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It is written in the stars

by Candice on May 3rd, 2013

I’ve often thought that, if there was an area of knowledge that I could suddenly gain understanding and excel in, it would be physics and astronomy.

This goes back a bit, to the days when I was fascinated with the planets. When I was 8 or so, I received a book about the beings that inhabit different planets. As it turns out, this book was fiction. I didn’t realize that, and was amazed and delighted that the book gave me numerical call signs to actually make contact with the planets–yes, really!! I spent many hours in my room, on the floor facing the window, with my walkie-talkie in hand, patiently tapping out (in Morse code, of course) these call signs. Hours. To no avail. No matter, though, I moved on…I had a period of fascination with Mars, and ordered as many books from the Weekly Reader as I could get my hands on. Then movies about space and aliens and time travel and the future. Books about string theory (started, rarely finished) and the cosmos. Pictures from the Hubble.

As it currently stands, I have a really hard time grasping some (most) of the basic principles, but I am still fascinated by it all. Is the universe expanding? What happened before the Big Bang? What is at the bottom/on the other side of a black hole (a thing we know exists not because we see it, but by the disappearance of everything else around it, that is crazy!)? Do all points in time really exist at the same time, all the time, and if so, can I somehow go back to the 23-year-old me and say ‘hey, maybe don’t take in 8 cats’? And most importantly, the question that comes to my mind whenever I read something about some distant star, why are we just now seeing the light from something that happened millions of years ago, and does the thing even exist anymore?? I don’t understand Einstein’s theories, I can’t really visualize multiple dimensions, and light years are mind-boggling. I just can’t.

Imagine my pleasure upon discovering The Universe: an illustrated history of astronomy. Pictures! Concise explanations! A fold-out timeline! 100 brief and interesting tidbits about astronomy explained for someone like me. If you’re like me, and you desperately want to ponder the mysterious stars and expanse of space and matter, but just can’t quite manage it on your own, you’ll want this book. Or, if you’re a little more advanced than I, but want something beautiful and very interesting to read, you just might want it as well.

Published in Nonfiction, Science, Nature & Technology
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Video Staff Picks: Celebrity Bios

by Bond on April 26th, 2013

Published in Nonfiction
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So much more than a treehouse.

by Beth on April 26th, 2013

Close your eyes for a second and imagine the most wonderful treehouse you can think of. If you’re like me, what comes to mind is probably something out of Swiss Family Robinson. My real-world experience with treehouses is very limited. Trees we had. Tree swings even. But not a treehouse.

The people at Black & Decker and have come up with the most amazing DIY guide to treehouses I’ve ever seen. You want your kids or grand kids to have their own Swiss Family Robinson adventures, or if you’d like to have them yourself, The Complete Guide to Treehouses is for you.

Although it does assume some previous familiarity with tools and basic construction methods, as you’d expect from Black & Decker, there are step by step instructions full of photos and diagrams to lead you through the process. Well written and easy to follow, the book is laid out in four sequential sections, each building on the previous.

Treehouse Basics deals with all the things to consider before you build: Choosing the right tree or trees, Planning and Design considerations, including local laws or ordinances; and Treehouse Safety.

Treehouse Building Techniques is the largest section of the book (as you’d expect from Black & Decker) and includes the how-to information for each of the basic components of a treehouse: the platform, walls, doors, windows, roof. They include proper building and safety considerations for each step. From anchor bolts, joist hangers, knee braces, framing walls, doors and windows it’s all here. And it’s presented in a way that even a novice builder can follow.

Plans for 6 different treehouses are included at the back of the book, if you’d rather follow a pre-designed plan. But beware – one flip through this book and you’ll want to building your own treehouse!!

Tags: Treehouses
Published in Do-It-Yourself, Nonfiction
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Civil War 150

by Maeve on April 24th, 2013

Iowa City Public Library begins almost three weeks of programming related to the Civil War on Thursday, April 25. ICPL is fortunate to be one of the two libraries in Iowa to receive a grant from the Gilder Lerhman Institute of American History to provide programming related to the Civil War and to host the Civil War 150, a national traveling exhibition, (the Olwein Public Library also received a grant). The panel exhibition is organized by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History in partnership with The Library of America. The project Civil War 150: Exploring the War and It’s Meaning Through the Words of Those Who Lived It, has been made possible in part through a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the Human Endeavor.

One of the many programs offered is a book discussion of the Civil War. The title we selected is “The Civil War : a concise history” by Louis Masur. A limited number of free copies of Masur’s Civil War book are available at the Reference Desk. The discussion will be Saturday, May 4 at 10:30 in Meeting Room E. I am sure we also talk about other works on the Civil War. And if you are interested learning more about the Civil War the library can provide you with a wealth of both print and audio materials.

