Alkek Library News

Chinua Achebe (1930-2013), Author of Things Fall Apart

Chinua Achebe was one of the first generation of African writers. Achebe wrote about colonialism and Africa from an African perspective.

His most notable book, Things Fall Apart, shows the impact of European colonialism on a Nigerian village. 

All Chinua Achebe books here.

A way more in depth article about Achebe from Literature Resource Center here.

 

Books on Reality Television

Here are some of our books on reality television. Let's concede that reality television is inherently unreal. It's edited, and the shows have an artificial hook - i.e. you must betray others to win, lose weight in a certain kind of environment, etc...

What's going on here? Some great critics in these books take on hidden meanings and assumptions of these shows.

What To Do When Your Book Is Not On The Shelf

You've found a great book in the catalog but when you go to the shelf - it's not there! What now?

1. Someone may have taken the book to read inside the library or is storing it inside a study room (without it being checked out). Solution: tell the circulation desk and they will go search for your item. That process may take 1-2 days or more.

2. Your book may be classified as "juvenile" or "oversized" and is in a slightly different area than you imagined. In order to efficiently use shelf space, the library puts the large books in one area on each floor (these are marked on the floor maps). And juvenile books are collected in one corner of the 6th floor (map in the link).

3. Your item may be located in the Southwestern Writers Collection of the Wittliff Collections Reading Room (7th floor in the library). You can read the item there.

4. You may not be familiar with the Library of Congress classification system and you can ask us for help!

5. If the book is truly lost, feel free to use interlibrary loan to request another copy and make a note that it is missing.

Banned Books Week is Sept 30-Oct. 6: Celebrate Your F-READ-OM to Read

Ideas are powerful things. Celebrate your freedom to read. Here is the American Library Association's Banned Books Week website.

Texan Bill Moyers explains his lifelong interest in books, ideas and the tragedy of censorship.

 

 

 

 

How to Search for Foreign Language Books

1. Select catalog slightly off center to the right of the main library page. Or just start here.

2. Use the drop down menu on the right to select your language.

3. enter an * in the keyword box to get everything we own in that language

Too many things? You can only search this function with a keyword, so try these ideas:

If you know a keyword in your language, that's helpful. For example: historia, desarrollo,  negocios, etc...

Or, enter a large city that is a publishing center (Buenos Aires, Mexico City, etc...) for books published in that country.

 

How To Research The Economics of Water

A growing population in some of the world's driest areas is leading many people to study the economics of water. Why is a diamond expensive and water free? It's a famous question posed in economics.

Actually that difference in cost may not persist much longer.

Here is the main BOOK category for the economics of water.

To get an idea of how much renewable water a country has, go to Worldbank/World Development Indicators database.

Type freshwater as a search term.

Or check p.142 of the paper copy of World Development Indicators.

Recommended: Jane Jacobs for Political Science, Public Policy and Economics

There are two entries for Jacobs in the catalog. One Here and The Other Here.

Jane Jacobs (1916-2006) wrote on the economy of cities in an accessible yet profound manner. Her work is recommended for people interested in unintended consequences and hidden relationships of personal relationships, urban spaces and the economy. Learn to ask deeper questions and develop your analytical tools!

Jacobs is a highly readable author who asks interesting questions like:

Why loosely structured and inefficient economies are better suited to survive change.

Why cities predated agriculture as we know it.

Why some villages grow into cities and some do not.

How the design of urban spacies can either promote order or hinder it. 

Check it out!

Improve Your Memory With These Books

Books to improve your memory here. Do you have "popcorn brain" from too much Internet and social media? The books in that link will help you retain facts and do better in school - and life.

Tricks, tips and overcoming problems with remembering facts and material. Check it out.

Author and Illustrator Maurice Sendak 1928-2012

Our link to Maurice Sendak books.

Best known for the children's classic Where the Wild Things Are, Sendak was also an illustrator and designed sets for the ballet and opera.

From Gale Biography In Context Biography of Sendak (follow link to full article):

With the publication of Where the Wild Things Are in 1963, Sendak felt that he had ended his apprenticeship. His childhood experiences, years of illustrations for other authors' books, and psychoanalysis came together in the fantasies of Max, the boy in the story who is sent to bed without his supper, and the monsters he encounters in the world of the wild things. The story is rooted in the very real fears that children have of being left alone or not cared for by their parents. Many critics and child psychologists, such as Bruno Bettelheim, felt that the book was too scary for sensitive children. Sendak was vindicated when the book won the Caldecott Medal in 1964. In his acceptance speech, he said, "from their earliest years children live on familiar terms with disrupting emotions, fear and anxiety are an intrinsic part of their everyday lives, they continually cope with frustrations as best they can. And it is through fantasy that children achieve catharsis. It is the best means they have for taming Wild Things."

Featured Author: Satirical Journalist Jon Ronson

Jon Ronson writes books best described as satirical journalism. Best known for his piece on a proposed New Age Army later made into the all-star film The Men Who Stare at Goats. I won't link to the film (we have it), because the book from which it is taken, Them: Adventures with Extremists, is much better.

Ronson is also well-known for interviewing the paranoid and the conspiracy theorists. In the process, he subtly deconstructs the subjects' own psychological problems without ever overtly saying anything (he's British after all). 

His journalistic style is low-key and British. Ronson generally asks his odd subjects dead-pan questions and gets them to reveal much about their worldview. 

Recommended for fans of non-fiction writing, journalism, and studying the art of interviewing.