February 23, 2016

News & Updates
I'm happy to announce that last week, because of the contributions from every faculty department in the school, the LRC was able to donate 1,500+ books to Books4Cause in Skokie, IL. This organization gathers lightly-used books to create and develop libraries and education programs in rural regions of Africa. 

If you'd like to donate any of your books to this organization, Books4Cause will come to your house, box your books, and ship them for you. Or, you can drop them off yourselves at their warehouse in Skokie. Visit their website here.
YouTube Pick of the Week

"WOOOOO those nails!"

Books

Challenger Deep (2015) by Neal Shusterman

Location: FIC Shusterman
Availability: click  here

National Book Award Winner, 2015
Mr. Apo "Best Book I've Read All Year" Award, 2016

A captivating novel about mental illness that lingers long beyond the last page, Challenger Deep is a heartfelt tour de force by New York Times bestselling author Neal Shusterman.

Caden Bosch is on a ship that's headed for the deepest point on Earth: Challenger Deep, the southern part of the Marianas Trench.

Caden Bosch is a brilliant high school student whose friends are starting to notice his odd behavior.

Caden Bosch is designated the ship's artist in residence to document the journey with images.

Caden Bosch pretends to join the school track team but spends his days walking for miles, absorbed by the thoughts in his head.

Caden Bosch is split between his allegiance to the captain and the allure of mutiny.

Caden Bosch is torn.

Laurie Halse Anderson, award-winning author of Speak, calls Challenger Deep "a brilliant journey across the dark sea of the mind; frightening, sensitive, and powerful. Simply extraordinary."

more details on Challenger Deep...


Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe (2011) by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

Call Number: FIC Saenz
Availability: click here
 
This Printz Honor Book is a "tender, honest exploration of identity" (Publishers Weekly) that distills lyrical truths about family and friendship.

Aristotle is an angry teen with a brother in prison. Dante is a know-it-all who has an unusual way of looking at the world. When the two meet at the swimming pool, they seem to have nothing in common. But as the loners start spending time together, they discover that they share a special friendship-the kind that changes lives and lasts a lifetime. And it is through this friendship that Ari and Dante will learn the most important truths about themselves and the kind of people they want to be.  -- Goodreads



The Martian (2011) by  Andy Weir
 
Call Number:  FIC Weir
Availability: click  here

A New York Times Notable Book
A Time Magazine "Best Comix of the Year"
A San Francisco Chronicle and Los Angeles Times Best-seller

Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. Now, he's sure he'll be the first person to die there.

After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate the planet while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded on Mars' surface, completely alone, with no way to signal Earth that he's alive - and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone years before a rescue could arrive.

Chances are, though, he won't have time to starve to death. The damaged machinery, unforgiving environment or plain-old "human error" are much more likely to kill him first. But Mark's not ready to quit. Armed with nothing but his ingenuity and his engineering skills - and a gallows sense of humor that proves to be his greatest source of strength - he embarks on a dogged quest to stay alive, using his botany expertise to grow food and even hatching a mad plan to contact NASA back on Earth.

As he overcomes one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after the next, Mark begins to let himself believe he might make it off the planet alive - but Mars has plenty of surprises in store for him yet.

Grounded in real, present-day science from the first page to the last, yet propelled by a brilliantly ingenious plot that surprises the reader again and again, The Martian is a truly remarkable thriller: an impossible-to-put-down suspense novel that manages to read like a real-life survival tale.  -- Goodreads

more details on The Martian...

Tech Corner

Evernote Web Clipper

You've probably heard of Evernote--the app to manage, well, your entire life. It allows you to write notes, archive, and organize all of your information. I've never been able to work it into my life, to be honest.

The Evernote Web Clipper is, however, worth your attention. Billing itself as "the save button for the web," Evernote Web Clipper allows you to bookmark websites to your online Evernote account and file those websites into folders or "notebooks" of your choosing. This means you can access your bookmarks from any device--computer, smart phone, or tablet. Also, the bookmarks are not restricted to websites, you can clip articles and screenshots. This has brought so much organization to my web life. The web clipper is most useful as an extension on your browser.

I've used Web Clipper for creating study guides, sharing lists of resources with students, and preserving articles I want to read later. To see how it works, watch the video below:


Download Evernote Web Clipper here...
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