How To Start Your Own Book Discussion Group

Hi All,

So the fall is here and winter is slowly approaching. Now is a great time for readers and book-lovers alike to get ready for this foul weather by starting a book discussion group.

And while for many people reading can be a solitary endeavor, many other folks like to read and talk about the book with other people. Enter book discussion groups and you have the making of a beautiful relationship - reading books and talking about them in a collegial, adult, pleasant environment. What could be better than that?

A good book discussion group has the following characteristics:
1. A book that all members are willing to try to read.

2. The book - unless all members agree - probably should not be a huge, esoteric, difficult-to-read tome.

3. A good book discussion group usually - notice I said 'usually' - has a moderator. While this isn't always the case, I've found that free form book discussion groups tend to run off the topic of the book.

4. The moderator should have a few general questions to get the discussion started.

5. Finally - and readers would be wise not to underestimate this point - bringing food (coffee, tea, crumb cake, cookies, etc) will help increase attendance to a book discussion group.

Click on this link from ReadingGroupGuides.com - an interesting website that discusses 'How to Start a Book Discussion Group', 'Choosing What to Read for a Book Discussion Group' and more.
The site also has a blog and an interesting newsletter link.

Click on this link from the Amherst town Library - in New Hampshire - that has a veritable treasure trove of book discussion group links. Included in these links are sections' from Amazon.com Reading Group Guides, BookBrowse.com, a link to Reading Group Choices.com, and a link to SparkNotes (similar idea to Cliffs Notes - summaries of some of the worlds' great titles).

Click on this link for a great list of books to read so that you can get your book discussion group off to a great start. The titles are on book discussion groups' choices - your satisfaction and appreciation of the books in the list might vary....Also note that you can type in the phrase 'book discussion group title list' into Google and you'll find many, many different lists from different book discussion groups and the books that they feel are good for a discussion.

Finally, readers might want to visit this link from About.com entitled, 'How to Lead a Book Discussion Group'. Reading this article might give you insight on how to make a more interesting and educational book discussion group experience.

Enjoy the links and enjoy the books! Have a great time!
Stu

Questions, Questions, Questions...

Hi All,

Just a quick question about the blog...I've been publishing this using Google's product called 'Blogger'.

There are other blog software tools available on the web and I was thinking - and I emphasize the ''thinking' part - of migrating to another platform.

Does anybody have any thoughts on the matter? Does anybody care?

FYI, I was thinking of moving to Wordpress - a good website and blog tool...click here for the link to Wordpress.com

Thoughts, comments, etc can be emailed to me at mailto:fdaleref@nassaulibrary.org

Thanks in advance,

Stu

I is For....

Hi All,

Just another blog post in the series of 'A is for...B is for...' that I started a few months ago...

I is For...

IBM - internationally known computer and computer consulting/services firm

Ipod - Apple's great music invention from mid-1990's! The gadget that spawned a revolution.

Ipad - one of the great digital devices - sexy and practical and usable!

Ikea - Swedish furniture that can be bought online or in showrooms. There is a store on Route 107 in Hicksville - and the Swedish meatballs are really, really good. Trust me.
IMDB - Internet Movie Database - great site for info on past and current movies (actors and actresses, movie plots and more)

Iphone 4s - Apple says it is the best Iphone yet - go and check it out for yourself!

I Heart Radio.com - listen to radio online for free!

IJJI - free online gaming site

Enjoy the site and the games!
Stu

Famous People Who Died Before They Should Have..

Hi All,

This gray, rainy day got me thinking about 'the end'. Yes, I mean, death. Now, that is a dreary topic, so I wanted to give the topic a slant. At least make the topic interesting to my readers as I thought about what to write about today...

So I remembered that one of the best read blog posts I ever did was about celebrities and how much they earned in the prior year...so I got to thinking about famous people and those who died too young.

Forthwith a bunch of websites and links dedicated to folks who died to young.

Click on this link from BleacherReport - entitled 'A Tribue to All the Athletes Who Died Young'.

Believe it or not, there is a blog out on Blogger entitled, 'They Died Too Soon' - click here for the link. Some of the more famous folks mentioned on the site include Chris Farley, Bernie Mac, Heath Ledger, James Dean, John Belushi and Jimi Hendrix...

