A letter written by Rene Descartes, stolen in the mid-nineteenth century, has been found in Pennsylvania. Written in 1641, the letter discusses the publication of "Meditations on First Philosophy."
Read the entire article at The New York Times.
Bishop McNamara is a Catholic, college-prep high school in Kankakee, IL. The library blog introduces new books, book reviews, book trailers, fun and interesting articles, original writing, and school and community news.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Monday, February 22, 2010
More Book Videos
The Boxer and the Spy by Robert Parker
Video produced by Reid Olszewski and Sam Ekhoff.
A quiet teenage boy is dead. The authorities have ruled his death a suicide somehow tied to steroid use. But fifteen-year-old Terry Novak believes his classmate was murdered. Now Novak, an aspiring boxer, must turn amateur detective to learn the truth.
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Video produced by Sam Memenga and Zach Triveline.
Steinbeck's tragic Depression-era tale of George and Lennie, migrant farm workers in California.
Video produced by Reid Olszewski and Sam Ekhoff.
A quiet teenage boy is dead. The authorities have ruled his death a suicide somehow tied to steroid use. But fifteen-year-old Terry Novak believes his classmate was murdered. Now Novak, an aspiring boxer, must turn amateur detective to learn the truth.
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Video produced by Sam Memenga and Zach Triveline.
Steinbeck's tragic Depression-era tale of George and Lennie, migrant farm workers in California.
Friday, February 19, 2010
"Mixing" - the new euphemism for plagiarism
Seventeen year old Helene Hegemann is the author of the critically acclaimed book “Axolotl Roadkill," which tells the story of a teenage girl exploring the drug and club scene of Berlin after losing her mother.
The novel has been discovered to contain text from several unattributed sources. Ms. Hegemann's explanation is that her work is a "mix," inspired by a variety of writers. Apparently, "mixing" is the new euphemism for plagiarism.
Ms. Hegemann’s novel has been selected as a finalist for the $20,000 fiction prize of the Leipzig Book Fair.
Read more at The New York Times
The novel has been discovered to contain text from several unattributed sources. Ms. Hegemann's explanation is that her work is a "mix," inspired by a variety of writers. Apparently, "mixing" is the new euphemism for plagiarism.
Ms. Hegemann’s novel has been selected as a finalist for the $20,000 fiction prize of the Leipzig Book Fair.
Read more at The New York Times
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Book Talk Videos
Book Talk videos created by Ms. Gina LaMore's studio class.
Paper Towns by John Green
Video produced by Tatiana Kuykendall and Amanda Krawiec.
Quentin Jacobsen, smart and well adjusted, is in love with the beautiful and cool Margo Spiegelman. Long ago, Margo traded Q's friendship for that of a cooler crowd, but tonight she has appeared at his window with plans for a wild ride of pranks and revenge. Surprisingly, Quentin not only goes along, he agrees to drive.
Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne
Video produced by Scott Korthals.
Phileas Fogg has made an ill-considered wager that he has no intention of losing. Having bet his companions 20,000 pounds that he could travel the world in eighty days, Fogg and his French valet, Passepartout, brave storms, kidnapping, Sioux attacks, and the wiles of Inspector Fix of Scotland Yard in a wild race against the clock.
Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
Video produced by Mark Austin, Jessica Clodi, and Ashlee Addison.
Clay Jenson is one of thirteen people to receive a mysterious package from Hannah Baker, a classmate who committed suicide. As Hannah tells her story, Clay follows her directions to visit various locations and learns that even seemingly-insignificant actions may have lasting consequences.
Paper Towns by John Green
Video produced by Tatiana Kuykendall and Amanda Krawiec.
Quentin Jacobsen, smart and well adjusted, is in love with the beautiful and cool Margo Spiegelman. Long ago, Margo traded Q's friendship for that of a cooler crowd, but tonight she has appeared at his window with plans for a wild ride of pranks and revenge. Surprisingly, Quentin not only goes along, he agrees to drive.
Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne
Video produced by Scott Korthals.
Phileas Fogg has made an ill-considered wager that he has no intention of losing. Having bet his companions 20,000 pounds that he could travel the world in eighty days, Fogg and his French valet, Passepartout, brave storms, kidnapping, Sioux attacks, and the wiles of Inspector Fix of Scotland Yard in a wild race against the clock.
Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
Video produced by Mark Austin, Jessica Clodi, and Ashlee Addison.
Clay Jenson is one of thirteen people to receive a mysterious package from Hannah Baker, a classmate who committed suicide. As Hannah tells her story, Clay follows her directions to visit various locations and learns that even seemingly-insignificant actions may have lasting consequences.
New Books 2/18/10
300
Violent video game effects on children and adolescents : theory, research and public policy / Craig Anderson, Douglas Gentile, & Katherine Buckley
Grand theft childhood : the surprising truth about violent video games and what parents can do/ Lawrence Kutner & Cheryl K. Olson
Mental retardation in America : a reader / Steven Noll & James W. Trent, ed.
School calendar reform : learning in all seasons / Charles Ballinger & Carolyn Kneese
Year-round education : change and choice for schools and teachers / Shelly G. Haser & Ilham Nasser
Teaching in the block : strategies for engaging active learners / Robert L. Canady & Michael D. Rettig
God and man at Yale / William F. Buckley, Jr.
Published in 1951, the twenty-five-year old Yale graduate described his first book as “a lover’s quarrel with his alma mater.” He criticized the faculty for forcing liberal ideology on their students and for trying to break down students' religious beliefs through their teaching.
500
Charles and Emma : the Darwin’s leap of faith / Deborah Heiligman
Charles and Emma, his wife and first cousin, disagreed about the role of God in creation. This National Book Award Finalist presents the intersection of science and faith, the struggles of life in the Victorian era, and the Darwins’ romance.
600
The immortal life of Henrietta Lacks / Rebecca Skloot
In 1951, Henrietta Lacks, an African American farm worker, died of cancer at age 30. Without her knowledge or consent, doctors took a sample of her cancerous tissue. While Lacks’s family lived in poverty and often lacked health care, her cells gave scientists the building blocks for many discoveries, including the cure for polio. Skloot’s work explores the ethical issues raised by Lacks’s story.
800
A jury of her peers : celebrating American women writers from Anne Bradstreet / Elaine Showalter
Here, bullet / Brian Turner
Poems from Turner’s seven years in the U.S. Army which included deployment to Bosnia and Iraq.
The education of a British-protected child / Chinua Achebe
Seventeen autobiographical essays.
Fiction
Remarkable creatures : a novel / Tracy Chevalier
Chevalier’s newest novel features characters drawn from history, Elizabeth Philpot and Mary Anning. The two form a friendship based on their mutual interest in finding fossils.
Flash burnout / L.K. Madigan
While working on a photography assignment, fifteen-year-old Blake unknowingly snaps a photo of his friend’s long-lost, drug- addicted mother. In the drama that follows, Black must reconcile the roles of friend and boyfriend. Winner of the 2010 William C. Morris Award.
The ask and the answer (Chaos walking; bk. 2) / Patrick Ness
Todd Hewitt, 13, is locked in a tower in New Prentisstown, a space colony, and separated from Viola, after the dramatic cliff-hanger in The Knife of Never Letting Go (Candlewick, 2008). In this sequel, Todd is pressed into service with the “Ask,” while trying to keep secret his plans to reunite with Viola and contact her people. Another exciting, fast-paced science fiction book.
Violent video game effects on children and adolescents : theory, research and public policy / Craig Anderson, Douglas Gentile, & Katherine Buckley
Grand theft childhood : the surprising truth about violent video games and what parents can do/ Lawrence Kutner & Cheryl K. Olson
Mental retardation in America : a reader / Steven Noll & James W. Trent, ed.
School calendar reform : learning in all seasons / Charles Ballinger & Carolyn Kneese
Year-round education : change and choice for schools and teachers / Shelly G. Haser & Ilham Nasser
Teaching in the block : strategies for engaging active learners / Robert L. Canady & Michael D. Rettig
God and man at Yale / William F. Buckley, Jr.
Published in 1951, the twenty-five-year old Yale graduate described his first book as “a lover’s quarrel with his alma mater.” He criticized the faculty for forcing liberal ideology on their students and for trying to break down students' religious beliefs through their teaching.
500
Charles and Emma : the Darwin’s leap of faith / Deborah Heiligman
Charles and Emma, his wife and first cousin, disagreed about the role of God in creation. This National Book Award Finalist presents the intersection of science and faith, the struggles of life in the Victorian era, and the Darwins’ romance.
