When you’re ready for deeper cuts, go with Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk.  These are the songs Jeff was working on for his next album.  And you must watch the concert DVD Live in Chicago to  experience what a bewitching performer he could be.  In addition to the physical copies we have in the collection, visit freegal to download songs from Grace Around the World, So Real, Live at Sin-e, and other compilations.  Learn  more about the life and music of Jeff Buckley through our nonfiction collection.              -crystal

Girlchild [a novel]

Just a little review of a little book that will knock your not so “natural suntan” knee highs right off. The language from the wrong side of the trailer park is pitch-perfect. The landscape painted is Reno palette pure. The sentences read out from the pages in true, full character revealing cadence. By the end of the book you are standing in the center of the 1972 Nobility double-wide. The discounted patchwork carpet of many colors makes you a little dizzy and you know you shouldn’t be privy to all you now know, but you can’t not look.

- Laurie

With so many different travel book publications available it can be tough to figure out where to start. If I am not familiar with a destination I like to begin with the DK Eyewitness Travel series. These books are filled with hundreds of beautiful color photos and amazing cross-sections of famous landmarks.  While other books will simply list the name of the landmark and give brief details, DK Eyewitness Travel serves it up with incredible, fun detail and introduces you to many sights that you might have otherwise missed.

For those looking for a down to earth travel experience, there is the Rick Steves’ travel series.   I first discovered Rick Steves’ many years ago while watching his PBS television series Rick Steves’ Europe. Each week, Steves’ would travel to a different European destination, often off the beaten track, interacting with the locals and seeing some beautiful sights along the way. The Rick Steves’ guide books work the same way, they mention the fancy places but they also point out the more affordable options too. The purpose of a Rick Steves’ travel book is to arm the traveler with helpful information that they will need to have the best vacation possible and it is often doled out with a dash of humor.

Recently, I came across a book published by National Geographic called Walking Paris: The Best of the City. They also haveWalking Rome and Walking London. These books go perfectly with the DK Eyewitness Travel series and Rick Steves’ books. What this series has going for it is the incredible scope of National Geographic’s photographic library. I have never seen such beautiful photographs in a travel book as the ones in Walking Paris: The Best of the City. Using these books, you are sure to have very memorable travels.

 Happy traveling! 

- Karen

Watch out bandwagon! Here I come.

If you’ve been listening to The Popmatic Podcast (and why wouldn’t you? It’s awesome!), then you’ve heard my fellow podcasters talk about a book called Ready Player One. Jessie and Crystal both mentioned how much they enjoyed the book, so I thought why not?

Why not indeed!

Nerds among us unite. We have found our manifesto and it is good. Seriously, this book has everything you could want: an epic quest, an intelligent but sarcastic hero, an evil villian corporation, and thousands upon hundreds upon tens of pop culture references – especially from The Eighties. Yes, a lot of the action takes place in video game land, but I’m not a gamer of any kind (I’m sure Spider Solitaire doesn’t count) and it didn’t bother me.

Basic premise: in a dystopian US, 50 yrs or so from now, a programming god (think Steve Jobs or Bill Gates) dies and leaves his fortune hidden in his video game – The Oasis. The mission: to find said fortune and protect The Oasis from the Sixers, who work for the evil corporation IOI (in binary 6=101, get it?), and are trying to corporatize The Oasis.

It’s been about a week since I finished the book and I’m still having withdrawal symptoms from a lack of Oasis time. The extra fun part is that I listened to the audio CDs, which are read by (Evil) Wil Wheaton. He’s not the best with voices, but he’s Wil Wheaton, so who cares?

If you watched Family Ties, ever tried to play a perfect PacMan game, know what kind of Apple computers existed before Macs, or get what Ready Player One means – this book is for you.

Very happy reading…or should I say READY PLAYER ONE…

Amanda

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Adam Yauch 1964-2012

Adam Yauch, a founding member of The Beastie Boys, lost his battle to cancer on May 4. Better known as MCA, Yauch, with his musical brothers Mike D and Ad-Rock, fought hard for their right to party – hitting the music scene in the middle of the 1980s. MCA’s health had been in decline since 2009 and most recently had delayed the release of their album, Hot Sauce Committee Part Two. The Beastie Boys were inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in April.

If these guys haven’t hit your turntable (read: mp3 player) yet, take a listen to some of the innovative tracks created by this trio of bad boys. They will probably be best remembered for Licensed to Ill, but you can’t go wrong with Hello Nasty or Paul’s Boutique.

  RIP MCA – We’ll miss you…

Amanda

Kate T. Williamson’s fellowship studies took her to Kyoto where she spent one year learning about Japanese culture. The result was this book, A Year in Japan, a colorful journal filled with fun, artsy, illustrations and witty, intimate “handwritten” observations.

Williamson does not take the perspective of a tourist in Kyoto, but instead focuses on the fascinating details that make up the everyday lives of the people of Kyoto, concentrating on the beauty of the simple things.

