Practical Spanish Grammer: A self-teaching guide by Marcial Prado

Product Description
The fast, easy way to master the essentials of Spanish

Now, learning Spanish can be as easy as uno, dos, tres! Combining the quick- reference virtues of a phrase book with the learning tools of a full-fledged language course, this popular guide gives you a solid start. Completely revised and updated for today's usage, Practical Spanish Grammar gives you:

* A proven interactive format that has been tested, rewritten, and retested to ensure you can teach yourself at your own pace
* Exercises to reinforce what you've learned
* Clear explanations of approximately 80 percent of Spanish grammatical structures
* Over 1,000 of the most frequently used Spanish words
* Sample dialogues with cultural notes and lists of terms

Complete Spanish: the basics written by Marisa Cid

Product Description
Learn Spanish in 4 Simple Steps.

With Living Language Complete Spanish: The Basics, you’ll start by learning words, and then you’ll progress to phrases, sentences, and conversations. This simple four-step building block approach will have you speaking with confidence right from the beginning, and you’ll be able to learn gradually and effectively. If you’re confident in your pronunciation, then this coursebook includes everything you need - vocabulary, grammar, culture, and practice. But you can also use this book along with the four hours of recordings included in the Living Language Complete Spanish: The Basics compact disc package, which also includes a handy learner’s dictionary.

This comprehensive coursebook includes:
•40 step-by-step lessons
•Practical vocabulary and authentic everyday usage
•Simple explanations and plenty of examples
•Supplemental sections, including e-mail and internet resources
•A comprehensive grammar reference section

--The Library Technician

Your Eco-Friendly Home: buying, building, or remodeling green by Sid Davis

Product Description from Amazon
With thousands of new eco-minded houses being built, and the real estate market becoming more attuned to home-buyers' interests, demand for ecologically efficient living spaces is still exceeding the supply. Yet few resources exist for those wanting to build, buy, or remodel their own home to use less energy and be environmentally sensitive. This practical, reader-friendly guide gives readers all the guidance they need to easily become ecologically responsible homeowners.

The Office Tower Tales by Alice Major

Product Description
"Sey forth thy tale, and tarie nat the tyme." - Chaucer, Reeve's Prologue, l. 51. In this ambitious long poem, Alice Major exemplifies the redemptive force of story. Through the light-hearted interplay of such literary touchstones as Chaucer, "The Thousand and One Nights", and Greek myth, readers meet receptionist Aphrodite, Sheherazad in PR, and Pandora, expectant grandmother from accounting, who gather to share tales during coffee breaks from their male-dominated engineering firm. If you desire to 'tarry the time' a while, you will feel redeemed by your pilgrimage through the pages of "The Office Tower Tales".

Extraordinary Psychic: proven techniques to master your natural psychic abilities by Debra Lynne Katz

Product Description
Take Your Psychic Abilities from Ordinary to Extraordinary!Find out just how easy it is to use your innate psychic abilities to access insightful and helpful information about anything!Whether you're a beginner exploring your psychic abilities or a professional fine-tuning your skills, this warm and practical guide offers proven techniques, true personal stories, and a wealth of fun exercises so that you can quickly experience successful clairvoyant readings for yourself.Professional psychic Debra Lynne Katz, author of the popular introductory guide You Are Psychic, offers clear and engaging instruction on developing your natural intuitive gifts of clairvoyance, clairsentience, clairaudience, and telepathy. She demonstrates how these skills can be used with clients on a professional level or in real-life settings, such as your home or workplace—even in your own relationships.

--The Library Technician

The celebrations, which includes food, refreshments and entertainment, will be taking place at the following locations:

Central/Children’s Library

* Accappella group will be performing throughout the main floor
* Melinda Van Hove – Kid’s Entertainment
* Craft Corner
* Movies will be shown in the RPL Film Theatre
* K-9 from the Regina Pats will be wondering around to say ‘hi’
* Food & Beverages: Popcorn, cupcakes, veggie platters, as well as hot chocolate, apple cider & coffee

George Bothwell Library

* Jazz Journey to perform
* Keven MacKenzie - Kid’s Entertainment
* Craft Corner
* Munchie – the Royal Sask. Museum mascot will be on-hand to say hello
* Food & Beverages: Popcorn, cupcakes, veggie platters, as well as hot chocolate, apple cider & coffee

