Month: October 2018
Books to Film: Novemer 2018
“The Nutcracker and the Mouse King” by E. T. A. Hoffmann
Movie: The Nutcracker and the Four Realms
When it comes out: November 2
What the book is about: The tale of Nutcracker, written by E.T.A. Hoffmann in 1816, has fascinated and inspired artists, composers, and audiences for almost two hundred years. It has retained its freshness because it appeals to the sense of wonder we all share. In this original version, a Marie worries about a beautiful nutcracker that’s been broken. At night, she goes to check up on it. To her surprise, it has come alive, and a story-within-the-story begins: armies of mice and toy soldiers battle in what is either the child’s delirious nightmare, or perhaps another reality into which she wanders.
“Marie Colvin’s Private War” (article featured in Vanity Fair Magazine) by Marie Brenner
Movie: A Private War
When it comes out: November 2
What the book is about: Marie Colvin dropped into the long, dark, dank tunnel that would lead her to the last reporting assignment of her life. It was the night of February 20, 2012. All Colvin could hear was the piercing sound made by the Free Syrian Army commander accompanying her and the photographer Paul Conroy: “Allahu Akbar. Allahu Akbar.” The singer was jubilant that the Sunday Times of London’s renowned war correspondent Marie Colvin was there. But his voice unnerved Colvin. “Paul, do something!” she demanded. “Make him stop!” All of her years in London had not subdued her American whiskey tone. Just as memorable was the cascade of laughter that always erupted when there seemed to be no way out. It was not heard that night as she and Conroy made their way back into a massacre being waged by the troops of President Bashar al-Assad near Syria’s western border.
Boy Erased by Garrard Conley
Movie: Boy Erased
When it comes out: November 2
What the book is about: The son of a Baptist pastor and deeply embedded in church life in small town Arkansas, as a young man Garrard Conley was terrified and conflicted about his sexuality. When Garrard was a nineteen-year-old college student, he was outed to his parents, and was forced to make a life-changing decision: either agree to attend a church-supported conversion therapy program that promised to “cure” him of homosexuality; or risk losing family, friends, and the God he had prayed to every day of his life. Through an institutionalized Twelve-Step Program heavy on Bible study, he was supposed to emerge heterosexual, ex-gay, cleansed of impure urges and stronger in his faith in God for his brush with sin. Instead, even when faced with a harrowing and brutal journey, Garrard found the strength and understanding to break out in search of his true self and forgiveness.
All the Truth Is Out by Matt Bai
Movie: The Front Runner
When it comes out: November 6
What the book is about: In 1987, Gary Hart-articulate, dashing, refreshingly progressive-seemed a shoo-in for the Democratic nomination for president and led George H. W. Bush comfortably in the polls. And then: rumors of marital infidelity, an indelible photo of Hart and a model snapped near a fatefully named yacht (Monkey Business), and it all came crashing down in a blaze of flashbulbs, the birth of 24-hour news cycles, tabloid speculation, and late-night farce. Matt Bai shows how the Hart affair marked a crucial turning point in the ethos of political media-and, by extension, politics itself-when candidates’ “character” began to draw more fixation than their political experience.
Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
Movie: Bel Canto
When it comes out: November 6
What the book is about: In an unnamed South American country, a world-renowned soprano sings at a birthday party in honor of a visiting Japanese industrial titan. Alas, in the opening sequence, a ragtag band of 18 terrorists enters the vice-presidential mansion through the air conditioning ducts. Their quarry is the president, who has unfortunately stayed home to watch a favorite soap opera. And thus, from the beginning, things go awry. Among the hostages are Russian, Italian, and French diplomatic types. Swiss Red Cross negotiator oachim Messner comes and goes, wrangling over terms and demands. Days stretch into weeks, the weeks into months. Joined by no common language except music, the 58 international hostages and their captors forge unexpected bonds. Time stands still, priorities rearrange themselves. Ultimately, of course, something has to give.
