Friday, August 21, 2009

Want to read like a president?

The online site, The Daily Beast, pulled together every book that the Reader in Chief has been spotted with since the campaign. So, if you are looking for your next book to read -- perhaps you will want to borrow an idea from the First Reader Barack Obama.

The Barack Obama Book Club Reading List:
  • What is the What: The Autobiography of Valentino Achak Deng by Dave Eggers
  • Netherland by Joseph O'Neill
  • Common Wealth: Economics for a Crowded Planet by Jeffrey D. Sachs
  • Lincoln: The Biography of a Writer by Fred Kaplan
  • Defining Moment: FDR's Hundred Days and the Triumph of Hope by Jonathan Alter
  • FDR by Jean Edward Smith
  • Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001 by Steve Coll
  • Collected Poems, 1948 to 1984 by Derek Walcott
  • Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution--and How It Can Renew America by Thomas L. Friedman
  • Unequal Democracy: The Political Economy of the New Gilded Age by Larry Bartels
  • Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin
  • The Post-American World by Fareed Zakaria

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Book Discussion Groups for Adults

The afternoon book discussion group for adults will be meeting on Thursday, August 27 at 1:00 to discuss Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes.

Description of Under the Tuscan Sun from Amazon.com: In this memoir of her buying, renovating, and living in an abandoned villa in Tuscany, Frances Mayes reveals the sensual pleasure she found living in rural Italy, and the generous spirit she brought with her. She revels in the sunlight and the color, the long view of her valley, the warm homey architecture, the languor of the slow paced days, the vigor of working her garden, and the intimacy of her dealings with the locals. Cooking, gardening, tiling and painting are never chores, but skills to be learned, arts to be practiced, and above all to be enjoyed. At the same time Mayes brings a literary and intellectual mind to bear on the experience, adding depth to this account of her enticing rural idyll.


The evening book discussion group for adults will be meeting on Thursday, August 27 at 6:30 pm to discuss Thirteen Moons by Charles Frazier.

Description of Thirteen Moons from Amazon.com: This is the story of one man’s remarkable life, spanning a century of relentless change. At the age of twelve, an orphan named Will Cooper is given a horse, a key, and a map and is sent on a journey through the wilderness to the edge of the Cherokee Nation, the uncharted white space on the map. Will is a bound boy, obliged to run a remote Indian trading post. As he fulfills his lonesome duty, Will finds a father in Bear, a Cherokee chief, and is adopted by him and his people, developing relationships that ultimately forge Will’s character. All the while, his love of Claire, the enigmatic and captivating charge of volatile and powerful Featherstone, will forever rule Will’s heart.

New members are always welcome.

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

SAVE A MAGAZINE Campaign

Due to the current economy, the Buena Park Library District has experienced several budget cuts. Beginning, January 2010, we will have to drop our subscription to approx. 50 titles.


If you would like to SAVE A MAGAZINE we would gladly accept the donated price of an annual subscription. (Please do not subscribe on your own -- so we can avoid receiving duplicate copies.) For more information, please call the Library at 714-826-4100 x125 and ask for Patricia Rivera or Kathy Billings. Or email us at referencedesk@buenapark.lib.ca.us.

We already have several titles that have been SAVED by our generous donors: American Heritage, Christianity Today, Dog Fancy, Gourmet, National Geographic Traveler, New Yorker, Organic Gardening, and Trains.

The following titles (with their annual subscription price) are still waiting to be SAVED:

American Journal of Nursing $270
Antiques $40
Architectural Digest $42
Art News $40
Bicycling $20
Bottom Line $39
Cat Fancy $28
Conde Nast's Traveler $20
Doll Reader $30
Downbeat $35
E Magazine $30
Field and Stream $20
Flying $26
Forbes $60
Golf Digest $28
GQ $20
Guitar World $12
Harper's Magazine $21
Homeschooling Today $22
House Beautiful $20
InStyle $30
Knit Simple $20
Macworld $35
McCall Quilting $22
Men's Journal $20
Men's Health $25
Mental Floss $22
More $20
Motorcyclist $10
Muscle Fitness $40
Nation $90
New Scientist $149
Newsweek $41
Orange County Business Journal $90
Parents $16
Popular Mechanics $24
Popular Photo & Imaging $24
Prevention $22
Readymade $20
Runner's World $24
Scientific American $40
Self $18
Shooting Times $24
Smart Computing $29
Sound and Vision $29
Spin $10
Threads $33
Weight Watchers $15

Thank you!!

Monday, July 20, 2009

Book Discussion Groups for Adults

The next meeting of the Book Discussion Groups for Adults will be on Thursday, July 23rd, 2009.

