Tossing and Turning? Try an Audiobook!

April 17, 2017March 22, 2017 / Louise / 1 Comment

I think we all have nights when sleep eludes us. Our brains start whirling and it’s hard to quiet our thoughts enough to fall asleep. Some people take a pill. I take a book, an audiobook, that is.

I have found that listening to audiobooks in bed at night is the best way to redirect my thoughts away from all the stuff that’s keeping me awake. I discovered this by accident when my children were young and would wake up from a nightmare. They would inevitably be too keyed up to fall back to sleep, and I would stay up with them, usually telling them a story to get their mind off the bad dream until they could drift back off to sleep.

Years later, I had trouble sleeping myself and decided to adapt the storytelling method that had worked with my kids. I started listening to audiobooks at bedtime. What a help they were! I would inevitably fall asleep faster with the audiobook than without, and I found a way to squeeze a little extra “reading” time in!

Now, not all audiobooks are suitable for relaxing bedtime listening. A gruesome crime novel or horror story kind of defeats the purpose – I reserve grittier fare for print reading. Likewise, I find most mysteries require too much attention to detail, so are not the best for my “bedtime stories”. Romance, humor, fantasy, and classics have become my nighttime listening go-tos.

Here are a few suggestions if you want to give my insomnia-cure a try (great for daytime listening, too!):

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion, read by Dan O’Grady. A perfect match of book and narrator, this quirky Aussie love story is a delight.

The Martian by Andy Weir, read by R.C. Bray. Terrific narration by Bray gets character Mark Watney’s nerdy genius and dry humor just right.

A Man Called Ove by Frederik Bachman, read by George Newbern. You’ll quickly embrace the prickly Ove, and the neighbors who invade his formerly well-ordered life.

The Harry Potter audiobooks by J.K. Rowling, read by Jim Dale. Jim Dale is a perfect example of how the right narrator can elevate even the best books. He’s won many awards for his narration of the Harry Potter series, and all the accolades are deserved.

The His Dark Materials audiobooks by Philip Pullman, performed by a full cast. Another series that absolutely blooms to life in audio, with this full cast performance pulled together by Pullman’s narration. It’s stunning.

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, read by Rob Inglis. Even if you’ve read the book, you’ll get something new out of the audiobook. If you like Inglis’s narration of The Hobbit, you can listen to him read the Lord of the Rings trilogy as well.

The Outlander audiobooks by Diana Gabaldon, read by Davina Porter. Again, even if you’ve read the Outlander series before, you will find new things to love about it in Davina Porter’s skilled narration. And it’s nice to hear all the Gaelic words pronounced correctly!

Bossypants by Tina Fey, read by the author. This book is, quite frankly, hysterical, and Tina Fey’s narration will have you chuckling into your pillow.

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov, read by Jeremy Irons. Sure, it’s the story of a middle-aged man’s unhealthy obsession with a teenager, but the prose is practically poetry and Jeremy Iron’s narration is mesmerizing.

Anti-Valentines Day Viewing

February 13, 2017November 7, 2016 / Sharon Tyler / Leave a comment

As Valentines Day looms closer many are feeling the pressure to plan the perfect date, find the perfect gift, or find a way to express their feelings towards that special someone. Others are firmly enjoying their single hood. Some are wishing they could find their perfect match or grieving the loss of someone. And then there are those of us, regardless of relationship status, that are just not into grand displays and all the mushy stuff that comes with the holidays. Regardless, as wonderful as this day can be for some lucky folks, for others it can be a depressing nightmare, or just another day. No matter what camp you find yourself in, finding a book to read or movie to watch that is not all sunshine and roses can be hard, particularly this time of year.

Here are some movies that can be enjoyed by anyone who does not need or want a sappy love story for Valentine’s day but would rather enjoy something distinctly anti-Valentine’s Day.

Ruby Sparks
Struggling with writer’s block and a lackluster love life, once-famous novelist Calvin creates a beautiful fictitious character named Ruby who inspires him. But not only does this bring his work to life–it also brings Ruby to life–literally! Face-to-face with an actual relationship with his once-virtual girlfriend, Calvin must now decide whether to pen this love story or let it write itself.

Happy-Go-Lucky
Poppy is a life-loving and irrepressibly cheerful primary school teacher. She is thirty years old, single, and infinitely optimistic and accepting. She lives with her best friend and flatmate Zoe in London. She is tested by a repressed driving instructor with anger problems, and, in turn, she decides to test him. She has exciting flamenco lessons, an encounter with a homeless man, an argument with her pregnant sister, and a love-affair with the social worker guiding one of her students.

