Albert Lea Public Library

Conspiracy Theories & Secret Societies

Interested in secret societies and conspiracy theories?

• Angels and Demons and The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown (or anything else by this author)
• The Last Templar by Raymond Khory
• The Templar Legacy by Steve Berry
• The Last Oracle by James Rollins

Nonfiction about conspiracy:

• Secrets of the Tomb: Skull and Bones, the Ivy League and the Hidden Paths of Power by Alexandra Robbins (366 Rob)
• Secret Societies and How They Affect Our Lives by Sylvia Browne (366 Bro)
• The Secret History of the World as Laid Down by the Secret Societies by Mark Booth (909 Boo)
• Dan Burstein's Secrets of Angels, Demons and Masons (DVD / 366 Sec)

You might also enjoy:

• Codes, Ciphers and Other Cryptic and Clandestine Communication: Making and Breaking Secret Messages from Hieroglyphs to the Internet (652 Wri)

New DVDs

Here are some of the new DVDs we have at the Library.  Apart from these titles, we also have a large selection of Children's, Fiction and Non-fiction DVDs.

*Follow that Bird-  G
Happily N'ever After 2- G
*New in Town- PG   
*Confessions of a Shopaholic- PG   
*Grey Garden-  PG
*Pink Panther 2-  PG
*Coraline-  PG
Million Dollar Mutts-  PG  
Inkheart-  PG
Push-  PG-13  
Haunting in Connecticut-  PG-13
Unborn-  PG-13
12 Rounds-  PG-13
Fanboys-  PG-13
Knowing-  PG-13
*Taken-  PG-13
He's Just Not that Into You-  PG-13
*Defiance-  R
*Revolutionary Road-  R
*Gran Torino-  R
International-  R
*Valkyrie-  R
Watchmen-  R

*Bloggers Faves- April, Cindy and Michelle thought these were worth watching!

Summer Reading Extended

Great news for those of you who still have to complete the Summer Reading Program...  We have extended the end date to Saturday, August 1st.  You will still be able to read and record books for another week!  Get to reading, we still have many prizes left.

Great New Nonfiction!

Titles recently added to our nonfiction collection are:

• Cupcakes by Martha Stewart
• Waiter Rant: Thanks for the Tip - Confessions of a Cynical Waiter by Steve Dublinaca
• New Acrylics Essential Sourcebook by Reni Tauchid
• Don't Dump the Dog: Outrageous Stories and Simple Solutions to Your Worst Dog Behavior Problems by Randy Grim
• The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook, A Tale of Sex, Money, Genius and Betrayal by Ben Mizrich
• The Looting of America: How Wall Street's Game of Fantasy Finance Destroyed Our Jobs, Pensions, and Prosperity and What We Can Do About It by Les Leopold
• Composting: An Easy Household Guide by Nicky Scott
• The Leader's Way: The Art of Making the Right Decisions in Our Careers, Our Companies, and the World at Large by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Laurens van den Muyzenberg

Our new nonfiction titles are located in the first row of bookshelves which face the adult public access computers. New titles may be checked out for 14 days. The Information Library is located on the 2nd floor across from the Children's Library.

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan is a great adventure story that will keep kids (and kids at heart) reading past their bedtimes.

Percy Jackson finds out he's the son of a Greek god. But just because he's the son of a god doesn't mean that he's lucky. It actually explains a LOT of the weird, horrible and downright bizzare happenings in his life. But for Percy to survive he's going to have to go on a quest. You'll be on the edge of your seat until the end. And lucky for you, there's four more books in the series.

This book is so much fun and it's even going to be made into a movie to be released in 2010.

If you like The Lightning Thief, you might also like:

• The Alchemyst by Michael Scott
• Gregor the Overlander series by Suzanne Collins
• Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
• The Sea of Trolls by Nancy Farmer
• The Warrriors series by Erin Hunter

Local Food, Local Restaurants, Local Recipes

  "Eat locally grown food because it is fresh, because it is healthy, because you care about supporting a sustainable, healthy countryside and because you want small farms to continue to be viable. Good food is locally grown food.  Many of Minnesota's finest restaurants use locally grown produce and meats. The Minnesota Homegrown Cookbook, with a foreword by Garrison Keillor, celebrates the best of our state with 100 local recipes from 38 local chefs and restaurants, cafes, and bed & breakfasts using incredibly fresh ingredients from regional farmers, markets and organic producers."  From The Minnesota Homegrown Cookbook. 

Frank McCourt, Dies at 78

Frank McCourt, award-winning author of Angela's Ashes, an Irish "epic of woe", died Sunday of meningeal complications and skin cancer.

