Monday, June 25, 2007

Read all about it!



The CWC Library regularly receives 19 newspapers. The current issues are available next to the new book shelf and back issues are across from the college catalogs.

The local Riverton Ranger, Lander Journal and Wind River News are there, along with the Casper Star-Tribune and Jackson Hole News and Guide. We also have Indian Country Today, Indian Life and Sho-Ban News.

Going to Denver? Billings? We get the Sunday issues of the Denver Post and Billings Gazette. Drop by and see what is happening before your visit.

Other titles you can find at the CWC Library: UW Alumnews; Christian Science Monitor; Community College Times; Community College Week; Eagle (Chadron); High Country News; Ute Bulletin; WEA News; and Wyoming Business Report.

Monday, June 18, 2007

Babs' favorites:



I read King of the Wind in the fourth grade, along with Louise Rankin’s Daughter of the Mountains, and still remember them as two of the best books I’ve ever read. I was inclined towards stories of courage, loyalty, and other countries/cultures, and these two had all three: King of the Wind takes place in Morocco and England, Daughter of the Mountains in Tibet and India. I vaguely remember liking Kurt Wiese’s illustrations for the latter, and nobody could ever forget Wesley Dennis’s full-color horse paintings!

As a longtime K-12 remedial/enrichment reading teacher, I grew increasingly attached to some of the Caldecott Award winners and honor books: I loved the art work, the underlying values, the wonderful use of language, the sense of wonder, and, in many cases, the implied or outright humor. Make Way for Ducklings, written and illustrated by Robert McCloskey, is a case in point. I also like books about nature, so Byrd Baylor’s The Desert Is Theirs, a Caldecott Honor book illustrated with elegant simplicity by Peter Parnall, is another favorite (the yellow book on my lap).

When I began writing book reviews for the Wyoming Senior Citizens newsletter several years ago, I decided that many seniors were probably grandparents and/or caretakers of young children, so that convoluted thinking gave me an excuse to add reviews of one or two children’s books each month! I continued to scour libraries I visited to find new favorites, and that’s how I found Fox’s Dream, written and illustrated by Tejima. I also found a book stunningly illustrated by Jamichael Henterly, so I looked for some others of his, and found a Christmas carol he’d illustrated about Good King Wenceslas, a (real) king of Bohemia --- a new favorite! Officer Buckle and Gloria is a recent accidental discovery, both heartwarming and funny.
~ Babs Kruse, CWC Library Assistant

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Carol's favorite: Fahrenheit 451

CWC Library Director Carol Deering's favorite book is Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury.

Fahrenheit 451: PS 3503 R167 F3 1967


Tuesday, June 12, 2007

About: NoveList

If you are among those who know what you like but have exhausted all of your favorite authors, fret no more - CWC Library has the perfect solution!



NoveList is much like Netflix for books. You tell it what you like and it provides customized suggestions for recommended reading.


For example:

To find NoveList, go to our homepage and choose WYLDCat (under important links).


Once WYLDCat opens, choose more under Additional Databases, then scroll down to NoveList (currently in the 9th position).


On the left you will see a quicksearch window. If you have read everything Sue Grafton has written and want to find authors like her, type in "Grafton, Sue."


Choose a title from the results and then click on "Find Similar Titles."

Now you're faced with options. Why do you like Sue Grafton? Is it because she writes about


  • Millhone, Kinsey

  • Mystery stories, American

  • Santa Teresa, California, or

  • Women detectives?

Since it is doubtful another author would take the chance of "borrowing" Grafton's main character, you can uncheck Kinsey Millhone from the list. It is only slightly more likely that another author will have chosen Santa Teresa, California as the setting for their story, so let that one go, too.

Now, you are left with American mysteries (versus British mysteries, like Poirot-esque stories) and women detectives. Luckily, there are a lot of writers who bring us women mystery-solvers.


And yes, 1,044 books are pulled from the depths of NoveList as suggestions to keep you busy while Grafton pens her next bestseller, including Susan Wittig Albert, Jane Isenberg and Carolyn G. Hart.

There are a million other ways NoveList can help you find your next favorite, so keep clicking until you find it!

Monday, June 11, 2007

What we're reading: Coralina Daly

Assistant Librarian/Coordinator of Testing Services Cory Daly is currently reading Running With Scissors by Augusten Burroughs, and listening to The Johnstown Flood, by David McCullough.







