Wonder of the Web: Wolfram|Alpha

If you are not aware of the Wolfram|Alpha computational search engine, you probably should be. It's really something else - as it states on the homepage: "Today's Wolfram|Alpha is the first step in an ambitious, long-term project to make all systematic knowledge immediately computable by anyone."

I don't know who these people are, but they need a lot more initiative. Sheesh. (Actually, you can now watch the man responsible for WolframAlpha give a dynamic 20-minute presentation.)

At any rate, it turns out that Wolfram|Alpha can actually give step-by-step solutions to quadratic problems, as demonstrated in this blog post. It can also be a very handy search engine for finding anything from finding out how many milliliters are in 10 Tbsp, the population density of Ghana (given by square mile, square kilometre, and square foot, no less), or where the note A is located on a keyboard (it will even play the note for you!).

Hundreds of other examples are also available, from elementary math to ocean comparisons to languages.

Notably, Wolfram|Alpha provides what they call source information for the data presented in their results, which are not necessarily where the information came from but further sources for similar information. These other sources are conveniently linked in the source information list.

This is definitely worth a look for those interested in math and science, but Wolfram|Alpha has data that applies to pretty much every other subject area as well.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie trailer!

The Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie based on the hilarious books of the same name will be released on April 2nd.

New Orca Soundings books

Orca Soundings series

Running the risk by Lesley Choyce

Impact by James C. Dekker

Hannah's touch by Laura Langston

Jacked by Carrie Mac

Back by Norah McClintock

Picture this by Norah McClintock

In the woods by Robin Stevenson

Riley Park by Diane Tullson

Other fiction from Orca Publishers

Sister wife by Shelley Hrdlitschka

The Beckoners by Carrie Mac

Five minutes more by Darlene Ryan

Review: Audrey, wait!

Audrey, wait! by Robin Benway

Audrey is really into music and has just broken up with her boyfriend Evan, who is in a band at their high school. Things seem to be going fine until Evan comes on stage at a concert and sings a song he wrote about their break-up called "Audrey, wait!" The song goes on a meteoric rise to the top of the Billboard charts and makes Evan's band - and Audrey - famous. Between being followed by paparazzi, having people on the internet gossip about her every move, and needing to quit her part-time job (where she has a really cute coworker), Audrey finds out fame may not be all it's cracked up to be.

I adored this book, especially because I loved the characters. Audrey is very likable, her parents are fantastic, and the conversations between Audrey and her best friend Victoria are often completely hilarious. I laughed out loud several times and got completely sucked into the dramas going on in Audrey's life to the point where I couldn't wait to get home and read more. (Given my slack reading patterns lately, that is notable!)

Music is all throughout this novel, and the lyrics quoted at the beginning of each chapter were not only appropriate but had me Googling a few artists who were new to me. Robin Benway is obviously enthusiastic and knowledgeable about music and it pervades the entire book.

Overall, this is a very fun book that I will happily read again.

4.5 stars out of 5 for Audrey, wait!

Read the first chapter online.

November links

Remembrance Day

Remembrance Day is only a week away, and as always we should take this opportunity to reflect upon what members of previous generations have sacrificed for us to live the lives of freedom that we have today. Not only that, but consider how current generations are working to protect that freedom and, remarkably, some people work to defuse live bombs almost a century old. Nearly 80 websites related to Remembrance Day are linked below, and library books are viewable as well.

Remembrance Day links (click on the keywords to see the lists of links):

New bookmarks

Borrow Anywhere, Return Anywhere

From the Government of Nova Scotia website:

A new library program gives Nova Scotians free access to more than 100 libraries in the province, regardless of where they live.

Under the initiative, a Nova Scotian can visit any public, university or college library in the province and borrow or return library items.

They don't need to be living in the area or attending the university.

This is an incredible program, and you can view the list of participating libraries here. Take advantage of it by getting a free library card from the public library (students need parental consent if under the age of 14)!

New books!

A large box of new books arrived late last week, and all are now circulating (except the reference volumes, of course). There is already a lengthy waiting list for Catching Fire.

Fiction

Thirteen reasons why by Jay Asher.

Graceling by Kristin Cashore.

Catching fire by Suzanne Collins.

An abundance of Katherines by John Green.

Meridian by Amber Kizer.

Boy meets boy by David Levithan.

So punk rock: and other ways to disappoint your mother by Micol Ostow

Dead is the new black, Dead is a state of mind, and Dead is so last year by Marlene Perez.

The forest of hands and teeth by Carrie Ryan.

Hell phone by William Sleator.

The arrival by Shaun Tan.

Skinned by Robin Wasserman.

Wake by Lisa McMann.

Nonfiction

Bodies from the ice: melting glaciers and the rediscovery of the past by James M. Deem.

Three cups of tea by Greg Mortenson.

The stuff of life: a graphic guide to genetics and DNA by Mark Schultz.

Reference

30,000 years of art by the editors of Phaidon.

The way we work: getting to know the amazing human body by David Macaulay.

Rainforest by Thomas Marent.

Review: Graceling

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Katsa lives in a land of seven kingdoms and is the orphaned niece of King Randa. She lives freely and comfortably in the castle but must do as Randa demands. It wouldn’t be such an awful trade-off but Randa demands that she does horrible things to other people, for Katsa is Graced with an exceptional ability to kill. She is tired of Randa’s bullying and has started the Council, which uses a network of informants and spies to help people in need.

On one of her rescue missions Katsa encounters Po, a foreign prince Graced with fighting who is trying to unravel the mystery of his kidnapped grandfather. When Katsa and Po eventually discover that they are trying to solve the same problem, they team together to take care of it (and a problematic king) once and for all.

Graceling had been getting rave reviews from tons of blogs and starred reviews from major book review publications, so I decided I had to read it. It has quickly become one of my favourite books and one that I will re-read gladly. There are so many things I loved about this book: Katsa kicks butt but is also hilarious and empathetic, the plot never stops for a moment, and there are twists at every turn. One thing that really impressed me is that the moment I figured something out, the characters figured it out too. Nothing irks me more than knowing something integral to the plot and the characters haven’t a clue until 100 pages later. It drives me crazy! This book is smart, funny (I laughed out loud several times), action-packed, thrilling, and devastatingly romantic. In one word: wow.

Thankfully, Graceling is the first in a series.

5 stars out of 5 for Graceling.

Kristin Cashore’s blog.

An interview with Kristin Cashore.