Author: Molly

Book selectors in public libraries often rely on tools known as core collection databases. These resources provide lists of material that will, under ideal circumstances, always be on the shelf. Think books like James Baldwin’s Giovanni’s Room, Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child, or Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s The Little Prince. There isn’t really a resource of this nature for maintaining library DVD collections. Instead of relying on publisher-provided collection lists, I compare which DVDs Mead owns against lists of films from around the internet. I look at the New York Times 1000 Essential Films, lists provided by the American Film Institute, as well as lists on Rotten Tomatoes, Letterboxd, IMDB, you name it. Basically, any list of movies I encounter gets compared against the catalog and I purchase what we’re missing and what might need replacing. 

Lately, one of the best and most interesting lists I’ve been referring to is the Library of Congress National Film Registry. Each year since 1989, 15 films deemed culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant are inducted into the registry. The films must be at least 10 years old at the time of their nomination. The registry was formed at the behest of filmmakers like Martin Scorsese and Frank Capra in response to practices like pan & scan for television or videocassette release, and colorization of black and white film without creator input or approval. 

Film has always been a particular area of interest for me, but the rate at which I watch has decreased significantly since about 2015. I blame my lapse mostly on the twin attention destroyers that are smart phones and COVID-19. The National Film Registry (NFR) was filled with dozens of movies I haven’t seen, and many that I had never even heard of. While comparing the list against our collection, I made a  separate list of all those unseen (to me) films, and started checking them out based on which hadn’t circulated for the longest time. I’ve been enjoying myself a great deal and decided to record my progression through the watchlist, and challenge myself to watch one movie a day for an entire year. Below, I listed the films I’ve been watching starting on June 30, 2026. I hope to have watched roughly 365 movies by the time June 29, 2027 rolls around. 

Gentle reader, please understand that I am going to spoil the shit out of some of these movies, so proceed at your own peril. Also please notice that not all films on this list have been inducted into the NFR. The National Film Registry list is merely my cata-list for this post, you know what I mean?

Date range I watched these movies in: June 29-August 11, 2026
Days elapsed: 42
Total movies watched: 30

Action:
The Equalizer 2 (2018) starring DENZEL
The Equalizer 3 (2023) starring DENZEL
Medium Cool (1969) starring Robert Forster and Verna Bloom
One Battle After Another (2025) starring Leonardi DiCaprio and Sean Penn
Tokyo Drifter (1966) starring Tetsuya Watari

While Glory (1989) and Philadelphia (1993) ARE in the NFR, none of Denzel’s three Equalizer films have been inducted, yet. Man, that guy hates it when things are not equal! He’ll equalize at night, or during a hurricane, or on a train. Man, you name it, and Denzel has equalized in and around it.

Medium Cool and One Battle were directed by the big-timers. Legendary cinematographer Haskal Wexler filmed the astonishing Medium Cool partially during the Chicago Democratic National Convention riots in 1968, blurring the line between storytelling and the 6 o’clock news. One Battle won Best Picture in 2025, and it’s worth a watch just to see Sean Penn’s face go through every facial expression known to man. 

Tokyo Drifter is slick, stylish, and fascinated Quentin Tarantino. I don’t think Reservoir Dogs would exist without Tokyo Drifter. 

Did Not Finish:
Lassie Come-Home (1943) starring Roddy McDowall and Elizabeth Taylor
Love Affair (1939) starring Irene Dunn and Charles Boyer
The Painted Veil (1934) starring Greta Garbo
This is Cinerama (1952) dir. Mike Todd Jr.

Give yourself permission to not finish what you started when it comes to leisure reading or viewing. It’s good to push through some discomfort, but it’s also good to give yourself grace. I DNFed the above movies all for various reasons. 

Lassie Come-Home was filmed in the 1940s, so I was feeling a lot of distress for the wellbeing of the on-screen animals and once they killed off a fictional dog, I tapped out. Read the book and get the idea without the added animal cruelty. Elsa Lanchester spotted. 

When Irene Dunn gets hit by a car and decides not to tell her love interest Charles Boyer in Love Affair, I practically threw the remote across the room and performed what I believe the kids call a “rage quit”. Fun fact: it is widely believed that Chuck Jones based Looney Tunes character Pepe Le Pew on the mannerisms of Charles Boyer. 

Greta Garbo is so good and I love to watch her in most anything, but the depiction of Asian people in The Painted Veil and at this time in general is appalling and completely wrung out any possible enjoyment of the narrative. Racist depictions of non-white people is a big, greasy stain on the shimmer of Hollywood. 

This is Cinerama was just sorta boring and very very very long. Don’t believe me? This film is available for checkout ONLY from Mead Public Library. Put it on hold and feast your eyes. 

Gangster:
Little Caesar (1931) starring Edward G. Robinson and Douglas Fairbanks Jr.
The Public Enemy (1931) starring James Cagney and Jean Harlow
Scarface (1932) starring Paul Muni and George Raft

Little Caesar and Scarface were both on Kanopy at the same time so I watched them back-to-back. I loved Little Caesar with my whole heart. Edward G. Robinson really DID have that sneer and really DID say things like “Yeah, see? I’m gonna beat you up, ya mutt, see?” His 5’5” frame could not contain the charisma he bubbled over with. 

By contrast, the Howard Hawks-directed Scarface landed a little flat for me. Lead actor Paul Muni, while physically intimidating in his portrayal, relied on silent film-style over-emoting and predictably negative Italian stereotypes.

1930s Chaos:
Footlight Parade (1933) starring James Cagney and Joan Blondell
Naughty Marietta (1935) starring Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddie
She Done Him Wrong (1933) starring Mae West and Cary Grant
The Emperor Jones (1933) starring Paul Robeson and Frank H. Wilson

James Cagney was well-known as a song and dance man until starring in The Public Enemy, which he was very good at, too. Modern audiences remember him more for being the little tough guy than Yankee Doodle Dandy, so it was a pleasure to watch his turn as an ambitious mile-a-minute stage musical producer in Footlight Parade. He delivered his dialogue in sharp staccato bursts and never stopped moving. 