Update 6.22.07:

I finished them! Running with Scissors was very well-written, but tough to get through because the subject matter was pretty raw. I handled it a couple of chapters at a time. It was funny, but thoughtful and dark at the same time. I'm very curious how the lawsuit filed by the family portrayed in the book will turn out.

The Johnstown Flood was amazingly detailed. I really enjoyed how character-driven McCullough was able to make his narrative and there were many times I found myself thinking of Hurricane Katrina and 9/11, both of which happened decades after this was written. Tragedy is timeless.

What we're reading: Jackie Meeker

CWC-BOCHES Coordinator Jackie Meeker is currently reading Looking for Mary: Or, the Blessed Mother and Me, by Beverly Donofrio, and listening to When Madeline Was Young, by Jane Hamilton.

Update!

What Jackie thought of "When Madeline Was Young"

I was very interested in listening to Jane Hamilton’s When Madeline Was Young, as I had enjoyed her novel The Book of Ruth years ago. Unfortunately, I was less than taken with When Madeline Was Young. The premise of the book (according to the blurb on the back) was intriguing – shortly after marrying Aaron Maciver, Madeline is involved in a bicycle accident that leaves her with the mental capacity of a 7-year-old. Years later, Aaron remarries and he and his new wife, Julia, “adopt” Madeline and care for her as if she is their child. Okay, that’s a pretty unusual plot line, but it turns out to be more of an aside than an actual plot. The book is narrated by Aaron and Julia’s son, Timothy (aka “Mac”), and the story veers dramatically from Madeline’s situation to the political climate of the sixties to the present day. It was somewhat disjointed and slow-moving, and the characters were less than sympathetic. I almost gave it up less than half-way through, but stuck it out to the unsatisfying end, hoping it would get better. It didn’t.

Friday, June 8, 2007

New Book: Give a Horse a Second Chance: Adopting and Caring for Rescue Horses


By: Jane R. Wise
HV 4755 .W57 2007


How is a rescue horse different?
What do people need to know to be a good partner for a wild or previously abused equine?


Wise, a horsewoman experienced in dealing with rescued horses, discusses the adoption process and the many specific associated issues, inlcuding health, nutrition, and behavior.


This book is available for checkout by both the CWC community and the public. For more information, call (307) 855-2141 or email LibraryQuestion@cwc.edu.

New Book: Suicide Terrorism


Suicide Terrorism By Ami Pedahzur
HV 6431 .P43 2005

What brings leaders of terrorist organizations to initiate campaigns of suicide terrorism? What are the causes and motivations that lead ordinary people to embark upon suicide attacks?

Pedazhur, Associate Professor of Government at the University of Texas, Austin, investigates the root causes of suicide terrorism and the use of human bombs in Lebanon, Israel, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Chechnya, Iraq, and the ostentatious attacks of Al-Qaeda and the global jihad.

This book is available for checkout by both the CWC community and the public. For more information, call (307) 855-2141 or email LibraryQuestion@cwc.edu.

Thursday, June 7, 2007

New Book: First Person, First Peoples: Native American College Graduates Tell Their Life Stories


AM IND E 97.65 .N4 F57 1997

How do Native American students deal with the conflict between the values taught at home and the culture of college and academic life? Thirteen Dartmouth students share their stories.
With a foreword by Louise Erdrich.

This book is part of our American Indian collection, located upstairs in the Heritage room. It is available for checkout by both the CWC community and the public. For more information, call (307) 855-2141 or email LibraryQuestion@cwc.edu.

Summer reading recommendations

The flowers are in bloom, the grass is growing and the trees have filled out. Here at the CWC Library, we have a tremendous collection of items to fill up your lazy hours this summer. Several of them, as well as upcoming events, will be featured on this site in the coming weeks. If we each had to pick one to recommend, these would be it:


Carol's pick:
by Harriet Doerr
PS 3554 O36 S8 1984C

"It was a summer night when I started reading this book, ages ago. It glowed and I followed, enchanted," she said.







Cory's pick:
by Daniel Tammet
RC 553 .A88 T36 2007










Babs' pick:
by Patrick McManus
A nonstop humor by Patrick McManus
Paperback Collection - NON-FICT MCM












Kristy's pick:
by Barbara Kingsolver
PS 3561 .I496 P76 2000