John Tucker Must Die
When the class-overachiever, the head cheerleader, and the vegan lover discover they’re all dating the same guy – namely the star basketball player John Tucker – the girls decide to recruit a bashful new girl named Kate to become the ideal girl to break Tucker’s bad boy heart. But as Kate uses the girls’ combined wiles to lure Tucker, his interest gives her a social standing she’s never had before. But the intoxicating experience may cost her a chance at honest love with another boy.

Lars and the Real Girl
Lars is a sweet but shy guy who has a hard time talking with his family, coworkers, and neighbors. Although his family fears the worst when Lars brings home Bianca, a life-sized companion doll whom he thinks is a real girlfriend, a doctor encourages them to play along with him so that he can work through his delusions. The whole community rallies to his support, and Lars begins to deal with all of his emotions. He even begins to develop feelings for Margo, an attractive co-worker, in what becomes a hilariously unique love triangle.

(500) Days of Summer
For Tom, it was love at first sight when Summer Finn, the new administrative assistant, walked into the greeting card company where he worked. Soon, Tom knows that Summer is the woman with whom he wants to spend the rest of his life. Although Summer doesn’t believe in relationships or boyfriends, Tom and Summer become more than just friends.

How to Be Single
A young woman searches for love in New York City in this romantic comedy based on the novel by Liz Tuccill.

Looking for more movies to binge watch this holiday or to just enjoy without all the sappy love? Here are some more distinctly anti-Valentine’s Day movies that you might enjoy; Muriel’s Wedding, The Break-up, Fried Green Tomatoes, Swimfan, Baby Mama, Under the Tuscan Sun, The Shining, High Fidelity, Shame , Young Adam , Think Like a Man, Blue Valentine , Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, Mystic Pizza , Jeff Who Lives at Home, My Bloody Valentine, and Thelma & Louise.

High Interest Books for Middle Grade Readers

January 19, 2017December 20, 2016 / Sharon Tyler / Leave a comment

I have talked before about reluctant readers and transitional readers, particularly about finding books that can interest and engage them as they work to become more confident readers. (Check out the list here if this would apply to the books you are looking for). However, my kids are a little older now, so I have spent more time looking for the elusive perfect middle grade book to interest my high energy readers. They both love to read but only if the subject matter and action level meet their specific standards. I know this is a common issue since I have helped many a frustrated parent and child find something to read while working in the children’s room.

Why do I bring this up? Well, this week as I was unpacking a new order of children’s books I was thrilled to see a large number of books that fill this sweet spot of reads that would interest many middle grade readers. Right away I started mentally listing some of the best and realized how many zany, energy packed reads are available.

Here are some high interest, high humor, and high action reads for those who have trouble getting into a book, or who have convinced themselves that reading is boring. These are not readers who have trouble reading, only who are tired of being told what to read or have not found highly entertaining books and might have lost interest in books because of it.

Most of these suggestions are series starters or are by authors who consistently write this style of book, so if you find one that makes your reader happy they will have more to follow it up with.

The Last Kids on Earth by Max Brallier & Douglas Holgate

Whales on Stilts by M.T. Anderson

Home Sweet Motel by Chris Grabenstein

Marvin and the Moths by Matthew Holm and Jonathan Follet

Attack of the Fluffy Bunnies by Andrea Beaty

The Hero Revealed by William Boniface

The Adventures of Nanny Piggins by R.A. Spratt

Wonkenstein by Obert Skye

Castle Hangnail by Ursula Vernon

My Rotten Life by David Lubar

As usual, I found more books I wanted to include than can fit in a simple list, so more suggestions are: The 13-Story Treehouse by Andy Griffiths, SPHDZ by Jon Scieszka, The Robe of Skulls by Vivian French, Herbert’s Wormhole by Peter Nelson and Rohitash Rao, Frank Einstein and the Antimatter Motor by Jon Scieszka, The Lunch Witch by Deb Lucke, Dodger and Me by Jordan Sonnenblick, Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made by Stephan Pastis, My Big Fat Zombie Goldfish by Mo O’Hara, The Odd Squad: Bully Bait by Michael Fry, The Mysterious Howling by Maryrose Wood, and The Abominables by Eva Ibbotson.

Did I miss a book that was a hit with you or a reader you know? Share the title here so we can give it a look too!