600
The immortal life of Henrietta Lacks / Rebecca Skloot
In 1951, Henrietta Lacks, an African American farm worker, died of cancer at age 30. Without her knowledge or consent, doctors took a sample of her cancerous tissue. While Lacks’s family lived in poverty and often lacked health care, her cells gave scientists the building blocks for many discoveries, including the cure for polio. Skloot’s work explores the ethical issues raised by Lacks’s story.
800
A jury of her peers : celebrating American women writers from Anne Bradstreet / Elaine Showalter
Here, bullet / Brian Turner
Poems from Turner’s seven years in the U.S. Army which included deployment to Bosnia and Iraq.
The education of a British-protected child / Chinua Achebe
Seventeen autobiographical essays.
Fiction
Remarkable creatures : a novel / Tracy Chevalier
Chevalier’s newest novel features characters drawn from history, Elizabeth Philpot and Mary Anning. The two form a friendship based on their mutual interest in finding fossils.
Flash burnout / L.K. Madigan
While working on a photography assignment, fifteen-year-old Blake unknowingly snaps a photo of his friend’s long-lost, drug- addicted mother. In the drama that follows, Black must reconcile the roles of friend and boyfriend. Winner of the 2010 William C. Morris Award.
The ask and the answer (Chaos walking; bk. 2) / Patrick Ness
Todd Hewitt, 13, is locked in a tower in New Prentisstown, a space colony, and separated from Viola, after the dramatic cliff-hanger in The Knife of Never Letting Go (Candlewick, 2008). In this sequel, Todd is pressed into service with the “Ask,” while trying to keep secret his plans to reunite with Viola and contact her people. Another exciting, fast-paced science fiction book.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Pricing E-Books
Publishers have demanded the price of e-books be raised. Some readers will be angry. In the past, disgruntled customers have trashed books and boycotted sellers over higher prices. So, what is a book worth?
Read more at The New York Times.
Read more at The New York Times.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Soldiers' Writing
First person accounts of the conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan. Read more at The New York Times
JOKER ONE: A MARINE PLATOON’S STORY OF COURAGE, LEADERSHIP, AND BROTHERHOOD By Donovan Campbell. (Random House.) Read review.
ONE BULLET AWAY: THE MAKING OF A MARINE OFFICER By Nathaniel Fick. (Houghton Mifflin Company.) Read review.
THE UNFORGIVING MINUTE: A SOLDIER’S EDUCATION By Craig M. Mullaney. (The Penguin Press.) Read review.
HERE, BULLET By Brian Turner. (Alice James.) Read review.
LOVE MY RIFLE MORE THAN YOU: YOUNG AND FEMALE IN THE U.S. ARMY By Kayla Williams. (W. W. Norton.) Read review.
Military Reports
FIXING INTEL: A BLUEPRINT FOR MAKING INTELLIGENCE RELEVANT IN AFGHANISTAN By Maj. Gen. Michael T. Flynn, Capt. Matt Pottinger, and Paul D. Batchelor. Read report.
AN UNRELEASED ARMY HISTORY ABOUT THE JULY 2008 BATTLE OF WANAT By Douglas R. Cubbison. Read the draft report (pdf).
JOKER ONE: A MARINE PLATOON’S STORY OF COURAGE, LEADERSHIP, AND BROTHERHOOD By Donovan Campbell. (Random House.) Read review.
ONE BULLET AWAY: THE MAKING OF A MARINE OFFICER By Nathaniel Fick. (Houghton Mifflin Company.) Read review.
THE UNFORGIVING MINUTE: A SOLDIER’S EDUCATION By Craig M. Mullaney. (The Penguin Press.) Read review.
HERE, BULLET By Brian Turner. (Alice James.) Read review.
LOVE MY RIFLE MORE THAN YOU: YOUNG AND FEMALE IN THE U.S. ARMY By Kayla Williams. (W. W. Norton.) Read review.
Military Reports
FIXING INTEL: A BLUEPRINT FOR MAKING INTELLIGENCE RELEVANT IN AFGHANISTAN By Maj. Gen. Michael T. Flynn, Capt. Matt Pottinger, and Paul D. Batchelor. Read report.
AN UNRELEASED ARMY HISTORY ABOUT THE JULY 2008 BATTLE OF WANAT By Douglas R. Cubbison. Read the draft report (pdf).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)