Arsenic and Old Lace

Today’s post is from Cynthia at Harrington Library:

Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)  directed by Frank Capra, starring Cary Grant, Priscilla Lane, Josephine Hull, and Peter Lorre

“Insanity doesn’t run in my family…it practically gallops” Mortimer Brewster

It’s Halloween and theater critic and confirmed bachelor Mortimer Brewster (Cary Grant) marries Elaine Harper (Priscilla Lane), the girl next door. Packing for his honeymoon Mortimer is horrified to discover the nature of one of his beloved Aunts’ (Josephine Hull & Jean Adair) charitable activities. The Aunts have been serving elderly bachelors homemade elderberry wine laced with arsenic. The Aunts see their work as permitting the men a peaceful escape from loneliness. Mortimer is concerned about the bodies in the basement. Further complications ensue when Mortimer’s older brother Jonathon (Raymond Massey) arrives with his companion Dr. Einstein (Peter Lorre). The zaniness continues to escalate in this black comedy as Mortimer tries to contain his family. Create a new Halloween tradition and enjoy Arsenic and Old Lace, the original horror spoof.

Daemon

Today’s post is from Brad, a patron at Harrington Library:

Daemon by Daniel Suarez

This is a cyber-thriller where technology is used to wreak havoc on the world by a computer genius who has just died of brain cancer. The book grabs you early and keeps you turning pages as fast as you can to find out what is going to happen next. It has many twists and turns and not your normal ending. Suarez is good about explaining the technology in the story for those that are not technical – making it easy to follow. Daemon is a thrilling and thought-provoking read that leaves you wanting more.

2009 Teens Top 10

Today’s post is from Annie at Parr Library.

Looking for the best of the best in teen fiction?  Eleven thousand teens recently voted for their favorite 2009 book in an online poll sponsored by the Young Adult Library Services Association.  Check out the results below:

1. Paper Towns by John Green
2. Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer  
3. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
4. City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare
5. Identical by Ellen Hopkins
6. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
7. Wake by Lisa McMann  
8. Untamed by P.C. and Kristin Cast
9. The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart
10. Graceling by Kristin Cashore

And the good thing is that most of these titles have no hold list!

Discworld – The City Watch Novels

Today’s post is from Erik at Schimelpfenig Library:

  

  

Discworld: The City Watch novels by Terry Pratchett

Terry Pratchett’s Discworld novels may seem entirely overwhelming at first, after all there are over 35 of them and they seem to just keep coming.  However, when you know how they work then the whole idea gets much easier to swallow.  Sure, there are a bunch of them BUT they are actually conveniently grouped into a series of books each pertaining to a different character set in Discworld, for example the City Watch novels I’ll be talking about today.  Clear as mud?  Well, stick with me cause there’s a big payoff at the end.

The City Watch novels consist of 6 books: Guards, Guards!, Men at Arms, Feet of Clay, The Fifth Elephant, Night Watch and Thud!.  They all follow the exploits of the much-put-upon City Watch of Ankh-Morpork, Discworld’s largest city, led by Sam Vimes, Sgt. Fred Colon, “Nobby” Nobbs and Carrot Ironfoundersson (who might just be the rightful heir to the whole darn city).  As the story goes, the cast of characters grows but it mostly stays centered around this group.  The stories are basic police procedural mysteries (albeit with a quirky set of procedures) set in a town where technology meets fantasy meets cornball humor meets highbrow pathos.  The characters are fantastic, some of the best written in fantasy literature and they form the main hook for the stories.  It’s not that the writing isn’t good, it’s wonderful, it’s just that the characters are that much better.

There are other discworld series that focus on different character sets such as The Witch novels, Rincewind, Death, Moist Von Lipwig and even a series for the teens about a young witch named Tiffany Aching.  They range from about 3-6 books in length and most are still growing.  There is some overlapping of characters (Death makes and appearance in every book) but there is nothing that takes away from the characters primary arc.  The Watch novels are my personal favorites but all of them are absolutely wonderful and you will develop your favorites over time as you get attached to certain characters. 

My advice, read the first book or two in each series, you can literally track them down anywhere, and see what you like.  If you’re anything like me, you’ll like them all and you’ll find that you can’t wait for the next one no matter who Terry Pratchett decides it’s about.  And I will try over the course of the next several weeks to cover some of the other character sets, just to whet your appetite.  Look at it this way, at 37+ novels and growing, these may be able to keep you busy reading for quite a while!

2009 Man Booker Prize Announced Tuesday

Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall is the 2009 winner of the Man Booker Prize.

It is described on the Man Booker website as “a truly great English novel,” and is the story of Thomas Cromwell, an adviser to King Henry VIII, who must confront the political chaos that ensues after the king’s decision to divorce Catherine of Aragon. Cromwell is depicted as a complex, powerful, and enlightened figure in a historical period that still fascinates us today.

Wolf Hall had been the frontrunner on the short list, but surprised many in being named the winner; apparently, it is unusual for the favorite to win the top prize.

The novel is currently on order in PPLS, and has a short list of holds. For more information on the prize and author, see the Man Booker Prize website at www.themanbookerprize.com.