-Karen

Coco Chanel the Legend and the Life

Fashion columnist and author Justine Picardie has produced a well written, beautifully laid out, fun to read biography on Coco Chanel. The book is filled with great black and photos of Chanel and her inner circle and also features sketches by Karl Lagerfeld. Photographs are liberally interspersed throughout the entire book. Picardie takes a tough look at the woman and the myth, and at times Chanel does not always come out as likeable. What you have to admire is how Chanel took control of her life and changed it, and in the process changed fashion and the way we dress today.

While you’re reading about Coco Chanel, I would recommend looking at Chanel by Harold Koda. In 2005 the Metropolitan Museum of Art had a Chanel retrospective, this book was the exhibit catalog. It features over 200 pages of photos of Chanel’s designs, including clothing, jewelry, hats, perfume bottles, purses and shoes. The exhibit showcased fashions created by Chanel and by Karl Lagerfeld for the House of Chanel.  Be sure to read the catalog section in the appendix, for details on each piece: the designer, the year it was made, the materials used and most interestingly, the sewing techniques.

With these two books, you can now read about the little black dress and see it in all of its glorious detail.

-Karen

It’s almost May, and that means it’s Mount Everest summit season.  Why the month of May you ask?  Just before the summer monsoon, the jet stream is pushed northward, reducing wind speeds high on the mountain up in the death zone, making May just about the most opportune time to attempt reaching the summit.  National Geographic has sent a team of mountaineers that seek to repeat the historic climb of the 1963 National Geographic-sponsored American Mount Everest Expedition, almost 50 years after the first American ascended the highest point on Earth.  You can follow the progress of all 2012 Everest summit expeditions here.  To enhance your own armchair mountaineering experience, put on your crampons and check out the following materials.                                                                                     -crystal

Into Thin Air: a Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster

Although he came under fire from others that were on  the mountain, Jon Krakauer‘s account of the May 1996 tragedy that left twelve climbers dead is one of the most compelling books I have I have ever read, and is an essential read if you’re interested in Mount Everest.

Into the Silence: the Great War, Mallory, and the Conquest of Everest

Go back to the beginning with anthropologist, explorer, and writer Wade Davis‘s book about the first climber’s attempts to ascend Everest after the horrors experienced during World War One.

Storm Over Everest

World renowned mountain climber and filmmaker David Brashears was also on Everest in May 1996, filming an IMAX documentary.  He  aided the rescue efforts and tells his story in this haunting Frontline special.

To the Summit: Fifty Mountains that Lure, Inspire, and Challenge

If any subject deserves the coffee table book treatment, it has to be the moutain peaks of the world!  This hefty text is worth the checkout.  It includes  facts such as the elevation and first ascent of each mountain, as well as beautiful photographs.

For all its snooty French pretension, what really gets me about this movie is some swee-eat early 80s video effects and a shot of seemingly everyday Japanese people doing public aerobics to Throbbing Gristle. Surely, this is trickery.

Included on the disc is Marker’s dystopian slideshow reinterp of Hitchcock’s Vertigo, Le jetée. Dream your heart out.

- Bryan

Montana 1948 : a novel by Larry Watson

I’ve been living with several Larry Watson books for some time now; thinking them over and appreciating his writing.  They are thought provoking, evocative and memorable and really capture a sense of people and places with skill and economy.  Detailed enough to take you there in a few pages and hold your attention throughout.  Montana 1948 is a story of moral dilemma told through the eyes someone who was  a 12 year old boy at the time. In that year  his small-town sheriff father was involved in the ultimate family/moral test that builds and unravels in a compellingly written novel that remains haunting to me.

I first read American Boy which is an intriguing coming of age story set in 1962 in Willow Falls, Minnesota.  Funny, heartbreaking and absorbing with great characters – this pulled me right in,  eager to explore other books by this author.  This reminded me of another writing instructor’s memorable book – Tony Earley’s Jim the Boy, but with a completely different theme.

I then read Justice, a surprisingly cohesive collection of short stories tracing back the Hayden family of Bentrock, Montana and their offshoots.  Great stories abound with the brothers Wes and Frank getting into trouble on an ill-fated hunting trip in North Dakota in 1924 leading off the book in dramatic fashion.  But it’s really the clear-headed, understated, character driven writing, often with a sense of menace or uncertainty that stands out.  This is a great one to read before settling in for the brilliant Montana 1948.  You’ll definitely have some more background to appreciate the family dynamics which come to the forefront in that one.

All three are great reads by a recently discovered author (Thanks to Book Pages) that I now consider a favorite.

-Phil

Something Permanent

Something Permanent is an illustrated poetry book that combines the work of renowned American photographer Walker Evans with the contemporary poetry of Cynthia Rylant.

Walker Evans’ simple, yet haunting, black and white photographs capture every detail of life during the Great Depression, from the dirt on the floor to the news papered walls, transporting the viewer to another time and place. Rylant’s poems of love, faith, hope and hardship have an atmospheric quality perfectly suiting Evans’ work.

 April is National Poetry Month…..enjoy a poem today.

-Karen

In celebration of National Library Week, I thought I would share some of my favorite quotes about  libraries, books and reading.

