Watch this? Read that! Fall 2012 Edition

Fall always ushers in chilly weather, football, and pumpkin spice lattes. Fall also brings us a fresh batch of television shows. Whether you are waiting for the new season of an old favorite to start or dipping your feet into a debut that looks interesting, there is undoubtedly a book to match your viewing interest at Des Plaines Public Library. Here are some pairings you may like to try:

If you are watching The Office…

Show premise: A documentary team follows the everyday antics of a wacky group of coworkers working for a paper company.

Try: Personal Days by Ed King and/or Who Moved My Blackberry? by Lucy Kellaway. Both are takes on the everyday life of office workers and their personal and professional plights.

If you are watching American Horror Story…

Show premise: The first season followed a fractured family moving into a haunted, dangerous house. The second season will revolve around the strange and deadly occurrences at a mental asylum.

Try: For the first season try reading Richard Matheson’s Hell House. Stephen King called it the “Mount Everest of haunted houses”, and the malevolent spirits in both stories manipulate the living characters in similar ways.

If you are watching The Mindy Project…

Show premise: Mindy’s show is a comedy revolving around a fun female doctor trying to successfully navigate her personal and professional life.

Try: Good in Bed by Jennifer Weiner. Cannie finds out her ex-boyfriend has written an expose on their love life entitled “Loving a Larger Woman”, and hilarity ensues as she tries to deal with the scandal. Also the obvious choice: Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling.  

If you are watching Nashville…

 Show premise: A fading star and new kid on the block compete and reveal some of the dynamics behind the country music industry in this drama.

Try: Fender Benders by Bill Fitzhugh. This humorous, action-packed tale revolves around a country singer hitting it big and learning just how treacherous and wild the country music industry can be.

If you are watching Arrow…

 Show premise: Following the footprints of Smallville, Arrow depicts the adventures of DC comic superhero the Green Arrow who functions as a cross between Bruce Wayne and Robin Hood.

Try:  Green Arrow: Year One by Andy Diggle and Quiver by Kevin Smith. Both will get you caught up with the Green Arrow.

If you are watching The New Normal…

 Show premise: Two gay men work together with a surrogate mother to have a child in this timely comedy.

Try: Does This Baby Make Me Look Straight? by Dan Bucatinsky. Much like the television series, this memoir explores the day-to-day realities of gay adoption and parenting.

If you are watching Last Resort…

 Show Premise: US Navy Officers are declared renegades and must figure out who set them up while trying to survive. 

Try: Exit Plan by Larry Bond. When a US ship is sent to rescue two Iranians who hold key information, their ship is attacked and they are left stranded with little hopes of rescue.

 

If you are watching Elementary…

 Show Premise: A contemporary take on Sherlock Holmes set in America, with Lucy Lui playing Dr. Joan Watson.

Try: Beyond the canon stories, two intriguing interpretations include The Strange Return of Sherlock Holmes by Barry Grant and the short story collection Sherlock Holmes in America by various authors. Grant’s interpretation involves a modern man named James Wilson discovering his roommate may very well be Sherlock Holmes. Sherlock Holmes in America has an array of authors placing Holmes in a variety of American settings as he interacts with fictional characters as well as famous people in history.


Any shows I left out or additional matches you can think of?