The Crack in the Lens

Today’s post is from Erik at Schimelpfenig Library:

The Crack in the Lens by Steve Hockensmith

I’ve mentioned before that I love Sherlock Holmes stories and Jack the Ripper stories.  I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned I love westerns as well but I do.  This one has all of that…sort of.  The Holmes on the Range mysteries of which The Crack in the Lens is the fourth, follow the adventures of Otto “Big Red” Amlingmeyer and his brother Gustav, aka “Old Red.”  We learn, just prior to the first book’s action,  that while spending time out on the dusty trail, the ever-affable Big Red has introduced his older, laconic brother to the real-life adventures of Sherlock Holmes; and in so doing, opened Old Red’s eyes to his true calling, namely solving crimes using the “deducifyin’ ways” of the Great Detective.  This sets the stage for what have been, up to now, four extremely enjoyable mysteries.

The fourth book sees our heroes with their arrow finally pointed upward.  They have some cash, some success and for Big Red, even a fancy new outfit; so what better time to go back to San Marcos, Texas and solve the crime that may have started it all in the mind of Old Red, the murder of his “soiled dove” fiance, Gertie.  How do Sherlock Holmes and Jack the Ripper fit into all this…well, you just need to read and find out.

This series has lots of things to enjoy; the plots are fast-paced and the characters and characterization are great.  One convention that I really enjoy is that Holmes, though only referred to in the context of his books to this point, actually does exist in this world, with one of the characters in the fourth book having met him, much to the chagrin of Old Red.  The stories themselves do follow an order beginning with Holmes on the Range; however, The Crack in the Lens can be read as is since the action in this one is relatively self-contained.  But where is the fun in that, go get the first one and enjoy the story from the beginning.  You’ll be happy you did.

Man Booker Prize Shortlist Announced

The shortlist for this year’s Man Booker Prize for Fiction was announced this week.

The six books on the shortlist are:

The Children’s Book by A. S. Byatt

Summertime by J. M. Coetzee

The Quickening Maze by Adam Foulds

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

The Glass Room by Simon Mawer

The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters

The Little Stranger is the only title on the list currently available  in the United States and in PPLS.  A. S. Byatt’s The Children’s Book and Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall are on order. PPLS also owns other books by all of the authors on the list except Adam Foulds.

Publication in the United States of the titles by Coetzee, Foulds and Mawer hasn’t yet been announced.

British critics consider this a very strong shortlist. The current favorite to win the prize  is considered to be Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall. The winner will be announced on October 6.

For more interesting information, visit the Man Booker Prize website at http://www.themanbookerprize.com/prize/thisyear/shortlist.

Pushing Daisies

Today’s post is from Cynthia at Harrington Library:

 

Pushing Daisies  starring Lee Pace, Anna Friel, Kristin Chenoweth, and Chi McBride

Pushing Daisies is the most original television show in a long time.  The eye popping color of the fantasy world of the denizens of The Pie Hole along with the excellent casting and writing of the show and complimented by Jim Dale’s narration create a unique world you will enjoy visiting. The premise of this black comedy is that Ned (Lee Pace), a gifted baker, who runs The Pie Hole also has another unusual gift, with a touch, he can bring the dead back to life. Ned’s problem? His gift does not come with a rule book and he has learned the limits of his gift by heartbreaking experience. Ned has been supplementing his income from The Pie Hole by helping Emerson Cod (Chi McBride) a private investigator solve murders. Ned’s life becomes hopelessly complicated when one of Emerson’s murder victims turns out to be Charlotte “Chuck” Church (Anna Friel). Chuck is Ned’s childhood sweetheart and when he brings her back to life he knows that to keep her alive he must never touch her again. Ned’s need to sacrifice his love to keep Chuck alive is the underlying force behind the series.

Curl up with a piece of pie and give this Emmy award winning comedy series a try.

The Map of Love

Today’s post is from Cynthia at Harrington Library:

 

The Map of Love: A Novel by Ahdaf Soueif

 This exotic romance saga is based on a conceit, the discovery of a cache of diaries and papers by Isabel Parkman, a recently divorced New York journalist.  The discovery leads her to Egyptian relatives previously unknown to her.  Isabel’s British great-grandmother Anna as an aristocratic young widow travelled to Egypt at the turn of the 20^th century.  Anna falls in love and marries an Egyptian politician involved with the Egyptian independence movement.  Isabel at the end of the 20^th century goes to Egypt to unravel the mystery of Anna’s diaries and her own complicated relationship with an Egyptian born conductor.  Soueif manages to masterfully weave together the stories of these two restless women against the background of Egyptian culture and politics.  Soueif was a Booker Prize nominee for this colorful novel with a view of Egyptian history and Egypt’s struggle for independence.

Mad Men: Seasons One and Two

Today’s post is from Karen at Haggard Library:

Mad Men: Seasons One and Two (2007, 2008) Created by Matthew Weiner; starring Jon Hamm, Elizabeth Moss, and Vincent Kartheiser

Award-winning drama about the world of Madison Avenue advertising in the early 1960s. The series follows the life of the talented and charming Don Draper, who has not a few skeletons in his closet. The show features a slew of fascinating characters: Peggy Olson, the prim, proper and secretly ambitious secretary, Betty Draper, the trapped and unfulfilled housewife, and Pete Campbell, the ambitious young account executive.

It might not sound like much from the outset, but watch the first two seasons and see if you don’t become completely engrossed! The show has everything: excellent actors, great writing, fascinating characters, and intriguing story lines that will shock you, leave you guessing…and wanting more!

Season Three premiered August 16 on AMC.