By contrast, I didn’t think much of Mae West or She Done Him Wrong. West’s character in the film, Lady Lou, was based on her vaudeville persona Diamond Lil. I love a bawdy lady, but I don’t think it translated well to the screen due to Hays Code interference. Also notable as having the shortest run time of any Best Picture nominated film at a brisk 66 minutes. 

Nelson Eddie and Jeannette MacDonald teamed up for a bunch of romantic comedy musicals in the 1930s for a reason. These two corny charmers are so gorgeous on screen and together. They practically glowed in Naughty Marietta. Elsa Lanchester spotted. 

I wish Paul Robeson had been in more pictures and I wish actors of color weren’t relegated to supporting or worse roles throughout much of the 20th century. I have no idea what to make of a movie based on a Eugene O’Neill play whose reliance on the n-word even managed to raise the eyebrows of contemporaneous audiences. 

Noir:
The Lady From Shanghai (1947) starring Orson Welles and Rita Hayworth
The Long, Hot Summer (1958) starring Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward
The Maltese Falcon (1941) starring Humphrey Bogart and Sydney Greenstreet

The Long, Hot Summer is actually considered a southern gothic as opposed to noir, but eh. This film has got it all. Paul Newman gleams like a prize in the southern heat and is unbelievably beautiful. Orson Welles plays a Big Daddy-type southern patriarch complete with absurd accent and community theater white hair. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof was released the same year to wider acclaim, which may account for why this movie is largely unknown to modern audiences. The Long, Hot Summer takes cues from Faulkner short stories as well as Tennessee Williams, and both star the incandescent Newman, so there is some connective tissue between the two films. 

Welles showed up in The Lady From Shanghai, too, which he also wrote, directed, and starred in. The film is sort of a mess, but I loved how messy & most of the mess was studio-interference-adjacent to begin with. Instead of a southern patriarch, here Welles portrays an Irish sailor. He might be a towering genius of the 20th century, but man that accent sure came and went. He was married to Hayworth at the time and insisted that she cut off her iconic long red hair into a shorter blonde bob for the role, which incensed audiences. 

We’ve been discussing three Bogie films at my movie club over the summer and we started with The Maltese Falcon in June. It’s based on the Dashiel Hammett novel of the same name, so I gave it a re-read. Hammett was cranking out some of the greatest noir fiction in the 1940s and this might be his best. The film was of course subject to Hays Code restrictions, so reading the novel provides us with a much queerer Joel Cairo and a much seedier Brigid O’Shaughnessy. Book and movie five out of five stars. 

Political:
The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) starring Peter O’Toole and William Holden
The Day of the Jackal (1973) starring Edward Fox and Michael Lonsdale
Judgement at Nuremberg (1961) starring Spencer Tracy and Burt Lancaster
The Manchurian Candidate (1962) starring Frank Sinatra and Janet Leigh

War movies tend to fall outside my comfort zone, so I was pleased to find my everloving mind blown apart by The Bridge on the River Kwai. It’s not a surprise that it cleaned up during awards season including but not limited to the Academy Award for Best Picture. The ending was so good I forgot to breathe. 

The Day of the Jackal: serviceable spycraft movie, but would you believe the Book Was Better? Forsyth wrote the book over a feverish 35-day period in 1970, and I think the urgency is present in the prose in a way that can’t be translated to film. 

Americans were aware of Jewish persecution by the Third Reich long before the liberation of death camps, but nothing could have prepared the world for the film and photos coming out of those camps. Judgement at Nuremberg was the first American film to incorporate actual Allied footage of camp liberations into the movie plot. I had to pause and walk away after that segment of the movie. It’s important to bear witness to the atrocities of the holocaust, but it’s hard work to not look away. This is a challenging, thought-provoking, complex film. Prestige cast before that was a thing. Just go watch it already. 

Frank Sinatra is a better actor than a singer. Fight me. While The Manchurian Candidate is bleak as hell, it’s filled with towering performances. Angela Lansbury delivered the greatest role of her career depicting one of the all-time worst villains I have ever seen, and was nominated for a Supporting Actress Academy Award for it. I loved watching the plot unravel and feeling as uncertain as some of the brainwashed characters. Reminder: super bleak.  

Romance: 
Ball of Fire (1941) starring Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck
Casablanca (1942) starring Humphrey Bogart and Claude Raines
The Quiet Man (1952) starring John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara
The Worst Person in the World (2021) starring Renata Reinsve and Herbert Nordrum

Barbara Stanwyck is best known for her icy femme fatale role in Double Indemnity. But in Ball of Fire, she is the heat to Gary Cooper’s academic coolness (and cluelessness). It’s a bit screwball, and a bit Snow White. Who doesn’t dream of rooming with a household of tweedy bachelors single-mindedly focused on writing an encyclopedia? It’s every girl’s dream. Stanwyck is so funny and beautiful. I don’t understand why this movie isn’t more well-known. 

Casablanca was the July pick at my movie club. There are a few films I still haven’t seen that most people have seen, and this was one of them. I knew the dialogue by heart just from living in the world, but how fun to see it in context. Has anyone ever looked as beautiful on-screen as Ingrid Bergman in this film? Not only is this a romance, it’s a war protest picture and could be viewed through a queer lense, as well. Also, what the everloving hell does “Here’s looking at you, kid” mean????

John Ford and The Duke team up again for The Quiet Man. It’s a funny, charming, and affecting romance set in the Irish countryside. In my favorite scene John Wayne finds Maureen O’Hara in the abandoned farmhouse he just purchased. She’s getting things tidy, like a good neighbor. The door flies open from the wind, blowing her skirts and red hair around violently. She makes to leave, and John Wayne catches her around the waist and pulls her close for their first kiss. I never found John Wayne to be terribly compelling as a romantic lead, but MAN DID I SWOON. Plus ten points for nigh-indecipherable drunken Irish patois.