Finally, you might want to click on this site - click here - from LastFM.com. The link is for a list of Famous Musicians Who Died Too Young (Dead Before Their Time). There is a birth date and a death date for each musician along with a brief 1 or two paragraph summary of the artists' life and death. Interesting stuff.

Now I'm going to mention a library databases to help readers learn more about a particular person who died too early. Click here for a link to the database called 'Biography in Context'. Note that you'll need to enter your library card number to access this biography database.

Biography in Context is a very, very comprehensive biography database that is well suited for college students, adults and other users who want to find out more about famous - and some not so famous - people. Good stuff - and it is free. 'nuff said.

Enjoy the links.
Stu

Pumpkin Picking on Long Island

Hi All,

Halloween is right around the corner so start picking those pumpkins and getting out those scary costumes.

Where to go pumpkin picking? I've got the answer! Click on this link for some local pumpkin patches to find a great Jack' o lantern! FYI, Kioli is an acronym for 'Keep It On Long Island'. Get it....K for Keep, I for It, O for On, LI for Long Island...cute, eh?

Click on this link for a great recipe for pumpkin pie.

Click here for a link to the the dvd of 'It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown' in the library card catalog. Click on this link for the book, 'It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown'.

Click on this link from the CDC that discusses Halloween Trick or Treat safety - keep those kids safe!!!

Click on this link for all materials (books, dvd's, etc) in the Farmingdale Public Library card catalog that have 'Halloween' in the title. Note that the search is sorted by year - the newest materials are first in the list, the oldest materials are at the end of the list.

If you click on this link, you'll get a bunch of very intricate and fun to carve pumpkin patterns! Neat!

Finally, click on this link that will help you pick the best pumpkin possible when you are at the pumpkin patch.

Enjoy the day and don't get too scared!

Stu

Fall Fishing For Fun

Hi All,

Fall isn't normally the time that folks think of fishing...well, it is. Big time! Click here for a link from the New York Post for an article entitled 'Autumn Fishing is in Full Bloom'. Note that the article is darn recent - from September 23 of this year. The article talks about bass and porgies as being the fish of the season! Bring it on!

Here is another link from a site called Bassresource.com - the entry is called 'Fall Fishing Tactics' and is very comprehensive. Specifically the articles discusses bass fishing.

Finally, click on this link from Bigfishtackle.com for another article called 'Autumn Gold' - of the three sites that I linked to in this blog entry, this third one is the most comprehensive and contains the most information. It is also well written and interesting - even to a non-fisherman.

If you want to have some fun and socialize, you might want to go on a party boat and do your fishing among friends. Click on this link to charter boats at Captree State Park - note that you'll have to scroll down a ways on the page to actually get to the Captree links.

Finally, click on this link for ideas on how to cook fish - link is from Allrecipes.com. Also, click on this entry for seafood recipes - general - from Allrecipes.com.

Enjoy the links and the fish recipes - okay, okay...click on this link that discusses the health aspects of fish.

Regards,
Stu

Oh, and thanks to Laura Lorusso for planting the seed of this blog entry topic...kudos to you!

C is For Carrots

Hi All,

In keeping with the uber successful fruit and vegetable entries' that I've started to post -last one was on October 5th and I talked about blueberries.

Today I'd like to talk about carrots - you know, the food that Bugs Bunny eats and the ones that we dig up from the ground in our garden...

Click here for the Wikipedia link to carrots - again, as in many cases, the entry is comprehensive and very thorough. For example the entry has sections on carrot history, nutrition, how to cultivate them (grow them), how to store them and a section for external web based links for carrots.

Click on this link from WHFoods.com - the 'WH' stands for World's Healthiest Foods - which explains why carrots are so healthy. Entry is easily read and digestible! Another interesting link is from HowStuffWorks.com - it also includes a handy-dandy table of the various nutritional values of fresh and cooked carrot. Yum!

And for another article on the health benefits of carrots, click on this link from Besthhealthnewsonline.com (long title, eh?). The pictures themselves are worth a visit to the site!

Click on this link from Youtube to see a whole bunch of Bugs Bunny cartoons - which, of course - have carrots in the video! And click on this link for a bunch of pictures of scrumptious, delicious, mouth wateringly tempting carrots. Pix come from Google Images - don't miss it!


