MOVIE SPOTLIGHT - Love Is Strange

When George (Alfred Molina) loses his job teaching music at a Roman Catholic school because of his sexuality, his husband Ben (John Lithgow) and he can no longer afford their mortgage, must sell their co-op, and move in with family.  Director Ira Sachs' unsentimental and graceful portrayal of family dynamics, well meaning but somewhat clueless relatives and George and Ben, the "old married couple", is one of intimacy, tragedy and resilience.

Come to the Wellesley Friday Morning Book/Movie Group this Friday, September 18 at 10AM to join in our discussion of the movie. Copies of the movie are available at the Reference Desk on the 2nd floor.

Spotlight on award winning foreign films

Come browse our large collection of award winning new and classic foreign films in the Media Room on the first floor of the main library.  Films circulate for three weeks and may be reserved at the Reference Desk on the second floor.

 

Wellesley Friday Morning Book/Movie Group

Friday, July 17th

Arnold Room (second floor)

10 AM to 11 AM

All are welcome to come and join in the discussion!   In July, we will discuss Jeanette Walls' The Glass Castle, a memoir which won numerous awards and remained on the NY Times bestseller list for more than six years. At times astonishing and sad, Walls' story is one of resilience and triumph over impossible odds.

Jeanette Walls graduated form Barnard College and was a journalist in New York. She is the author of The Silver Star and Half Broke Horses, named one of the ten best books of 2009 by the editors of The New York Times Book Review. Walls lives in rural Virginia with her husband, the writer, John Taylor. 

Wellesley Friday Morning Book/Movie Group

Wellesley Friday Morning Book/Movie Group

Friday June 19, 2015

10:00 AM to 11:00 AM

Arnold Room

All are welcome to come and join in the discussion!  Our group meets on the third Friday of each month from 10-11AM. This month we will discuss the book What is the What : the autobiography of Valentino Achak Deng. Dave Eggers'  moving and beautiful novel is about one of the thousands of Lost Boys of Sudan who was forced to leave his village at the age of seven to search for freedom. Eggers, a Boston native, was a National Book Critics Circle Award  finalist for this work.

 What is the What: the autobiography of Valentino Achak Deng

by Dave Eggers

If you enjoyed Zeitoun, A heartbreaking work of staggering genius, or A hologram for the king, please join us on June 19 for the Wellesley Friday Morning Book/Movie Club when we will discuss What is the What : The Authobiography of Valentino Achak Deng, Eggers' astonishing and harrowing novel of a Sudanese refuge who triumphs over horrific tragedy and disaster.  The group meets at 10AM in the Arnold Room on the 2nd floor of the Main Library.  The book is available for checkout at the Reference Desk on the 2nd floor.

DB

Nora Webster

by Colm Toibin

If you enjoyed Brooklyn and The Master and The Testament of Mary,  please join us at the Wellesley Friday Morning Book/Movie Group on May 15 at 10AM when we will discuss Colm Toibin's newest literary achievement. Nora Webster is the beautifully rendered character portrait of a young widow struggling with grief set in mid 20th century Ireland. Both the book and audio are available for checkout at the Reference Desk. 

Wellesley Friday Morning Book Group

All are welcome to come and join in the discussion! Our group meets on the third Friday of each month from 10-11AM. This month we are reading Behind the beautiful forevers, New Yorker staff writer and Pulitzer Prize winner Katherine Boo's powerful account of the staggering gap between the haves and have-nots in India. New participants are welcome to join at any time. For more information, Contact Deb Berenbaum at 781 235 1610 x1220 or dberenbaum@minlib.net

DB

In Memory - Mr. Spock

Best known for his role on the short-lived (three seasons) 1960's  television series Star Trek, Boston born Leonard Nimoy was an accomplished artist in such diverse fields as poetry, photography, music and directing.

As a director, he began with “Star Trek III: The Search for Spock” in 1984. He went on to direct five more feature films, including “Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home” (1986) and the 1987 blockbuster comedy “Three Men and a Baby.” Mr. Nimoy also directed television projects.

Mr. Nimoy  recorded several albums, beginning with “Mr. Spock’s Music From Outer Space” in 1968. “I had a great time doing it,” he said of the record. “I never looked for a recording career.”

Along the way he lent his distinct baritone to a variety of covers of pop hits, including “I Walk the Line,” “Proud Mary,” “If I Had a Hammer,” “Put a Little Love in Your Heart” and “Ruby, Don’t Take Your Love to Town.”

In the visual arts, Mr. Nimoy had a longtime interest in photography that he channeled later in life into several books and exhibitions at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art and elsewhere. His specialty was portraiture, often involving the kind of subjects that don’t frequently adorn gallery walls. 

Leonard Nimoy died yesterday morning at his home in the Bel Air section of Los Angeles. He was 83.

 

DB

Wellesley Friday Morning Book/Movie Group

Friday February 20, 2015

10:00 AM to 11:00 AM

Arnold Room

All are welcome to come and join in the discussion!  Our group meets on the third Friday of each month from 10-11AM. For our February meeting, we are reading Then Again, Diane Keaton's delightful and powerful memoir focusing on family ties and the influence these have on our relationships. Copies of the book are available at the Reference Desk on the 2nd floor. New participants are welcome to join at any time. For more information, Contact Deb Berenbaum at 781 235 1610 x1220 or dberenbaum@minlib.net

In Memory

Harold Ramis 1944-2014   

Harold Allen Ramis, actor, director and writer,  started his career in comedy as Playboy magazine's joke editor and reviewer. Before moving to New York to help write and perform in "The National Lampoon Show" with other Second City graduates including John Belushi, Gilda Radner and Bill Murray. His Hollywood debut came when he collaborated on the script for National Lampoon's Animal House (1978). This success was followed by many critically acclaimed films including Groundhog Day, Ghostbusters and Caddyshack.
 Harold Ramis died of autoimmune disease at his home in Chicago last week.

