SJCPL Blog

Many of you who were lucky enough to catch the premiere of Iron Man know that it is a movie that knocks your socks off. Who was to know that a billionaire former prisoner-of-war would rise up and take on the evil powers that be as the Invincible Iron Man? Underneath that high-tech near-invulnerable battlesuit lies a somewhat fragile psyche in the persona of Tony Stark. One of the most compelling storylines in the Iron Man run is one where Stark descends into a rough bout with alcoholism. Stark is a man of immense charisma and charm but also one of strong personal demons…which makes the character of Iron Man so compelling. I’m betting that the movie only whetted your appetite for the adventures of Iron Man. You can indulge further here at SJCPL by the assortments of storylines in graphic novels and on DVD. In Sights & Sounds a great animated adventure The Invincible Iron Man is highly worth checking out. Also, for old-schoolers such as myself, graphic novels such as The Essential Avengers series featuring art by greats such as Jack “the King” Kirby, John Buscema, and Neal Adams will hand you great stories of the earlier days of Iron Man. In this series you also get to watch how Iron Man interacts on a team with other great heroes such as Captain America. Of course, there is the modern revisioning of Iron Man with the Avengers, the gritty and fun Ultimates series. SJCPL has a lot of fun Iron Man books and graphic novels. Check what we have here!!!

The construction of the new Francis Branch started at the end of April when guys showed up at our door with 4 trucks stacked with big black plastic tubes. These are now part of our new wastewater retention system. After the guys rolled the tubes down into the field, they stacked them into nice piles.

The next week the earth movers arrived. By Wednesday they were digging to China. They quickly had the tubes installed and covered - job #1 done!

May 3 we had our Groundbreaking Ceremony. Of course, as you can see above, the ground had already been unofficially ‘broke.’ Our featured speakers included our director, Donald Napoli; John Wibbens, the president of our library board; our Congressman, Joe Donnelly; Kevin Kubsch, our District B County Council member; Tom Price, from the office of Mayor Luecke; Martin Murphy, from James Childs Architects; and our assistant director, Debra Futa. We had a beautiful morning, although I have some nagging questions about the work crew that day.

Now the builders are creating our temporary parking lot. Once it is done, they’ll tear up our current lot and begin putting down the footings and foundation for the new Francis Branch. We’ll be open during construction, except at the very end, Summer ‘09, so come down and see our new building go up.

View images of the work in progress at staff member Sharon Rutherford’s Flickr site.

For the week of May 18, 2008. View the complete list from The New York Times. Password required. Try BugMeNot.

Hardcover Fiction:

1. SUNDAYS AT TIFFANY’S, by James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet. (Little, Brown, $24.99.) A woman finds an unexpected love.

2. THE WHOLE TRUTH, by David Baldacci. (Grand Central, $26.99.) An intelligence agent and a journalist team up against a warmongering defense contractor.

3. TWENTY WISHES, by Debbie Macomber. (Mira, $24.95.) A widow who owns a bookstore on Blossom Street compiles a list of things she always wanted to do.

4. HOLD TIGHT, by Harlan Coben. (Dutton, $26.95.) The aftermath of a high school kid’s suicide rocks a New Jersey suburb.

5. UNACCUSTOMED EARTH by Jhumpa Lahiri. (Knopf, $25.) Stories about the anxiety and transformation experienced by Bengali parents and their American children.

Hardcover Nonfiction:

1. THE REVOLUTION, by Ron Paul. (Grand Central, $21.) A libertarian manifesto from the Texas congressman and Republican presidential candidate.

2. A WOLF AT THE TABLE, by Augusten Burroughs. (St. Martin’s, $24.95.) A memoir of life with a cruel father.

3. ARE YOU THERE, VODKA? IT’S ME, CHELSEA, by Chelsea Handler. (Simon Spotlight Entertainment, $24.95.) Humorous personal essays from the stand-up comedian.

4. HOME by Julie Andrews. (Hyperion, $26.95.) A memoir of Andrews’s early years.

5. ESCAPE, by Carolyn Jessop with Laura Palmer. (Broadway, $24.95.) A former member of a fundamentalist polygamous sect describes her forced marriage to a much older man.