“I cannot live without books.”
                                                      -Thomas Jefferson

“What in the world would we do without our libraries?”  – Katharine Hepburn

“When I step into this library, I cannot understand why I ever step out of it. ” – Marie de Sevigne

“To add a library to a house is to give that house a soul.”  -Cicero

“Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.”   – Frederick Douglass

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”-Dr. Seuss

“If you want your children to be brilliant, read them fairly tales. If you want them to be geniuses, read them more fairy tales.”  – Albert Einstein

“I have lived a thousand lives lost within the pages of a book.”  - Robert Cormier

“A life without stories would be no life at all.”  – Alexander McCall Smith

“When I discovered libraries, it was like having Christmas every day.” – Jean Fritz

“A library is a fuelling station for your mind.” - Steve Leveen

“I think the health of our civilization, the depth of our awareness about the underpinnings of our culture, and our concern for the future, can all be tested by how well we support our libraries.” – Carl Sagan

“As life tends to become more and more distracting, let us firmly hold on to books.” – A. Edward Newton

“As a child, my number one best friend was the librarian in my grade school. I actually believed all those books belonged to her.” – Erma Bombeck

“Books are for letting us imagine lives other than our own.” – Emma Donoghue

Happy National Library Week!

- Karen

Bonnie and Clyde

This 1967 classic sparked controversy on its release because of its tolerant (bordering on admiring) portrayal of the killers.  Despite this, it was nominated for Best Picture in a groundbreaking year for the Oscars (superbly analyzed in Mark Harris’ book Pictures at a Revolution).

 
Heavenly Creatures

You may have forgotten about this 1994 film that was directed by Peter Jackson and starred Kate Winslet in her first movie role.  Based on a true story, it tells of an unhealthy friendship between two teenage girls in New Zealand that leads to a shocking murder.  The almost unbelievable twist to the story is that one of the girls grew up to become the famous mystery writer Anne Perry.

 
Badlands

Also loosely based on a true story, this beautiful 1973 crime spree movie is the first film by Terrence Malick and stars a young Martin Sheen and Sissy Spacek. 

We Need to Talk About Kevin

Although this was billed as an indie drama about a Columbine-like school shooting, it actually works better as a straight-up horror movie about an evil child, without reference to the nature/nurture debate.  Try this if you liked The Bad Seed or Rosemary’s Baby.

-Beth

All of Me

If you’re looking for a solid new R & B album to spin, check out rapper/singer/songwriter Estelle’s latest called All of Me.  You might be familiar with Estelle from her breakout hit song American Boy (featuring Kanye West) off her 2008 album Shine.  Estelle eschews the crazy costumes and theatrics that some female artists tend to rely upon.  Instead, she lets her music speak for itself.  This is a well produced and polished album, featuring guest vocals by Janelle Monae, Chris Brown, Trey Songz, and Rick Ross. Once was all I needed to listen to the brief in-between song interludes of relationship talk, but the rest of the album offers a nice musical chill-out.  Listen to a clip from the track called Wonderful Life:

Other standouts are album opener The Life, and Do My Thing.  So check out Estelle and see why John Legend invited her across the pond from London and signed her to his record label.

Divergent

Since I work at the library, I’m always reading books. Some of them because I want to, others because I have to. And with all that reading, sometimes it is hard to remember that a really good book has the ability to grab you, pull you in, and not let you go.

Which is exactly what Divergent did. I first heard about this book when it won Favorite Book of 2011 in the (completely non-scientific) Goodreads Choice Awards. Then I read somewhere that it was kinda like The Hunger Games – which I enjoyed. So, I thought, “Hmm, maybe I should check this one out.”

And here we are. The book is set in a future, dystopian Chicago where each individual chooses his/her faction (sometimes over their families) based on inherent characteristics: Dauntless, Amity, Abnegation, Candor, or Erudite.  Every now and again we find a rare individual who is divergent – or able to succeed in more than one faction (and therefore dangerous). Which is where our heroine, Beatrice, finds herself.

First of all, props to Roth for picking excellent vocab words for each faction. (This is a Young Adult book after all.) I must admit that abnegation was not a word in my lexicon prior to Divergent. Second of all, even at close to 500 pages (!), once you start reading this book you are not going to want to put it down.

If you’re just now hitting The Hunger Games bandwagon and are waiting for your copy of the book, Divergent would be an excellent diversion while you tick down the massive hold list. If you love this dystopian genre and are looking for more books like these, check out another readalikes list.

Happy reading…

Amanda

The Golden Age of Couture Paris and London 1947-57

The Golden Age of Couture Paris and London 1947-57 is the exhibition catalog of the record breaking 2007 exhibit from the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. With the drudgery of World War II in the past, sumptuous fabrics and couture clothing made a strong comeback in February of 1947 with Christian Dior’s New Look. This book looks at the ten year period before Dior’s death and tells the stories of the best couturiers in London and Paris. The book elegantly details Dior’s golden age, Paris and London haute couture, textile manufactures, and the visual culture of couture and its legacy. Featured are nearly 200 illustrations.

In 2010, the Frist Center for the Visual Arts brought The Golden Age of Couture to Nashville. The exhibit allowed everyone to experience fashion on a level most of us never get to. Typically, the closest the average person comes to wearing something truly formal is either at prom or on their wedding day. To be surrounded by all of the glamorous dresses was an incredible experience. The exhibit was a true celebration of fashion, filled with people of all ages who were excited to be there and eager to share stories of their favorite displayed pieces or of the gowns that they themselves had worn.

