The good ol’ hockey game

As I type these words, I’m watching Game 7 between the Ottawa Senators and the New York Rangers (Go Sens!). [Editor’s Note: Be sure to send Barbara your sincere condolences on their loss. Go Rangers!] I love playoff hockey – it’s faster, cleaner and more exciting than during the regular season. So exciting that I find myself typing in small bursts during commercials.

What better way to celebrate the good ol’ hockey game than by sharing the top 10 most popular hockey books at Winnipeg Public Library — as determined by you, our members. Check them out between games!

10 – Best of the best : ranking the greatest players of all time, by Scott Morrison

9 – The Winnipeg Jets : a celebration of professional hockey in Winnipeg, by Scott Taylor

8 – A thrilling ride : the Vancouver Canucks’ 40th anniversary season, by Paul Chapman and Bev Wake (too bad they couldn’t make it past the first round!)

7 – Hockey Hall of Fame book of goalies : profiles, memorabilia, essays and stats, by Steve Cameron

6 – Hockey’s greatest stars : legends and young lions, by Chris McDonell.

5 – Hockey Hall of Fame treasures, by Steve Cameron.

4 – Playing with fire : the highest highs and lowest lows of Theo Fleury, by Theo Fleury with Kirstie McLellan Day

3 – Hockey’s most amazing records, by Edward Fraser.

2 – The game, by Ken Dryden

1 – Back in the bigs : how Winnipeg won, lost and regained its place in the NHL, by Randy Turner

Now, everyone sing with me:

Hello out there, we’re on the air, it’s ‘Hockey Night’ tonight.
Tension grows, the whistle blows, and the puck goes down the ice.
The goalie jumps, and the players bump, and the fans all go insane.
Someone roars, “Bobby Scores!”, at the good ol’ Hockey Game.

OH! The good ol’ Hockey game, is the best game you can name.
And the best game you can name, is the good ol’ Hockey game!

Barbara

One term ends, another begins…

Spring is here! As the temperature reaches double digits, it’s time for Winnipeggers to don cut-offs and flip-flops at the first opportunity, and also time to bid farewell to one Writer-in-Residence and begin searching for the next.

This Thursday, April 26, come say goodbye to Terry Jordan and hear him read from his work, together with some of the authors he’s mentored during his term. Join us in the Reader Services area on the main floor of the Millennium Library at 7 pm.

The Library is also inviting applications for the Writer-in-Residence 2012 – 2013. From an office at Millennium Library, the Writer-in-Residence works with emerging Manitoba writers by email and phone as well as through individual consultations, group workshops, and other programs .

The residency will begin October 1, 2012 and run for seven months, subject to funding. For more information on criteria, compensation, and how to apply, see the Library’s May-June newsletter or call me at 986-2802.

The deadline to apply is Monday, June 4.

The Writer-in-Residence program is co-sponsored by the Winnipeg Public Library Board, the Friends of the Winnipeg Public Library, the Manitoba Writers’ Guild, and the Manitoba government.

Danielle

Fido or Fluffy? Choosing the Pet that’s Right for You

In the last year, my household has gone down from 4 pets (2 senior cats and 2 guinea pigs) to 2 pets (the guineas).  After owning the cats for almost 20 years, it’s quite weird not having them around anymore.  Do we get another cat?  Or do we venture into the realm of dog ownership (something I’m not as excited about as my husband and son are).  It doesn’t help that recently I’ve been reading articles about how over-run rescue shelters are with kittens and puppies this spring, with the warm weather increasing the breeding cycle of animals. And who can forget about the influx of unwanted bunnies now that Easter is over?

 If , like me, you’re considering opening your home to a new pet, it’s a great idea to do some research before you take the plunge.  Not every animal is a good fit for every household.  If you’re interested in a dog, a title like the World Atlas of Dog Breeds will provide you with information to make a better informed decision.  The Original Dog Bible contains information about how to decide if a dog is a good pet for you and how to choose a breed that’s a good match.  If you have dog allergies, don’t despair!  Sneeze-free Dog Breeds identifies those breeds that are better for those with allergies.

