What’s All the Hoopla?

July 5, 2016August 9, 2024 / Sharon Tyler / Leave a comment

What is Hoopla?

For those that have never explored our digital offerings, Hoopla is a free service that is available to Cheshire library card holders (just like Overdrive)! All you need to register is your library card number, and then you create your own user name and password, which you will use to sign in from your computer or mobile device. (If you are a cardholder from another library, you may have access to the service through your own library. If you are unsure check with your home library.)

Hoopla offers users digital access to videos (movies & TV), full music albums, audiobooks, e-books & comics and more twenty-four hours a day. While there is a limit to how many items you can borrow per month with this service (six per user per month) as long as you are not binge watching a television series, this should not cause much frustration. Many people use this service to watch movies without having to wait their turn on a holds list. I tend to use it to watch the harder to find titles like Anime or Foreign Films that are less likely to be found in our physical collection.

The varied genres and search categories Hoopla offers can make it easy to find the documentary that was recommended but you somehow never got to see, or that weird children’s movie that your kids keep asking for but your old VHS or DVD is no longer working. My husband, who is not a big reader, has caved to the influence of myself, a coworker, and some of his favorite shows, and started reading graphic novels. What we do not hand him, he reads via Hoopla. I have since used the service for the same thing.

Want to take a moment and browse the huge collections available via Hoopla? Well, no time like the present! Take a quick gander at all the Audiobooks, Movies, Music, Comics, Ebooks, and Television Shows at your fingertips!

Want to know some of the curious and simply interesting things I have found via Hoopla just to get you started? How about the non-fiction mythology guide Percy Jackson’s Greek Heroes, or a book with instructions and patterns for Quick & Easy Crochet Cowls. Perhaps the very first episode of the original Lone Ranger television show or the Audiobook of The Scarlet Pimpernel is more your speed? Do you want to help you children learn french with the help of cartoon dinosaurs, or maybe try a new work out from Jillian Michaels? Personally, I am currently reading the first graphic novel of Lucifer, while my husband is pursuing a variety of titles after having finished up all the published volumes of The Walking Dead.

The variety is huge! Frankly, I am sometimes overwhelmed by the the choices and have to pace myself so that I do not hit my limit of materials before the end of any given month- simply because there are so many choices and I am too excited to read or watch something right now to hold back from clicking that borrow button.

Need some technical help with Hoopla or still have some questions? Please comment below and I will answer any questions I can, and if I do not know the answer I will get the information for you. If you do not want to wait for me to get back to a computer to answer, you can also try our information page, the official hoopla support page, or give us a call at 203-272-2245 and choose the reference desk option.

What’s Happening at Cheshire Library in July

June 29, 2016July 13, 2016 / cheshirelib / Leave a comment

As we head into July’s hot & muggy days, remember that Cheshire Library is an official “Cooling Station” – come in, get out of the heat, and enjoy some great programs while you’re here!

Please note: Cheshire Library will be CLOSED Saturday July 2 and Monday July 4 for Independence DaySummer Saturday hours (9am-1pm) are in effect starting Saturday July 9.

The Head-to-Toe Movement Show

Wednesday Jul 6, 2016, 10:00 – 11:00 AM

This movement-focused 60-minute performance is designed to engage children in physical activity using awesome music, original stories, incredible visuals, exciting games and interactive music technology to promote fitness, healthy eating, going to your library and celebrating music! For children ages 2 & up and their caregivers. Please register on our website.

Family Yoga

Friday Jul 8, 2016, 1:00 – 2:00 PM

Lani Rosen-Gallagher from Full of Joy Yoga will present a yoga class that is fun for the whole family. Kids of all ages are welcome. We will do lots of partner poses, group poses and of course relaxation. Connect with your whole family in a fun class. For all ages, no registration required.

Storytime at Cheshire Park

Tuesdays: Jul 12, 19, 26, 2016, 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM

Meet us at the Cheshire Park Pavilion this summer for a special program! Bring your lunch and we will read stories and have fun with our parachute. Look for our Cheshire Public Library banner. If it’s raining, we will see you on the next sunny Wednesday! Please use the entrance located at the intersection of Highland Ave. and Stony Hill Rd., Cheshire, CT 06410. For ages 3 & up. Drop-in, no registration required!