The Worst Person in the World is a gorgeous meditation on intimacy, milestones, work, and rest. Renata Reinsve is a STAR.

 

Westerns:
High Noon (1952) starring Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly
Stagecoach (1939) starring John Wayne
Westward the Women (1951) starring Robert Taylor and Denise Darcel

High Noon was so FRUSTRATING. Poor ol’ Gary Cooper is out there grinding away to raise a posse to face the no-goodnicks he and the local judge sent up on murder charges years earlier. The townspeople are reluctant to risk their lives, his underling is a drunk manchild, and his Quaker bride is leaving town because violence is against her principles. The film takes place in real time, and that ticking clock is never far from our minds. This is one tense film. 

Did you know John Ford was Orson Welles’ favorite director and that he watched Stagecoach 40 times in preparation of filming Citizen Kane? Watch the film that made John Wayne a star to see why. 

I wrote a little about Westward the Women in an earlier blog post, but it overlapped with my big ol’ watchlist and I don’t mind mentioning it again. This is an unconventional and gritty film that any western fan will love. 

All of the above movies are available in the Monarch catalog on DVD, BluRay, or streaming on Kanopy. People living in the City of Sheboygan with an active Mead Library card have access to this streaming service. If you’re unfamiliar, take a look HERE and get an account set up. The platform is filled with a staggering array of film from home and abroad. 

If none of the films I mentioned above seem compelling, consider using Mead’s Your Next Five Movies tool. Tell us your favorite movies, actors, or directors, and we’ll send you a list of five movies you might love. 

In the meantime, I’ll be at home doing my best to look at the bigger screen instead of the tiny screen. Know of a great film list I might like to look at? Please write to me at publicservices@meadpl.org. And stop saying “lists” in there!

The Wild West period in American history only ranged from about 1850 to the early 20th century, depending on who’s measuring. Despite its brief timespan, we have remained collectively enthralled as a people to the American Frontier. In fact, one of the earliest silent film commercial successes was The Great Train Robbery (1903), which titillated audiences with footage of Justus D. Barnes aiming and firing a gun directly at the audience (proto inspiration for James Bond 50 years later? I believe so). The western is baked into the culture now, and has even left the confines of the planet (looking at you, Mandalorian). Below, I listed a few broad categories and some examples of film that would fit into each category. All listed titles are available on DVD or BluRay in the Monarch system. 

Hollywood’s Golden Age
The “Golden Age” as I refer to it here is loosely referring to the years between 1940 and 1960. The good guy wore white, the bad guy wore black. The quest was for justice, or to conquer an unruly wilderness. We had gunslingers, and manifest destiny. Films were still subject to the Hays Code Authority at this time, so filmmakers had to be subversive or trust the audience to pick up on subtext like domestic violence, pregnancy, queerness, and so on. 

• High Noon (1954) dir. Fred Zinneman; starring Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly
• Johnny Guitar (1954) dir. Nicholas Ray; starring Joan Crawford and Sterling Hayden
• Shane (1953) dir. George Stevens; starring Alan Ladd and Jean Arthur
• Westward the Women (1951) dir. William A. Wellman; starring Robert Taylor and Denise Darcel

John Ford and John Wayne
The Duke and Ford made almost 20 pictures together, most of them westerns. Along with Humphrey Bogart, Marylin Monroe, and Elvis, few other famous 20th century Americans have the same international recognition factor as John Wayne, just like the Universal movie monsters. And much like the movie monsters, John Wayne may not have had much range as an actor, but he sure was fun to watch. 

• The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) with Jimmy Stuart and Vera Miles
• The Quiet Man (1952) with Maureen O’Hara and Barry Fitzgerald
• The Searchers (1956) with Vera Miles and Natalie Wood
• Stagecoach (1939) with Claire Trevor and Andy Devine

1960s
Some of the greatest films in history were being produced in the 1960s. The Hays Code had dissolved, and directors started flexing their muscles in earnest without the shackles of absolute studio control. While plenty of unusual and boundary-pushing American westerns were being produced at this time, the genre was making its rounds through other cultural lenses, most famously in Japan and Italy. 

• Cat Ballou (1965) dir. Elliot Silverstein; starring Jane Fonda and Lee Marvin
• Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) dir. Sergio Leone; starring Henry Fonda and Charles Bronson
• The Wild Bunch (1969) dir. Sam Peckinpah; starring William Holden and Ernest Borgnine
• Yojimbo (1961) dir. Akira Kurasawa; starring Toshiro Mifune and Tatsuya Nakadai

Sci-fi westerns
One of the coolest elements of the western genre is how well it blends into other genres. Below, I listed some western sci-fi highlights that saw us through the end of the 20th century and helped usher in the 21st. 

• Back to the Future Part III (1990) dir. Robert Zemekis; starring Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd
• Cowboy Bebop (1998-1999) dir. Shinichiro Watanabe
• Firefly (2002-2003) dir. Joss Whedon; starring Nathon Fillion and Gina Torres
• Westworld (1973) dir. Michael Crichton; starring Yul Brynner and Richard Benjamin

The films I listed barely scratch the surface. Like, I hardly left a smudge on the glass here. Look for a list of western films online and you will be overwhelmed. Something like 20 westerns a year were being cranked out of Hollywood in the 1930s alone. We have access to a pretty great DVD collection in the Monarch system, so it would take a while to work through all the westerns if that’s the plan. Please send requests my way if there’s something missing. In the meantime, consider using Mead’s Your Next Five Movies tool. Fill out the form and we respond with a list of five movies you might love based on the information provided to us. And Mead Library cardholders, DO NOT SLEEP ON KANOPY. If you don’t already have an account activated, I do not know what you’re waiting for. Which movie genre should I take a shallow fly-by at next?