If you’re not a dog person, there are plenty of books on other pets.  If you’re considering a cat, then you might want to check out  The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Cats, Cat Breeds and Cat Care.  Different breeds of cats have varying dispositions, and require different levels of care.  An Animal Planet DVD called Cats 101 also provides great information on cat behavior, breeds, etc.  And The Sneeze-free Cat Owner discusses breeds that might work out if you have allergies to these furry creatures.

There are also many smaller animals that might be a  great match for you.  We’re guinea pig owners, and just love these little guys.  In fact, when a friend recently told me that the Humane Society had 2 guinea pigs there, I had to visit the site daily to see if they had been adopted.  I even phoned to ask if they would be euthanized if no-one adopted them (apparently they don’t euthanize small animals).  Mike and Ike are no longer on the site, so hopefully they’ve found a great home.  The Barron’s book entitled Guinea Pigs will provide you with lots of good information about how to care for these pets.  And if you do decide to purchase guinea pigs (purchase 2 as one gets lonely!), then you can train them with the help of this book.  Yes, you can apparently use clickr training on guinea pigs.  (And no, I haven’t tried that yet with my own piggies).

Other small animals that might be a great match for you are hamsters and gerbils.  If you don’t want your hamster to die within 1 week like mine did when I was a kid, then you’d best do some reading first!  Hamsters: Everything about Selection, Care, Nutrition and Behavior would be a great place to start.  Hamsters for Dummies is another good title for prospective hamster owners.  If you’re interested in getting a gerbil, the book Gerbils: The Complete Book of Gerbil Care would be a good read.  I had a gerbil when I was a child, but it kept escaping from its cage.  My solution?  Give it to my sister so that when it escaped in the middle of the night I could wake her up and tell her to go look for her gerbil.

Rabbits also make interesting pets.  There are many breeds of rabbit, including lop-eared varieties, rex breeds, dwarfs and many others.  The Mini Encyclopedia of Rabbit Breeds and Care provides excellent information to help you decide if you’d make a good rabbit owner.  If you’re in the market for something a bit more exotic, how about a hedgehog?  Hedgehogs: Everything about Purchase, Care and Nutrition will let you know what’s involved in caring for this unique pet.  There are also books on caring for ferrets, turtles, snakes and reptiles.

If you do some research before you welcome a pet into your home, then you’ll likely end up with a pet that will be a great fit for your household.  And when you do adopt a new pet, feel free to check out these titles to help you choose a name.  Just promise me that you won’t use the name Zummo!

Theresa

It All Started with a Big Bang

All science is either physics or stamp collecting. – Ernest Rutherford

My newfound fascination with physics did indeed start with a Big Bang.  No, not the theory as to how the universe came to exist, but rather, the television show The Big Bang Theory.

Before encountering this hilarious group of scientists (and one engineer), my knowledge of physics was limited to what I had picked up in high school, which left me feeling vaguely uneasy about the whole subject. I regarded physicists in much the same way as spiders. I respected their place in the natural order of things, but I preferred to keep a safe distance between them and me.

Reading the brilliant Bill Bryson’s book A Short History of Nearly Everything kindled an intense but short lived attempt to learn more about physics that ultimately flamed out more swiftly than a supernova. To be fair, I did attempt to learn more about every topic mentioned in the book simultaneously, which may explain my rapid burnout rate.

Then along came The Big Bang Theory, and I tried physics again. Seeking to understand references such as Schrodinger’s Cat and String Theory, not to mention time travel and Star Trek, led me to a number of very educational and highly enjoyable books.

Physics I for Dummies

I really wish I’d had this book back in high school. It’s a great way to get an overview of a lot of the principles of classical physics,  complete with cartoons. I find it a handy quick reference guide, when I run across a theory or concept in another book that I don’t understand. I especially enjoyed the chapter on the wild physics theories, which taught me that my microwave oven has a connection to physics.

The Big Bang Theory: what it is, where it came from and why it works

This is a excellent history of, what else, the Big Bang theory. It goes back to the days before science existed as a school of thought, and takes the reader on a guided tour through philosophy with Plato and Aristotle, astronomy with Copernicus, gravity with Newton, Hubble and his discoveries, right through to current theories and schools of thought.

