Here are the most popular OCCC books of 2012

The Hunger Games Trilogy

The 50 Shades of Grey Trilogy

The Walking Dead

What was your favorite book of 2012?

Things are a bit messy in the Library but that’s because we’re in the process of replacing 46 of the student computers with new models. And while many of our computers are out of commission during the installation, our Instruction Area (near the Reference books) is available for open use.
We’re also introducing a new and improved way to print in the Library. No more print cards! (But hang on to them, if you have a print card with value on it, you’ll still be able to use those prints.) Watch this space for more information on the new print system.

Need something fun to read during the break? Stop by the Mobile Check Out table today from 11am-2pm in the OCCC Main Building near the bookstore. The Library has selected a variety of books that will keep you entertained over the holidays. You can check the book out right from the table as long as you have your OCCC ID with you. See you there!

Follow our Bathroom Stall Reviews (current month and past) on Pinterest!
Or, find their PDF files on this page.

December Reivews

Title: Underwater Dogs
By:Seth Casteel
Pub date:2012
Call number: SF426 .C37 2012

Sometimes it’s good to sit back and en-joy a book that will relieve stress and make you laugh. Seth Casteel is an award-winning photographer that enjoys working with animals and is a mem-ber of the animal rescue community. Some of the underwater dog images are a bit scary with the dogs showing all their teeth, as they dive in to retrieve a toy from the water. Then there are many images that you can’t help but laugh at. Casteel captures the playful and energetic dogs that bring so much joy to our lives, in a way we are not able to see on a day to day basis. I really enjoyed taking time out of my hectic day to flip through the pages of this book. I also enjoyed sharing it with my family.

Review by Jennifer Wood

—-

Title: The Hobbit
By: J.R.R. Tolkien
Pub date:1984
Call number: PR6039 .O32 H62 1984 (Also available as an eBook through Overdrive)

I have to admit, I started reading this book once before and it just seemed a bit slow to me so I never finished it. However, being a fan of The Lord of the Rings films and rather excited about the up-coming release of The Hobbit film, I knew I had to give it a second chance. The verdict? Despite a slow start and somewhat unusual writing style, it really is a great book.

Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit, has been hired on by the wizard Gandalf as a reluc-tant burglar to assist 13 dwarves in killing the mighty dragon Smaug and re-claiming the dwarves’ homeland and, of course, a great amount of treasure. Bilbo had absolutely no intention of going on a journey such as this (he is not even a burglar thank you very much!) but somehow he cannot resist the pull of the adventure. As the story unfolds, Bilbo proves that he truly is a resource-ful little hobbit, full of wit and courage, who, with the help of a certain mysteri-ous ring, becomes the savior of the journey.

The book is full of unique characters and creatures, and the quest to find and kill Smaug leads the company into one adventure after another. I highly rec-ommend that you check this one out before the release of the film!

Review by Ann Raia

Share on Facebook

Thanksgiving Break is next week! For those of you still needing to get to the Library, here are our hours next week starting on Monday, November 19th!

Thanksgiving Break Hours (11/19/12 - 11/25/12):

—-

Remember, you can also visit our Hours/Phone page for a link to our calendar of upcoming Library hours:http://www.occc.edu/Library/Hours.html

Image source: Roast Turkey Served With Vegetables And Cranberry Sauce. Photograph. Encyclopædia Britannica Image Quest. Web. 16 Nov 2012.http://quest.eb.com/images/118_796119

In celebration of International Student Education Week (Monday, November 12th through Friday, November 16th), please stop by our first floor display table near the Circulation Desk.

Remember, if you see any titles you like, just take them to the Circulation Desk to check out!

Or, browse the table’s titles online on the Library’s Pinterest page.

Today is the big day! Time to (re)elect your existing/new President!

Not sure where to vote?

Try the Oklahoma State Election Board’s Where Do I Vote? online search: http://www.ok.gov/elections/ppl/index.php

Or, contact your County Electon board by browsing the following list of phone numbers: http://www.ok.gov/elections/documents/cebinfo.pdf

Besides the President, what else am I voting on?

Check out the Oklahoma Policy Institute’s 2012 State Questions- Summary and Analysis at http://okpolicy.org/2012-state-questions-summary-and-analysis.

Or, check out the Oklahoman’s Election Coverage. Just visit http://www.newsok.com/politics/elections

What do I need to vote?

You must have proof of identification to vote in Oklahoma– Driver’s license, voter id card, passport, military id… For more specifics, please see this page.

Polls are open 7am to 7pm so make sure to schedule yourself some time to…

VOTE!

Image source: Vote. . Photography. Encyclopædia Britannica Image Quest. Web. 5 Nov 2012.http://quest.eb.com/images/142_2337830

Follow our Bathroom Stall Reviews (current month and past) on Pinterest!

November Reivews

Title: Soundings: The Story of the Remarkable Woman Who Mapped the Ocean Floor
By:Felt, Hali
Pub date:2012
Call number: GA407 .T43 F45 2012

Things really were different then!  Marie Tharp had a mastersmaster’s degree in geology, but as a woman in the 1940s, she could not be hired as in a professional position.  In fact, all the women at the Columbia University geophysical lab were either secretaries or spent all day doing math calculations for the male scientists’ research—in pre-computer days, someone had to do it.

