Plymouth Staff Choices

Killer of Sheep: The Charles Burnett Collection by Charles Burnett
Dvd Collection-Main Level - DRAMA KIL

Killer of Sheep takes place in the Watts district of Los Angeles during the 1970s. Stan is a husband and father working long hours at a slaughterhouse while trying to keep up with the work at home. Although there is not much of a plot, the film is filled with sad and interesting situations that are all centered on the difficult lives of these people. “I come from a working-class environment and I wanted to express what the realities were. People were trying to get jobs, and once they found jobs they were fully concerned with keeping them. And they were confronted with other problems, with serious problems at home for example, which made things much more difficult,” Charles Burnett said about making this film.

Charles Burnett wrote, directed, shot and edited this film for his final thesis at UCLA in 1978. The film did not get a theatrical release until 2007 because of licensing issues with the music. For this reason, Killer of Sheep has been relatively unknown to most of the public. Even though it received the Critic’s award at the 1981 Berlin Film Festival, won the 1991 Independent Spirit Awards for Best Director and Best Screenplay, was selected in the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry in 1990, and in 2002 was selected as one of the National Society of Film Critics’ 100 Essential Films of all time.

If you enjoy the Italian neo-realist aesthetic (think Federico Fellini and Roberto Rossellini) or just appreciate a good film, then give Killer of Sheep a try.

I Was Told There’d Be Cake: Essays by Sloane Crosley
Adult Nonfiction – Upper Level – 814.6 C

This book of essays by Sloane Crosley, who is a book publicist, is a great read. She writes about her life and the awkward situations she manages to get herself into in New York City after college. For example, one of the longer essays is about how her childhood best friend, who she has not seen or spoken to since high school, suddenly asks Crosley to be her maid of honor. Or there is the fact that Crosley has a collection of plastic toy ponies that she embarrassingly keeps hidden in a kitchen drawer, worrying about what her family will think of her if she dies and they find them. Some of Crosley’s essays are about her childhood memories, such as playing Oregon Trail, attending summer camp, and hiding family members’ toothbrushes when she was angry. Overall, Crosley’s essays are very funny and fans of David Sedaris and similar authors will enjoy her book.

Alone by Lisa Gardner
Adult Fiction Shelves Main Level- GARDNER

When Catherine Gagnon was twelve years old she was kidnapped, tortured and held in an underground pit for 28 days until hunters found her purely by accident. Now 25 years later she faces new hardships and tragedy. Her husband Jimmy, beloved son of a Federal Judge, was shot and killed by a sniper. Police were called to the Gagnon residence because Jimmy was holding his wife and son at gunpoint. Bobby Dodge is the sniper that pulled the trigger. Little did he know that action would change the course of his career and ultimately his life. Bobby was convinced that he followed protocol and did everything by the book when it came to the shooting of Jimmy Gagnon. Now his life is falling apart, the judge is personally going after Bobby for murdering his son saying that Bobby and Catherine were in on the murder together. Meanwhile the man who was convicted of kidnapping Catherine is out on parole and starts stalking Catherine. Was the shooting of Jimmy Gagnon justified? Who is behind all the strange occurrences? If you enjoy this book check out the others in the D.D. Warren series.

Hide by Lisa Gardner Adult Mysteries Main Level- GARDNER

The Neighbor by Lisa Gardner Adult Fiction Shelves Main Level- GARDNER

Live to Tell by Lisa Gardner Adult New Book Display Main Level- MYSTERY GARDNER

Sky Masters by Dale Brown
Adult Fiction – Main Level – BROWN

Brown is a popular and fairly prolific author in the action-adventure category. As a former U.S. Air Force Captain, he brings his inside knowledge of the action and technology of the Air Force into his books. In this book, a conflict over a small island between China and the Philippines brings the U.S. Air Force into play with new, secret and super-powerful planes and miniature, nearly invisible satellites. The technology is described in detail, and the action moves rapidly from one locale to another with cinematic precision. Those who love tales of military action with a focus on the plot and the machines will blast through this and come back for more.

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin. Read by Janet Song
Youth CD Books – Lower Level - LIN

Once upon a time in China, there was a village on Fruitless Mountain where everything was brown with dust and nothing grew. In that village, the only thing with color is Minli, a girl whose hair is glossy black and whose cheeks are pink. Although she works just as hard in the rice fields as anyone else, her joy is listening to the tales of magic that her Da tells her every evening, even though her mother is convinced that they are a waste of time. One day, a goldfish seller comes into town. This sets off a chain of events that leads to Minli going on a journey to find the Old Man of the Moon, who has the Book of Fortune, so that Minli can ask him how to bring life to Fruitless Mountain. On the way, she meets a dragon who wants to ask the Old Man of the Moon why he can’t fly. The main narrative is woven through with other stories, those that Da tells or that Minli hears along the way. At first, they seem to be just another poetic detail in an already lyrical story, but as Minli’s journey goes on, she meets more and more characters from the stories, all of them interconnected in ways that the original stories didn’t hint at. This was a Newbury Honor book, and I’m not sure how I missed it when it first came out last year. Janet Song’s resonant voice conveys the story beautifully. I listened to it in the car with my son and had to force myself switch to my own book after dropping him off. Though he might enjoy this more when he's a bit older than five, I'd recommend this now to fans of Donna Jo Napoli.

