I bet you've done origami - even if you've never heard of it

This is one of the best perks of working in reference at the library: every question asked is different. This means that I get to learn new information right along with the patron.

This past week, I had a person asking about an artist in California. Once I researched it, I discovered that his specialty is origami. I bet that you have done origami, even if you've never heard the word before. Ever make a paper airplane? How about a paper hat? Origami is the Japanese word for the art of paper folding to create decorative shapes or figures.

I still remember the first time I saw a book with directions on making origami animals. I believe I was in junior high. My brother had come back from San Francisco to visit family in Waterloo. He gave me special origami paper and a how-to book. The paper didn't last long, but I still have the book.

Animal Origami is similar to that book. It does take some time and effort to get used to some of the basic folds, but believe me the end result is worth it. In addition to the animals featured on the cover, there are a few others: a crab, a dog, and a monkey.

Have some fun making sculptural animals. It's on the second floor under the call number 736.982 SAT.

c Waterloo Public Library 2007

Those funny politicians

Dear Readers:

Sometimes a person's sense of humor reveals more about a person than any biography or news article does. That's what so great about Funny Letters from Famous People.

The book is divided into Politicians, Authors, and Fine Arts and Show Business. Within each division, a few pages are devoted to an individual person.

Over 70 famous people are in this book. Isaac Asimov, Julia Child, Mozart, Charles Dickens, Benjamin Franklin, Bob Dole, and Abraham Lincoln are just a few.

So, pick up Funny Letters from Famous People and see a side of these people you would never expect. This book is on the second floor, under the call number 826 FUN.

Sincerely,

A librarian

c Waterloo Public Library 2007

Uncovering the mystery of Nancy Drew

When I checked our catalog for Nancy Drew books, I was amazed to find over 100 entries, proving that Nancy Drew is still popular - even after 77 years! Over 80 million copies have been sold since she was first introduced in 1930.

Another proof of her lasting power, Rediscovering Nancy Drew is the outcome of a conference held in 1993 at the University of Iowa. Why there, you might ask? It's because the women staff and faculty at the U of I's School of Journalism and Mass Communication discovered that the author of the original Nancy Drew books was the first person to earn a master's degree in journalism at Iowa - Mildred Wirt Benson, who wrote under the name of Carolyn Keene.

Editors Carolyn Stewart Dyer and Nancy Tillman Romalov have compiled several essays by people who have a variety of reasons for participating. Here are some of them:

• Mildred Wirt Benson (of course) - who wrote the original stories
• Carolyn Keene - the new author of Nancy Drew (using the same pen name as Benson)
• Donnarae MacCann - who discusses the racism in the older books
• Phil Zucherman - who writes about reprinting the classics
• Anne Greenberg - who discusses the new Nancy Drew

Rediscovering Nancy Drew can be found on the second floor under the number 813.52 RED.

c Waterloo Public Library 2007

The subject of this book is as much fun to read as it is to chew!

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What fun we had!

I have fond memories of the times when my sisters and I would have contests to see who could blow the biggest bubble with our gum. Our mother probably wouldn't agree, since she had to clean up the aftermath that exploded in our hair. I never won the contests - my sisters said I had too much hot air.

Did you ever smack your gum just to irritate your sisters? That activity got me into trouble with all my family - especially Dad. I was such a bratty brother when I was young.

Gum is still a favorite with kids.

This is the only book I've seen that deals with this favorite pastime. The Great American Chewing Gum Book by Robert Hendrickson gives the history of this delightful treat - from the first chewing gum of the early Greeks and Indians, to the wildly popular baseball cards that came with gum, to gum becoming healthy.

But don't worry - this isn't boring. The author talks about chewing gum in paintings and sculptures (a photo shows a solid gold wad of gum, complete with teeth marks) and fantastic bubble blowers.

This book is sure to bring back memories.

Just remember: If you're reading this book in bed while chewing gum, don't stick your gum on the bedpost when you get sleepy. It'll lose it's flavor (it's been proven).

You can find The Great American Chewing Gum Book on the second floor under the call number 641.3 HEN.

c Waterloo Public Library 2007

Ted Turner proved them wrong

I saw Jane Fonda on the "Colbert Report" just lately, promoting her new movie. Anyone who saw it, knows what I'm talking about when I say that she got the best of Stephen Colbert during the interview.

While watching this program, I began to wonder what it would be like to meet Jane and her husband Ted Turner during the time when they were married from 1991 to 2001. They are both such independent and strong-minded individuals.

Over the years, I have read books on Jane Fonda's life, but not much on Ted Turner's - besides newspaper and magazine articles.

CNN: the Inside Story, by Hank Whittemore, is a good introduction to understanding Turner's personality.

TBS, the Superstation, was just getting a good start when Ted Turner started brainstorming about an all-news cable television station. Willing to gamble everything, he set out to accomplish this very goal when people said it wouldn't fly. Those naysayers were proven wrong.

CNN: the Inside Story is on the second second floor under the call number 070.433 WHI.

c Waterloo Public Library 2007

This book about a couple of cops is worth investigating

Sometimes I think that we should have a section called "Don't judge a book by it's cover." This one definitely applies.

George Cuomo, the author of Couple of Cops, writes about his two cousins and the cases they have been involved in. Al Della Penna is a crime scene investigator and John Cuomo is a street cop. They are both in the New York area.

There are several cases these two have worked on, but there is one crime that many may have heard of before. The Amityville case (yes, the one on which The Amityville Horror is based) was one of Penna's cases.

The stories are told in the first person, allowing both cousins to speak directly to the reader, giving us a better feel for their personalities. But the author does interject his own comments throughout the book.

Even if the cover is unappealing, A Couple of Cops: On the Street, in the Crime Lab is worth investigating. It is found on the second floor under the call number 363.2 CUO.

c Waterloo Public Library 2007

Backwards reading

The Same River Twice
by Alice Walker

I'm probably one of the few people who would read a book that was about another book, before reading the first book (and yes, that sentence is confusing)!

I picked up a book by Alice Walker titled "The Same River Twice: Honoring the Difficult." I have to admit, that it was the subtitle on the book that attracted me -- I'd been a little stressed lately, and I was intrigued by the idea of "honoring the difficult" instead of cursing it.

Turns out the book was about Ms. Walker's life during the time that "The Color Purple," her Pulitzer-Prize winning book, was being filmed as a movie. Ms. Walker was ill from Lyme disease at the time, and the storm of praise and criticism she received from writing the book and turning it into the movie was almost more than she could handle.

Ms. Walker has a beautiful prose style that is easy to read, and although I had never read nor seen "The Color Purple," I continued reading this book.

Now that I know what her writing feels like, I will be seeking out more of it, and will be checking out "The Color Purple" soon.

If you want to read this book, you can find it on the 2nd Floor of the library, call number 813.54 WAL.

c Waterloo Public Library 2007