Where The BFF?

 Inspired by the realization that he had no black friends as he celebrated President Obama's historic victory in 2008, author Tanner Colby (Belushi: A Biography, The Chris Farley Show: A Biography in Three Acts) set out to learn the history of integration in the United States. The result is this often humorous, fascinating book that examines the long and short term effects of  the civil rights legislation of the 1960s which legally ended American apartheid. The book focuses on four main areas: education, real estate, employment, and religion. An important read.

Treats From India

It seems that everything these days is coming up India. We see Bollywood musicals, we eat at Indian cafes, we argue with Indian call-centers about our credit card bills, but most particularly we read Indian authors. Like Indian food; these books are often scrumptious. Here are some examples:

The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy

The Ground Beneath Her Feet by Salman Rushdie

The Guide by R. K. Narayan

The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai

The Namesake by Jumpa Lahiri

Secret Daughter by Shilpi Somaya Gowda

The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga

This is just a very small sample. Search under the subject heading “India fiction” @ www.wccls.org for a more complete listing of all that is available

Holiday Reading

For our patrons who celebrate things other than Christmas this time of year, here are a few titles that might be of interest to you:

Eight Tales for Eight Nights: stories for Chanukah by Peninnah Schram offers eight traditional tales from around the world that introduce the customs and meanings of Chanukah.


Andrea Carneiro's Jewish Cooking Boot Camp: the modern girl's guide to cooking like a Jewish grandmother, includes over 50 easy-to-follow recipes for such classic dishes as Honey Cake, Rugelach, and Matzo Balls, background on Jewish holidays putting food and tradition into context, interviews with rabbis about creating modern traditions, and tips from Jewish bartenders and party planners.


Inviting God: celebrating the soul meaning of the Jewish holidays, by David Aaron, provides insight into the reasons why we celebrate.

Kwanzaa from holiday to everyday: a complete guide for making Kwanzaa a part of your life, by Maitefa Angaza is a guide to how Kwanzaa, a winter celebration of family, friends, and the African American community, can be part of life all year round. It provides information on the seven principles and offers ideas for planning Kwanzaa gatherings.

Eric Copage's, Kwanzaa: An African-American Celebration of Culture and Cooking, is a complete guide to the history and foods of Kwanzaa. In addition to 125 recipes, it also includes folktales that illustrate each of the seven principles of the celebration.

Happy holidays, and happy reading!

Where can I find books on relationships?

Relationships are complicated--so finding books on the subject are in many areas!
Relationship books -- Areas to look

100s
Western guide to feng shui for romance 133.3337 COL
Nonviolent communication 153.6 ROS
How to change anybody: proven techniques to reshape 153.85 LIE
Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking 153.6
Women Who Love Too Much 155.633 NOR
How to be an adult in relationships 158 RIC
What your mother couldn't tell you & your father didn't know 158.2 GRA
Boundaries : where you end and I begin 158.2 KAT
Conscious Living: finding joy in the real world 158.1 HEN

Kickin' it old school

Okay, I admit it. I am a proud product of the 70's and 80's. I came of age during the John Hughes era. So when I saw this little tome and read the description, my heart sang a bit and I quickly added my name to the waiting list. Now I'm craving a Marathon bar.

Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops? The Lost Toys, Tastes, and Trends of the 70s and 80s by Gael Fashingbauer Cooper

Is It Just Me? Or is it nuts out there?

The title sets the stage for Whoopi Goldberg's observations on how society just isn't as civil as it once was. Everyone will recognize and nod their head in agreement when Whoopie discusses drunk driving, texting while driving, blogging, manners (or lack thereof), cell phones, bullying and the myriad of occasions when respect for fellow humans is nonexistent. After reading this book, I thought that an outline of it could be used in school situations to teach students on how not to behave!

