Harry Potter Read-A-Likes

Tue, 07/03/2007 - 4:18pm by Brad B.

So, here are some books (many the beginning of series) that should appeal to Harry Potter fans... Yes, the list could go on and on...but hopefully this will be enough to tide you over till the new book comes out.
Chronicles of Chrestomanci by Diana Wynne Jones
So You Want To Be a Wizard by Daine Duane
Midnight for Charlie Bone by Jenny Nimmo.
Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins
Merchant of Death (Pendragon) by D. J.MacHale
Hounds of the Morrigan by Pat O'Shea
Sandry's Book (Circle of Magic) by tamora Pierce
Pure Dead Magic by Degi Gliori
The Fire Within by Chris D'Lacey
Secret of Platform 13 by Eva Ibbotson
Over Sea, Under Stone (Dark is Rising) by Susan Cooper
Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander
Sabriel by Garth Nix
Five Children and It by E. Nesbit
Inkheart by Cornelia Funke

Robots on the rise

Tue, 07/03/2007 - 1:41pm by N3RD

I don't want to panic anyone but I don't like the way my toaster is looking at me.

If we're on the brink of a robot uprising where our hi-tech gadgets get back at us then
How To Survive a Robot Uprising: Tips on Defending Yourself Against the Coming Rebellion. is the survival guide to have.

Keep this book in your back pocket just on the off chance you need a refresher on the hand-to-metal pincer combat techniques when battling large robots.

How To Survive a Robot Uprising is a surprisingly funny book with a lot of background information about robots. After reading the book I kept thinking what does the author know that he's not letting on, like maybe Skynet is about to come online...

Robots of every size and shape

Tue, 07/03/2007 - 12:45pm by N3RD

For some reason lately I've been on a bit of a "Robot Kick". Maybe its all the run up and hype for the release of the Transformers Movie or maybe I'm just geeked about the Library Lego League. (I can't wait to see how the new program works out ;0)

I remember reading a quote from Joseph Engelberger (early robotic pioneer ) about what makes a robot a robot he is quoted to have said.

"I can't define a robot, but I know one when I see one."

Dewey Divas Recommend

Mon, 07/02/2007 - 5:52pm by muffy

Librarians love book talking but we love nothing more than being book talked to!

That's where the Dewey Divas come in. They are a group of hip and entertaining publishers’ reps who give booktalks for librarians. They give tips on the upcoming blockbusters of the publishing season, midlist favorites, best bets for bookclubs, fiction, non-fiction, books for male readers, books for reluctant readers, YA crossover books and just darned good reads. AND THEY KNOW BOOKS!

Check out their blogs and their latest picks on Tons of Summer Reading Recommendations. We wish you a blissful summer spent between the (book)covers.

Movin' Storytime

Mon, 07/02/2007 - 4:03pm by StoryLaura

Bounce with dog and dance with dinosaurs and silly bears in this week's storytimes at the Downtown and Pittsfield libraries.

More new Arabic books

Mon, 07/02/2007 - 11:52am by Tara LS

More new Arabic books at all library locations. Look for the new "FLC 7/07" stickers on each book when browsing or search the catalog by call number ranging from "FLC ARA 152" to "FLC ARA 191". If you have any questions, comments or suggestions about Arabic books or other foreign language books at the library, please e-mail stantont@aadl.org.

al-Zaynī Barakāt by Jamāl al-Ghīṭānī.
ʻAbir sarīr : riwāyah / Ahlam Mustaghanimi
Shahrazaad tarhil ila al-gharb(Sheherazade goes west) by Fatima Mernissi
al-Manzar by Tamim al-Barghouti
Hikaayati sharhun yatul by Hanan al-Shaiq
al-ʻUsfuriyah by Ghaza ʻAbd al-Rahman al-Qusaybi

Road Trip Reads: Showcase Presents Superman

Mon, 07/02/2007 - 10:50am by anned

With the current comics industry rushing for mainstream acceptance and critical acclaim, one could almost forget that there was once a time when comics was mostly entertainment for entertainment's sake.

Thankfully, DC Comics has begun releasing their Showcase Presents Library of Classics. In the first volume of Showcase Presents Superman, we're reintroduced to the box-chested Man of Steel as envisioned by Silver Age artists Curt Swan and Stan Kaye. It's unpretentious, over-the-top adventure, featuring villains such as the green-skinned, pink leotard-wearing Braniac, the imperfect duplicate of Superman known as Bizarro, Titano the super-ape, and even Mr. Mxyzptlk (pronounced mix-yes-pit-lick).

At a whopping 500 pages, this volume is perfect for that long road trip and fun for the whole family.

New Arabic Books Available

Mon, 07/02/2007 - 9:27am by Tara LS

Coming soon to all locations, new Arabic books for adults. These Arabic books will be marked with "New 7/07" stickers and can be searched for in the catalog by call number. The call numbers range from "FLC ARA 152" to "FLC ARA 191". We hope you enjoy these new books. If you have any comments, suggestions or questions about Arabic books or other foreign language books, please contact stantont@aadl.org.

A partial listing of new Arabic books:

Suraya bint al ghul by Imil Habibi
al-ʻAdāmah by Turki Hamad
Tāksī: ḥawādīt al-mashāwīr by Khālid al-Khamīsī
Bayna al-qaṣrayn by Naguib Maḥfouz
Sarīr al-gharībah: shiʻr by Maḥmūd Darwīsh
Qamar ʻalá Samarqand by Muḥammad al-Mansī Qandīl

Much ado about black swans

Sun, 07/01/2007 - 5:24pm by remnil

Fans of quirky business books, rejoice! In the vein of Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point and Blink and James Surowiecki's The Wisdom of Crowds comes Nassim Taleb's The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable. The title already ranks #2 on Amazon's business bestseller list.

Like Gladwell and Surowiecki's thought-provokers, The Black Swan starts with a simple concept - that big, society-altering events are unpredictable - and shows how this concept affects business, history, and predicting the vagaries of the market. Not surprisingly, things like markets and history don't move in easy-to-spot patterns, so we have to come to expect the unexpected.

Also, check out The Long Tail author Chris Anderson's thoughts on Amazon.com.

Czezlaw Milosz

Sat, 06/30/2007 - 5:07pm by Maxine

Today, June 30, is the birthday of poet, Czselaw Milosz who was born in Lithuania in 1911. His family eventually settled in Poland. After studying law in college, Milosz worked for a Polish radio station but was fired when he let Jews broadcast their opinions on the air. He also worked for another radio station where he covered the invasion of Poland by the Nazis in 1939. While working as a janitor at a university, he began to secretly write anti-Nazi poetry. His first book of poems, Rescue, was about the mass killing of Jews in Warsaw. After the war, he moved to Paris and then to the U.S. where he taught at the University of California at Berkeley. In 1980, he received the Nobel Prize for literature.

Following is one of his poems:

A Task

In fear and trembling, I think I would fulfill my life
Only if I brought myself to make a public confession
Revealing a sham, my own and of my epoch:
We were permitted to shriek in the tongue of dwarfs and
demons
But pure and generous words were forbidden
Under so stiff a penalty that whoever dared to pronounce one
Considered himself as a lost man.