Murder on the Orient Express (2017) (on DVD)

Murder on the Orient Express[DVD Murder]

I am a huge Agatha Christie fan, having been introduced to Dame Agatha’s novels back in my teen years by my mother. I am also a hugh Kenneth Branagh fan — his Henry V and Dead Again are two of my all-time favorite movies! So, you’d think this was a slam dunk for being a film that I would love. While I did enjoy this 2017 version of Murder on the Orient Express, I was ultimately a bit disappointed in it.

Not because it isn’t a good film — it is a very good film, with many good performances in it. It’s just that the 1974 version with Albert Finney as Poirot is one of my all-time favorite films, and this didn’t quite match up to it. Branagh as Poirot gives a decent enough performance, but he physically does not resemble the character as described by Agatha Christie in her novels and stories. And his interpretation of the fussy little Belgian detective’s mannerisms just felt “off”. And don’t get me started on the mustache! That was just wrong in every way. Still…this version of the film (like the 1974) features an all-star cast, including Johnny Depp, Daisy Ridley, Leslie Odom Jr., Josh Gad, Derek Jakobi, Judy Dench, Willem Dafoe, Penelope Cruz, and Michelle Pfeiffer (and more). The backgrounds of several of Christie’s characters are tinkered with in order to accommodate some of these “star castings”, sometimes in ways that pay disservice to the original story.

The setting of the Orient Express train is done very well, though the extensive use of CGI effects to show the train in motion is sometimes painfully obvious. A sequence involving an action-adventure chase on scaffolding is added, which wasn’t in the book, and feels unnecessary. However, another scene that differs from the book turns out to be one of the best in the film, as Poirot angrily confronts the tableau of suspects in a train tunnel at the film’s climax.

Christie purists may have lots of problems with this film. I came into it wanting to love it, and left wishing I liked it more than I did. As a film, on its own merits, its perfectly fine. It just suffers in comparison to other versions of Murder on the Orient Express. I do, ultimately, recommend it…but I also recommend viewing what’s come before!

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try Murder on the Orient Express (the 1974 version with Albert Finney), Murder on the Orient Express (the 2010 2-hour version with David Suchet) or the original print novel Murder on the Orient Express] 

[ Internet Movie Database entry for this film ] | [ official Murder on the Orient Express (2017) web site ]

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library

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The Butchering Art by Lindsey Fitzharris

The Butchering Art: Joseph Lister’s Quest to Transform the Grisly World of Victorian Medicine
by Lindsey Fitzharris [Biography Lister]

Set in the Victorian age when pus and inflammation were considered necessary for healing this biography of Joseph Lister is fascinating.

Dr. Joseph Lister, son of Joseph Jackson Lister, an optician who made great strides in the value of microscopes, was a proponent of cleanliness in hospitals and in particular the operating room. Even though most of his colleagues at the time felt his methods were time consuming and unneeded, he persevered and changed how surgery was done. He was truly the father of modern surgery. When Lister died, he’d asked that all his personal papers be destroyed, but his nephew refused and because of that we have this wonderful book about not only his great achievements, but also his personal life as well.

Fitzharris does an excellent job of describing him and his life as well as explaining life during the era. If you like biographies, or medical history books, you’ll love this title.

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try The Speckled Monster: A Historical Tale of Battling Smallpox, by Jennifer Lee Carrell, Yellow Jack: How Yellow Fever Ravaged America and Walter Reed Discovered Its Deadly Secrets, by John R. Pierce or Flu: The Story of the Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918 and the Search for the Virus That Caused It, by Gina Kolata.]

[ publisher’s official The Butchering Art web site ] | [ official Dr. Lindsey Fitzharris web site ]

Recommended by Marcy G.
South Branch Library

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The Silver Pigs by Lindsey Davis

The Silver Pigs
by Lindsey Davis

The libraries’ Just Desserts mystery book discussion group had selected the historical mystery series featuring Marcus Didius Falco, Ancient Rome’s version of a private investigator, for our February 2018 meeting, only to have an ice storm keep most of the group’s members home from the meeting. This was particularly frustrating to me, as I tremendously enjoyed reading the first of the Falco books, The Silver Pigs, and was eager to learn the opinions of the other Just Desserters about the series.