How to teach physics to your dog

While I wouldn’t necessarily recommend trying to teach physics to your dog, I do heartily recommend this book to anyone who wants some insights into quantum mechanics. The author, Chad Orzel, a professor of physics, uses his dog Emmy as the voice of a student filled with the sort of questions I’d ask if I were as smart as a dog. While evesdropping on their conversations,  I learned a lot about Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle, as well as the best way to catch squirrels.

The physics of Star trek

While not all of the cool toys and gadgets in Star Trek have become a reality, it’s fascinating to see how much of what was once pure fantasy is now an everyday commonplace reality. Even though Scotty isn’t able to break the rules of physics, at least as we understand them, there are some rules we may be able to bend a little. As time goes on and our understanding increases, we may be able to re-write the rulebook completely.

Included in my “I have to read that sometime list” are a few other physics titles worth checking out:

The Matchbox that ate a Forty-Ton Truck: what everyday things tell us about the universe

How to Build a Time Machine: The Real Science of Time Travel

A User’s Guide to the Universe

Physics on the Fringe: Smoke Rings, Circlons and alternative theories of everything

The Instant Physicist: an illustrated guide

I’ll never be an expert, or even a really well informed amateur on physics, at least in this universe. However, I have picked up a few theories that, who knows, may eventually take us to places where no man has gone before.

Live long and prosper!

On the horizon: it’s a book, it’s a plane, it’s…

The biggest news in the book world this week was the announcement that J.K. Rowling’s first book for adults will be published in September. The Casual Vacancy is described as a black comedy about the struggles that ensue in a seemingly idyllic British town after a popular city councillor dies — smart of her to explore a topic so different from the Harry Potter series. While not everyone is thrilled with the news, demand for the book will undoubtedly be sky-high. In fact, the British press have declared it the bestseller of the year before it’s even available to pre-order  (which means that it’s not in the Library catalogue yet… but keep your eyes open).

My personal eagerly-awaited book for this year was Tana French’s Broken Harbour. It’s being released in July, but I was lucky enough to get the chance to read an advance copy and it more than lived up to my high expectations. Like her earlier books, it’s much more than a (really well-done) mystery – Broken Harbour goes to the heart of what family is, what a home is, and how fragile they both can be.

Danielle

Rx: Read A Book A Day

“If a man wants to read good books, he must make a point of avoiding bad ones; for life is short, and time and energy limited.”
— Schopenhauer

  I  gave up “blooks”, books based on blogs, for Lent, but I made an exception for Tolstoy and the Purple Chair , a memoir of reading a book a day for a year. I simply can’t resist the temptation of reading books about reading books. After losing her beloved sister to cancer, Nina Sankovitch filled her life with activities to escape her grief. After three years of incessant activity she finally stopped, sat down and read a book a day. She discovered that reading is the perfect therapy and that “great good comes from reading great books”. Her blog “ReadAllDay” is illustrated with cozy photos of the author reading mostly “en plein air” and occasionally in the eponymous purple chair or on a sofa.

The shots remind me of the Globe & Mail column  “My books my place” which features artists and writers reading in their favourite spots from penthouse condos to canoe docks.

I wanted to know how Nina found the time to read. It turns out that besides having a supportive family (she lives with 4 boys and a husband who helped with the cooking and cleaning) she took a year off  and read books that were no more than 300 pages long.  Short of taking a sabbatical or playing hooky, here are some tips on how to eke out more reading time:

Stop watching those tedious reality shows. You’ll get back so much more than those empty pop culture calories watching the endless mock crises of the Kardashian family.

Read alongside your child while he/she does homework. Not only are you modeling a love of books but you provide a comforting presence. A school guidance counselor passed along this invaluable advice.

Always carry a slim volume of poems for those periods of time waiting in line at the grocery store or dentist’s office.

Get up early and read with your morning croissant and bowl of café au lait in the coffee shop before work – so European.

Listen to audio books in the car or on your iPod on the bus on the morning commute. Download them for free from OverDrive. If you are lucky enough to own an ereader you can download eBooks as well.