For anyone who has ever wanted to put on a pretty dress and twirl around …..The Golden Age of Couture Paris and London 1947-57 is for you!

-Karen

The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt’s Darkest Journey

This is the amazing account of the ex-President’s exploration of an unmapped South American river at the age of 55.  It’s hard for me to imagine someone not enjoying this–it starts slow, but the trip down the river is so full of excitement and drama that it’s a little mind-boggling.  Highly recommended for fans of Teddy Roosevelt or Amazonian adventure tales like The Lost City of Z. 

Candice Millard is also the author of the excellent Destiny of the Republic : A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President, about the assassination of President Garfield, and is currently working on a book about Winston Churchill.

Of all rock-n-roll reunions, punk reunions are the most cringe worthy. Nihilistic like bombs, punk bands have their moments and then die. Dare I say, dare I dare to say, that Is This Hyperreal? is the rarest of punk reunions that actually works?

If there was a time for Atari Teenage Riot to reunite, NOW, with computer hackers running amok and demonstrators from both sides of the political spectrum competing for news cycle, is as good a time as ever. ATR don’t deviate from their pounding beats and hysterical shouting formula but the endearing charm is that it still sounds like it was recorded on stolen 16-bit equipment in 1992 – the techno equivalent of Chuck Berry’s out of tune guitar.

Lyrically, it isn’t Leonard Cohen, but what do you expect from a band called Atari Teenage Riot?  Again, current events suit their muse. If you are looking to flood yourself with forty minutes of adrenaline, this record is (hyper) real enough to get the job done. Oh late capitalism, you are such a bonny gal.

- Bryan

By Janie Bryant

After months and months of waiting and some behind the scenes drama Mad Men is back on television! Season 5 is scheduled to begin on Sunday, March 25^th with a two hour premier. Luckily for us there are many “products” available to help us prepare to reenter the sophisticated world of Don Draper.

Fashion retailer Banana Republic has just launched their second collection of Mad Men inspired clothing for men and women.

Mattel has a Mad Men Barbie doll collection featuring Don Draper, Betty Draper, Joan Holloway and Roger Sterling. 

And the library has……. The Fashion File written by Janie Bryant, Mad Men’s costume designer. The Fashion File is a fun little book filled with cast photos and comments, chic illustrations, and advice about how you can create your own vintage inspired wardrobe.

 If you need to catch up on previous Mad Men episodes before the premier, the library has the past seasons available for check out.

- Karen

This book took my breath away…..

Words cannot describe the beauty of Tiaras a History of Splendour by Geoffrey C. Munn. Munn, a leading jewelry expert in England, has written a magnificent history of the tiara. What makes this book so superb are the over 400 phenomenal illustrations that feature the tiara, the original jeweler’s sketches and often a photograph of the owner and subsequent generations wearing the tiara.

Munn’s book is a pleasure to read and thought provoking, you’ll want to know more about the women that wore these beautiful creations. This book is lush and sumptuous and would be of interest to anyone interested in fashion history or the history of jewels and jewelry.

Don’t miss it!

- Karen

Many of us have a bad breakup story or three in our past.   Leave it to Daniel Handler (aka Lemony Snicket) and his collaborator Maira Kalman to take the bittersweet subject of lost love and create a beautifully poignant coming of age story.  This illustrated novel is in fact a long breakup letter written to accompany the box of keepsakes being returned to the guy, Ed Slaterton,  in a last purge of hurt and disappointment by the girl, Min Green.  Each chapter begins with Maira Kalman’s illustration of an artifact collected during the whirlwind fall romance between Min and Ed.  From the bottle caps at the party where they first talked, to the jar of chestnuts bought after discussing the proper way to make stuffing, all of their time together will resonate with you and your own experiences of lost love.

Why We Broke Up is actually marketed as a young adult novel, but if you were ever obsessed with the 80′s films Some Kind of Wonderful, Pretty in Pink, or Say Anything, you’re gonna love this book!  Don’t worry, Handler’s prose is always sophisticated, even when he’s writing for a younger audience. Here’s a great example found beginning on page 64:  “I already loved you then.  Doomed like a wineglass knowing it’ll get dropped someday, shoes that’ll be scuffed in no time, the new shirt you’ll soon enough muck up filthy.”  May this book remind you of the time you were so brokenhearted you sat and listened to {insert your own album of choice-for me it was Sting’s Soul Cages on cassette} wondering how you could ever face the world again…   -crystal

Love Child tells the story of how a few stolen moments can affect so many lives. Set in South Africa during the 1920’s through the 1950’s the story is told through a series of flashbacks as the main character reflects on her life. This is not a story of illicit love as much as it is a story of family dynamics and expectations.

The book features an interview with the author and book club discussion questions one of which asks “is Love Child ultimately tragic or hopeful “perhaps it is a little bit of both.

Author Sheila Kohler, has written 11 books and teaches at Bennington College and Princeton.

-Karen

2Cellos

Raise your hand if you watched the Michael Jackson episode of Glee? Ok, now raise your hand if thought the cello guys during the “Smooth Criminal” battle were mostly cool, but a little bit scary? Yeah, me too.

