Watch a Movie Based on a Book

February 11, 2019February 13, 2019MaryLeave a comment

Below are some suggestions of movies based on a book to encourage you to check off that box on your Winter Reading Bingo card.

Ready Player One is a science fiction film based on the 2011 dystopian novel of the same title by Ernest Cline.

Beautiful Boy is a biographical drama based on the 2008 memoir Beautiful Boy: A Father’s Journey Through His Son’s Addiction by David Sheff and the 2007 memoir Tweak: Growing Up On Methamphetamines by Nic Sheff

On Chesil Beach is a British drama film based on the 2007 Booker Prize nominated novella of the same title by Ian McEwan.

Juliet Naked is a romantic comedy/drama based on the 2009 novel of the same title by Nick Hornsby.

Crazy Rich Asians is a romantic comedy/drama based on the 2013 best selling novel of the same title by Kevin Kwan.

The Hate U Give is a crime drama based on the 2017 best selling young adult novel of the same title by Angie Thomas (released this month so place a hold or check out as a quick flick for 3 days)

A Wrinkle In Time is a science fantasy adventure film based on the 1962 juvenile novel of the same title by Madeleine L’Engle.

Black Panther is a super hero film based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name.

Red Sparrow is a spy thriller film based on the 2013 novel of the same title by Jason Matthews.

The Little Stranger is a gothic drama film based on the 2009 novel of the same title by Sarah Waters.

If you would like more suggestions stop by the Adult Reference desk and we are happy to help.

Winter Reading Bingo

February 4, 2019February 4, 2019MaryLeave a comment

Memoirs

Below are some of my favorite Memoirs to encourage you to check off that Memoir box on your bingo card. I hope you enjoy my picks!

Educated A Memoir by Tara Westover

Just Kids by Patti Smith

A Backpack, a Bear and Eight Crates of Vodka A Memoir by Lev Golinkin

Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J.D. Vance

Cover image for Hillbilly elegy :

The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls

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BookTalk for Adults

January 7, 2019MaryLeave a comment

Friday, January 25th, 10:00 – 11:00, Community Room

This month we will be talking about Young Adult novels. Young adult literature typically centers on teenagers. The publishing industry markets these books primarily to young adults, however, that’s not always who reads them. Did you know that approximately 55% of today’s young adult readers are adults? At BookTalk this month we will be discussing YA fiction in fantasy and fiction genres. We will also be talking about best selling YA author John Green, and current best seller novel, Children of Blood and Bone by Tome Adeyemi. Come join us for coffee and good discussion.

Mary’s Top Ten of 2018

December 12, 2018MaryLeave a comment

Mary’s Top 10 for 2018

My Top 5 Books:

The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai

There is so much to like about this book. The two main characters are flawed, however, you will yearn for them to rise up & come to terms with their lives. I learned about Chicago (my home away from home), Paris, both present day and in the 1910’s, inspirational artists who were sowing their seeds in Paris in the early 1900’s, and last, but certainly not least, the AIDS epidemic at its height in 1980’s Chicago and its tragic aftermath.

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

This is a fantastic piece of historical fiction. Sunja, the main character, is an unconventional matriarch, whom we follow throughout the entire story. It begins in the early 1900’s with her birth, and culminates in 1989. This story is about 4 generations of a Korean family coming terms with what it is like to be Korean in a Japanese society. There is much to learn here about the perils and struggles of the Korean community.

The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See

This is another superb historical fiction book. I learned a lot about tea… so much tea. Again, the main character, Li-Yan, is unconventional, yet so strong in her own quiet ways. The reader learns about farming tea, life in a small Chinese village, adapting to an ever-changing world, adoption and the impact, not only on the child, but the entire community.

Educated A Memoir by Tara Westover

I love good narrative nonfiction, and this certainly fit the bill. It never ceases to amaze me when I read about the resilience of children growing up in a very chaotic environment, raised by a parent lacking in nearly all conventional parenting skills … and yet these children survive, and in this case, achieve great academic success despite the odds. These type of books are great for book clubs because, trust me, you will want to talk about it.

Evicted by Matthew Desmond

This title was also the Library Community read. Unlike, the book above, not everyone is a survivor in this one. This book is about residents in low income neighborhoods in the city of Milwaukee, desperately trying to make ends meet, despite the unjust housing system in which they live in. This is a very engaging, readable piece of nonfiction.

My Top 5 Movies:

Juliet Naked

I didn’t know that I liked Ethan Hawke so much. I have not watched a movie this year that he has starred in that I didn’t love ( Maudie and Maggie’s Plan both wonderful too). This is a moving, yet feel-good kind of movie. It’s all about choices, second chances and moving forward.

Tully

I will admit that I nearly turned this movie off about 45 minutes in, and then everything changed, so hang in there. Tully is such a simple yet complex woman struggling with “the baby blues”. If you are like me, you will have compassion for Tully, you will understand Tully, in the end, you will love Tully.

I Am Not Your Negro

This film is a heartfelt & sweeping documentary of Alec Baldwin’s experiences in the tumultuous 60’s. You will be thinking about this one long after you hit the eject button. There is so much to learn about the great African American leaders, and the american experience of the African American community. We have so much to learn from our history, we simply need to take the time to listen.

