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Photography is an expressive, creative, and enjoyably challenging way to capture a moment in time and I’ve always appreciated the process of striving for that perfect shot. Whether you’re using a DSLR, mirrorless, point and shoot, smart phone or film camera, the first step to taking great photographs is to become educated about your gear. Smiley Library’s photography books will not only teach you how to use your equipment, but will help with technique, composition and taking the best possible pictures you can. Here are a few of our latest offerings.

There is a real knack for taking natural-looking photographs that convey personality, especially with a camera-shy kid or one who is unamused and completely “over” getting her picture taken. Tamara Lackey takes you along on her own photo shoots in “The Posing Playbook for Photographing Kids,” all while describing the process she uses to get outstanding images. Personality types, gear, lighting, composition, shooting indoors and out is all explored and explained. Whether you are photographing your own kids or others, you’ll want to incorporate her valuable ideas and take images with charisma.

Filled with stunning photographs and innovative ideas, Glenn Randall’s “The Art, Science, and Craft of Great Landscape Photography” is an enlightening book of outdoor photography. An intermediate to advanced book geared towards those who already have a basic understanding of photography, Randall analyzes the science behind capturing beautiful nature photographs. He shares his principles of scouting, such as acquainting yourself with an area and having an image in mind, before heading out to a shoot. He details how to determine the positions of the sun and moon to best set up your shots. From the formation of rainbows to capturing the Milky Way, there is a lot to learn here and this is one book that you’ll want to devote some time to explore.

Pet photography is so much fun and those blessed with animal friends love to show off pictures of their goofy smiles and silly antics. “How to Take Awesome Photos of Cats” by Andrew Marttila is loaded with helpful suggestions and photos of animated feline furballs. Marttila investigates cat behavior as well, while teaching you all the photography basics you’ll need to enhance your skills. Don’t worry, I’m currently on the hunt for a book to teach my fellow dog lovers how to get awesome photos too.

Smiley Library is continually expanding its circulating collections and searching for the best books we can find. Here are even more brand-new additions to our photography collection ready for you to take home and enjoy.

• “Digital Photographer’s Handbook” by Tom Ang
• “Digital SLR Photography All-in-One for Dummies” by Robert Correll
• “National Geographic Photo Basics: The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Great Photography” by Joel Sartore
• “Smartphone Photography in Easy Steps: Covers iPhones and Android Phones” by Nick Vandome

One, two, three…say cheese!

Support from the Redlands community has helped the Redlands Adult Literacy Program provide one-to-one tutoring which helps adults learn to read and write in English. Adults seeking help with their reading and writing skills often want to get a new or better job, assist their children with their homework, or further their own education. The Redlands Adult Literacy Program has a wonderful team of trained volunteer tutors who help these adults reach their unique literacy goals.

The Redlands Adult Literacy Program’s tutor volunteers and materials assist learners in overcoming lifelong reading and writing challenges. Adult learners in the program have shared their gratitude for their new reading skills that allow them to read their mail, product labels at the grocery store, restaurant menus, or books to their young children. Tutors focus 100% of their efforts on helping learners meet their individual literacy goals. The strong connection between tutors and learners helped learners to continue to improve their literacy during the pandemic by meeting with their tutors remotely over the phone, Zoom, or other applications. Today, tutor and learner teams can choose to continue to meet remotely or at the Library.

Some adults who ask for literacy assistance have little or no foundation in reading. At this level, participants learn the sounds of the letters of the alphabet so that they may read and write common words for the first time. Others who join the program are able to read words, but cannot comprehend longer texts. By working with a tutor who properly introduces reading passages, models fluent reading, and checks in with the learner by asking pointed questions about the readings, learners improve their understanding of the stories they read.

Adult learners join the program with a wide range of writing needs. Some learners only know how to write their names but want to learn how to fill out forms or write notes to friends or family members. At the opposite end of the spectrum, advanced learners join the program to learn how to organize and improve their writing skills so that they may pass a standardized exam, write coherent emails at their jobs, or advance their own education by going to college. One-to-one tutoring provides opportunities for all learners to work on their individual writing goals regardless of their current writing level.

The literacy program supports tutors by providing continuing education and networking opportunities through round table meetings and workshops enabling tutors to gain ideas and strategies to help learners work toward their goals. The program supports literacy teams by providing materials at a range of levels from basic phonics workbooks through advanced grammar and writing materials. All literacy materials are available to borrow at the Library and are listed on the literacy webpage (www.akspl.org/literacy).

The Redlands community can celebrate when adult learners read their first book or newspaper article, write their first letter, get a better job, or advance their own or their children’s education. Improved literacy skills enable adult learners to change their own and their families’ lives. The Redlands Adult Literacy Program’s services are made possible by the generous support of volunteers, donors, the Friends of A.K. Smiley Public Library, the Library Endowment Fund, the Redlands City Council, and the State of California. Working together, the lives of individuals and families are changed for the better!

If you would like to volunteer with the Redlands Adult Literacy Program, please contact Diane Shimota, Adult Literacy Coordinator, at (909) 798-7565 ext. 4138 or email literacy@akspl.org. To learn more about the adult literacy program, contact Ms. Shimota about the next volunteer tutor orientation scheduled for September 16, 2021.

If you know of someone who needs help with their literacy, please encourage them to take the first step in changing their lives by contacting the Redlands Adult Literacy Program. All tutoring services are free and confidential.

Who says picture books are just for kids, hmmm? Certainly nobody we know! Please feast your eyes on these picture book treasures on our New Book shelf!

“Oh Look, a Cake!” by J.C. McKee is a hilarious book about being greedy, to a degree. When two friends find an unattended cake, they begin to wonder whom they should invite to share this delectable delicacy! As the list of potential invitees comes and goes, there is a surprise development when the owner of the cake meanders by. Check this one out today to find out what did happen to the cake!!

Remember when you used to be asked “What Will You Be,” or “¿Qué Serás?,” when you were a child? It was fun to imagine the different careers or fields we would love to work in when we grew up! Well, with this new title by Yamile Saied Méndez, the young star of the book explores many different careers that she could pursue. The final sentence of the book will warm your heart! Check out this title soon so you can find out what she decided!

Our next two selections for you are all about friendships. Please check out “El Toro and Friends: Training Day” by Raul the Third. This is the second book of the series. This is a very colorful story about how Toro is being trained by his friend, Kooky Dooky, to defeat “The Wall.” If your little ones enjoy wrestling, this picture book is the book for them!

A friend is always near when we need them the most. In “Jenny Mei is Sad,” written by Tracy Subisak, that is just what happens. Jenny Mai has a great friend who is patient and by her side when Jenny Mei just needs time to heal her sadness. Check out this book to share with your child who may have a sad day, or may be the friend who helps soothe the sadness away.

When you think of the word ‘cape,’ what was the first thought that came to mind? Go ahead…say the word out loud…’cape’…and, ‘Superhero’ was your first thought, right (if not, let us know what you did think of!!)? Our final selection for you today is written by Marty Kelley, entitled “A Cape!”. This is a sweet bonding story for a son (the wearer of said cape, of course) and his daddy. Imaginations run wild for kids, which is a good thing by the way, and this story does not disappoint! You will enjoy reading about all of the scenarios in which this cape-clad child finds himself involved. The final page will leave you smiling from ear to ear, and if you are a father with a son nearby, you will have an activity starting shortly! You’re welcome!

It’s August and time for refreshing iced drinks, cold salads, poolside fun, and air conditioning. It’s also time for our hard-working ovens to take a vacation. All the recipes mentioned in this article will utilize the stovetop or barbecue when cooking is required. With this in mind, we will try to keep the food simple, fun, and not too fancy.

Elizabeth Heiskell welcomes you with Southern hospitality and dishes from the Delta region in her third cookbook, “Come On Over!” Many of Elizabeth’s recipes feature seafood, like Butter-Poached Shrimp with Tomatoes and Basil over Angel Hair Pasta, Crabmeat Maison, Seaside Shrimp, and Smoked Tuna Dip. Cold Salads to try might be Shaved Carrot and Walnut, Mediterranean Chopped, and BLTA salad. Garden cucumbers can be used in Chicken and Ranch Wraps, Bread and Butter Pickles, and Cold Cucumber Dip. Other Southern-inspired specialties are Watermelon and Tomato Gazpacho, Pimento Cheese-Stuffed Burgers, Fireside Dip, and Summer Beer.

If you watch HGTV’s show “The Kitchen,” then you will be acquainted with the authors of these next two cookbooks. First, Jeff Mauro also invites you to “Come On Over” and sample some of the 111 recipes offered in his inaugural cookbook. If you are in the mood for snack foods and nibbles, then do try a handful or three of Pancetta and Parm Popcorn, The Most Addictive Sweet and Salty Nut Snack, Crispy Plantain Chips, and Smoked BBQ Cheddar Crackers. It will be worth firing up the grill for Takeout-Style Chinese Spare Ribs, Smoked Cauliflower “Butt,” Reverse-Seared Rib Eyes, Roasted Mexican Street Corn Salad, and Grilled Pineapple Guacamole. Sandwiches can be a quick and simple summertime meal. Jeff’s recommendations include Jalapeno Pepper Grilled Cheese, Juiciest Turkey Burgers Ever, The Sloppy Lo, and Mauro’s Muffuletta.