Glen Elm Library

* Brandy Moore – local singer to perform
* Broderick Mauro – Kid’s Entertainment
* Craft Corner
* Salut – a Canadian Maple Leaf mascot will be on-hand to say hello
* Horse Drawn Wagon Rides! (this should be a lot of fun)
* Food & Beverages: Popcorn, cupcakes, veggie platters, as well as hot chocolate, apple cider & coffee

Sherwood Village Library

* Melanie & Jeremy – vocal jazz performers
* Tulip & Treble Clef – Kid’s Entertainment
* Craft Corner
* Gainer the Gopher from the Sask. Roughriders will be on-hand to say hello
* Horse Drawn Wagon Rides
* Food & Beverages: Popcorn, cupcakes, veggie platters, as well as hot chocolate, apple cider & coffee

Here are some fantastic titles new to RPL! All very large, very informative and very well done! Check them out!

Hubble: Imaging Space and Time by David Devorkin and Robert W. Smith

Product Description from Amazon.com
In the spirit of National Geographic’s top-selling Orbit, this large-format, full-color volume stands alone in revealing more than 200 of the most spectacular images from the Hubble Space Telescope during its lifetime, to the very eve of the 2008 final shuttle mission to the telescope. Written by two of the world’s foremost authorities on space history, Hubble: Imaging Space and Time illuminates the solar system’s workings, the expansion of the universe, the birth and death of stars, the formation of planetary nebulae, the dynamics of galaxies, and the mysterious force known as "dark energy."

The potential impact of this book cannot be overstressed: The 2008 servicing mission to install new high-powered scientific instruments is especially high profile because the cancellation of the previous mission, in 2004, caused widespread controversy. The authors reveal the inside story of Hubble’s beginnings, its controversial early days, the drama of its first servicing missions, and the creation of the dynamic images that reach into the deepest regions of visible space, close to the time when the universe began.

A wealth of astonishing images leads us to the very edge of known space, setting the stage for the new James Webb Space Telescope, scheduled to launch in 2013. Find the stunning panoramic of Carina Nebula, detailing star birth as never before; a jet from a black hole in one galaxy striking a neighboring galaxy; a jewel-like collection of galaxies from the early years of the universe; and a giant galaxy cannibalizing a smaller galaxy.

Timed for the 2008 shuttle launch and coinciding with the 400th anniversary of Galileo’s first telescope, Hubble: Imaging Space and Time accompanies a high-profile exhibit at the National Air and Space Museum and will be featured on the popular NASM website.

The Elvis Encyclopedia by Adam Victor

Product Description from Amazon.com
More than thirty years after his death, Elvis Presley remains indelibly etched into the American psyche. As the Elvis of myth--an embodiment of the American Dream in the flesh--has become synonymous with Elvis the man, the subject of countless books, articles and songs, it has become increasingly hard to discern who Elvis really was. By combining obsessive research with absorbing writing, Adam Victor, author of the bestselling The Marilyn Encyclopedia, sifts through the competing versions of events throughout Elvis's life and traces a young man's path to immortality. The Elvis Encyclopedia, the product of years of research, was created to help bring order to the massive amount of material written about Elvis Presley. In doing so, it stands as the most comprehensive book about his extraordinary life and legacy ever published.

The Elvis Encyclopedia is also a visual compendium of Elvis's life, offering hundreds of photographs, ranging from never-beforeseen unposed moments to the extraordinary iconic images the world has come to love.

With this definitive one-stop resource, fans and scholars finally have easy access to all of the information on Elvis's life and times, testing what is real against legend. The facts are represented in full--a childhood mired in poverty, his unstoppable rise to the top with over 150 gold, platinum, or multi-platinum albums, 31 feature films, and 14 Grammy awards, his marriage to Priscilla, his early death. Entries cover every significant aspect of Elvis and his world from family members, lovers, benefactors, mentors, agents, directors, co-stars, and coaches.

Complete with cross-referencing and a comprehensive bibliography, The Elvis Encyclopedia surpasses everything that has come before it. It is a true testament to the legend that is Elvis Presley.