Well…it turns out that those two guys are actually a cello duo in their own right called 2Cellos. Luka Sulic and Stjepan Hauser are former rivals who now play together. Their self-titled debut album came out this past summer on Sony Masterworks.

Which means, for those of you keeping score at home, the tracks are available on freegal! Yeah!

Sulic and Hauser are different from other cello duos because instead of playing Beethoven and Bach they cover U2 and Nirvana. I haven’t had a chance to listen to all of the tracks, owing to the fact that there are 12 on the album and we only get 5 a week. I’ve still go 2 more to go.

The guys aren’t covering anything super new (no Kanye here), but their technique is tight on the songs they picked. Be warned, there are some kitchy moments that kinda give off a muzak feel during a track or two. Would I pay $15-$20 to own the album? Probably not – there’s not a lot of depth to the album. But they are definately worth a few free downloads here or there.

Favorite track so far? “Smooth Criminal”, but I haven’t gotten to “Smells Like Teen Spirit” yet, so the jury is still out. Take a listen for yourself and see what rocks your world.

Happy celloing…

Amanda

Amy Franklin-Willis first novel, The Lost Saints of Tennessee is a story of family and the struggle to love each other despite of our faults and failures.

At midlife, Zeke Cooper finds himself fleeing his West Tennessee hometown and his grief and guilt over the death of his twin brother, anger at his mother’s misplaced dreams and the failure of his marriage. He seeks solace with older cousins on their idyllic farm near Charlottesville Virginia, a place where as a young man Zeke had aspirations of graduating from the university there and perhaps becoming a writer. Making peace with his dying mother and a house full of sisters, Zeke eventually picks up his feet and continues moving along life’s journey.

Franklin-Willis’ story is southern without being hokey and emotional without being overwrought.

- Phyllis

I have been a Vogue magazine subscriber for nearly 20 years and I could not wait to get my hands on Vogue the Covers by Dodie Kazanjian.  I was not disappointed; the book was everything I thought it would be and more, it even included 5 letter size posters of vintage Vogue magazine covers.

In 1892 Vogue magazine began as a weekly society column, by 1909 it was a bi-monthly magazine and in the late 1960’s it became the monthly publication we know today.

It is amazing to see the evolution of the magazine through the collection of covers. From the black and white sketches of the turn of the century to the colored drawings of the 1920’s, to the first photograph, you get to see how the title font has changed throughout the years along with the amount of text and even the placement of text or lack thereof on the magazine’s cover. My favorite decade presented was the 1950’s, filled with timeless and elegant photos by Irving Penn.  Penn’s super sleek women wore some of the most glamorous fashions of the day. I discovered that my least favorite decade for covers were the 1980’s. The covers were all about the models face producing a decade of generic looking close-ups. There was a return to glamour in the late 90’s and into the 2000’s with lush photographs by Mario Testino and Steven Meisel and the high drama of Annie Leibovitz.

A rumor has been stirring for several months that Vogue was going to offer a digital archive of the magazine. In the December 2011 issue a small add was featured that stated “Coming soon: The Vogue Archives. Every issue, every page, and every photo from the magazine will be online in its original context – from 1892 to the present. Coming soon.” I can’t wait! But wait I will, as this blog was about to be posted I discovered that the annual subscription for an individual to access the Vogue Archives is $1,575. Good thing we can all get Vogue the Covers free from the library!

 -Karen

Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey: The Lost Legacy of Highclere Castle
by Fiona Carnarvon, Countess of Carnarvon

If you’re suffering Downton Abbey withdrawal it’s time to open up Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey: The Lost Legacy Of Highclere Castle by the Countess of Carnarvon, the current lady of the castle that provides the setting for Downton Abbey.

Like Cora Crawley in the PBS Masterpiece tale, Lady Almina was a wealthy heiress, the illegitimate daughter of Sir Alfred Rothschild. His fortune injected a strong dose of capital that provided electric lighting, modern bathrooms and other amenities to Highclere castle and enabled his daughter and son-in-law, the 5^th Earl of Carnarvon, to literally entertain royally.

One of her first duties as Lady Carnarvon was to organize a 3 day visit by the Prince of Wales which cost 360,000 pounds in today’s money and involved redecorating and copious amounts of food.  Not all was extravagance though.  Like the Crawleys, the Carnarvon’s converted their castle into a hospital during WW I.  They also played an important role in the discovery of King Tut’s tomb.

This story of the real people who lived in Downton Abbey’s set should tide you over till season 3.

- Phyllis

In this sleek movie, the action encompasses a single day in the life of George Falconer, a man in deep mourning over the loss of his lover, Jim. The film marks the directorial debut of fashion designer Tom Ford. The film’s effortless elegance captures the essence of California in 1962, the architecture, the cars, the impeccable costuming and even the pen George writes with. Colin Firth’s fine performance earned him a BAFTA award for Best Actor, a Golden Globe nomination and an Academy Award nomination.

A Single Man is based on the novel of the same title by Christopher Isherwood.  The book and DVD are both available at the library.

