Made in the Maker Spot: September & October 2016

We are so glad all the students are back, and y'all have been keeping us busy! We've had so many cool things made since school started, that I can't even begin to list them all, so I've included a few highlights below. As always, if this inspires you to start making, you can visit us in Room 250 on the Upper Level of the library, or at http://www.tarleton.edu/library/makerspot.html.

Halloween Decorations

Mech

Original Game Boy Holder

Double Helix DNA Strand

Apple Watch Holder and Charging Dock

Student-designed mini-teacup

Dog skull model

Top Ten Tuesday: The Top Ten Horror Novels and Stories

Since Halloween is just a couple of weeks away, you might be in the mood to read something scary. According to The Top Tens (a website where Internet users can create and vote on top ten lists on a wide variety of topics) these are the top ten horror novels and stories:  

1. The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe. Available in the library in the Norton Anthology of Short Fiction. 

Poe in 1849.
This work is in the public domain.

2. Misery by Stephen King. Available in the library. 

3. Cujo by Stephen King. Available in the library. 

4. The Black Cat by Edgar Allen Poe. Available in the library in the Ghostly Tales and Eerie Poems of Edgar Allen Poe. 

5. The Pit and the Pendulum by Edgar Allen Poe. Available in the library in the Ghostly Tales and Eerie Poems of Edgar Allen Poe. 

6. They Thirst by Robert McCammon

7. The Cellar by Richard Laymon

8. Pet Sematary by Stephen King

9. It by Stephen King

10. Incarnate by Ramsey Campbell

The bottom five aren't currently available in the library. However, you can use our interlibrary loan service to request them. Or you could get a TexShare card from us and use it to borrow them from another library. Or you could use the suggest a purchase form if you think we should add these books to our collection.

Halloween in the Library's Catalog

With Halloween in just a few days, I thought it would be interesting to see what I would find if I just searched "Halloween" in the library's catalog.  The result is 72 hits with various items such as cookbooks, videos, films, histories of hoaxes and other historical accounts of gruesome happenings, as well as children's books and math exercises using literature.  One particular hit is that of a musical offering: Sabla Tolo II by Hossam Ramz which includes a piece called, "Halloween".

This item is streaming sound file through which patrons may simply open up the record and listen to a song by clicking on the name of the piece. 

The song, "Halloween", is nothing like we would imagine a song entitled "Halloween" to sound like - no screeching cats, claps of thunder, or howling ghosts.
Give it try; click here to listen.

Halloween and popular culture

In honor of All Hallow's Eve I thought it would be interesting to look into how the holiday has affected popular culture, particularly through film and media. The library has several books on the topic including a few on the history of Halloween. Take a look and remember that our databases contain many more articles on the subject as well. Have a fun and safe night Halloween!

(Links take you to the library catalog record where you can get additional information)

Dark Directions: Romero, Craven, Carpenter, and the modern horror film (PN1995.9 H6 P55 2012)
The Martians have landed!: a history of media-driven panics and hoaxes (P96.P75 B37 2012)
Projected Fears: horror films and American culture (PN1995.9 H6 P44 2005)
Of Corpse: death and humor in folklore and popular culture e-book (GR455. O43 2003 EB)
Halloween: from pagan ritual to party night (GT4965. R634 2002)
Death makes a holiday: a cultural history of Halloween (GT4965. S58 2002)

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/frankpierson/5137884947/in/photostream/

Chills and thrills for your Halloween

It's finally time for one of my favorite days of the year! The library has lots of things to help you get in the mood for Halloween - I've listed some suggestions below.

Books:

• Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith - For those of you who prefer your classics to be filled with blood and gore. Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy make a great zombie-killing team.
• The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror 2007 edited by Ellen Datlow, Kelly Link, and Gavin J. Grant - If you can't decide what you want to read, try an anthology.
• Late Victorian Gothic Tales edited by Roger Luckhurst - Another anthology.
• Three Vampire Tales edited by Anne Williams - Polidori's The Vampyre, Le Fanu's Carmilla, and Stoker's Dracula - lots of fun for those who prefer their vampires not to sparkle.
• Dolores Claiborne by Stephen King - We have lots of other books by King, too.
• The Sandman series by Neil Gaiman - An occasionally creepy and unsettling graphic novel series.

DVDs:

• Poltergeist - Ghosts!
• Perfect Blue - Not quite ready for checkout yet, but this one might be a good fit for those who find themselves missing Halloween after it's over. It's an animated psychological thriller about a Japanese pop star who's being terrorized by an overzealous fan.
• Lost, The Complete First Season - Not horror, but this one might be a good choice for those who'd like a few strange and creepy moments without the risk of nightmares.

Fun Halloween Facts

Have you ever wondered why we celebrate Halloween? Where did the idea come from? Why do we carve pumpkins? Since Halloween is right around the corner, I thought a fun Friday post would be about the origins and facts surrounding our common day celebration of Halloween.

According to the website, holidayinsights.com, “Halloween's roots can be traced back to Celtic culture in Ireland. According to their "Druid" religion, November 1st was New Years' on their calendar. The celebration would begin on October 31st and last into the following day. The spirits of all who died in the prior year would rise up and roam the earth on this night…The Irish carved Turnips and put coals or small candles inside. They were placed outside their homes on All Hallow's Eve to ward off evil spirits. They were also known to use potatoes and Rutabagas. When Irish Immigrants came to America, they quickly discovered that Jack O'Lanterns were much easier to carve out and began using them. This truly neat tradition quickly spread to the general population in America and elsewhere”.

If you would like to learn more about Halloween and the traditions surrounding it, you can check out the following books that we have here at the Dick Smith Library:

Halloween: From Pagan Ritual to Party Night
GT4965.R634

A Little Book of Halloween
GT4965.S45

Death Makes a Holiday: A Cultural History of Halloween
GT4965.S58 2002

Top Ten Tuesday – 10 Worst Halloween Treats

TRICK or TREAT!

Last year for Halloween I posted about Halloween candy…this year I'll give you a list of worst Halloween Treats. People mean well…and sometimes it is nice to get something that is not sweet. Most of things are GREAT…just not for Halloween treats. If you knock on my door…its chocolate all the way!

• Apples – love fruit just not for Halloween
  
• Raisins
  
• Quarters or Pennies – (thank you grandma!) but in today's world that just does not cut it
  
• Toothbrushes – (clever idea!)
  
• Juice/drinks boxes – no tomato or carrot please
  
• an IOU – one year my neighbor forgot to buy candy so she gave out IOUs
  
• Brochures or pamphlets – no religious, healthy, or informational literature please
  
• Sugar-free items – they just don't taste right
  
• Pencils
  
• Food coupons
  

Enjoy the list! If you have additional items please share! Have a Happy and Safe Halloween!

If you can read, you CAN COOK

Feel like cooking something yummy? At Recipezaar you can browse by ingredient, cuisine, diet, and more. You can even search Copycat recipes, in case you are just busting for a dish from acertain restaurant, say P.F. Chang's Spare Ribs.

For a timely suggestion, look at their Halloween sweets and treats. I think Severed Fingers and Sewer Water belong on anyone's Halloween spread.

They have almost 400,000 recipes contributed by cooking and baking fans, so you should be able to find something that just hits the spot.