Books & More – Page 7 – Mary and Jeff Bell Library Blog

Living Our Best Lives One Book at a Time

Post author:Bell Library
Post published:August 20, 2019
Post category:Books & More

Maybe you have heard this one before…books are the gateway to learning and knowledge. Ultra-successful people are the perfect example of this. Warren Buffett believes the key to success is reading. Bill Gates reads about 50 books a year. Elon Musk says he learned to build rockets by reading books. Books can not only help us gain knowledge about our field of study, but, and maybe equally important, they can also be a gateway to improving ourselves. Many different types of books…

What do you do with those extra books?

Post author:Bell Library
Post published:August 13, 2019
Post category:Books & More Library Hacks

Have you ever started doing a spring or summer or fall or winter or some other time cleaning and come across books you haven’t seen or used in years? Have you ever wondered what to do with books you no longer want or need? Believe it or not, there are several wonderful options available for these books if they are in good condition, i.e. all the pages are there and readable, no mold or mildew, and the binding is…

“A Nightmare of Biblical Proportions”: Review of Christopher Golden’s Ararat

Post author:Trisha Hernandez
Post published:July 16, 2019
Post category:Books & More Service for You

A Christian, a Jew, a Muslim, and an atheist walk into a cave…no this is not a poorly devised joke, but part of the plot line to Christopher Golden’s Bram Stoker Award winning novel, Ararat. What begins as an exploration of a newly revealed opening in the great Mount Ararat, ends in loss of sanity, the external and internal battle between good and evil, paranoia, death, and so much more. Let’s take a step back and talk a bit about the…

Fantasy Fiction: A World of Possibilities

Post author:Bell Library
Post published:June 18, 2019
Post category:Books & More

As you may have read on our blog last month, we have more Stephen King books than any other single author in the Popular Reading Collection, but did you know that the most popular genre is fantasy? We offer more fantasy books than any other genre. And you will find a variety of both Young Adult and adult fantasy titles including, ironically, a Stephen King fantasy series, The Dark Tower. What makes the fantasy genre so popular among readers? A quick search online will…

Looking for Game of Thrones? We GoT It!

Post author:Bell Library
Post published:June 11, 2019
Post category:Books & More Today's Special

This blog is spoiler free! Winter is coming…. Well, Winter has ended but, that doesn’t mean you can’t binge watch over 72 hours of Game of Thrones! If you love dragons, epic battle scenes, medieval politics, and beautiful musical scores, you are sure to become an instant fan of the show. Set in the mythical land of Westeros, nine noble families contend for rule of the land and to lay claim to the Iron Throne. You will adore, or hate, the…

Does the Library Have Any Stephen King Books?

Post author:Trisha Hernandez
Post published:May 21, 2019
Post category:Books & More Service for You

Take a moment to stroll pass the Popular Reading Collection. As you scan the spines of the numerous books, which are currently shelved by author’s last name, you get to the “K” authors. That’s when you see it, ”King…King…King…King.” Of the over 600 titles in this collection, 27 are by Stephen King. While this is a mere 4% in the grand scheme of things, King dominates all other authors regarding number of titles available. Ever wonder why? Gather round, it’s…

A Review of The Library Book

Post author:Bell Library
Post published:April 16, 2019
Post category:Books & More Today's Special

I admit it. When I think about sitting down with a good book to read purely for enjoyment, I think of fiction…specifically science fiction or fantasy. So when I checked out The Library Book by Susan Orlean from the Library’s Popular Reading Collection, I was thrilled to discover how enjoyable and engrossing it was. On the surface this book tells the story of the 1986 fire of the Los Angeles Public Library main branch, one of the worst building fires in the…

It’s All in Your Head: Psychological Thrillers and the Unreliable Narrator

Post author:Trisha Hernandez
Post published:March 19, 2019
Post category:Books & More Library Randomness Service for You Today's Special

You’re a liar…delusional...confused…insane! No one is EVER going to believe you! Ok, well not you per say (theoretically at least, I don’t really know you, so…), but this is a common accusation made in many of the best psychological thrillers available today. Take the box office success, The Girl on the Train, staring Emily Blunt, Rebecca Ferguson, Justin Theroux, Luke Evans, and a bunch of other names that Wikipedia lists. The movie, based on the New York Times best seller by Paula Hawkins, follows Rachel Watson, an alcoholic divorcée who is…

What do you spend on textbooks?

Post author:Lisa Louis
Post published:March 12, 2019
Post category:Books & More

March 4-8 was Open Education Week, a week when we celebrate the power of the Internet to democratize education by providing a platform on which tools for learning—everything from videos and class modules to lecture notes and entire textbooks or courses—can be made freely available to anyone wanting to learn. In spite of the fact that we have the digital technology to provide learning materials at low to no cost and that many brilliant minds all over the world are engaged…

Microform: Nothing Micro About It

Post author:Joe Hernandez
Post published:March 5, 2019
Post category:Books & More Service for You

You're on your way to get your favorite focus food or drink from the vending machines in the Daily Read Café to keep your energy up for that research assignment that you're realizing you should have started a few days earlier. On the way, you weave through other students who you know are in the same boat as you, focused but stressed. When you turn the corner around the staircase, right before you see those doors that keep all the…