Click on these links for various carrot recipes -including carrot cake
Allrecipes.com - link is to the first page on the site where I did a basic search for carrots. Click on this link for a well received recipe for carrot cake - a perfect desert for the upcoming Thanksgiving dinner!

And finally, click on this link from the FoodNetwork.com for general carrot recipes - there are all sorts of desert recipes, side dish recipes and more! Yum!!!

Enjoy the carrots and have one for good ol' Bugs Bunny - he'd thank you for it!
Regards,
Stu

Crop Circles: What the Heck Are They?

Hi All,

Crop circles. What are they? How are they made? And, even more importantly, who makes them? These are some of the interesting questions that I'd like to address in this blog entry.

Click on this link from Wikipedia to find out about Crop circles. Interesting article and very comprehensive summary of the crop circles. As the Wikipedia article explains, 'crop circles are sizable patterns created by the flattening of a crop such as wheat, barley, rye, maize or rapeseed. they are also known as crop formation because they are not always circular in shape.'

An interesting section in the Wikipedia entry is the section entitled 'Paranormal'. Click here for the link to the paranormal aspects of crop circles.

Click here for a link to a Google Images search for 'crop circles'.

The pictures of the various crop circle designs are very interesting and neat and symmetrical and well, just plain cool.

Click here for a link that purports to explain the history of crop circles...it seems like they are not designed by ET's. Hmmmm.

Click on this link for the Crop Circle Connector - which has links to various galleries, videos, bibliographies, conferences and even a link to the 'state of the art'. Neat stuff.

Click on this link to a History Channel video from the show UFO Hunters - Crop Circles.

You can also click on this link to the library card catalog to see what we own on the topic of crop circles - most of the material is in the beginning of the collection in and around the 001.94 area...

Enjoy the crop circles and the websites and don't forget the books!
Regards,
Stu

do we have books on crop circles?

Gently Used Children's Clothing

Hi All,

I was recently introduced to stores that sell gently used children's clothing. At the time I had no idea that the trip to the store would result in a blog entry...but her we are!

Click on this link to About.com's site entitled 'Long Island Thrift Shops'. Shops on the page included Island Thrift in Brentwood, Selden Thrift in Selden, Junior League of Long Island Thrift Shop in Roslyn, Twin Pines Consumer Association Thrift Shop in Port Washington, Unique Thrift Store in Westbury and Unique Thrift Store in Levittown. Along with contact information there is a brief summary for each store which is pretty helpful.

The next link is the store that started this whole children's clothing thing...I went there a few days ago - the stores' name is Once Upon a Child - click here for the link. Their tagline is 'we buy and sell gently used clothes, toys & equipment'. Fair enough and, since I've been to the store, it is certainly accurate enough. I saw rows and rows of clothing ranging from newborns to toddlers to 4T's. And, as advertised, the clothes and toys and accessories were gently used. For real - so there was NO misadvertising.

Now, as I drive to the library every morning, I see a store on Merrick Road in Seaford called Fun Stuff Toys. I haven't been in the store yet, but I plan on making it a road trip with the family very, very soon. So, as the FSToys site says, they 'specialize in kids' toys - infant, preschool and kids of all ages'. Fair enough, but the store really can't be considered to be a thrift shop type retailer.

That being said, the store might be a good alternative to a Toys r Us or a Wal-Mart or a K-Mart...

To round out this blog entry, I found a link to a site called CitiDex Long Island. Essentially this is a 'Yellow Pages' wanna be for the internet. Even the sites' background color is yellow - similar to the Yellow Pages. Anyway, click on this link to CitiDex Long Island - the topic of the link is Children's Clothing on Long Island.

In particular there is a link to 'Used Children's Clothing'. There are three links - Cows Harbor Kids Consignment in Northport, GiGi's Kids in Hampton Bays and Little Angels Thrift Shop in Bay Shore. Click here for the link to the Used Children's Clothing site on CitiDex.

Enjoy the links - and I hope your shopping ventures prove to be fruitful, cost effective and fun!
Regards,
Stu

200 Is a Really, Really Big Number!

Hi All,

Well, I've been thinking about this entry for a long, long time. Why? This is my 200th blog entry! Wow - that's a lot of entries and time spent on the blog.

I don't really know if I should have a cake, have a party, ignore the entry or do something else.

