New and Featured Books for Young Adults for 03/20/2012:

Come and check out these and some of the other new books and materials (or at least new to us) for Young Adults added to our library collection…

FICTION:

The Case Of The Peculiar Pink Fan by Nancy Springer

Evil Genius by Catherine Jinks

Grandville by Bryan Talbot

Bone: Tall Tales by Jeff Smith, with Tom Sniegoski

The Monster In Me by Mette Ivie Harrison

Marvel Age Spider-Man: Special Inauguration Day Edition! by Zeb Wells and illustrated by Todd Nauck

The Host by Stephenie Meyer

This book was published a few years ago by this little known author (heavy sarcrasm there), but we just got another copy and figured it’d be interesting to remind our patrons of another work of hers, outside the Twilight saga. I haven’t read the novel myself, but it’s got a very intriguing sounding sci fi plot, and is soon to be adapted into a film starring Saoirse Ronan and Diane Kruger.

The Color Of Fire by Ann Rinaldi

We Need To Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver

A complex novel about the aftermath of a school massacre, written from the perspective of the killer’s mother, who’s trying to understand why and come to terms with the crimes that her son has committed. It was adapted into a highly acclaimed film last year by director Lynne Ramsay and starring cinematic chameleon Tilda Swinton and John C. Reilly. Check out this interview with the author at Salon.

NON-FICTION:

Can Diets By Harmful? edited by Christine Watkins

Escape: The Story Of The Great Houdini by Sid Fleischman

A Lifetime Of Secrets: A PostSecret Book by Frank Warren

Learn How To Speak Dance: A Guide To Creating, Performing, And Promoting Your Moves by Ann-Marie Williams with design and illustrations by Jeff Kulak

Elephant Talk: The Surprising Science Of Elephant Communication by Ann Downer

Conflict Resolution: The Win-Win Situation by Carolyn Casey

Sally Ride And The New Astronauts: Scientists In Space by Karen O’Connor

Making Costumes For School Plays by Joan Peters and Anna Sutcliffe

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Please note that books could be checked out between the time they end up on the blog and when you come to check them out. If you don’t see the items you’re looking for then please come up to the front desk and we’ll put your name on the reserve list for when the item returns.

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Previous New/Featured books for Adults:

03/01/12.

02/02/11.

01/27/12.

12/27/11.

And for Young Adults:

03/06/12.

02/21/12.

02/09/12.

01/31/12.

And for Kids/Juvenile Readers:

03/13/12.

02/28/12.

02/23/12.

02/16/12.

Reading material for 02/13/12:

Some reading material from around the internet:

SeaWorld is being sued… by five of its “enslaved” killer whales.

Teens learn robotics as factories lack skilled workers.

Origami robots that run only on air.

RIP Whitney Houston.

Listen to Whitney Houston’s isolated vocal track from “How Will I Know?”

Sophisticated jewelry heist stumps Chicago cops.

Take a tour of NYC sewers on Valentine’s Day. Seriously.

California’s volcanoes to be monitored more closely.

34% of people aged 25 to 29 years old have moved back home.

The Pentagon to lift some restrictions on women in combat.

Social media explained.

Amazon tries out the brick and mortar approach.

Google might open a store too.

How to improve your odds in online dating.

The FBI file on Steve Jobs.

The man behind the fake Cormac McCarthy twitter account.

Do you want to open up a perpetual, invisible window into your gmail?

Also, men don’t read online dating profiles.

Stephen Fry says that British judges don’t understand twitter.

Arguing for a Zuckerberg tax.

Mad Men: a guide to catching up before season 5, which starts next month.

Also, Thomas Jane was almost Don Draper.

Natalie Portman to join both of Terrence Malick’s upcoming films.

Naomi Watts to play Princess Diana.

Roger Ebert says 3D is killing Hollywood.

It looks like House will be coming to an end in May with the conclusion of its 8th season.

George Lucas says Han never shot first.

Amy Adams to adapt Steven Martin’s An Object Of Beauty.

Anton Corbijn to adapt John Le Carré’s A Most Wanted Man, which will star Phillip Seymour Hoffman.

Navy SEALs moonlight as movie stars.

The trailer for The Bourne Legacy.

In the picture above: 15,000 different books about Abraham Lincoln arranged together to form a three story tower in the lobby of the Ford’s Theater Center for Education and Leadership.

What Dr. Seuss books were really about.

William Gibson on aging futurism.

10 of the greatest kisses in literature.

A neurodevelopmental perspective on A. A. Milne.

The top 10 Batman storylines.

Charles Dickens and Sinclair Lewis.

A list of ridiculous names in Charles Dickens novels (incomplete).

Jeffrey Zaslow, the man who wrote the recent Gabrielle Giffords book and the Chesley “Sully” Sullenberg, died on Friday.

Michael Chabon talks about his new short story.

Books that will change the way you think about love.

