty tutorials. Now Phan has penned her first book, and you can meet her and get your own copy signed, as well as hear her inspiring story. (This is a ticketed event. $25 includes a copy of the book.)

October 29, 7pm, @ JCCSF
Author-activist-journalist extraordinaire Cory Doctorow is coming to town! His latest book, Information Doesn’t Want To Be Free, is a must-read for anyone interested in copyright, intellectual property, and the digital age. Doctorow will appear alongside his partner-in-crime at his website Boing Boing, David Pescovitz. (This is a ticketed event starting at $25.)

November 6, 6pm, @ The Booksmith
And you thought Lemony Snicket had abandoned the Baudelaire orphans? Think again! Local Bay Area authors will attempt to coax Mr. Snicket out of hiding at this hilarious event. (This is a ticketed event. $10.)

Are we missing anything? Tell us! And be sure to report back on these awesome events after you attend! We want to hear all about it.