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Monthly Archives: May 2012

Hungry for a New Language? Try Mango Languages…

23 Wednesday May 2012

Posted by nplblogs in Databases

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Mango Languages, Pirates


Traveling to Italy this summer?  Studying abroad in Russia?  Writing to your Turkish pen pal?  Maybe you’re tutoring an ELL student?  Or is it all you want just to know what the heck that guy with the eye patch down the street is saying between all those arrrrrrrrs?

We can help!  We’ve got Mango Languages!

This comprehensive, curriculum-based language learning program is an affordable alternative to Rosetta Stone (that is, FREE with a Naperville Public Library card)!  You can become conversational in Ukrainian in a matter of hours, or get well on your way to composing the next great Polish novel in a matter of months.  It even offers Little Pim for young learners.

And yes, you can even learn to talk like a pirate.  Brush me barnacles!

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From Page to Screen: Best Movies Made From Books

16 Wednesday May 2012

Posted by nplblogs in Book Reviews, Databases, Public libraries

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Based on the Book, Movies Based on Books


Judging by the blockbuster success of the Harry Potter, Twilight, and now Hunger Games films, there is still a great appeal for movies based on books.  There’s something about re-experiencing the story you loved on the page played out on the screen – especially when it’s well done.  When a good book gets a good script, good actors, good cinematography, and good music, enthusiastic readers can become enthusiastic viewers.

And these movies aren’t just for preteens.  There are myriad examples of quality adapted screenplays for more mature audiences.  Our friends at the Mid-Continent Public Library have indexed an impressive number of them.  If you’re sick of the summer blockbuster already, check out some of these book-inspired movies at NPL:

1. All the King’s Men (book by Robert Penn Warren)

Set in the Depression, follows the life of a young farm boy who turns from an honest political hopeful to a powerful but corrupt governor.

2. Atonement (book by Ian McEwan)

In 1935, 13-year-old fledgling writer Briony Tallis and her family live a life of wealth and privilege in their enormous mansion. On the warmest day of the year, the country estate takes on an unsettling hothouse atmosphere, stoking Briony’s vivid imagination.

3. Girl With a Pearl Earring (book by Tracy Chevalier)

17-year-old Griet must work to support her family, so she becomes a maid in the house of Johannes Vermeer, where she attracts the master painter’s attention. He is commissioned to paint Griet, and the result is one of the greatest paintings ever created.

4. The Green Mile (book by Stephen King)

Death Row guards at a penitentiary, in the 1930’s, have a moral dilemma with their job when they discover one of their prisoners, a convicted murderer, has a special gift.

5. The Manchurian Candidate by Richard Condon

When his army unit is ambushed during the first Gulf War, Sergeant Raymond Shaw saves his fellow soldiers just as his commanding officer, Major Ben Marco, is knocked unconscious. Using the incident for political gain, Shaw eventually becomes a vice-presidential nominee, but Marco is haunted by dreams of what really happened in Iraq.

6. Remains of the Day (book by Kazuo Ishiguro)

The story of blind devotion and repressed love between a fanatically proper butler and a high-spirited, strong-minded young housekeeper employed by a British lord who is unwittingly a Nazi dupe.

7. October Sky (book by Homer Hickam)

The true story of Homer Hickam Jr., a high school student in rural West Virginia, who seemed destined to repeat his father’s harsh life in the coal mines, until he turned his attention to the skies.

8. True Grit (book by Charles Portis)

U.S. Marshal Rooster Cogburn helps a headstrong young girl find the man who murdered her father in Native American territory and fled with the family savings. When Rooster’s employer insists on accompanying the old gunfighter, sparks fly. The situation goes from troubled to disastrous when an inexperienced Texas Ranger joins the party.

9. Water for Elephants (book by Sara Gruen)

Against all odds, a veterinary student and a beautiful circus performer from a bygone era meet and fall in love through their shared compassion for a special elephant. But their secret romance incurs the wrath of her dangerously volatile husband.

10. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (book by F. Scott Fitzgerald)

Daisy Fuller Williams is on her deathbed in a New Orleans hospital the day that Hurricane Katrina hits. At her side is her adult daughter, Caroline. Daisy asks Caroline to read to her aloud from the diary of Daisy’s lifelong friend, Benjamin Button. Benjamin’s diary recounts his entire extraordinary life. The unusual aspect of his life is that he is ages backwards, being born an old man.

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You Love Your Mother, Yes You Do!

11 Friday May 2012

Posted by nplblogs in General, Pay It Forward

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Cookbooks, Mother's Day


So do something for her this Sunday.

You may have heard it a million times, but it’s true: your mother worked darn hard for you.  She gave you life, and then – no matter how annoying you were – she kept you around.  She tolerated your screams and your spit-up and your never-ending colds.  She rescued your binky and didn’t yell when you destroyed the VCR.  She went to your “talent” shows and never told you you wouldn’t actually become a ballerina.  She paid for your braces and didn’t disown you when you said you couldn’t stand her.

So – for decency’s sake – do something for her this Mother’s Day.  You owe her.

How can we help you at the Library (other than showering you with guilt)?  Well, we happen to have an excellent collection of cookbooks!  Tie on an apron this weekend and make something sweet for your dear ol’ mum.

This recipe from Mom’s Best Desserts might just earn you forgiveness:

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

2 cups sifted unbleached all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons finely grated orange zest
1 whole large egg
3 large egg whites, slightly beaten
2 cups finely shredded raw zucchini (do not peel)
1/3 cup buttermilk or plain yogurt, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup (3 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
Sifted confectioners’ sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 350*F. Grease and flour a 10-inch springform pan.
2. Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Sift together two more times. Set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine the sugar, oil, and orange zest, mixing well. Add the whole egg and egg whites, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the zucchini.
4. Combine the buttermilk and vanilla.
5. Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture alternately with the buttermilk, and beat until the butter is smooth. Stir in the chocolate chips, mixing just until combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
6. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
7. Cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes.
8. Run a thin knife around the edge of the springform pan, between the pan and the cake. Set aside for about 30 minutes, or until cool. Then remove the sides of the pan.
9. When the cake is completely cool, sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar.

10 to 12 servings

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May 5: Around the World, in History, and in the Library

05 Saturday May 2012

Posted by nplblogs in Databases, General

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Chase's Calendar of Events, Cinco de Mayo, Kentucky Derby, Naperville Community Heritage


Today is a fabulous day.  Sure, it’s gray and drizzly, but if you come into your library you can always find another reason to be glad to be alive.  (Laugh at my enthusiasm if you will, but we know you feel the same.  Read on).

We get to celebrate two May traditions on the same day – the 150th anniversary of Cinco de Mayo and the 138th Kentucky Derby.  Strap on a sombrero, grab a mint julep, and cheer for the ponies.  The world’s most thrilling 2-minute horse race is all the more rewarding while celebrating the Battle of Puebla.

For the fans of the less mainstream, it’s also Free Comic Book Day and Karl Marx’s birthday.  Chase’s Calendar of Events always offers us quirky reasons to smile.  It also brings news of global celebrations.  Today in England, fans of “football” are cheering on their favorite team in the FA cup finals.  Both Japan and South Korea are observing Children’s Day.

And in the Library, we’re celebrating Naperville Community Heritage Month.  Come in today, enjoy your library, and explore your community.  While we celebrate history and the rest of the world, it’s even more fun to celebrate being right here right now – in the library!  (Yes, I’m shameless).

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Authors

  • nplblogs
    • Not Just for Pundits: Political Fiction
    • FRQs: Fantastic Reference Questions (Part II)
    • Get Cooking With Our Culinary Arts Collection!

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