Author Archives: Courtney Bippley

About Courtney Bippley

Courtney is a Reference Librarian at the Main Campus Library. Her favorite genres are fantasy and science fiction. She loves dogs, coffee, and dancing.

New Books for October!

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It’s October!

Fall has officially arrived so feel free to curl up with a blanket, a pumpkin spice latte, and one of these books. Sounds like a perfect afternoon to us.

A woman and child in the desert.
City of Thorns: Nine Lives in the World’s Largest Refugee Camp by Ben Rawlence
A toddler in a skirt with an arm raised looking away from the reader.
Born Bright: A Young Girl’s Journey from Nothing to Something in America by C. Nicole Mason
Power symbol with a gear around it.
Reskilling America: Learning to Labor in the Twenty-First Century by Katherine S. Newman, Hella Winston
A train track winding around the title.
Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
The Olympic medals, gold, silver, and bronze.
Games: A Global History of the Olympics by Davis Goldblatt
Yellow and black text or the title on a white background.
How to Sell Your Art Online: Live a Successful Creative Life on Your Own Terms by Cory Huff
Large, bubble text.
Speak Easy: The Essential Guide to Speaking in Public by Maggie Eyre
Title on cover with a map and ocean background.
Atlantic: Great Sea Battles, Heroic Discoveries, Titanic Storms, and a Vast Ocean of a Million Stories by Simon Winchester
An outline of a woman holding a cupid's bow and arrows.
Labor of Love: The Invention of Dating by Moira Weigel

Book Club Meeting September 26th

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The Durham Tech Library Book Club is having its first meeting for Fall 2016! It will be held in the Schwartz Room right outside the Main Campus Library at 1pm. Check out our libguide for more information.

We will be reading:

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain

At least one-third of the people we know are introverts. They are the ones who prefer listening to speaking, reading to partying; who innovate and create but dislike self-promotion; who favor working on their own over brainstorming in teams. Although they are often labeled “quiet,” it is to introverts that we owe many of the great contributions to society–from van Gogh’s sunflowers to the invention of the personal computer.

Passionately argued, impressively researched, and filled with indelible stories of real people, Quiet shows how dramatically we undervalue introverts, and how much we lose in doing so. Taking the reader on a journey from Dale Carnegie’s birthplace to Harvard Business School, from a Tony Robbins seminar to an evangelical megachurch, Susan Cain charts the rise of the Extrovert Ideal in the twentieth century and explores its far-reaching effects. She talks to Asian-American students who feel alienated from the brash, backslapping atmosphere of American schools. She questions the dominant values of American business culture, where forced collaboration can stand in the way of innovation, and where the leadership potential of introverts is often overlooked. And she draws on cutting-edge research in psychology and neuroscience to reveal the surprising differences between extroverts and introverts.

Perhaps most inspiring, she introduces us to successful introverts–from a witty, high-octane public speaker who recharges in solitude after his talks, to a record-breaking salesman who quietly taps into the power of questions. Finally, she offers invaluable advice on everything from how to better negotiate differences in introvert-extrovert relationships to how to empower an introverted child to when it makes sense to be a “pretend extrovert.”

This extraordinary book has the power to permanently change how we see introverts and, equally important, how introverts see themselves.

Pick up a copy at the library, or find one on your own, and join us for discussion. Introverts, extroverts, and ambiverts are all welcome to attend!

New Books

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Check out these new titles we have for you!

Title in large print with a hand mixer and a power drill.
Useful Book: 201 Life Skills They Used to Teach You in Home Ec and Shop by Sharon and David Bowers
101 Job Interview Questions You’ll Never Fear Again by James Reed
101 Job Interview Questions You’ll Never Fear Again by James Reed
Scenery of the Southwest United States
Other Slavery: The Uncovered Story of Indian Enslavement in America by Andres Resendez
Old timey type dace with a sepia picture of a kitchen
True History of Chocolate, 3rd ed. by Sophie D. Coe, Michael D. Coe
City skyline on what looks like shredded paper
Among the Ten Thousand Things by Julia Pierpont
Minimalist outlines of smiling faces
Ordinarily Well: The Case for Antidepressants by Peter D. Kramer
A sitting pit bull dog.
Pit Bull: The Battle over an American Icon by Bronwen Dickey
Slightly blurry title
Dark Net: Inside the Digital Underworld by Jamie Bartlett
Love Wins: The Lovers and Lawyers who Fought the Landmark Case for Marriage Equality by Debbie Cenziper, Jim Obergefell
Available at the Main Campus Library (KF 229 .O24 C46 2016)

What We’re Reading-An Ember in the Ashes

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This book was read by Courtney Bippley, a Reference Librarian at the Main Campus Library.

A man and a woman standing in the desert.

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

Laia is a Scholar living under the iron-fisted rule of the Martial Empire. When her brother is arrested for treason, Laia goes undercover as a slave at the empire’s greatest military academy in exchange for assistance from rebel Scholars who claim that they will help to save her brother from execution.

Why did you choose to read this book?

It sounded interesting and a book reviewer I follow said good things about it.

What did you like about it?

All the characters are very human, despite all of them being in very dehumanizing circumstances. I was able to understand the motivation behind each character’s actions even when the actions were terrible. The pacing was great as well. I devoured this book very quickly because I had to know what happened next.

What feeling did the book leave you with?

An urge to read the next book, which comes out on August 30th. It feels too far away! Also, I enjoyed that the book managed to stay hopeful even through the oppressive atmosphere of the assassin school.

