Raise money for the library

Here's a new easy way to raise money for the library. Just start using Yahoo! powered GoodSearch.com as your search engine and they'll donate a penny to your favorite cause every time you do a search! In addition, do all of your shopping through their online shopping mall, GoodShop.com, where you can shop at more than 700 top online retailers and a percentage of your purchases will go to the charity or school of your choice. You pay the same price as you normally would, but a donation goes to your cause!

Here's the web site — http://www.goodsearch.com. You can also read about GoodSearch in the NY Times, Oprah Magazine, CNN, ABC News and the Wall Street Journal.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Sherman Alexie takes you to the Spokane Indian reservation where Junior lives. Junior, born with a variety of medical problems, gets picked on and beat up by everyone but his best friend. His family is poor but his parents want the best for Junior and his sister. Junior is cast as a traitor when he leaves the rez to attend an all-white school in a neighboring town (where the only other Indian is the school mascot). He only has to walk the 22 miles to school occassionally and is pretty good at covering up his lack of lunch money but one wonders how he can continue to be an outcast on the reservation and at school. Humorous and witty, the story outlines the contemporary adolescence of one boy who is trying to rise above the poverty that surrounds him.


http://www.teenreads.com/reviews/9780316013680.asp

NetLibrary's October eBook

NetLibrary's October eBook of the Month

Access PA, in partnership with NetLibrary and Salem Press is providing online access to the full text of Great Events from History: The 20th Century, 1971-2000, edited by Robert F. Gorman.

The ideal reference tool for students and general readers at all academic levels, Great Events from History: The 20th Century, 1971-2000 includes 1,083 individual essays covering topics ranging from personal computers to the rise of the Internet to groundbreaking advances in biotechnology. Events covered include the curriculum-oriented geopolitical events of the era, from the end of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War in 1973 to the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991. Essays also address important social and cultural developments in daily life: major literary movements, significant developments in the arts and motion pictures, trends in world population and immigration, and landmark social legislation.

Designed to increase awareness of online resources and highlight the value of the Access PA eBook collection, the October eBook of the Month will be available to Access PA and POWER Library participants with free, unlimited access October 1-31. Access to this eBook is available while at your participating library, or from home through your participating local public library's web site. It is provided through the generous support of Salem Press, and with the support of Commonwealth Libraries and the Access PA/POWER Library program.

Originally posted via email: Access PA News - 10/03/08‏ By: Access Pennsylvania, HSLC

My Stroke of Insight

My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist's Personal Journey by Jill Bolte Taylor takes the reader through her experience with a stroke in the left hemisphere of the brain. It was an interesting look at how a stroke patient thinks before, during and after the event. Taylor is able to combine her professional knowledge (Harvard trained brain scientist) with first hand experience in a way that is accessible to all. Whether you know someone who has had a stroke or just curious about how the brain works, this book is for you.

Pitch and Throw, Grasp and Know: What is a Synonym?

Brian P. Cleary's Words are Categorical series is a great way for kids to learn the different parts of speech, not to mention a quick and easy refresher for anybody. Pitch and Throw, Grasp and Know begins with the definition of a synonym (A word that has the same or nearly the same meaning as another word.) before the title page. Each colorful page contains a sentence to help make it clear what words are synonyms ("They're words like, toss and pitch and throw, comprehend and grasp and know."). The illustrations feature multi-colored cats in various silly scenes. For example on the page that "the fridge was raided," the poor little cats are peering into the empty fridge with a few items scattered around the floor.

Paula Deen's Kitchen Classics: The Lady and Sons Savannah Country Cookbook & the Lady & Sons, Too!

Most of the recipes in this book call for items you already have in your cupboard or that you can find at the local grocery store. If you have a lot of tomatoes that you don't know what to do with them, try the Tomato Pie recipe. It's really good! It calls for a pie crust, tomatoes, of course, and cheese, onions, and basil. Real easy to make.