Afternoons of Awesome

Tuesdays: Jul 12, 19, 26, 2016, 4:00 – 5:00 PM

Every Tuesday afternoon is awesome at the Library! School-age kids are invited to have fun with art, science, technology, and games. We’ll explore something new every week! For ages 7-12, please register on our website.

Cookbook Club

Wednesday Jul 13, 2016, 6:30 – 8:00 PM

It’s a new kind of book club – welcome to the CPL Cookbook Club!

Check out a cookbook related to our July theme: Summer Side and Salads. (Visit our “Summer Sides & Salads” display near the catalog computers in the lobby.)
Try one or more recipes at home.
Come to Cookbook Club. Wednesday, July 13th at 6:30pm in the Mary Baldwin Room. REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED. Ages 18 and up only. By registering for this program, you acknowledge that you may choose to consume food that has not been prepared in a commercial kitchen.
Share your thoughts (and dishes). Join library director Ramona Burkey and Deputy Director Deb Rutter to discuss your cookbook reviews and all things culinary. Bring your cookbook and a prepared dish (if you can) to share with the group.

Move & Groove with Mr. Gym

Friday Jul 15, 2016, 1:00 – 2:00 PM

Get physically fit through music and creative movement with “Mr. Gym”, a children’s singer and songwriter from Connecticut. For ages 3 & up, no registration required.

Stretching and Balance

Wednesday Jul 20, 2016, 6:00 PM

Are you concerned about falls? Learn ways to improve balance and flexibility with simple exercises you can do anywhere!!! Come to the Cheshire Public Library and attend 40 minute workout combining stretching, balance and coordination activities presented by Donna Paxton, Health & Wellness Instructor from the YMCA Cheshire Community. For adults, no registration required.

How to Attract Hummingbirds, Songbirds and Butterflies to Your Garden

Thursday Jul 21, 2016, 6:30 – 8:00 PM

Join us for a presentation by Shaun Roche, Visitor Services Manager at Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge. He will share a few simple tips to make your home into a refuge for wildlife and learn the essentials of a good habitat, food, water, shelter for hummingbirds, birds and butterflies. Please register on our website.

Zingalingz Music and Fitness Class

Diverse group of children in a dance fitness class

Friday Jul 22, 2016, 1:00 – 2:00 PM

Circle of Friends Music of Southington is proud to present Zingalingz, a music and fitness program for children ages 5-12. Our specially designed movements and activities can help kids gain the important benefits of increased fitness and greater learning power. No registration required.

The Healing Power of Meditation

Wednesday Jul 27, 2016, 6:30 – 7:30 PM

Matthew Raider, MD presents the latest clinical research on how meditation can improve our physical, mental and spiritual health. This evening you will have a chance to practice some simple techniques that can reduce stress, enhance relaxation and promote inner growth. For adults, no registration required.

Shell Craft Class

Thursday Jul 28, 2016, 6:00 – 8:00 PM

Please Join Gail Farrar as she demonstrates how to make a seashell craft. Each attendee may choose one object to make (Frame, Box etc.). Her shell craft hobby started as a gift idea and has grown into a thriving business in her retirement. Class is free but space is limited. Please register online for this adults-only class.

Don’t Be Afraid of Color

June 27, 2016June 22, 2016 / Mary / 1 Comment

“Color is your friend,” proclaims the first chapter of Bright Bazaar: Embracing Color for Make-You-Smile Style by Will Taylor.

Maybe, but in a world where many folks play it safe with white or neutrals color schemes, color can be scary. We know. We recently decided our plain white walls in our Children’s Department needed an upgrade. Knowing how much kids love color, we chose yellow, orange, and red for the walls. Gulp.

Well, the results were stunning.

From blah to bold.

From boring to brilliant

Before 2 2016-04-15 13.10.16

From beige to bright.

