Summer Reads

Can't decide what to read during the hot sweltering months that make up Texas' summer? Well kick back, relax, stay in the comfort of you airconditioning and check these out (pun intended)!

Fiction

1) Hot Off the Press!

a) The Vaults, Toby Ball

b) The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest, Stieg Larsson

c) The Help, Kathryn Stockett

d) Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk, David Sedaris

2) Oldies but Goodies

a) Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger

b) Jonathan Livingston Seagull, Richard Bach, 1970

c) The Prophet, Kahlil Gibran

d) Brave New World, Aldous Huxley

3) Spacey/Fantasy

a) Dresden Files (Series), Jim Butcher

b) World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War (series), Max Brooks

c) A Game of Thrones (Series), George R.R. Martin

Non-Fiction

1) Encyclopedias

a) Print

i) Encyclopedia of Weird Westerns: Supernatural and Science Fiction Elements in Novels, Pulps, Comics, Films, Television, and Games

ii) Encyclopedia of Food and Culture, Solomon H. Katz and William Woys Weaver, 2002

iii) Weird Creatures Encyclopedia

iv) Encyclopedia of the Blues, New York: Routledge, 2006

b) Online

i) Emily Post’s Online Etiquette Encyclopedia: http://www.emilypost.com/etipedia

2) Interesting Reads

a) A History of the World in 6 Glasses, Tom Standage, 2006

b) Sorcerer’s Apprentice, Tahir Shah

3) Go Somewhere!

a) Lonely Planet (Useful if you are going for cheap travel)

i) China, India, and Asia are good ones

b) Let’s Go

i) I like Let’s Go Mexico

c) Rough Guide (Good if you are interested more in a place’s cultural aspects)

4) Try Something New!

a) Teach Yourself Visually Crochet (Also comes in a Knitting version), Cecily Keim

b) How to Rock Climb!, 5^th, John Long, 2010

c) Poi Spinning, Michal Kahn, 2002

d) Hoop-La: The Ultimate Book of Hoop Tricks, 2002

e) Stand Up Paddling: Flatwater to Surf and Rivers, Rob Casey, 2011

5) App Guides

a) Print

i) Best iPhone Apps, J.D. Biersdorfer, 2010

b) Online

i) Iphone:

(1) http://www.pcworld.com/appguide/index.html?platform=1

(2) http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/0,28757,2044480,00.html

(3) http://bestapps.com/

ii) Andriod:

iii) http://www.pcworld.com/appguide/index.html?platform=2

iv) http://bestapps.com/

6) Relax!

a) Print

i) 1,001 Ways to Relax: An Illustrated Guide to Reducing Stress, Mike George

ii) Relax and Renew: Restful Yoga for Stressful Times, Judith Lasater

b) Online

i) Zenguide.com

7) Read for Free Online!

a) http://levysheetmusic.mse.jhu.edu

b) http://www.alexandria.ucsb.edu

8) Quirky

a) Darwin Awards, Wendy Northcutt

b) 5 People who died during Sex: and 100 Other Terribly Tasteless Lists, Karl Shaw

c) Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, Mary Roach

Library Residency

Hellooooo!

Check out my posting for ACRL's Residency Interest Group!

Hawk in the Library!

Hey Everyone,

Here's a story about a hawk getting stuck in the Library of Congress! http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookout/20110126/us_yblog_thelookout/hawk-loose-inside-library-of-congress-finally-captured

I think he was trying to pick a fight with the bald eagle statue...

Hey Everyone,

Here is an article in the Huffington Post: The Most Beautiful College Libraries!

I especially like the first college :)

New Encyclopedia on etiquette

Hey Everyone,
They just rolled out a super rad encyclopedia on etiquette! Check it out!


http://www.emilypost.com/etipedia

Library Summer Travels

Well it's been a full summer filled with spectacular book repositories! I went to Mexico City's university's library, the Library of Congress and National Archives in D.C., the Boston Public Library, and Harvard's Library! The Boston Public Library was the first circulating public library in the united states. Apparently Philadelphia and Boston have a rivalry between who had the first public library in the U.S., and although Philly was technically first to build a public library, it wasn't circulating until after Boston's was. All in all it was such an awesome summer!!!

Plans for the Future

Hello Everyone,
So as my mind is racing with all the demands of a master's degree as well as working three jobs and trying to do an internship I am reminded of how much solace a library can bring. It is a quiet retreat that invites all people from all walks of life to learn for free. Knowledge is power and I have made it my goal that upon graduation I am going to visit the top 20 most beautiful libraries in the world. The list can be found here: http://www.oddee.com/item_96527.aspx I plan on graduating in fall 2010 so I should be embarking on my journey in Jan of 2011!

Please feel free to add to this list and give me your ideas that might help me along my journey. I will keep you updated on every spot I visit as well as add pictures.