Get your calendars out and mark these events down in PEN!
Each Tuesday through May 15 @ 10am – Gentle Yoga with Marie
Blair
Saturday, April 28 @ 3pm – Cross stich Bookmarks, supplies
provided and no experience necessary
Friday, May 4 @ 6:30pm – All Ages Star Wars party: trivia,
Cantina band, costume contest, and more
Thursday, May 10 @ 6:30pm – UAB Neuroscience Café presents
the latest research on multiple sclerosis
Monday, May 14 @ 6:30pm – Community Conversation on Aging discussing
patient advocacy
Sunday, May 20 @ 3pm – Sign your family up for the Library’s
summer reading programs! Fun activities
all summer for adults, teens, and children! Carnival and Fun Run @ 3pm
Wednesday, May 23 @ 6:30pm – Art House Film Series presents “Purple
Noon”
Saturday-Monday, May 26-28 – The Library is closed in
observance of Memorial Day
Tuesday, May 29 – The Library begins Summer Hours (Mon, Wed,
Thu 9-6; Tue 9-9; Fri-Sat 9-5; closed Sundays)
Tuesday, May 29 @ 6:30pm – Genre Reading Group meets to
discuss graphic novels/comics
Thursday, May 31 @ 6:30pm – Lost & Found Book Club meets
to discuss Richard Hughes’ “A High Wind in Jamaica”
This week, the Genre Reading Group met to discuss books about
the TV and film industries!
You’re Never Weird on the Internet (Almost): A Memoir by
Felicia Day and Joss Whedon
The instant New York Times bestseller from “queen
of the geeks” Felicia Day, You’re Never Weird on the Internet (Almost) is a
“relentlessly funny and surprisingly inspirational” (Forbes.com) memoir about
her unusual upbringing, her rise to internet stardom, and embracing her
weirdness to find her place in the world.
When Felicia Day was a girl, all she wanted was to connect with other kids (desperately). Growing up in the Deep South, where she was “home-schooled for hippie reasons,” she looked online to find her tribe. The Internet was in its infancy and she became an early adopter at every stage of its growth—finding joy and unlikely friendships in the emerging digital world. Her relative isolation meant that she could pursue passions like gaming, calculus, and 1930’s detective novels without shame. Because she had no idea how “uncool” she really was.
But if it hadn’t been for her strange background—the awkwardness continued when she started college at sixteen, with Mom driving her to campus every day—she might never have had the naïve confidence to forge her own path. Like when she graduated as valedictorian with a math degree and then headed to Hollywood to pursue a career in acting despite having zero contacts. Or when she tired of being typecast as the crazy cat-lady secretary and decided to create her own web series before people in show business understood that online video could be more than just cats chasing laser pointers.
Felicia’s rags-to-riches rise to Internet fame launched her career as one of the most influential creators in new media. Ever candid, she opens up about the rough patches along the way, recounting battles with writer’s block, a full-blown gaming addiction, severe anxiety, and depression—and how she reinvented herself when overachieving became overwhelming.
Showcasing Felicia’s “engaging and often hilarious voice” (USA TODAY), You’re Never Weird on the Internet (Almost) is proof that everyone should celebrate what makes them different and be brave enough to share it with the world, because anything is possible now—even for a digital misfit.
When Felicia Day was a girl, all she wanted was to connect with other kids (desperately). Growing up in the Deep South, where she was “home-schooled for hippie reasons,” she looked online to find her tribe. The Internet was in its infancy and she became an early adopter at every stage of its growth—finding joy and unlikely friendships in the emerging digital world. Her relative isolation meant that she could pursue passions like gaming, calculus, and 1930’s detective novels without shame. Because she had no idea how “uncool” she really was.
But if it hadn’t been for her strange background—the awkwardness continued when she started college at sixteen, with Mom driving her to campus every day—she might never have had the naïve confidence to forge her own path. Like when she graduated as valedictorian with a math degree and then headed to Hollywood to pursue a career in acting despite having zero contacts. Or when she tired of being typecast as the crazy cat-lady secretary and decided to create her own web series before people in show business understood that online video could be more than just cats chasing laser pointers.
Felicia’s rags-to-riches rise to Internet fame launched her career as one of the most influential creators in new media. Ever candid, she opens up about the rough patches along the way, recounting battles with writer’s block, a full-blown gaming addiction, severe anxiety, and depression—and how she reinvented herself when overachieving became overwhelming.
Showcasing Felicia’s “engaging and often hilarious voice” (USA TODAY), You’re Never Weird on the Internet (Almost) is proof that everyone should celebrate what makes them different and be brave enough to share it with the world, because anything is possible now—even for a digital misfit.
