March 8, 2016

News & Updates
"It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade." 

--Charles Dickens, Great Expectations
YouTube Pick of the Week

American astronaut Scott Kelly returned to Earth last week after spending 340 consecutive days in space aboard the International Space Station. Here are some of his reflections on his time spent in orbit.
Books

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (2007) by Sherman Alexie

Location: FIC Alexie
Availability: click  here

Bestselling author Sherman Alexie tells the story of Junior, a budding cartoonist growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation. Determined to take his future into his own hands, Junior leaves his troubled school on the rez to attend an all-white farm town high school where the only other Indian is the school mascot.

Heartbreaking, funny, and beautifully written, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, which is based on the author's own experiences, coupled with poignant drawings by Ellen Forney that reflect the character's art, chronicles the contemporary adolescence of one Native American boy as he attempts to break away from the life he was destined to live.  -- Goodreads

How does this book do it?! Somehow, the main character is able to describe the most heartbreaking moments of loss with a funny and lighthearted voice. This is a must read. 
--Mr. Apo



Paper Towns (2008) by John Green

Call Number: FIC Green
Availability: click here

Who is the real Margo?

Quentin Jacobsen has spent a lifetime loving the magnificently adventurous Margo Roth Spiegelman from afar. So when she cracks open a window and climbs into his life-dressed like a ninja and summoning him for an ingenious campaign of revenge-he follows. After their all-nighter ends, and a new day breaks, Q arrives at school to discover that Margo, always an enigma, has now become a mystery. But Q soon learns that there are clues-and they're for him. Urged down a disconnected path, the closer he gets, the less Q sees the girl he thought he knew...  -- Goodreads

more details on Paper Towns...


The Sparrow  (1996) by  Mary Doria Russell
 
Call Number:  FIC Russell
Availability: click  here

In 2019, humanity finally finds proof of extraterrestrial life when a listening post in Puerto Rico picks up exquisite singing from a planet that will come to be known as Rakhat. While United Nations diplomats endlessly debate a possible first contact mission, the Society of Jesus quietly organizes an eight-person scientific expedition of its own. What the Jesuits find is a world so beyond comprehension that it will lead them to question what it means to be human.  -- Goodreads

"Okay, this book is amazing. Every chapter, you're like GAME CHANGER OF LIFE." 
--Nora Byre, Class of '16


more details on The Sparrow...

Tech Corner

Medium

Medium is what happens when Twitter enters the world of blogging. Founded by Evan Williams, co-founder of Twitter, Medium is a blog-publishing website that allows users to read or create blogs with little to no hassle. Unlike Wordpress, Tumblr, or Blogger, users are not given options for customizing the appearance of one's blog; yet, Medium blogs look the cleanest and most attractive, in my humble opinion. 

This is a great site for reading examples of social journalism, or for use in class projects that require online writing and publishing. Consider Medium for your next project!

Visit Medium and start blogging...
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