Library workers are often asked about their favorite books. My go-to answers are distributed between The Westing Game (1978) by Ellen Raskin, True Grit (1968) by Charles Portis, and The Hobbit, which is what I am most likely to answer. Between the Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit, JRR Tolkien has essentially ruined all other high fantasy for me, specifically, forever. Brandon Sanderson, Robert Jordan, George RR Martin, I respect your achievements, but dang those sure are a lot of words you wrote down, huh? 

In 2022, Travis Bladree’s Legends & Lattes went mega best-seller to the surprise and delight of many. This was my gateway to cozy fantasy. There are orcs and swords and magic and whatnot, but there is also a bakery. A bookshop. An interspecies queer romance. Sometimes a mystery element. It was a balm to the soul in these trying times. I enjoyed the book so much I started looking for other books and series that might fit in the cozy fantasy realm. Below, I listed some of my favorite, and least-favorite, cozy fantasy books. All books are available in the Monarch catalog, often in a variety of formats. 

Legends & Lattes (2022) by Travis Baldree
This is the gold standard for cozy fantasy. It’s well-written and filled with appealing and complex characters we come to care about. Viv is an orc. She is battle hardened and weary. She is ready to settle down, and make her living slinging coffee instead of broadswords. As an audience, we know Viv won’t fail, but it sure is satisfying watching it play out. There is a prequel, and a sequel in this series. The stories relate, but don’t necessarily need to be read in order. I’m a series purist, and if I don’t read a series in order I am likely to perish.
The Legends & Lattes series is now up to three books.

Cursed Cocktails (2023) by S.L Rowland
Several imitators cropped up not long after Baldree’s massive success with Legends & Lattes, including this series by S.L. Rowland. While the prose is not as crisp and sparkly like Baldree’s, I still found myself drawn into these fantasy landscapes. The protagonist in book one of this series is an elf, not an orc. And he wants to sell cocktails, not coffee. Formulaic? Yes. But if it ain’t broke, why fix it? I read a lot of cozy mysteries for this reason, as well.
The Tales of Aedrea series is now up to four books.

The House Witch (2022) by Delemhach
Finlay Ashowen is a house witch IN SECRET. In the kingdom of Daxaria, magic is reserved for the rich and powerful, so Fin would like to keep his head down and focus on cooking the uncanny and delicious meals for his royal charges. The House Witch leans more into political intrigue and the machinations of power than the aforementioned series, so they are narratively more complex. I also enjoyed the system of magic portrayed in this series.
The House Witch series is now up to four books. 

Assistant to the Villain (2023) by Hannah Nicole Maehrer
While a sinister castle filled with blood and pain doesn’t scream “cozy”, one might be surprised at how sweet this story is. Evie Sage, our protagonist, stumbles into gainful employment when she needs it the most, but her new boss seems to be the big bad villain of her realm. Evie is a fish out of water who spends the next three books proving how adept she is at villain assistance. I adore the wide cast of characters we get to meet, including a sentient frog who communicates with signs, Wile E. Coyote-style. This book is occasionally very sweet and often incredibly funny. The romance element is of the slow burn variety and it is frickin infuriating.
The fourth book in this series is expected to publish sometime this year. 

How to Become the Dark Lord of Die Trying (2024) by Django Wexler
This was a great variation on the theme. Davi, our protagonist, is trapped in a time loop akin to Groundhog Day, but this time loop takes place in a massive live-action RPG. Resets happen when Davi gets killed. Davi has died over and over in her attempts to defeat the dark lord in the realm she is trapped in. Things don’t really start going her way until she decides to become the dark lord instead of defeating him. These books are much more violent than everything else on the list, and Davi does love to say the Eff-You-See-Kay word, so if that is unappealing maybe pass on this series.
The Dark Lord Davi series is up to two books.

Swordheart (2018) by T. Kingfisher
Yes, this book predates Legends & Lattes, but it does fit within the definition of cozy, and fantasy, and I love T. Kingfisher more than any other author, so I am going to shoehorn her books into every blog post I possibly can. Kingfisher often writes fantasy stories starring middle-aged women, which places me squarely in her demographic audience. The fact that she writes the best, scariest, weirdest stories is all a bonus. Swordheart stars Halla, and when we meet her, she is under the control of some ill-intended relatives. When she accidentally releases the berserker warrior inhabiting an enchanted sword, her world changes irrevocably, and for the better. Swordheart is one of several books set in the World of the White Rat. Characters from other books pop up here and there, which is always deeply enjoyable to me. Those who enjoy this book should run, not walk, to The Saint of Steel series. Each book has fantasy, romance, and horror elements. It works.
There are two books in the Swordheart series, and four books in the Saint of Steel series. 

That One Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon (2021) by Kimberly Lemming
This book is so much fun. It is irreverent, funny, and really spicy. I cannot overstate this facet. If you do not enjoy erotic content, this is not the series for you. If you want a light-hearted spicy romance to delight you on your commute to and from work, this is the one (I am assuming you are listening to an audio copy here). This is called the Mead Mishap series, which is cool because that is the name of the library I work for. 
There are currently three books in the Mead Mishaps series. 

Heretical Fishing (2022) by Haylock Jobson
This series popped up as a recommended read-alike to Dungeon Crawler Carl. There really isn’t anything else like DCC out there, so I was intrigued and excited. The only thing the books really have in common is that the protagonist is large, strong, and male. Here are some things I really loathed about this book: There are no conflicts, and any problems encountered are solved by the end of the chapter. I want smart people solving problems as a group and I want there to be high stakes. All the characters we meet are meant to be flimsy like NPCs, but it comes off as lazy writing. Plus, the plot was deeply predictable. This book was TOO LONG. I usually listen to audiobooks on 1.5 speed, but I had this one cranked up to double speed just to get it over with. The protagonist is Australian and if he calls one more person MATE I will die. Read this series if you want some background noise and aren’t really worried about catching all the plot points. Also, there is very little heresy in this book.
The Heretical Fishing series is now up to five books. 

