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"The Snowflake, Winter's Secret Beauty," by Kenneth Libbrecht photos by Patricia Rasmussen: Did you know that snowflakes can be columnar, twelve-sided, split-centered, or even double-decker? Though we think of snowflakes as hexagonal, feather-ended plates, there are plenty of other shapes they can take. This book presents a veritable blizzard of information very readably, but the spectacular photos are the real prize!

"A Guide to Reading and Writing Japanese," by Florence Sakade: This is a classic for those who already speak some Japanese and wish to learn written Japanese. While addressing all three writing forms (kanji, katakana, and hiragana), the majority of the book is devoted to kanji, with a section of Essential Characters and another on General Use Characters, all accompanied by definitions and words built on the basic character. The syllabaries for katakana and hiragana take up much less space at the end, and the final bit is an alphabetical listing by pronunciation of the characters, expanding the book's usefulness.

"A Wild Discouraging Mess," by Julie Johnson: Here is more reading that will probably make you glad you weren't here a century ago. Filled with photos, this is the history of the Skagway area from prehistory to the present, focusing on the Klondike Gold Rush, which brought thousands of prospectors streaming in to strike it rich. Based on diaries, letters home, and official documents, the author presents an often grim view of things, from the vast, sticky, mudpits that could swallow horses and men to the creation of roads and railways by brute force.

"Special Effects, Retouching and Restoration," by Tim Daly: Got your digital camera for Christmas and now you're wondering what all the fuss is about? Take a look at this reassuringly slim, yet information-packed book, for great tips on making dreary photos come alive. (Though the book assumes you will use PhotoShop, most of the info is applicable to Paint Shop Pro, too.) Everything from picking equipment (scanners, printers, computers, monitors, and cameras), to playing with contrast, restoring images, and choosing paper to print them out on for the best effect is here at your fingertips.

"Pretty Good for a Girl," by Tina Basich Basich: One of the first female snowboarders has written a fun and spirited autobiography. Growing up in the 70s in central California, she rode BMX bikes and skateboarded all day with her brother, Mike, but she knew she'd found her sport the first time she went snowboarding. Now a veteran snowboarder, she's the impetus behind Boarding for Breast Cancer, designs her own line of snowboards, and a line of snowboarding clothing for girls and women - and still snowboards every chance she gets.

"Is Your Parent in Good Hands?" by Edward J. Carnot: Watching out for aging parents can be a difficult proposition - Carnot, an attorney, learned this the hard way when he discovered that his 82-year old father had been bilked out of tens of thousands of dollars by his trusted caregiver. The lessons Carnot teaches about working with your family, doctors, the law, and the legal professions to keep elderly family members safe are things everyone in his position should know, and he offers them gently, interwoven with his own story.

"Web Design on a Shoestring," by Carrie Bickner: Creating a useable, attractive, and working Web site isn't something that just happens: Web designers study books like this so that surfers can easily navigate around sites that their browser supports. Bickner, a Web developer for the New York Public Library, learned to work with what she had during the stock crash, when money for Web design was sparse but demand for a quality Web presence was intense, and here she offers up what she's found, so you don't have to reinvent the wheel.

If you'd like to place a hold on any of these titles, call the Juneau Public Library at 586-5249. If you have internet access, your library card, and a PIN, you may place your own holds by going to our website (www.juneau.org/library) and looking at our catalog. Placing holds on items featured in In the Stacks is now even easier! The new columns are hyperlinked to the catalog: simply look up the column, click on the title you want, and you will be ready to place a hold.