LibraryPoint Blog

Leo Stepanovich Demidov, a war hero and rising star in the MGB--Stalin’s state security force, is proud of his country. Yes, he has to do some unpleasant things, such as supervising the torture of suspected persons—and there are many suspected persons, the list growing daily. But all of that is surely necessary to protect post-World War II’s Russia in Tom Rob Smith’s Child 44.

If King Dork's cover seems vaguely familiar, that's because it looks like a defaced copy of The Catcher in the Rye. The title and its author Frank Portman are scrawled in ballpoint pen with a blatant disregard for the granddaddy of all coming-of-age novels.

This sums up how Tom Henderson feels about Salinger's classic novel. He notices a Catcher cult amongst most adults, who sing the praises of the book changing their lives. Tom thinks all of this is, to borrow a phrase from Holden Caulfield, "phony," but a particular copy of the book is about to turn his world upside down and inside out.

It is a testament to miniaturization that we can now fit an entire entertainment system onto devices no larger than flash drives. Streaming dongles plug into your HDTV’s HDMI port and play content over WiFi. Dongles offer some great entertainment options for those on or off a budget.

When I can't get my audio learning fix from our many Modern Scholar courses, I turn to podcasts. Podcasts are audio or video-based shows available for download, streaming, or online subscription. Many of them regularly update in weekly or monthly installments, so there is almost always a new episode to catch up on or many past installments to explore.

Stafford County has a rich Civil War history including a naval battle, cavalry skirmishes, and Union encampments. Many of these Civil War sites can still be visited today.

On a Beam of Light starts with a little boy who barely talked as a child, who got in trouble at school, and who was told he would never amount to anything. That boy was named Albert Einstein.

The Web is as vast and as unending as our ability to create new content, if not knowledge (be mindful of the distinction). That is, almost by definition, as unending as things get, and it can be overwhelming, to put things mildly. As such, many Web services have done their best to personalize their presentations to our individual tastes. In doing so, they are causing us far more harm than good. Click to keep reading. You need to.

Recently at the library, it’s all about George.  In preparation for our current Rappahannock Reads title, “George Washington, Spymaster” by Thomas B. Allen each branch has cardboard cutouts of the big man himself just waiting for you to take a selfie.  If you aspire to be more like George, then your family can enjoy our scavenger hunt and claim your prize--a George Washington mask!

March is National Nutrition Month—and what better time to learn more about the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)?

SNAP helps many low-income seniors pay for the foods they need to maintain good health. However, a staggering number of older adults—approximately 2 out of 3—who qualify to receive SNAP are missing out on the benefits. With an average monthly benefit of $122 for a senior living alone (in 2011), a variety of healthful food options may be purchased. Click on the link below to learn more:

http://www.virginianavigator.org/sn/buying-food-with-snap/article-30453.aspx