Book Review - Winning Auditions

Winning Auditions: 101 Strategies for Actors (2005)

Mark Brandon

A must read for someone who is considering acting as a professional career.

This is not a book of acting technique, but rather of tips like “I wish someone had told me not to ever do ‘X’ at a ‘Y’ audition.” The author shares the experiences of his students, so that the reader might avoid the same foolish or humiliating audition mistakes that blew their chances at several paying jobs. The tips are not only practical, but also take in to account that most aspiring actors have to live in the real world and are probably working at a second job and have little cash to spare.

New DVDs

Brother from Another Planet - DVD PN 1995.9 .C55 B7674 1985
Caine Mutiny - DVD PN 1997 .C255 1985
Charlie St. Cloud - DVD. PN 1997.2 .C43755 2010
Closely Watched Trains - DVD PN 1997 .C567 C5 1991
Despicable Me - DVD. PN 1997.2 .D477 2010
Fitzcarraldo - DVD PN 1997 .F588 F58 1983
The General - DVD PN 1997 .G4 1990
Gods and Monsters - DVD PN 1997 .G637 G637 1999
Goodbye, Mr. Chips - DVD PN 1997 .G66339 1986
La Bête Humaine (The Human Beast) - DVD PN 1997 .B474 B4 1994
Little Miss Sunshine - DVD. PN 1995.9 .C55 L577 2006
Love with the Proper Stranger - DVD PN 1997 .L694 L694 1989
Mr. Lucky - DVD PN 1997 .M75 M75 1987
Never Let Me Go - DVD. PN 1997.2 .N48475 2011
Pajama Game - DVD. PN 1997 .P295 1990
Rocky & Bullwinkle & Friends - DVD. PN 1992.77 .A1 A15 2011
Scarlet Pimpernel - DVD PN 1997 .S337 S337 1985
Separate Tables - DVD PN 1997 .S463 S4 1987
Shanghai Express - DVD PN 1997 .S53 1993
These Three - DVD PS 3515 .E343 C543 1985
The Umbrellas of Cherboug - DVD PN 1997 .P3734 P3734 1997
Wallander - DVD. PN 1992.77 .W355 2009
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? - DVD PS 3551 .L25 W567 1966
Woman in the Window - DVD PN 1997 .W663 W663 1996
Wonder Man - DVD PN 1997 .W6 W6 1987
Yankee Doodle Dandy - DVD PN 1995.9 .M35 Y365 1982

New Online Resource - Oxford English Dictionary

When you think of a word, do you wonder about its history?  The library’s newest database, the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), explains a word's history, its meanings and its usage over time.  Editors of the OED follow a lengthy process to add words that document the history of the English language.

The OED shows that the word “valentine” comes from Old French, Valentine or from the Latin Valentinus, the names of two Italian saints both commemorated on February 14.  It appears in Chaucer’s writing c1381 as “seynt Volantynys day” and in Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream as “Saint Valentine is past.  Begin these wood birds but to couple now?" At that time people believed birds mated on February 14.

A Valentine is a sweetheart, lover or special friend chosen on St.Valentine’s Day.  In the 1600s, a valentine was a gift or present chosen for one’s beloved. Today, we think of a Valentine as a gift, card or message sent on February 14 to a special friend or family member.  Candy and roses anyone?

The Oxford English Dictionary can be accessed from the library’s homepage. Contact the circulation desk at 271-7186 for off-campus login information.

The Library's Many Carols

Study Carrels

The Library is a great place to read, study, and relax. Study rooms can be reserved at the circulation desk or reference desk. Long tables, couches, comfy chairs, and window seats all provide the perfect place to catch up on your reading or flip through a magazine. Study carrels are private desks with electrical outlets, lamps, and plenty of space to spread out textbooks, laptops, and more.

Carol Nelson, Librarian

When Carol Nelson teaches a class about the Library, she tells students, “I’m a person on campus who wants you to earn a good grade.  My job is to teach every student to find, evaluate and paraphrase information as part of a research paper.”

When you start an assignment, make a 15-minute visit to the reference desk and let Carol or another librarian help you with topic selection and sources.  Make friends with the reference librarians, who are here to help you earn a good grade.  

Books Written by Carrolls 

• Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll  PZ8 .D666 A129 2003
• The Gravedigger’s Daughter by Joyce Carol Oates  PS3565.A8 G73 2007
• A Passion for Sea Glass by C.S. Lambert  TT298 .L33 2008
• The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields  PR9199.3 .S514 S76 1993

On the New Book Shelf

• The New Normal: An Agenda for Responsible Living by David Wann  HN90.M6 W357 2011
• Not at All What One Is Used To: The Life and Times of Isabella Gardner by Marian Janssen  N5220.G26 J36 2010
• August Macke, 1887-1914 by Anna Meseure  ND588.M22 A4 1991
• The Possessed: Adventures with Russian Books and The People Who Read Them by Elif Batuman  PG2986 .B33 2010
• Room by Emma Donoghue  PR6054.O547 R66 2010
• A Spicing of Birds by Emily Dickinson  PS1541 .A6 2010
• J.D. Salinger: a Life by Kenneth Slawenski  PS3537.A426 Z883 2010
• The Red Garden by Alice Hoffman  PS3558.O3447 R43 2010
• The Lonely Polygamist by Brady Udall  PS3571.D36 L66 2010
• Dirty Secret : A Daughter Comes Clean About Her Mother's Compulsive Hoarding by Jessie Sholl  RC569.5.H63 S4 2011
• Oral Surgery for the General Dentist : A Step-by-Step Practical Approach Manual by Lawrence I. Gaum  RK361 .G386 2011

Presidential Connections

On February 4, 1789 George Washington was unanimously elected the first President of the United States by the United States Electoral College.

The Library owns several books on the life of George Washington including:

• George Washington by James MacGregor Burns and Susan Dunn  E312 .B983 2004
• The Ascent of George Washington: the Hidden Political Genius of an American Icon by  John Ferling E312 .F46 2009
• Founding Father: Rediscovering George Washington by Richard Brookhiser  E312 .B85 1997

On Sunday, February 6, Ronald Reagan, the nation's 40th president, would have turned 100. 

Learn more about Ronald Reagan’s life in one of these books:

• Ronald Reagan : Fate, Freedom, and the Making of History by John Patrick Diggins  E877 .D54 2007
• The Reagan Diaries edited by Douglas Brinkley  E877 .A3 2007