Walter Cronkite, dead at 92

Former CBS anchor, Walter Cronkite, called "the most trusted voice in America",  died on Friday, July 17.   His resonant baritone voice not only brought news to millions but also narrated and hosted many projects.  The Albert Lea Public Library has four DVDs in which he participated:   "The Presidents: the lives and legacies of the 43 leaders of the United States",   "Proud to Serve: the women and men of the United States  Army",  "Avoiding Armageddon: our future and our choice", and  "World War II".

Last Week to Get in on the Fun!

This is the last week for children's programming and the summer reading program.

Storytime-Monday, Tuesday and Thursday at 10:30 a.m. 
Join Patty to hear stories, sing songs, do a craft and have a snack. 
Families are welcome.
L.A.F. (Library Afternoon Fun)- Tuesday at 3:00 p.m. 
April and the kids will be making sand art creations.  We will also play some fun games.  
Kids K-5th grade.
Art Zones Studio- Wednesday @ 10:30 a.m. 
Children of all ages are encouraged to come and explore their artistic side.
Movie Day- Wednesday @ 3:00 p.m. 
All ages welcome- popcorn provided.
Summer Celebration-  Thursday @ 3 p.m.
Bring something with to tye-dye. 
Night-time Storytime- Thursday @ 6:30 p.m.
Same fun- just later.
Summer Reading Program- Ends Saturday, July 25th.  Be sure to have all of you books logged in before then.  Prizes may be picked up until August 8th.

Thanks to everyone for a great job on the Summer Reading program and for all the involvement in our programs. 
Enjoy the rest of summer and we'll see you at the Library!!

Do the Dewey!

The Information Library is home to all of the nonfiction books and materials. And, unlike the Fiction Library, materials here are not categorized by Genre (mystery, western, romance) but by subject. Each subject has a call number in the Dewey Decimal system.

So, say you wanted to just browse for a cookbook. Well, the 641s would be the place to look. But what about leather-tanning? You would look in the 675s. But of course the average person does not have the dewey decimal system memorized - most people might just have one or two favorite sections to browse in and that's it. Don't feel bad. If you are looking for something in the nonfiction section don't be afraid to ask. It can feel overwhelming until you have some practice.

A general breakdown of the Dewey Decimal System just to help you get an idea:

000          GENERALITIES

100          PHILOSOPHY            

200          RELIGION

300          SOCIAL SCIENCES

400          LANGUAGES

500          SCIENCE AND MATH

600          PEOPLE USING SCIENCE and TECHNOLOGY

700          ARTS and RECREATION

800          LITERATURE

900          GEOGRAPHY AND HISTORY

 

Jennifer Johnson is Sick of Being Single by Heather McElhatton

Jennifer Johnson is Sick of Being Single is laugh-out-loud funny. Author Heather McElhatton has a great voice and tells the story with dark humor and sharp wit that will have you crying as you laugh. Character Jennifer Johnson is a bit like Bridget Jones but lives in Minnesota and is a financially unstable copywriter. Follow her through her adventures - you're guaranteed a quick, enjoyable read!

NON-FICTION BOOK CLUB TO MEET

The Non-Fiction Book Club will meet on Tuesday, July 21 at 7:00 p.m. in the Information Library Computer Lab.  Join the group, led by Library Director, Peggy Havener, as they discuss this month's selection, Into Thin Air: a personal account of the Mount Everest disaster  by Jon Krakauer.

Need some new authors?

Trying to find a new author? Chat up the staff at the Albert Lea Public Library. We love to read and will be happy to make recommendations for a new author when you're stuck and need to find somebody new to read. Someone on staff is sure to read the genre you enjoy and will be able to offer some authors you haven't tried yet.

Yoga Journal

Yoga Journal offers great articles and information on yoga practices, poses and more. Each month also features a mantra and its interpretation. Such as:

The Invoation for Joy & Harmony: "Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu" (Low-kaah Suh-muh-staah Soo-khee-no Bhuh-vuhn-tu) May everyone everyone be happy, may the whole world be joyous

Yoga students will also find the well-chosen pictures helpful in demonstrating the correct posture of poses.

Other healthy living magazines:

• Cooking Light
• Health
• Natural Health
• Shape
• Self
• Runner's World

Yoga books are in the 613s in the Information Library.

Looking for a Telephone Number?

If you're trying to find a person or a business address or phone number, the first place to look is the telephone directory.  But, what if they live in a different state?   Try checking www.TheUltimates.com. They have complied 25 on-line directories to help you in your search so you don't have to visit more than one site.  You can also do a reverse search to find out whose number it is by their address or phone number.