DB

Time for a Party

 From "Big Night"

 

Who doesn't enjoy casual summer entertaining outdoors with friends and family? New ideas for uncomplicated, attractive and delicious party fare are available for you in our cookbook and style sections of the library.  Below are some of our newest additions to the collection:

Cupcakes and cashmere : a guide for defining your style, reinventing your space, and entertaining with ease by Emily Schuman

Gather : the art of paleo entertaining by Hayley Mason and Bill Staley

Celebrate : a year of festivities for families and friends by Pippa Middleton

Seriously simple parties : recipes, menus & advice for effortless entertaining by Diane Rossen Worthington

What's a hostess to do? by Susan Spungen   

 

 

Friday Book Group at the Main Library

All are welcome to join the Friday Morning Book Group at the Main Library on the third Friday of every month from 10-11AM. We will meet next on January 18 in the History Room for a discussion of the memoir Paris : A Love Story by award winning journalist and  author Kati Marton.  Copies of the book and audiobook are available at the Reference Desk on the second floor  for checkout.
We look forward to seeing you!

 -DB

What defines a library?

Though the traditional and obviously simplistic definition of a public library is  a collection of information sources, resources, books, and services, the wider meaning is certainly a sanctuary of community and healing for those in need. Rarely was this more apparent than after Hurricane Sandy when the New York and New Jersey public libraries became a refuge for the those without power, heat and in many cases, a home. The fact that the libraries themselves were damaged in the storm was more of a back story but unfortunately, a real one.  As they continue to reel from the effects of the storm, the staff are often struggling to provide essential library services.

New York Library Disaster Relief Fund 

Rebuilding New Jersey's Libraries

-DB

Classic foreign film on DVD

Many of our classic films on VHS have now been replaced on DVD format. Come in and browse this new collection of older titles.  A sampling:

 

Which are your favorites? Any suggestions for purchase? We would love to hear from you!

-DB 

New Audiobooks

 

Our newest audiobooks are now displayed to your left as you enter the Media Room on the first floor of the main library.  Come in and browse our entire audio collection including books on CD, MP3s, Playaways and a small collection of books on cassette. Many of our titles are also available on Overdrive to download as an ebook or audioook. A few of our recent titles:

-DB

Banned Books Week (Sept 30-Oct 6)

 Banned Books Week highlights the importance of free and open access to information. During this   30th anniversary of  Banned Books Week, we librarians strive to draw attention to the harms of censorship.  In recognition of the American Library Association's annual celebration of our freedom to read, come in and browse our collection of banned books on audio. Following are a few suggestions:

Karsh : Beyond the Camera

Edited by David Travis,  Karsh : Beyond the Camera is a retrospective of the famous photographer's career spanning 50 years. The black and white collection is spellbinding even in its reproduction due to Karsh' expert use of light and setting in the pre-digital age.Travis, former Curator of  Photography at the Art Institute of Chicago, draws on several hours of taped recollections between Karsh and Jerry Fiedler, his longtime assistant, of portrait sessions which have previously been unreleased. These narratives, paired with each photograph, reveal the photographer's psychological insight and personal thoughts about his subjects.
Yousuf Karsh was born in Turkey in 1908 and was a survivor of the Armenian genocide before escaping to Canada. The memories of the horrors he witnessed as a boy remained with him all his life.

-DB

Books into Movies for September

The Eye of the Storm is based on the 1973 novel by Nobel Prize-winning Australian novelist Patrick White. Directed by Fred Schepisi, the drama stars Geoffrey Rush, Charlotte Rampling, Judy Davis, Colin Friels, and Dustin Clare.

Killing Them Softly is based on George V. Higgin's 1974 crime novel Cogan's Trade. Directed by Andrew Dominik, the film stars Brad Pitt, Ray Liotta, James Gandolfini and Ben Mendelsohn.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower is an adaptation of Stephen Chbosky's 1999 coming-of-age YA novel. Directed by Chbosky, the film stars Logan Lerman, Emma Watson, Ezra Miller, Paul Rudd, and Nina Dobrev.

-DB

Release date set for Spielberg's Lincoln

Steven Spielberg's Lincoln has been scheduled for a November 9 limited release, expanding to more theaters on November 16.  The film, which focuses on the last four months of Lincoln's life, is based on portions of Doris Kearns Goodwin's Team of Rivals : the Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln. Goodwin's book experienced renewed popularity after the 2008 presidential election when Obama referred to it as a blueprint for selecting his cabinet.

The film stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Robert Todd Lincoln, Daniel Day-Lewis as Abraham Lincoln, Sally Field as Mary Todd Lincoln and Tommy Lee Jones as Thaddeus Stevens. 

-DB

Books into Movies - July

Savages is based on mystery author Don winslow's 2010 novel. Oliver stone directs the thriller starring Blake Lively, Taylor Kitsch, John Travolta and Salma Hayek.

Trishna is adapted from Thomas Hardy's 1891 classic Tess of the d'Urbervilles by director Michael Winterbottom. The movie stars Freida Pinto and Riz Ahmed.

Easy Money is a Swedish crime thriller based on the 2006  novel by Jens Lapidus. Directed by Daniel Espinosa, the film stars Joel Kinnaman and Lisa Henni.