Epistolary reading

I just finished listening to The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows . What a remarkable book to listen to, especially with the full cast of readers portraying the many characters in the story. This book, if you don’t know about it, is told in letters. Set just after World War II in London and the Channel Islands, it gave me a glimpse into post-war England that I had not before experienced in a book – and it also happens to be a book about the power of books.  It made me think about other books written in letters.  I loved those books too!

There’s 84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff. Also about books, this one is a series of letters between a woman who is looking for out-of-print books, and a London bookseller. It is set between 1949 and 1969, so a bit of that post-war London feel is there. There’s also a great movie version of this book starring Anne Bancroft and Anthony Hopkins.

Alice Walker’s heartbreaking novel of two sisters is told through letters. If you haven’t read The Color Purple, you are missing out on a literary gem.  This, too was made into a film, starring Whoopie Goldberg and Oprah Winfrey.

Teen love is handled in letters and images in this brilliant book, Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler and Maira Kalman. In addition to a letter describing why the teen romance ended, Min, the letter-writer, also includes a box of items that symbolize their failed relationship.

For the younger set, you can’t go wrong with Drew Daywalt & Oliver Jeffers’ fun book, The Day the Crayons Quit.  In a series of letters, the crayons explain why they are leaving. They are tired of being typecast, it seems. And just released is the sequel, The Day the Crayons Came Home.

What are your favourite epistolary books?

--Angela J. Reynolds, Community Engagement Coordinator

Book to Movie - It’s Showtime!!

So many of the best movies were books first.  Here is a sample of what’s hitting the theatres in 2014 for your reading --and then viewing pleasure. 

 Look at these choices – there are some solid offerings starting with the best seller The Fault in our Stars by John Green and the classic Lois Lowry novel The Giver.  At Christmastime the younger set will be able to see the wonderful Paddington Bear stories brought to life in Paddington.  

  Young and old fans of the Hunger Games will likely delight in Divergent by Veronica Roth.

Lots of buzz as well for the all star cast in Monuments Men by Robert Edsel , Unbroken by Lauren Hillenbrand ( the author of Seabiscuit ) and the delectable Hundred Foot Journey by Richard Morais.   For fans of the Jennifer Lawrence/Bradley Cooper pairing they are back together in Serena by Ron Rash.  Looking for inspiration? Take in Wild by Cheryl Strayed.   Comedy is guaranteed with Jason Bateman and Tina Fey in This is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper. 

Check out these links below for release dates, summaries and a sneak peek at what’s being planned for next year.  Now, go to our catalogue and place your holds.  It looks like an exciting year.

Buzzfeed's "Books To Read before they become movies"

School Library Journal's year in movies 

And if you can't wait for these movies to come out, try this list of "Books to Movies" for kids. These great books have already been made into movies, and you can watch & read together.

B Movies – So BAD, they are SCARY!

Giant tarantulas invade your town. What will you do? Run screaming? Throw a gas tank at them? You know you've landed in B-movie land when the insects are as big as Volkswagens or more plentiful than snowflakes in February, when sharks outwit teenagers and crocodiles are being fed cows by Betty White. If you know who Roger Corman is, if Ed Wood is your kind of guy, take heart. Our library collection has just what the Mad Doctor ordered. Here are a few to try on for size. 

Ants-
- "The picnic is ruined." Plenty of horrible ant scenes, including a laugh out loud scene of ants attacking a kid in a dumpster. Just about every 70's character actor is in this one. If you like bad movies, this one will make you really happy. 

Kingdom of the Spiders-
- William Shatner (aka Captain Kirk) stars in this ridiculous psychotronic spider film. Bad acting, terrible effects, and a lot of crunched spiders make this one truly awful (in a good way).

Nabonga-

 Starring Buster Crabbe and Julie "Emergency" London, this jungle mystery features one of the best ape suits ever seen on film. Extra star given just for the ape's hairdo.

Wasp Woman - 

An anti-aging beauty treatment goes horribly wrong! This one is classic Roger Corman fare. Must see. 

Plan 9 from Outer Space

An Ed Wood classic.  Aliens resurrect dead humans as zombies and vampires to stop human kind from creating the Solaranite (a sort of sun-driven bomb).

The Creature from the Black Lagoon-

A strange prehistoric beast lurks in the depths of the Amazonian jungle. A group of scientists try to capture the animal and bring it back to civilization to study.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers-

A small-town doctor learns that the population of his community is being replaced by emotionless alien duplicates.

Night of the living Dead-

A group of people hide from bloodthirsty zombies in a farmhouse.  AVRL has this movie in the "Trio of Terror" DVD set.

Horror classics: 4 movies featuring Bela Lugosi-

So many bad movies, how do you choose? Bela Lugosi is the master of the B Movie. Watch for a bookcase door that opens into a secret room – nearly every Lugosi character has one hiding somewhere!

Children of the Corn-  

Based on a Stephen King story, this is classic stuff from the 80's. The kids are pretty darn creepy. 

Night Gallery – Rod Serling – Every character actor from the 60's and 70's appears at some point in these great old episodes! Twilight Zone is over, and Mr. Serling needs something to do, so Night Gallery it is. Similar theme—short stories of horror, mystery, and the bizarre. Hours of entertainment! 

And if that's not enough, use this handy website to help you find more BAD movies! 

BOOK TO MOVIE

We all enjoy movies but many of us are still surprised at how many movies are actually based on books. That being said should we assume that behind every good movie is a good book?  Sadly this is not always the case, but it is fun to see which books eventually become movies and whether the movies are as good as the books or perhaps even better.  By reading and then watching we can get very different stories and we alone can be the judge.

Several movies recently honoured with Golden Globe and Oscar nominations and awards are based on books.  One example of this is Hugo, based on the 2007 children’s book The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick.  This must have been a huge challenge for Martin Scorsese considering his filmography. His grandchild wanted to be able to watch one on his movies and suggested this book and it looks like he delivered. 

Going back to 1995, we were introduced to Stephanie Plum a Jersey gal from the suburbs who becomes a bounty hunter in the book One for the Money by Janet Evanovich.  Eighteen novels later with plenty of movie speculation it finally comes out in theaters in February 2012.  There are plenty of Plum fans out there who can’t wait to see what kind of job they did with this book. 

Brad Pitt hit a home run with Moneyball based on the 2003 book Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game by Michael Lewis.  Critics raved about this movie.  Based on a true story, sports fans and non-sports fans alike were drawn into this amazing tale.

I am sure you have heard of the Stieg Larsson trilogy of books that started with the translation of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo  in 2008.  This is a  fabulous set of books and the rush to the movie version resulted in three Swedish-made films; now Hollywood is taking a crack at it.  Both versions have been very well reviewed so watch them all.  I think it will be very interesting to see how these interpretations will differ.

So check out all your favourite movies old and new and see if they have a book companion.  Were there any surprises? Which one excelled in the transition and which one disappointed?  Which books do you think would have made a great movie?  It’s a great conversation starter. 

Patricia Milner, Head of Reference Services