Star Gazing

The release of the new Star Trek movie (starring Pittsburgh native Zachary Quinto) is hopefully encouraging people to look to the stars. Not the movie stars, but the ones you can observe on a clear night from your own backyard. In the various TV series and movies, the crew of the USS Enterprise explores planets in distant and uncharted solar systems. While the average Earthling may not have the opportunity to try this (at least not yet), we can step outside on a clear night and observe our own constellations, planets and galaxy.

The library just happens to have some new books to help you boldly look where you may not have looked before:

The Backyard Astronomer's Guide by Terence Dickinson & Alan Dyer (522 DIC) - This newest edition includes the latest data and answers questions most often asked by home astronomers, from beginners to experienced stargazers. The authors offer expert guidance on equipment, star charts, software, even how to photograph the stars. They also cover everything from daytime and twilight observing to deep-sky observing. Containing over 500 color photographs and illustrations in a user-friendly format, this is the book to read.

Stars & Planets by Ian Ridpath & Will Tirion (520 RID) - Provides detailed charts covering each of the 88 constellations in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres; data and notes on all bright stars and other objects of interest; and tips on choosing and using binoculars and telescopes, to suit any budget. This is also the only guide to provide annual planetary data as a downloadable web resource.


So, while you are standing under the stars on a clear night, remember to gaze toward the sky and contemplate this sage and logical advice... "Live Long and Prosper!"

Happy Gazing!

Some Non-Fiction Tales

Libraries love books! Big surprise, right? We especially delight in providing you with non-fiction titles. Books about stuff... real stuff... the economy, world events or conditions, cooking, caring, and even coping.

Non-fiction books can help young readers pick a career or select a college. They can teach anyone to do any variety of things from how to decorate to how to build something to how to use the internet. Some books can even advise you on the best ways to spend your money, or more importantly how not to spend your money. They take readers on tours of foreign countries; and allow them access into the lives of other people such as Bonnie and Clyde, Cornelius Vanderbilt, and Abigail and John Adams.

So, while fiction is often (and will probably always be) the favored section for many readers, take a walk on the wild side and try a non-fiction title! Maybe you can even solve the mystery of who stole the Mona Lisa in 1911.

Here are some new non-fiction additions:

• Internet Simplified by Paul McFedries (004.678 MCF)
• Blogging for Dummies by Susannah Gardner & Shane Birley (006.7 GAR)
  
• Mindset : the new psychology of success by Carol S. Dweck (153.8 DWE)
  
• Don't Sleep, There are Snakes by Daniel Everett (305.8989 EVE)
• The 21st Century Economy : a beginner's guide by Randy Charles Epping (330.9 EPP)
• 150 Best Recession-Proof Jobs (331.702 ONE)
  
• Gimme My Money Back by Ali Velshi (332.024 VEL)
• Lords of Finance by Liaquat Ahamed (332.1092 AHA)
• Eco Barons by Edward Humes (333.72 HUM)
  
• Go Down Together : the true, untold story of Bonnie and Clyde by Jeff Guinn (364.1552 GUI)
• Why Kids Kill by Peter Langman (371.782 LAN)
  
• Columbine by David Cullen (373.7888 CUL)
• Colleges That Change Lives by Loren Pope (378.73 POP)
  
• Just in case by Kathy Harrison (613.6 HAR)
• Diabetes Diet Cookbook (641.5631 DIA)
  
• The Homeowner's Guide to Managing a Renovation by Susan Solakian (643.7 SOL)
• Drywall : professional techniques for great results by Myron R. Ferguson (693.6 FER)
• Vanished Smile : the mysterious theft of Mona Lisa by R.A. Scotti (759.5 SCO)
  
• Ballistics : poems by Billy Collins (811.54 COL)
• Special Orders : poems by Edward Hirsch (811.54 HIR)
  
• What On Earth Have I Done? by Robert Fulghum (814.54 FUL)
• Abigail & John : portrait of a marriage by Edith B. Gelles (92 ADAMS)
  
• The Elfish Gene by Mark Barrowcliffe (92 BARROWCLIFFE)
• The First Tycoon : the epic life of Cornelius Vanderbilt by T.J. Stiles (92 VANDERBILT)
  
• Leaving India by Minal Hajratwala (920 HAJ)
• With Wings Like Eagles by Michael Korda (940.5421 KOR)

Happy Reading