Need a new book?

Can you believe September is ending already?! I know that classes are in full swing, which inevitably means late night study sessions in Snell, long papers and lab reports, and lots of coffee. But if you’re a Communications major like me and you have a lot of free time on your hands (JUST KIDDING) you might be looking for an interesting book to read. Well, I can give you three, thanks to Stieg Larsson’s Millennium Trilogy, which includes The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest. The primary characters are Lisbeth Salander, an intelligent computer hacker in her twenties, and Mikael Blomkvist, a middle-aged, womanizing investigative journalist. Throughout the series we learn both characters have certain personality flaws, but regardless, you can’t help but root for them as they battle a slew of bad guys, including crooked businessmen, deplorable rapists, and freakish murderers. This is a series that both males and females can enjoy—Lisbeth is a strong female character who resonates with women, but the strong plot led by Blomkvist is packed with enough action to keep the guys interested. If you’re still not convinced, the trilogy has turned Larsson into a #1 International Best Seller (tragically he died before the books were published and never got to see the success of his work). A Swedish film company has already turned the books into movies, but if you’re not into subtitles, the first American adaptation of the trilogy starring Daniel Craig as Mikael Blomkvist is set to be released next year. Personally, I can’t wait. Although I have nothing but praise for Larsson’s work, I should probably issue a warning that The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo starts out slow. But once you are past the first one-hundred pages or so, you will be hooked. So next time you get a study break, check into Snell and check out Larsson’s thrilling series. Happy reading!

Sept. 27, 2010: On This Day in History

On September 27th, 1998 a record was set that we would have never thought could be done, and one we never thought would be repeated. Mark McGwire of the St. Louis Cardinals hit his record-setting 69th and 70th home runs in the last game of the season to beat out Sammy Sosa in the Home Run race. At that time, the use of steroids wasn’t even a consideration. Years later, when the record was impossibly broken by Barry Bonds*, there were countless questions, accusations, and investigations to his sudden power surge. This resulted in the largest exposure of a drug scandal to hit professional sports ever, and has spurred on completely new areas of study about sports, regulation, and the standards by owners that lead to drug abuse. New to the University Libraries are some books written on the subject in the current year, past much of the controversy and accusations. These books are able to reflect and give a fresh perspective now that most athletes involved have been named and regulations imposed. The effect is far from over however, as we see stricter testing and more importance being put on the public image of individuals as well as entire teams and sports organizations. Here are some sample titles in Snell Library’s collections: Doping in Sports Athletes who Indulge Their Dark Side Bad Sports: How Owners Are Ruining the Games We Love and more!

Hot debate over drying your hands at Snell

Ever wash your hands and have no paper towels left? Leaving you to shake them as fast as you can, rub them on your clothes, or hold them awkwardly away from your body while they air dry? Of course that never happens at Northeastern, because of our great Facilities branch, but at Snell Library it will never, ever happen. In conjunction with sustainable initiatives around Northeastern, you will find warm-air dryers slowly replacing paper towel dispensers in all Snell Library bathrooms. In addition to reducing litter and solid waste, the warm-air dryers require minimal maintenance (no refilling) which will help save time and money in Snell. We’d love to hear your input, do you like warm-air dryers, or prefer plain old paper towels? Me personally, I like the warm-air dryers. The sustainability and savings aspect is all well and good but the real benefit of those is being able to do this:

Welcome Nina Shah!

Please join me in welcoming Nina Shah, our newest addition to the Northeastern University Libraries’ Advancement and Marketing team. Nina started on Monday, September 20th in her role as the Library’s Advancement, Marketing, and Communications Assistant. She brings two years of professional marketing experience to Northeastern through her previous position as a Marketing Analyst for EnerNOC Inc., an energy management firm in downtown Boston. Prior to EnerNOC, Nina received her business degree from Villanova University where she majored in Marketing and minored in International Business. She has a diverse background in marketing including event and tradeshow planning and execution, customer service and retention, budgeting and fundraising, corporate branding, and market research. She loves to travel, experience new cultures, and eat delicious food. She also enjoys the outdoors, especially hiking, kayaking, camping, biking and swimming. Nina is looking forward to meeting other members of the Northeastern community and is enjoying diving into her new role!

‘The Town’ Comes Home

Everyone in Boston seems to be buzzing about The Town, and while I haven’t had the chance to see it yet, what with classes in full swing, I have to agree that it looks pretty fantastic. But, seeing as I’m a usual skeptic before watching movies longer than an hour and a half, I did a little research first. After seeing that Ben Affleck’s previous foray into directing (Gone Baby Gone, Oct 2007) was hailed by many critics and received a 7.5 out of 10 on metacritic.com, I decided to watch the trailer for The Town, and really see what this thing is about. For those who don’t know yet, The Town is set in Charlestown and the North End, and seems to be a mix of the Bourne movies with less mystery, and more of an inlaid plot conflict, with Affleck’s character falling in love with the hostage taken from a robbery, who has no idea of his true identity. The film has had a great opening weekend, grossing over 23 million dollars. (You can read reviews here.) The Town also stars Chris Cooper (American Beauty, Capote), whose wife, Marianne Leone, will be visiting Snell Library for a Meet the Author event on November 3. She’ll be discussing her book, Knowing Jesse, about the couple’s son who passed away in 2005 due to complications from cerebral palsy.