This Week's Staff Favorites: Volume 3

Best American Essays 2012:
The annual Best American Essays series compiles the year's most noteworthy essays, with 2012 dwelling on such diverse topics as modern psychiatry, Edward Hopper, the evils and joys of transcendentalism, the nostalgia of physical objects, boredom, and the multiverse. The essays in this collection are eye-opening and often haunting: though most collections will have you poking around like a Whitman's sampler (as noted by '07's editor David Foster Wallace), this is one of the first in the series where every essay deserves being read and re-read. The Best American Essays 2012 can be found on Acorn's New Books shelf.

-Anna, Youth Services

The Moth Podcast:
The Moth storytelling shows feature people telling true stories, on stage in front of a live audience, without notes.  What sounds to me like a crazy nerve-racking experience for anyone other than the most gifted of professional storytellers creates a variety of amazingly entertaining stories told by all kinds of people.  Some are touching, some are implausible, some are scary, and some are sobering, but most are also incredibly funny.  The Moth holds live storytelling events in several cities, including Chicago!  I would love to attend a show, but until then, the free podcasts available online and on iTunes will have to suffice.

-Jennifer, Youth Services

Beginners:
As you may recall, Christopher Plummer won an Oscar earlier this year for his role here as Hal, a 75-year-old man who comes out as gay after the death of his wife, and who dies himself of cancer several years later. So is this a sad, sentimental exploration of death and identity? Certainly, but it's also quirky and hilarious (and perhaps even heartwarming), as we watch Hal's son Oliver (Ewan McGregor) deal his father's death by falling in love with a French actress and hanging out with an immensely wise Jack Russell terrier named Arthur.

-Eric, Director

Visions by Grimes:
Grimes--a 24-year-old Canadian named Claire Boucher--combines breathy vocals, stomping industrial beats, and ghostly atmospherics in this unique confection, which the internet sportingly describes as “witch house” and “grave wave.” At any rate, I heartily recommend this album to anybody who likes their shamelessly cheesy pop with a hint of something sinister.

-Megan, Reference

Senna:
Ayrton Senna da Silva was a three-time Formula One World Champion who tragically died in an accident while leading the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix. The documentary focuses on his racing career, but offers just enough of his intense and charismatic personality to keep you wanting more. If you’re interested in Formula One, sports documentaries, or just want an exciting movie, watch Senna.

-Mike, Reference

Songs for Christmas by Sufjan Stevens:
I'm not really a fan of Christmas music, but Stevens has changed my mind (for the moment, anyway). He's compiled five mini-albums of traditional Christian Christmas songs with his unique signature folksy style and original ones as well that make holiday music more than bearable. Unique tracks (and my favorites) include: "The Friendly Beasts", which tells the story of the nativity through the eyes of the animals present, "Bring a Torch, Jeanette Isabella", and "Did I Make You Cry on Christmas Day (Well, You Deserved It!)".

-Judy, Reference

This Week's Staff Favorites: Volume 2

Down the Rabbit Hole by Juan Pablo Villalobos:
I enjoyed this tiny novel (seventy pocket-sized pages) from debut author Juan Pablo Villalobos about the son of a Mexican drug lord. The boy’s interests include: hats, Japan, the dictionary, and, most importantly, Liberian Pygmy Hippopotamuses. This light-hearted, dark comedy can be found on the New Books shelf.

-Mike, Reference

Website: Bookshelf Porn:

Even though the name is a bit racy (meant as a joke among bibliophiles), this is a really neat site. It’s basically a Tumblr-esque website that features pictures upon pictures of books and bookshelves in libraries, private homes and displays. It gives you some neat ideas for home set-up as well as shows you how libraries are vastly different in other parts of the world.

-Judy, Reference

Philip Roth:
After thirty-one books, Philip Roth has announced his retirement. He discusses the particulars of his decision--the Sisyphean toil, the unbearable solitude, his iPhone infatuation--here. Though this announcement is cause for sorrow, it’s also a chance to reflect on Roth’s incredible output and his gift for uncovering both ego and frailty. And don't forget about his wicked sense of humor!

-Megan, Reference

This Week's Staff Favorites: Volume 1

College Football: 
I recently went to see Notre Dame play Stanford in football in South Bend, Indiana.  It was a great game!  ND won in overtime.  ND is having an amazing season! I think two of my favorite parts of the day were walking through the beautiful campus to see all the trees turning to their autumn colors and watching the enthusiasm of the ND students/fans around me in the stadium as they were watching the game.

-Karen S., Circulation 

Homeland: The Complete First Season: 
I’ve been trying to find a substitute since the series 24 ended, and I have finally found it!
Homeland has it all: political scandal, intrigue, CIA agents with mental disorders, misunderstood military officials and terrorist plots. It’s a great show, keeps you on the edge of your seat, and one that tests your understanding as well.

-Judy, Reference   

Author Ken Follett:
Anything by Ken Follett. It’s amazing the things he has written!

-Barb, Circulation 

The American Reader: A Monthly Journal of Literature and Criticism:
The American Reader is a new print and digital literary journal that is directed at readers aged 21-35. (I happen to be in this age group, but I don’t think it matters.) There are four sections: Fiction & Poetry, Criticism, In Conversation, and This Day in Lettres, which are personal letters written by authors. I’ve enjoyed the short fiction along with interesting articles on everything from taxidermy to the Vice Presidential debate to car crashes.

-Mike, Reference

Bloomberg Businessweek:
Bloomberg Businessweek is the happy marriage of the internet’s eclectic fizz and actual journalistic skill. The result is that the business world becomes a whimsical ride of surprise and intrigue. To  wit, the current issue includes articles on the ways in which music benefits job performance, a new mind-reading app, the particulars of Argentina’s export shenanigans, and--alas--the entrepreneurial genius of Nickelback. It's available online and at the Library.