In this series premiere volume, private “Informer” Falco literally stumbles into the biggest job of his career, when he assists a young noblewoman to escape some thugs who were pursuing her. This leads to him being hired to investigate what turns out to be a major case of corruption involving Roman government officials. As part of his investigation, Falco must go undercover in a brutal silver mine in the Roman territory of Britain. Add to that that Falco develops strong feelings for a second headstrong young noblewoman, whom he must escort from Britain back to Rome, and then he has to figure out which politician he can trust, and which wants to kill him, and you’ve got a fast-paced, colorful mystery novel.

The Falco series is an acquired taste, and I’ve run into many mystery fans who don’t care for it. Personally, I love the gritty, noir-like style that Davis writes this series in, and I find Marcus Didius Falco to be a funny, admirable character — an occasionally foul-mouth tough guy, with a mushy heart of gold. I will definitely look forward to reading more in this 20-volume series! In our group discussion of the series, we learned that Davis varies the writing style in future volumes — they’re not all “noir” novels, some volumes in the series are legal thrillers, others are psychological suspense, and others are serial killer thrillers. But, The Silver Pigs is definitely a “noir” private eye novel set in Ancient Rome.

You can join Just Desserts for the March 2018 meeting TONIGHT, at South Branch Library (27th & South St.) at 6:30, when we'll be discussing Triple Crown by Felix Francis.

[ official The Silver Pigs page on the official Lindsey Davis web site ]

Check out the series handout from the Just Desserts meeting, chronicling the entire Marcus Didius Falco series, plus a follow-up series featuring his daughter.

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library

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Happy Death Day (on DVD)

Happy Death Day
[DVD Happy] 

Tree Gelbman is a college sorority girl forced to live her birthday over and over when she gets murdered and stuck in a time loop. With each new life she tries to figure out who her murderer is in order to make it stop. Along the way she meets Carter – over and over – and realizes that maybe she’s not the nicest person and begins to change her ways. So really it’s a “feel good horror movie.”

I waited patiently for this to come out on DVD and I wasn’t disappointed. There aren’t really any big name actors in it, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth a shot. I really enjoyed it. There were moments of comedy and lots of drama. Plus it’s a horror movie so get ready to be freaked out.

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try It (2017) – same creepy vibe, Scream – series of 4 movies, or Groundhog Day – living the same day over and over.] [ Internet Movie Database entry for this film ] | [ official Happy Death Day Facebook page ]

Recommended by Carrie R.
Bennett Martin Public Library

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William Gibson's Archangel

William Gibson’s Archangel
written by William Gibson and Michael St. John Smith, with art by Butch Guice, Alejandro Barrionuevo and Wagner Reis [741.5 Gib]

I’ve been a fan of William Gibson ever since reading his Hugo- and Nebula-award winning 1984 novel Neuromancer. When I saw that he had authored a graphic novel, I knew I had to give it a shot. William Gibson’s Archangel, co-written with Michael St. John Smith, and with art from Butch Guice, Alejandro Barrionuevo and Wagner Reis, is a fascinating amalgamation of science fiction, World War II adventure, time travel, alternate history, and dystopian fiction.

There are not just one, but rather several central characters, whose storylines all intersect and interweave. Naomi Givens is a WWII-era British intelligence officer, and U.S. soldier Captain Vine Matthews is her ex-lover. When an unexplained event occurs involving the crash of a U.S. bomber, they find themselves at odds, as Naomi tries to locate and interrogate a mysterious pilot who survived the plane crash. That unnamed pilot is the other central character — a soldier on a mission from the future, sent back in time to try to prevent his own future from happening — a future in which the U.S. made a pre-emptive strike against the Soviets at the end of World War II, which led to a dark, dystopian political tyranny in the United States. With the pilot, Naomi and Vince all ending up working together to try to stop a fellow time-traveler from enacting that dystopian future, the other side of the story is set _in_ that very future, with a gritty female military tech leading the rebellion against the corrupt government and trying to still lend assistance to her time-traveling pilot.
The story of this complex five-issue comic book was compelling, and much of the graphics was well done. Unfortunately, the quality of the art overall was quite mixed, even to the point of not being able to recognize some characters during fight and action sequences. I would have given this graphic novel a “9” overall, but the irregular quality of the art drops it to an overall “7” from me.

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try Neuromancer, or any of the other novels by William Gibson.]

