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Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul!

by PizzaPuppy

The newest Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie is in theaters, which makes now a great time to revisit your favorite Wimpy Kid, as well as to catch up on any you may have missed.

The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series consists of the original book, as well as the sequels Rodrick Rules, The Last Straw, Dog Days, The Ugly Truth, Cabin Fever, The Third Wheel, Hard Luck, The Long Haul, Old School, and Double Down, with the newest sequel The Getaway due to be released on November 7th, 2017. These books have audiobook companions, which can be found here. The series also has a few supplementary books, including the Do-It-Yourself Book and the Movie Diary for the original movie. You can find out more about the author in Who is Jeff Kinney?.

The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series also consists of several movies, including Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Rodrick Rules, Dog Days and the newest one out in theaters: The Long Haul.

Have you already exhausted everything Diary of a Wimpy Kid? There are several book series that are quite similar to Diary of Wimpy Kid, including the Big Nate series, the Dork Diaries series, and the Amelia's Notebook series, Max Disaster series and Daphne's Diary of Daily Disasters series (all by Marissa Moss). The Ellie McDoodle series is popular, as well as the Middle School series by James Patterson. Doodlebug: A Novel in Doodles, Charlie Joe Jackson's Guide to Not Reading, and The Loser List are also great picks for Wimpy Kid fans.

For more suggestions, take a look at our public lists: Diary of a Wimpy Kid Read Alikes and Children's Diary and Journal Narratives.

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TV Spotlight: Northern Exposure

by manz

If you’re ready to throw yourself back into the 90s, Northern Exposure will do the trick. The television show aired a total of six seasons from 1990-1995, and starred Rob Morrow, Barry Corbin, Janine Turner, John Cullum, Darren E. Burrows, John Corbett, and Cynthia Geary.

New York doctor and recent Columbia graduate Joel Fleishman agrees to head to Alaska to work a post in return for payment for his medical education. Sounds like a fair deal! Except he ends up in Cicely, Alaska, which may as well be the end of the earth for Dr. Fleishman. With the culture shock of being outside of New York and in such a small town with such quirky characters, the doctor doesn’t know how he’ll survive there for years. With the help of new friendships with some of the locals and a will-they-wont-they romance with the town’s beauty, Dr. F eventually moves on with life’s new adventures in the beautifully scenic Cicely, and begrudgingly eats moose burgers and wears the biggest parka he's ever owned, while treating patients on a daily basis.

I loved this show when it first aired, and it’s a classic now to watch again. The first three seasons are the best, then it slowly peters out. The stories with elements of supernatural weirdness in such a pretty landscape are fun to get caught up in. With such great writing and acting, it’s no wonder the show is critically acclaimed with many awards, including Emmys and Golden Globes.

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The Summer of Love Turns 50!

by amy

The Summer of Love’s foggy origins lay in the Bay area’s 1950s Beat culture, the merry pranksters’ 1964-66 acid tests, and politically disaffected Berkeley students. In January 1967, The Doors release their eponymous album in Los Angeles and the Human Be-In at Golden Gate Park promotes cultural decentralization, communal living, radical politics, and higher consciousness fueled by drug use. In February, Jefferson Airplane takes off with their breakout album, Surrealistic Pillow, and by May the Mamas and the Papas’ John Phillips writes “San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Flowers in Your Hair)” whose Scott McKenzie cover will hit #4 on Billboard’s Hot 100 by July 1. As if all this wasn’t enough, the Beatles release Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s Club Band on June 1 and two weeks later The Jimi Hendrix Experience performs at the Monterey Pop Festival.

Meanwhile, in Michigan, the Detroit race riots at the end of July bring John Sinclair’s Trans-Love Energies commune (and future White Panthers) to Ann Arbor, and in August they stage a free concert by the Grateful Dead in Ann Arbor's West Park.

And this is how the summer of 1967 gave birth to the hippie!

Here are a few videos to help you make sense of all this hippie love:

Beatles Anthology
Berkeley in the Sixties
Complete Monterey Pop Festival
The Jimi Hendrix Experience live at Monterey

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New TV Shows @ AADL, Pt. 3

by manz

The library is always acquiring additional TV shows and new seasons of them, be they popular, new, or classics. Here are more new-to-AADL series:

The Night Shift, Seasons 1 & 2
An ensemble medical show about a group of ex-Army doctors who work the night shift at a hospital and do whatever it takes to help their patients. Using battlefield-tested medical skills, doctors clash with hospital bureaucrats who are more worried about the bottom line than the lives of their patients.

