It's a new flavor of the month time again

I can’t help but say “cue the Indiana Jones theme” when talking about June’s flavor of the month—Adventure! (the exclamation point is necessary). Although there is often a fine line between thrillers and adventures—both share the fast-paced action-packed read, when I picture Adventures! I picture tropical scenes and people running around a lot. I picture very cinematic moments because I think Adventures! often translate well into movies (Jurassic Park, James Bond, Jaws, The Da Vanci Code—unless you disagree that that last one translated well). Actually I think The DaVinci Code is an excellent example of an Adventure!. I couldn’t put it down. Brown ended each chapter in a cliff-hanger that made me keep reading. Plus there was a lot of running around, and even though it didn’t take place in a lush jungle, the setting was no less important. Brown made the most of the setting to the point where it became three dimensional. If you haven’t read it yet, I recommend reading an illustrated edition, or having DaVinci’s works close by because it makes the reading so much more fulfilling. As always, make sure to check out our display in the front of the library at Main and the Reader’s Wall for more great ideas.

Well now I have the Indiana Jones theme in my head.

Guest Blogger: David N

Patience pays off…The Loyal 47 Ronin (Chushingura)

The library just added this DVD to our collection. One of Japan’s most familiar stories, the Chushingura is based on actual events and has been the subject of approximately 200 film versions dating back to 1907. The story, in brief, is as follows:
In 1701, Japan’s ruling Shogun placed the young and morally upright Lord Asana in charge of a ceremonial reception of envoys from the Imperial Court in Kyoto.
To perform his duties, Lord Asano needs the help of Kira, the Shogun's Grand Master of Ceremonies. Kira is greedy and corrupt, and won’t help Lord Asano without being bribed.
Asano refuses to pay. Kira berates him mercilessly, humiliating him in public and finally goading Asano into drawing his sword in the palace – a capitol offense.
Asana is sentenced to commit seppuku, leaving his family and samurai retainers dishonored, while Kira walks away unpunished.
Asano’s retainers, led by Chamberlain Oishi, resolve to avenge their lord's death and restore honor to his house, biding their time until the opportunity presents itself. After two years of patience and secrecy, the 47 samurai who have remained faithful to their lord finally spring into action.
What makes this such a compelling story? Several reasons spring to mind. Its characters endure the unbearable, the disdain of their families and society, for years before achieving their goal. Also, their revenge is not based on personal grievance but is an expression of loyalty to a higher cause.

If the notions of fortitude and self sacrifice bear any attraction, you’ll find this film’s 166 minutes pass quickly by.

Check it out!

Behold, I bring you Pride and Prejudice and Zombies!

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith
It’s Friday! We all need a little more fun! A few more exclamation points thrown into our sentences! And a book about regency England! And zombies! The cover alone is enough to entice you to read the book, is it not? No?! Well then let me quote to you from the first paragraph:
"It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains. Never was this truth more plain than during the recent attacks at Netherfield Park, in which a household of eighteen was slaughtered and consumed by a horde of the living dead."

Oh come on. It’s funny! And there are illustrations! Elizabeth Bennet kicking major zombie butt! I can’t think of a more delightful premise. I was lucky enough to score an advanced reader’s copy, then realized the book has been out for a month now. But we are getting it in soon—promise! But for now just enjoy the fact that there is enough creativity in the world for someone to come up with this idea for a book. Way to go, Mr. Grahame-Smith! You just gave me one more thing to giggle about.

"The Classic Regency Romance - Now with Ultraviolent Zombie Mayhem!"

Psst! The Glass Castle is great--pass it on!

The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls
The memoir trend has been going on a while now, propagated in part by Walls’ riveting account of her childhood. She draws each character so richly, from her bi-polar mother to her alcoholic but brilliant father. There is one scene in which her sister gets glasses for the first time. She begins to cry when she realizes she had never actually seen individual leaves on trees before because her vision was so bad. This anecdote was mentioned in a "Grey’s Anatomy" episode, but it wasn’t cited as being from The Glass Castle, and that kind of bothered me. Walls does a superb job of opening up her life to the reader and facing the pains of her childhood. And of course she realizes that she wouldn’t be the strong able woman she is today without the learning experiences of her youth. This book is definitely worth the hype—engrossing, moving, and unforgettable.

