Are robots cool? Yeah, robots are cool.

Are you curious, or do you want to become an expert at trivia? Look Now: The World in Facts, Stats, and Graphics is a book filled with awesome information. You probably won't ever use this information for work, or school or whatever, but that's what makes it fun to look through!

Chinese is the most spoken language, followed by Spanish, then English, Arabic, and Hindi. (Pages 72 & 73)

A chart on pages 96 & 97 shows where a country lies on a grid where how rich it is runs across the bottom and how happy it is runs up the side. They even color code the big dots to show what continent the countries are from. European countries have the biggest range of happiness and income. North America has some poor and very happy countries, too!

Interested in how citizens are being watched? Pages 134-135 will tell you that! Apparently London has 7,431 cameras watching, while Sydney, AU; Paris, FR; and San Fransisco, USA have a combined total of 493 cameras monitoring the public.

"Japan expects to have 1 million robots by 2025."

How are those for fun facts?

"Mr. and Mrs. Vinegar lived comfortably in a pickle jar."

So I chose it because the title seemed interesting, and I was trying to decide what could be interesting about this book.  What do I do to find out more about it? How about open the book!  The above quote is the first line of the story.

The writing in this story is really funny.  It starts out that Mrs. Vinegar breaks their glass pickle jar home and Mr. Vinegar says that they will go out into the world and make their fortune and "have another fine pickle jar".  Okay, so the plot is lagging, but the way Stephen Gammel writes his story is funny.  Check this last quote:

" 'Leave now?' Mrs. Vinegar replied. 'But what of our belongings?' 

Mr. Vinegar waved his hands. 'Nothing to fret about. I shall take out door and the key as well.  All will be safe upon our return.' "

I will keep that in mind: if I want to keep my belongings safe, I'll remove my door and take it with me as I run errands!

Boating Squirrels

I want to tell you about The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin. 

This was a book written by Beatrix Potter and some would consider the book a classic.  A lot of people think that classic books are boring, but the illustrations are so cute and there isn't much text at all!

Check this out, this is what a whole page of text looks like:

"They made little rafts out of twigs, and they paddled away over the water to Owl Island to gather nuts.  Each squirrel had a little sack and a large oar, and spread out his tail for as sail."

What happens when you Google "Google"?

I found out something interesting today.  If you go to Google (the online search engine- that will be important later), anyway, if you go to Google and type into the search bar "do a barrel roll" the Google search results will actually rotate!  It was pretty funny to see.  Go check it out now, if you want.  But open another tab!  We don't want to lose you yet (you're a pretty cool person).

So why am I bringing up this search engine trick?  It could just be because I have a short attention span, but that's not completely true this time.  This time I want to write about The Google Book. WAIT.  Don't leave- the book is not about the search engine.  The Google Book was written by V.C. Vickers and it was published in 1979, which was waaay before Google (the search engine) was created.

 Why should you be interested?  The book is full of verses, but they're not boring like all the poetry that people try to trick you into reading.  Try this and see if you're interested:

"THE FLABBYTOES

But mark!! What is that sound I hear?

Someone in agony I fear! –

Oh no!! It is old Flabbytoes,

You can't mistake his funny nose."

Okay, you didn't really care for that?  Well, there's some pretty rad pictures, too.

“Food for Thought” by Ken Robbins

The College of Communication and Information and the CCI Student Leadership Council will be hosting a Parent’s Week-end Barbecue on Friday, October 28, 2011 from 5-7pm.

Come to the BBQ next week in the Shores Building Lobby, on Landis Green, and at the Johnson Building!  To get you mind on food, today’s featured book is “Food for Thought.” This little book explains the basic foods we eat from day to day. There are crazy stories, and the history behind the foods featured in the book. I do think it is important to know what we put in our bodies, and this book is a great way to learn about things such as oranges, tomatoes, and potatoes. Did you know that people once believed that eating a tomato makes you fall in love? For more interesting facts check out “Food for Thought” by Ken Robbins.