The History of the World in Photographs: from 1850 to the present

Product Description from Amazon.com
The history of the world comes to life in a brand-new way in a groundbreaking visual reference from two trusted leaders in the information industry. This stunning guide is a fact-filled and visual journey like no other through the last 150+ years of world history. Its easy-to-follow format pairs informative and engaging text with thousands of revealing historical photos.

A comprehensive chronology from Encyclopædia Britannica, the worldwide authority in knowledge and education, includes more than 6,000 time line entries organized into the following categories: Science, Medicine, and Technology; Religion, Philosophy, and Education; History and Politics; Business and Commerce; Daily Life and Society; and The Arts. In addition to the timeline, numerous spotlight articles delve deeper into specific subjects.

The thousands of historical photos in the book are drawn from the incomparable collection of Getty Images. The accompanying CD-ROM includes an additional 20,000 images, online access to gettyimages.com provides links to 2 million additional photos, and clicking on Britannica.com gives 20 million more historical facts.

Without question, The Encyclopædia Britannica/Getty Images History of the World in Photographs is a newsworthy leap forward in its use of technology to organize and present history in all its vivid detail. It's sure to be this year's gift of choice for dads, grads, and history buffs everywhere.

Recommended system for the CD-ROM: PC running Windows-XP or Windows Vista, or Macintosh running Safari 3. A CD-ROM or compatible optical drive is required. Most features of the software are available to Macintosh users, though not all

Ocean: An Illustrated Atlas by Sylvia A. Earle and Linda K. Glover

Product Description from Amazon.com
Detailing a mysterious realm that’s as vital to our existence as the air we breathe, this new atlas immerses readers in the wonders of the deep through more than 250 up-to-the-minute maps, photographs, and satellite images. Deep-sea pioneer and National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Sylvia A. Earle (known as "Her Deepness") and marine scientist Linda K. Glover guide the adventure, in consultation with experts from NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration—who welcome the publication of a comprehensive ocean atlas geared to popular readers.

The accessible text lays out key concepts, points of interest, and little known facts, opening our eyes to living phenomena from giant squid to tiny microbial bodies. Astonishing full-color photographs and diagrams reveal the beauty and complexity of ocean life. Unprecedented new full spread maps of the ocean floor—hand-drawn by expert cartographers—reveal the five major oceans in astonishing details. An unequaled resource for both education and entertainment, Ocean also explores the progress of fascinating technologies that will help scientists discover uncharted regions and life-forms. In light of recent events—the tsunami of 2004, Katrina and Rita of 2005, the growth of the ozone hole—humankind’s link to the ocean is front and center in our lives today. This rich informative, and timely atlas, encourages understanding of how the ocean correlates with these happenings—and how human maintenance of its waters and creatures will keep the planet going.

ENJOY!

--The Library Technician

Having trouble keeping pace with our blog? Simple solution is to subscribe to our XML feed. What is that?

XML or RSS feeds automatically inform readers of when your favorite blog has been updated without you having to check back on the blog on a regular basis. Still unsure? Check out this simple video called RSS in Plain English that explains what they are and how easy it is to subscribe to a website or blog.

Intrigued? Then click on the following image located on the right hand side of this blog to subscribe. Your feeds can then be sent to a RSS reader such as Google Reader or Bloglines.

Or if you like, you can also receive the RSS feed via your email account through a simple service as FeedMyInbox. (Note: you will need to use the blog's actual url http://www.reginalibrary.ca/blogs/index.php?blog=26 to use this service).

When you are engulfed in flames by David Sedaris

Description from the book:
David Sedaris has written yet another book of essays (his sixth). Subjects include a parasitic worm that once lived in his mother-in-laws leg, an encounter with a dingo, and the recreational use of an external catheter. Also recounted is the buying of a human skeleton and the author's attempt to quit smoking. In Tokyo.
Master of nothing, at the dead center of his game, Sedaris proves that when you play with matches, you sometimes light the whole pack on fire.

Review: I LOVED this book. David Sedaris is hilarious and his ability to take mundane, everyday events and find the bizarre and morbid aspects is outstanding! His ability to laugh at himself is a quality everyone could learn from! I'd find my self chuckling without even thinking where I was, only to look up and find several curious pairs of eyes trained on me. To me, that's the sign of an exceptionally funny book! But to be totally fair, I've had colleagues say they have trouble getting into his books. Have a look and let us know what YOU think!

For more of David Sedaris check out his other titles!
Barrel Fever
Holidays on ice
Me talk pretty one day
Dress your family in corduroy and denim
Naked

--The Library Technician

Almost Green: How I built and eco-shed, ditched my SUV, alientated the in-laws and changed my life forever by James Glave

Description from the book:
In Almost Green, James Glave chronicales his fumbling efforts to build a sustainably designed writing studio in the front yard of his suburban home while dabbling in grassroots neighborhood activisiom and working to divest himself of his hulking SUV - a gift from his loving father-in-law. It is a frequently hilarious and always enlightening journey.

The Green Beauty Guide: your essential resource to organic and natural skin care, hair care, makeup and fragrances by Julie Gabriel

Description from the book:
The promise of beauty is as close as the drugstore aisle—shampoo that gives your hair more body, lotions that smooth away wrinkles, makeup that makes your skin look flawless, and potions that take it all off again. But while conventional products say they'll make you more beautiful, they contain toxins and preservatives that are both bad for the environment and bad for your body—including synthetic fragrances, petrochemicals, and even formaldehyde. In the end, they damage your natural vitality and good looks.

Fortunately, fashion writer, nutritionist, and beauty maven Julie Gabriel helps you find the true path to natural, healthy, green beauty. She helps you decipher labels on every cosmetic product you pick up and avoid toxic and damaging chemicals with her detailed Toxic Ingredients List. You'll learn valuable tips on what your skin really needs to be healthy, glowing, and youthful.

Julie goes one-step further—and shows you how to make your own beauty products that feed your skin, save your bank account, and are healthy for your body and the environment, such as:

• Cleansing creams and oils • toners • facials • under eye circle remedies • anti-aging serums • lip balms • scrubs • exfoliators • clay and cleansing masks
• moisturizers • acne treatments • makeup remover • teeth whiteners • shampoos, conditioners • fragrances • sun protection • bug repellants • baby products • and much more!

With her friendly, thorough, and helpful advice; fabulous beauty recipes; product recommendations and ratings; Toxic Ingredients List; and a complete appendix of online resources, Julie Gabriel gives you all the information you need to go green without going broke and become a more natural, healthy, and beautiful you.

--The Library Technician

1001 Foods you must taste before you die edited by Frances Case

Although the title sounds a tad ominous, it's really just a fun book filled with tasty treats that must tempt and tantalize your tastebuds before 'other worldly' endeavours become 'your thing'.
A thick but well layed out book that gives a Food Index at the beginning instead of the end (an unusual, though not unwelcome, choice) and has everything sectioned into Fruits, Veggies, Dairy, Fish, Meats, Aromatics, Grain, Bakery and Confections. Each entry gives information about the location, taste, scent and general attributes of the must have treat. Did you know that rose petals are edible and that roses are traditionally picked at dawn to preserve the frehsness of their petals?

For interesting trivia and to find a new taste sensation, check out 1001 Foods A.S.A.P.!

Check out these other fun titles in the 1001 series available at RPL:

1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die

1001 Buildings You Must See Before You Die

1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die

1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die

1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die

--The Library Technician

Join us in celebrating RPL's 100th Anniversary as a panel of local celebrities will determine Regina's favourites in the category of Music, Books and Music. Panel guests will each select and defend their top three choices. Excerpts of each selection will be played or read and the audience will vote to determine the top choice in each category.

Join us on Tuesday, September 23 in the RPL Film Theatre (Lower Level), Central Library from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm as our panelists debate their favourite books. Coffee and tasty snacks will be served. Pre-registration is not required.

Panelists for the books debate include Jana Pruden (the LeaderPost), Claire Isaac (Children's Collection Coordinator, Regina Public Library), and Amy Nelson-Mile (author, presenter and avid library patron).

Our fabulous webmaster here at Regina Public Library has created a number of new urls for the Library's blogs, including one for the New and Notable Nonfiction blog. The new url is:

Don't worry if you have bookmarked our the old url (http://www.reginalibrary.ca/blogs/index.php?blog=26) for the blog. It will still work.

The new url will simply make it easier for you to remember if you work on a different computer or want to pass the link onto a friend.