Month: October 2010

The biggest impact on student sports?

Title IX insured that, regardless of gender, people would not be denied funding or opportunities in academia, including school sports teams. Some of its biggest successes and hurdles commonly recognized are focused on the sports aspect, and today’s book, Getting in the Game: Title IX and the Women’s Sports Revolution by Deborah L. Blake, takes a closer look at how much of an impact it’s had.  Going over the progress made since its creation in 1972 and the room it still has to grow, the author takes an even-handed approach into celebrating and criticizing what Title IX has accomplished.

Our nursing books go straight for the trachea

When someone needs to be put on a ventilator or other breathing apparatus, there’s commonly a tracheostomy involved, or opening of the trachea. Since we’re producing tomorrow’s nurses here at JCCC (and soon enough we’ll be part of the Olathe Medical Center), it’s important to stay up on similar business.  That’s why we get books like Tracheostomies: The Complete Guide, edited by Linda L. Morris and M. Sherif Afifi.  Guides like this will take what you learn in your class and expand it into even more detail, increasing your expertise. If there’s any specific aspect of nursing you’re into, be sure to hit up our catalog and look for it!

Charles Lane thinks the death penalty is unfair & wants to save it

Weird, huh? Charle Lane’s new book takes a hard look at a controversial subject, capital punishment, and concludes that it is racially biased, poorly implemented, and in need of reform.  Most of the time when you hear an argument start like that, somebody is looking to get rid of it. Stay of Execution: Saving the Death Penalty from Itself, on the other hand, hopes to convince readers that we need to preserve the death penalty through a complete overhaul.

Surely a book to incite debate and strong opinions, we recommend you check it out.

Creative Writing doesn’t do Lynd Ward justice

If you’re looking for a real creative master of the medium, look no further than our recently added Lynd Ward novella collections: Prelude to a Million Years/Song Without Words/Vertigo and Gods’ Man/Madman’s Drum/Wild Pilgrimage.

Ward, born in 1905, used images to tell stories in the print medium. By creating prints from his woodblock carvings, Lynd Ward’s haunting art brought stories to life in the most eerie of ways. Check it out.

No new items today: settle for a slow jam?

The weekend! It’s coming! We hope classes are still going well, but never hesitate to ask us for help. Honestly, we’re pretty agreeable folks, and willing to help. Heck, if you’re not reading this in an RSS reader or mobile device, you can probably see our Chat Reference to your right. Give it a go!

Wouldn’t you rather listen to Jon Stewart?

 

Think reading a comedy book sounds just not as funny as your regular Daily Show personality banter? Then why not check out the audiobook?  The Daily Show Presents Earth: The Book is read to you by Jon Stewart, Wyatt Cenac, Jason Jones, Samantha Bee, John Oliver, and (somehow) Sigourney Weaver.

I listened to Stephen Colbert’s I am American and So Can You (as shouted by the author), and it was a much funnier experience for me than just reading the book.  So give it some serious consideration, and then check out some of the other audiobooks we have!

Doing yoga? Let us help you do it better!

Students and staff alike are doing yoga on campus. If you’re not already getting your yoga on at home or in a gym, there’s a good chance you’ve attended something on campus.

My yoga experiences generally result in pain and falling down, and then pain from falling down. To help maximize yoga results and hopefully limit all of that falling, I’m going to recommend checking out a book like today’s selection, Anatomy of Yoga: An Insider’s Guide to Improving Your Poses by Abigail Ellsworth. By getting a look at what these poses are requiring from your body and what should actually be getting stretched, instructors or participants can see what they’re doing wrong or what could be done better.

Trust me and my sports injuries: it’s worth using a reference like this.

Watch people fight over I-69

Did you know that Interstate 69 is apparently a pretty controversial highway? I guess a better question is, did you know there was a controversial highway? You can certainly find out why by picking up Interstate 69: The Unfinished History of the Last Great American Highway by Matt Dellinger.

Projected to cost a whole lot of money and hoping to eventually connect Canada to Mexico, several people have taken issue with the existence and development of I-69. Aside from it’s cost, some feel that the interstate is an attempt to ruin the United States commerce economy in favor of globalization… or at least continent-ization.

Learn more about it by checking out this book, and understand how a road could upset so many people.

It’s almost election time, learn about the process

Not everybody has been happy with how elections have been handled in the 21st century. Ushered in with the 2000 presidential elections and the hanging chads, continuing on to complaints about the voting process in every election since, people are looking at what can be changed.

Today’s book, Reforming the Electoral Process in America by Brian L. Fife, looks at what processes, if any, can be improved to insure a better, easier, and more accurate method of getting the people’s truly selected choice into their office.  It’s a good read for anyone leaning left or right to learn about what takes place in the voting booth, and what could be done better.

And whether you read the book or not, make sure you know where to vote!

Better Know a Collection: JCCC Honors Journal

Our digital home for everything JCCC and scholarly, ScholarSpace, has many fine resources. One of the most exciting is the JCCC Honors Journal, where articles are submitted by Honors Students to be accepted.

Only two issues in, there’s plenty of time for Honors students to work with the fabulous Patricia Decker, Honors Program Facilitator, to submit for the next issue. OR! If you aren’t an taking any Honors classes yet, consider taking a class next semester, push yourself to succeed, and have a chance to get published!