The one week out of the year that college students love and hate is finally here, finals week. This is the time of the year where many students load up on caffeine, and begin to hit the books. For the students who kept up all semester and understood class, this week will be a walk in the park. As for those students who went to that party one weekend or missed class that one day, this week will be no piece of cake.

No matter which situation pertains to the student, some sort of studying will need to be done. Students will open up their books this week, and in some cases, it may be the first time that they do that this entire semester. If this is the case, a lot more study hours are going to be required of them in order to receive the passing grade they will be striving for.

Can't find a good place to study? In many cases, students have a difficult time finding a place to study without any distractions. A roommate may play loud music all day in the dorm, a younger sibling may play video games at home, these and many other situations can lead to a lack of concentration on studying. Don't worry we have the perfect solution for a student's struggle of finding the right place to study.

What better place to get studying done that at a local San Jose Public Library Branch. All of the branches in the San Jose Public Library system offer study rooms that students, as well as the general public, can reserve in advance to get their studying or any other work done. The branches also include a "Quiet Room" in case of an event where a person is not able to book a study room because of full bookings. So students come into your local branch in order to study and be free of distractions. Remember the quietness is on us!

Historically, the most frequently told story of a slave revolt in America’s history has been that of John Brown’s ill-fated attack at Harper’s Ferry. This is, as Daniel Rasmussen points out in American Uprising, was not the biggest revolt of slaves. It is simply the one that is the best known. In January, 1811, a group of about 500 slaves living in appalling conditions gathered behind two of their own, Kook and Quamara, and set out to attack the city of New Orleans. They had many things in their favor: the element of surprise; two leaders who were well versed in warfare; a rigid order of command; and well laid-out plans. In pouring-down rain between the dates of January 8 and January 11, 1811, they attacked their owners and went on to attack the city. Their plan might well have worked if not for several factors: a few slave owners surviving the attack and warning others, a lack of weapons and the reluctance of many fellow slaves to join the plan. By January 18, many of those who participated in the rebellion were dead. Had it been up to the slave owners, the account of the rebellion would also have been equally laid to rest. It is fortunate that a few remembered, and kept the memory alive, for us to be aware of it two centuries later.

As we currently read about atrocities happening overseas, one is reminded that such appalling oppression also happened on our own shores. The average life expectancy of a slave on a sugar plantation was just four years. Punishment and torture were common-place. One wonders how the owners could be blind to such suffering, and yet they were. Furthermore, the establishment did their best to wipe this matter from the record, to have it be forgotten lest others try to do the same—attempting to claim their freedom, their humanity, and their dignity. As I read this, I wanted the revolt to succeed, and knew it could not.  I was more curious as to how far the revolt went before it was suppressed, and found myself quite disappointed that it did not get very far indeed.

If there is one thing that disappointed me about the book in particular, it is that it did not spend very long on the rebellion itself. The author lost himself in other matters—how the white ruling class ignored the signs of rebellion and discontent (while at the same time being terrified of the monster they themselves had created); the aftermath of the rebellion, and how the revolt resurfaced as a historical fact. Certainly the author is not to blame too much for this; the attempt to suppress the record was very thorough. Yet the rebellion itself was far too brief for me to really appreciate what they must have gone through to nearly reach the point of victory--it's climax is far too brief. Nevertheless, I am indebted to the author for bringing attention to this event for us to appreciate several centuries after the fact. This is just the type of thing that books are meant for: to shine light where there once was darkness, and to be aware that unwritten events can be written once again. The efforts of Kook and Quamara were not in vain.

Fans of 30 Rock and Saturday Night Live will appreciate Bossypants, a witty and insightful new memoir by comedian and writer Tina Fey.

From her childhood in Chicago to her rise in fame, Tina Fey takes us through the backroads of her life in and out of the spotlight. Delightfully awkward, and sarcastic, Fey turns the routine memoir on its head with her rendition. Written as a series of essays detailing various aspects of her life, Fey lets down her guard. Her breezy writing style and one-liner jokes has the feel of an intimate side-by-side chat with the actress. For an added kick of humor, make sure to request Bossypants in the audio version, read by Tina Fey herself.

If this book isn't enough, make sure to check out these additional Tina Fey comedies:

• 30 Rock seasons 1 to 4
• Mean Girls staring Tina Fey & Lindsay Lohan
• Megamind with the voices of Tina Fey and Will Ferrel

David Foster Wallace completed one novel, Infinite Jest, and several short story collections in his brief life. The content is a stream of consciousness, complex look at individual's desire to cut through media and bureaucracy to connect. His work is the rare fiction that includes footnotes. And within the footnotes are important background information about his characters. The Infinite Jest title refers to a film that viewers find impossible to stop watching. The writing flowed from a place that only the really gifted find. His agent has posthumously released his new novel, The Pale King, to big advance reviews in Time Magazine and other sources.