What? The Grass Cable smells bad? That's not what I said!

Guest Blogger: Sarah O.

Zatoichi, the Blind Swordsman who Captured My Heart

Ok, so Zatoichi is not the best looking guy in the world. So what if he lost his sight and can’t see me? It’s what’s inside that matters anyway, right? His other senses are finely tuned; he gives a mean massage; he is a killing machine. What’s not to love?

Zatoichi is a fascinating and entertaining Japanese series featuring a swordsman, who was stripped of his title of samurai because he is now blind. This character is played delightfully well by Shinsaro Katsu. So, what does a man do when he can no longer make a living protecting the rulers of the realm? Become a masseur, of course. He plays this role to perfection – it allows him into the lives and homes of royalty, rogues, and geishas. It allows him to fight crime and injustice, since no one expects a disabled man to be the hero. Yet he is.

Zatoichi is kind of like America’s classic comic book heroes; compare him to the George Reeves Superman of the 1950’s. Zatoichi is both human and superhuman. In this respect, he is mystical – why can he defeat scores of samurais and criminals that have perfect sight and similar training? He wears a disguise, much like Clark Kent and Peter Parker, by acting ordinary, if not feeble. He plays up the fact that he walks bow-legged and with a cane (concealing his sword). He is abused by society, but yet he fights for the goodness of that society, and succeeds in the end. He lives like a pauper, but makes money from dice games and from giving the occasional massage. He seems to be quite good at it too.

There are 27 movies in all, and Mentor Public Library has five of them: New Tale of Zatoichi, Zatoichi on the Road, Zatoichi the Fugitive, The Tale of Zatoichi and The Tale of Zatoichi Continues. The series started in 1962 and ended in 1973. Zatoichi enjoyed television fame during this time, too. The success of the character is evident. He is endearing and universal. He is sympathetic and reliable.

The influence of these movies runs deep. Fans of Kung Fu will enjoy Zatoichi’s travelling lifestyle and sense of justice the movies impart. Fans of Kill Bill should also take notice. Quentin Tarantino might never have imagined this movie if not for these types of movies. Tarantino appears totally fresh because the fight scenes are so stylized, but Zatoichi is gritty; his moves look possible. Back in those days, flying through the air and jumping four stories up (with no running start) was only imagined in the written word. Zatoichi also does not have the amount of crazy thick spurting blood that Kill Bill does, which might come as welcome relief for some. The destruction Zatoichi leaves in his wake though, is as impressive as Kiddo’s, and he does it blindly.

This all being said…is it a wonder that he captured my heart? And the best thing about Zatoichi? My dad finally approves – he’s the one who introduced us.

If you like these movies, please let us know at: askalibrarian@mentorpl.org or 440-255-8811 ext. 216 – we’ll buy more!

Classic Romance: A Farewell to Arms

Ernest Hemingway is my highbrow favorite. You know, if someone asks what your favorite book is, you can either go the mainstream route and tell him Stephen King’s The Stand, or you can realize that the situation calls for a little more pomp and class and say A Farewell to Arms. Both good, but for entirely different reasons. I love Hemingway’s writing, the simplicity but richness of the story. I like that it’s so straightforward and yet has the possibility to drown you in its depths. I like that it is a romance that relies on classical literary themes but doesn’t feel hokey. There’s love and war and lots of drinking and manly situations, but Henry still finds himself defenseless at the end, walking home alone in the rain. It’s a perfect story to get lost in because it’s just so Hemingway, and if you don’t know what I’m talking about you’ll need to read it to find out.

More book groups to keep you entertained!

Our book discussion groups are still going strong here at the library. The first ever “Book and Brush Club” will be meeting on May 14 at 7 pm to discuss Lydia Cassatt Reading the Morning Paper by Harriet Chessman. On May 19 the Book Discussion Group for men will be discussing Manhunt: The Twelve Day Chase for Lincoln’s Killer, by James Swanson. The Profilers mystery book discussion will talk about City of Fire by Robert Ellis. You can also join me for a book discussion of The Boys of Summer by Roger Kahn on June 8 at 6:30. Sarah O (of foreign movie guest blogger fame) and I will also be hosting an adult story time on May 16 at 10 am. It’s called “Books with Breakfast.” We will be reading poetry and stories, and also a scene from Doubt, which should be fun. Oh, and of course, there will be breakfast, which is always nice. So stop on by for one or more of these great programs we have lined up, they should be fun and enlightening and enjoyable and entertaining.