-Karen

The Young Victoria

Looking for something more intelligent than your standard romantic comedy for a Valentine’s Day movie night?  Try The Young Victoria, starring Emily Blunt and screenwritten by Julian Fellowes (for all of you Downton Abbey fans).  Besides the fact that Ms. Blunt is too pretty to play the reportedly dowdy monarch, the film is more historically accurate than you may expect.  And the coda about the queen’s mourning is so lovely that I still think about it on a regular basis.  To my mind, this is the most romantic movie to come out in recent years.

-Beth

Who was Charlotte Perkins Gilman?

You may remember reading Gilman’s short story The Yellow Wall-Paper in high school. The author wrote that in 1887, while suffering from postpartum depression she was “prescribed the now infamous “rest cure” which mandated that she have but two hours of intellectual stimulation per day, have her child with her at all times and never pick up a pen or paintbrush for as long as she lived. Just months after beginning the “rest cure,” Charlotte Perkins Gilman had a nervous breakdown.” It was that breakdown that became the basis for The Yellow Wall-Paper.

The Yellow Wall-Paper and Other Writings is well done. Gilman’s writing style is sharp and clever and her pioneering feminist stories are still relevant today.

- Karen

King of Limbs by Radiohead

Like a subtle peach – watermelon – blue fade at dusk highlighting a complex network of bare winter tree branches in the distant foreground – the music here is  multifaceted work featuring many hues.
I do admit I was a bit slow on the uptake to recognize Radiohead’s general brilliance around the time OK Computer was being lauded, but since Kid A I’ve enjoyed every release they’ve graced us with (and went back and absorbed the great deluxe edition of The Bends).
This one is slight at about 37 minutes and I often cycle right through and back to the dynamic, loop filled, hypnotic first track “Bloom” while in my car. The music floats, mesmerizes and intrigues with multiple drum patterns, keyboard layers, haunting (mainly indistinguishable) vocals and some seriously heavy bass (especially on the ultra heavy trance/funk-house 4th track, “Lotus Flower”).
I find this a generally absorbing, complex work of electronica based music.  Like many reviewers have said it does reward multiple listens (Now when does that triggered electro-trumpet break come in? I know I heard it before…)
As usual, great stuff from Radiohead!

-Phil

Doo-wops & Hooligans
Bruno Mars

I’m kinda in a new music phase right now, partially because our upcoming podcast discusses The Grammy Awards (stay tuned). One of the nominees for this year’s trophies is Bruno Mars. Sorry guys, he’s not on freegal (sigh), but the library does have his latest release so you can at least listen to his music.

Mr. Mars (who I believe has a cousin named Veronica*) sounds a little bit like the love child of Jason Mraz and some ska band. Especially with “The Lazy Song.” His music isn’t overly profound; it’s just nice pop-cultury goodness. 

My favorite track is “Grenade” more because I like the video, I think, even though the song will stay with you. What’s not to like about a guy dragging an upright piano through traffic? Also, I didn’t realize it at the time, but the second track “Just the Way You Are” was on Glee (yeah!).

So check out Doo-wops & Hooligans, then tune into the Grammy’s on February 12th to see if he can topple the ever mighty Adele. (I really like Bruno but I think I’m gonna put my money on Adele for the big win.)

Happy listening…

Amanda

* Veronica Mars is only Bruno’s fictitious cousin, because…well…she lives in TV land.

The Night Circus

“The circus arrives without warning” and with that opening line you are swept into Erin Morgenstern’s The Night Circus. This book has been described as “marvelous,” “a love story on a grand scale,” “an enchanting read” and something that “you will not want to leave.”  It’s all true. I was on the waiting list for two months…..was it worth it?? Absolutely.   I was completely enthralled by Morgenstern’s sleek circus world and her descriptive language allows the story to be played out like watching a movie unfold.

If you enjoyed the movie The Illusionist with Edward Norton or The Prestige with Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale, both stories of rivalry, love and illusionists set in Victorian times then you will love The Night Circus.

Come to the Main library on the evening of January 26^th and wear your red rêveur scarf for what promises to be an enchanting evening with the book’s author Erin Morgenstern. The reception will start at 6:15pm followed by the author discussing her book.

- Karen

Zonoscope
by Cut/Copy

First time Grammy nominees Cut/Copy released one of the best dance albums of the year.
Essential Track: Need You Know

Skying
by The Horrors

The Horrors have reinvented themselves yet again on their third album, this time going for a late 80′s post punk sound.
Essential Track: I Can See Through You

Smother
by The Wild Beasts

Dreamlike guitars, galloping drums, and hedonistic lyrics sung in falsetto, The Wild Beasts can’t be tamed!
Essential Track: Bed of Nails

-crystal

The Eighty-Dollar Champion: Snowman the Horse That Inspired a Nation       
 By Elizabeth Letts

This is a sweet story about an honest and hard working man who saves a plow horse bound for the glue factory. Harry de Leyer discovered that he had gotten not only a calm and steady horse with a heart of gold but a horse that had an amazing ability to jump, an ability that took man and horse all the way to the 1958 National Horse Show. No one took the grey plow horse or his immigrant owner seriously until the slow steady horse cleared all his jumps…     

Author Elizabeth Letts, has written a warm hearted book that tells the story of the de Leyer family, the history of show horse competitions, America in the 1950s and most of all the story of Snowman the horse. Fans of Black Beauty, Secretariat, Seabiscuit and horses in general will enjoy this story of the little plow horse that could. 