Children’s Chapter Books:

1. DIARY OF A WIMPY KID: RODRICK RULES written and illustrated by Jeff Kinney. (Amulet/Abrams, $12.95.) How Greg embarrassed himself on his summer vacation (ask his older brother, Rodrick); a sequel to Diary of a Wimpy Kid. (Ages 9 to 12)

2. DIARY OF A WIMPY KID written and illustrated by Jeff Kinney. (Abrams, $12.95.) The travails of adolescence, in cartoons. (Ages 9 to 12)

3. LOCK AND KEY, by Sarah Dessen. (Viking, $18.99.) A free-spirited high school girl is sent to live with her wealthy older sister. (Ages 12 and up)

4. TWEAK by Nic Sheff. (Ginee Seo/Atheneum, $16.99.) A memoir of a teenager’s methamphetamine addiction. (Ages 15 and up)

5. THE INVENTION OF HUGO CABRET, written and illustrated by Brian Selznick. (Scholastic, $22.99.) A novel “in words and pictures”; an orphaned thief must decipher his father’s last message. (Ages 9 to 12)

Did your high school give out “awards” to seniors at the end of their final year?  You know the kind of thing I mean — “most likely to succeed,” “best-looking,” etc.  You probably won something great like “most likely to win the Nobel Peace Prize,” or even something that sounded bad but was actually a compliment, like “most likely to become a cult leader,” right?

Not me.  “Biggest goody two shoes” was my award.  I think it might have been a new award, invented just to categorize me correctly.  I got good grades, I stayed home on Friday nights, I helped out around the house.  Every mother’s dream, that was me!

Well, except for the time I got so absorbed in reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn on a blanket “raft” in my bedroom that I didn’t hear my mom calling me.  I’m still not sure she has forgiven me for making her think I was missing.  It was a little disconcerting to put my book down and see a police officer and my embarrassed mom standing in my doorway.

(Mother’s Day 1973:  me, my mom Janet Nunn Feil, Janet’s grandmother Myrtle Butler Wilson, and Myrtle’s daughter Carol Wilson Nunn.  Except for Great-Grandma Wilson, who died at 101 in 1984, we all met today for Mother’s Day brunch 2008.)

And then there were all the books my mom had to buy to keep me occupied when we traveled.  Books were the only thing that would keep me from whining on long trips.  If my mom had a nickel for every Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, Dana Girls, and Bobbsey Twins book she had bought me, she’d probably have been able to retire a decade earlier.

And I can’t forget all the exciting accident-related events I inflicted on Mom.  (Sample:  “Mom, I’m calling from the hospital, but I’m OKAY.  Basically.  The doctor says I only need nine stitches.”)  I can still recall the aghast expression on my mom’s face when she returned from a trip to find me with oozing bandages covering half my face.  (I’m sure she was thinking “Can’t I leave Dad and the kids alone for TWO DAYS without an emergency happening?”  Of course, the answer was no.)

The worst scare I gave Mom happened only about a year and a half ago.  My new house had turned out to need some major repairs, one of my beloved pets had just died, and I had an elusive gas leak in my basement.  I was exhausted and overstressed, so naturally I called home to California and begged my mom to visit and cheer me up.  The night she arrived, the shrill screech of the carbon monoxide detector in my basement woke us up in the middle of the night.  While we were waiting for the gas company, I began feeling dizzy.

And then I died.  Or at least, that’s what Mom thought.  Apparently I passed out for a few minutes and became completely unresponsive.  I woke up to find my horrified mom asking the 911 operator how to revive me.

Sorry about that, Mom.  A Mother’s Day brunch doesn’t even begin to make up for all of that!  Hopefully the good times we’ve had for the past few decades, and will continue to have for several more, will help…

Say, Mom, did I ever tell you about the time I sprained my ankle by doing an Evel Knievel jump off the neighbor’s roof?  No?  Um, don’t worry, that never happened.

For all of our TV series fans, here’s what’s in this week:

Newhart - Season 1
(1982-1983) Dick and his wife run a small country inn in Vermont and are surrounded by an eclectic group of friends and neighbors. TV Guide called the series finale “one of the most memorable in TV history.”

Upstairs Downstairs - Season 2
(1972) This BAFTA and Emmy Award-winning British TV drama is set in a large townhouse in Edwardian London and depicts the lives of servants “downstairs” and their masters “upstairs.”

Futurama - Season 4
(2002-2003) This Emmy Award-winning animated sitcom was created by Matt Groening (of Simpsons fame) for the Fox network and follows the adventures of a pizza delivery boy thrown 1,000 years into the future.

Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea - Season 1
(1964) Based on the 1961 film of the same name, this was the decade’s longest-running American science fiction television series with continuing characters. The series takes place in the “future” of 1970s and 1980s.