Who would you recommend the book to?

Anyone who likes fantasy books with good world building and a nice blend of action, political, and interpersonal plots. Fans of The Hunger Games in particular.

Did it remind you of any other book, or a movie?

The assassin training school reminded me of the academy in F.M. Busby’s Star Rebel. They are both comprehensively brutal.

What would you pair this book with?

I would pair this book with its sequel. Because I need it. Right now. Get in my eyeballs!

Interested in reading An Ember in the Ashes for yourself? Check it out from the library!

Want to read A Torch Against the Night, the second book in the series that will be coming out August 30th? Use the book request form to ask the Durham Tech Library to buy it.

I Ain’t Afraid of No Ghosts!

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Prepare yourself for the new Ghostbusters movie by reading some ghost stories from the Durham Tech Library. Some are scary, some are funny, but they all have those opaque apparitions we love to fear!

A black cat on a grey and white background.

Collected and introduced by the bestselling author of The Time Traveler’s Wife and Her Fearful Symmetry–including her own fabulous new illustrations for each piece, and a new story by Niffenegger–this is a unique and haunting anthology of some of the best ghost stories of all time. From Edgar Allen Poe to Kelly Link, M.R. James to Neil Gaiman, H. H. Munro to Audrey Niffenegger herself, Ghostly reveals the evolution of the ghost story genre with tales going back to the eighteenth century and into the modern era, ranging across styles from Gothic Horror to Victorian, with a particular bent toward stories about haunting–haunted children, animals, houses. Every story is introduced by Audrey Niffenegger, an acclaimed master of the craft, with some words on its background and why she chose to include it. Niffenegger’s own story is, “A Secret Life With Cats.” Perfect for the classic and contemporary ghost story aficionado, this is a delightful volume, beautifully illustrated. Ghostly showcases the best of the best in the field, including Edith Wharton, P.G. Wodehouse, A.S. Byatt, Ray Bradbury, and so many more.

Drawn girl with a ghostly outline in her black hair.

 

Of all the things Anya expected to find at the bottom of an old well, a new friend wasn’t one of them. Especially not a new friend who’s been dead for a century. Falling down a well is bad enough, but Anya’s normal life might actually be worse. She’s embarrassed by her family, self-conscious about her body, and she’s pretty much given up on fitting in at school. A new friend–even a dead one–is just what she needs. But Anya’s new BFF isn’t kidding about the ‘forever’ part…

Title over green smoke coming from a house chimney.

When Jeremy Johnson Johnson’s strange ability to speak to the ghost of Jacob Grimm draws the interest of his classmate Ginger Boltinghouse, the two find themselves at the center of a series of disappearances in their hometown.

Negative space silhouettes over flames.

Since losing both of her parents, fifteen-year-old Katie can see and talk to ghosts, which makes her a loner until fellow student Law sees her drawing of a historic house and together they seek a treasure rumored to be hidden there by illegal slave-traders.

New Books

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Our last set of new books for Spring 2016 have arrived. Check out some of these titles over the summer!

Invisible History of the Human Race: How DNA and History Shapes our Identities and our Futures by Christine Kenneally
Invisible History of the Human Race: How DNA and History Shapes our Identities and our Futures by Christine Kenneally
Getting Gamers: The Psychology of Video Games and Their Impact on the People Who Play Them by Jamie Madigan
Getting Gamers: The Psychology of Video Games and Their Impact on the People Who Play Them by Jamie Madigan
Overcome Phobias and Panic Attacks by Sandi Mann
Overcome Phobias and Panic Attacks by Sandi Mann
Color and Culture: Practice and Meaning from Antiquity to Abstraction by John Gage
Color and Culture: Practice and Meaning from Antiquity to Abstraction by John Gage
Bringing Nature Home: How You Can Sustain Wildlife with Native Plants by Douglas W. Tallamy
Bringing Nature Home: How You Can Sustain Wildlife with Native Plants by Douglas W. Tallamy
Saving Lives: Why the Media’s Portrayal of Nursing Puts Us All at Risk, updated 2nd ed. by Sandy Summers, Harry Jacobs Summers
Saving Lives: Why the Media’s Portrayal of Nursing Puts Us All at Risk, updated 2nd ed. by Sandy Summers, Harry Jacobs Summers
Privacy in the Age of Big Data: Recognizing Threats, Defending Your Rights, and Protecting Your Family by Theresa M. Payton, Theodore Claypoole
Privacy in the Age of Big Data: Recognizing Threats, Defending Your Rights, and Protecting Your Family by Theresa M. Payton, Theodore Claypoole
From BlackLivesMatter to Black Liberation by Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor
Available at the Main and Orange County Campus (E 185.86 .T367 2016)
Copping Out: The Consequences of Police Corruption and Misconduct by Anthony Stanford
Copping Out: The Consequences of Police Corruption and Misconduct by Anthony Stanford

Copyright Questions?

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Durham Tech Library Logo

Want to show a movie in your class? Wondering about all the memes you use in your PowerPoint slides? Have doubts about the famous essay you uploaded to Sakai?

We can help!

The Durham Tech Library now has a libguide to help you with all your copyright questions and concerns. It covers Fair Use, the TEACH Act, and books you can check out for more in depth information. 

We’ve included links to sites where you can find images and resources that are either without copyright restrictions, or under a creative commons license. Use this guide to determine whether your use of a work is fair, or covered under the TEACH Act.