-Karen

The Cat’s Table
by Michael Ondaatje

Parentless children having seafaring adventures? Yes, please.  Also try Ondaatje’s memoir Running in the Family.

Nightwoods
by Charles Frazier

Try this if you like Night of the Hunter, the North Carolina mountains, or Dan Chaon.

In Zanesville
by Jo Ann Beard

A 1970’s childhood, perfectly rendered.

What Alice Forgot
by Liane Moriarty

This literary chick lit, reminiscent of It’s a Wonderful Life, is addictive and thought-provoking.

Rules of Civility
by Amor Towles

The life of a single girl in New York City in the 1930’s.

-Beth

Alan Bradley’s fourth mystery finds 12-year-old, motherless, nosy chemistry genius Flavia de Luce, stuck at home during the Christmas season in bleak post war England. Her older sisters Feely and Daffy continue to torment her and she spends her time sequestered in her chemistry lab concocting a sticky trap for Father Christmas among the chimney pots of Buckshaw, the decaying family manor.

To bring in badly needed income, Flavia’s father contracts with a film company to make a movie at Buckshaw. The whole village of Bishop’s Lacey is atwitter at the arrival of glamorous Phyllis Wyvern and her co–star Desmond Duncan. They agree to give a Christmas Eve performance of scenes from Romeo and Juliet to benefit the roof fund of the local church. On the night of the performance, village guests and the entire film crew end up snowed in at Buckshaw.

While all are peacefully slumbering among the many nooks and crannies of the big old house, Flavia discovers Phyllis Wyvern dead in her room, oddly dressed with a length of film tied gaily around her neck. Of course precocious Flavia can’t follow orders to stay away from the murder scene and proceeds with her own investigation. Danger ensues.

Who killed the movie star is not as important as 12 year old Flavia’s maturing relationship with her sisters and a growing realization that she is very much like the mother she never knew. A bit of accidental luck brings hope that things will be looking up for the De Luce’s of Buckshaw in the New Year and that Flavia has many more mysteries to solve in the future.

Nothing Daunted:  The Unexpected Education of Two Society Girls in the West

Looking for a gift for your mother or grandmother?  Look no further.  This true story about two girls who venture out to rural Colorado in 1916 to teach school reminded me a lot of the joy I got out of reading Catherine Marshall’s Christy back in high school.  I would also recommend it for fans of Maud Hart Lovelace.  My grandmother’s copy is already wrapped and ready to go.

Downton Abbey

Run; don’t walk, to place your hold on Downton Abbey. This is not your grandmother’s Masterpiece Theatre. Created by Julian Fellowes writer of Gosford Park. Downton Abbey tells the story of the aristocratic Crawley family on the eve of Britain entering World War I.  This sophisticated and intriguing story is as much that of the household servants as it is the Crawley’s. Shot on location at Highclere Castle and various spots in England, the house, the sets and costumes are spot on and gorgeous. Downton Abbey was voted the # 1 Series on Public Television in England and it won 6 Emmys in September.  Season 2 is currently on the air in Britain and will be shown to US audiences on PBS starting  January 8, 2012.  This series is so good I literally salivate every time the opening theme music begins to play. Pavlov’s dog take note… it’s just that good.

- Karen

With a Muppet resurgence upon us, it’s an excellent time to revisit this 1977 Jim Henson Christmas classic.  With its hilarious Muppet villains, great songs, and a heartwarming Gift of the Magi premise, this is bound to become a new family favorite.

Citrus County

This lived up to the promise of the amazing short story by Brandon in a recent issue of The Oxford American. I’m surprised it didn’t garner more attention when it came out, especially since it got a rave review by Daniel Handler in The New York Times.  The main premise of the plot (a fantastically low-key kidnapping) is wildly unbelievable, but I loved the writing so much that I just didn’t care. It’s worth reading for the depiction of Mr. Hibma alone.

Edward S. Curtis: The Women

-Karen

Rules of Civility

I dare you to resist this! It’s like a fizzy, delectable mixture of Breakfast at Tiffany’s and Keith Maillard’s Gloria. It’s the most fun I’ve had reading all year (not to mention the best cover).

Mike & Molly

It’s not very often I find a show I just want to put in my DVD player and play continuously for, like, days. I do that sometimes with The Big Bang Theory and I’d do it with Dharma & Greg if more than one season were available (Do you hear me Chuck Lorre? I love your shows and I want all the seasons of Dharma and Greg on DVD!!!)

But I guess it’s ok, because I just recently found Mike & Molly (FYI – Chuck Lorre also writes for Mike & Molly). I didn’t watch this one during the official television viewing season, maybe because I was afraid of the Hollywood fat people cliche. I am happy to report, though, that this show is about Mike and Molly and not about how Mike and Molly are “not skinny,” even though they intially meet at an Overeater’s Anonymous meeting.

Both actors, Mike (Billy Gardell) and Molly (Melissa McCarthy) are delightful – with self-depricating humor that Hollywood usually either ignores or overly produces. These two are everyday folks, who just happened to find each other and fall in love.