Among the Truthers - a new book shedding light on the mind of the Birthers

Kay, the managing editor and columnist at Canada's National Post newspaper, delivers an insightful (and slightly scary) exploration of America's conspiracy movements. Focusing primarily on the Truthers (who believe the U.S. government engineered the September 11 attacks)—and to a lesser extent, the Birthers (those who claim President Obama is a foreign-born Muslim), Holocaust deniers, and JKF assassination theorists—he argues that we must take these movements seriously, however outré they may seem, for the disturbing anti-intellectual trend they epitomize: a "nihilistic distrust of government" and a "rejection of logic and rational discourse." Kay, who spent three years immersing himself in conspiracy culture, traces America's flourishing conspiracism back to Greco-Roman times and explores the technological developments that allow conspiracy theories to flourish: Web sites and message boards where Truthers and Birthers can get news "tailored to their pre-existing obsessions." Kay, although generally a fair-minded conservative, reveals that he isn't immune to conspiracy theories himself: he excoriates the rise of multiculturalism and feminism in the academy for prompting a "reconstruction (and in some cases wholesale invention) of history according to the viewpoint of women, blacks, gays... a project that replaced the historian's once unquestioned goal of objective truth with an explicitly political, Marxist-leaning agenda aimed at empowerment and solidarity-building.
-Publisher's Weekly Review (May)
Other reviews: http://amongthetruthers.com/

Fill in the Blanks

It's Black history month and, if you are like me, your African-American history education is far from complete. Here are a few titles that will shed some light, and help fill in a few of the missing pieces.

Pulitzer prize winning journalist, Isabel Wilkerson's The Warmth of Other Suns, chronicles the "great migration" of African-Americans out of the Jim Crow South into the unknown Northern states, only to find that they have not left racism behind.



Waiting in Line at the Drugstore and Other Writings of James Thomas Jackson is a beautiful collection of essays and reflections by Jackson, that give insight into his struggles as a black man in America from the 1930s through the 1970s. Despite his difficulties, Mr. Jackson manages to retain his joie de vivre.








"You cannot successfully navigate the future unless you keep always framed beside it a small, clear image of the past." Jan Struther

Hey Muffy!

If you've been wondering what happened to Bif and Kitty after the 1980's fame of Lisa Birnbach's The Official Preppy Handbook, wonder no more. Birnbach is back with another view into preppy culture in her latest book True Prep: It's a Whole New World.

Foreign Affairs

No, I'm not talking about "that" type of affair but those that deal with foreign policy. Sorry if I disappointed you! But if you are interested in what is going on in the world of international relations and foreign policy in general, the Library subscribes to three journals that will inform and entertain you regarding the ever-changing world of foreign affairs. Check out Current History, Foreign Affairs and Foreign Policy in our Periodicals Department.

Other Cultures...Other Points of View

Interested in other cultures? Here is a short list of Fiction titles that is sure to interest you.

Other Cultures, Other Points of View

Prophets and Princes: Saudi Arabia from Muhammad to the Present

For once someone has written a deeply thoughtful book about Saudi Arabia. Mark Weston's conviction in Prophets and Princes is that we need to learn the full, complex history of this region to understand our ally in the context of foreign relations, including oil supply and demand, international terrorism, and Islam. If you know nothing about Saudi Arabia and want to learn, you won't be disappointed by this groundbreaking and thorough book. Author Mark Weston offers an objective and balanced history of the only nation on earth named after its ruling family. Drawing on interviews with many Saudi men and women, Weston portrays a complex society in which sixty percent of Saudi Arabia's university students are women, and citizens who seek a constitutional monarchy can petition the king without fear of reprisal.

Oil on the Brain

Oil on the Brain is a smart, surprisingly funny account of the oil industry: the people, economies, and pipelines that bring us petroleum, brilliantly illuminating a world we encounter every day.
Americans buy ten thousand gallons of gasoline a second, without giving it much of a thought. Where does all this gas come from? Lisa Margonelli’s desire to learn took her on a one-hundred thousand mile journey from her local gas station to oil fields half a world away. In search of the truth behind the myths, she wriggled her way into some of the most off-limits places on earth: the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the New York Mercantile Exchange’s crude oil market, oil fields from Venezuela, to Texas, to Chad, and even an Iranian oil platform where the United States fought a forgotten one-day battle.
In a story by turns surreal and alarming, Margonelli meets lonely workers on a Texas drilling rig, an oil analyst who almost gave birth on the NYMEX trading floor, Chadian villagers who are said to wander the oil fields in the guise of lions, a Nigerian warlord who changed the world price of oil with a single cell phone call, and Shanghai bureaucrats who dream of creating a new Detroit.
Deftly piecing together the mammoth economy of oil, Margonelli finds a series of stark warning signs for American drivers. (Publisher Marketing)