This is a very cool site: Better Book Titles.

from here.

How black lights work.

Legacy of nuclear drilling site in Colorado still lingers.

Entire genome of extinct human decoded from fossil.

Can bees make tupperware?

10 things you probably didn’t know about love and sex.

Metaphors trigger the visual parts of your brain.

The psychedelic cult that thrived for nearly 2000 years.

Greek protesters setting Athens aflame.

The world’s tallest hotel is, of course, in Dubai.

Why being sleepy and drunk is great for creativity.

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Previous online reading material:

02/06/12.

01/30/12.

12/27/11.

12/19/11.

New and Featured DVDs for 02/07/12:

Come and check out these and some of the other new DVDs and materials (or at least new to us) added to our library collection…

FICTION:

The Orphanage

Fish Tank

Lord Of War

Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves

Attack Of The Block

2011, directed by Joe Cornish. This British science fiction action film about a group of urban youths taking on an alien invasion is already a cult classic. Roger Ebert gave the film 3 stars and one of our patrons assured me the other day that this movie is a lot of fun.

Premonition

Brief Encounter

1945, directed by David Lean. Based on the play by Noël Coward, the film stars Trevor Howard and Cecilia Johnson and challenged the traditional ideas of British suburban life when a bored housewife finds real, passionate love outside of her marriage and has to deal with the powerful emotions that come with such a revelation.

The Man Who Would Be King

O Brother, Where Art Though?

The Shining

1980, directed by Stanley Kubrick. Stars Jack Nicholson and loosely adapts Stephen King’s novel. Jack Nicholson, a family trapped in a hotel isolated by a snowstorm, the dangerous of alcoholism, psychic kids, and some very, very malevolent ghosts.  Stanely Kubrick was at the top of his game here and this is not just a horror/thriller classic, but one of the scariest movies ever.

Braveheart

The Eiger Sanction

Speed Racer

NON-FICTION:

Freakonomics

2010. The classic and bestselling book by economist Steven D. Levitt and journalist Stephen J. Dubner gets a very interesting documentary adaptation, featuring six different directors – including Super Size Me‘s Morgan Spurlock and Jesus Camp‘s Rachel Grady – bringing its various segments to life, all featuring a look at human behavior  and why we do the things we do through an interesting bit of research that combines economics and sociology. This is a fun and interesting movie. And you should all check out the Freakonomics blog.

Ultimate Factories: Coca-Cola

Hitler’s Museum: The Secret History Of Art Theft During World War II

Freedom Riders

Ghost Ships

Crazy Love

2007, directed by Dan Klores and Fisher Stevens. A morbidly fascinating story that proves that not only is the truth stranger than fiction, but that you really do only hurt the one you love. You can read reviews for the documentary in The San Francisco Chronicle and Peter Traver’s review in The Rolling Stone, and check out the trailer below:

Hoop Dreams

Howard Hughes: The Real Aviator

Waiting For “Superman”

2010, directed by Davis Guggenheim. This powerful, passionate documentary deals with the failures of the American education system and focuses on several children hoping to get a better education via participating in a lottery to gain admission to high performing charter schools. Some reviews point out that the film could be a strong point in a revolution to reform our education system while others point out that the documentary is highly critical and not entirely representative of teacher’s unions. But it definitely makes for compelling viewing.

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Please note that DVDs could be checked out between the time they end up on the blog and when you come to check them out. If you don’t see the items you’re looking for then please come up to the front desk and we’ll put your name on the reserve list for when the item returns.

* * *

Previous New/Featured DVDs:

12/30/11.

* * *

Previous New/Featured books:

02/02/12.

01/27/12.

12/27/11.

12/23/11.

12/19/11.

12/17/11.

More reading material.

Some reading material from around the internet:

John Titor, the man who told the internet that he had come from the future.

An archivist explains how to access veteran’s records.

The food we eat might control our genes.

The secret of Madame Tussaud’s success.

The strategies of a preschool teacher.

The 20 best video games of 2011.

Prince Phillip, the husband of Queen Elizabeth, is in the hospital with heart problems.

Where celebrities fall in the Uncanny Valley.

On Wikipedia, cultural patrimony, and historiography.

FX is developing a 1980s spy drama.

Kermit The Frog is a terrible boyfriend.

HBO canceling Bored To Death, Hung, and How To Make It In America, and is renewing Enlightened.

When it comes to the new Mission: Impossible movie, how tall is everyone?

Roger Ebert’s top films of 2011.

Aaron Sorkin’s new HBO show finally has a name: The Newsroom.

The 8 minute trailer for David Fincher’s adaptation of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.

Steve Jobs to be awarded a posthumous Grammy.

The golden age of divorced women on TV.

from here.

The new datacenters and their architects.

NASA builds six-foot crossbow to harpoon comets.

The retreat of the Arctic sea releases deadly greenhouse gas.