Maybe things could have been different for me and my relationship with high fantasy if I had gotten my hands on a copy of A Song of Fire and Ice twenty years ago. My work bestie at the time, Aaron, told me about this book he loved and that he recommends it to all his friends and I just have to read it. I had never heard of George RR Martin at that point. So, I went to the public library and searched the catalog for what I believed to be the book my bestie told me about. I am still unsure how I took such a wrong turn, but I ended up checking out book one of Erin Hunter’s massively popular juvenile Warriors series. The series is about war between feral cat colonies and is aimed at a middle-grade audience. I could not figure out why Aaron was so pumped about these books. I didn’t want to hurt his feelings, so I never told him how underwhelmed I was. Once the HBO series debuted, my attentions were already diverted elsewhere.

Anyone casting around for what to read next might consider using Mead’s Your Next Five Books reader’s advisory tool. You can fill out the form by clicking HERE, and within days you will receive an email containing a book list tailored to the input you shared on the form. We also have one for movies HERE. Visit us on Mead’s second floor for in-person book finding help. As always, happy reading.

The American Library Association recently released their annual list of the top 10 most-challenged books. Take a look at the list HERE. This got me thinking about the kind of material I, personally, was reading in my formative years that would have caused my parents concern. Then, I got curious and asked library staff to tell me about the Forbidden Books and media from their own childhoods. 

Below, I listed the responses from my coworkers by category with a little added commentary by yours truly. Names changed to protect the innocent. Most of the materials listed are available in the Monarch catalog if anyone wants to learn what all the fuss is about. Did you read any books in secret when you were a kid? I’d love to know what they were.

First Category: SEX
A good portion of the off-limits materials my coworkers responded with was due to explicit depictions of a sexual nature. I will never forgive the Puritans for infecting this land with aversion to frippery, be it a ruffled petticoat, or a consensual roll in the hay. 

Co-worker A: “I should not have been reading The Symphony of Ages* by Elizabeth Haydon in 7/8th grade. Great action fantasy with lots of graphic sex scenes. Mom’s policy was that she trusted my judgement and as long as I was reading I could read what I wanted.”
*Book one of this nine-part series is titled Rhapsody: Child of Blood (1999). And I must say, bravo mom. I wish more parents held this attitude. I knew a school librarian who really hated Captain Underpants, and I just couldn’t understand why she would hate something that got kids into reading.

Co-worker B: “Flowers in the Attic* was still a thing when I was a kid. And of course a bunch of my friends weren’t allowed to read Harry Potter because of the witchcraft. Clan of the Cave Bear+ by Auel which has a whole bunch of rape in it … but it sounded cool and historical and maybe a bit magical, which were the things that counted when I read the blurb in middle school.”
*there is a LOT of VC Andrews in the Monarch catalog as you can see HERE. 
+this is the first book in the six-book Earth’s Children series by Jean M. Auel. VC and Jean ruled in the 80s. They were everywhere for years. 

Co-worker C: “TTYL and TTFN* by Lauren Myracle! I don’t think they’re edgy for adults but I learned a lot about uhhh…boys….Also The Clique series would have some interesting, juicy bits that I know my mom wouldn’t let me read/think about. The fact that I can’t type what content they had probably is also an indicator!”
*these series were aimed at teen readers and debuted in 2004. I wonder if they hold up or not, and if mom and dad would approve.

Co-worker D: “Maybe kind of a weird one, but I was super into the Godchild manga series by Kaori Yuki as a teenager, was flipping through the next volume in the bookstore and my Dad looked over my shoulder on a page where the angsty brooding protagonist was very shirtless. I put it away quickly and claimed I was ‘just browsing’, don’t think he ever figured out he’d bought me some of that very series for prior birthdays.”
*while I appreciate that manga can and does get extreme with depictions of sex and violence, and parents should probably be taking a general interest in the books their children consume, I just can’t get worked up about what’s going on in manga when most households have access to the cesspool that is the World Wide Web. 

Second Category: DRUGS
What are you, some kind of SQUARE? Actually, there weren’t too many Forbidden Books with drugs central to a salacious plot in this list. Young adult books depicting drugs and drug use were usually of the cautionary tale variety.

Co-worker E: “We passed around a dog-eared copy of Go Ask Alice in the fourth grade and acted like it was contraband on account of sex AND drug use. I remember being truly dismayed to learn this book was authored by a concerned mother as her way of warning the youth against cool things like sex and drugs* and that it was not a true first-hand account running afoul of hippies like I originally believed.”
*we here at Mead Library do not think drugs are very cool. Sex is cool with enthusiastic consent, tho. Please do not ask any of us out, however.

Co-worker F: “Sweet Valley High* series that I found at St. Vincent De Paul when I was 12.”
*these books are really quite wholesome and I just think I am soooo funny to list them in the DRUGS category. My sister had a steamer trunk full of Sweet Valley High and Nancy Drew courtesy of my mother, who worked at Walden Books in the 1980s. 

Third Category: VIOLENCE
Most of the books I read these days would fall into the VIOLENCE category if one needed to categorize, on account of I mostly only read murder mysteries and MurderBot. I therefore consider the VIOLENCE category to be the superior one for this arbitrary reason.

Co-worker G: “Anything by Stephen King*. Though it was hard not to, when the books were my mom’s.”
*The work of Stephen King has been creating lifelong readers since the 1970s. Ask your friends what was the first “adult” novel they read, and I bet a notable ratio will say “King”.

Fourth Category: ROCK N ROLL
This is the catch-all category for things that didn’t fit nicely elsewhere, but witches and vampires were for sure giving parents fits for awhile there.

Co-worker H: “Twilight* as a 3rd/4th grader. I just wanted to read about cool vampires and a scandalous love triangle!! But there were things in there I probably should not have read haha.”
*are we ever really young if we don’t read questionable things?

Co-worker I: “Wicked at 13/14 – a lot of the politics and the night club scene went over my head. My sister read it after me, and she’s two years younger. My mom asked me after my sister had started to read it if my sister should be reading it, and I said definitely not.”

