More Magazines added to Zinio

Zinio is a site that allows Lake County Library cardholders to download and read magazines. Zinio recently updated making even more magazines available. Some of the new titles available are Allrecipes, Natural Health, PC Gamer, Seventeen, Wired, and Writer's Digest.

Follow this link to the Lake County Library instructions for using Zinio, it covers both reading online and downloading.

Follow this link to Zinio.

Quad Rainbow!

How awesome is this picture taken by Amanda Curtis. Learn more here on Neatorama. 

The Martian: A Review

I came across The Martian by Andy Weir while looking around online. It looked interesting and so I placed it on hold. If it didn’t catch me I could always send it back. That did not happen; The Martian had me from the first sentence and read it in little more than one sitting.

Six days after landing on Mars a massive dust storm forces an early evacuation from the surface. Astronaut Mark Watney is slammed into by an antenna and is knocked out.  His crew mates believing him dead blast off and start the trek home to Earth. Marc Watney is alone on Mars. Thankfully, there are some resources to help him survive for a little while.  

I remember a time as a young teenager camping with friends, laying and looking up at the night sky. It was the first time I truly appreciated how miniscule we are, just teeny tiny flecks hanging onto the surface of a ball of dirt and gas hurtling through space. It unsettled me for a little bit and then I relaxed. The story brought that feeling back for me in trying to put myself into the characters situation. I was surprised that the story didn’t veer into the  existential.

The story is full of adventure and science. Lots of science.  Author Andy Weir did a great job of bringing across realistic hard science into a easy to understand and fun style.  When a problem would present its self, I looked forward to seeing how Watney was going to solve it.

It is a book worth checking out.

Oh, and the movie will be out soon.  Directed by Ridley Scott and starring Matt Damon

Seven New DVDs for 4/17

A Walk Among the Tombstones

Private investigator Matthew Scudder is hired by a drug kingpin to find out who kidnapped and murdered his wife. –IMDB Description

Birdman or the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance

A washed-up actor, who once played an iconic superhero, battles his ego and attempts to recover his family, his career and himself in the days leading up to the opening of his Broadway play. –IMDB Description

Fury

April, 1945. As the allies make their final push in the European Theatre, a battle-hardened army sergeant named Wardaddy (Brad Pitt) commands a Sherman tank and her five-man crew on a deadly mission behind enemy lines. Outnumbered and outgunned, and with a rookie soldier thrust into their platoon, Wardaddy and his men face overwhelming odds in their heroic attempts to strike at the heart of Nazi Germany. –Amazon Editorial Review

Get on Up: The James Brown Story

A chronicle of James Brown's rise from extreme poverty to become one of the most influential musicians in history. –IMDB Description

Lucy

From La Femme Nikita and The Professional to The Fifth Element, writer/director Luc Besson has created some of the toughest, most memorable female action heroes in cinematic history. Now, Besson directs Scarlett Johansson in Lucy, an action-thriller that tracks a woman accidentally caught in a dark deal who turns the tables on her captors and transforms into a merciless warrior evolved beyond human logic. Lucy also stars Academy Award winner Morgan Freeman. –Amazon Editorial Review

The Drop

Bob Saginowski finds himself at the center of a robbery gone awry and entwined in an investigation that digs deep into the neighborhood's past where friends, families, and foes all work together to make a living - no matter the cost. –IMDB Description

The Judge

Robert Downey, Jr. (Iron Man, Sherlock Holmes movies) stars as a successful attorney who returns to his childhood home for his mother's funeral, only to discover that his estranged father (Oscar® winner Robert Duvall) is suspected of murder. Arrogant and conceited, Hank (Downey Jr.) has no choice but to put his life on hold to deal with his stern, newly widowed father -- the town's judge who is accused of deliberately running someone down. Now determined to find the truth, the big city lawyer must reconnect with the family he left behind years ago. Also starring an acclaimed ensemble cast including Oscar® winner Billy Bob Thornton (Sling Blade), Oscar® nominee Vera Farmiga (Up in the Air) and more. –Amazon Editorial Review 

Click here  to place any of these items on hold.