Girl thought to be swept away by tsunami is found alive 7 years later.

Putting scientists on Mars in permanent colonies.

Urban legends about urban development.

Look at these amazing pictures from space.

The most common place on Earth for meteorites to crash? Antarctica.

National security expert warns of Asian space race.

The case for enhancing people.

by Tom Gauld, from here.

Watch a nice little video clip about the Dalkey Archive Press.

What literature owes the Bible.

Classic novels reinvented with genderswitching.

A review of Stephen King’s 11/22/63.

The secret history of secondhand books.

Jane Austen and Emily Dickinson were both born in the month of December.

How much do books cost these days?

Ridiculous origins for 7 everyday words.

James Ellroy hates everything.

from here.

The physics of how cats drink.

The number of homeless children is currently the highest ever in American history.

The year in political cartoons.

Make sense of the Middle Ages.

Ten plotlines you’ll find over and over again in science fiction.

A very nice looking fake house.

Are you the only one?

Reading material.

Here’s some reading material from around the internet…

The world’s first mug shots.

6 ridiculous history myths (that you probably think are true).

15 bizarre green inventions.

Did they really discover the Higgs Boson?

Also: 3 things the Higgs Boson can teach you about physics.

TIME magazine’s person of the year: The protestor.

The 100 most popular baby names of 2011.

Are art and architecture converging?

The New York Times on text messaging.

Should copyright be allowed to override free speech rights?

Some complaints about the Kindle Fire.

from here.

Penguin halts e-book sales to libraries.

Speaking of which, check out this blog which reviews one Penguin book a week.

Gift ideas for the book lover who’s read everything.

Anew short story by the author of 1Q84, Haruki Murakami: “Town Of Cats.”

Stereotyping you by your favorite books of 2011.

The most beautiful literary mystery in Edinburgh.

The overlooked sci-fi of 2011.

Some of the year’s best reading for both Adults and Young Adults.

The best e-book and audiobooks of 2011?

A brief guide to fictional languages in literature.

by Daniel Clowes, from here.

Recent passings:

Christopher Hitchens, author and journalist.

George Whitman, owner of Shakespeare & Co.

Steve Jobs, inventor and businessman and pioneer.

Joe Simon, cook book legend and co-creator of Captain America.

Jerry Robinson, comic book legend and creator of Batman villain The Joker.

Joseph M. Chamberlain, pioneer of planetarium shows.

Kim Jong Il, North Korean leader.

Anne McCaffrey, science fiction author.

Betty Ford, former First Lady.

Joe Frazier, boxer and heavyweight champion.

John Barry, conductor and film composer.

Andy Rooney, journalist and commentator.

Peter Falk, actor and TV’s Columbo!

Russell Hoban, author of Riddley Walker.

Rest in peace all.

from here.

The Guardian reviews the David Fincher version of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.

The best TV shows of the year and some of the best TV episodes of 2011.

Roger Ebert gives Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol 3 1/2 stars. I’ve seen the movie myself and would agree, it’s definitely worth a viewing. It’s a very fun movie, but if you’re going to see it in the theater then do yourself a favor and see it right: in IMAX. Trust me, it’ll be worth it.

First look at some official images from the new version of The Great Gatsby.

The top 15 “unseen” characters on TV.

The teaser for the upcoming second season of Game Of Thrones. Winter is coming!

The Spielberg Face.

Good news for Agatha Christie fans: The final Hercule Poirot movies starring David Suchet have finally been commissioned.

Speaking of Agatha Christie and mysteries: Did she have Alzheimer’s?

The 26 best movies of 2011?

Watch 1978’s infamous Star Wars Holiday Special in its entirety.

A nice tribute to the movies of this year:

When looking at some of the links listed here, please don’t forget that: We have several of the Hercule Poirot movies on DVD, including the ones starring David Suchet, as well as Murder On The Orient Express which stars Albert Finney and Death On The Nile which stars Peter Ustinov. Also, we have books on knitting and selecting baby names and we have books talking about awesome people. We have Mission: Impossible movies on DVD and we have graphic novels and comic books featuring Batman and his nemesis, the Joker. And of course we have The Dark Knight on DVD, featuring Heath Ledger’s iconic reinvention of the role. We can offer you e-books and audiobooks, we have Riddley Walker by Russell Hoban, and we have several of the James Bond movies on DVD, for which John Barry arranged and composed the memorable theme for.

by Mathieu Belanger, one of the pictures of the year, from here.

More amazing pictures from this year.

Beautiful pictures of Saturn.

4,000 pages of Isaac Newton’s personal notebooks are now available to view online.

An x-ray of a two-headed snake.

Clint Eastwood’s family will star in a reality show.

The 25 most beautiful college libraries in the world.

How knitting behind bars transformed Maryland convicts.

Awesome people hanging out together.

Don’t forget that NORAD will help you track Santa!