Co-worker J: “I could read/watch nearly anything*. The only forbidden entertainment was Married with Children.”
*I once visited friends in Nashville and their 11 year-olds could watch Teen Titans but not Spongebob. I asked why so, and the mother said it was because Spongebob was “too weird”. Not being a parent my own self, I don’t think I will ever grasp the caprices of parental censorship. 

Were there any books, movies, music, or television off-limits in your household? Here are some things that my older sister owned in the 1980s and early 90s when we were still fully school children: 2 Live Crew As Nasty as They Wanna Be (take that, Tipper Gore); Andrew Dice Clay live in concert bootlegs; Eddie Murphy Raw on cassette tape; Blood Sugar Sex Magic by The Red Hot Chili Peppers (double take that, Tipper Gore), and Ritual De Lo Habitual by Jane’s Addiction (TRIPLE TAKE THAT, Tipper Gore). Our lovely parents trusted us to engage with appropriate media, and for the most part, we did. My wish is that more parents would raise children confident enough to seek out the media they love, with no worries about judgement or censorship from loved ones.

After all is said and done, it’s really important to understand what is going on when someone challenges a book. Read more about it HERE on the American Library Association webpage. My belief is that many parents are projecting their anxiety onto children’s lit and using book challenges as a means of feeling in control. Many challenges come from parents who have children transitioning out of kindergarten, or grade school, or junior high, and while one cannot stop the progress of time, a book challenge seems like a concrete action someone can take in the name of “protecting the children”. It is not my intention to be flippant, and apologies if I have come across in this way, but book challenges are such a sore spot in the public and school library landscape at this moment that if I don’t laugh I’ll have to cry.

Anyhoo, please consider using the Your Next Five Books tool if you are casting around for something great to read. Or, use the Your Next Five Movies tool if you are a-hankering for something great to watch.

I love awards season. I love all the gorgeous clothing and people on the red carpets. I love learning everyone’s opinions on popular culture, and I love my increasing estrangement from the mainstream as I age. I used to be with it, but then they changed what “it” was. Now what I’m with isn’t “it” and what’s “it” seems weird and scary. One day, it’ll happen to you.* It’s fascinating. 

When the Oscars sneak up on me it’s like a little gift. A little boost that accelerates my pop culture competency. Since I haven’t seen any of the nominated pictures, I now have a list to explore as things are released for home viewing. If I like a film, I might look through the director or actor’s back catalog. 

Below, I listed films that are similar in theme or execution to the ten Best Picture nominees. Many of these films are award winners and nominees themselves. All watch-alike films are available in the Monarch system in DVD or BluRay form. All ten Best Picture nominees may not have been released at the time of this article’s publication. Synopses sourced from IMDB.

Bugonia
dir. Yorgos Lanthimos; starring Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons.
R; 1h 58m
Oscar nominations: 4
Wins: ZERO
Two conspiracy-obsessed young men kidnap the high-powered CEO of a major company, convinced that she is an alien intent on destroying planet Earth.

Similar films in which people experience intense shifts in perspective and reality, often in other-worldly circumstances:
Mickey 17 (2025)
NOPE (2022)
Ten Cloverfield Lane (2016)
The Truman Show (1998)

F1
dir. Joseph Kosinski; starring Brad Pitt and Kerry Condon
PG13; 2h 35m
Oscar nominations: 4
Wins: 1; Best Sound Design
A Formula One driver comes out of retirement to mentor and team up with a younger driver.

Similar films in which race car drivers must surmount obstacles and defy expectations:
Days of Thunder (1990)
Ford V Ferrari (2019)
Gran Turismo (2023)
Le Mans (1971)

Frankenstein 
dir. Guillermo del Toro; starring Jacob Elordi and Mia Goth
R; 2h 30m
Oscar Nominations: 9
Wins: 3; Best Costume Design; Best Makeup and Hairstyling; Best Production Design
A brilliant but egotistical scientist brings a monstrous creature to life in a daring experiment that ultimately leads to the undoing of both the creator and his tragic creation.

Similar films in which the world is not yet ready for such wonders:
The Fly (1986)
Frankenstein (1931)
Godzilla Minus One (2023)
The Mist (2007)

Hamnet
dir. Chloe Zhao; starring Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal
PG13; 2h 5m
Oscar nominations: 8
Wins: 1; Best Actress
The powerful story of love and loss that inspired the creation of Shakespeare’s timeless masterpiece, Hamlet. 

Similar films in which we are made to cry our eyes out because family is complex and everyone we know is going to die someday:
Fences (2016)
Manchester by the Sea (2016)
Ordinary People (1980)
Roma (2018)

Marty Supreme
dir. Josh Safdie; starring Timothee Shamalamadingdong and Eli Bush
R; 2h 29m
Marty Mauser, a wily hustler with a dream no one respects, goes to hell and back in pursuit of greatness. 
Oscar nominations: 9
Wins: ZERO

Similar films in which some little weasel man makes his delusions of grandeur everyone else’s problem:
Closer (2004)
Fight Club (1999)
Foxcatcher (2014)
There Will Be Blood (2007)

One Battle After Another 
dir. Paul Thomas Anderson; starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Regina Hall
R; 2h 42m
When their evil nemesis resurfaces after 16 years, a band of ex-revolutionaries reunite to rescue the daughter of one of their own.
Oscar nominations: 13
Wins: 6; Best Picture; Best Director; Best Supporting Actor; Best Adapted Screenplay; Best Casting; Best Film Editing

Similar films in which one or more main characters are agents of chaos:
Birds of Prey (2020)
BlacKkKlansman (2017)
Bullet Train (2022)
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)

The Secret Agent
dir. Kleber Medonca Filho; starring Wagner Moura and Udo Kier
R; 2h 40m
In 1977, Marcelo, a technology teacher, moves from Sao Paulo to Recife during Carnival to escape his violent past and start over. He finds the city full of chaos, and his neighbors begin to spy on him.
Oscar nominations: 4
Wins: ZERO

