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.

What books are next to be seen at the movies?

With 5 of the 9 films nominated for an Oscar based upon books,

what books will be featured next at the movies?

Monuments Men:  allied heroes, Nazi thieves and the greatest treasure hunt in history by Robert Edsel and Brett Witter (February 7)

Vampire Academy by Rachel Mead (February 14)

Winter's Tale by Mark Helprin (February 14)

Divergent by Veronica Roth  (March)

Heaven is for Real by Todd Burpo (April)

Inherent Vice by Thomas Pynchon (May)

Make your book (or audio) request now so you will be ready for your night at the movies!  SH

Is it too early to get excited about Catching Fire?

My thought - based on this picture - no, it is not too early!

Now I want to read all the books again. I am a big fan on movie adaptations. I love watching how other people visualized the book/story. What do you think about movie adaptations?

~Jason



image source: http://social.entertainment.msn.com/movies/blogs/paralleluniverse-blog.aspx?feat=25dad721-59e2-4698-aa48-95ed3fdd5f08

ARRRRRR I'm geARRRing up for talk like a Pirate Day

Argggggg September 19 is International Talk Like a Pirate Day (no, really it is - check the website.) Still not convinced? check their Flickr photostream!

Ever since I saw the movie Hook, I have always had a soft spot for pirates. I watched that VHS so many times the tape ripped. I am fairly certain I quote this movie 2+ times a week. In honor of International Talk Like a Pirate Day, I thought I would share some of the more jovial pirate/pirate related items that we have here at the Wellesley Free Library.

Books:
The pirate queen : Queen Elizabeth I, her pirate adventurers, and the dawn of empire
The pirate wars
Pirate: a novel
search through our catalog for more books on pirates and pirate related fiction

Movies:
The Pirates! Band of Misfits
Pirates of the Caribbean Movies:
    Curse of the Black Pearl  
    Dead Man's Chest
    At World's End
    On Stranger Tides
and many more, check our catalog and search by material type: DVD

Children's:
Your life as a cabin boy on a pirate ship
Pirate boy
Jake and the Never Land Pirates. Peter Pan returns
and many more! Head to the Children's room to find more pirate related books and DVDs!

Want to really get into the spirit? Switch your Facebook language to Pirate by going to:
Account Settings > Language > English (Pirate)and therrrrrrre ya have it Matey!

Find your Inner Pirate with the Official Talk Like a Pirate Personality Inventory

!!!***UPDATE***!!!
As I am new here, I am learning new things every day. I JUST learned the online language resource Mango, provided by the Wellesley Free Library, has pirate lessons. Check them out yourself! Head to http://www.wellesleyfreelibrary.org/ on the left hand menu choose Online Resources Scroll down to M - or use M navigation on the right hand side - to Mango

 
Have a great International Talk Like a Pirate Day buccaneers!

~Jason 

Excitement Mounts for The Help--The Movie

The Help by Kathryn Stockett is to adults what Harry Potter is to the younger set. Although it was originally published on February 10, 2011, it still maintains a place on the Bestseller lists. It's theme involving black maids and an aspiring journalist in 1960s Mississippi have lead individuals and book clubs alike into great discussions. Everyone who read it spread the word on to others that it was a must read.

If you haven't had a chance to enjoy it yet, borrow it from the library today before The Help--the movie arrives on August 10. On that date you will be able to watch well-known actresses bring the characters to life: Emma Stone as Skeeter (the young journalist) Viola Davis as Abilene (Maid #1) Octavia Spenser as Minnie Academy award winning actresses are Sissy Spacek, Cicely Tyson, and Mary Steenburgen also play a part.

You have been warned. Get ready for The Help--The Movie mania! SH

Patricia Cornwell News

Fans of Patricia Cornwell and her best selling series featuring Forensic Pathologist Kay Scarpetta will be delighted to know that she has the first of two new books coming out called Port Mortuary. This 18th book in the series will be available November 30 but it is best to place your requests today as the list is continually growing. We have it available in print and on CD. Word is that the second book will feature the New England Aquarium, as she was seen there on August 5 doing research for the pending publication.

Port Mortuary not only introduces another high tech procedure, CT-assisted virtual autopsy, but reaches back to Kay's early life. It fills us in on her experience with Air Force when she enlisted to pay off her medical school debt. This is where she first experienced brutal killing cases which led later to her becoming an expert in forensic pathology and became linked with the FBI.

In case you did not know, Angelina Jolie signed on in 2009 to portray Kay Scarpetta in a proposed feature film endeavor. The movie will not be based upon one book but will pull events from the entire series. This is a disappointment because each book spends a great deal of time examining the crimes in great detail. No word on when filming will even begin. SH

Get Ready for Titanic in 3D

2012 is the 100th Anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. To "celebrate," James Cameron is releasing a 3D version of his award-winning (11 Academy Awards) Titanic movie featuring Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Rose (Kate Winslet) in the spring of 2012.

The book was the first movie tie-in to become a #1 bestseller.

Other books of Interest:


James Cameron's Titanic
Photos and text about the production of the movie.






Ghosts of the Titanic by Charles Pellegrino.
Provides memoirs of survivors and information regarding the fate of some of the passengers on the ship. SH

The Help by Stockett--Movie News & Paperback Release

Excitement should begin to bubble up for all of you lovers of Katherine Stockett's The Help as the movie adaptation has started filming this summer in Mississippi. In case you have forgotten, the book is about black maids and their relationships with their white women employers during the 1960s as the Civil Rights Movement was beginning.

The stars are Emma Stone as "Skeeter" Eugenia Phelan, Viola Davis as Aibileen, Octavia Spencer as Minny, and Bryce Dallas Howard as Hilly Holbrook, the character you love to hate. Of special note, Octavia Spencer is a friend of Stockett's, and not only did she provide Minnie's voice on the audio recording of the book, she was Stockett's inspiration for the character. There is no date for the movie release at this time.

Also of note is that the paperback format will finally be released on January 4, 2011. This will assist in the demand to read the tome again before the movie premieres. SH