I’m not a big fan of straight horror movies – they just don’t interest me that much. I feel like I have to be in a very specific mood to both buy into them enough to be frightened but also to enjoy being frightened. Horror-comedies, on the other hand, I really enjoy! So when Halloween rolls around, I’m looking for movies that will make me laugh. Such as…
I’ve pulled a few new poetry books from our shelves of new materials. Rather than try to describe the works themselves, I thought I’d give little samples instead; after all, these poets spent a lot of time choosing their words, so why not feature them! And more seriously, no amount of description of poetry will tell you whether you want to read it; only actually seeing the poetry can.
It’s also an opportunity to link to the area in our catalog that lists our new poetry, which you can now see as a list here!
In my last post, I talked about the movies that I like the most. But what are the most popular movies right now? I took a look at what movies have the longest waitlists right now to see. Surprisingly, it’s not all the absolute newest stuff!
And remember, since Mead copies go to Mead patrons first, even a long waitlist might not take quite as long as you think. Plus, you can always check the Lucky Day shelf in the library and see if a first-come, first-served copy is available!
Descriptions taken from our catalog.
At the height of the First World War, two young British soldiers, Schofield and Blake are given a seemingly impossible mission. In a race against time, they must cross enemy territory and deliver a message that will stop a deadly attack on hundreds of soldiers, Blake’s own brother among them.
Continue reading “Most Popular Movies”…by the completely true and objective measure of me, a person who sometimes enjoys watching movies! More seriously, these really are my favorite movies ever – and I’ve noticed the theme seems to be that I like international/foreign films, that I enjoy comedy or dark comedy, and I don’t mind if a premise is a bit surreal (magical realism in film form, maybe?).
I hope you will give these movies a chance! I think they’re genuinely not just movies I enjoyed but movies that are very good and that more people should see.
I started off the introduction mentioning comedy, yet the first movie on my list is one set during the Holocaust? Yes, and not only that, it is also the greatest movie ever made about the Holocaust. It takes place in Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia, where childless couple Josef and Marie take in and hide a young Jewish man.
It is a comedy in two very particular senses: the darkest sense, that there is a terrifying absurdity to the Nazi occupation and bureaucracy that is made even worse by how deadly it is, and in the human sense, because the characters in this are beautifully realized and humor is a very human thing. It also has a truly remarkable ending that I could not have predicted in a million years.
Continue reading “The Best Movies Ever”The library is open again (with limited services, as you can see here); some people are comfortable coming in, while others still want to limit their time in public places. So I’ve put together a little list of some popular new books that are available either in print or as eBooks through Hoopla.
The advantage of Hoopla, of course, is that there’s no waitlist even on popular new titles like these (as long as you haven’t hit your borrowing limit for the month); on the other hand, some people think the feel of a physical book in your hand is worth waiting for.
Descriptions below are taken from either Hoopla or our catalog.
From bestselling and eight-time Christy Award-winning author Lynn Austin comes a remarkable novel of sisterhood and self-discovery set against the backdrop of WWII.
Continue reading “New Dual-Format Print/eBooks”Now that it’s possible to get physical library books again, I thought I would take a quick look at the most popular new fiction in our catalog. These four books are recent purchases at Mead, and as of writing this post, they were all available for checkout without a waitlist. The descriptions below are pulled from our catalog.
Free-spirited Opal Gilbert seems to have everything she needs to keep living a happy life in Sunset Cove as she refurbishes vintage furniture to sell at her funky ocean-side boutique, Bless This Mess. Until Lincoln Cole, a new-to-town ex-Marine nursing deep wounds and harboring hurts he can’t seem to shake, wanders into her shop.
Continue reading “Popular Titles You Might Have Missed”If you have, for one reason or another, found yourself with some time on your hands… one thing you might be interested in is some of the electronic resources that Mead has for learning a new language.
Many people are familiar with the fact that library patrons can access Rosetta Stone and Transparent Language (and even a few through Gale Courses!), but did you know that Kanopy also has video courses – and, since they’re part of the Great Courses series, they don’t count towards your 10-video monthly limit! Kanopy’s Great Courses aren’t always the easiest to search through, but here are the current offerings for language courses:
Presented by Bill Worden, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Spanish and Director of Spanish Programs at The University of Alabama.
Continue reading “Languages Through Kanopy”You may already know that Mead has a “lucky day” collection of books and movies – new items that are first-come, first-served but have no waitlist. But now, you also have access to Lucky Day ebooks and audiobooks through WPLC/Overdrive/Libby! “No waiting required – these popular titles are available now! 7 day loan period for ebooks and 14 day loan period for audiobooks.”
Looking for something to read right away? Like with the physical Lucky Day items, the selection may change, but here are three that I’ve read and enjoyed that were available as of Monday morning. You can also browse everything in the Lucky Day collection that’s currently available with this link: https://wplc.overdrive.com/wplc-89-116/content/collection/1046004
Anne Perry has multiple mystery series, but the William Monk series is my favorite – he is a London detective and later commander of the Thames River Police in Victorian England. If you can bear to wait, I would start with the first book in the series – The Face of a Stranger – but there’s enough background given that you’ll have no trouble jumping in here, either.
Continue reading ““Lucky Day” eBooks”Thanks for the following to my co-worker Aleah! I asked her to recommend some feel-good movies to me, and she sent me the following along with the little descriptions. Now you, too, can “occupy your mind with these feel-good movies you can find through Kanopy’s movie streaming site!”
Introducing Viago, Deacon, and Vladislav. Follow these 3 out-of-date vampires while they navigate modern day nightlife as well as figuring out their relationship as roommates. This movie takes thrills and chills to a whole new comedic level! Anneliese’s note: YES, this movie is absolutely hilarious! WATCH IT!
Continue reading “Aleah's Feel-Good Movie Picks”March 2020 is shaping up to be a huge month for new releases. Huge enough, in fact, that we’ve had to split it into two blog posts. Below, you’ll find the first seven of our trending new books. They are all in the library system already, so get on those waitlists quick! Descriptions below are provided by the publishers.
Stanford Solomon has a shocking, thirty-year-old secret. And it’s about to change the lives of everyone around him. Stanford Solomon is actually Abel Paisley, a man who faked his own death and stole the identity of his best friend.
And now, nearing the end of his life, Stanford is about to meet his firstborn daughter, Irene Paisley, a home health aide who has unwittingly shown up for her first day of work to tend to the father she thought was dead.
These Ghosts Are Family revolves around the consequences of Abel’s decision and tells the story of the Paisley family from colonial Jamaica to present day Harlem. There is Vera, whose widowhood forced her into the role of single mother. There are two daughters and a granddaughter who have never known they are related. And there are others, like the house boy who loved Vera, whose lives might have taken different courses if not for Abel Paisley’s actions.
These Ghosts Are Family explores the ways each character wrestles with their ghosts and struggles to forge independent identities outside of the family and their trauma. The result is an engrossing portrait of a family and individuals caught in the sweep of history, slavery, migration, and the more personal dramas of infidelity, lost love, and regret. This electric and luminous family saga announces the arrival of a new American talent.
Continue reading “March 2020 Releases: Part 1”