[ publisher’s official Archangel web page ] | [ official William Gibson web site – Archangel not listed on this site ]

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library

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Spaceballs (on DVD)

Spaceballs
[DVD Spaceballs] 

I found this movie really funny, even though I’m sure I didn’t get all the in jokes, as I’ve only seen the original Star Wars movies once and this is a parody of them. The plot is basically a princess being forced into a marriage because a planet is running out of air, she runs away from her wedding, two buddies find her and hope her father will give them lots of money for her return. The planet running out of air hires Dark Helmet to get the princess back, so the two buddies are being chased by him. It’s a really goofy movie with spoken and unspoken jokes. I thought it was pretty funny and like action movies, sometimes the action or comedy in this case matters more than the story (which itself is overly absurd). It’s good if you want a comedy movie with some sci-fi in it, just like Spam-a-lot is good it you want comedy with some British folklore in it.

[ Internet Movie Database entry for this film ] | [ official Mel Brooks web site ]

Recommended by Kristen A.
Gere Branch Library

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Pashmina by Nidhi Chanani

Pashmina
by Nidhi Chanani [jPB (Series) Chanani]


This book caught my eye because it has a beautifully illustrated cover and I could tell right away that the main character is a young woman of color. I didn’t know it yet, but this book was going to be magical. Pri finds an old but still gorgeous pashmina of her mother’s, from her younger years in India. When she puts it on, she is transported to a dreamy India. When her mother won’t let her fly to India, she gets frustrated, and has to find out why. This book is a lovely coming-of-age story, although it is very short, as many graphic novels are, and therefore it will only leave you wanting more.

[ official Pashmini page on the official Nidhi Chanani web site ]

Recommended by Naomi S.
Eiseley Branch Library

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Coco (on DVD)

Coco
[j DVD Coco] 

Winner of the Academy Award (Oscar) for Best Animated Feature Film for films released in 2017. Also winner of the Best Song at the Academy Awards for “Remember Me”, by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez (previous winners for “Let It Go” from Frozen).

This charming 2017 animated film from Pixar, released by the Walt Disney company, is a celebration of the Mexican culture’s holiday “Dia de Los Muertos” (the Day of the Dead). A young boy (12-year-old Miguel) in a Mexican village wishes to pursue music as his life’s passion, but is forbidden from being involved with music by his elders, as a result of a heartbreaking story involving his Great-Great-Grandmother Coco, who was abandoned by a musician. Miguel is headstrong, and obsessed with a legendary Mexican troubadour and film star (Ernesto de la Cruz), and Miguel’s actions lead him to “borrow” de la Cruz’s guitar to perform in a talent competition. One thing leads to another and ultimately the “living” Miguel finds himself having crossed over the land of the dead. Miguel then needs the help of a charming but untrustworthy trickster spirit, as he navigates his way through the extensive community of passed-on souls who await The Day of the Dead each year for the chance to reunited with living loved ones. Miguel must earn his way back to the land of the living or be trapped among the dead forever…along the way he develops bonds with some of the passed-on spirits he encounters on the other side.

The music in this film was marvelous, the storytelling and the animation and character voice work were all top-notch. This was easily my favorite animated film in 2017, and overall was one of my 3 or 4 favorite films which I saw in a movie theater last year. I look forward to owning this one in my own collection, and highly recommend you check it out from the libraries if you haven’t had a chance to see it yet yourself!

[Various tie-in books associated with this film are also available in traditional print format.]

[ Internet Movie Database entry for this film ] | [ official Coco web site ]

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library

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The Hollow by Agatha Christie

The Hollow
by Agatha Christie

This mystery novel is also, in large part, a romance novel. It starts out with a man (John), his wife, his lover and his ex-wife, who all visit family and friends in a house in the countryside, which is called The Hollow. The romance is not limited to this circle, but others in this large group who are all staying the weekend at The Hollow together, or live there already. John is murdered during this getaway and several witnesses arrive at the scene to see his wife standing over the body with a gun in her hand, however it’s proved that the gun she was holding was not the one that fired the fatal shot. The mystery aspect, and Poirot’s role in the story does at that point balance out the romance plots till the end. Overall I didn’t really care for this one because of the multiple love stories tangled in with the mystery, but it would be perfect if you did enjoy both genres.

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try Lord Edgeware Died, by Agatha Christie.]

[ The Hollow page on the official Agatha Christie web site ]

Recommended by Kristen A.
Gere Branch Library

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The Shrinking Man by Richard Matheson

The Shrinking Man
by Richard Matheson [Hoopla eBook and eAudiobook] 

My local science fiction book club recently read this for a group discussion, and I really enjoyed it. This is one of the earliest novels by genre master Matheson, who established a lengthy reputation as a science fiction, fantasy and horror author. Other than for this novel, he’s probably best known as the author of I Am Legend (a post-apocalyptic vampire novel) and as the author of numerous acclaimed short stories, many of which were adapted into fan-favorite episodes of the original 1960s B&W Twilight Zone series, including “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet”.

