Tag Archives: Games

9 Fun Activities to Spring Into!

Are you in the mood to kick back and relax? Or perhaps you’re like me and want to find a distraction from the Switch 2, rather than obsessively checking the calendar and counting the days until the release of Nintendo’s upcoming console. If you have some time off and are looking for fun activities, then you’re in the right place! Below are some ideas for your weekend planning, ranging from party games to strolls in the sun.

Book cover of "Happy Trails: Biking and Hiking Adventures in the Greater Toronto Area" by Shawn Smith.

The weather has finally been getting nicer and sunnier, so if you’re up for some outdoorsy activities, consider checking out Happy Trails by Shawn Smith! This book can act as your hub for biking and hiking trails, which vary in distance and difficulty. Pick a scenic location and soak in the fresh air and landscape around you! Lake Simcoe Beaches, the 26th route in this book, looks like it’d be among the best places to take a walk at if you love seeing the cerulean lake glistening under the sun. This route entry lists the beaches and parks in the area, in addition to some restaurants in case you get hungry and want to grab a bite or two. If you don’t like sand or the lake, maybe some of the other trails will be up your alley; after all, there’s 40 routes in the book to choose from!

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VPL’s Staff Choice Awards of 2023

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Inspired by Adam’s post last year of a similar nature, I thought that it would be fun if the last HOTS post of 2023 was a communal one! And yeah, the title is clickbait; there’s no such official award…but I did reach out to my fellow VPL colleagues and ask them what their favourite and/or most memorable book, movie, show or game was that they enjoyed this year. It didn’t have to be published or created in 2023, but it did have to be currently available in our catalogue (which means I wouldn’t be featuring anything that was currently on order).

My lovely colleagues have delivered their recommendations in their own words. Check it out and discover something new (or old, as the case may be) to explore in 2024!

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Wonder Woman: Dead Earth

“Anything by Daniel Warren Johnson, his comics have been just off the wall amazing. His Wonder Woman mini-series was incredible, but his original work Do A Powerbomb and Murder Falcon are just masterpieces.

He’s the current author of the reboot of the Transformers comics that I have but haven’t started reading yet, but I’m looking forward to it.” — Tommy

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Type Talk: Gamified Reads

In honour of VPL’s ongoing Reading Challenge and this year’s Summer Reading ClubType Talk is a series of blog posts on non-traditional or uncommon storytelling formats, genres or structures, which both challenge our idea of what storytelling is and will perhaps inspire us to try a new kind of media we might not have before.

Today’s post will be on Gamified Reads!

You may be wondering what on earth gamification is, but have no fear, Dr. Zachary Fitz Walter has a neat definition for you:

“Gamification is the application of game-design elements and game principles in non-game contexts. It can also be defined as a set of activities and processes to solve problems by using or applying the characteristics of game elements.

Games and game-like elements have been used to Educate, Entertain and Engage for thousands of years. Some classic game elements are; Points, Badges, and Leaderboards.”

gamify.com
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