Friday, June 29, 2012

Reduced Shakespeare

Reduced Shakespeare by Reed Martin and Austin Tichenor.
Adult Nonfiction – Upper Level – 822.33 M

I’ve had Shakespeare on my Official List of Favorite Authors for years now, and only just realized that while I have a handful of Shakespeare plays that I love and have read and watched over and over again, there are many, many more that I haven’t read. I’m too tired these days to put out the effort that reading or watching Shakespeare demands, especially if I don’t know ahead of time that I’m getting into one of the good ones. The Reduced Shakespeare Company to the rescue! Like their show (which I loved on DVD), this is short and funny, as well as alarmingly accurate. This book covers all the bases in just 244 pages – Shakespeare’s biography (what’s known and the vast amounts that aren’t), the plays, poetry, authorship controversy, industry and films. I was most interested in their analysis of the plays and film adaptations, but I learned a lot about the authorship controversies that I’ve always been too skeptical to pay attention to before. For each play they include the title, date published, class (history, tragedy, comedy), setting, source, best known for, major characters, plot, one-sentence plot encapsulations, moral, famous quotes, best & worst features, a rating in bard heads, an interesting fact, and an essay question. Here are a few even more abridged examples:
Cymbeline
Best known for: Not being very well known. Two bard heads.
Hamlet
One-sentence plot encapsulation: Hamlet avenges his father, and it only takes four hours. Best feature: In all likelihood, this is the best play ever written. Five bard heads.
Henry IV
Essay questions: Does the sequel Henry IV, Part 2 have more in common with Godfather II or Rocky II? Why?

Because they are comedians, all of the reviews are so funny that I found myself laughing out loud and reading bits out loud to whatever hapless colleagues happened to be in the break room with me while I was reading it. The reviews for the less popular plays are probably even funnier than the ones for the good ones. Still, the bard head ratings could come in handy if you were trying to decide whether or not it would be worth hiring a babysitter to go see whatever Shakespeare play happened to be coming by locally, or even just reading through the text.

The reviews for the films also are very funny and include the bard head ratings as well as notes on how faithful to the play they are and whether or not they work as movies. They are organized by the original play, with straight-up adaptations (hint: the movie has the same name as the play) followed by films inspired by the play, like West Side Story and 10 Things I Hate About You, which they like better than any of the straight-up film adaptations of the Taming of the Shrew. Hilariously, they include the 2001 Charlie’s Angels as a Lear adaptation. There are also critiques and yet more funny making-of-the-film bits from classic and modern Shakespeare films. Now I need to check the book out again to make a list of all their favorites that I haven’t seen to add to my too-watch list. The biggest shortcoming with the book is its publication date – 2005 – which means they’ve not covered the many film adaptations and spin-offs that have come out since then. Update, please! In general, though, whether you’re a fan of the Bard or just need a little cultural literacy, this book is an entertaining way to learn more, and points the way to further (alas, more serious) learning if you want it.


Sunday, June 24, 2012

Because of Winn-Dixie



Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
Youth Cd Books - Lower Level - DiCamillo


Because of Winn-Dixie is a story about the true love that exists between a human being and their animal. It is an absolutely touching tale that will withstand the test of time.

Ten-year-old India Opal Buloni lives with her father who is known as "The Preacher" since he is a minister. They have just moved to the small town of Naomi, Florida. Young Opal is afraid and scared to be in a new town. Moreover, she has a profound sadness in her heart because her mother abandoned her and her father seven years earlier. However, one day Opal meets her absolute best friend at the local grocery store, a stray dog that she names Winn-Dixie. Once Opal has Winn-Dixie, the sadness of her life starts to fade. For instance, she begins to make new friends including: Miss Franny Block, Gloria Dump, Sweetie Pie Thomas, and Otis. She also learns some life lessons about not judging a book by its cover, letting grudges go, and finding joy in life in spite of sadness.

Because of Winn-Dixie was awarded the Newbery Honor in 2001, and it is not hard to see why. The novel portrays universal themes of love, forgiveness, and friendship and is beautifully written. The characters are richly drawn and well-developed including the hero of the story, Winn-Dixie. Smiling Winn-Dixie is such a precious dog, and all dog lovers will understand the blessings he presents to everyone within his path.

On a side note, I listened to the book on Cd. The narrator, Cherry Jones, did a WONDERFUL job creating all of the different characters. She used different voices so believably that the story truly came to life. I highly recommend this book to all ages!


Monday, June 18, 2012

The Curse of Chalion

The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold. Read by Lloyd James.
Adult Science Fiction – Main Level – BUJOLD
Eaudio book, mp3 and WMA formats.

Lord Cazaril was once a castle-warder and a military captain. Now he is homeless and broken from brutal treatment on a Roknarri slave ship. He’s walked across Chalion on foot to get to the Provincara of the country estate where he was a page in his youth. He’s hoping for a place in the kitchens; instead, he is assigned to tutor the Royina Iselle, sister to the heir of Chalion, and her companion Betriz. Iselle is full of sixteen years of innocent passion and belief in justice, of the type that causes her to publicly expose a judge for suspected fraud. After a few months of trying to teach the girls diplomacy and caution along with the languages and geography of the surrounding countries, Iselle and her brother Tadez are both summoned to court. The king, their older half-brother, is weak and ill and wants them to become familiar with courtly living. Unfortunately, returning to court for Cazaril also means facing the very men that Cazaril knows deliberately betrayed him to the galleys, now the king’s trusted advisers and the most powerful men in Chalion. Cazaril’s loyalty is tested to the utmost, as he becomes literally bound up with the curse that he learns is on all of the royal family of Chalion. He asks for the help of the Gods, and the Gods make it clear that they wish to work their will through him – if only he can figure out what their will is in time to save Iselle and Tadez. I found it impossible not to hope for Cazaril not only that he would find his way through his dilemmas, but also that he could find a way to hope for a future for himself beyond his duty.