Fighting HIV/AIDS in Africa

The African continent is still struggling with the spread of HIV/AIDS. If you would like to read more about this tragic disease and some of the things being done to educate and empower people to fight its spread, then please read on. While the subject can be a bit overwhelming, and even depressing, there are books that offer hope and show us ways we too can get involved or be inspired to help stop this disease.

Warrior princess: fighting for life with courage and hope by Princess Kasune Zulu. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Books, 2009. Library shelf location: 921 Zulu

This is more than just a biography about the spiritual journey of an HIV-positive woman from Zambia. While her life story is both heartbreaking and triumphant, this book is a passionate plea for understanding and a call to the people of the world to take a stand against poverty, which the author believes is the main force behind the spread of the disease.

28: stories of AIDS in Africa by Stephanie Nolen. New York: Walker & Co., 2007. Library shelf location: 614.5993 NOL

The author traveled across the African continent and here tells the stories of 28 people affected by the virus. Each of the 28 people stands for 1 million people in Africa, since the AIDS organization, UNAIDS, estimates that 28 million people in Africa are infected with the HIV virus. This book puts human faces and stories to the enormity of the virus on the African continent.

The invisible cure: why we are losing the fight against AIDS in Africa by Helen Epstein. New York: Picador, 2008. Library shelf location: 616.9792 EPS

The author is a molecular biologist and health expert who has worked on a vaccine for AIDS. She has conducted much of her research in Uganda. This is a well-written account of what she learned about HIV/AIDS, both medically and socially, as it pertains to the people of Uganda. She shares what we could have done differently in our fight of the disease and how we might be able to slow its spread.

Take your best shot: do something bigger than yourself by Austin Gutwein. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2009. Library shelf location: 261.8321 GUT

This is a Christian-themed young adult book about how a nine year old boy felt inspired to reach out and make a difference in the lives of Africa's AIDS orphans. With a strong faith in God and some help from his parents, he started a program named "Hoops for Hope" to support AIDS orphans, and this is the story.

How to get your kids to eat healthy!

With the statistics for childhood obesity indicating that the percentage of overweight children in the United States is growing at an alarming rate, any help that parents can get in setting up healthy eating habits for their children could not come too soon.




According to a report released in 2009 that was based on 2007 data from the National Survey of Children's Health, from the Data Resource Center for Child and Adolescent Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1 out of very 3 children in the United States is either obese or overweight, and that figure increases for African-American and Hispanic children.




Many kids are spending less time exercising and more time in front of the TV, computer, or video-game console. And today's busy families have fewer free moments to prepare nutritious, home-cooked meals. From fast food to electronics, quick and easy is the reality for many people in the new millennium.




Preventing kids from becoming overweight means adapting the way your family eats and exercises, and how you spend time together. Helping kids lead healthy lifestyles begins with parents who lead by example.




Hopefully the books listed below will offer some suggestions to those who may be having trouble getting your kids to eat healthy.







Food fights: winning the nutritional challenges of parenthood armed with insight, humor, and a bottle of ketchup.





By Jana, Laura A. (Washington, D.C.: American Academy of Pediatrics, 2007.) 649.3 Jan



To find this book, just click here.






Just two more bites! : helping picky eaters say "yes" to food.



By Piette, Linda D. (New York: Three Rivers Press, 2006.) 649.3 Pie







To find this book, just click here







What should I feed my kids? : how to keep your children healthy by teaching them to eat right.



By Julien, Ronnie Litz. (New Jersey: New Page Books, 2006.) 613.2083 Jul




To find this book, just click here.