Marie pushed until she was hired to plot data points from soundings of the depths of the ocean made from research ships.  With her geology knowledge plus persistence and imagination,  Marie was able to create the first ever maps of the ocean floors—in about 1960.  Even more dramatically, she discovered the largest feature on the planet—a 40,000 mile long system of rifts circling the globe and key to understanding continental drift and mountain building!

Review by Rachel Butler

—-

Title: The Sociopath Next Door
By:Martha Stout
Pub date:2005
Call number: RC555 .S76 2005, 2nd floor of the Library (Also available as an audio book in the audio book area)

Sociopaths don’t always kill. Some do, but most only like to destroy. In particular, others’ lives and peace of mind.

Think about it? Do you have a spouse or partner that never seems to understand why their actions or behavior (lying, cheating, stealing) would be hurtful? What about a coworker who seems out for blood for no reason other than for something to do? Or a friend whose behavior towards you borders sadistic?

If you find yourself running into sociopath after sociopath after sociopath… It might be due to this author’s shocking revelation— that 4% of normal, ordinary, everyday people (1 in 25) have no conscious and suffer from sociopathy.

To possess a conscious, one would think that it would be a given with every human, but the truly unconscionable possess no ability to feel shame, guilt or sorrow. Also, they usually aren’t the type of people you would think, rarely the withdrawn and sullen, but instead, they’re usually magnetic, charming, and popular. Sociopaths will do whatever they want and will feel absolutely no responsibility for the pain they have caused and, more importantly, no guilt because they’re not capable.

If you have ever found yourself in a situation with a sociopath, this book serves not on how to deal with them, but on how to avoid them. Because, as Rule #8 out of Dr. Stout’s 13 rules for handling a sociopath states: “The best way to protect yourself from a sociopath— Avoid them completely.”

Sociopaths won’t change. They can’t. However,  this book will prep you for a change. In particular, how to distinguish a sociopath from their charming façade and on how to rid your life of their negative influences and pain

Review by Amanda Elizabeth Lemon

—-

Title: Impulse
By:Ellen Hopkins
Pub date:2008
Call number: PS3558 .O62 I47 2008, 2nd floor of the Library

What interested me about this book were the pages. These pages aren’t text-heavy. In fact, they will remind you of the poetry that they are. So this is a totally novel approach to tell a story in free form poetry. (Ok. Shakespeare told stories in poetry but his rhymed.)

If you are looking for a light read, this is not it. The subject matter is hard and depressing. There is language. But it is an honest attempt at discussing teenage depression through drug use as well as cutting but also what situations lead to such behaviors.

The story is told in three voices.  These individual (voices?) captivated me. I really liked them and wanted to nurture them. They needed the love they didn’t have in their families of origin. It is a well-written story and will leave you with all kinds of (conflicting?) emotions.

Review by MaryGrace Berkowitz

—-

Title: Hyena Nights & Kalahari Days
By: Mills, M. G. L.
Pub date: 2011
Call number: QL737 .C24 M535 2011

If you have ever wanted a deeper look into the lives of hyenas and what goes into studying them, the book Hyena Nights & Kalahari Days by Gus and Margie Mills is for you. Set in the Kalahari in the 1970s, when proper radio collaring of animals was in its infancy, Gus and Margie tell the story of the trials and rewards of studying both brown and spotted hyenas. Both explore important questions as to the animals’ behavior: do brown and spotted hyenas compete for food? Are they aggressive toward each other? How to they fare among larger predators and what are the differences between both species in raising young? These are only a few of the important topics that these two dedicated researchers study. Using only the stars as their compass as they traverse over sandy dunes, the Mills made it their passion to understand the hyenas’ niche in nature, despite various tribulations.

Gus and Margie are also a newlywed couple and Margie fills in the details as to what it was like to get to know married life not in the comfort of a house, but in a tented desert home, and how Margie tried her best to make it as homey as possible despite dust storms that can render hours’ worth of cleaning meaningless in minutes!

Gus became one of the first biologists to study the hyena in the Kalahari and his wife, Margie, was his technician. Even she, at times, wondered what she was doing out in the middle of nowhere where the closest fresh tomato was 420 kilometers away. The only news of the outside world was the BBC radio. However, their dedication is very inspiring. The Mills even have children together in this wondrous, sometimes unforgiving landscape. It is funny to read how Gus proclaimed to never hear the babies at night when they cried, according to Margie, but as soon as a spotted hyena called in the far distance, Gus woke right up, enthused about the “music in his ears.” After reading this book, I have a great appreciation for the Mills’ hard work and how they helped today’s scientists understand the lives of brown and spotted hyenas.

Review by Kristi Hendricks

Come to Student Life’s Brown Bag about the Library and its eBoooks this Halloween (Wednesday, October 31st) from 12pm to 1pm in CU1.

It should be an informative (and spooky) session about the Library’s Overdrive and EBSCOHost ebooks.

They’re will be prizes and candy! And a Librarian who loves black cats and Halloween so…

COME!