How the Grinch Stole Christmas! by Dr. Seuss
Movie: The Grinch
When it comes out: November 9
What the book is about: For 53 years, the Grinch has lived in a cave on the side of a mountain, looming above the Whos in Whoville. The noisy holiday preparations and infernal singing of the happy little citizens below annoy him to no end. The Grinch decides this frivolous merriment must stop. His “wonderful, awful” idea is to don a Santa outfit, strap heavy antlers on his poor, quivering dog Max, construct a makeshift sleigh, head down to Whoville, and strip the chafingly cheerful Whos of their Yuletide glee once and for all.
The Girl in the Spider’s Web by David Lagercrantz
Movie: The Girl in the Spider’s Web
When it comes out: November 9
What the book is about: She is the girl with the dragon tattoo—a genius hacker and uncompromising misfit. He is a crusading journalist whose championing of the truth often brings him to the brink of prosecution. Late one night, Blomkvist receives a phone call from a source claiming to have information vital to the United States. The source has been in contact with a young female superhacker—a hacker resembling someone Blomkvist knows all too well. The implications are staggering. Blomkvist, in desperate need of a scoop for Millennium, turns to Salander for help. She, as usual, has her own agenda. The secret they are both chasing is at the center of a tangled web of spies, cybercriminals, and governments around the world, and someone is prepared to kill to protect it . . .
The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters
Movie: The Little Stranger
When it comes out: November 27
What the book is about: One postwar summer in his home of rural Warwickshire, Dr. Faraday, the son of a maid who has built a life of quiet respectability as a country physician, is called to a patient at lonely Hundreds Hall. Home to the Ayres family for over two centuries, the Georgian house, once impressive and handsome, is now in decline, its masonry crumbling, its gardens choked with weeds, the clock in its stable yard permanently fixed at twenty to nine. Its owners—mother, son, and daughter—are struggling to keep pace with a changing society, as well as with conflicts of their own. But are the Ayreses haunted by something more sinister than a dying way of life? Little does Dr. Faraday know how closely, and how terrifyingly, their story is about to become intimately entwined with his.
If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin
Movie: If Beale Street Could Talk
When it comes out: November 30
What the book is about: In this honest and stunning novel, James Baldwin has given America a moving story of love in the face of injustice. Told through the eyes of Tish, a nineteen-year-old girl, in love with Fonny, a young sculptor who is the father of her child, Baldwin’s story mixes the sweet and the sad. Tish and Fonny have pledged to get married, but Fonny is falsely accused of a terrible crime and imprisoned. Their families set out to clear his name, and as they face an uncertain future, the young lovers experience a kaleidoscope of emotions-affection, despair, and hope. In a love story that evokes the blues, where passion and sadness are inevitably intertwined, Baldwin has created two characters so alive and profoundly realized that they are unforgettably ingrained in the American psyche.
Tour the Putnam’s Literary Heroines Exhibit
No knowledge of history or literature required, but you’ll definitely want to wear comfortable shoes.
We get by with a little help from our friends
Friends of Libraries groups have their very own national week of celebration!
United for Libraries will coordinate the 13th annual National Friends of Libraries Week Oct. 21-27, 2018.
We just wanted to take a moment to thank the Friends of the Moline Public Library. Their volunteer-run book store and fundraisers provide invaluable supplemental funding for the library and its programs. Their time and effort have translated to hundreds of thousands of dollars that the library was able to use to give back to the community.
If you want to support the Friends and the Moline Public Library stop by during National Friends of Libraries Week and check out their Silent Auction and Raffle that’s happening in the lobby.
And while your at it you might as well vote while your here!
November is coming!
Break out your favorite writing pens or (far more likely at this point) laptop and prepare for…
Too excited to wait until November?
Us too!
Vote early at the Moline Public Library starting Monday, October 22!
Voting hours are 11am to 7pm, Monday through Friday.
Get cool stuff and support the library at the same time!
It’s a win-win!
Want an island getaway?
It’s free, easy to get to and all you have to do is register ahead of time at the library. And wear walking shoes (and layers – it’s October, who knows what the weather will do).
Come learn about the trendiest fashions…
from over 100 years ago!
In conjunction with the Putnam Museum’s Literary Heroine exhibit, we present…
Calling all knitters!
And Crocheters too!
Moline Library Adult Services 