New Youth Magazines: LEGO Club & LEGO Club Jr.

Sun, 02/16/2014 - 2:00pm by manz

LEGOs! Will we ever have enough of LEGOs? Probably not. There’s always another set coming out that we just HAVE to have. And with the LEGO Movie recently released, well, some of us are extra LEGO-minded. AADL now has subscriptions for two LEGO magazines for kids.

LEGO Club Magazine (formerly called Bricks Kicks and later LEGO Magazine) features different bits in each issue, such as Lord of the Rings, Lego Castle, Lego Atlantis, Lego City, Lego Legends of Chima. It addition to feature articles the magazine also includes comics, building ideas, cool creations, and games.

LEGO Club Jr. Magazine is aimed at children six and under and features activities, cool creations,and building ideas.

And of course be sure to check out some of the oodles of great LEGO books the library has to offer.

AppleSeeds Magazine for Kids!

Thu, 01/09/2014 - 10:04am by krayla

If you like going on extreme adventures right from your chair, then you should check out the January 2014 issue of AppleSeeds Magazine! AppleSeeds is a magazine written for elementary school-age kids, but everyone can find something to like. In this issue, you can be mesmerized by the layers of the Earth, go cave diving, live near an active volcano spewing lava, and mine for gold far beneath the Earth’s crust. In addition to all of that fun, you can also read short stories and solve puzzles.

You can find AppleSeeds at the Downtown and Traverwood branches and other magazines for kids at all locations!

Want to experience the adventure for yourself? There will be a Family Science Workshop on January 18 at the Pittsfield branch and a Hands-On Science Fun program on February 6 at the Downtown branch.
Happy exploring!

Which Goat Is Right for You? Find out in our new magazine: Modern Farmer

Mon, 09/30/2013 - 1:30pm by ballybeg

AADL can boast one of the largest and most interesting collections of magazines I have seen in any library. We are constantly adding new magazines into the line-up. Every time I am in the Periodicals department, I try to find a magazine I have never seen before and I always find at least one.

This month I found a brand new, wonderful issue of Modern Farmer. The debut issue was published this spring. It contains full-length articles and shorter pieces, pictures, interviews, advertisements and a shop which cater to interest in the new face of farming around the world. Read what the New York Times has to say about it here.

For newer books which feature the new trend in urban farming try these: Urban Farms and Urban Farming: Sustainable City Living in Your Backyard, in Your Community and in the World and Food & the City: Urban Agriculture and the New Food Revolution.

Modern Farmer is another in a growing collection of magazines which appeal to the organic food, slow food, local food and backyard food movements. Others in our collection to look for include: Acres USA, Backyard Poultry, Bee Culture, Edible WOW and Hobby Farms.

Locus Magazine announces the winners of the 2013 LOCUS Awards

Mon, 07/01/2013 - 9:43am by sernabad

Locus Magazine, the monthly magazine for the latest news and reviews in the world of science fiction, fantasy, and horror literature, has announced its 2013 winners.

John Scalzi received the Locus for Science Fiction Novel for Redshirts. At first, Ensign Andrew Dahl is enjoying serving aboard the Universal Union Capital Ship Intrepid until he realizes a horrifying pattern. All journeys involve deadly confrontations with aliens and its the lower ranking crew members who are at risk. Listen to Wil Wheaton read the audiobook version.

The Fantasy Novel award went to Charles Stross, for The Apocalypse Codex. The Laundry, Britain's highly secretive intelligence agency charged to protect the Queen and the realm from occult intrusions, employs the beautiful, volatile Persephone Hazard to investigate U.S. televangelist/healer, Ray Schiller. Gideon Emery narrates the audiobook.

The Young Adult award went to China Mieville for Railsea, a hugely imaginative mix of steampunk, cyberpunk, and a fantastical spin on Herman Melville's Moby Dick. Sham is an apprentice to the doctor serving the railsea train Medes. Sham is excited to be on his first hunt for moldywarpes, gigantic moles who live beneath the earth, erupting to the surface in life-and-death battles with all who track them down.