Winning the food fight : how to introduce variety into your child's diet.


By Rigal, Natalie. (Rochester, VT.": Healing Arts Press, 2006.) 649.3 Rig


To find this book, click here.

CultureGrams:One-stop "shopping" for country/state information

The Washington County Cooperative Library Services offers those who use the county website, either in-house at a library or online from home, access to many excellent online databases. To access the website from home use either of the following websites: for the county website: www.wccls.org/ or from the Beaverton City Library website: www.beavertonlibrary.org/

Check out the database CultureGrams that you can find by searching under Online Databases or by Database name.

CultureGrams allows one to learn about the history, customs, and everyday life of countries around the world. There are four editions avalailable: World - to experience the world through detailed cultural information on more than 200 countries, Kids - to get a kids- eye view of daily life in countries around the world, States - to explore the states in colorful, kid-friendly reports, and Provinces(Canadian) - to tour all the Canadian Provinces in 13 image-fileld reports.

One can use the information on this site for recreational / business traveling, homework reports , and just for plain old arm-chair traveling:

• land and climate


• history


• population


• language


• religion


• general attitudes


• personal appearances


• Customs and greetings: greetings, gestures, visiting, eating


• Lifestyle: family, housing, dating and marriage, diet, recraetion, the arts and holidays.


• Society: government, economy, transportation and communications, ecuation, health.


• One can also find a photo and video gallery of scenes, slideshows, interviews, famous people, and delicious recipes for countr/city/province of your choice.

HAPPY TRAVELING!!!

Older Adults, Marketing Deomgraphics

1. AARP - see the research section on their site http://research.aarp.org/


2. Nielsen Media Research has a product called Monitor Plus/Ad*Views that collects this information on a variety of demographics. Fee based.

3. AdAge http://adage.com/datacenter/archive?section_id=35 periodically publishes category ad spending ratios.

4. Age Wave (http://www.agewave.com/ a company that studies the Boomer market, has statistics on the 50+ segment
5. Gale Business and Company Resource Center click on Articles, and the subject guide heading is Baby Boom Generation. If you want to use other keywords, change that search type field to keyword.
other age groups are called echo boom generation, post-baby boom generation, yuppies

Language Counts

Origins of the Specious: Myths and Misconceptions of the English Language

This witty and informative book debunks myths that bamboozle word-loving fansand offers a delightful primer on the eccentricities of the English language. ~Publisher Synopsis

I love it when you talk retro : hoochie coochie, double whammy, drop a dime, and the forgotten origins of American speech

The phrase drinking the Kool-Aid is a mystery to young people today, as is 45rpm. Even older folks dont know the origins of raked over the coals and cut to the chase. Keyes ("The Quote" "Verifier") uses his skill as a sleuth of sources to track what he calls retrotalk: a slippery slope of puzzling allusions to past phenomena. ~Publishers Weekly

Eating Disorders

Every year, desperate parents try to save their daughters from starving themselves to death.

Battling eating disorders [videorecording (DVD)]
The beginner's guide to eating disorders recovery by Nancy Kolodny 2004

Eating disorders information for teens : health tips about anorexia, bulimia, binge eating, and other eating disorders 2005

Hope, help, & healing for eating disorders : a new approach to treating anorexia, bulimia, and overeating by Gregory Jantz 2002

The parent's guide to eating disorders : supporting self-esteem, healthy eating, & positive body image at home by Marcia Herrin, 2007

Gaining : the truth about life after eating disorders by Aimee Liu 2007

Treating and preventing adolescent mental health disorders : what we know and what we don't know : a research agenda for improving the mental health of our youth pt. IV - Eating Disorders 2005

Brat Pack Movies

Remember big hair? Cyndi Lauper songs?
It must be the 80's!

Brat Pack movies are timeless reminders of friends, coming of age, great soundtracks, and of course, teen angst.

The Outsiders

Class
Sixteen Candles
Oxford Blues
The Breakfast Club

St. Elmo's Fire
Pretty in Pink
Blue City
About Last Night...
Wisdom
Betsy's Wedding