Alas, I'll probably just mention this anniversary entry and move right along...

Last time I discussed 'H is For...'. We're up to 'I' now...forthwith...I is for...

iphone 5 - all things Iphone from Apple - again...

Ikea - website of Swedish furniture and design maker. They have a store in Hicksville on Route 107!!

IMDB - Internet Movie Database - great source for information about movies, actors, actresses and 'things related to Hollywood'

Ipad - all things Ipad from this part of the Apple homepage

IRS - get tax forms, tax booklets and tax information on this major tax portal from the IRS

Italian to English - translate from Italian to English via Yahoo'! Babelfish

Enjoy the sites,
Stu

B is For Blueberries

Hi All,

A little bit of housekeeping is in order before I get to the meat of the blog post. Did you know that this is our 199th blog post? Betcha didn't know that.

Well, I'm going to tell you! Because I am darn proud of having a reference blog that has lasted over 199 posts. If each blog post takes roughly 10 minutes to generate (and I'm doing some very rough calculations here!) thath means that I've spent roughly 1900 minutes writing for the blog.

Which is the equivalent of over 30 hours - which is more than one whole day writing various entries for this blog. I hope you've enjoyed it - I certainly have. Evidently I have a hankering, or a yen, or a passion for writing. Again, I hope this comes across in each and every blog post.

Finally, I think that this is the single longest continuously written reference department blog in the country right now...how is that for good stuff?

Click on this link to see other reference department blogs from around the United States.

***********************************

Now, onto today's post

Some readers might remember that I started writing a series of blog entries a few weeks ago about fruit and vegetables.

We are up to the letter 'B' in that series and I'd like to write about one of the two great fruits that begin with the letter 'B'. Today, I'd like to talk about blueberries. When I finish with the whole alphabet of fruit - probably some time in the far future - I'll come back and talk about that other great fruit that begins with the letter 'b' - bananas. So for now, we'll talk about blueberries!!!


Introduction to Blueberries - Lots of Links
Click on this link to go to the Wikipedia entry on blueberries - there are subsections on the various species of blueberries, growing areas (especially in the United States), uses of blueberries, and importantly, the research on the potential antidisease effects of blueberries

Okay, now that that is out of the way, click here for three good, understandable links that talk about the health aspects of blueberries.

The first link is from About.com; the second link is from the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council. Simply put, blueberries are filled with vitamin C, have a huge amount of dietary fiber and are a great source of manganese; and the third link is from Women's Fitness.com (entitled 'Top 10 Health Benefits of Blueberries').

We all - at least now we do - know that blueberries are healthy. And the taste of a fresh blueberry is amazing. Click on this link from Blueberry-Recipe.com - which has links to blueberry cobbler recipes, blueberry cheesecake, and more. Yum!!!

Click on this link - from AllRecipes.com - for even more blueberry recipes - omg, I'm getting hungry! Finally, click on this link from the FoodNetwork.com to get even more blueberry recipes!

Finally, long time readers probably will realize that I've done something very different with todays' blog entry: I've added pictures! Woohoo! Someone at the library showed me how to add them this afternoon and voila - here they are!

Enjoy the pictures and the recipes and the blueberry information.

Regards,
Stu

Garage Sales

Hi All,

I've been introduced to the wonderful world of garage sales...wow. That is such cool stuff.

Click here for a link to garage sales on Long Island - link is from LongIsland.com - which I've mentioned before on the blog.

Click on this second link - from Long Islandsuperads.com for even more garage/yard sales classifieds on Long Island. Neat stuff - it gives you a bit about the sale (what is included, date, time and location).

Okay, so now that I've whetted your appetite for these little encounters with stuff you might need - what else should garage sales perusers know about them?

Recognize that almost all the prices are negotiable - click here to find out how to negotiate prices - link is from Bestgaragesaletips.com - pretty cool and helpful!

Carefully look at the item you are thinking of buy - check condition, does it have all parts? Is the item dented, scratched, worn, used? If so, these are all good points to make when negotiating the price.

Sometimes you can get a whole bunch of items for one price - kind of like a potpourri of merchandise - but at a really great price.

Finally, if you are thinking of hosting a garage sale or a yard sale, click on this link from Ehow.com. The link is pretty comprehensive and thorough!

Good luck in your travels - hope you find what you are looking for!
Stu