The afternoon group will be meeting at 1:00 in the small downstairs meeting room.
The choice for this month's discussion is The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer.

The evening group will be meeting at 6:30 pm in the 2nd floor Board Room.
The choice for this month's discussion is The Long Embrace: Raymond Chandler and the Woman he Loved by Judith Freeman


New members are always welcome. For more information on these titles please visit our Library Thing page.

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Online Resources at the Buena Park Library

We subscribe to several online resources that you have access to through our library website -- all you need is your library card number. Click on Information Resources/Online Databases on our home page.


MasterFILE Premier - General Reference Research (Magazine Index and Database)
Designed specifically for public libraries, MasterFILE Premier contains full text for nearly 1,750 periodicals covering general reference, business, health, education, general science, multicultural issues and much more. This database also contains full text for nearly 500 reference books, over 164, 400 primary source documents, and an Image Collection of over 440,000 photos, maps & flags.

One of the magazines indexed is Consumer Reports. So, if you would like to check on a review or browse the articles in the current issue -- just grab you library card and check it out online.

Orange County Register Archive (1987-current)
Find full-text articles on local news, issues, events, people and much more from current and archived issues of the Orange County Register. Updated daily, it includes obituaries, editorials, announcements, sports, real estate and other sections.

ReferenceUSA
ReferenceUSA is a subscription database that contains information on more than twelve million U.S. businesses and one million Canadian businesses. Data is compile from Yellow Page and Business White Page telephone directories; annual reports, 10-Ks and other SEC information; federal, state, provincial and municipal government data; Chamber of Commerce information; leading business magazines, trade publications, newsletters, major newspapers, industry and specialty directories; and postal service information.


Auto Reference Center
EBSCO Publishing has partnered with Point 5 Technologies to create Auto Repair Reference Center. The step-by-step procedures are written specifically for the do-it-yourselfer, but comprehensive enough for professional technicians. It contains information on most major manufacturers of domestic and imported vehicles, with repair information for most vintage makes starting as far back as 1954. New repair procedures and updates will also be added continuously.


Chilton Library
This databases provides photographs, diagnostics, repair procedures, maintenance schedules, wiring diagrams, recalls and Technical Service Bulletins for automobiles and light trucks in one easy-to-use-web site.


Gale Virtual Reference Library
This is a database of encyclopedias, almanacs, and specialized reference sources for multidisciplinary research. These reference materials once were accessible only in the library, but now you can access them online from the library or remotely 24/7.

The books that are part of the Gale Virtual Reference Library are:
  • American Decades
  • American Decades Primary Sources
  • Ancient Greece and Rome: An Encyclopedia for Students
  • Chemical Elements: From Carbon to Krypton
  • Drugs and Controlled Substances: Information for Students
  • Encyclopedia of Volcanoes
  • The Gale Encyclopedia of Science
  • Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia
  • UXL Encyclopedia of Biomes
  • UXL Encyclopedia of Drugs and Addictive Substances
  • UXL Encyclopedia of Landforms and Other Geologic Features
  • UXL Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes

Social Studies Fact Cards Online
The topics covered by Fact Cards are those California, United States, and World topics included in the social studies curriculum in California. While Fact Cards are designed for quick reference for students in grades 4 - 8, older students and adults will also appreciate the quick access to basic facts and figures on these topics.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Book Events at the Library on Thursday, June 25th, 2009

Bestselling Author Gustavo Arellano to Visit
the Buena Park Library

Thursday, June 25, 2009 6:00 - 7:30 pm
in the Downstairs Community Room


Orange County native Gustavo Arellano is a nationally bestselling author, syndicated columnist, and voice of the Mexican-American community. He is a staff writer with the OC Weekly in Orange County and a contributing editor to the Los Angeles Times Op/Ed pages.

Arellano writes a nationally syndicated column, "Ask a Mexican!," which has a circulation of more than two million. He is the author of two books, Ask a Mexican!, based on the writings in his column, and Orange County: A Personal History, part personal narrative, part cultural history.

During this program, Gustavo Arellano will be talking about his books. Books will be available for sale, and Arellano will be signing them after the discussion.



Book Discussion Group for Adults -- Afternoon Group
The afternoon book discussion group will meet at 1:00 pm in the small meeting room downstairs. This month they will be discussing The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch. New members are always welcome.

Book Discussion Group for Adults -- Evening Group
The evening book discussion group will meet at 6:30 pm in the 2nd floor Board Room. This month they will be discussing Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson and Anne Born. New members are always welcome.

