December Book Club - Skipping Christmas

The NSL Book Club had a fantastic end of the year get together.  We read Skipping Christmas by John Grisham. We wanted something light for the end of the year and a movie, ’Christmas with the Kranks’, to go with it.

The discussion was less about the book itself and more about the holidays and how we celebrate, or don’t celebrate. Do we have too much pressure on us to decorate our house, like the Kranks? Have the perfect party? Have gifts for everyone we know? Or those of us in aggressive homeowners associations with intimidating block leaders demanding the requisite bow on the mailbox be the perfect shade of burgundy, or other such similar situations, and how to survive with a smile.  I think we all agreed that we felt overwhelmed or stressed at times and it’s hardly ever a Christmas Hallmark movie, which is why we’re addicted to watching them. We also discussed the commercialization of Christmas and that fact that some of us really like all the commercial “trappings”.

In honor of Charlie Brown I made a little lopsided book tree. It was not nearly as grand as last year, but still filled with exciting ARCs for the members.

 January's book is The Cat's Table by Michael Ondaatje and we meet on Thursday, January 17th.. Our entire reading list for 2013 is up here: http://alturl.com/58ge2 To see what we've read throughout the years check out our GoodReads page, http://alturl.com/9d9bn. 

Happy Holidays everyone!

Library Fundraiser!

Fundraiser Night @ Joe's Crab Shack

Thursday, Dec 6th 2012

11am - 9pm

Present this flyer and 10% of your check will benefit the library

Joe's Crab Shack
20 Meadowview Drive
Hoover, AL 35242
205.981.2999

Hard and Soft Research or Arguing with your Relatives

The holidays typically mean time with family and friends. This togetherness does not always resemble a Hallmark Holiday movie. When you get a group of adults together and conversation is flowing, you can have quite a mix of opinions and viewpoints. Some enjoy a friendly discussion/debate, some get very passionate, which can lead to tempers lost, hurt feelings and a line through your name for the next family get together.

I bring this up because of a heated discussion on hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” that was brought up over the Thanksgiving holiday. The “passionate” person in this debate accused the other party of only listening to propaganda. However, turns out Mr. Passionate was getting his information off the Internet. I know, right? Clearly no propaganda is on the Internet. Mr. Passionate was not a teenager either, but a man of a certain age, who one might think would know better.  Every side of every topic is available for you on the Internet. Is it all credible? No.  If you would like to be well informed about matters, especially matters that involve scientific and objective research where facts and measurable evidence are essential, then hard research is required and you need to be using authoritative sources. If you need info on a soft news topic (fashion, celebrity twitter wars, or other subjective and/or cultural topic) than the Internet and social media is a great place. If you are a member of this library, you have access to hundreds of journals, magazines, newspapers, all for free. We have access to more sources than our parents had, and we should take advantage.

  

Go here: http://alturl.com/ockkp to see the various resources available. 

If you would like to research “fracking”, I recommend going to the News/Current Events tab, or Gale Powersearch w/ keyword “hydraulic fracturing” or any term you’d like, or General academic and choose one of the databases.

For information on getting a library card http://alturl.com/zx96o

Happy Holidays! 

NSL Bookclub -  September 2012

The Girl Who Fell from the Sky by Heidi W. Durrow
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is a story about a bi-racial girl, Rachel, who is being raised by her grandmother in Portland, OR. She was the lone survivor in a tragic event in which she lost her mother and siblings. She never saw her father again. The actual circumstances of the event are the mystery of the book, eventually realized at the end. This book conveys the struggle of identity and race and succeeds in demonstrating that race is still a way of defining others as a way of defining yourself, which is why Rachel felt so lost.

Most of the group felt as if this was more an introduction to the characters and that they could have been explored more. The different viewpoints felt disjointed. We were also unsatisfied with the ending. I personally remember yelling at the book ‘That’s it??!’.

Emotionally, you feel for this lost girl and feel depressed that there are real kids right now suffering the neglect and abuse faced by Rachel and Brick. And the fact that this book was inspired by real events gives it even more weight.


View all my reviews

For our next book click here.

Summer Reading 2012 Kick-Off Party

Summer Reading 2012 Kick-Off Party, a set on Flickr.

Look at all the fun we had at Kick off! Be sure to get a calendar or click here for more info: http://alturl.com/vgzr4

Retirement, Social Security and You at North Shelby Library

Date: March 6, 2012
Time: 11:30am-12:30pm
Hosted by: North Shelby Library, Merrill Lynch, and Prudential Annuities

During these difficult economic times, it can be a daunting task to prepare for your financial future. Join us for an informative session about Social Security for people who are approaching retirement or who have already retired. Some of the topics to be covered: when to start collecting Social Security payments, drawbacks and benefits of starting at 62, taxes, provisional income and ways to save for retirement. Learn about the latest changes and how to make better
informed decisions about your Social Security benefits. Light luncheon served and registration is required. For more information or to register please email nsref@shelbycounty-al.org or call 439-5540.

**RESOURCE of the WEEK**

Small Business Owners! 

Market Researchers!

Expand client list/Get contact information/create marketing lists/find industries in your area & much, much more.

Use it for FREE w/ your 14-digit Shelby County Library Card number.

