Positively Ellinwood Street: Tracy G.

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Friday, September 27, 2013

Watch This? Read That! Fall 2013 Edition

Continuing the theme of last week's list, here are some reading suggestions for the hot fall shows which are not already based on books!

If you are watching Junior MasterChef …

Show premise: Will Gordan Ramsey clean up his language and attitude when a group of kids compete to be MasterChef?!

Try: Suzanne Collin's The Hunger Games for the darker side of children competing against one another (it involves food too!). For a more realistic choice Kathyrn Williams's Pizza, Love, and Other Stuff That Made Me Famous follows a 16-year-old who competes in a reality show cooking contest for teens.

If you are watching The Blacklist …

Show premise: One of the men on the FBI's Most Wanted List strikes a deal to help them find other people on the list if he is given mercy.

Try: Thomas Harris's The Silence of the Lambs, where a serial killer is used to track another serial killer.

If you are watching Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D …

Show premise: The Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division attempts to fight nefarious organizations while finding and understanding people who develop superpowers.

Try: Jonathan Hickman's ambitious S.H.I.E.L.D. : Architects of Forever which imagines famous historical figures such as Leonardo Da Vinci and Galileo as members of the cult organization.

If you are watching Brooklyn Nine-Nine …

Show premise: The odd couple trope gets yet another makeover as a laid-back detective and his strict captain work together to solve crimes in New York.

Try: Chris Grabenstein's Tilt A Whirl pairs together former military policeman John Ceepak with girl-crazy part-time cop Danny Boyle as they attempt to solve a high-profile murder during a Jersey Shore summer.

If you are watching The Michael J. Fox Show …

Show premise: After being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, Mike Henry had to give up his career as a news anchor and focus on his health and his family. Five years later, Mike decides to get back to work and struggles between family and career.

Try: Tough to find a book that hits upon the right sense of comedy and tone. Perhaps David Sedaris's Naked to try and match the dry humor, family situations, and comedic take on living with a disorder.

If you are watching Almost Human …

Show premise: In the not-so-distant future, human cops are paired together with incredibly realistic android partners to fight crime.

Try: Isaac Asimov's The Caves of Steel, his response to the suggestion that science fiction and mystery stories were mutually exclusive ideas. The story pairs together a human detective and android cop to try and solve a high-profile murder. Also Philip K. Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (the inspiration for the movie Blade Runner), where a bounty hunter tracks down rogue androids while musing about their ability to feel human empathy.

If you are watching The Crazy Ones …

Show premise: A zany father with good-intentions runs an ad agency in Chicago with his more straight-laced daughter.

Try: Joshua Ferris's Then We Came to the End about the employees and office dynamics of an ad agency in downtown Chicago. Also Matt Beaumont's E: A Novel about a British ad agency with tons of misadventures in a desperate attempt to win a contract with Coca Cola.

Friday, September 20, 2013

Books to Television Fall 2013

Can't wait to see some of the new shows debuting this fall? Check out the source material first so you will be the expert!

The Annotated Alice

ABC's “Once Upon a Time in Wonderland” is based on Carroll's classic novel of a Victorian girl transported to a fantastical reality.
I Suck at Girls

Fox's new nineties-set “Surviving Jack” is based on Halpern's memoir about his mostly awkward attempts at interacting with the opposite sex.
I Suck at Girls

Fox's new nineties-set “Surviving Jack” is based on Halpern's memoir about his mostly awkward attempts at interacting with the opposite sex. The audiobook won the Audies humor audiobook of the year!
About A Boy

Hornby's novel about a bachelor who pretends to be a single dad in order to pick up women was previously adapted to film and will now be the NBC comedy "About a Boy"
About A Boy

Hornby's novel about a bachelor who pretends to be a single dad in order to pick up women was previously adapted to film and will now be the NBC comedy "About a Boy"
The Complete Tales of Washington Irving

Fox is adding a time travel twist the the classic tale of Ichabod Crane's deadly encounter with the Headless Horseman in "Sleepy Hollow"
The Returned

A couple's deceased eight year old son suddenly returns to them years later, still frozen at the age he died. The book is the inspiration for ABC's new drama “Resurrection".
The 100

Morgan's futuristic YA novel is the inspiration for a new CW series where 100 delinquent teenagers are sent on a dangerous mission to recolonize planet Earth.
Dracula

NBC's "Dracula" stars Jonathan Rhys Meyers as the famous vampire from the classic gothic novel.
The Strain

A horrific virus is transmitted through vampire bites in this novel turned FX series "The Strain"
The Republic of Pirates

Colin Woodard's nonfiction account of Blackbeard's struggles is the source material for "Crossbones"
Undateable

NBC's new comedy "Undateable" is based on Ellen Rakieten and Anne Coyle's humor book about various deal breakers when one is attempting to pick up women.

Friday, August 23, 2013

While You Wait for The Cuckoo's Calling

JK Rowling's latest book The Cuckoo's Calling, a detective novel written under the pen name Robert Galbraith, has flown off the shelves and hit the bestsellers lists. It received favorable reviews before the author's true identity was leaked. But now that we know who the real author is, it's in great demand. So here's some advice from our own Tracy G:

...if you are eagerly awaiting a hot item, consider asking us for suggestions to pass the time with. You may stumble across an undiscovered gem while waiting for your hold to come in.