Blind Submission by Debra Ginsberg

Adult Fiction - Main Level – GINSBERG

Angel Robinson is a voracious reader. Her new job at the Lucy Fiamma Literary Agency allows her to read many of the submissions coming in. As it turns out, Angel has a knack for editing and picking the next big bestseller, too. One particular manuscript catches Angel's attention: Blind Submission. It is set in a literary agency, which peaks her interest immediately. The author wishes to remain anonymous, so Angel plays along. She edits each chapter submitted, then emails it back to Anonymous. The story starts to become more and more familiar, more coincidental; more like Angel's own life. She can't figure out if Anonymous is her boyfriend, who is angry that Angel won't use her new position to help him get published, or a new author they signed who seems a bit infatuated with her.

This is a light, easy read that is fun to watch unfold. Who is writing Blind Submission? What will happen when the murder chapter, promised by the author, is submitted? Of course, Lucy Fiamma herself is a difficult person to work for, in a "Devil Wears Prada" sort of way. This is a great weekend or vacation read!

Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key by Jack Gantos
Youth Cd Books - Lower Level - GANTOS

Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key by Jack Gantos is the first book in a series of four books about delightfully hyper Joey Pigza. The other books are:
Joey Pigza Loses Control, What Would Joey Do?, and I Am Not Joey Pigza.

Joey's parents are divorced, and when he was quite young his mother left him with his ornery grandmother to look for Joey's alcoholic father, Carter Pigza. Thus, for a few years of his life, Joey is raised by his grandma (his father's mother). Joey's grandma is mean and grouchy and is unable to help Joey with his own problematic behavior which is a result of his ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder).

As a result, when Joey's mom returns one day, Joey is kind of a mess. He is on "dud meds" and has caused many problems at school. Poor Joey means well, but he gets so curious and energized that he often makes poor decisions. Eventually, there is an accident at school, and Joey is sent to a special education center.

While at the center, Joey is given thorough attention and learns some positive tools to use in order to be successful in life. Most importantly, with the help of new medication, Joey learns he isn't "bad" or "crazy." He's just a bit different.

Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key is interesting and well told. It is a great book to read for all those curious about what it is like to have ADHD. Also, the audio version which is read by Jack Gantos is extremely entertaining. Mr. Gantos really knows Joey and brings the story to complete life. I love this series and would highly recommend it to anyone!

The Big Short By Michael Lewis
New Adult Nonfiction 330.973 L

Michael Lewis, author of The Blind Side, Moneyball, and Liar’s Poker revisits the topic that began his writing career, Wall Street. In The Big Short Lewis explores the collapse of the U.S. financial system in 2008 from the viewpoint of those who saw it coming and profited from it. Lewis does an excellent job at detailing the technical aspect of the financial systems woes that revolved around the creation of exotic financial instruments that consisted of bonds created from home mortgages. Those who saw this collapse coming for years included a lawyer turned financial analyst, an Asperger’s stricken neurologist turned money manager with one glass eye, and an obnoxious Deutsche Bank bond trader. Their various interactions with large U.S. and European banks make for great reading as both sides think they are getting over on the other. In the end, the biggest losers turn out to be the bondholders, stockholders, homeowners, and taxpayers stuck with the bill from these outrageous gambles. This is an excellent addition to the growing literature on our country’s financial system collapse.

Super Mario Galaxy 2
Youth Video Games-Lower Level – VG SUP

Princess Peach is kidnapped and it is up to Mario to rescue her in Super Mario Galaxy 2. The space based fun continues from Super Mario Galaxy (2007). There are all new galaxies and a new feature of special power up abilities when teamed up with Yoshi. There is Cloud Mario, where Mario can create clouds to jump on. There is Rock Mario, where Mario can turn into a boulder and roll around to break objects. Drill Mario lets you drill through objects. As an added bonus there is Yoshi who can gobble up enemies. There are some stages of the game where you can play as Luigi as well. The goal of the game is to collect stars from planet to planet. To unlock harder levels with more challenges you will need to collect Comet Metals. Super Mario Galaxy 2 improved on all the greatness and fun that Super Mario Galaxy offered.

Roast Figs Sugar Snow: Winter Food to Warm the Soul by Mitchell Beazley

Cooking Collection - Upper Level – 641.5 H

My husband likes figs. That's an understatement. He loves figs, and has asked repeatedly to plant a fig tree in our yard. I like figs as much as the next person, but other than eating dried figs out of the bag, I'm not sure what to do with them. When I saw this cookbook, I had to investigate.

What a treat! This book is filled with some of the most beautiful, delicious-looking food photography I've ever seen! One can enjoy just poring over the pictures in this book, whether you like figs or not. Not every recipe has a photo, but those scattered throughout the book are gorgeous.

Some of the recipes...ok, if I'm being honest, many of the recipes are not things I would cook at home. I'm a pretty adventurous eater, and would not hesitate to order most of them in a restaurant, but "Salad of Smoked Duck with Farro, Red Chicory, and Pomegranates" and "Smoked Eel with Poppy Seed Cakes and Apple and Beet Relish" are just not going to come out of my kitchen. "Roast Figs, Shallots, and Chestnuts with Gorgonzola Polenta" just might. "Roast Figs and Plums in Vodka with Cardamom Cream" might, too.

This is more than just a cookbook. It includes descriptions and short essays that are really interesting and describe various ingredients and techniques, as well as food culture and history. I found this a fascinating book to browse through and soak up little tidbits here and there througout. You don't have to be a foodie to get into this one, but what a treat for those interested in food and interesting ingredients!