Barnes & Noble Book Clubs

Barnes & Noble offers online book clubs for fiction, non-fiction, classics and writing with the authors joining in on the discussions at an appointed time during the month. Among others in February, Kim Edwards will join the discussion of her book “The Memory Keeper’s Daughter”; Philippa Gregory will talk about “The Boleyn Inheritance”; Julie Powell will join in on her cooking memoir “Julie and Julia” and etiquette expert Peggy Post will join the discussion on wedding do’s and don’ts. These are just a few of what is available and every month brings new books and authors.

http://bookclubs.barnesandnoble.com/?sourceid=F000000195

Any Chess Players Out There???

For players and fans alike, the United States Chess Federation has a website that covers it all. Topics include tournament coverage, player biographies, rules of the game, FAQs, a history of chess, and much, much more. The USCF, founded in 1939 with more than 80,000 current members,represents the US in the World Chess Federation linking US members to chess players around the world.

http://beta.uschess.org/frontend/section_7.php

Squashed Writers

There’s simply not enough time to read all the books that ought to be read much less the ones we want to read, so here’s a website that will squash some down for you (not that we necessarily recommend missing out on the original). These abridgments take the original book down to about a half-hour of reading.

http://www.btinternet.com/~glynhughes/squashed/writers.htm

Can You Use AI To Help Choose A Good Book? Movie? Music?

Check out the World of Gnod. This site uses its users to provide information to create suggestions for other materials the user might enjoy. Sort of like Amazon’s “customers who bought this book also bought these books” method of making suggestions for other things you might like. You can experiment with books, music and movies and see what the site has to say about what you enjoy reading, listening to and watching.

http://www.gnod.net/

Invention Dimension

From the MIT School of Engineering   

Another great site from MIT-- this is 

“a fun-filled and at times wacky approach 

to making learning about invention exciting 

for the kid in all of us.” Includes an Inventor of

 the Week profile, games and trivia and their 

picks for great online invention resources.

http://web.mit.edu/invent/invent-main.html?

It’s Tax Time!

Almost anything you need to prepare your federal income taxes, including forms and advice, can be found on the IRS website. Forms can be downloaded and printed from home or in the Library. And, of course, you can file your tax reurn electronically from this site as well.

http://www.irs.gov/

The Connecticut Dept. of Revenue Services has mailed out the State tax return booklets as of January 16th. You may download and print tax return forms from their website, or, if you prefer, you may file your return electronically with them. They also offer free tax counseling.

http://www.ct.gov/drs/site/default.asp

Beginning February 1 this year, AARP provides Tax-Aide, their annual, free, one-on-one, walk-in tax counseling and preparation service. Tax-Aide is also available over the phone and online. There are no age restrictions for using the Tax-Aide service. Locally, there areTax-Aide centers in Old Saybrook and Madison. You can submit your zip code on their website to find a center convenient to you.

http://www.aarp.org/money/taxaide/

The Butterfly Site

Randi Jones, entomologist and artist asserts that this site offers the most complete and current information on butterflies on the Internet. See for yourself.

http://www.thebutterflysite.com/?

Metric Converters/Calculators

If you don’t routinely encounter metric amounts, this site might be helpful. It offers quick conversions for temperature, area, volume, weight and a collection of other measurements.

http://www.sciencemadesimple.com/conversions.html

Awesome Stories…For Free!

It’s not often that you have an opportunity to access a subscription-based website for free. Through January, Awesome Stories is doing just that by waiving the usual $9.95 annual fee for individual students. The site uses primary source materials to elucidate the background and details of the stories behind popular books, movies, and all sorts of topics frequently arising in school curricula. This is a great resource to use for multi-media reports.

http://www.awesomestories.com/index.php

Work At Home Schemes/Scams

From The Better Business 

Bureau. This site provides 

descriptions of common 

work-at-home scams—envelope 

stuffing, chain letters, processing medical insurance 

claims, etc. It also details tips for avoiding fraud 

and what to do if you become the victim of a 

work-at-home scam. 

http://www.bbb.org/Alerts/article.asp?ID=436?