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Because Mary has been orphaned off, she is forced to live at Misselthwaite Manor. She feels as if he is alone in life, and she spends her time exploring her new enormous territory. She learns that this mansion has many secrets, and at night her eagerness haunts her. Mary meets new people, as they help her on her journey of discovery. This book “captures the real emotions of the children and the beauty of nature, making this unabridged edition the perfect invitation the enter The Secret Garden.”

Smack- Melvin Burgess


As teenagers Tar and Gemma run away, they find a place that they can call home. They try to piece everything together, and Tar thinks he has the perfect life with his girlfriend Gemma. Until he is introduced to SMACK. At first, it leaves him euphoric thinking things can only get better, but little does he know they will turn for the worst. "I mean, you've gotta take risks, we'd all been scared about ODing, or about getting stuck forever on junk, or about buggering up our veins, that sort of stuff. But that's just normal. This time was different..."
Check out this winner of a Carnegie medal, Smack, featured at the Goldstein Library.

Banned Books Week is here!

The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman

This book was banned and challenged many times bases on the themes which are anti-God, anti-Catholic, and anti-religion.

This book has sparked much controversy because of its statuses as an award winner and as a commonly banned and challenged book.  The book won the Carnegie metal in 1996 and in 1997 it was one of the ALA Best Books for Young Adults, an ALA Notable Children's Book, on theTexas Lonestar Reading List, and won the Maine Student Book Award.

Interested yet, or are you bored from my describing why you should read it?

Well, it's a pretty interesting book, and you should check it out.  It follows Lyra in a world where part of each person's soul can take the shape of an animal.  Until puberty the daemon can change shape, but around that time they become permanent.  Lyra searching for her friend, Roger, and father, Lord Asriel and meets up with Mrs. Coulter.  When she finds out that Mrs. Coulter is one of the ones responsible for the recent trend of missing children, she runs away and eventually finds Roger.  Now she has a new goal: she must get the alethiometer (which looks like a compass with a gold back!) to Lord Asriel.

Weigh anchor and hoist the mizzen!

Arr, September 19th be Talk Like a Pirate Day.  Arr ye interested in readin' about some Seadogs and Buccaneers?  Try out some of these great books at the Goldstein Library, where ye don't hafta Hornswaggle - books check out fer free at libraries!



The Ballad of the Pirate Queens by Jane Yolen
--Two women who sailed with Calico Jack Rackham and his pirates in the early 1700s do their best to defend their ship while the men on board are busy drinking.

Captain Butcher's Body by Scott Corbett
--Two boys confront the ghost of a long-dead pirate on an island off the coast of New England.

Pirates! The True and remarkable adventures of Minerva Sharpe and Nancy Kington, Female Pirates. by Celia Rees
--In 1722, after arriving with her brother at the family's Jamaican plantation where she is to be married off, sixteen-year-old Nancy Kington escapes with her slave friend, Minerva Sharpe, and together they become pirates traveling the world in search of treasure.


Pirate Royal by John and Patricia Beatty
--After being unjustly accused of theft, imprisoned, and sold as a bondservant, a seventeenth-century English youth joins a band of pirates.  Several years later he gains both pardon and praise from the King of England for his service to Henry Morgan, the famous buccaneer.

Enjoy Talk Like a Pirate Day, and enjoy a good read!

Hungry for more?

The Favorite Uncle Remus by Joel Chandler Harris

My mom used to read me Uncle Remus folk tales as a kid. I don’t remember much about them, except that I liked that she read them to me.  Luckily, the Goldstein Library has classic Uncle Remus written in its original language.  We’re not big on censoring books to change your opinions here.  Come check out this collection of classic American Folktales and let us know if you love them, hate them, or prefer another recommendation. 

A book to Tweet about

The Cuckoo’s Haiku and Other Birding Poems by Michael J. Rosen, illustrated by Stan Fellows

The Goldstein Library has a lot of illustrated books - I mean it does have the juvenile collection - but the illustrations in one of these books are pretty amazing.  The Cuckoo’s Haiku is filled with watercolor paintings of birds and bird-themed scenes.  Even if you’re really not into birds, the paintings are pretty spectacular, and the poems are short.  Come check it out and see if there’s something you like about it.  If you end up hating it, let us know that too.  We’ll comp you a free cup of coffee on any Friday you show up!