Red wall

The Children’s Room is now a vibrant space filled with energy. And all for the price of a few cans of paint and some risk-taking in our color selections. We are now eyeing other areas of the library, deciding what we can “colorize” next.

If you’d like to take your decorating to a more colorful level but need a little help, try these titles.

New Color Schemes Made Easy by Better Homes and Gardens

Color Idea Book by Robin Strangis

Can’t Fail Color Schemes for Kitchens & Baths by Amy Wax

The Color Scheme Bible: Inspirational Palettes for Designing Home Interiors by Anna Starmer

New Contemporary Romance Authors

June 22, 2016July 15, 2025 / Linda / Leave a comment

I catalog the new mass market paperbacks, so I have easy access to the new titles coming in and I decided to take a gamble on some new authors. Some were surprisingly entertaining and I’ve added a few of the new authors to my favorites list. If you’re looking for something new to read in the contemporary romance family, take a look at some of these new titles. They are all series but can be read alone.

Don’t be afraid to try something new – you might like it!

As Good As New (A Something New Novel) – Jennifer Dawson – After an injury ends his NFL career, Evan Donovan is stunned when Penelope Watkins, the woman who has loved him for years, shows up on his doorstep determined to nurse him back to health—and to make him admit that he cannot live without her.

Heart Like Mine (An Echo Lake Novel) – Maggie McGinnis – To save the pediatric department at Vermont’s Mercy Hospital, aspiring CFO Delaney Blair must convince pediatrician Dr. Joshua Mackenzie to help her on her mission, and as they work closely together, an emergency changes everything and forces them to realize that tomorrow isn’t guaranteed.

Hold Your Breath (Search and Rescue) – Katie Ruggle – When he and his team of rescue divers go face-to-face with a killer, Callum, the haunted leader of the close-knit Search and Rescue brotherhood, finds that both his heart and life are on the line as he allows himself to get close to newcomer Louise “Lou” Sparks.

Love Walks In (The Shaughnessy Brothers) – Samantha Chase – Though most things come easily to wealthy, luxury resort owner Hugh Shaughnessy, the loss of his mother hit him hard, and he’s been wary of growing close to anyone ever since—until a runaway bride Aubrey literally climbs into his life via a hotel window.

More Than A Feeling (Heart of the Rockies) – Sara Richardson – While starting a new life free of fear in Aspen, Colorado, Ruby James finds her quiet existence interrupted by police office Sawyer Hawkins who awakens feelings within her that she thought were long buried.

One Night Charmer (Copper Ridge Novels) – Maisey Yates – Determined to make it on her own, Sierra West asks overly opinionated, yet totally gorgeous Ace Thompson for a bartending job, and as they work side by side, they get closer and closer to breaking the “no mixing business with pleasure” rule.

Take Me Home Tonight (Rock Star Romance) – Erika Kelly – The new keyboardist of the band Blue Fire, Calix Bourbon, who is desperately trying to keep his fractured family together, finds himself distracted by the band’s beautiful personal chef, who has her heart set on auditioning for a televised cooking show—and on him.

Draw Me Close (Hearts and Crafts) – Nicole Michaels – Happy with her life the way it is, DIY refurbisher Lindsey is thrown for a loop when she encounters the man she has never stopped loving—Derek, an architect and single father who will do anything to keep her close this time and never let her go.

Best Laid Wedding Plans (Magnolia Brides) – Lynnette Austin – After inheriting her family’s beautiful antebellum home, Jenni Beth Beaumont, determined to turn the residence into a wedding destination, goes up against an architectural salvager—and her former flame—who is determined to purchase and deconstruct her family’s estate.

The One For Me (A Danvers Novel) – Sydney Landon – When he meets Crystal Webber, who literally faints at his feet, billionaire playboy Mark DeSanto suddenly finds himself wondering if it’s time to explore something long-lasting instead of a brief encounter.

Cuff Me (New York’s Finest) -Lauren Layne – When his longtime partner, Jill—a sassy, sexy, smart-mouth blonde—begins seeing someone, NYPD homicide detective Vincent Moretti realizes that he wants her for himself and will break all the rules to convince her to be his partner for life.

