New at Hackley Public Library
News and goings on at Hackley Public Library in Muskegon MI. See what new books have come in, which new sites have been added to the web page, and what is going on at the Library.










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Thursday, July 16, 2009
 

Book Reviews from Master The Art of Reading participants

The Agony and the Agony by Betty Londergan: As a grandparent of 4 teens, I thought this book was very helpful in explaining the process of teen's needing to separate from parents in order to mature. It is written with humor and insight. It's reassuring and comforting. However, not too many "nuts and bolts" advice on specific extreme behavior problems.

A Lion among men by Gregory Maguire: Book 3 in the Wicked series. This book was a great conclusion to this series. Dorothy went back to Kansas, and the Wicked Witch was still dead, but he left enough room for the imagination about what happened to the other characters.

Son of a Witch by Gregory Maguire: They were very good, if you like fairy tales.

Encyclopedia of 300 crochet patterns, stitches, and designs by Phyllis Mayfield: Really interesting. There were a few patterns that sounded and looked like they would be fun to try.

Fiddlers by Ed McBain: Another good crime mystery. Good characters, good plot.

100 ways to simplify your life by Joyce Meyer: Very interesting. It gets you thinking. I liked the fact that I could pick it up and read a couple of pages for a new way to make life simpler. I have three kids and I run a daycare out of my home so sometimes I only have a few minutes at a time to read.

Year of Secret Assignments by Jaclyn Moriarity: Probably one of my favorite books ever. Entertaining and hard to put down once you start reading.

Create your own Japanese Garden by Motomi Oguchi: An expert treatise on Japanese Garden design theory. So much so the garden style is beyond my management skills. Beautiful designs and thorough instructions on the weaving of bamboo fences.

River Road by Karen Osborn: This book is so absorbing I couldn't put it down. The various complicated levels of grief and reaction to tragedy are presented through the perspectives of father, brother, girlfriend, and to a lesser degree, the mother. A very good read.


1:46:32 PM    

Legistalker Keeps an Eye on Elected Officials [Tracking] .


Consider yourself a conscientious voter? Legistalker makes it easy to keep an eye on the officials you voted in and see if you voted for hope, change, or a solid dose of the status quo.

Legistalker combs a variety of news, social networking, and government sites to pool information about members of the U.S. Congress. Searching for a Senator or Representative will return mentions of that individual in the media, Twitter updates, YouTube videos, Capitol Words—a nifty weighted cloud of the words they've used in interviews and floor speeches—and their voting record which includes what they've introduced and votes yes or no on.

If you're tracking multiple people, say all the Senators and Representatives from your state, you can add them to your Watch List and from there in you'll be able to keep an eye on all the updates from all the people on your Watch List in one location. Currently you need to visit the site itself to access your Watch List, hopefully a future feature will be a personalized RSS feed. Legistalker is free and requires no signup.



[Lifehacker]
1:16:20 PM    


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Last update: 8/3/2009; 10:36:07 AM.
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