Ordinary Life

Containing 14 short stories, Elizabeth Berg's Ordinary Life centers on, as the title suggests, ordinary life. Relationships and how people interact are central to each story. The reader gets a glimpse at the characters' thought processes through these first person narratives. For those of you who have read The Pull of the Moon, Martin's response to his wife's trip to "find herself" is included. In another story, Mavis McPherson has locked herself in the bathroom for a week just to get some time to think.

Overall, this compilation of stories did not appeal to me. There isn't action, humor, or adventure just ordinary stories that portray ordinary people.

River of Doubt

A work of non-fiction that reads like fiction. Teddy Roosevelt searches for adventure by taking a trip down uncharted waters of the Amazon in 1912. The crew was ill prepared for the journey. The boats they took were not suitable for the river so they had to use Indian dugout canoes, they didn't pack enough supplies, Roosevelt contracts a disease and is almost too weak to travel. The author keeps you interested throughout the whole story. A good read!

50 Ways to Paint Furniture

50 Ways to Paint Furniture: The Easy Step-by-Step way to Decorator Looks by Elise C. Kinkead

Tired of the same old look on your wooden furniture? This book is great for anybody who is willing to put the time into painting your furniture the right way (you know, start by using denatured alcohol, then sand, then primer, then paint). Each of the projects seems like they would take a couple days each with with drying time but the results are fabulous. Ideas include steel-wool stria, photo montage, torn paper, faux tiles, faux goatskin, as well as chalkboard and my favorite checkerboard tabletop.

Sundays at Tiffany's

It's been a while since I've read a James Patterson book so I thought I would give this one a chance. Co-authored with Gabrielle Charbonnet, the book is about Jane Margaux whose mother makes time for her once a week, on Sundays for a trip to Tiffany's. Jane like many children has an imaginary friend, Michael. Michael must leave Jane on her ninth birthday. Jane always remembers the time Michael spent with her even though she isn't supposed to. As an adult, Jane is just as lonely and under her mother's control as she was when she was growing up.

Overall, this is book is just a nice love story with a happy ending. No violence and no unexpected tragedy.

The Last Lecture

“We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand.”
--Randy Pausch

The Last Lecture has become an instant hit across America. Carnegie Mellon professor, Randy Pausch's advice on how to achieve your childhood dreams and how to live your life resonates for many people. His certain death diagnosis provided the opportunity for this man to share his optimistic viewpoint with the world. Highly recommended for everyone!

Down & Dirty!

Down & Dirty!: 43 Fun & Funky First-Time Projects & Activities to Get you Gardening by Ellen Zachos

This book is great for those of us who like the idea of gardening but don't really know how to get started. The sections of the book include Basics, Adventures, Projects, and Plants. The photographs include are bright additions to the book. Sample projects include raised-bed gardens, irrigation systems, herb garden in a window box, hummingbird gardens. If you are new to gardening or looking for some new ideas, consider checking out this book.

Dead Witch Walking

Dead Witch Walking by Kim Harrison
Rachel Morgan's career is at a standstill. She's been given the jobs with the least amount of responsibility and even then every assignment has some problem. She is considering leaving her position, but no one gets out of the I.S. without a price on their head. When Rachel catches her latest criminal, a leprechaun who is accused of fabricating a rainbow for illegal gain, the leprechaun offers her a chance at three wishes. Rachel teams up with a vampire, Ivy and a Pixy, Jenks to try their luck at running their own business. But, Rachel must first find a way to pay off the price on her head before the I.S. kills her. She decides to find the "Brimstone" drug lord and turn him over to the I.S.. What she finds is more than she bargained for.



Summary from Novelist: Sexy bounty hunter and witch Rachel Morgan prowls the dark streets of Cincinnati, keeping tabs on the vampires and other creatures of the supernatural who prey on the city's innocent and vulnerable inhabitants.


Please note: This book is available at the Kittanning Library through Interlibrary Loan.