Soul Food: The Series - Season 3
(2002-2003) Dig into the drama of life with the Joseph sisters. From rocky relationships to friends in real trouble, the issues their family faces are real problems everyone can relate to.

FICTION

Friday Nights: A Novel by Joanna Trollope
Nice To Come Home by Rebecca Flowers
Quicksand by Iris Johansen
Secrets of the Hollywood Girls Club by Maggie Marr
Whirlwind by David Klass

NONFICTION

America, Our Next Chapter: Tough Questions, Straight Answers by Chuck Hagel
Don’t Get Taken Every Time: The Ultimate Guide to Buying or Leasing a Car in the Showroom or on the Internet by Remar Sutton
Friends on a Rotten Day: The Astrology of Friendships by Hazel Dixon-Cooper
Gordon Ramsay’s Fast Food: Recipes from the F Word by Gordon Ramsay
A People’s History of American Empire: A Graphic Adaptation by Howard Zinn

CDs

Best of Both Worlds Concert - Miley Cyrus
For the Love of the Game - Pillar
Ghosts I–IV - Nine Inch Nails
In the Name of Love: Africa Celebrates U2 - Various Artists
Yael Naim - Yael Naim

CHILDREN’S

Dinosaur Trouble by Dick King-Smith (Grades 3–4)
The Seer of Shadows by Avi (Grades 4–7)
Mother, You’re the Best! But Sister, You’re a Pest! by Diane deGroat (Preschool)
T. Rex and the Mother’s Day Hug by Lois Grambling (Preschool)
Uh-Oh! by Rachel Isadora (Preschool)

LARGE PRINT

Captive Star by Catherine Coulter
Hold Tight by Harlan Coben
Santa Fe Dead by Stuart Woods
While You Were Gone by Mary Higgins Clark
Winding Ways Quilt by Jennifer Chiaverini

Jump ‘n’ jive to the extraordinary sounds of the Riley High School Jazz Bands, as part of the Main-ly Music program, on Tuesday, May 6, at 6:30 p.m. at SJCPL’s Main Library in the Humphreys Multimedia Room located on the library’s lower level. Under the direction of Jeff Gorman, the jazz bands play jazz, swing, rock, and jazz ballad styles of music featuring senior Kaitlin Armentrout as jazz vocalist. The group consists of saxes/lower bass/trumpets and rhythm section. The rhythm section includes electric guitar, electric bass, percussion and piano. Get WOWed by the Wildcats tomorrow.

The next time you visit Sights and Sounds at Main, check out our new display featuring CDs donated by local bands and artists. The display is located near our rock music collection, but don’t think you’ll only find rock music on display. Our local music is categorized into various genres: blues, folk, country, classical, pop, urban, rock, and new age. As our collection grows, expect to find CDs from other genres also. Here’s just a few of our many circulating titles:

Somersaults Inside Ourselves by Squirm Orchestra

It’s a Great Mystery by Just Me and Molly

In the Maybe World by Lisa Germano

Where Is Your Acoustic Guitar by Double B

Just Before Sunrise by Nathan Gunn

Are you a local musician or in a local band? Want to donate your CD to our collection? Contact Rada Ragimbekov at sightsandsounds@sjcpl.org or 574-282-4609.

For the week of May 11, 2008. View the complete list from The New York Times. Password required. Try BugMeNot.

Hardcover Fiction:

1. THE WHOLE TRUTH, by David Baldacci. (Grand Central, $26.99.) An intelligence agent and a journalist team up against a warmongering defense contractor.

2. HOLD TIGHT, by Harlan Coben. (Dutton, $26.95.) The aftermath of a high school kid’s suicide rocks a New Jersey suburb.

3. THE MIRACLE OF SPEEDY MOTORS, by Alexander McCall Smith. (Pantheon, $22.95.) The ninth novel in the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series.

4. UNACCUSTOMED EARTH by Jhumpa Lahiri. (Knopf, $25.) Stories about the anxiety and transformation experienced by Bengali parents and their American children.

5. WHERE ARE YOU NOW? by Mary Higgins Clark. (Simon & Schuster, $25.95.) A woman searches for the truth about her brother, who is alive but has disappeared.

Hardcover Nonfiction:

1. ARE YOU THERE, VODKA? IT’S ME, CHELSEA, by Chelsea Handler. (Simon Spotlight Entertainment, $24.95.) Humorous personal essays from the stand-up comedian.

2. ESCAPE, by Carolyn Jessop with Laura Palmer. (Broadway, $24.95.) A former member of a fundamentalist polygamous sect describes her forced marriage to a much older man.