Go to www.northshelbylibrary.org - click on Resource of the Week @ top of page. OR click on Research in the top menu then click on Reference USA.

Bossypants by Tina Fey


The NSL bookclub met yesterday to discuss our February book, Bossypants by Tina Fey. In our bookclub we like to mix it up from month-to-month, heavier books with some more light-hearted titles. This was a more light month. Our reviews were mixed, some thought it was laugh-out-loud funny and completely relatable and others thinking it a bathroom book in which you could read one little anecdote at a time. The mixed reviews has to do w/ what we expected of the book, and how you read it. It’s categorized as a biography, but we collectively felt that you know little more about Tina Fey than you did before you read the book. It was more a collection of humorous anecdotes, that were more “universal vignettes” instead of personal. One member pointed out that Tina Fey did not seem very connected to the book, and we all agreed. Don’t get us wrong, we enjoyed the book, but it was more a “humor” book versus a memoir. Those of us who listened to the audio enjoyed it more than those who read it. The audio is great for a short trip somewhere, or something lighthearted to listen to whilst cleaning, walking etc. Tina (thankfully) reads it and it includes a CD with video clips from SNL and pdf’s (which she refers to throughout the audio) of her that were included in the book, so those of us who listened to it didn’t miss out.

We gave it 3 out of 5 stars.

Click here for a look at our book selections for the year.

Valentine's Day Cards for Children's Hospital

We’ve had an amazing response from the community for our collection of Valentine’s Day cards for Children’s Hospital. Thank you to everyone who has participated!

We will continue to collect cards through Friday, Feb. 10th.

The library needs your support.

It's Alabama Gives Day and North Shelby Library needs your support. Click here to donate.
Please spread the word to your friends and family. We appreciate all you do to keep us running.

Read It Before You Watch It

We all know the book is always better than the movie. Make sure you stop by North Shelby and pick up a copy before these movies hit the theaters.

Here is a list of 2012 movies adapted from books being released in the first half of the year.

Adult

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer (Release Date: Jan 20)

One for the Money by Janet Evanovich (Release Date: Jan 27)

The Woman in Black by Susan Hill (Release Date: Feb 10)

John Carter based on John Carter of Mars series by Edgar Rice Burroughs (Release Date: March 9)

The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks (Release Date: April 20)

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith (Release Date: June 22)

Teen

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (Release Date: March 2)

Children

The Secret World of Arrietty based on The Borrowers by Mary Norton (Release Date: Feb 17)

The Lorax by Dr. Seuss (Release Date: March 2)

Resource of the Week - AML

Students! Scholars!


Don't feel like coming into the library? Last minute research paper due and you need a credible and authoritative source?

Download the AccessMyLibrary App from the iTunes App Store or Android Market and gain access to the information you need. AccessMyLibrary Public Edition uses GPS to find public libraries within a 10-mile radius of the user's location.

Gain access to books, journal articles, news reports and more from the following categories: Business, Education, General Reference, Health, Law, Literature, Mulitcultural, news and even access information in Spanish. That's right it's pretty amazing.

Feel free to email us at northshelbylibrary@yahoo.com for more information or questions.

What We Read in 2011: Staff Recommendations

Cecelia ~ Children’s Dept

Picture Books:

Where’s Walrus by Stephen A. Savage

Blackout by John Rocco

Chapter Books for Juvenile Readers:

Emerald Atlas by John Stephens

Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt

Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool

One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia

Young Adult:

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

Sherri ~ Circulation

Fiction:

Night Road by Kristin Hannah

Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Nonfiction:

The Pioneer Woman: Black Heels to Tractor Wheels by Ree Drummond

Morgan ~ Children’s Dept

Picture Books:

A Few Blocks by Cybéle Young

Hooray for Amanda and Her Alligator by Mo Willems

I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen

Chapter Books for Juvenile Readers:

Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt

Wonderstruck by Brian Selznik

Young Adult :

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

Where She Went by Gayle Foreman

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Adult Fiction:

Magic Slays by Ilona Andrews

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Dee ~ Circulation

Fiction:

Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah

Night Road by Kristin Hannah

The Paris Wife by Paula McLain

Rules of Civility by Amor Towles

A Turn in the Road by Debbie Macomber

Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese

Yankee Doodle Dixie by Lisa Patton

Nonfiction:

Spoken From the Heart by Laura Bush

Chrissie ~ Circulation

Young Adult:

Switched by Amanda Hocking

Fiction:

The Alchemaster's Apprentice by Walter Moers

Ghost of a Chance by Simon R. Green 

Gil's All Fright Diner by A. Lee Martinez 
The Big Over Easy by Jasper Fforde

Nonfiction:

Quiet, Please: Dispatches from a Public Librarian by Scott Douglas

Eric ~ Circulation  
Fiction:
The Ambition by Lee Stroebel
Deadline by Randy Alcorn
The Priest's Graveyard by Ted Dekker

Daniel ~ Young Adult
Young Adult Fiction:
Goliath by Scott Westerfeld
Pathfinder by Orson Scott Card
Divergent by Veronica Roth
Hold Me Closer, Necromancer by Lish McBride
Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi


Adult Fiction: 
The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson
A Dance with Dragons by George R. R. Martin