McCarthy actually won an Emmy for her role (see her crowning moment) – which comes as no surprise to those of us who loved her for years as Sookie St. James on The Gilmore Girls.

There is just something enjoyable about this show – check it out and see for yourself!

Happy reading watching…

Amanda

The Buddha in the Attic tells the story of Japanese women who came to America in the early twentieth century as paper brides. The book covers their journey, arrival, work, children and their lives up to the Second World War. There are only 144 pages in this tiny book, but each beautifully crafted sentence packs a punch. Slow down…..take your time reading…..savor the quality of the writing…..so much is said with just a few eloquent words.

Otsuka’s first book When the Emperor Was Divine artfully depicts the Japanese internment camp experience during World War II. Seemingly picking up where The Buddha in the Attic leaves off these two books are the perfect complement to one another.

If you enjoy books about the Asian American experience then Julie Otsuka is not to be missed. With two books under her belt we can only hope that more are on the way.

 - Karen

The Smiths, Louder Than Bombs
R.E.M., Eponymous 
The Sundays, Reading Writing & Arithmetic 
Digable Planets, Reachin’ (A New Refutation of Time and Space)

[Ed. note: The first sentence of this review originally read, "Much like Terrance [sic] Malick’s cowardly omission of dinosaurs in trailers for Tree of Life, nowhere in Train Dreams’ marketing campaign are werewolves mentioned.” The original sentence and its change provide the context for the comment thread which follows.]

Much like the cowardly omission of dinosaurs in trailers for Terrence Malick’s Tree of Life, nowhere in Train Dreams’ marketing campaign are werewolves mentioned. Yes, the dirty secret of this book is lycanthropy. I would accuse Johnson of trying cash in on some of that Twilight money but this is a hardback reissue of a novella originally published in the Paris Review in 2003.

Train Dreams concerns Robert Grainier, an average Joe by early 20th century standards. He doesn’t read a lot but he works hard logging in the American West. After a horrific tragedy, he decides to live alone though not in complete isolation. He is forced to ask himself unsurely, “Am I a hermit?” His dreams, memories, and reality become similarly fuzzy. His fears and hopes bleed into his everyday field of vision. Nothing short of The Optimist’s Daughter West, Train Dreams demands us to ask what propels us through the stream of time: our inner life, or the objective events that have shaped it?

Johnson wins again.

- Bryan

Are you creeped out just by the title?  What’s that speck on your arm?  Yikes, what just bit you?  OK, I’ll stop taking cheap shots.   Bedbugs does talk about dealing with an infestation, but what if you were the only person in your household being attacked by the little bloodsuckers?  This slow burn horror novel owes everything to Ira Levin and his classic tale Rosemary’s Baby.  Ben Winters, whom you may know from Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters, set this his latest novel  in Brooklyn, where apparently bedbugs are a real problem .  Bedbugs includes a creepy old landlady, a kind and concerned handyman, a couple experiencing financial strain and relationship issues, a sexy nanny, and an adorable little girl.  Throw in some nasty bedbugs and you’ve got a fast-paced psychological thriller, just in time for Halloween!  So good nite, sleep tight, you know the rest…                         -crystal

Alexander McQueen : Savage Beauty

Why I love Alexander McQueen.

His style was ferocious, breathtakingly beautiful and sometimes unnerving.

He was a master tailor and his runway shows were pure theatre.

He was a visionary and a genius. He was one of the greatest designers of our time.

This past May, the Metropolitan Museum of Art celebrated his life and work in an exhibition called Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty. Over 661,509 people visited the show during its three month run making it one of the top ten most popular exhibits in the museum’s history.

If you are like me and not able to go to New York to see the show then you will be thrilled to know that the exhibition catalogue Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty is available at the library. Filled with hundreds of images and quotes from McQueen the catalogue is stunning.  Arranged in seven distinct categories the clothes tell the story. Even the mannequins play a unique role looking like there is a live flesh and blood woman just under the surface. Read this book from cover to cover and then read it again. It is just that good.

While we are talking about Alexander McQueen we must also mention Isabella Blow.

Isabella Blow had a true love for fashion and her support launched many a designers’ career. Blow was an early and lifelong champion of McQueen, purchasing his entire graduation collection.  Her suicide in 2007 was crushing to him.

The book Isabella Blow by Martina Rink is a loving celebration of the life of Isabella Blow. Each page features photos and letters written to Blow after her death from her friends in the fashion industry.  To learn more about her life read Isabella Blow a Life in Fashion by Lauren Goldstein Crowe.

- Karen

Botticelli Blue Skies an American in Florence

by Merrill Joan Gerber

When Merrill Joan Gerber’s husband receives an offer to teach in Italy for three months she is less than thrilled at the thought of leaving her home, family and friends to travel to a country where she does not even speak the language. What happens when Gerber gets over the culture shock of four dollar Coca Colas and skinning her own chickens, turns into a love affair with Italy, the art, the land and her people. Botticelli Blue Skies an American in Florence is a funny, very real, travel memoir that will have you cheering for Joan and sharing her tears when her journey comes to an end.

- Karen