Read a Movie

Nine-year-old Oskar Schell is one fictional character you’ll never forget.  Even when he faces the unthinkable, this intelligent and tender-hearted boy maintains his rabid curiosity and unflinching integrity.  Whether he's devising an invention for the betterment of mankind or corresponding with an everyday hero or a literal icon, Oskar’s personality inspires nearly everyone he meets.  

In the year following his father’s death on 9-11, the tenacious young Oskar undertakes his most ambitious challenge yet – an expedition through each of the boroughs of New York and a quest to learn more about the parent he lost so suddenly. 

But September 11th wasn’t the only tragedy to strike the Schell Family and while Oskar’s search introduces him to a world beyond his own, it also uncovers secrets that originated long before his birth.  Jonathan Safar Foer’s Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is an inspiring family saga that reveals both the fragile and resilient sides of the human spirit.

Please join us on Wednesday, November 13th for this Oscar-nominated film.  On November 20th our Read a Movie book club will discuss the novel and its adaptation.  Both events take place at 10:30 a.m. in the meeting room at our Post Road Library.  To receive a reminder email for this event please register here. 

Alicia Cavitt
Information Specialist

Staff Picks

A grieving college professor finds solace in composing the biography of a silent film star who disappeared at the beginning of Hollywood’s Golden Age.  Imagine the author’s surprise when the actor he and everyone else presumes is dead, insists on a meeting. 

Is it a hoax?  Where has the actor been hiding for the past sixty years?  And why is he revealing himself now?

Paul Auster’s The Book of Illusions uses stories within stories to trace a life spent both in and out of the spotlight and contrast two lives marred by tragedy.  Film aficionados and fans of mystery will love this intriguing novel.

Alicia Cavitt
Information Specialist 

Staff Picks

October “dares” me to read a chillingly disturbing ghost story. If you, too, enjoy scaring yourself senseless, one of the best authors to fulfill that need is Stephen King. King has written many great horror novels, but The Shining is regarded as one of the scariest horror stories ever told. I recently reread the novel after 35 years, and it’s every bit as terrifying now as it was then. In addition if you have watched the movie adaptation, you should definitely read the novel, as it differs in some very significant ways.

The Shining is the story of Jack Torrance, his wife, Wendy, and their six year-old son, Danny. Jack takes a job as a caretaker of the stately old Overlook Hotel in the Colorado Rockies during the off-season, after his drinking problems and violent temper have left him desperate for a job. Harsh winter conditions and total isolation slowly wreak havoc on his mind and his descent into madness is both powerful and terrifying. Young Danny has “the shine” – psychic abilities to see and know things he should not. The Overlook, a living entity all its own, reveals a creepy and sinister past. Ultimately a story of survival, The Shining will keep you on the edge of your seat, and hiding under your covers, until the last page.

The sequel, Doctor Sleep, picks up with a middle-aged Danny who works in a nursing home using his “shining” abilities to comfort dying patients. As of this writing, Doctor Sleep is #1 on the New York Times Bestseller List for Fiction. It appears King has worked his magic yet again. I hope you enjoy both The Shining and Doctor Sleep, and sweet dreams!

Beth Moore
Information Specialist

The Literazzi Book Club

If you enjoyed Jules Verne’s Around the World in Eighty Days or just enjoy a good historical adventure, you may be interested in Eighty Days by Matthew Goodman.  This book tells the true story of two women who both attempted to beat the fictitious record at the same time in 1889 and 1890.

Nelly Bly was a renowned journalist and reporter who made her fame in taking on undercover assignments that were only considered appropriate for men at the time.  Elizabeth Bisland was making a living as a columnist and poet.  Both came from disparate backgrounds but found themselves in a race around the world by competing newspapers.

Whether you have read the book or not, come join the book discussion on Wednesday, November 20th at 2:00 p.m. at the Sharon Forks branch.

Joan Dudzinski
Information Specialist

Googlewhack

I’m always searching for something.  We all are, but it happens to be my job.  With a world of information out there, finding what you want can be more difficult than finding a needle in a haystack.   (Use a strong magnet, be prepared to find many, tiny bits of bailing wire.)  It’s a life skill.  You have to know what subject headings to use, when to narrow your search, and when to broaden your search.  That’s why I was intrigued when my searching came across the word “Googlewhack”. 

A Googlewhack is a search consisting of two ordinary words without quotation marks, that returns exactly one hit.  I have never had a Googlewhack on Google, but when I looked at some of the subject headings in our Staff Picks books for kids and teens (Wood lice (Crustaceans) -- Juvenile fiction), I thought it could be a fun exercise to try in our catalog.  Go ahead, give it a shot.  Here are some word pairs to get you started.  Each will return one title in our catalog.

• movable papa
• snakebites orphans
• tundras blessings
• ex-convicts authorship
• rootless degradation

Mary Kretsch
Information Specialist

Bookmarks Book Club

Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech is a wonderful, poetic, and heartwarming story for teens about a 13-year-old girl named Salamanca who is coming to terms with the loss of her mother with the help of her wonderful family and quirky friends.  Even though “birds of sadness” are interspersed throughout the story, there is ample wholesome humor that brings a smile to one’s face and lightens the mood.  The story is told over a period of a few weeks during late summer when Sal drives from Ohio to Idaho with her grandparents. 

Born and raised in Kentucky, Sal’s father decides to rent out his farm and move to Ohio for a change, after his wife leaves him.  After a year in Ohio, Sal’s paternal grandparents (from Kentucky), come to take Sal on this trip to Idaho to see her mother.  As they drive from city to city through state to state, Sal tells her grandparents a mysterious and humorous story about her friend Phoebe.  Sal shares her feelings as well as her experiences in moving to a new town, making new friends, and going to a new school.  The descriptions of the characters are full and rich and likable. Grams and Gramps provide ample humor as well while the three make the journey across the country. 

This book is the October selection for the homeschool Bookmarks book club for grades 7 and up.

Julie Boyd
Information Specialist - Youth Services

Reading Rules Book Club

Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World by Jennifer Armstrong

Imagine that you are shipwrecked in the Antarctic Ocean; your ship is slowly being crushed by tons of ice.  The temperature is well below freezing, the wind is continually howling, often with hurricane force, and there is nothing in sight for miles except ice.  It’s the early 20th century and technology is limited; no one knows exactly where you are.  Rescue is hopeless; you must find a way to civilization on your own...or freeze to death. 

Cold, dirty, and with limited resources, the men of the ship Endurance led by Sir Earnest Shackleton face this grim situation.  Their story of survival as they travel in stages over seemingly endless months is remarkable.  Enhanced by vintage photos taken by one of the ship’s crew, Armstrong’s book accurately portrays the courageous tale of survival. 

This book is the October selection for the homeschool Reading Rules book club for grades 3 – 6. 

Julie Boyd
Information Specialist - Youth Services