Dolphins: The serial killers of the water

The Saga of Pelorus Jack by Ross E. Hutchins

If you’ve ever been interested in learning about dolphins but thought that reading a non-fiction book was too boring, then The Saga of Pelorus Jack is the book for you!  The author basically tells you a ton of somewhat interesting facts about dolphins, but he does it by telling a story.  It’s child friendly so when he writes about how big of jerks dolphins can be he does it by saying they were defending themselves against a shark.  Whatever, we all know dolphins like to kill for sport.

“Dolphins have been observed engaging in the seemingly gratuitous killing of porpoises—going so far as to use sonar to locate the victim's vital organs and increase the lethality of the strike—but experts haven't quite worked out their motivation. Some speculate that the dolphins use the porpoises for target practice, preparing for possible clashes with fellow dolphins who infringe on their territory.”
excerpt from http://www.slate.com/id/2234729/

1980's and 90's throwback

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin, Jr. and John Archambault

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom is like one of the best books ever.  It was originally published in 1989 so you may have read before, or had it read to you, but it’s totally worth another look.  I mean, just read it out loud - it is pretty fun.
(Hey now, that guy over there may look at you but it will definitely be in admiration and jealousy.  He wishes that he had a sweet quote to read aloud.)  Seriously, try it now.

“Skit skat skoodle doot.
Flip flop flee.
Everybody running to the coconut tree.
Mamas and papas
and uncles and aunts
hug their little dears,
then dust their pants.”

Pretty awesome, right? Yeah, I knew it.

"The sheep were still enjoying the high life..."

The Quest of the Warrior Sheep by Christine & Christopher Russell

"A crazy caper about five sheep, one cell phone, and the greatest quest of the woolly lives."

And so, new to the amazing Alcove collection, The Quest of the Warrior Sheep is available to be checked out! A cell phone lands on Sal the sheep's head which gets him and his posse to head out on an adventure.  But this cellphone telephone belongs to a couple criminals - oh noes! - who are trying to get it back.  Find out what happens when the two meet.

The American Library Association recently had their annual conference in New Orleans, and while some of the Graduate Assistants had fun going, you're wondering why we're telling you.  No, we're not rubbing it in.  Why you should care is because there were lots of awesome books being sold and given away throughout the weekend, and that is where this great find came from!

Birthdays

Come celebrate the 26th anniversary of the Shores Building and the Goldstein Library!

There's totally going to be free cake, and it's Friday - there's always free coffee, tea, and cocoa on Fridays.  And now the library has a blender, so you can make your favorite iced coffee drinks.  (For free! Take that Starbucks!)

The GA's at Goldstein are going to rock this building and celebrate.  Come talk to us, and we'll totally take some requests for awesome music from online.

Gators are Aweful

Alligators are Awful (And They Have Terrible Manners, Too) by David McPhail

So, some of the Graduate Assistants in the Goldstein Library are from northern parts of the country, and we don’t know a thing about Alligators.  We were so relieved when we found this book because it told us everything we needed to know to cope with Gators in Florida.  Check out this gem: “They sit in front of you at the movies and never take off their hats.” I mean, yeah I’m jealous that gators look good in top hats, but come on.  I want to watch the movie, not some shadow.

National Bathroom Reading Month!

Mr. Archimedes’ Bath by Pamela Allen

Did you know that June is National Bathroom Reading Month?  Come into Goldstein to see the sweet display featuring “Mr. Archimedes’ Bath”  and other bathroom themed books.  Even though they’re in a display case, you are welcome to take them home.  It’s probably the closest you will ever come to bathing with a Wombat.

Goldstein previews

Goldstein previews are books that are unique to the Goldstein Library collection that are available to check out.

C D B! by William Steig
Text messaging short hand is unique to cell phones, right?  Not really. The Goldstein Library has a book featuring text short hand so intense that even the best texters will be clueless, and to top it off, it was written in 1968.  Don’t believe us? Come check it out.

“I M A U-M B-N.”  means “I am a human being.”
“U R N N-M-L.”  means “You are an animal.” 

The book is called “C D B!“.  Can you guess what it’s short for? Hint: look at the cover art!