SJCPL Blog

New Books in World History

Time marches on and there is much we can learn and from it with many new history books at SJCPL. Such is the case with George Washington on Leadership by Richard Brookhiser. Brookisher looks at many key elements of Washington’s life to show us what it takes to make a great leader. Spanning his years as farmer to general of the revolution, first president, and later business tycoon…Washinton moved ahead with perseverance along with personal and business principles that would propel him to success. Brookhiser uses anecdotal stories reinforced with historical research to give leaders of today a better idea of how Washington’s methods are relevant in the here and now.

A History of Histories by J.W. Burrow, professor of European thought at Oxford, surveys historians like Tacitus, Xenophon, and Gibbon through different political, religious, and cultural circumstances. It compares and contrasts different histories and how they were shaped by mileu of time, geography, circumstance. Vienna 1814 by David King documents various jockeying for power as Great Britain, France, Austria, Prussia, and Russia convened in Vienna in 1814 to establish order in post-Napoleonic Europe. Considered both a long party of excess it conversely was a meeting where many social issues were solved. The main thrust of the book discusses diplomacy as congress decided the fates of Poland, Saxony, and the Kingdom of Naples. In American Creation, Pulitzer Prize author Joseph Ellis (Founding Brothers) explores the time period between the War of Independence and the Louisiana Purchase. Unlike other books on the founding fathers, American Creation is a complex examination of the achievements and failures in the founding of the republic.

Moving on to expansion themes, Buddy Levy’s Conquistador is the gripping account of Spanish explorer Hernan Cortes and his conquest of the Americas…and the brutal and bloody defeat of the Aztecs led by Montezuma. This epic page turner details the series of events that led to the end of a thriving culture in which beauty in art and architecture is juxtaposed with the rites of human sacrifice and the elevation of Cortes to god status…ultimately leading to the Aztecs’ demise. Long Way Down by Charley Boorman and famous actor Ewan McGregor is a sequel following their previous team-up in Long Way Round documenting their motorcycling through London and eventually to New York. After riding east from London to New York in Long Way Round, both riders head south starting from John O’Groats and ending up in Cape Town, taking in such third world nations as Libya, Ethiopia, and Uganda.

So beat the summer heat and stop in and check out some of these great historical reads.

FICTION

Forced Out: A Novel by Stephen Frey
Game for Anything by Bella Andre
The Gaudi Key by Esteban Martin
Lie Down with the Devil by Linda Barnes
Pharmakon by Dirk Wittenborn

NONFICTION

The Best Birth: Your Guide to the Safest, Healthiest, Most Satisfying Labor and Delivery by Sarah McMoyler
The Film Club by David Gilmour
Money and the Law of Attraction: Learning to Attract Wealth, Health, and Happiness by Esther Hicks
Overcoming School Anxiety: How to Help Your Child Deal with Separation, Tests, Homework, Bullies, Math Phobia, and Other Worries by Diane Peters Mayer
The Time Paradox: The New Psychology of Time That Will Change Your Life by Philip Zimbardo

DVDs

Frank
Garfield’s FunFest
MythBusters: Collection 3
Van Damme
You Can Heal Your Life: The Movie

CDs

The Opaque Brotherhood–Dark Lotus
Ultimate Collection–Pat Benatar
Weezer (The Red Album)–Weezer
2008 Warped Tour Compilation–Various Artists
Modern Guilt–Beck

CHILDREN’S

Is This a Phase? Child Development & Parent Strategies, Birth to 6 Years by Helen F. Neville (Parents)
Lost and Found by Andrew Clements (Grades 3–5)
The Real Princess: A Mathemagical Tale by Brenda Williams (Preschool–Grade 2)
Welcome to Your World, Baby by Brooke Shields (Preschool)
We’re Off to Look for Aliens by Colin McNaughton (Preschool–Grade 2)

TEEN

High Dive by Tammar Stein
The Midnight Twins by Jacquelyn Mitchard
The Possibilities of Sainthood by Donna Freitas
The Secret Life of Sparrow Delaney by Suzanne Harper
Stop in the Name of Pants!: Confessions of Georgia Nicolson by Louise Rennison

There are plenty of titles to chose from this Tuesday, August 19th. So be the first one in line to get your copy.

Prom Night–After losing her family to a killer obsessed with her, Donna looks forward to one thing…her senior prom. What she doesn’t expect is that the killer has escaped from prison and will stop at nothing to get his girl.

Hannah Montana and Miley Syrus: Best of Both Worlds–This extended edition, 3-D concert experience is so real it’s like having a backstage pass! Miley performs as herself and Hannah in the same epic show. Special appearance by the Jonas Brothers and exclusive bonus features, including additional songs.

Turn the River–When a pool shark is desperate to escape her haunted past and ex-husband, she hatches a dangerous plot and is forced to take the ultimate gamble. Bonus material included.

The Life Before her Eyes–A woman’s tragic past continues to haunt her, after losing her best friend in a shooting at their high school 15 years earlier.

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (Season 1)–Sarah and her son John, tired of running from the agents sent from the future to kill them, try to stop the formation of the agency in the present with the help of a girl with a mysterious link to the future. Includes deleted scenes and a gag reel.