3. HOME by Julie Andrews. (Hyperion, $26.95.) A memoir of Andrews’s early years.

4. BEAUTIFUL BOY by David Sheff. (Houghton Mifflin, $24.) A father struggles with his son’s meth addiction.

5. MISTAKEN IDENTITY by Don and Susie Van Ryn and Newell, Colleen and Whitney Cerak, with Mark Tabb. (Howard, $21.95.) The families of two girls whose identities were confused after a 2006 accident describe their experience.

Children’s Chapter Books:

1. DIARY OF A WIMPY KID: RODRICK RULES written and illustrated by Jeff Kinney. (Amulet/Abrams, $12.95.) How Greg embarrassed himself on his summer vacation (ask his older brother, Rodrick); a sequel to Diary of a Wimpy Kid. (Ages 9 to 12)

2. LOCK AND KEY, by Sarah Dessen. (Viking, $18.99.) A free-spirited high school girl is sent to live with her wealthy older sister. (Ages 12 and up)

3. DIARY OF A WIMPY KID written and illustrated by Jeff Kinney. (Abrams, $12.95.) The travails of adolescence, in cartoons. (Ages 9 to 12)

4. TWEAK by Nic Sheff. (Ginee Seo/Atheneum, $16.99.) A memoir of a teenager’s methamphetamine addiction. (Ages 15 and up)

5. CITY OF ASHES by Cassandra Clare. (McElderry, $17.99.) A girl must track down her father in a hidden realm of demons; a sequel to City of Bones. (Ages 14 and up)

So, you have a nice flower garden in your backyard, or you have a perfect place to start one. If you’re like me, that is fabulousity in itself.

But, did you know that you can convert your plot into a National Wildlife Federation Certified Wildlife Habitat?

The NWF website provides lots of information to help homeowners create habitat areas out of native plants and appropriate wildlife shelters and foods. Go beyond hanging a bird feeder in your backyard (which can potentially be UNSAFE for birds) and give wildlife food and shelter in a natural setting.

The NWF tip-sheets (found here) have easy-to-follow steps for creating NWF certified habitats for birds, butterflies, amphibians, and pond animals. You can learn how to create NWF certified birdfeeders and nesting boxes. You can find out about the issue of lawn reduction, and how to keep your NWF certified wildlife habitat neighborhood friendly.

In 2006, to celebrate their 70th Anniversary, the National Wildlife Federation set a goal of reaching 70,000 certified Backyard Wildlife Habitat sites in 2006. By October of 2006, this goal was reached (and surpassed!), with 74,000 homeowners’ yards, school yards, and community properties becoming officially certified.

So perhaps you are interested in being part of this exciting movement?

To make the deal even sweeter, when you certify your yard, you receive a free 1-year NWF membership, which includes a subscription to the award-winning National Wildlife magazine. You also get a very cool sign to post in your yard proclaiming you have created an official certified wildlife habitat. Even more important, proudly displaying your sign may encourage others to follow your lead.

You can apply for certification via the internet or by mail. There is a $15 non-refundable application fee, but the rewards, both tangible and intangible, are surely priceless.

For more inspiration, take a look at the stories on the NWF website submitted by people who have already created certified wildlife habitats. For instance, Penelope Bianchi wrote:

I have always wanted to do this - the internet helped me sooo much! I enlisted my 6 year old grandaughter and we did it together - she was awesome!!!! (”Get a picture of this, Granny! They will love it! That thicket is an apartment house for birds!”)…and it is! Then we took the whole thing to her school - the certificate, the questionnaire, the sign - the whole thing. Cutest thing…she stood up in front of the whole class (16, or so) and said “Granny and I won First Prize!” I did not contradict her. In her mind, and mine, we did win first prize and all those other kids learned about organic and wildlife gardens. Thank you so much. Our garden was featured in “Garden Design” magazine last summer. I consider it the best garden design magazine published in the United States - and they talked about this.

Are you ready to get started?

Why not visit the Centre Township Branch on Saturday, May 3, and Sunday, May 4, for the Ask the Plant Experts and Gardening Seminars?

For a detailed schedule of the 2 day symposium led by the St. Joseph Valley Master Gardeners that you can attend for FREE at the beautiful Centre Township Branch, take a peek at yesterday’s blog post (see this link).

If you can’t make any of the sessions this weekend, check out the Michiana Master Gardeners website links page here.

Image Obtained Via Flickr User, danielle.brigida