This Week's Staff Favorites: Volume 44

21 by Adele
Although 21 came out in 2011, it’s one of those albums that you could listen to over and over again without complaint. No matter how many times you hear any song on the disc, the lyrics still move you and the melodies replay themselves in your head long after you’ve finished listening. I recently put it back in my CD player after having given it a rest for a couple of months and I’m wondering why I ever took it out in the first place. Not only does this album contain number one hits such as “Rolling in the Deep”, “Set Fire to the Rain”, and “Someone Like You”, but it also includes songs like “Take It All” and “One and Only”--hidden gems that, had they been released as singles, would have also topped the charts. Adele combines soul and rock in a way that puts her into her own unique category. This album is one that can be enjoyed by everyone no matter what type of music genre you prefer. I highly, highly recommend that you give it a listen. It’s definitely worth it. And it’s available at Acorn and through SWAN.

-Donna D., Reference

A Few of My Favorite Things…
Muppet Christmas Carol.  Gonzo, singing rats, Tiny Tim in polliwog form!

Elf.  ‘Nuff said.

Ref, The.  Denis Leary warming the cockles of cynics’ hearts with love and cursing.

Rudolph.  Just a misfit…Aren’t we all?  Let your nose glow!

Yule really, really love Love Actually.  Okay, I cheated.  Y’s are hard.

Christmas Vacation.  Oh, cousin Eddie…we love you, dickey and all.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas.  May all your hearts grow three sizes this holiday.

Ralphie and A Christmas Story.  Fra-Gee-Lay…it’s Italian, don’t ya know?

It’s a Wonderful Life.  You’ve all touched more lives than you realize.

Scrooge.  Alastair Sim owns this one…but McDuck is in the running!

To…

My new friends who’ve made me feel welcome and at home at…

Acorn Public Library this past year…

Season’s Greetings and Happy New Year!

And, whether your family is far or near,
At this most festive time of the year,
Stop, look around and be filled with cheer,
That none of them, not one of them, can be found here.

- Danielle, Tech Services


Christmas Tales by Charles Dickens
It has long been a tradition of mine to observe each passing Christmas by reading from Dickens’s Christmas Tales.  The obvious must-read in this collection is “A Christmas Carol,” but I would also encourage you to read two of his lesser-known works: “What Christmas Is as We Grow Older” and “A Christmas Tree,” both of which are short, powerful reflections on the Christmas season and what it means to us.  These pieces are somber, beautifully written essays that become more meaningful to me every year I read them.  If you hold Christmas dear in your heart, enjoy Dickens’s writing style, and have 15 to 30 minutes, I highly suggest you read these two selections. Christmas Tales can be found at Acorn or through SWAN. “What Christmas Is as We Grow Older” and “A Christmas Tree” are also freely available online.

-Zach, Reference