Word of the day: Bildungsromans

I am reading a delightful book. It’s called The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet by Reif Larsen, and I am thoroughly enjoying it. As I was looking at the record in our catalog, I noticed it had a subject heading of “Bildungsromans.” I had never heard of this word before. I had no idea what it could even mean, so I looked it up (oh wiki, what don’t you know?). Basically it’s a coming of age book where the young protagonist goes on a journey and learns about himself. I love bildungsromans. I love the word. I love that Microsoft Word does not acknowledge it as a word, and yet it is a Dewey Decimal subject heading. In my delighted state, I decided to fill up my Mentor’s Reader book display with bildungsromans. A whole display devoted to bildungsromans—imagine!! And, enjoy.

To Mothers

I think it was my dad who motivated me to read by pushing the Chronicles of Narnia on me as soon as I could read a sentence. But it was my mom who gave me my creativity and inevitably my writing talent. My mom, who made me dress up as a mailbox for Halloween in first grade when all I wanted to be was a princess (true story). My mom who is constantly reminding me of my desire to write by giving me ideas for stories. She taught me that I didn’t have to be the same as everyone else, that I could be myself and that’s the best way to be. I have become a strong person rooted in the appreciation of literature and the value of believing in myself. Thanks Mom. Happy Mother’s Day.

Classic Parable: Animal Farm

Animal Farm by George Orwell
This book has to be on my short list. Unlike Lord of the Flies where I can’t quite handle the abuse (not quite strong enough a word) done to Piggy and therefore don’t like the book, the disturbing scenes in Animal Farm add up to just the right amount of violence, so I can’t look away yet I know I will be affected forever. Orwell succeeds at drawing out the deception, bit by bit, like a snake through grass, until all the reader can do is watch the impending doom. Yes it’s done with talking animals, but that’s where his power lies. Orwell lulls you into a state of detachment until he is ready to make his final blow. And what a doozy of a last scene, I must have read it a dozen times, even if I haven’t read the book that much. It’s so cinematic; the dizzying effect of looking around and around the table of pigs and men and realizing you can’t tell the difference. Brilliant.

Judge for yourself.

Classic War Fiction (or is it Sci-Fi?): Slaughterhouse Five

I love Kurt Vonnegut. I find his writing delightful in its quirkiness, and I love a man who can pull off a big fluffy mustache. Vonnegut blurs the lines of reality and fiction by not just writing about true events, but then juxtaposing them with the most absurd until you have to question—or believe—everything. In Slaughterhouse-Five, like in his other works, Vonnegut creates a character out of the narrator. We tend to ignore that voice telling us the story, or at least adopt it as only a voice telling us the story, but Vonnegut doesn’t let us off that easy. Sure the narrator in the beginning of the book could be perceived as Vonnegut himself, but it’s really not, just as we all create voices for ourselves to tell our stories (or at least we all would if we were all writers); we detach ourselves so that the story can be told. And what a story. I don’t remember learning much about the bombing of Dresden in school (thanks wiki ), but it was horrific and violent and if you saw it you might very well suffer psychological damage. Which is exactly what happened to Vonnegut’s protagonist, Billy Pilgrim, in Slaughterhouse-Five. Maybe. Either that or he really was captured by alien beings who held him in their zoo to study him. Either way, Billy Pilgrim must constantly deal with his life. We just have to decide: is he dealing with constantly time traveling to different parts of the universe and his life, or is he dealing with the psychological damage caused by seeing such violence by creating worlds and situations in his mind? Either way, the book is marvelous and a classic in my most humble opinion. Plus it has one of the longest title pages ever, and so I will conclude with that:
“Slaughterhouse-Five; Or, The Children’s Crusade: A Duty Dance with Death
By Kurt Vonnegut, A fourth-generation German-American now living in easy circumstances on Cape Cod (And smoking too much), who, as an American infantry scout hors de combat, as a prisoner of war, witnessed the fire-bombing of Dresden, Germany, “The Florence of the Elbe,” a long time ago, and survived to tell the tale. This is a novel somewhat in the telegraphic schizophrenic manner of tales of the planet Tralfamadore, where the flying saucers come from. Peace.”

