Sightlines from Central Rappahannock Regional Library
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Sightlines has changed from a printed newsletter to an email format and an audio cartridge. If your email has changed, please let us know. We will be communicating more and more through email. For example, I will email notices if there are any BARD technical problems, we can email the Sightlines newsletter to you, and we are also emailing information about new and popular books that are being rushed to production.
We hope that you enjoyed your audio cartridge of Sightlines. This is something that we are still adjusting and I have gotten a lot of feedback on it, and I appreciate all of the thoughts that you have shared regarding the audio version. If you have a talking book player and you did not receive a Sightlines cartridge, please let me know.
Bookshelf Made Easy: There has been a change to multiple book cartridges, making them easier to use! Now when a book ends, you push “play” to move to the next book on the cartridge. To skip the next book, the “bookshelf” function still works as it always has.
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The library is expanding! The Central Rappahannock Regional Library has opened two new locations. The first to open is the
Spotsylvania Towne Centre Branch, which is open extended hours on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.
The second location is the
Joint Use Branch at the Fried Center, which is located at Barbara J. Fried Center, Germanna Community College, 124 Old Potomac Church Road, Stafford, Virginia. This branch is made possible due to generous support from the Stafford County Board of Supervisors and in partnership with Germanna Community College. CRRL staff are at this location Monday through Thursday 4-8 and Saturday 9-5.
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Here are comments for the summer book group selection,
Lamb in Love by Carrie Brown.
“I liked it very much.”
“It was quite appealing and very well written.”
Book Club Selection for Fall:
In the sordid underbelly of futuristic Japan, we are introduced to Henry Case, a former computer hacker rendered incapable of accessing cyberspace following an incident with his former employer. Having lost the ability to access this cyber environment he once thrived in, he is consumed by a loss of hope. However, his life takes a sharp turn when a local drug lord orders Case killed. He survives the attempt on his life, but only thanks to the unexpected intervention of a young mercenary named Molly. Following this incident, she offers him the ability to access cyberspace once again, but only in exchange for his computer hacking skills. He agrees, but he soon begins to understand that the motives of those involved in this project are not as clear as he thought.
Neuromancer is the first book in author William Gibson’s
Sprawl trilogy, serving not merely as an introduction to the series, but as an excellent standalone science fiction story. In addition to the film Bladerunner (which released as Gibson was writing
Neuromancer), the gritty and technological setting of the book came to define the genre known as cyberpunk. And although the book often needs to explain many of the futuristic technology observed or used by the characters, it never comes off as dry or dull. His rendition of cyberspace was especially creative, depicting it as a virtual 3D environment into which individuals project themselves. The impressive writing doesn’t stop at the setting though.
Neuromancer’s cast of characters feel fully developed and believable, with a multitude of individual character motivations and a full spectrum of moral ambiguity on display. It is an excellent book for those with an interest in science fiction and the philosophical questions and implications of advanced technology.
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Fiction
All We Ever Wanted by Emily Giffin DB 91537
By Invitation Only by Dorothea Benton Frank DB 91548
Clock Dance by Anne Tyler DB 91358
Cottage by the Sea by Debbie Macomber DB 46721
Crooked Staircase by Dean Koontz DB 91680
Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware DB 92117 (In Process)
Good Fight by Danielle Steel DB 91700
Gray Ghost by Clive Cussler DB 91457
Hope Never Dies by Andrew Shaffer DB 92025 (In Process)
I’ve Got My Eyes On You by Mary Higgins Clark DB 91546
NonFiction
Assume the Worst by Carl Hiaasen DB 91640
Bad Blood by John Carreyrou DB 91456
Barracoon by Zora Neale Hurston DB 91547
Death of a Nation by Dinesh D’Souza DB 91954
Don’t Stop the Presses by Patt Morrison DB 91987
Everybody, Always by Bob Goff DB 91552
Fascism by Madeleine Albright DB 91549 (In Process)
Hitler in Los Angeles by Steven J. Ross DB 91443
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Blitab Braille Tablet by Justin Wray
A
recent New York Times article has brought to the fore an interesting and potentially revolutionary new electronic braille reader.
Blitab Technology, a start-up co-founded by Kristina Tsvetanova, plan to be shipping their new product by the end of this year. But this new braille reader is not just a minor, incremental improvement over the existing products in circulation.
As the article explains, the Blitab is a tablet divided into two screens—the bottom screen is a typical Android tablet display and the top screen is a new kind of electronic braille interface. The braille screen of the Blitab contains a 14x23 array of six-dot braille cells. Each of these dots are individually manipulatable, liquid-based bubbles, which create a display full of dynamic tactile pixels (or “tixels”). This large dual-screen arrangement provides braille readers with the convenience and functionality of the average electronic tablet in a way that hasn’t been achieved before. In addition to a price tag of around $500, the Blitab is on track to raise the bar for braille devices, many of which can cost upwards of $1,000, often with only single-line braille displays and comparatively limited features.
Though the Blitab is not currently available, pre-orders will soon be available at
www.blitab.com, according to Kristina Tsvetanova.
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For book reservations, to share a review, or for information on Talking Books, contact:
Beth Solka
540-372-1144 extension 7054
Toll Free: 1-800-628-4807
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Inspiring lifelong learning for everyone in our community.
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Serving Fredericksburg, Stafford, Spotsylvania, and Westmoreland, Virginia.
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