Similar films in which political dissidents work toward a sometimes clandestine goal:
The Constant Gardener (2005)
The Insider (1999)
Syriana (2005)
Three Days of the Condor (1975)

Sentimental Value
dir. Joachim Trier; starring Renate Reinsve and Stellan Skarsgard
R; 2h 13m
Sisters Nora and Agnes reunite with their estranged father, the charismatic Gustav, a once-renowned director who offers stage actress Nora a role in what he hopes will be his comeback film. When Nora turns it down, she soon discovers he has given her part to an eager young Hollywood star.
Oscar nominations: 9
Wins:1; Best International Feature Film

Similar films in which complex and often painful family dynamics are at play:
Term of Endearment (1983)
Tokyo Story (1953)
Volver (2006)
Yiyi (2000)

Sinners 
dir. Ryan Coogler; starring THE Michael B. Jordan and Hailee Steinfeld
R; 2h 17m
Trying to leave their troubled lives behind, twin brothers return to their hometown to start again, only to discover that an even greater evil is waiting to welcome them back.
Oscar nominations: a record breaking 16
Wins: 4; Best Actor; Best Original Screenplay; Best Cinematography; Best Original Score

Similar films in which super cool vampires are featured:
Blade (1998)
Let the Right One In (2008)
The Lost Boys (1987)
Shadow of the Vampire (2000)

Train Dreams 
dir. Clint Bentley; starring Joel Edgerton and Felicity Jones
PG13; 1h 42m
Robert Grainier lives all of his years in the forests of the Pacific Northwest, working on the land, helping to create a new world at the turn of the 20th century. 
Oscar nominations: 4
Wins: ZERO

Similar films in which quiet people quietly devastate the audience, and each other:
Brokeback Mountain (2005)
Nomadland (2020)
Past Lives (2023)
Pig (2021)

If you still aren’t feeling it about any of the films listed above, consider using Mead’s Your Next Five Movies tool. Not in the mood for film? Try Mead’s reader’s advisory tool Your Next Five Books.

*my gratitude to Homerpalooza and Brent Forrester for articulating this feeling

What better way to ring in the New Year than by reading some New Books. Please enjoy this monthly list compiled by library workers across the country who are excited to read the following titles:

The Bookbinder’s Secret by A.D. Bell (St. Martin’s Press)
Lily is in limbo. She loves books and her binding trade, but her father is distant and her employer seems not to value her. Her life is turned upside down when she is given a burned book and the secrets it holds. This is truly a wonderful read full of mystery, love, and intrigue. —Susan Willis, Chanute Public Library, KS
NoveList read-alike: The Binding by Bridget Collins

All the Little Houses by May Cobb (Sourcebooks Landmark)
Cobb’s latest gasp-out-loud read doesn’t disappoint, bringing readers back to the East Texas town of Longview, where wealth, booze, secrets, sex, and very bad—some might even say murderous—behavior abound. Readers will not be able to take their eyes off this propulsive thriller.
—Carol Ann Tack, Merrick Library, NY
NoveList read-alike: The Empress of Cooke County by Elizabeth Bass Parman

Anatomy of an Alibi: A Novel by Ashley Elston (Pamela Dorman Books)
This is a tale of two women: Wealthy Camille is living the high life, while Aubrey works as a bartender. Who is telling the truth? An unhappy marriage, skeletons in the closet, and a murdered husband make this a story worth reading!
—Jo Hic, Phillips Public Library, WI
NoveList read-alike: The Kind Worth Killing by Peter Swanson

Women of a Promiscuous by Nature Donna Everhart (Kensington)
In this stunning character-driven novel set in the 1940s, Everhart introduces the inmates and staff of the Industrial Farm Colony for Women. As readers are drawn into the life of the Colony, the lofty goals as well as the terrible cruelty and injustice of the place are slowly revealed. Highly recommended.
—Vicki Nesting, St. Charles Parish Library, LA
NoveList read-alike: The Last Carolina Girl by Meagan Church 

No One Would Do What the Lamberts Have Done by Sophie Hannah (Sourcebooks Landmark)
In this satirical book-within-a-book, the Lamberts’ dog, Champ,is accused of biting the neighbor’s daughter. The eccentric pet-obsessed matriarch Sally refuses to believe this, so the family goes on the run with Champ in tow. Twisty and puzzling.
—Magan Szwarek, LibraryReads Ambassador, IL
NoveList read-alike: Cat Fight by Kit Conwa

It Should Have Been You: A Novel by Andrea Mara (Pamela Dorman Books)
When a woman accidentally sends a private message meant for her sisters to the entire neighborhood group chat, the ensuing chain of events exposes secrets and causes deadly anguish. This book was a wild ride that will captivate readers from the first page
—Debbie Frizzell, Johnson County Library, KS
NoveList read-alike: You Deserve to Know by Aggie Bloom Thompson

How to Commit a Postcolonial Murder: A Novel by Nina McConigley (Pantheon)
When their uncle arrives from India, two sisters’ adjustment to a dual culture life in smalltown Wyoming in the mid-1980s becomes complicated. This debut hits on touchy subjects with grace, as the sisters choose to fight instead of being silent victims. Those of us who spent many hours at teen sleepovers will delight in the nostalgia scattered amidst the actual crime and justice served.
—Kimberly McGee, Lake Travis Community Library, Austin, TX
NoveList read-alike: My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithewait

Vigil: A Novel by George Saunders (Random House)
Saunders knows how to capture the essence of life in a story all about death. This message is wrapped in a Christmas Carol package about a ghost ushering a greedy, selfish man into the afterlife. This climate story effectively hammers home that climate change affects everyone and everything irreparably, but we must also carry on.
—Sabrina Unrein, Mahwah Public Library, NJ
NoveList read-alike: The Apology by Jimin Han

The Elsewhere Express: A Novel by Samantha Sotto Yambao (Del Rey)
This enchanting, whimsical fantasy is a warm hug for the soul. A magical train that appears to those who are lost is absolutely charming, and creativity shines in the descriptions of the train’s wondrous cars, from lily-pad picnics to jellyfish swimming through clouds. A journey not just through a magical world, but also of self-discovery, hope, and finding one’s sense of purpose.
—Lee V., New York Public Library, NY
NoveList read-alike:The Rainfall Market by Yeong Gwang You

Bonus Pick:

The Poet Empress by Shen Tao (Bramble)

Top Non-Fiction:

When Trees Testify: Science, Wisdom, History, and America’s Black Botanical Legacy by Beronda L. Montgomery (Henry Holt & Co.