Faces Places

I tried to stay away from Academy Award nominees & winners because they must be good, right? Not always the case for me, but with this film, they hit the nail on the head. Another feel-good film that follows a couple of artists pursuing…well, their art. Their relationship is so charming, their travels are interesting, and their art is wonderful. What more do you need?

Amelie

Okay, I will admit I watched this one because I want to look like Amelie. Who doesn’t want to look like an adorable French woman? After watching this film, I want to be Amelie. I want to be a free spirited, unique, adventurous, kind & beautiful young french woman…oh, and live in France. For now I will live vicariously through this charming movie. By the way, it is in French, and watching foreign films makes me feel smart… another bonus!

Little Men

I eyed this film on the shelf FOREVER, and it did not disappoint. This is a wonderful coming of age story about a 13 year old boy, but so much more. The film is about relationships, gentrification in Brooklyn, self discovery for the young and the old. Don’t judge these characters to hastily, they may surprise you.

I hope you can make time for, at the least, one of my choices in 2019. I would LOVE to hear about your choices too. Stop by at the Adult Reference desk & we’ll chat. Meanwhile, my best for a happy new year!

BookTalk for Adults

September 28, 2018October 3, 2018MaryLeave a comment

In case you missed the BookTalk for Adults program today at the library, here is what we talked about….

The Best Books of 2018 So Far. While there are many excellent books that have been penned thus far in 2018, I managed to widdle the list down to ten. The list spans different genres including fiction, literary fiction, mystery, suspense/thriller and memoir. Here is the list of books we discussed –

The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai
Us Against You by Fredrik Backman
There, There by Tommy Orange
A Place for Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza
The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah
The President is Missing by Bill Clinton and James Patterson
All the Beautiful Lies by Peter Swanson
The Woman in the Window by A.J.Finn
When Life Gives You Lululemons by Lauren Weisberger
Educated A Memoir by Tara Westover

Our next BookTalk for Adults will be Friday, October 26th at 10AM. Being so close to Halloween we will discuss (you guessed it) Spooky books. Come join us!

10 Great Quotes To Keep you Reading

May 28, 2018May 11, 2018MaryLeave a comment

“The reading of all good books is like a conversation with the finest minds of past centuries.” —Rene Descartes

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

“Reading is an exercise in empathy; an exercise in walking in someone else’s shoes for a while.” —Malorie Blackman

“A book is a dream you hold in your hands.” —Neil Gaiman

“What really knocks me out is a book that, when you’re all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it. That doesn’t happen much, though.” J.D Salinger

“Reading is the sole means by which we slip, involuntarily, often helplessly, into another’s skin, another’s voice, another’s soul.” — Joyce Carol Oates

“Reading is everything. Reading makes me feel like I’ve accomplished something, learned something, become a better person. Reading makes me smarter. Reading gives me something to talk about later on. Reading is the unbelievably healthy way my attention deficit disorder medicates itself. Reading is escape, and the opposite of escape; it’s a way to make contact with reality after a day of making things up, and it’s a way of making contact with someone else’s imagination after a day that’s all too real. Reading is grist. Reading is bliss.” — Nora Ephron

“You think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read. It was books that taught me that the things that tormented me most were the very things that connected me with all the people who were alive, or who had ever been alive.” — James Baldwin

“When I look back, I am so impressed again with the life-giving power of literature. If I were a young person today, trying to gain a sense of myself in the world, I would do that again by reading, just as I did when I was young.” — Maya Angelou

“If you are going to get anywhere in life you have to read a lot of books.” – Roald Dahl

Reading With My Boys

May 21, 2018May 19, 2018MaryLeave a comment

One of my favorite things to do with my boys is read together. We are well beyond the picture books, but my boys & I enjoyed reading together until they hit their teens. Summer vacation is right around the corner, and me & my 12 year old son have been discussing what books we would like to read together this summer. The older they get, the more difficult it is to find time to read together during the school year due to homework and extra- curricular activities, but we try to carve out at least 15 minutes in the evening of reading a book together. Depending on the book, sometimes this 15 minutes can turn into an hour. During summer break it’s much easier to find time to read together. Most times we find ourselves on the glider on the back patio, catching up on our most current favorite story. Summer usually involves a road trip or two, and reading together in the car has been a hit as well.

Now let me be clear, by reading together, I do mean I read the story out loud. I know, it may seem somewhat juvenile for a middle schooler, but trust me they love it. I ham it up with accents and lots of emotion in my voice. With my oldest & youngest, they sat right next me and read along. My middle guy played nerf basketball while I read away, nonetheless, he was equally engaged in the story.

When my oldest two boys were in high school I would stare at their required summer reading splayed on the coffee table, pretty much untouched. Finally, I picked it up & started reading. The required summer reading can be great picks, although your high schooler may not agree. If you read it too, you can discuss the book with them. Discussion wasn’t lengthy about a book they couldn’t choose, but it was something to share with your teenager & how often does that happen?

The library Community Read events are fantastic book pics to share with any member in your family. So much of our family time together has been swallowed up by devices. Even though we all may be sitting in the same room, individually we have our head down, scrolling through our devices. Put those devices down, pick up a book, read it out loud or share what you’ve read for just 15 minutes each night. Trust me, you will cherish these moments & remember them forever.

These are some of my favorite books I read with my boys: