Enough about the books....!What's going in in the LMC...?

The month of October brings many activities to the Library Media Center...

Battle of the Books: All interested students...join us for lunch on October 17!

College Rep.'s: Yes, they are already starting to arrive! Fresno State and UC Merced have rep.'s here weekly. Sign up with Mrs. Lopez in the Resource Center to meet with the rep. of your choice one-on-one.

October 3: Brown University
October 25: Mills College

Parent Support: Come on in to the Parent center to access PowerSchool, or use the Internet.

Hmong Parent Group is meeting Friday, October 5 at 9am in the Library

The Spanish Parent Club is meeting Thursday, October 11 at 9am in the Library

Unfortunately we will be closed to students 1st through 7th periods due to CELDT Testing the entire week of October 15th.

Come on in and find a New Book!!

The books continue to arrive...come on in and look for the New selections when y0u walk in...

Dare to Succeed -The creator of reality TV, Burnett reveals the secrets to success he developed over his checkered career as a soldier, nanny/errand boy, professional adventure-tour operator and now producer of the now oft-imitated Survivor, an enormous financial triumph. His simple principles are familiar self-help truisms "only results count," "have the courage to fail," "be right or be wrong, but make a decision." He catalogues his professional ups and downs, including having to master mountain climbing when his partner/ guide left him, and mishandling his team for a major eco-challenge competition, and he undertakes a brief self-examination for each experience. For example, he concludes that the disappointing eco-challenge "was a blessing in disguise.... Through the devastating act of quitting I gained an incentive to persevere, if only so I would never know that awful sensation.... Babe Ruth failed 70% of the time when he stepped to the plate. That never stopped him from swinging for fences." After several such platitudes and unoriginal insights delivered in a cocksure manner, readers may have had enough. On the other hand, his unflagging, unabashed insistence on banal principles and his resulting physical and material successes may keep readers soldiering on in spite of themselves, not unlike his TV audience. (Sept. 12)Forecast: This unremarkable addition to motivational literature may garner an early sales spike due to Burnett's visibility and the fall debut of Survivor III. From Publishers Weekly

Who Knew? is a collection of tidbits and trivia about well-known personalities and products that we all are familiar with-or at least think we're familiar with. For example, did you know that the VW Beetle was commissioned by Adolph Hitler (and designed by Ferdinand Porsche)? Or that the name "Oz" came to author L. Frank Baum when he noticed the drawers of his filing cabinet were marked A - G, H - N, and O - Z? From Twinkies to Tupperware to toys and television, these offbeat informational nuggets are guaranteed to entertain and enthrall. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Poetry for Young People - *Starred Review* Gr. 7-10. Hughes' stirring poetry continues to have enormous appeal for young people. In this illustrated collection of 26 poems, Andrews' beautiful collage-and-watercolor illustrations extend the rhythm, exuberance, and longing of the words--not with literal images, but with tall, angular figures that express a strong sense of African American music, dreams, and daily life--while leaving lots of space for the words to "sing America." The picture-book format makes Hughes' work accessible to some grade-school children, especially for reading aloud and sharing, but the main audience will be older readers, who can appreciate the insightful, detailed introduction and biography, as well as the brief notes accompanying each poem, contributed by Hughes scholars Roessel and Rampersol. Their comments, together with the quotes from the poet himself, will encourage readers to return to the book to see how Hughes made poetry of his personal life, black oral and musical traditions, urban experience, and the speech of ordinary people. Whether the focus is the Harlem Renaissance, the political struggle, Hughes' African heritage, or the weary blues, this book will find great use in many libraries. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved -from Booklist

Polar - Acclaimed for his idiosyncratic prose and picaresque colloquialisms and his irreverent but brilliantly insightful portrayals of the smalltown denizens of backwater North Carolina and Virginia Pearson revisits sad but savvy deputy sheriff Ray Tatum and Kit Carson, his off-again, on-again African-American park ranger girlfriend from his seventh novel, Blue Ridge. Wildly and delightfully digressive, the yarn is narrated in the omniscient voice of the collective townsfolk in Pearson's signature run-on gnarly sentences. Possessing the annoying habit of regaling locals and strangers alike with the plots of the latest porno flicks beamed in on his TV satellite dish, Clayton, the town recluse, undergoes a sudden personality change at the checkout counter of the local grocery mart and adopts the name Titus. Retiring to his rundown residence, he begins to sketch an outline of Antarctica on his fireplace chimney and demonstrates surprising abilities as a seer after ostensibly foretelling the death of a pet pooch. After the toddler daughter of a transplanted Ohio lawyer vanishes into thin air, the citizenry seek the help of the newfound prophet, but to no avail. A veterinarian couple who like to indulge in sex smeared with wallpaper paste, a llama crossbred with wild deer, a slicker running a septic-tank scam, a clan of ne'er-do-wells operating a produce stand with fruit stolen from nearby orchards, and enough oddballs to cast a Coen brothers' film enliven the road to denouement. Aptly compared to Faulkner and Mark Twain, Pearson always focuses his satire on some aspect of our national character; here, it's what he sees as our hypocritical attitude toward porn. As usual, a subtle sadness counterpoints his marvelously whimsical meanderings, giving substance to this wholly enjoyable tale. 5-city author tour.Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Dogs of Babel -It's a terrific high concept: a woman falls from a backyard tree and dies; the only witness is the family dog, a Rhodesian Ridgeback. To find out what happened-accident? suicide?-her grieving husband tries to teach the dog to talk. Parkhurst's debut novel has been getting a lot of pre-pub attention, probably mostly for this concept, because the execution of this first novel is flawed. The tantalizing prospect of linguistics professor Paul Iverson attempting to teach Lorelei to talk is given short, and erratically plotted, shrift. Paul's narration oscillates between his present-day experiences and the backstory of his romance with Lexy Ransome, a mask maker. The two meet when Paul drops by Lexy's yard sale, buys a device for shaping hard-boiled eggs into squares, then returns with a bunch of square eggs ("And we stood there smiling, with the plate between us, the egg-cubes glowing palely in the growing dark"). This incident, a maxi-combo of cute and sentimental, defines much of the couple's love story (on their first date, Lexy whisks them off to DisneyWorld), marking much of this novel as a sentimental, manipulative romance not unlike James Patterson's Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas; some readers will adore it, while others will gag even as the pages darken toward tragedy. Few will relish the sketchy account of Paul's work with the dog, which goes nowhere until it veers, bizarrely and unbelievably, toward an underground group performing illegal surgical experiments on dogs. Parkhurst is a fluid stylist, and there are memorable moments here, as well as some terrific characters (particularly the enigmatic Lexy), but one gets the sense of an author trying to stuff every notion she's ever had into her first book, with less than splendid results.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. From Publishers Weekly

New Non-Fiction Too...

We are also getting a few non-fiction books as well...a short description of them:

Life In Prison

A cofounder of the notorious Crips gang in California recounts his life on death row. Chapters with titles such as "the hole," "rules," and "the strip search" include graphic, disturbing descriptions of prison life and this inmate's reaction to his incarceration. At the end of each chapter, Williams encourages readers to think about aspects of their lives that bother them, or that they take for granted, and consider what these issues are like for a death-row inmate. The author is straightforward about details of his life, and the book is written in a conversational, approachable tone. Black-and-white photos of Williams and fellow San Quentin prisoners are painful reminders of the life he is trying to steer kids away from. The book may leave readers wanting to know more about this man's work with violence prevention. However, it is a sobering personal view of life behind bars.Carol Fazioli, The Brearley School, New York City, NYCopyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. (from Library Journal)

Now, let me tell you What I Really Think

Here is another celebrity journalist who believes that the public needs to know more about his opinions on current events. Matthews (Hardball), host of the MSNBC and CNBC weeknight program, Hardball with Chris Matthews, also serves as a substitute weekend news anchor for NBC, offers commentary for the Today show, and is a nationally syndicated columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle. In this engaging account, he explores his personal history, including his middle-class Republican Catholic upbringing and his two years of Peace Corps service, to analyze his current political positions on contemporary culture. Although his experiences as a presidential speechwriter for Jimmy Carter and top aide to House Speaker Thomas P. "Tip" O'Neill gave him an insider's view of politics, Matthews sees himself as a spokesperson for the ordinary citizen. The opening segment on George Bush was rewritten at the last minute to portray the President's leadership style positively in light of the events of September 11. Those interested in Matthews's views will enjoy his appealing writing style, and public libraries where works by journalists circulate well should consider ordering. Judy Solberg, George Washington Univ. Lib., Washington, DC Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. (from Library Journal)

Bird Watching : On Playing and Coaching the Game I Love
Fans expecting the literary highlight reel of the NBA legend's championship years with the Boston Celtics may be initially put off by this loosely organized collection of opinions and reminiscences. They should stick with it, however, because ultimately the book is an endearingly honest self-portrait of a humble man who has made the most of his opportunities. Celtic fans will be titillated by the frank reports of just how Larry Legend wound up leaving Boston. Being a give-it-to-me-straight kind of guy, he was disgusted with the disingenuous ways of the Celtic front office, where he briefly worked after his playing days. Bird, now the head coach of the Indiana Pacers, also explains, quite briskly, how his relationship with fellow Celtic Kevin McHale went sour: as their careers wound down, McHale and another teammate went behind Bird's back to reporters with complaints that his play had become selfish. But Bird's refusal to pull punches doesn't hit only his adversaries: he admits that he was lucky that his good friend Rick Robey was traded away from the Celtics, because the good times they had together got in the way of Bird's career. He also writes that not he, but Jerry Sloan of the Utah Jazz should have been named Coach of the Year in 1998. The Hick from French Lick solidifies his reputation as a straight-talker unimpressed with his own legend. (Sept.) Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. From Publishers Weekly