Little Free Libraries will soon by popping up all around Plainfield thanks to the generosity of some corporate sponsors, the hard work of an Eagle Scout and the vision of a dedicated book-lover. The premise of LFL is simple: take a book, leave a book. There are no fees or charges, no due dates or waiting lists. If you like a book, keep it! Or better still, return it when you’re done to a LFL for another reader to enjoy. Find a LFL near you on this interactive map!
July has some great new books coming out that readers will be looking forward to reading. New books by Alex Kava and Daniel Silva I highly recommend to readers. Silva’s is titled The English Girl and Kiva’s is Stranded. I am also picking The White Princess by Philippa Gregory for fans of English history. Other new books include The Highway by C.J. Box, Death Angel by Linda Fairstein and James Lee Burke’s The Light of the World. As the Readers Advisor readers are always recommending authors to me and I am always happy to pass on their suggestions. Recently one of our readers told me that he had been reading John Hart who writes mysteries. He said that The Last Child by Hart was one of the best mysteries he has ever read So I thought I would pass this along to those of you who are always looking for a new author to read. Hart’s other books are The King of Lies and Down River. While I can’t read everything readers recommend to me I am always happy to hear when they have discovered a new author. Nothing pleases me more than to hear from a reader who tells me that they have loved an author I have recommended to them. Enjoy the rest of summer with a good book!
-Jo
Via The Atlantic, comes this wonderful map of every public library in the United States. The data was collected by the Institute of Museum and Library Services. On a makes-you-feel-good-about-humanity note, there are more public libraries in the United States than McDonalds or Starbucks locations. Read more about this wonderful map here.
-Matthew
This is Courtney & Laura’s first official app of the month selection! Aren’t you thrilled you’re here for the beginning of something really wonderful?! Each month Courtney and Laura B will pick out a rockin’ app to share with you. We’ll show you how the app works, why it is cool, and we will even list a few ideas for how you and your friends or family can use the app together. Stay tuned to find out what July’s app will be, but for now, enjoy….
June’s App of the Month: Project Noah
The Project Noah app allows you to explore, document, and discover the nature and wildlife around you, wherever you are. Using your smartphone and the Project Noah app, you can share pictures of plants and animals you find with the Project Noah community, see what other community members have shared, and participate in field missions.
Apple users, download it here!
Android users, download it here!
Website: www.projectnoah.org
how it works…
You can sign in with Facebook, Twitter, or another account to start being part of the community. The app has 3 main buttons: My Noah, Missions, and Field Guide. The My Noah section allows you to manage your account and goings-on with Project Noah.
In this section there is a large grey button to list a New Spotting, which allows you to document the wildlife you find. Clicking it allows you to upload up to 5 photos. You can tap a button to get help identifying the species and you can add tags to help describe the piece of nature.
The My Patches section shows you the patches you’ve earned by either uploading your spottings or participating in missions. In the My Noah section you can also check on the missions you’re currently working on.
To learn more about missions or to participate in a mission, tap the Missions button. Choose any mission listing that interests you in the Featured, Local, or Global sections.
The Field Guide section lets you browse and search through wildlife of all kinds. For example, you could click on one of the pictures in grid mode to view recent spottings, or you could click the location button to browse by location, or you can click the list button to browse in a list format.
Alternatively, you can tap the magnifying glass button, then type “ant” in to the search box; you’ll be presented with spottings of ants listed by others.
exploration ideas…
The Project Noah app can be fun to use alone or as a family and is appropriate for all ages, though littler ones will need help from an adult or teen to use and understand the app.
Try these ideas:
An Abundance of Katherines by John Green: I’m going to be all un-mainstream here and say that Katherines, John Green’s second book, is my favorite. It’s about a former child prodigy who has dated nineteen girls named Katherine. Mostly, it’s just plain funny and a bit weird, but definitely awesome.
Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta: Jellicoe is the third book by Australian author Melina Marchetta, and it won the Printz award in 2009. It’s a book that manages to be completely heartbreaking and completely wonderful at the same time. I love it for the characters, whose stories come together in a fantastic way, and for the writing, which is beautiful.
Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins: Sequel to Anna and the French Kiss, Lola takes place in San Francisco and is definitely in the sweet category of realistic YA. I really like Lola’s story and re-read it whenever I’m looking for the book equivalent of a piece of chocolate.
Me & Earl & the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews: Okay, chocolate this one is NOT. In fact, it’s frequently gross, morbid, and otherwise not what you’d expect in a Cancer Book. However, it’s also surprising sweet, hilariously funny, and completely original. 