Visit Tralfamadore

Guest Blogger: Sarah O.

Wanted: Bekmambetov

Timur Bekmambetov. That’s a lot of name. Don’t ask me to pronounce it, but more of us might have to learn. Why? You might not have heard of the movies Night Watch and Day Watch, but then this might place you in the minority in comparison to the rest of the world. These two movies took Russia by storm and enjoyed limited release in the United States. In fact, Night Watch became the highest grossing movie of all time in Russia, beating out all our American imports. What could be so good to engross such a large population? Well, if you saw last year’s Wanted with Angelina Jolie, you might have some idea why.

To tell the truth, I did not realize these movies were connected through Bekmambetov. Something clicked in the back of my mind when I saw the man’s face fragmented through shards of glass (see above). This somehow seemed familiar to me, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. What added to my suspicions is that one of the characters in Wanted, the Exterminator, is played by Konstantin Khabensky, who plays the hero (Anton Gorodetsky) in the Watch series. For once, I eagerly awaited the credits while the movie was still playing to find out if my detection skills were as keen as I thought, (I was watching it with someone else & thought it might be rude to interrupt the movie for something so trivial) so I waited patiently. With this much evidence and Bekmambetov’s signature style, the answer should’ve been obvious.

To tell the truth, Wanted does not have the best story line. Some of the lowlights include: the “Loom of Fate” that chooses who the next target will be, assassins that came to be out of a secret society of medieval weavers, and a feeble romance between Jolie and James McAvoy. McAvoy is known from the movies The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and Atonement, both of which I highly recommend if you have not seen them yet. Despite these flaws, they seem minor compared with all the action on the screen. The story almost melts into the background because your eyes are too busy trying to process all the information on the screen. Again, this is a great choice for those of you with HDTVs. Some of the staging Bekmambetov comes up with would have been a fantasy just a few years ago. If you’re looking for something new and similar to Wanted, give his record-breaking Russian works a try.

Got to Watch

The Watch series was first imagined by Russian author Sergei Lukyanenko, and was written as a trilogy, which so many series often are. Three seems to be the perfect number between too much and too little. I can’t say that I’ve read the books, but the movies make me want to. I think Night Watch does a decent job of getting the viewer up-to-date on the battle between the forces of good and evil. Only, in this series, the line is not so clearly drawn. Good and evil work together in order to keep a delicate balance in the world. One cannot survive without the other, and therein lays the crux of the struggle between the two sides and is the conflict in the series.

Night Watch has been described as horror, science fiction and fantasy. Why not all three? I wasn’t trying to categorize these movies as I watched them; I was merely enjoying them for all the sinfully visual reasons to. Actors shape shift from human to animal on-screen and cars have the ability to drive on buildings. The effects are certainly reminiscent of The Matrix in the characters’ travels through a middle dimension, but this looks cleaner, more polished.

Day Watch furthers the story along, and develops the characters further. The plot even thickens. Think of the Star Wars trilogy (from the 1970’s) and Lord of the Rings trilogy. The second movie is most often the darkest, and most often the best one, since it ends in a cliffhanger, and you can’t see how the hero(s) will get out of the jam they got themselves into. Day Watch is much the same way, only I thought that was the end. I recently found out the third, and last movie is in the works and will be entitled Dusk Watch or Twilight Watch, depending on which country you live in. I eagerly anticipate this, but in the meantime, content yourself with these two selections. I guarantee you will want more.

MPL's dropping the A-Bomb of genres

Not that I’m bragging or anything, but May’s Flavor of the Month is going to blow your mind. Are you ready? We’re bringing out the big guns here at Mentor. Here it is: Classics. Boom. When has anyone in your life asked you to read a Classic? Never? I know. It’s ingenious. All kidding aside though, we just had to give a month to all the great books that paved the way for so many other great books. And we know that a lot of them get read in school, and others are just too daunting to pick up for pleasure, so that’s why none of those books you are imagining are going to be on display or mentioned on the Reader’s Wall. Nope. Only high class original classics that you’ve never read before and will find completely amazing made the cut, I promise. So come on, you have nothing to lose, except maybe that awkward moment in the middle of an elegant dinner party when someone asks what you feel about To Kill a Mockingbird, and you have to look into your cocktail and quietly remark that you never actually read Harper Lee’s classic. Shame shame.