From Apocalypse to Zombies

October 3, 2016September 16, 2016 / Susan O. / Leave a comment

images The concept of dead people returning to life is probably as old as civilization. Ancient Egypt and mummies aside, Child Ballads such as The Unquiet Grave and The Usher’s Wife (Lady Gay) date back to at least the 1400’s. It’s arguable that Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1817) may be considered the first literary zombie (barring Lazarus), a man made of dead parts brought back to life, even if he wasn’t after brains.

The true zombie was born in 1968 with the release of George A. Romero’s cult classic Night of the Living Dead, about grisly undead ghouls who feasted on human flesh – the term zombie hadn’t really been invented yet. Made for a paltry $114,000, filmed in black and white, it contained a level of violence and gore never before seen. There was only one problem – the MMPA rating system wouldn’t be in place for another month: Night of the Living Dead, the most gruesome movie ever made at that time, was essentially a General Audience film, and unsuspecting children (and adults) were never the same again.

For a few decades, hard core zombies were relegated to third-rate theaters and 2 am film slots, but began to stagger slowly into the mainstream. Although you have favorites like Scooby Doo at Zombie Island (1998), “Modern” zombies – those whose roots are usually virus-oriented – surged in popularity with the graphic novel The Walking Dead (2003), which spawned the highly popular television series The Walking Dead (2010-present). This was followed by the spoof Shaun of the Dead (2004), the novel World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War which became a major film in 2013, and a veritable epidemic of zombie books, television shows, and films, including The Zombie Survival Guide, The Zombie Combat Manual, and The Art of Eating Through the Zombie Apocalypse. Strangely, these books are more serious than they should be. Even the Centers for Disease Control got in on it, posting their preparedness recommendations for dealing with zombies in 2011 in a push to get people to be prepared for disasters .

If you’re hard core, of course stick to the masters: Night of the Living Dead, and Day of the Dead. If you’re nerves can’t handle that (like mine), there are plenty of other choices that are less gory or humorous. Zombieland is an A-list take on the issue that is full of humor and lower on gore. Maggie stars Arnold Schwartzenegger in probably his most serious role ever, as a father whose daughter is slowly becoming a zombie. Z Nation is an enjoyable TV series that isn’t quite as serious as The Walking Dead. The Last Ship is a new television series about a group who survives the apocalypse on a boat, and tries to round up survivors.

If you only like classical literature, fear not. Pride, Prejudice, and Zombies will not leave you behind. There is a book and a newly released DVD, which is utterly delightful, full of classic period speech and women in romantic Empire gowns slicing zombies with ninja skill. Slightly different but still in the realm of classic undead, give Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter a try. Like your films completely different? No mention of zombies would be complete without some reference to Michael Jackson’s 1983 Thriller video, which, at 13 minutes, would qualify as a short film.

Whether you take them seriously or not, whether your zombies are what they are because of curses or disease, whether you like to watch saws cut through flesh or you’re battling nuisance zombies on a quest to find the last box of Twinkies, there’s a zombie book or film for you.

These are Seriously Funny

June 13, 2016May 16, 2016 / Kaitlin / Leave a comment

Have you ever felt the frustration of watching a movie that’s labeled as a comedy, only to find that it’s really a drama with a few funny moments? Where are the real comedies? The ones that make you laugh from beginning to end? They’re right here at the library:

Blazing Saddles

The ultimate parody of Western movies. Bart is the sheriff of a town that is being targeted by every wild west villain you can think of and by some not-so-wild west villains. He knows how to outsmart them, though!

What’s Up, Doc?

This is the story of four red traveling cases, each containing four very different contents, and each owned by four different people. So of course they’re going to get mixed up.

9 to 5

Three female office workers take on their lying, sexist, egotistical, hypocritical boss. Tying him to his chair is the least of it!

Weekend at Bernie’s

What do two young men do when they show up at their boss’ house and find him dead? Why, they pretend that he’s still alive, of course!

Bringing Up Baby

Two people with very different personalities meet. One is trying to get married. The other is trying to prevent this from happening. They’re also watching a leopard cub named Baby. What could go wrong?

Monty Python and the Holy Grail

The search for the holy grail involves witch hunts, the perils of an all-female castle, and knowledge of swallows. And let’s not forget the importance of shrubbery!

Some Like It Hot

Two men who are on the run from a criminal gang disguise themselves as women and join an all-female ensemble.

Operation Petticoat

Men, women, children, birthing mothers, and a goat all manage to land themselves inside of a pink submarine that seems to be held together with duct tape.

Clue

The characters from the classic board game are trying to figure out which one of them keeps murdering every single person that walks in the front door. Let’s just say, most of them are not detectives.

What other laugh out loud movies would you recommend?