Staff Picks
Kickoff! 100 Great Things you can do with your DPPL card
To kick off, below are some of the ways I’ve used my card since I started working here in June. We’ll be sharing additional Great Things through our blog posts, Facebook and Twitter feeds so check back to see more all month long!
Build Your Own Pinhole Cameras
by Justin Quinnell
I came across this cool little DIY book on our New Nonfiction shelves on the 4th Floor. It shows you how to build a variety of pinhole cameras, including one that you can use with your smartphone's camera, and includes a CD with printable templates.
Spore
One of my son’s favorite YouTubers did a series on playing this video game that came out in 2008 for PCs and Macs, and of course my son wanted to play it, too. When reading up on it, I found reports that some Macs running more recent versions of OS X would have trouble launching the game, with mixed results in solving the issue. Instead of buying the game, I borrowed it from the library, and was able to experiment with installing it and getting all of the necessary updates in place to be sure it would actually work (and it did!) Now I can go purchase the game so we have our own copy and rest assured that it will run just fine!
Fortunately, the Milk
by Neil Gaiman
Like many families, "bedtime books" is a ritual in our household. While my second grader is an excellent reader in his own right, we both treasure that time before bed when I read a few picture books and at least one chapter from a chapter book to him. This ridiculously entertaining book had him giggling out loud numerous times, and it was fun one for me to read, too!
Phineas and Ferb: Quest for Cool Stuff
My son saved up for a Nintendo DS this summer and was very excited to finally purchase it late last month. As with any gaming system, the initial purchase of the machine isn’t the last money you spend – you still need the games, and they can add up quickly! Thankfully, DPPL has a good selection of DS games, as do a number of the other libraries in our consortium and we can borrow from all of them. In anticipation of our long drive north for Labor Day weekend, I borrowed a couple, including this fun treasure-seeking game, to help the time pass a little more quickly and cut down on the 'Are we there yet?'s!
The Hunger Games
by Suzanne Collins
As much as I love to read, I find most of the reading that I've done over the past 7 years has been picture books and kids' chapter books. I'd been wanting to read the Hunger Games series, and finally found a great way to do so: downloadable audiobooks! By putting them on my phone, I was able to listen to the series while I was working in the yard, re-staining patio furniture, and getting through a stack of sewing projects. Multitasking that includes books? Yes please!