In The Shrinking Man, adapted into the movie The Incredible Shrinking Man (which was the title used for several paperback reprints of the novel over the years as well), businessman Scott Carey discovers that he is shrinking 1/7th of an inch every single day. The novel is told in two intersecting timelines — the first is Carey’s struggles after he’s reduced in size to less than 1 inch in height, and is trapped in a locked basement cellar. The second is a series of scenes from the months leading up to that condition, as Carey’s continually shrinking height leads to changes in his relationship with his wife, his daughter, his employer (who happens to be his brother), and his sense of masculinity and identity. The novel is a mixture of social commentary and observation, and thrilling adventure. Originally published in the mid-1950s, the “social SF” elements of this story feel a bit dated. However, the action sequences, as the ultra-miniature Carey fights off a monstrously huge (to him) black widow spider with a sewing pin (which is the size of a knight’s lance to him), are pulse-pounding. This is a classic of the sci-fi genre, and I highly recommend it!

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try I Am Legend, Steel, Nightmare at 20,000 Feet, or any of the many short stories by Richard Matheson that were adapted into Twilight Zone episodes!]

[ U.S. publisher Macmillan’s official The Shrinking Man web page ] | [ Wikipedia page for Richard Matheson ]

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library

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Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis

Prince Caspian
by C.S. Lewis [j Lewis] 

All four children, Peter, Susan, Edmond and Lucy all return to Narnia about one Earth year after their adventure in the wardrobe. When they arrive on a beach with castle ruins nearby they realize that many years in Narnia have passed since they’ve been gone, as the castle ruins are that of their castle Cair Paravel, still with some of their belongings inside. Once they save a dwarf from drowning on the beach the story really gets going as the dwarf recalls the story of Prince Caspian’s escape from his home and uncle, the talking animals of Narnia who’ve gone into hiding, and Caspian’s quest to unite with them and take back the throne as King. In his battles to do so he called the old high kings and queens (Peter Susan, Edmond and Lucy) back with Susan’s horn to help him. Before they can aid him however they must find him.

This was a pretty good story, and it’s been interesting to see the various ways to get to Narnia in the stories so far, as I was only familiar before with the wardrobe. I’d say you could read this easily without reading the others in the series first (although preferably you’d have some inkling as to the plot of The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe). However this is the start of a string of books featuring Caspian, so I would read this before reading The Voyage of the Dawn Treader and The Silver Chair. It’s been rather satisfying reading the other tales of Narnia and discovering how wide the world is. Part of my drive to read them was to compare them to Tolkien’s works and so far it feels Lewis’s gentler for lack of a better word; his are not as action packed and develop at a slower pace but still have diverse characters, personal growth and moral themes. I would recommend it if you are looking for a cozy fantasy series (I’m not sure that’s actually a genre but it’s descriptive).

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try the entire Narnia series, by C.S. Lewis:

Publication Order:
1. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (1950)
2. Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia (1951)
3. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (1952)
4. The Silver Chair (1953)
5. The Horse and His Boy (1954)
6. The Magician’s Nephew (1955)
7. The Last Battle (1956)
Chronological Order:
1. The Magician’s Nephew
2. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
3. The Horse and His Boy*
4. Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia
5. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
6. The Silver Chair
7. The Last Battle
* Takes place within the time of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe]

[ official C.S. Lewis web site ]

Recommended by Kristen A.
Gere Branch Library

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The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf

The Story of Ferdinand
by Munro Leaf [jP Lea] 

Having recently seen and enjoyed the animated film Ferdinand, which was based on this children’s picture book, I wanted to revisit the source material.

This is a simple story, of a Spanish bull who is more interested in the sights and smells of butterflies and beautiful flowers than he is in the physical feats of daring-do that his fellow young bulls engage in, in order to impress the bullfighters enough to win their way into the bullfighting ring. The story by Munro Leaf, with art by Robert Lawson, is sweet, and comical. I hadn’t read it since I was a child myself, back in the late 1960s. And I remember both reading and listening to it as a thin floppy plastic record LP that accompanied my childhood copy of the book.

However, having just enjoyed the animated film version (2017) of the story, I can say that the filmmakers expanded the tale, adding many layers of depth to the storyline, including Ferdinand’s acquired knowledge of the ultimate fate of any bulls that make it into the bullfighting ring. Knowing these story elements, and then not seeing them reflected in the original story, makes we wish the picture book had touched on those elements too! None-the-less, The Story of Ferdinand is a charming little story, that hasn’t lost any of that charm despite it having been first published in 1936! I still strongly recommend it!