Look for inspiration from others who have taken the challenge to read daily:

The Reading Promise  is the story of a girl and her father who made a promise to read aloud together for 100 consecutive nights. The ritual helped to form a powerful parent-child bond and continued until the author entered college. To start your own “reading streak”, read her blog readingpromise.com

 Book Ends: A Year Between the Covers  takes you on a delightful journey in which the author relates her reactions to 124 books read in a year.

  So Many Books, So Little Time  chronicles a readaholic’s year spent reading and the surprises it brought.

Which book will you choose to begin your year of reading and where will you read it?

Jane

What is it about Brit TV?

From ‘Downton Abbey’ to ‘MI-5’, ‘Sherlock’ to ‘Great Expectations’, British TV fare today is of exceptional quality. Why is the eternal question. Although it is not always true, why does North American TV often lag behind in quality? Is it because Brits focus on complex character development while American and Canadian producers seem to think audiences prefer action? Is it because British shows have shorter seasons, and therefore they can invest more resources into scripting and development? BBC’s amazing ‘Sherlock’ series, for instance, has a season that lasts only 3 episodes, while many TV shows here endure 23. Perhaps it’s because most of us only see the best the Brits have to offer, and we know too well how ‘dumbed down’ North American TV can get. Have you noticed how few British shows have fairy-tale Hollywood endings? How refreshing.

Whatever the reason, I recommend that you experience the great drama Brit-TV has to offer, if you haven’t already indulged. Here are just a few scintillating examples found on channels such as BBC Canada, BBC iPlayer (for iPad and iPhone), and PBS among others. Links are to DVD boxed-set editions that can be borrowed right here at Winnipeg Public Library!

The talented Benedict Cumberbatch as an adrenalin-addicted ‘Sherlock‘ and the affable Martin Freeman playing Dr. Watson as a wry-humoured straight man, together form a can’t-miss duo in an up-to-date version of Conan Doyle’s mystery series.

The actor Idris Elba is exceptional as a troubled, risk-taking London homicide detective in ‘Luther‘. Talk about struggling with one’s own demons, viewers will never be sure what to expect when Luther investigates a crime!

Great Expectations (2004) – Although the new 2011 version starring Gillian Anderson, currently broadcasting on PBS’ ‘Masterpiece Theatre’ in commemoration of Charles Dickens’ 200th anniversary, is absolutely riveting, try this excellent version for comparison. I think it holds up well.

The now-axed American version of ‘Prime Suspect’ was really good, but if you haven’t seen the original, you can’t miss with going back to view the gritty drama series starring the always-reliable Helen Mirren.

If you need more recommendations, there are many others to choose from: ‘Dalziel & Pascoe‘, of course ‘Doctor Who‘ if you don’t mind leaps in logic and time, ‘Life on Mars‘, ‘MI-5‘, ‘Torchwood‘, ‘Jekyll’, or an oldie-but-real goodie, ‘I Claudius‘. That last one will take you back a couple of thousand years!

What’s your favourite British TV drama?

–Lyle

100 Minutes with an Author

This spring, Winnipeg Public Library is pleased to present its series “100 Minutes with an Author” in partnership with the Writers’ Collective of Manitoba. Three local authors writing in various genres will be on hand to speak about their work.

Starting on Thursday, April 5^th, Ishbel Moore will focus on “Writing for Young Adults.” Her books appear in both children’s and young adult collections. Many include elements of time travel and fantasy, often paired with a Winnipeg or Manitoba setting for some of the story. In The Summer of the Hand, Shona journeys 400 years back in time to Scotland, where a murder is about to happen. Meanwhile, her family is planning a move to Winnipeg. Other titles by this author feature characters dealing with personal and family issues. In Daughter, Sylvie finds that her mother is beginning to act in strange ways, which turn out to be symptoms of Alzheimer’s Disease. More information about the author’s other works can be found on her website.