So while The Cuckoo's Calling is still a wish away, why not sample another mystery featuring a flawed but gifted detective. Here are just a few:

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

The Lure of the Hold List

Your library card grants you telekinesis on books, movies, and music available at the library. Being able to reserve materials feels like the force for me.

Courtesy of breathing-chemicals

It is neutral in nature, maybe even lawful neutral (Dungeons & Dragons anyone?), but in the wrong hands (my hands) it can become a problem. A Hoarders-like problem.

Putting things on hold through the library catalog inevitably becomes a free version of an online shopping binge. Which is awesome at first.

Courtesy of lynncolourmonster

Then when the items I have ordered come in, I am left awash in a sea of disturbed confusion, trying to piece together what events and thoughts led me to request half the YALSA Quick Picks list, Train's Drops of Jupiter, and Alive at the same time.

Being able to request a nearly unlimited amount of items through the library is a great power. And with it comes great responsibility as Uncle Ben said in Spiderman. Use it wisely, and before deciding you can read 6 books at once via osmosis merely by stacking them near your bed, consider adding them to The List You Never Finish first.

On the opposite end of the holds spectrum, if you are eagerly awaiting a hot item, consider asking us for suggestions to pass the time with. You may stumble across an undiscovered gem while waiting for your hold to come in.

Friday, August 16, 2013

From car reviews to Kim Kardashian @ your library website

You have access to the latest issues of over 70 magazines with your Des Plaines library card right this moment. You do not have to step foot in the library to access them. All you need to is log into Zinio with your Des Plaines library card. You can flip through the pages online just as you would with the hard copy.

Chicago Magazine August 2013

Here are some of the many titles available right now:

Are you still reading this blog? Stop and go to eDPPL to get started using Zinio.

Friday, July 26, 2013

Always the Bridesmaid, Never the Bride...

In honor of all the wedding parties this season, here is a list of books and movies that focus on the wedding party itself. (Okay mainly the bridesmaids, but I just couldn't resist listing The Hangover as one of the best groomsmen movies)

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Is the book always better than the film? You decide at Books to Film!

Whether you are a film buff or just looking for a great read before the summer is over (or both!), feel free to join us as we debut an exciting new Books to Film series here at Des Plaines Public Library on August 15th. Books to Film will start with a showing of a film, followed by a discussion about the movie and the book it is based on.

We will begin the discussion series with Dennis Lehane's psychological thriller Shutter Island. U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels attempts to solve the mystery of a patient who escapes a fortress-like mental institution built on an isolated island. Daniels soon discovers the institution itself may be harboring dark secrets. Martin Scorsese adapted the book to the 2010 film Shutter Island, starring Leonardo DiCaprio as Teddy Daniels.

What critics have said about Lehane's Shutter Island:

"[Lehane] returns with another blistering page-turner"

- Joanne Wilkinson, Booklist

"My high concept definition of this fast-paced, brilliantly written and extremely disturbing book: Indiana Jones meets Dr. Who"

- Beth Anderson, Rendezvous Review

"...carries an ending so shocking yet so faithful to what has come before, that it will go down as one of the most aesthetically right resolutions ever written"

- Publishers Weekly

Light refreshments will be served during the discussion.Copies of the book are available at the Reader Services desk on the 3rd floor, but feel free to come enjoy the movie with or without the book.

Register at the Reader Services desk on the 3rd floor or online.

Friday, June 14, 2013

Unexpected Book Sequels 2013

This seems to be the year for authors writing unexpected sequels to extremely popular books. I have Lauren Weisberger's Revenge Wears Prada sitting next to me as I type, and I am already on the waiting list for Stephen King's Doctor Sleep. I tend to prefer standalone novels, especially given the agony of watching people wait for the next book in George R.R. Martin's A Song of Fire and Ice.

Weisberger, Lauren

Here are some blockbuster books with sequels coming out this year. Be sure to refresh yourself if need be!

Do you tend to read standalone books or series?

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Have (Funny) Audiobook, Will Travel

There is something romantic about the idea of tackling the open road in summer. A warm breeze on your skin as you ride along the interstate, the music blaring as you sing along...if you can only make it through an hour or so of congested Chicagoland traffic.

For those of us with a more realistic sense of what driving in Illinois can be like (painfully gridlocked or utterly boring), audiobooks can help bring some serenity (now) to summer road trips or even just the daily commutes. Especially if those audiobooks can actually make you laugh while stuck in traffic.

If listening to whole novels seems daunting or even more tedious than the traffic, try some of the great comedic memoirs and recordings in the nonfiction section. A little laughter can help speed along a not-so-pleasant journey, and make you less likely to think ill of fellow drivers. Plus our collection ranges from the best of NPR's Car Talk to Adam Carolla to Tina Fey. They also fit in well with our summer reading theme "Have Book, Will Travel" which starts on June 8th this year.

Whether you are going to the beach, downtown Chicago, or just to work, here are some great comedic audiobooks that can make the trip just a little bit easier:

Condensed Comedy for the Commute