[ Penguin Random House’s official The Story of Ferdinand web site ] | [ Wikipedia page for Munro Leaf ]

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library

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Your Heart is a Muscle the Size of Your Fist by Sunil Yapa

Your Heart is a Muscle the Size of Your Fist
by Sunil Yapa

This bright cover contains an emotional slogan from the 1999 WTO protest in Seattle. This book follows a handful of characters, the main one being a young man who had run away from his cop stepfather in recent years, all of whose lives converge for a day at the protest. Told through alternating chapters, we find out each of their motivations for being at the trade meetings, on the job, on the streets, or with friends. By learning more about the humans behind such caricatures, it helps us understand how such a large event, built for the benefits of many, so quickly crumbled into a giant mess. This book contains violence. One reader might find the ending beautiful and poetic, another might find it incredibly heartbreaking. I hope you enjoy it.

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try How It Went Down, by Kekla Magoon, The Rock and the River, by Kekla Magoon or Nineteen Minutes, by Jodi Picoult]

[ Official website for both this book and author ]

Recommended by Naomi S.
Eiseley Branch Library

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The West Wing: Complete Third Season (on DVD)

The West Wing: Complete Third Season
[DVD West]

The third season of the West Wing starts with staff in a lock-down at the White House, with high school students who were touring it at the time, and ends with the president deciding if he should or should not assassinate a terrorist. Some character highlights include: President Jed Bartlet calling the Butterball Hotline on Thanksgiving, Sam being followed and interviewed by his reporter ex-fiance, Toby arguing with the team who were hired to get Bartlet re-elected, Leo dating his attorney, Josh becoming obsessed with a website that’s devoted to him, Donna finding out that due to a cartography error she was actually born in Canada, CJ learning the lyrics to “I’m Too Sexy” and singing them around the White House when the majority leader flubs a question on camera, and Charlie getting into a prank war with CJ after a copy of the President’s schedule goes missing. While there were a lot of funny moments throughout the season there was also a lot of tension because of the terrorist attack and also the staffers being subpoenaed and having to testify in court.

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try The American President, Veep, Madam Secretary or other political dramas.]

 

[ Internet Movie Database entry for this series ] | [ official The West Wing page on the NBC web site ]

Recommended by Carrie R.
Bennett Martin Public Library

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The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

This was a decent, fairly short story, written as a poem. It reminded me of The Old Man in the Sea by Hemingway, another novella that I didn’t care for. I don’t think I’d call it a fantasy but it does have unreal elements and characters. The story is told by the Ancient Mariner, who is recounting the tale to someone attending a wedding. He once was a sailor in the Antarctic and an albatross appeared and lead the ship to safety away from the ice. This mariner however had a crossbow, he shot down the albatross; the crew was mad at him, so he’s forced to wear the dead bird around his neck as a reminder. Sometime later, another ship comes into sight with Death and a woman (Life-in-Death) aboard; they are playing dice for the lives of the crew. Death wins the crew and the woman wins the Mariner. Eventually he gets home, but is un-dead and he has to live forevermore to recount his tale to others to make them wiser. Overall is was kind of weird to me, but made me think of other stories I’ve read that I liked better such as Beowulf, The Epic of Gilgamesh, and The Call of Cthulhu. This is out of copyright and is freely available online; I read it at the Poetry Foundation’s website but they did not have the images or side notes to summarize what was happening in each segment of the poem, like the hard copy does. If you are into reading old classics of literature and or poetry, this may be of interest.

[ Wikipedia page for The Rime of the Ancient Mariner including links to online versions of the story ] | [ Samuel Taylor Coleridge page at Brittanica.com ]

Recommended by Kristen A.
Gere Branch Library

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Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: The New Musical: Original Broadway Cast Recording (on CD)

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: The New Musical: Original Broadway Cast Recording
by Mark Shaiman & others [Compact Disc 782.14 Cha]

Based on the classic 1964 youth novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by British author Roald Dahl, and its 1971 film adaptation, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (which starred the late, great Gene Wilder), this staged musical Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: The New Musical played on London’s West End from 2013 to 2017. A re-worked stage version for American audiences was performed on Broadway from April 2017 to January 2018. This is the soundtrack to the American version, which starred actor Christian Borle as Willy Wonka, and Broadway legend John Rubinstein as Grandpa Joe.

