Julie's Journal : My Life in Books

I copied this idea from another blog - @RoofBeamReader.  The goal is to answer the prompts with books you read this year.  These aren't necessarily my favorite reads of the year, just the ones that I could make fit.

In high school I was: Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (Mindy Kaling)

People might by surprised (by): What She Knew (Gilly MacMillan)

I will never be: The Duchess (Danielle Steel)

My fantasy job is: The Paper Magician (Charlie N. Holmberg)

At the end of a long day I need: Roses (Leila Meacham)

I hate it when: And Then You’re Dead (Cody Cassidy and Paul Doherty)

Wish I had: The Rose Garden (Susanna Kearsley)

My family reunions are: Pandemonium (Lauren Oliver)

At a party you’d find me with: Only the Lucky (Linda Castillo)

I’ve never been to (an): Island of Glass (Nora Roberts)

A happy day includes: God’s Gift (Dee Henderson)

Motto I live by: Get Well Soon (Jennifer Wright)

On my bucket list is: The Book Jumper (Mechthild Glaser)

In my next life, I want to have: The Never Ending Story (Michael Ende)

Coding/Robotics - Ozobots

We finished up our very first coding class yesterday!  Every Wednesday this fall our class has met and learned how to program Ozobots.

The tiny robots lend themselves well to learning to code, using a block style of coding.  We've been remiss at taking pictures because our classes went so fast.  There was just so much to learn!  

We had our end of class party yesterday.  The Friends of the Library rewarded the class with Ozobots of their very own!

The kids were thrilled, of course, and wanted to know what was coming next.  Well....  we're going to be learning to create computer games using Scratch!

Scratch is a free programming language from MIT and is perfect for furthering our coding education.  We will be working on getting together projects for the class from now until January 24th, when classes start again. 

Our plan for the spring is to have two classes.  Jason Baxter, Julie's husband and a fifth grade teacher, will be teaching the Ozobots class.  It is open to any student over 8 years old with an interest in coding.  Please sign up soon as spaces are limited.

Julie will be teaching the Scratch class, which also has a few spots available to students over 8 who have a little bit of prior coding experience.  Spaces are very limited in this class as well, so be sure to sign up soon.  

We hope that Mr. and Mrs. Dunn will again be available to help.  Both classes will be on Wednesday afternoons at 4:00 and last about 45 minutes.  Classes begin January 24th!

Tom's Two Cents: Leonardo da Vinci by Walter Isaacson

The publication of a new and substantive biography of Leonardo da Vinci by Walter Isaacson has coincided with the sale at Christie's Auction House this week of the only Leonardo still in a private collection for $450 million--yes, that's $450 million--the highest price ever paid for a painting at auction.  The painting is "Salvator Mundi," (Fig. 83 in the book), a painting of Christ as Savior of the World.  Its authenticity has been questioned by some experts, but the fact is that, as far as we know, there are only fifteen known Leonardo paintings in the world and this is the only one not in a museum.  So it's not so much a question of Leonardo being the greatest painter of all time as it is the rarity of his artistic work.  Leonardo was a universal genius, so far ahead of his time that painting was, for him, almost an incidental skill.

Isaacson's biography, therefore, concentrates not just on Leonardo's art, but on the complexity of his mind and the fields of endeavor that he explored, especially in science and anatomy. In fact, in virtually all his biographies (he is a professor of history at Tulane University) Isaacson's principal area of interest is the nature of genius--hence his books on such widely diverse men as Albert Einstein, Benjamin Franklin, and Steve Jobs.  Although his subject matter is heavy, Isaacson's approach to his subject is essentially light--a kind of populist biography, if you will.  I'm not suggesting that it reads like a novel, yet it certainly is true that Leonardo's life and times were anything but dull, and so Isaacson presents them.

This is one heavy book, and I mean that quite literally.  At 524 pages with high quality paper and superb illustrations, it will not rest comfortably in your lap or be held in your hands--so look for something stable to rest it on.  There are 33 chapters, many complete in themselves, and even if you choose not to read the text, flip through the book and look at the illustrations.  They are indeed a wonder.  Not for everybody, but surely not for those only interested in art, either!