Someone Like You (The Harrisons) – Jennifer Gracen – Agreeing to coach a kids’ soccer team, soccer star and black sheep of the wealthy Harrison clan, Pierce Harrison, meets his match in his co-coach Abby McCord, a sweet-faced beauty with trust issues, who blocks his amorous advances at every turn.

Dark Justice

June 20, 2016June 20, 2016 / Susan O. / Leave a comment

4810718-7340774645-the-b_Arl6x9k I don’t read comic books; the drawings v. words are too visually distracting for me. The ones I hold tight in my file cabinet you’ve probably never heard of. But I love Batman. Adam West Batman. Super Friends Batman. Keaton, Clooney, Kilmer, Bale, I like them all. And yes, I had no problem with Affleck’s performance. Nine Batman films have raked in a combined profit of more than $2.2 Billion – no small change. I like Wonder Woman, and Spiderman, and don’t get me started on how much I love the Avengers.

But I don’t like Superman. Never did. My favorite would be Super Friends Superman, and after that it’s Chris Reeve or nothing. Perhaps he’s too squeaky-clean – far more than Captain America, and too powerful. Krypton is one of the rarest gases, one part per million of our atmosphere. You would have to sift an awful lot of air to gain enough Krypton to affect him. Barring Lex Luthor, Superman is more or less invincible, and no one likes a prissy Lawful Good (this is the same problem fought in the X-Men series, Watchmen, and Captain America: Civil War). What good is a hero who has no faults and can’t be harmed?

51omO8G3K-L._AC_US160_ Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice – due on DVD July 16 – didn’t grab me from the start, but I went to see it because – well, Batman. If you haven’t seen the last reboot of the Superman franchise, Man of Steel, be prepared for confusion, for BvS takes up right where Man of Steel left off. Batman is mighty ticked at Superman for all the damage he wrought in lives and property, and takes it upon himself to curtail Superman in a surge of animosity that seems to come out of nowhere. Batman’s good for a simmering revenge, not a sudden “You need to be taken down, I don’t like you” petty vindictiveness. Batman, a mere mortal with cool toys, tries to take down a superbeing who cannot be stopped. Needless to say, it does not go well.

Batman v. Superman seems lost in its own purpose. It’s a fair Batman film, a wooden and flat Superman film (Spider-Man has more lines in Civil War than Superman did in BvS), and if Batman-V-Superman-Zack-Snyder-Trinity there’s any shining hero here, it’s Wonder Woman. If anything, it’s merely a clunky prequel to 2017’s Wonder Woman movie. In fact, you probably could have cut the whole rivalry down to 30 minutes, then began the Wonder Woman movie, and had a much better film.

My biggest gripe with the film, writing and directing aside, is that Batman breaks character. Guns are not Batman’s forte. Batman does not carry them, Batman does not shoot them. Batman is about outsmarting the villain and bringing them TO justice, not carrying it out himself. Batman is the thinking man’s hero. Batman never even kills the Joker. But here’s Batman, shooting and killing like Rambo. That was my breaking point. And it is quite established that Batman is well-versed in martial arts; Batman’s moves in BvS are poor at best; slow and unconvincing.

batman-vs-superman-dawn-of-justice-movie If you hunt for it, there are enough good bits to make the film worthwhile; all the Wonder Woman scenes among them. It is certainly nowhere near the abysmal level of 1992’s Batman Returns, with Danny DeVito as a deformed demented Penguin – surely the lowpoint of his career. Forbes magazine nails the issues with the film quite nicely here: http://www.forbes.com/sites/insertcoin/2016/05/09/captain-america-civil-war-shows-exactly-why-batman-v-superman-failed/#6dda5e6446bb.

If you really love the superhero genre, then by all means watch it. There are far worse superhero films out there – Green Lantern and Eric Bana/ Incredible Hulk (2003) come fast to mind. But if you really want to see superheroes eating their own and winning at it, wait for Captain America: Civil War.