Brilliant but eccentric “candy man” Willy Wonka realizes that he needs to find a replacement for himself as head of his chocolate factory — someone with a brilliant imagination but a good sense of humanity, who won’t screw up his legacy. He runs a contest, in which any child who finds a Golden Ticket hidden under the wrapper of one of his Wonka Bars will be invited into Wonka’s factory, with a chance at winning “the Grand Prize”. The five children who each find a Golden Ticket are Augustus Gloop, a glutinous slob, Veruca Salt, a Russian heiress with no self control, Violet Beauregarde, a self-obsessed media celebrity (who holds the record for longest continuously chewed wad of bubble gum), Mike Teavee, a TV-and-Internet obsessed loner, who hacked his way to a free Golden Ticket, and our hero, Charlie Bucket, an idealistic waif who idolizes both his Grandpa Joe and Wonka. The children (and their adult companions) get a tour of the Wonka factory they (and the audience) will never forget, and Wonka ultimately finds his worthwhile successor.

The stage musical makes effective use of several of the pieces of music that appeared in the Wilder film, including “The Candy Man”, “I’ve Got a Golden Ticket”, “Pure Imagination”, and the hauntingly creepy “Oompa Loompa Song”. But composer and lyricist Mark Shaiman and Scott Wittman also created numerous new songs for the show. There is poignancy, in “A Letter From Charlie Bucket” and “If Your Father Were Here”, there’s wacky comedy in “Strike That! Reverse That!” and a new longer version of the Ooompa Loompa song, and each of the primary “children” characters has both an introductory song, and a song that is tied to their eventual demise. Along with the fast-paced “Strike That! Reverse That!”, my favorite two tracks are also new: “It Must Be Believed to Be Seen” and “The View From Here” — both are hauntingly beautiful pieces of music, in the midst of an over-the-top candy-coated fantasy of a musical. Christian Borle (“Something Rotten”, “Peter and the Starcatcher” on Broadway, and “Smash” on TV) is absolutely magnificent as Willy Wonka in his performances on this album — I would have loved to have seen him in the role on stage. He channels Gene Wilder’s unforgettable film performance, while still managing to put his own stamp on it. A national touring company will be starting a U.S. tour of this stage musical in late 2018, however it looks like the closest it will come to Lincoln/Omaha is Minneapolis and Denver. So, in the meantime, enjoy listening to this soundtrack CD and keep your fingers crossed that the musical makes it to Lincoln or Omaha or Kansas City!

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try the film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, starring Gene Wilder. I recommend avoiding the 2005 version starring Johnny Depp.]

 

[ official Charlies and the Chocolate Factory musical web site ] | [ official Roald Dahl web site ]

 

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library

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The Best of Adam Sharp by Graeme Simsion (in audiobook format)

The Best of Adam Sharp
by Graeme Simsion [Compact Disc Simsion]

I really enjoyed Graeme Simsion’s previous two novels, The Rosie Project and The Rosie Effect, featuring brilliant but eccentric physicist Don Tillman and his girlfriend/wife Rosie, and their misadventures in love. I particularly enjoyed those two as audiobooks, with a perfect narrator, with his lovely Australian accent. So, when I saw that Simsion had a new (2017) title out, and that it was also available as an audiobook, I couldn’t wait to give it a listen.

Again, the perfect narrator was selected to read out this new novel, in the form of David Barker. The Best of Adam Sharp has a completely different tone from the two Rosie novels. It still has a lot of humor, but in place of Don Tillman’s high-functioning-autistic narrator, Adam Sharp has a laid back and more introspective personality. Adam is a computer database engineer, living in England with a woman who’s also in the computer field. They have a comfortable relationship, after years of trying (unsuccessfully) to have children, and he has a routine that suits him, including weekly trivia night at a local pub with his co-workers. But something is missing from his life — he used to be a piano player, and he’s given that up. Out of the blue, the “woman who got away”, Angelina Brown, from a relationship during the 6 months he spent in Australia in his twenties, e-mails him with “Hi!”. A harmless flirtation with Angelina on-line leads to Adam questioning everything about his life at the moment. And when the opportunity to potentially reconnect with the woman he’s never forgotten presents itself, despite her being married, he’s forced to confront several truths about himself.
The plot of this one is quirky, but it is filled with fascinating characters. Adam Sharp’s musical background creates an opportunity for author Simsion to pepper the entire novel with the equivalent of “background music” — songs Adam recalls from flashback sequences, songs Adam plays while working as a musician in a bar, songs played off of iPods, and songs heard on the radio in stores and taxis. Simsion provides an itemized list at the back of the book, identifying with versions of the songs, down to “studio” vs “live” recordings, to listen to in order to get into the book’s mood. The audiobook also features a short interview with Simsion on the final disc, in which he talks about the process of finding the perfect narrator for the audiobook version of The Best of Adam Sharp. I enjoyed this one immensely, although a few of the plot elements may prove to be too much for more prurient readers.