For more information about the other programs related to the Civil War 150, visit www.icpl.org/civilwar150/. Please join us for our opening reception Thursday evening at 7 pm. Three local musicians, Guy Drollinger, Mike Haverkamp and Dave Hicks will play Civil War era music and Greg Prickman, head of Special Collections & University Archives at the UI Library, will give a presentation on the UI Civil War Letters & Diaries Digitization Project.

Published in History, Politics and Current Events, Nonfiction
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The Books That Mattered

by Candice on April 24th, 2013

One could argue, in a very wide sense, that all books matter. Or rather, the idea of books and what they are, what they mean, makes them all matter. You know? In a real sense, though, not all of them matter as much as others, both objectively and subjectively. I won’t go into details about that, though (no need to thank me, fans of Nicholas Sparks).

Frye Gaillard has written a lovely book titled The Books That Mattered: A Reader’s Memoir. He speaks of books that have had a profound effect on him and his life, for reasons too numerous and important to go into here; his explanations are wonderful little stories in themselves, and convey the meanings and relations of these books to him in a way I cannot. Sometimes the book itself, and the story it contains, is the essence; other times, it’s a moment or part of his life that has some connection to a book that makes it indelible in his memory. Each chapter tells you something about Mr. Gaillard, something about the books he’s read, and something about the importance of books in general, and in the lives of the people who read them.

One wonderful thing about a book like this is it prompts me to recall the books in my own reading history that have mattered most; I imagine that many of us would do the same. I could never be as eloquent in my explanation of why those books matter, but here are a few titles that come immediately to my mind:

The Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson, because it was the first book I can recall reading that had a main character who dies, and I distinctly remember crying when I got to that part…I was shocked and saddened, and surprised (disappointed? hurt?) to read a book that seemed very, very real.

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, because it was so cool, so unlike my own life, and it was even better than the movie that I loved so much. I wrote several book reports on this book, re-reading it every year, and I’d be a little mortified to go back and read them. Also–this book encouraged me to read Robert Frost, and I’d like to think that Ms. Hinton is responsible for others doing the same thing.

Atonement by Ian McEwan…I think I’ve mentioned this before, but my husband and I have had more than one major argument over this book, and it is simply–in my opinion–one of the best reminders of the power of the written word.

So, dear reader(s), please chime in with some of the books that have mattered most to you…

Published in Biography & Memoir, Nonfiction
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Staff Picks April 12, 2013

by Bond on April 13th, 2013

Anne talks about Sebastian Junger’s book, War; Patty shows off a novel about high end art thieves and forgeries and a book about making cities walkable as they grow.

Published in Business, Law & Politics, Fiction, Nonfiction
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Mission Creek Festival: The Lit List

by Melody on April 1st, 2013

Since 2006, the Mission Creek Festival (April 2-7) has been bringing together national and local artists for several exciting spring days of music, performance art, and literature. This year, ICPL is joining the festival programming with its teen concert on April 5, featuring Other Band, Conetrauma, and Bass/Drum.

But beyond this new collaboration, I am personally excited to see Mission Creek’s literary fare continue to grow. How can a book-lover not be excited by this literary lineup? A lit crawl, a small-press book fair, and a “broadway-quality” poetry concert? This is hot stuff.

If you are the type to “try before you buy,” consider checking out some of the writers visiting Iowa City for this year’s literary events. We don’t have everything, but the Iowa City Public Library does have works by the following exciting authors and poets:

Nonfiction

Poetry

Fiction

Don’t see the book here you’re most interested in checking out? Let us know through a Purchase Suggestion.

Tags: Mission Creek Festival
Published in Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Young Adult
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Video Staff Picks – Mid-March 2013

by Bond on March 15th, 2013

Check out these great recommendations!

Items mentioned include
Rififi
a film by Jules Dassin

Mr. Penumbra’s 24 Hour Bookstore
by Robin Sloan

Safari: A Photicular Book
by Dan Kainen and Carol Kaufmann

Published in Fiction, Movies & Documentaries, Nonfiction, Outdoors & Nature
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Judging Books By Their Covers

by Melody on March 6th, 2013

I am a cataloger here at ICPL. As such, I get to see many of the books we have before they ever get put on a shelf. I’ve found myself oooh’ing and ahhh’ing at some of these books—often spending a wee bit too much time fawning over the book before I finish working on its catalog record. This week, here are a few that caught my attention and were hard to put down.

Underwater Dogs

Oh my goodness. Dogs. Underwater. High-resolution. Enough said.

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: new books
Published in Movies & Documentaries, Nonfiction, Science, Nature & Technology
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Video Staff Picks – March 2013

by Bond on March 5th, 2013

This video features Susan Craig, Jason Paulios, Nick Twemlow, and Kara Logsden. Items mentioned include:
Cooking off the Clock by Elizabeth Falkner
Baking out Loud by Hedy Goldsmith
R.A.P. Music by Killer Mike
The Green Lake is Awake by Joseph Ceravalo
The Walnut Tree by Charles Todd

Published in Mystery & Suspense, Nonfiction, Poetry
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