Van Helsing, Season 1
The series is set in the near future where vampires have risen and taken control. Vanessa Van Helsing is humanity's last hope for survival, as her unique blood composition gives her the ability to turn vampires human. With this secret weapon, Vanessa becomes a prime target for the vampires.

Remember Me
The day Tom Parfitt moves from his home into residential care, he becomes the sole witness to a violent death.

Newsreaders, Season 1
The show is an absurd take on the television news magazine format, a show that goes behind the stories nobody else thinks are stories - because they're not.

The Game, Seasons 1-6
Discover the way the game of life is played in the all-star first season of this winning series filled with friendship, love and laughs.

Defiance, Seasons 1-3
It's 2046, and over 30 years have passed since aliens arrived, changing life on Earth forever. In the frontier town of Defiance, a drifter-turned-lawkeeper and the newly-appointed mayor attempt to lead the human and alien residents through the prejudices and politics that threaten the fragile peace they've fought for.

Fore more TV shows, be sure to check out AADL’s lists for HOT TV shows, as well as NEW TV shows.

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New Addition to the Alien Franchise

by PizzaPuppy

With Alien:Covenant being released this Friday in theaters, now is the perfect time to revisit the previous installments in the classic science fiction horror series.

Here at AADL, we have the original Alien on DVD and Blu-ray, as well as the sequels Aliens and Alien 3. These first three movies (as well as Alien: Resurrection) have also been collected into one set called the Alien Quadrilogy. We also have AVP: Alien vs. Predator, a cross-over between this series and the Predator series, as well as the most recent addition to the franchise: a prequel called Prometheus. While originally Prometheus was merely set in the same universe as Alien and was not considered to have a direct connection to the previous movies, Alien:Covenant is a direct sequel to Prometheus and therefore ties it directly back into the franchise.

The Alien franchise has also produced several books, including Alien: Sea of Sorrows and the brand new Aliens: Bug Hunt: All New Tales from the Expanded Alien Universe. There's a great graphic novel series that has been collected into an Alien Omnibus (other volumes can be found here and here), as well as the graphic novella Aliens: Fast Track to Heaven.

In addition to all of this, we also have an awesome Art Print: Alien, 2015, created by local artist Jeremy Wheeler. This Art Print and other cool Tools are available for checkout with your LCard.

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IT IS HAPPENING AGAIN…

by manz

The new series of Twin Peaks debuts on Showtime in less than a week. Yes, that’s right, on Sunday, May 21 folks will be glued to their seats and floating in the magical world of this cult TV show once again. There has been so much buzz about this project since it was announced in 2014. I personally cannot wait.

Peaks first aired 27 years ago in the spring of 1990, and lasted two seasons. It revolved around the murder of teenage Laura Palmer and the subsequent investigation by local law enforcement and an (unforgettable, coffee-loving) FBI agent. The murder was solved, and the series continued, but was then cancelled due to low ratings.

This new television event will consist of 18 episodes that take place 25 years after the original show ended. And after that cliff hanger of an ending in season 2, what will happen?! This new series was developed and written by David Lynch and Mark Frost, so that, along with the return of many of the original actors, is a good sign that it will be something special.

In a town like Twin Peaks, nothing is at it seems, and the quirky characters that paint the scene make it all the more palatable. So put on that pot of coffee, grab a slice of pie, and give yourself time to prepare for and enjoy this historic moment in television.

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Blog Post

New TV Shows @ AADL, Pt 2.

by manz

The library is always acquiring additional TV shows and new seasons of them, be they popular, new, or classics. Here are more new-to-AADL series:

The State, The Complete Series
One of the sharpest, funniest, and most underrated shows of the '90s. A comedic gem that rocked Generation X with slapstick, smarts, and witty sarcasm. Originally broadcast on MTV!

The Syndicate, Series 1
Five poor workers in a supermarket in Leeds whose lives turn upside down after they jointly win the lottery.

Striking Out, Series 1
When Tara discovers her fiancé and fellow solicitor Eric has been cheating with a colleague, she leaves him and their prestigious law firm to set up her own practice specializing in family and divorce law. Working alongside her new team, including mentor and friend Vincent and tech guru and private detective Meg, Tara's cases will put her in direct conflict with influential families and the legal and political establishment as well as challenging her own personal morals.

The Art of More, Season 1
The show exposes the crime and intrigue behind the glamorous facade of New York auction houses.

Queen Sugar, Season 1
After a family tragedy forces them back together, the Bordelons must navigate the triumphs and struggles of their complicated lives in order to run an ailing sugarcane farm in the Deep South. Produced by Oprah Winfrey, award winning filmmaker Ava DuVernay, and Melissa Carter.

Divorce, Season 1
A refreshingly honest new half-hour comedy series about the never-ending process of unwinding a marriage.