The following week, Bob Armstrong discusses “Writing Humour” on Thursday, April 12. After a number of Fringe plays—see his website for a complete list—he published his first novel last year. Dadolescence is a comical take on the stay-at-home dad; here Bill and his two pals in the ‘hood of the suburbs share a similar state of (un)employment. He is purportedly working on his thesis, but considers the other two in need of enlightenment about the aimlessness of their lives: one is mired in a never-ending cycle of home improvements, while the other is a compulsive exaggerator, shall we say, of his past accomplishments. Bill hatches a complicated plan to bring everything to a head, and turns out to be in for a dose of reality himself. This book continues the legacy of Red Green, where men are amusingly hapless and harmless, and tolerated by their long-suffering wives. Readers who enjoy Armstrong’s writing might also want to look at the blog linked to his website, containing interesting comments on reading and the writing life, among other things.

The series wraps up with “Doodles, Dog Walks & Drains: Desperately Seeking Inspiration” presented by Patti Grayson on Thursday, April 19. Her recent novel Autumn, One Spring injects humour into a story of relationships, when Autumn appears in town just as her sister is preparing for her wedding. Incidents in their past mean that the sisters are far from eager to reunite. Grayson’s earlier book, Core Samples, is a volume of short stories. The author brings a prairie voice to her snapshot on the character’s lives in these condensed narratives. Check out the website for further information about her.

So take advantage of the chance to hear these authors discuss the creative process and the writing life. All programs start at 7 p.m. and end at–well, it’s “100 Minutes with an Author.” You do the math…

–Brenda

Public Domain eBooks: now right at your doorstep!

Exciting news! We have a new addition to our eBooks offering at Winnipeg Public Libraries! We now are providing access to over 20,000+ free eBooks – that don’t count against your download limit, that are always available, and that you can never have fines on! Meet our new Public Domain Collection – books that were either published as Creative Commons books or have entered the public domain because their copyright has expired.

This collection is provided by Project Gutenberg, and is separate and distinct from the regular eBook collection. This means: 

• these books will not appear in regular searches from our catalogue – you must follow the link from our OverDrive site to a separate collection
• you do NOT need to sign in to download titles
• eBooks checked out in this way do not count against your checkout limit
• these titles have no licence limits, so are always available for download – perfect if you just want to read something right now!
• these titles do NOT expire like regular library books – perfect for if you are going on long holidays!
• you will still need Adobe Digital Editions or a mobile device with the OverDrive Media Console app installed in order to open eBooks 

As it is a free collection, you should be aware of the following:

• formatting may not be as ‘pretty’ as you are used to in purchased eBooks. It doesn’t mean your display is broken or there is something wrong with the file. Generally, this is most evident with Tables of Contents and images – the book text is usually fine.
• Most of the resources in the collection predate 1917, due to the way copyright law works in theUS. However, this means that there is a vast wealth of the classics in the collection – you can find books by Plato, Oscar Wilde, Charlotte Bronte, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Charles Dickens, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, and many many more.
• Searching and browsing in the interface is different from using our regular catalogue. 

For a great start to the books offered, check out the Top 100 downloads from Project Gutenberg – this page is updated daily with the previous day’s hot titles. Currently, thanks to the Disney release of John Carter, the works of Edgar Rice Burroughs are high on the list!

Finding/ Using the Collection 

This new collection is available from the left hand sidebar of the OverDrive site, with an image of books and the caption Additional eBooks. Always Available.

This will take you to the Public Domain section of the site, where you can browse by subject or search for specific titles.

Click on Download in order to access the eBook. You will still need a program in order to read the eBook. We strongly recommend Adobe Digital Editions.  You will be given the opportunity to either save or open their file. From this stage forward, getting the eBook to an eReader or other device is the same as with library books – you just skip the checkout step. If you have more questions about your device, a complete list of resources for each device is available at: http://www.overdrive.com/resources/drc/

You can also use the OverDrive app in order to get eBooks on mobile devices such as iPads, iPhones, Android phones, and some newer eReaders such as the Kobo Vox! The interface is a little different. In order to find the collection, go to Browse. ‘Browse Public Domain eBook Titles’ now appears at the bottom of the list.

Clicking on this link will bring you to an outside page with a different look and feel. Here, you can search or browse the books in much the same way as the website version.

When you find a book you want, simply click on download.  Again, the app will not ask for any credential or library information – this is a link to a permanent download of the file, with no checkout or return required.

 An icon with the file will open. You can now open the file and enjoy your book instantly and forever!

-Brianne