Heist Society by Ally Carter: I love fun spy/burglary movies like Ocean’s Eleven or How to Steal a Million, and the Kat Bishop series (of which this is the first installment) are the book equivalent of those. Completely ridiculous, and really enjoyable.
-Maureen
-Jan
On June 1st, Freegal will have some exciting new features!
Music videos
New search features
Expanded content
Freegal is expanding their collection from 3 million tracks to nearly 7 million! They will be adding Some of the best music that we don’t have from Ray Charles, Johnny Cash, Bob Marley, Dion Warwick, George Winston and the London Symphony Orchestra.
A photograph has a soul of its own. It represents something we have seen and want to keep as a memento, a special event or occasion encountered. A moment captured in time and space that can stir memories and create fantasies. The more we look, the more we see. The more we see, the more we respond.
It’s said that the photographer communicates in the language of light, form and color. And so is it any wonder that my love of photography is so connected to this journey of my spirit – both containing positives and negatives, black, white, and color, and of course darkness and light.
During the past few days I’ve set out on foot with my camera and my three canine companions to capture signs of Spring. I found myself drawn to the trees in various stages of new growth along the country roads we traveled. Photographer Joyce Tenneson observes, “Trees, throughout history have inspired deep symbolic meaning in cultures around the world. The ‘tree of life’ metaphor expresses the mystical concept that all forms of life are connected. When we stand with the trees, we feel they are part of us. They give us a sense of belonging to the greater universe.” In his book Small Graces, Kent Nerburn says of trees”[T]hey shave so much to teach us. Like us, their roots are unseen, and no matter how glorious the front they put up for the world, their true strength lies in the hard work that takes place unnoticed beneath the surface.They have good years and bad years and yet they endure. They know how to withstand all seasons, to be patient with adversity, to store up strength for the hard times. When the wind blows, they understand the power of the unseen, and bow their heads before it.”
When I made my living with photography, I specialized in portraits of people and capturing their esssence. Although people have now been replaced by trees, I still find that I am seeking a spiritual element in my subjects. My thoughts resonate with Joyce Tenneson when she says, “As with my people portraits I seek to reveal in a single frame, the complex lives of trees – including their hardships and tragedies. Perhaps this is why I’ve been drawn to photograph trees with broken and misshapen forms, as well as those whose strong presence give them an aura of benevolent power. Their life journey is visible as is often true of the human face…I have found in nature ‘icons’ that speak to me personally.”
I took a photograph two-three years ago during a walk through the woods. An old tree had fallen and it’s crown was covered by a blanket of snow. There was something powerful about it that spoke to me and I snapped the shutter. While in the darkroom developing the print I was drawn to the image even more and I printed it over and over, varying the contrast by manipulating the amount of light that hit the negative.
I realized the small photograph is a symbol of my life. Although it is predominately black and white, it has many shadings and combinations of those two contrasts. The background is tangled and blurred, but the foreground gives way to the strength and beauty of the paths of branches that lead back to the unseen.
-Jennifer
7.Topsy-Turvy (1999) Since this has become a confessional post of sorts, I’ll also just come right out and also admit: I really like Gilbert and Sullivan operettas. HMS Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance, Yeoman of the Guard – it’s all good. This movie follows the British duo as they struggle to write The Mikado. Jim Broadbent as W.S. Gilbert is especially delightful.
8. Casino Royale (2006) I’m a big fan of the James Bond series, even the cheesy ones, which of course, is most of them. But the restart of the legendary spy series with Daniel Craig as Agent 007 in 2006 marked a notable improvement in the quality of the films. If you haven’t read Sir Ian Fleming’s source novels, you really should. The Bond of the novels is considerably more interesting (if less dependent on silly gadgets) than the Bond of the most of the movies. Casino Royale moves the film series back toward Fleming’s more interesting spy.
9. Star Wars (1977) The first CD I purchased with my own money was John Williams’ score to Star Wars. I still hum “The Imperial March” whenever I find myself walking down a long (ideally dim) hallway. George Lucas incurred the wrath of many fans with the – let’s say less than stellar – relaunch of the saga in with 1998’s The Phantom Menace. And though the prequels certainly don’t have the same panache as the original, there is a fun way to watch the series. So, try this sometime: watch the movies in this order by episode: 4, 5, 2, 3, 6. There is no need to ever watch Episode 1. I like this alternative order because it preserves the dramatic reveal involving Luke’s paternity in Episode 5. It also makes good thematic sense to introduce the Vader/Anakin back story after that dramatic moment in Episode 5, so that the entire saga can be viewed as a father/son redemption story.
10. Babette’s Feast (1987) The final scene in this understated film is probably the most enjoyable presentation a foodie could ask for. If you like the film, why not try some of the recipes from the great feast?
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