Despite being a book filled with bad things happening to good people, the story isn’t depressing. There’s love and beauty and plenty of humor. Politics are part of the driving force of the plot, but there are only a handful of major players to consider, so it doesn’t get confusing. The book is filled with interesting characters, including Royina Ista, Iselle and Tadez’s mother, and the Roknarri divine of the Bastard (see below) who works, oddly, as the head groom in Roya Orico’s private menagerie. The gods are major players as well, allowing the plot some literal Deus Ex Machina moments. I suppose I can think of a handful of other fantasy novels where religion and theology play such a major role, but I really enjoy Chalion’s unique religion, somewhat similar to earthly paganism, with the buildings, bureaucracy and culture of earth’s major religions. Chalion and a few of the neighboring countries are Quintarian. The five gods are the Mother, the Father, the Son and Daughter (each assigned to a season of the year, sexes, and stages of life), and the Bastard, who watches over bastards, people of non-mainstream sexuality and events out of season. The Daughter of Spring, Iselle’s patron, and the Bastard are the most featured in this book. Several other neighboring countries are Quadrenes, who do not hold the Bastard to be a god. Naturally, both sides hold the other to be heretics, and it echoes into politics as people who are natural followers of the Bastard flee from Quadrene countries to Quintarian. Though I’m condensing it here, the theology comes up naturally through the story as it is lived. The whole world is set up just as well, without long expository sections. Lloyd James has just the right voice to pull off the battle-weary Lord Cazaril, if the voices of the two girls sound just a little young for young women who are definitely taking charge of their own destinies. This is top-notch fantasy, with something for everyone. Bujold may be better known for her science-fiction Vorkosigan saga, but this and her other Chalion books show her to be a master of the fantasy genre as well.

Other Chalion books:
Paladin of Souls
Adult Science Fiction - Main Level - BUJOLD
Also on eaudio.

The Hallowed Hunt
Adult Science Fiction - Main Level - BUJOLD
Also on eaudio.



Thursday, June 7, 2012

Guardian


Guardian by Julius Lester
Teen Zone Fiction-Main Level - Lester


Here's a small (119 pages) book by the award-winning Julius Lester. If you have not read anything by him, I encourage you to give him a try! Fair warning, though: his books are gritty and unapologetic. This is powerful stuff. Parents are encouraged to read before or with their mature teens! There is difficult language, implied (though not graphic) sexual situations, and violence.

This is the story of two boys in a small town in Mississippi in 1946. One (Ansel) is white, the son of a general store owner. The other (Willie) is black, the son of a handyman. The town of Davis is named for the Davis family, and Zeph Davis III terrorizes everyone in it. He is mean, nasty, and as racist as they come. When Willie’s father witnesses Zeph committing a horrible crime, he is afraid that he will be blamed for it – which he is. He is lynched, even though everyone in town knows that Zeph is to blame. They are afraid to publicly blame the young, rich white teenager.

The adult nature of this story is actually appropriate for its time and place, and makes the impact that it is meant to make. It is not easy to read, but the message resonates. This is historical fiction that evokes serious emotions, and which is so important that we never forget.

Friday, June 1, 2012

Campaigns



Campaigns: A Century of Presidential Races by Alan Brinkley and Ted Widmer
Adult Non-Fiction-Upper Level 324.973 N



The presidential campaigning season is upon us. As the country becomes bombarded with political ads and nonstop debate on how important certain issues or states will be in this election, Americans need a reminder of how political campaigning in our democracy has both changed during the last one hundred years yet oddly stayed very much the same. Alan Brinkley and Ted Widmer’s Campaigns: A Century of Presidential Races examines the varies contests for the White House from years 1900 to 2000. While the authors do analyze the elections and issues of each era, this book is very much a visual guide as well. The New York Times has supplied over 350 election photographs along with 75 photos of campaign memorabilia. Political junkies and history nuts will find much to enjoy here.

Campaigns is striking in illustrating the changes that took place in America over these hundred years but also shows how many election strategies never change. Do you think that only modern politicians try to emphasize how just like the common man they can be by working low paying jobs for a day? Warren Harding pulled a publicity stunt by becoming a printer for a day at his Ohio newspaper in 1920. Have the political pundits or candidates convinced you yet that our current election is the most important in history and a literal apocalypse might occur if votes do not go their way? This bombast is nothing new as Teddy Roosevelt proclaimed, “We stand at Armageddon and we battle for the Lord” in 1912. The inventions of radio and television would clearly dramatically alter the nature of political campaigns and would usher in the modern campaigning structure and tactics all Americans love to hate. Campaigners could now spread their messages to millions more Americans. Appearance and image became vital as Nixon would discover by losing a television debate to the youthful and more confident looking Kennedy in 1960. Overall, Campaigns shows the paradoxical nature some Americans have with politics. We love democracy but seem to be perpetually frustrated with politicians in general just as people were a hundred years ago. The more things change the more they stay the same.