The Concert for Bangladesh directed by George Harrison
Year of release 2005, Running time 99 minutes, Not Rated
a favorite of Rashmi's, Adult and Teen Services
In the 1970's, it was uncommon for musicians to provide a benefit concert for humanitarian causes. However, when Ravi Shankar alerted his friend and ex-Beatle, George Harrison, about a mass of refugees flooding into India from Bangladesh (formerly East Pakistan), who were devastated by war, floods, and famine, the plan to provide benefit concert was conceived. The result was the Concert for Bangladesh organized by George Harrison on August 1, 1971 at Madison Square Garden, New York City. The first disc starts out with a joint performance by Ravi Shankar (sitar), Ali Akbar Khan (sarod), and Alla Rakha Khan (tabla). In addition to George Harrison, the other performers were: Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Billy Preston, Leon Russell, and Ringo Starr. George Harrison entertained his audience with several songs from his hit solo album titled All Things Must Pass. My favorite songs from this DVD are: Bangla Desh, Here Comes the Sun, It Don't Come Easy, My Sweet Lord, While My Guitar Gently Weeps, and Wah Wah. The second disc contains bonus materials such as new interviews with the participants from the 1971 concert, plus multiple unreleased performances. It's worth mentioning that the Beatles had already broken up before the Concert for Bangladesh. This concert raised $250,000 from ticket sales and made people around the world aware of the UNICEF. 3/8/2010
 

Dusted to Death by Barbara Colley
a favorite of Trish's, Adult and Teen Services
In the latest of her Charlotte LaRue mystery series, the author has Charlotte find another dead body, solve the murder before the police, and fight off the murderer. But there is a new twist, a romance with an old friend and the realization that the police actually do respect her and her problem solving ability. 3/1/2010
 

Rashomon Gate by I.J. Parker
a favorite of Irene B.'s, Adult and Teen Services
This delightful mystery takes place in Heian Kyo (modern Kyoto), the capital city of eleventh century Japan. Born into a noble family whose fortunes have diminished, Akitada Sugawara has to toil in the Ministry of Justice. When his old mentor, law professor Hirata, asks him to look into a blackmailer at the university and subsequent murder of a despicable professor, Akitada jumps at the chance to escape the drudgery of his job. Hirata would also like to have his daughter Tamako marry Akitada who already is madly in love with her. She rejects his proposal and Akitada is devastated. There is also the murder of a young girl and the death of a young nobleman's grandather that have to be solved. With the help of his young, roguish servant Tora and his resourceful retainer, Seimei, Akitada solves these heinous crimes. Notes at the end of the book attest to the historical accuracy of this mystery. 2/22/2010
 

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
a favorite of Rashmi's, Adult and Teen Services
Water for Elephants, the New York Times best-selling novel, starts out depicting Jacob Jankowski, a 90-something man who lives in a nursing home and hates his life there. In a flashback, readers find out that Jacob, a veterinary student at Cornell, discovers that his parents have been killed in a car accident. Purposeless and distressed, he climbs aboard a train that was carrying the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. Eventually, he is hired by the circus to care for the show's menagerie. The setting is the early part of the Great Depression. He falls in love with the star performer, Marlena, an equestrienne. However, Marlena's husband August, the animal trainer, is not only jealous but also very cruel. Jacob has a lot of passion and sympathy for Rosie, an elephant who is mistreated by ruthless August. Jacob carries a secret which he never revealed to a "single sole or his wife." Readers will keep turning the pages to find out what the secret was. The author has mastered circus jargon and culture: grifters, roustabouts, cooch tent, rubes, First of May, what the band plays when there's trouble. Also, black-and-white photographs of real American circus scenes incorporated in the novel evoke a powerful nostalgia about the circus world. 2/22/2010
 

Amazing Baby by Desmond Morris
a favorite of Alan's, Adult and Teen Services
The first two years of life as explained by the renowned human behavior scholar and author of The Naked Ape. Gorgeous photographs accompany readably scientific explanations of speech, muscle, mood, playing, and several other developmental areas. Highly recommended. 2/22/2010
 

No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy, audiobook narrated by Tom Stechschulte
a favorite of Irene B.'s, Adult and Teen Services
While driving to Michigan for a vacation, I listened to this book. McCarthy's prose is so melodious that it should be read out loud. This narration was really an unforgettable experience. Vietnam vet Llewelyn Moss is hunting near the Texas/Mexico border when he comes across trucks with dead men and dogs, heroin, and more than two million dollars in cash. He takes the cash. Big mistake. Moss is now hunted by the drug cartel and psychopath Anton Chigurh. Chigurh is evil personified and McCarthy calls him "a prophet of destruction." Bodies begin to pile up at a blistering pace. Local lawman Sheriff Bell tries to get to Moss before he and his wife are butchered. Bell and his cronies reflect on the "old days" when this kind of carnage did not exist. Narrator Stechschulte did a superb job using different voices for each character. His rendition of Chigurh made my skin crawl. I wanted to keep on driving until the story was finished. 2/15/2010
 

Don't Look Back - an Inspector Sejer Mystery by Karin Fossum
a favorite of Irene B.'s, Adult and Teen Services
How can you not like Inspector Sejer. He has over 500 CDs of only women singers such as Edith Piaf. He has one of those huge, sorrowful looking Leonberger dogs and he believes in a Higher Power. In an idyllic Norwegian village, the naked body of teenage Annie is found by a lake at the top of Kollen Mountain. Annie was a sports star, intelligent, beautiful, and loved by everyone in the village. She was the favorite babysitter of all of the young children. How could anyone commit such a dreadful crime? Beneath the perfect façade of village life, Sejer is able to uncover lies, rage, and brutality. In this fifth novel in the Sejer series, Fossum has mastered the fine art of psychological suspense. She also brings out in this very well-written novel
the insularity and claustrophobic feeling of this Norwegian village. 2/1/2010

 

Then We Came to the End by Joshua Ferris
a favorite of Rashmi's, Adult and Teen Services
Set in Chicago, the story is centered on a Chicago advertising agency's remaining employees. In 2001, many of the employees of this fictitious firm get laid off because of a business downturn. The copywriters and designers are asked to create a pro-bono campaign ad that would make a breast cancer patient laugh. Jim Jacker calls his librarian mom, dad, and his uncle to get some ideas for this project. The readers get to know Lynn Mason, the supervisor, quite well. She drives 90 miles per hour on Lake Shore Drive because things were not working out with her boyfriend. She reflects on her past and thinks that if things had turned out differently, she would have been living in Oak Park. "In Oak Park everyone is happy. No one dies in Oak Park." So, there is a flattering image of Oak Park. Just as in any office setting, in this firm too, everyone is happy whenever there is free food in the staff lounge. The office coordinator finds out that someone took a chair from a former employee's cubicle and confronts one of the employees about it. The employees' morale is low, so that they take frequent coffee breaks. Some parts of this book are painfully funny, yet other segments are heartbreaking. In this book on CD, Deanna Hurst, the narrator, does a superb job of bringing all the characters to life with her great voice and intonation. This debut novel won a Penn/Hemingway Award and was a National Book Award finalist. 2/1/2010

 

Happy-Go-Lucky directed by Mike Leigh
Year of release 2008, Running time 119 minutes, Rated R
a favorite of Alan's, Adult and Teen Services
Proves that Leigh, the British director known for dour social realism, doesn't have to depress to impress. This portrait of the truly happy Poppy doesn't skimp on depth or meaning, showing that a film can truly have it all. 2/1/2010