[ U.S. publisher’s official The Best of Adam Sharp web site ] | [ official Graeme Simsion web site ]

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library

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Fables 3: Storybook Love by Bill Willingham

Fables 3: Storybook Love by Bill Willingham

This is the third part of the Fables series that I’ve reviewed before and I highly suggest you read those before reading this one. The first story arc in this book is American Jack Tales: Bag of Bones, which is a rather short story. It’s set in the American South during the Civil War. Jack, who is one of the characters we usually see in the modern day story, was around in the South at this time and after winning a card game is given a bag to hold anything and everything, even Death himself. It’s pretty amusing but does contain nudity, so it’s not something for all readers. The next story in this book is Sharp Operation + Dirty Business, staring Briar Rose and Bigby (the Big Bad Wolf). It’s explained that Briar Rose’s condition still persists and that anytime she pricks her finger not only does she fall asleep but everyone in the same building does as well. This is a potential threat to FableTown’s security as they don’t want their identity known to the wider world. Here’s the problem, someone has, sort of, figured it out. I’ll let you read it and find out how they deal with this person. Storybook Love is the big story in this volume and begins when Snow White and Bigby are drugged. They wake up to find themselves in the middle of the wilderness, camping, with no recollection of how or why they are there. They have a suspicion that the unusual situation is hostile, not a friendly practical joke, and it turns out they are right. Bigby, who hides his wolf form in human skin most of the time, transforms into his true form to help them both escape. This series is so full of surprises that I don’t want to spoil the plot by saying any more. Barley Corn Brides is the last story in this volume and is pretty short. It’s about the smaller residents on Fable Farm and how they built up their colony from just a few men who made the initial journey into our world, to the small village they have now thanks to the same sort of seed which Thumbelina came from. I would highly recommend this book to you if you are into story book type fantasy, for adults. It’s very well written and illustrated. The characters develop a lot over the stories from volume to volume and little bits of their mysterious past in the Fablelands get revealed ever so slowly.

If you like this, there are paper copies, as well as all the rest of the series is on Hoopla. Please note is that these stories were published in the volumes reviewed here and as deluxe volumes, which are hardback and longer, so there are only 14 of them. The stories line up fairly evenly but sometimes the shorter ones get shuffled around a bit differently in the different volume lines. Originally they came out as comic books, not graphic novels, so you could go that route too if you wanted.

[ Wikipedia page for Fables ] | [ official Bill Willingham web site ]

Recommended by Kristen A.
Gere Branch Library

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The West Wing: Complete Second Season (on DVD)

The West Wing: Complete Second Season
[DVD West] 

The second season of the series starts off by finding out who got shot at the end of last season’s finale, and the season ends with a funeral of a beloved staff member. Some character highlights include the President being forced to tell the country about his health, CJ choosing which turkey is the most photogenic and therefore should be pardoned for Thanksgiving at the White House, Toby arguing about school prayer, Charlie trying to locate the perfect carving knife for the president, Josh dealing with his issues with the help of a psychiatrist, Leo defending the Missile Defense Shield, Sam helping his friend run for office with bad results, Donna being the only one worried about the satellite falling to earth and also in the second season we are introduced to Ainsley Hayes, a Republican reporter who shows Sam up on national TV and Leo then hires as Associate White House Counsel.
The drama and humor continue in the second season. The best episode is probably the Thanksgiving episode, but there are many good ones throughout the year. When the president is forced to explain his health it really changes the dynamic in the White House so there is a lot more drama added in-house between staff.

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try The American President, The Newsroom, Scandal, Madam Secretary or other political dramas.]

