2008 Kansas Notable Books

Looking for a good read? Check out these titles selected for the 2008 list of Kansas Notable Books. They are all available from JCCC’s Billington Library (we even have one in audiobook format!).

The Farther Shore, by Matthew Eck.
In this adrenaline-filled critically acclaimed novel, Matthew Eck puts readers inside the mind of a young man caught in the fog of the unexpected battle of Mogadishu, the most intense combat Americans had engaged in since Vietnam.

The Rest of Her Life, by Laura Moriarty. (Available as an audiobook.)
Bestselling Lawrence author Laura Moriarty explores the complex moral dilemma of parents being sued for actions of a teenager, how all families involved cope with a terrible accident, and the tenuous mother/daughter relationship that remains.

Writing in an Age of Silence, by Sara Paretsky.

Best known for her bestselling mysteries, including the V.I. Warshawski novels, the native of Lawrence turns her attention in this nonfiction work to five different periods of her life: the traditions of her childhood in Kansas, the political climate of the 1960s, the awakening of her own feminism, the attack on civil liberties, and our obsession with terrorism and biological warfare.

Click here for the complete list of 2008 Kansas Notable Books.

Book cover images and descriptions courtesy of Kansas Center for the Book.

Book of the Day

It is pretty much self-promotion that gets libraries posting on blogs, and our “Book of the Day” can be seen as self-promotion for our collection. This week’s book goes beyond that to an overall Library Mission promotion. Banned Books: 2007 resource book, put together by Robert P. Doyle, highlights battles libraries have had to defend over time. The pattern is often this:

User finds a book offensive.
User rallies community members.
Librarian defends the book.
User remains outraged.
Book gets taken off shelf.
User celebrates, and immediately forgets the problem.
2 months later, the book is back on the shelf.
No one cares.

But what is interesting about this is the reason a lot of these books have been put away, and the make-up of the communities that ban them. The information for each known ban is listed.

If you’d like to see it, come down to the Reference Desk, where it is on special display for the time being!

Book of the Day

I had a high school teacher who told me that the moon landing was a hoax. I cannot blame him for this. I mean, if you think about it, the Apollo (which is a sun god) Program was supposed to travel to the moon (which is, you are aware, not a sun). That sounds fishy to me.

Maybe he should read this book, How Apollo flew to the Moon. It is a user-friendly, non-technical book about one of the most technically challenging events in the last 50 years. It is well researched and avoids scientific jargon, the same jargon that my high school teacher would argue was put into place to confuse the public with ‘mumbo jumbo’. This man also gave me a C- on my leaf collection…

Personal vendetta aside, this book is an excellent resource if science, physics, and engineering terms have kept you away from learning about the United States’ missions to the moon.

INFODESK: Fingers

“Where’s the … “

Wheres the ...

The library veterans call it air traffic control.

The first few weeks of the semester we spend most of our time directing students to the restrooms, Student Center, Testing Center, Writing Center and just about any other “center” on campus (except the center of a Tootsie Roll pop, which is where I will direct myself in a few moments).

Anyone walking into the library is likely to catch us pointing (sorry, mom) to the “invisible” wooden doors on the staircase to the second floor. We call them invisible because no one seems to be able to see them unless we point to them like bird dogs.

So don’t worry if you see big Hispanic guy at the Infodesk extending a finger, it’s probably just me to telling you where to go … you know, on campus.

Book of the Day

So you’re bored, sitting at home, nothing to do. You start sizing up that back yard and surplus of lumber that’s been sitting around, noticing the flannel your closet has been taunting you with since 1995. You know what you gotta do: It is time to get all Abe Lincoln on this and build yourself a log cabin!

Lucky for you, Log Homes Made Easy : contracting and building your own home is one of the newest editions to Billington Library. Loaded full of pictures, checklists, and step-by-step instructions, Jim Cooper’s third edition is great for that rainy afternoon when your inner Paul Bunyan calls.

Book of the (last few) Day(s)

In addition to the weekend, other library projects kept me too busy to update the blog. For now though, I am able to present to you a heavy one: The Holocaust by Bullets. Not pleasant, but interesting: the author assembled a team of history and ballistic experts to locate and examine mass graves of Holocaust victims in order to better get an understanding of how these people died, and the horrific truth of their conditions. For resources on Holocaust fiction, visit this LibGuides bibliography. For resources on international Jewish Fiction, consult the Jewish Fiction page.

Calling all readers: join JCCC Booktalk!

Did you know we have our own book club here at JCCC? It’s called Booktalk, and the group meets once a month to discuss inspiring titles both contemporary and classic. Booktalk is open to all members of the campus community. For more information, join the Booktalk listserv by e-mailing mfitzpat@jccc.edu.

Here’s the roster of books selected for discussion during the 2008-09 school year:

9/26 — Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

10/24 — Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson

12/5 — A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers by Xiaolu Guo

1/30/09 — Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

2/27 — In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan

3/27 — Bridge of Sighs by Richard Russo

4/24 — Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson

Book of the Day

When going through the books to be added to the catalog, one caught my attention immediately. Unfortunately it was not this book. I can just promise that the next few days will feature some excellent selections.

That being said, Wait Till Next Year fell into my field of vision, and the title combined with a stadium in the background made me assume it was about the Chicago Cubs. Regardless of the current standings, even the Royals have won a World Series in recent history, whereas the Cubs have fallen apart consistently in June (until this year) for the last 100 years.

Upon closer inspection, not only is it a memoir by historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, but it is about her following of the (formerly) Brooklyn Dodgers since she was six years old. Weaving her narrative through time and historical events in America’s past, she connects baseball’s impact on her life to the ever-changing face of the United States.

I’ve recently discovered that baseball novels are not as dry as I thought they would be, particularly non-fiction such as this. If sports literature does interest you, or sports humor, check out God Save the Fan, written by former Deadspin.com editor Will Leitch, coming to our library soon!

Twitter – Social Networking

The library is now on Twitter

With a forced minimum of less than 200 characters, Twitter is a way to follow library happenings in digestible formats. Adding the library as a Twitter friend will inform you of minor happenings, when we add blog posts, when a new subject guide is created, when special events take place, and if needed, possibly some policy reminders! Add us as a friend, and don’t hesitate to start a message “@JCCCLib: to ask us a question.

If you aren’t familiar with Twitter, check it out here. We’ll let you know as more creative uses develop!

Book of the Day

War Horse: a history of the military horse and rider is by Louis A. DiMarco, and while I do not have a cover image as-per normal, this book is too interesting to not post (credit to flickr user sharper3d for that image). I can tell you that the real cover features a United States Civil War soldier next to his mount, and I can also warn/promise you that this is a well-researched book on the history of equestrian combat. Or, human combat using horses (I don’t think there’s a pony Fight Club out there). It may be easy to view modern combat, an often in-personable use of technology from far distances, and forget about not only the safety concerns of these unarmored vehicles, but also of the tactical advantages of having a faster, stronger transport than the marching battalions. Very cool book.