The Non-fiction award was given to William Gibson for his collection of essays in Distrust that Particular Flavor, 30 years of thoughtful pieces about the past, present, and future as influenced by technology.

The Art Book award was bestowed on Spectrum 19: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art. According to the publisher, "With exceptional images by extraordinary creators, this elegant full-color collection showcases an international cadre of creators working in every style and medium, both traditional and digital"

For a complete list of the winners, check out this link.

The best environmental writing

Sat, 06/29/2013 - 3:24pm by ballybeg

You can find Orion Magazine in the Periodicals Department on the second floor of the Downtown Library. It combines outstanding journalism, astute commentary and a measure of hope about the politics, science and current state of the environment. It manages to be inspiring, cutting edge, beautiful and provocative at the same time. If Orion Magazine has a list of favorite books on environmental themes from 2012, you can bet they are worth a look. Look here for that list. Then, the editorial staff of Orion picks the very best, and issues the Orion Book Awards for the year.

This year the winner is:
Apocalyptic Planet: Field Guide to the Everending Earth by Craig Childs
The four runners-up are:
Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingslover
Things That Are: Essays by Amy Leach
The Old Ways: A Journey on Foot by Robert Macfarlane
The Mountain and the Fathers by Joe Wilkins

Michael Hastings, brilliant journalist who brought down a General, has died

Wed, 06/19/2013 - 9:41am by sernabad

Michael Hastings, author and award-winning journalist for Buzzfeed, died yesterday in Los Angeles.

In the June 22, 2010 issue of Rolling Stone magazine, Hastings wrote a blistering piece on then-General Stanley McChrystal who was commander of American forces in Afghanistan. Quotes from McChrystal and his aides were so highly critical of President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden that the General resigned shortly thereafter. Hastings received a 2010 Polk Award for this article.

Hastings' early career as a driven, heat-seeking missile for the truth included writing for Gentleman's Quarterly and Newsweek. Then in 2007, Hastings' world was rocked. He and his fiancee, Andi Parhamovich were both stationed in Baghdad (he was writing for Newsweek; she was an aide worker for The National Democratic Institute. Andi died in an ambush on January 17th and Hastings returned to his parents' home in Vermont, where holed up in their attic for two months while he wrote I Lost My Love in Baghdad: A Modern War Story (2008), a keening, bitter, loved-filled tribute to Andi.

Hastings' last hard copy book, The Operators: The Wild and Terrifying Inside Story of America's War on Afghanistan came out last year. His last book, published earlier this year in Kindle-only format, is
Panic 2012: The Sublime and Terrifying Inside Story of Obama's Final Campaign.

Hastings, who was only 33 years old, was killed in a high speed car crash.

Magazines A-Z: Birds & Blooms

Sun, 05/26/2013 - 10:07am by Bertha

Whether it's birds & blooms or sun & fun, there's no better time to get out in your yard and make things happen. Recently added to the library's magazine collection is Birds & Blooms: Beauty in Your Own Backyard. Loaded with lists of which birds are attracted to which flowers, and what to plant, considering soil, shade and seasons.

Also, if you're looking for simple projects to try in your backyard, the 'project section' in this magazine features feeders, birdhouses, garden crafts and large garden projects that will transform your backyard!

Branching out with other similar titles you might also try, English Garden, Gardens Illustrated, Fine Gardening, or Horticulture: the Art & Science of Smart Gardening.