Fore more TV shows, be sure to check out AADL’s lists for HOT TV shows, as well as NEW TV shows.

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Blog Post

New TV Shows @ AADL, Pt. 1

by manz

And.... we're back! So many new shows have hit the catalog. Here are some new-to-AADL series, everything from old to new!

Martin, Seasons 1-5
1990s comedy series starring Martin Lawrence as a brash radio personality who always speaks his mind, often to the frustration of his feisty but eternally forgiving girlfriend, Gina.

Baskets, Season 1
Chip Baskets (Zach Galifianakis) wants to follow his dream of being a French clown. However, reality keeps interfering. Saddled with financial difficulties and facing an impenetrable language barrier, he moves back home to Bakersfield with high hopes. There, he is forced to confront his past while working as a rodeo clown--and competing with his siblings for his mother's (Louie Anderson) approval and affection.

Home Movies, The Complete Series
Brendon Small is an 8 year old who loves to make movies with his family's video camera. At the same time, he must put up with the adults in his life: his unintelligent soccer coach, and his divorced mother, Paula. Along with two friends, he acts out his fantasies in front of the camera in this dry and quirky animated comedy. (Side note, it’s one of my favorite shows of all time.)

Living Single, Season 1
20-somethings share their lives and loves in a Brooklyn brownstone in this 1990s comedy starring Queen Latifah.

Shooter, Season 1
A conspiracy thriller that follows the journey of Bob Lee Swagger, a highly-decorated veteran who is coaxed back into action to prevent a plot to kill the President.

Close to the Enemy
Intelligence officer Captain Callum Ferguson, is tasked by the army to ensure that a captured German scientist, Dieter, starts working for the British RAF on urgently developing the jet engine. With the background of the emerging Cold War, it's crucial for British national security that cutting-edge technology is made available to the armed forces as quickly as possible.

Fore more TV shows, be sure to check out AADL’s lists for HOT TV shows, as well as NEW TV shows.

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Blog Post

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

by PizzaPuppy

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 hit theaters on May 5th and has already taken in more than $500 million dollars in the worldwide box office. The popular film is another in a long list of movies that take place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, inhabited by popular characters such as Thor, Captain America, Iron Man, the Hulk and other characters in the Avengers, as well as the more recent additions which include Ant-Man and Dr. Strange.

In addition to the first movie, the Blu-ray edition of Vol. 1, and the awesome soundtrack, we have plenty of materials to help satisfy your Guardians of the Galaxy craving.

For kids, we have the picture book Night Night Groot as well as the comic book Guardians of the Galaxy: Beginnings.

For teens, we have many different comic trade paperbacks, including Guardians of the Galaxy: Prelude (an official Marvel Cinematic Universe tie-in), Vol. 3 of the War of Kings and Legendary Star-Lord Vol. 1: Face It, I Rule. We also have Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1: Cosmic Avengers, Vol. 2: Angela and a cross-over with the All-New X-Men called The Trial of Jean Grey from the mind of Brian Michael Bendis.

For an adult audience, we have titles such as Guardians of the Galaxy: The Complete Collection Vol. 1 and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 4: Realm of Kings, as well as a cross-over with the Avengers called Avengers: the Korvac Saga.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is estimated to be released on DVD and Blu-ray in September 2017, so look for it in our collection then!

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John James Audubon -- Celebrate International Bird Holidays

by easmith

John James Audubon: Drawn from nature offers a dramatic account of renowned naturalist John James Audubon's life's work. Audubon's work illustrates the intersection of art and science, and is known for capturing and bringing to life in print the extensive and diverse population of American birds in the 19th century. The documentary raises issues surrounding his artistic practice, including his initial impact on dwindling bird populations due to hunting and capturing. Throughout the film, we see numerous species documented by Audubon that have since become extinct. Audubon became aware of the endangerment of birds as he worked on this project, becoming a proponent for preservation. In his lifetime, Audubon saw of the impact of human intervention on North American bird populations. Today, the Audubon Society actively works to conserve birds and their habitats.

With two bird holidays upcoming, there are a number of resources to learn about how and why birds are important, and ways in which we can participate in preserving and protecting them. World Bird Day will be celebrated on May 10, 2017. International Migratory Bird Day is celebrated the second Saturday in May.This year, International Migratory Bird day will stress the importance of habitats in migration and drawing awareness to preserving and protecting the environment.

If you are interested in birds, and want to practice your bird calls before the upcoming birding holidays, check out our Birdsong Scanning Wand. Or, if you'd like to get a closer look at birds in the wild, check out our Audubon BirdCam, and capture birds on video!