Tuesday, December 20, 2016

Zivia's Picks for December

The -Ologies books (Candlewick, $21.99-$24.99)
Everything from Alienology to Wizardology. They have a good feel to them, and I like that they're interactive and full of information.

Dungeons & Dragons materials
From Starter Sets ($19.99) to sets of dice ($5.00), from the Player's Handbook ($49.95) to DM screens ($14.95).

Minecraft: The Complete Handbook Collection (Scholastic, $35.96)
These are good both for learning about the game and as a reference for when you don't have everything in your head.

Amulet series by Kazu Kibuishi, starting with Stonekeeper (Scholastic, $12.99)
These graphic novels have great illustrations!

Zivia Avelin, December 2016

Nif's Five New Gifts from Continuum Games

Catan: Trade, Build, Settle ($49.99)
(aka Settlers of Catan) A game of cards, dice, and resources.

Mastermind ($15.99)
A game of guessing and logic, with colorful pegs. A bit like Battleship.

Rubik's Cube ($15.00)
Exactly what it sounds like.

Dolphin Magnetic Sculpture ($5.99)
Big magnetic base, many little metal dolphins to balance and do acrobatics on top.

Floating Color Timer/Liquid Layers ($4.99)
Kind of like an egg timer, only more fun, and with colored immiscible liquids instead of sand.

Jennifer Woodfin, December 2016

Saturday, December 17, 2016

Jen's Five New Books of Maps and Infographics

Best American Infographics 2016, edited by Gareth Cook (Mariner Books, $20)
Populations in war and peace, a periodic table of sweeteners, who's fighting whom in Syria, 163 years of Atlantic hurricanes, a literary road map. And so much more.

Speaking American: How Y’all, Youse, and You Guys Talk: a Visual Guide by Josh Katz (Houghton Mifflin, $25)
Colorful dialect maps of many, many words and phrases. I was particularly pleased that after my first flip through the pages, I had gathered enough clues to conclude (correctly) that the author is from around here...

Atlas Obscura: An Explorer's Guide to the World's Hidden Wonders by Joshua Foer, Dylan Thuras, and Ella Morton (Workman, $35)
Now I want to go to some pretty obscure places to see some pretty weird things...

The Way Things Work Now: From Levers to Lasers, Windmills to Wi-fi, a Visual Guide to the World of Machines by David MacAulay with Neil Ardley (HMH Books for Young Readers, $35)
Detailed and friendly diagrams of the way things work. I want to study it. Newly updated version!

Thunder & Lightning: Weather Past, Present, Future by Lauren Redniss (Random House, $35)
"...a spellbinding combination of storytelling, art, and science." -from the publisher's website

Jennifer Sheffield, December 2016

Monday, December 05, 2016

Sarah's Seven Dystopian Novels We Might Soon Be Living In

Glory O'Brien's History of the Future by A.S. King (Little, Brown, $10.99)

Vivian Apple at the End of the World by Katie Coyle (HMH, $8.99)

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (Scholastic, $10.99)

The Giver by Lois Lowry (Houghton Mifflin, $8.99)

Material Girls by Elaine Dimopoulos (HMH, $8.99)

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld (Simon Pulse, $11.99)

Matched by Ally Condie (Speak, $9.99)

Sarah Sawyers-Lovett, December 2016

Saturday, December 03, 2016

Community Organizing: Books for Troubled Times, Part 2

More book recommendations from our community. Over the three instances of On Fridays, We Fight Back!, people have been finding space, guidance, and company for the various actions we've taken -- calling representatives and other government officials, writing to electors, sending comfort to survivors of violence. Please come join us, Fridays between 2pm and 6pm!

from Lucas Jaeger:
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
"It's a captivating tale that will keep you entranced for days."

from a customer:
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
"A nested series of six stories that will linger with you for years. I've never stopped thinking about it."

from Anndee Hochman:
Angels in America by Tony Kushner
"The Reagan years were no picnic either; Angels in America captures that time with ferocity and hope."

from staffer Mariga Temple-West:
A is for Atom: A Midcentury Alphabet by Greg Paprocki
"Humorous alphabet book with marvelous 'mid-century' illustrations, and so wonderfully inclusive!"

from a customer:
Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
"Great book for young people."

from Hillary Kruger:
Delicious by Ruth Reichl
"A great escape into the world of food!"

from Paul Fitzpatrick:
Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
"Frankl's philosophy is a survivalist philosophy. Despite staring into the face of evil itself, Frankl reminds us of the importance of meaning and maintaining our own personal freedom."

from Robert Bingham:
The Man Who Quit Money by Mark Sundeen
"'Money is a communal delusion.' (Comment I just overheard that is very relevant.)"