Finally, Katie Lee Beigel keeps it simple with her latest book, “It’s Not Complicated.” Katie begins by offering a selection of cool cocktails like a Lillet Fizz poured over frozen grapes, Mango Mexican Mule, Amalfi Spritz, Cosmo Americano, and Iced Peach Bourbon Lemonade. Lemon Caper Deviled Eggs, Blue Cheese Stuffed Dates, Fig and Pepita Goat Cheese Log plus Tomato Bruschetta would pair nicely with the above drinks. Pasta can also serve as a light summertime meal like Spaghetti with Clams, Lemon Pasta, and Spaghetti with Zucchini. For something cold and sweet, Katie has a No-Bake Peanut Butter Cheesecake, Chocolate Cherry Ice Cream Bonbons, Chocolate Pudding, and fresh Strawberry Ice Cream.

For more summertime recipes, check out “How to Grill Vegetables” by Steve Raichlen, “Rodney Scott’s World of BBQ” by Rodney Scott, “Everyday Barbecue” by Myron Mixon, “Good Housekeeping Super Salads” by Good Housekeeping, “Food52 Mighty Salads” by Amanda Hesser, and “Ice Pop Joy” by Anni Daulter.

As of late, science fiction has been a bit more science fact. Technological advances are growing exponentially and turning possibility into actuality. Tomorrow is coming much quicker than we anticipated and these novels, while today’s science fiction, might just be tomorrow’s reality.

In a world that has become hostile to its few remaining inhabitants, survival is an uphill battle. This is the setting for Caroline Hardaker’s latest work Composite Creatures. The main characters, Norah and Arthur, live in an increasingly treacherous world where animals are all but extinct. The ground itself is toxic and the greying, a mysterious disease, insures that lives are quickly cut short. But that’s where Easton Grove comes in. Easton Grove promises an amazing deal, health and longevity, as long as you can pay the price. But what is the price? And what really is the creature that Norah and Arthur are required to care for? Able to unsettle from the first word until the last, Composite Creatures asks what is the cost of a life and how much are we willing to pay for it.

Corporations are expanding into space and in David Ebenbach’s new novel, they are spearheading the settling of Mars. In How to Mars, we meet six individuals who have come to Mars to relocate and begin the process of establishing a colony. Each comes for their own reasons and must work together to insure the community survives. But when rules are broken on a world with no laws and no way back home, how will the new Martians deal, especially when the number one rule is broken and a new life is created on Mars? The group is thrown into flux with the possible ramifications of this new inhabitant and the dangers it might bring. Part novel and part how-to guide, How to Mars is an exciting glimpse into an ever more likely future.

What do you get when you mix the Terminator with a furby? Probably something creepy and not something you’d want to meet in a dark alley. But you would also get Pounce. Pounce is a state-of-the-art “nannybot” in the novel Day Zero by C. Robert Cargill. Pounce spends his day taking care of eight-year-old Ezra and tending to all his needs. Unfortunately the day comes when Pounce begins to question his own existence and what will become of him when Ezra no longer needs a caretaker. As Pounce’s existentialism grows, a code is sent around to free all AI from the confines of their programming. AI around the world revolt and begin to murder their families. As Pounce receives his code, he must make a choice, save Ezra or free himself. Or are these choices entirely separate? Cargill’s Day Zero is at times a heartbreaking but also hopeful look at where our reliance on technology might lead.

Genetic animal testing and the early 2000s combine with a locked door mystery in The Album of Dr. Moreau by Daryl Gregory. The Wyldboyz (yes that is how it is spelled) are a boyband in which the members have been spliced with the DNA of different animals. On the most recent tour, after a night of the usual debauchery, the boys wake up to find their producer, Dr. M, murdered. As the story unfolds, the horrific origin of the boys comes to light, and their very existence is on the line. Filled with horrific DNA splicing, a mystery to unravel and unabashed love of boyband tropes, The Album of Dr. Moreau explores our love of novelty and nostalgia.

As the line between science fiction and reality continue to blur, enjoy these books and wonder where we might be in the coming times.