The Art of War II: Betrayal–Agent Neil Shaw comes out of retirement after his martial arts mentor is killed and uncovers a plot to assassinate U.S. senators. Bonus features include alternate fight scenes.

Camp Rock–When Mitchie scores a job as a cook at Camp Rock, her life takes an unpredictable twist, and she learns how important it is to be true to yourself. Packed with music, dance moves, and bonus features, including How to Be a Rock Star and a music video.

Street Kings–A veteran LAPD vice detective is on a quest to find out who killed his former partner, Detective Terrance Washington. He teams up with a young detective to track down Washington’s killers. The two track down the murderers and bring them to justice.

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day–A Cinderella story about friendship and finding true love. A middle-aged London governess is dismissed from her job and now is attempting to find new employment in a glamorous world and a dizzying social whirl of an American actress and singer.

On Saturday, August 23, talented drummer Chris Spychalski will team up with The LD Swygg Band to conclude the afternoon at LaSalle RetroFest: Celebrating the 1980s, held on the grounds of the LaSalle Branch. Join us at 2:00 p.m. to end the afternoon in rockin’ ’80s style!

Light refreshments are available from 11:00 a.m.- 3:00 p.m.

I am excited that the dazzling Miss Jackson, also known as SJCPL’s Brenda Sconiers, will be performing at our third annual LaSalle RetroFest this Saturday at 1:00 p.m. on the grounds of the LaSalle Branch. I am anticipating Miss Jackson’s third consecutive performance will be wonderful. She delights audiences of all ages with her amazing vocals, dynamic stage presence, and fun costumes. I hope to see you there!

Are you thinking of what to wear to our 3rd annual LaSalle RetroFest on Saturday, August 23? Remember jams and brightly colored Hawaiian shirts? Perhaps one of our featured musical acts will inspire you to attend RetroFest Hawaiian style! At noon, Surf Simians will be performing fun instrumental beach-style tunes for your enjoyment. If you show up in ’80s attire, you get to put your name into a raffle for fun prizes.

Here are a couple of styles to help you remember the 1980s:

Hope to see you there!

Edward Bulwer-Lytton penned those famous words in 1830, but the San Jose State University English department still celebrates his awkward opening line every year. “The Bulwer-Lytton fiction contest – where WWW means wretched writers welcome” gives awards to the worst opening lines in several genres, including children’s, detective and historical fiction writing. Check out the best of the worst!

After a long summer break, the Readmobile is back! We are in the process of accepting Requests for School Service forms for the 2008-09 school year and filling our visitation schedule. Any interested teacher or school administrator may fill out the form and fax it to us or deliver it to any lSJCPL location to be forwarded to the Readmobile office. We are currently giving preference to primary school-age children in grades Kindergarten to 4th grade, with a focus on 2nd grade. However, our collection allows us to serve preschool-age children on up to teens.

Other programs that may request service include nonprofit after-school programs, low-income housing projects, and community centers. We do restrict visits to within the South Bend city limits and to locations that offer a safe approach for patrons and enough space for the bus to move around.

In other Readmobile news, we’ll be attending two late summer events. Come on out and pay us a visit at the 3rd Annual LaSalle RetroFest on Saturday, August 23, at the LaSalle Branch or stop and say hi at Artbeat 2008 in downtown South Bend on Thursday, September 4.

The wheels on the bus go round and round…

Yesterday on the way home from work, on WVPE’s radio show All Things Sustainable, I listened to a story about a website called Walk Score.com.

Walk Score.com is great for people who are considering a move, and who wish to live in a neighborhood that is very walkable. If you live in a neighborhood where most of the stores, entertainment spots, libraries, and other points of interest are within walking distance, this might encourage you to decide to walk instead of drive, which will help reduce air pollution, increase personal health, and help local businesses.

Of note is the fact that there are some major limitations to how the Walk Score is calculated:
“We’ll be the first to admit that Walk Score is just an approximation of walkability. There are a number of factors that contribute to walkability that are not part of our algorithm:

• Public transit: Good public transit is important for walkable neighborhoods.
• Street width and block length: Narrow streets slow down traffic. Short blocks provide more routes to the same destination and make it easier to take a direct route.
• Street design: Sidewalks and safe crossings are essential to walkability. Appropriate automobile speeds, trees, and other features also help.
• Safety from crime and crashes: How much crime is in the neighborhood? How many traffic accidents are there? Are streets well-lit?
• Pedestrian-friendly community design: Are buildings close to the sidewalk with parking in back? Are destinations clustered together?
• Topography: Hills can make walking difficult, especially if you’re carrying groceries.
• Freeways and bodies of water: Freeways can divide neighborhoods. Swimming is harder than walking.
• Weather: In some places it’s just too hot or cold to walk regularly.”

As MarlonBain said, “You should use the Web 3.0 app called going outside and investigating the world for yourself” before deciding whether a neighborhood is walkable! And if you can’t go there in person, Walk Score includes Google Street View so you can use your own eyes to evaluate the walkability factors that our algorithm doesn’t yet include.”

I was curious to find out the Walk Score for downtown South Bend. According to Walk Score.com, South Bend scores a respectable 83 out of 100.

Do you agree that the downtown area is a pretty walkable area?

If living in a sustainable manner peaks your interest, maybe you’d be interested in:

Click here to enjoy the pictures of the fun we had bowling on the Wii!