-Megan, Reference

Monkey Mind: A Memoir of Anxiety by Daniel Smith

Smith’s memoir, Monkey Mind, dives into the heart of his anxiety problems, stemming back from his earliest memories and experiences. His mother, suffering from crippling anxiety herself, amusingly becomes a therapist who brings her work home where Daniel listens to her sessions through the vents. He recalls his mother blaming herself for everything, but doesn’t give her all the blame; besides genetic influence, Daniel also admits and divulges details to that awkward first sexual encounter with Esther, a curvy co-worker, and another random woman who Esther met at a bar. This situation, instead of being a teenage boy’s dream, ends with disastrous and embarrassing results for Daniel. 

More humorous and embarrassing scenes are included within; I love the one particular scene of how Smith ingeniously solves his problem of constant sweating. (so funny!)

Contrasting passages are abundant within the book – there are scenes so funny that I can’t help but laugh out loud; but, at times moments so sad and depressing because I know this is much more detrimental than the author makes it seem. Smith also included factual tidbits that are actually quite interesting; he notes certain performers that suffer from extreme anxiety and explicates on the struggles they regularly face.

As humans, we all suffer from stress and anxiety to a certain degree, and this was an eye-opening book that I read with much enthusiasm. But Daniel Smith’s personal narrative is a human admission to how anxiety can put us in a chokehold and take over our lives yet also reminds us that we must move forward– with a few laughs along the way.

*For more information about the author Daniel Smith and his book, please check out his website “The Monkey Mind Chronicles."

-Judy

Banned Books Week: Cracking India by Bapsi Sidhwa

Normally, I don’t read a book just because it was banned or challenged. I carouse titles and skim through books and if I see something I like, I make a note of it. However, for one of my classes I had to read Bapsi Sidhwa’s Cracking India. (If I was to personally leaf through it, in all honesty I would have just set the book aside and kept looking.) But while reading the book for class, I found out that it was a “banned book” in 2006; this is what eventually piqued my interest.

Cracking India is about story that’s focused on the polio-stricken narrator, 8 year-old Lenny, and the events that she witnesses in Lahore during the 1947 partition of India. There are some heartfelt moments scattered within the text; Lenny is not only coming of age in a dreadful time period, but practically during a time of social unrest and you can sympathize, laugh, and cry with her as she experiences new emotions for the first time. But truth be told, there are lots of explicit details regarding sex, violence, and the monstrosities surrounding the dividing of the British Indian subcontinent into India & Pakistan. Almost close to 12.5 million people were displaced and there was a lot of religious-fueled genocide that is described in the book. Overall, it’s not a book for the weak-hearted.

The book was challenged because “a parent objected to atwo-page scene in which the narrator brushes off an older cousin's attempt totrick her into performing oral sex”.

I was wondering to myself after reading the book, “Really? This is the only reason why they wanted the book banned?” I found it not surprising that the book was challenged, but why the book was challenged. The parents did not contest to the religious violence that was expanded upon, nor about the blatant abuse towards women specifically. To me, it seemed that there were so many other issues that could have been brought up, but this one seemed so unnecessary.

I really want to recommend this book: yes, it is especially taxing because it deals with a historical event that most of us in the Western world really cannot comprehend or even begin to understand; but the main point is that it’s challenging. It brings a lot of important issues to light: violence against women, one’s perspective, colonialism, etc. – the list is endless. (I caught myself wondering about humanity in general; how could someone give in to such violence, etc.) And isn’t the point of so-called “banned books” supposed to challenge us how we think? Sometimes I think we don’t challenge ourselves enough.

-Judy

DVDs and Blu-Rays from Acorn and SWAN

Did you know that you can borrow movies from Acorn and the SWAN system at no charge? Aside from feature films that were released less than three months ago, all DVDs and Blu-Rays can be checked out for free! Please contact the Reference Department if you need help locating or requesting materials. 

Recommended!

Marley (2012): This has absolutely nothing to do with a dog nor Charles Dickens. It’s all about Bob, Rasta, the music of the ’60s and ’70s, and political turmoil in Jamaica. Though it was produced by the Marley family, this documentary includes plenty of unsparing interviews and insights that succeed in separating the man from the dorm poster myth.

Pretty Woman (1990): You know the premise: Aloof corporate opportunist meets whimsical, dentally extravagant streetwalker in the movie that made a superstar out of Julia Roberts. It’s an odd concoction--frothy romantic comedy, crassly materialistic showpiece, and tonally deranged drama--but it’s still a lot of fun 22 years later. And with its cinder block-sized cell phones and tangerine culottes, it doubles as a 1990 time capsule. You have been warned.  

 
8 ½ (1963): Wow--this is probably the most stylish film I’ve ever seen. One of the strangest, too. This movie, which is apparently Fellini’s autobiography (?!), manages to combine a rich dissection of human dynamics with an effortless psychedelia. Meanwhile, Marcello Mastroianni’s exquisite suits, chic alien sunglasses, and graceful ennui show George Clooney that he’s nothing but a hick from Kentucky.

  

Young Adult (2011): Charlize Theron stars as Mavis Gary, a wicked wreck of a former prom queen determined to reclaim the affections of her high school boyfriend--who has actually managed to become an adult during the last 20 years. Theron is divinely wretched here as a stunted queen bee in search of a hive, and Patton Oswalt is resolutely great as a caustic former outcast who is once again ensnared by Mavis’s deranged, indomitable will. 

-Megan