[ Internet Movie Database entry for this series ] | [ official The West Wing page on the NBC web site ]

Recommended by Carrie R.
Bennett Martin Public Library

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Anastasia (Original Broadway Cast Recording) (on CD)

Anastasia (Original Broadway Cast Recording)
music by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty

In 1997, Fox Animation and 20th Century Fox released an animated film entitled Anastasia, a fictionalized adventure about the legendary missing Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna from the Romanov family of Russia, who disappeared during the events of the Russian Revolution that overthrew the Russian monarchy and aristocracy, as the rest of her family was executed in 1918. The film, featuring the voices of Meg Ryan, John Cusack, Kelsey Grammer and Christopher Lloyd (among many others), was a musical and a spectacle, designed to compete with the animated films being produced on an almost annual basis by the Walt Disney Studio.

As a musical, the film featured 17 songs by lyricist Lynn Ahrens, including two highly memorable works, “Once Upon a December” and “Journey to the Past”. The story of the film supposes that Anastasia survived the deaths of the rest of her family, and has lived on the street as an amnesiac, Anya. She gets caught up in a con artist’s plot to have her impersonate the missing Anastasia to collect a potential reward from Anastasia’s grandmother if Anastasia was to return. An unlikely love story is wrapped around the discovery that Anya truly is Anastasia.

in 2017, the beloved animated film was adapted into a stage musical on Broadway, with Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty taking some of the songs from the film, and adding many more new musical numbers for the stage, including “In a Crowd of Thousands”. Some of the more fantastical elements of the film are rendered more realistic for the stage show — eliminating some mysticism and the popular animal character of Bartok the Bat — and the musical Anastasia becomes a true historical epic.

The CD of the soundtrack for the Broadway musical includes 25 tracks, ranging from powerful and emotional, to humorous and wistful. Christy Altomare plays Anya/Anastasia, and Derek Klema plays Dmitri. Both have excellent, beautiful voices and their songs are the most powerful on the album. I hope Anastasia has a long and healthy life as a Broadway hit, but I also hope it tours the U.S. and makes it to Lincoln and/or Omaha, as I would love to see this show!

[Sadly, the libraries do not own the animated film Anastasia, however we do have the soundtrack to that film available on CD!]

[ official Lynn Ahrens & Stephen Flaherty web site (creators of the music) ] | [ official Anastasia: The New Broadway Musical web site ]

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library

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The Misfit's Manifesto by Lidia Yuknavitch

The Misfit’s Manifesto
by Lidia Yuknavitch [302.14 Yuk] 

I picked up he Misfit’s Manifesto because I had read other books by Lidia Yuknavitch and had been really impressed with her unflinching look at topics that are usually unsavory. As I started the introduction on this one, I chastised myself for picking up YET ANOTHER book on being a misfit. Sometimes too many of one type of book in a row turns into a snooze-fest. Well, the author and the peers she relied on to describe various types of misfits are here to say that not everyone is a misfit just because they like to purposefully mismatch their clothes. There is an aspect to being a social misfit that has to do with the trauma we’ve been dealt, and how we manage and struggle through it. This is a wonderful book to help a person realize that it will be okay if the traditional hero’s path is not the one you take. We are doing the best we can, and there is beauty in our perseverance.

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try Hello, Cruel World: 101 Alternatives to Suicide for Teens, Freaks, and Other Outlaws, by Kate Bornstein.]

[ publisher’s official Misfit’s Manifesto web page] | [ official Lidia Yuknavitch web site ]

Recommended by Naomi S.
Eiseley and Williams Branch Libraries and the Bookmobile

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A Murder is Announced by Agatha Christie

A Murder is Announced
by Agatha Christie

This book is in the Miss Marple series, which does not need to be read in order, in my opinion. It is set in small town England when Miss Marple is visiting a friend. The story begins a bit before she arrives however with an announcement in the local newspaper that there will be a murder at a certain house at a certain time. Quite a few people turn up out of curiosity and under the impression it’s one of those mystery who-done-it parties. They are all startled however when a death does actually occur (the intruder to the house and outsider to the village), but it looks like the hostess was the intended victim so she is under constant peril and police watch for the length of the book. With no enemies and no clear motive for the attempt on her life, the inspectors are puzzled. Enter Miss Marple to clear a few points up, basically by politely spying on folks and eventually the mystery is solved, but not without a rather deep dig into the past of multiple characters. I really liked this one and it may be one of my favorites in the series because of all the complexities involved. If you enjoy mysteries with deeply developed characters and or historical ones, then you’ll most likely be captivated by this one.

[NOTE: At the time of its original release, this was Agatha Christie’s 50th novel, and received a great deal of publicity for that fact.]

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try A Caribbean Mystery, by Agatha Christie.]

[ A Murder is Announced page on the official Agatha Christie web site ]

Recommended by Kristen A.
Gere Branch Library

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