James Beard Foundation Cookbook awards

Tue, 05/07/2013 - 10:05am by lucroe

James Beard was a renowned American chef who introduced French cuisine and gourmet cooking to America. Called the "Dean of American cookery” by the New York Times in 1954, his foundation's awards are likened to the 'Oscars' of the culinary world. Just some of the award categories include best cookbooks (in various subcategories), chefs, & tv and radio cooking shows. The awards are voted on by culinary professionals & the full list can be found here. Below are some of the highlights:

Cookbook of the Year: Gran Cocina Latina: The Food of Latin America- delicious food from the many countries that comprise Latin America

Baking and dessert: Flour Water Salt Yeast: The Fundamentals of Artisan Bread and Pizza- From acclaimed Portland baker, Ken Forkish, comes this popular book about how to make the perfect bread

Focus on health: The New Way to Cook Light: Fresh Food & Bold Flavors for Today’s Home Cook- More than 400 recipes for healthy eating

General cooking: Canal House Cooks Every Day- Recipes inspired by the authors' blog, Canal House Cooks Lunch, by home cooks for home cooks

International: Jerusalem: A Cookbook- 120 recipes that highlight the flavors of Jerusalem

Vegetable focused & Vegetarian- Roots: The definitive compendium with more than 225 recipes- one more reason to love your veggies!

Cookbook Award Winners

Mon, 04/15/2013 - 2:48pm by lucroe

The International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) has awarded the following books (see full list here):

Cookbook of the Year & Best International Cookbook: Jerusalem: A Cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi & Sami Tamimi: 120 recipes that highlight the flavors of Jerusalem

Best American Cookbook: Hiroko’s American Kitchen: Cooking with Japanese Flavors: how to combine Japanese cooking flavors with Western style fare

Baking: Savory or Sweet: Flour Water Salt Yeast: The Fundamentals of Artisan Bread and Pizza: must-have baking guide to breads and pizzas providing the techniques and equipment advice to make them

Chefs and Restaurants cookbook: Vietnamese Home Cooking by Charles Phan, the award-winning chef from San Francisco's Slanted Door restaurant presents his life story along with a guide to making delicious Vietnamese food

Culinary History: The Cookbook Library: Four Centuries of the Cooks, Writers, and Recipes That Made the Modern Cookbook, tasting their way through centuries of cookbooks and recipes they have been collecting for 45 years, authors Anne Willan and her husband Mark Cherniavsky provide a fascinating history of cooking & cookbooks, lore, and of course recipes from as far back as medieval times

Culinary Travel:Burma: Rivers of Flavor: Burma is opening its doors and this book is a wonderful introduction its culinary marvels

First Book: The Julia Child Award: Smitten Kitchen Cookbook by Deborah Perelman: if you aren't familiar with the author's blog, go to it and see why this book is so popular

Food Matters: Why Calories Count: From Science to Politics: well-researched and written for the average joe, the science behind what a calorie is and much more

Literary Food Writing:Yes, Chef: A Memoir: life of chef, Marcus Samuelsson, from humble beginnings as an orphan to world-renowned chef

Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, award-winning screenwriter and novelist, has died

Wed, 04/03/2013 - 12:54pm by sernabad

Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, Oscar-winning screenwriter and much-honored novelist, died today in Manhattan.

Ms. Jhabvala was born in Germany to Jewish parents who fled to England in 1939. In 1951, Ms. Jhabvala married an Indian architect. They lived in New Delhi for a quarter of century, an experience which informed much of her examination of the privileged lifestyle of the British upperclass in India.

In the early 1960s, she was discovered by filmdom's producer/director power team, Ismail Merchant and James Ivory. They had read her 1963 novel, Householder (on order) and asked her to write the screenplay for the film (on order) by the same name which was released later that year.

Thus began a long successful partnership. The Merchant/Ivory/Jhabvala 22-film collaboration resulted in two Oscars for Ms. Jhabvala -- A Room with a View (1986) and Howards End (1993).

Ms. Jhabvala was also feted with many literary awards, as well. In 1975, she won the then-called Booker McConnell Prize for Fiction (now known as the Man Booker Prize) for Heat and Dust. In 1984, she was tapped for one of the much-coveted MacArthur Foundation fellowships.

Ms. Jhabvala's last novel, My Nine Lives was published in 2004. Her final book, a collection of short stories, A Lovesong for India came out two years ago. Her very last piece of published writing appeared in the March 25, 2013 edition of The New Yorker. It is a short story called The Judge's Will.

Ms. Jhabvala, who was85, died of an unspecified pulmonary ailment.