Right now it's blowing and spitting snow outside. The wind chill must be nasty. So I'm planning what to read and watch this weekend because I think it is time to hunker down. Top of my list is finishing Wednesday Wars by Gary Schmidt. This is a 2007 young adult novel that was recommended to me by a friend of my daughter's. Kathleen loved the book and thought I would like it because it is about reading and growing up. Here's the brief description, "During the 1967 school year, on Wednesday afternoons when all his classmates go to either Catechism or Hebrew school, seventh-grader Holling Hoodhood stays in Mrs. Baker's classroom where they read the plays of William Shakespeare and Holling learns much of value about the world he lives in." Holling is a wise-cracking, normal adolescent who doesn't think high-tone classics have much to say to him, but Mrs. Baker teaches him otherwise.
Next on my list is Strength in What Remains by Tracy Kidder. This is the All Iowa Reads selection for 2012. It is a nonfiction, immigrant story that takes you from Burundi to New York and back again. There is still time for you to read it and join our book discussion. Lisa and I will be facilitating a discussion of Strength in What Remains on Thursday, February 23rd at 6:30 at our NICC/Peosta branch. Copies of the book and discussion questions are available at all our branches.
As for movies, there are some good ones out right now. Last week I watched Contagion; a contemporary plague story starring; Laurence Fishburne, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet, Jude Law, and Matt Damon. A strange virus strikes a Minneapolis woman while she is on a business trip to Hong Kong and the pandemic begins. This movie doesn't pull any punches and it does give a terrifying picture of what could happen to us in this situation. On a lighter note, I am looking forward to watching Morning Glory starring Harrison Ford, Rachel McAdams, and Diane Keaton. The backdrop for this romantic comedy is a quirky New York TV show with rival anchors Ford and Keaton. This should be good old fashioned romantic fun--kind of like watching Adam's Rib with Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn. If you haven't seen that one, you must. Hepburn and Tracy play rival lawyers in a murder trial. The defendant is played by one of the all-time greats, Judy Holliday. Also in the must see category, especially if you love libraries, is Desk Set where Hepburn is a librarian for a broadcast network and Tracy is the efficiency expert who wants to bring in a giant computer he thinks can do her job. Guess who wins? These movies are also great for Valentine's Day showing that the battle between the sexes is timeless.
Don't forget to check the program calendar on our website. There are lots of storytimes going on across our library branches and they are a great way to save you from your child's cabin fever. And while you at visiting the library take home lots of DVDs and books to keep everyone sane during these dreary, winter weeks.
Keep warm and let me know what you are reading and watching. My email address is dawnh@dubcolib.lib.ia.us.
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