Pick of the Month:

Is This a Cry for Help? By Emily Austin (Atria Books)
After she learns of the death of her ex-boyfriend, librarian Darcy has a mental breakdown and takes leave from her job at a public library. With time, therapy, and support from her wife, Darcy returns to work while coping with the guilt and book-banning protests. This reflective, heartwarming, and character-driven read delves into grief and identity with care and humor.
—Kristin Skinner, Flat River Community Library, MI
NoveList read-alike: Mostly Dead Things by Kristen Arnett

While library workers may be slightly biased (the top pick features a librarian as the main character, for example), perhaps we can all agree that there are few things in this life better than a fine, fine, list. Oh the lists I have known, what joy. If none of the featured titles are causing brain excitement, please consider using Mead’s Your Next Five Books tool, or Your Next Five Movies, if the occasion calls for cinema.

When I am in a reading slump I often shake myself out of it by learning what other people are excited about. Below, the top ten adult fiction and nonfiction books chosen monthly by America’s library staff have been listed. Most are currently available in the Monarch catalog in a variety of formats. 

Crafting for Sinners: A Novel by Jenny Kiefer (Quirk Books)
Ruth makes a big mistake by shoplifting from the religious craft store in her small town. Things get messy, and she’s trapped and fighting for her life. The rest is a scary bloodbath with clever uses for craft supplies. The zealots are after Ruth and others they deem sinners (gays, atheists, or just non-conformists). This quick read is very scary and super gory.
—Kimberly McGee, Lake Travis Community Library, Austin TX
NoveList read-alike: Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix 

The Keeper of Magical Things by Julie Leong (Ace) 
When a new depository is needed for minor magical objects, two seemingly very different women are chosen to lead the mission. Sent to a small depressed village, they develop an unexpected relationship, and magic starts to happen. This was an easyread romance that will keep readers captivated.
—Ron Haislip-Hansberry, Springfield City Library, MA
NoveList read-alike: Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree 

Red City by Marie Lu (Tor Books)
Lu’s tale follows two young outsiders with a powerful connection who are brought up to wield both power and magic on opposing sides of a gang war. Both deeply emotional and electrifying, this will remind readers of Fonda Lee and Erin Morgenstern.
—Gregg Winsor, Johnson County Library, MO
NoveList read-alike: Silvercloak by L.K. Steven

The Women of Wild Hill by Kirsten Miller (William Morrow)
Generations of women in the Duncan family have an important and magical legacy. Three members of the latest generation are going to turn the tide against patriarchal men, reclaiming the planet for the Old One and restoring Earth’s balance. Readers will find it hard to put down this magical and fascinating story.
—Judy G. Sebastian, Eastham Public Library, MA
NoveList read-alike: Strange Folk by Alli Dyer

Wreck by Catherine Newman (Harper)
Rocky is a mom who feels everything to the maximum degree. Her grown children and her dad still occupy most of her waking life. When tragedy strikes, she has to find a balance that will allow her to just breathe and be thankful for the life they have. Written with real emotions and much humor, many moms will relate to this followup to Sandwich.
—Linda Quinn, LibraryReads Ambassador, MA
NoveList read-alike: Small World by Laura Zigman

Bog Queen by Anna North (Bloomsbury)
The body of a woman is unearthed in Northern Britain in this intricate and engaging atmospheric thriller. It offers three female perspectives that reveal to readers the inner thoughts of a contemporary newly trained forensic anthropologist, a young druid healer from centuries past, and a voice from the wild peat moss bog.
—Shirley Braunlich, Lawrence Public Library, KS
NoveList read-alike: Daughter of Black Lake by Cathy Marie Buchanan

The Missing Pages by Alyson Richman (Union Square & Co.)
Harry is tragically lost when the Titanic sinks, having gone back to his cabin to retrieve a treasured book. His mother has the Harry Widener Memorial Library built at Harvard to honor his memory and to house his book collection. Years later, a young woman working at the library while dealing with her own devastating loss starts to notice strange ghostly events in and around the library.
—Beth Mills, New Rochelle Public Library, NY
NoveList read-alike: The Ghost and Mrs. Muir by R.A. Dick

Remain: A Supernatural Love Story by Nicholas Sparks and M. Night Shyamalan (Random House)
Part romance, part ghost story, part murder mystery, this novel’s chilling yet heartfelt exploration of the bonds of family is written in the emotionally resonant style of Sparks and infused with Shyamalan’s signature suspense. This is a seemingly familiar tale with a haunting twist.
—Cathleen Clifford, Groton Public Library, CT
NoveList read-alike: The Shape of Night by Tess Gerritsen 

Conform: A Novel by Ariel Sullivan (Ballantine Books)
This debut is a fascinating look at a dystopian future based on a strict caste system that relies on fear and heavy indoctrination to maintain peace. Emmaline, a relatable protagonist, is used as a pawn by both sides of a simmering rebellion, but will she settle for this fate? Readers will eagerly await a sequel.

BONUS PICK:
Vampires at Sea by Lindsay Merbaum (Creature Publishing)

NOTABLE NONFICTION
F*cked Up Fairy Tales: Sinful Cinderellas, Prince Alarmings, and Other Timeless Classics by Liz Gotauco (W. W. Norton & Company)

As always, staff at Mead Library are happy to help assist requesting materials or troubleshooting tech stuff. We are also happy to create book suggestion lists catered to individual taste. Consider using Mead’s Your Next Five Books service if it’s reading slump season in your neck of the wood.