Monday, June 8, 2009

What's On Your Summer Reading List? -- From the Los Angeles Times

Here are 60 of the summer's forthcoming reads, arranged by the months in which they'll be published, from the Los Angeles Times:

JUNE
And Then There's This: How Stories Live and Die in Viral Culture by Bill Wasik
The Angel's Game (A Novel) by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
A Bright and Guilty Place: Murder, Corruption, and L.A.'s Scandalous Coming of Age by Richard Rayner
Conquest of the Useless: Reflections From the Making of "Fitzcarraldo" by Werner Herzog
Erased (A Novel) by Jim Krusoe
Fordlandia: The Rise and Fall of Henry Ford's Forgotten Jungle City by Greg Grandin
Goat Song: A Seasonal Life, a Short History of Herding, and the Art of Making Cheese by Brad Kessler
I Am Not Sidney Poitier (A Novel) by Percival Everett
In the Kitchen (A Novel) by Monica Ali
Larry's Kidney: Being the True Story of How I Found Myself in China With My Black Sheep Cousin and His Mail-Order Bride, Skirting the Law to Get Him a Transplant -- and Save His Live by Daniel Asa Rose
Let the Great World Spin (A Novel) by Colum McCann
One Ring Circus: Dispatches From the World of Boxing by Katherine Dunn
Operation Bite Back: Rod Coronado's War to Save American Wilderness by Dean Kuipers
The Scarecrow (A Novel) by Michael Connelly
Shanghai Girls (A Novel) by Lisa See
The Signal (A Novel) by Ron Carlson
The Story Sisters (A Novel) by Alice Hoffman
The Strain (A Novel) by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan
Strangers (A Novel) by Anita Brookner
This Wicked World (A Novel) by Richard Lange
Trouble (A Novel) by Kate Christensen

JULY
American Adulterer (A Novel) by Jed Mercurio
Best Friends Forever (A Novel) by Jennifer Winer
The Book of William: How Shakespeare's First Folio Conquered the World by Paul Collins
Both Ways Is the Only Way I Want It (Stories) by Maile Meloy
Camus, A Romance by Elizabeth Hawes
Cooperstown Confidential: Heroes, Rogues, and the Inside Story of the Baseball Hall of Fame by Zev Chafets
Crow Planet: Essential Wisdom From the Urban Wilderness by Lyanda Lynn Haupt
Everything Matters! (A Novel) by Ron Currie Jr.
Exiles in the Garden (A Novel) by Ward Just
Free: The Future of a Radical Price by Chris Anderson
Get Real (A Novel) by Donald E. Westlake
Glover's Mistake (A Novel) by Nick Laird
Golden Dreams: California in an Age of Abundance, 1950-1963 by Kevin Starr
I'm So Happy for You (A Novel) by Lucinda Rosenfeld
Jericho's Fall (A Novel) by Stephen L. Carter
A Moveable Feast: The Restored Edition by Ernest Hemingway
Short Girls (A Novel) by Bich Minh Nguyen
"What the Heck Are You Up To, Mr. President?": Jimmy Carter, America's "Malaise," and the Speech That Should Have Changed the Country by Kevin Mattson
Where the Money Went (Stories) by Kevin Canty
The Wild Marsh: Four Seasons at Home in Montana by Rick Bass

AUGUST
Await Your Reply (A Novel) by Dan Chaon
Before the Big Bang: The Prehistory of Our Universe by Brian Clegg
The Bride's Farewell (A Novel) by Meg Rosoff
An Expensive Education (A Novel) by Nick McDonnell
Heart of the Assassin (A Novel) by Robert Ferrigno
Imperial by William T. Vollmann
Inherent Vice (A Novel) by Thomas Pynchon
It Feels So Good When I Stop (A Novel) by Joe Pernice
The Magicians (A Novel) by Lev Grossman
A Paradise Built in Hell: The Extraordinary Communities That Arise in Disasters by Rebecca Solnit
Red to Black (A Novel) by Alex Dryden
Self's Murder: A Gerhard Self Mystery by Bernhard Schlink
Shelf Discovery: The Teen Classics We Never Stopped Reading by Lizzie Skurnick
The Silent Hour (A Novel) by Michael Koryta
Silver Lake (A Novel) by Peter Gadol
Something Incredibly Wonderful Happens: Frank Oppenheimer and the World He Made Up by K.C. Cole
South of Broad (A Novel) by Pat Conroy
Strength in What Remains: A Journey of Remembrance and Forgiveness by Tracy Kidder
That Old Cape Magic (A Novel) by Richard Russo