The Hammer Vault: Treasures from the Archives of Hammer Films by Marcus Hearn
This remarkable journey through the Hammer vault includes
props, annotated script pages, unused poster artwork, production designs, rare
promotional material and private correspondence. Hundreds of rare and
previously unseen stills help to create a rich souvenir of Hammer’s legacy,
from the X certificate classics of the 1950s to the studio’s latest
productions. This new updated edition includes an extra chapter covering the
years 2010 to 2015.
The Power of Glamour: The Women Who Defined the Magic of Stardom by Annette Tapert
From Annette Tapert, the coauthor of the popular The
Power of Style, comes a book that is just as beautiful and entertaining but
that redefines an attribute even more intangible. In word and image, it evokes
a unique Hollywood era and eleven of its goddesses who lived, and left as their
legacy, the Power of Glamour.
When the Glamour Era met the Golden Age of cinema, it cast a spell on a public beaten by the Depression and the threat of war. But the key ingredient in 1930s glamour was personality. Annette Tapert's movie-queen profiles, rich with fresh insights, reach beyond the star-making machinery, fan magazines, fashions, and cosmetics to the essence of each women: the carefully molded image of Gloria Swanson, who started it all . . . Marlene Dietrich's siren persona on and off screen . . . the "reverse glamour" of Katharine Hepburn and Greta Garbo. Their power--and that of Joan Crawford, Carole Lombard, Norma Shearer, Claudette Colbert, and the long-neglected Kay Francis, Dolores Del Rio, and Constance Bennett--lay in using style, wit, and guile to outsmart the studio system and enchant the world. In these pages we see how, veiled in intrigue and mystery, they brought glamour very close to its original meaning: witchcraft.
When the Glamour Era met the Golden Age of cinema, it cast a spell on a public beaten by the Depression and the threat of war. But the key ingredient in 1930s glamour was personality. Annette Tapert's movie-queen profiles, rich with fresh insights, reach beyond the star-making machinery, fan magazines, fashions, and cosmetics to the essence of each women: the carefully molded image of Gloria Swanson, who started it all . . . Marlene Dietrich's siren persona on and off screen . . . the "reverse glamour" of Katharine Hepburn and Greta Garbo. Their power--and that of Joan Crawford, Carole Lombard, Norma Shearer, Claudette Colbert, and the long-neglected Kay Francis, Dolores Del Rio, and Constance Bennett--lay in using style, wit, and guile to outsmart the studio system and enchant the world. In these pages we see how, veiled in intrigue and mystery, they brought glamour very close to its original meaning: witchcraft.
The Munsters: A Trip Down Mockingbird Lane by Stephen Cox
If you recognize the famous Mockingbird Lane address, you
probably grew up in the 1960's and never missed a chance to see the Munsters.
Now, it's time to rediscover Herman and Lily, Grandpa, Eddie and Marilyn in
this entertaining, comprehensive look at the first family of fright. A complete
episode guide makes "The Munsters" the must-have companion to
watching the series on DVD, while hundreds of rare photographs from the
archives of Universal Studios plus interviews with cast and crew reveal the
deepest, darkest secrets of the Munster family. Foreword by Yvonne DeCarlo (who
played the wife, Lily Munster) and Afterword by Butch Patrick (who played the
son, Eddie Munster) are included.
Tim Burton: The Iconic Filmmaker and His Work by Ian Nathan
A celebration of the life and films of one of the most
popular and remarkable filmmakers of the last 30 years.
A truly international filmmaker, Tim Burton has carved a reputation as one of the world's greatest creative directors, famed for the visually arresting style of his films that combine with highly original storylines. This stunning treasury explores the influences on his development as a filmmaker and assesses how he has captured the fruits of his imagination on screen.
Illustrated with many behind-the-scenes photographs and stunning film stills, chapters analyze the success and style of films such as Beetlejuice, Ed Wood and Mars Attacks!, and examine how Burton breathed new life into well-known stories that include Batman, Planet of the Apes and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. as well as his latest films Alice Through the Looking Glass, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, and Beetlejuice 2.
Get to the know the man behind classic films such as Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Corpse Brideand Alice in Wonderland and learn more about the iconic filmmaker and his work. A must for any film buffs!
A truly international filmmaker, Tim Burton has carved a reputation as one of the world's greatest creative directors, famed for the visually arresting style of his films that combine with highly original storylines. This stunning treasury explores the influences on his development as a filmmaker and assesses how he has captured the fruits of his imagination on screen.
Illustrated with many behind-the-scenes photographs and stunning film stills, chapters analyze the success and style of films such as Beetlejuice, Ed Wood and Mars Attacks!, and examine how Burton breathed new life into well-known stories that include Batman, Planet of the Apes and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. as well as his latest films Alice Through the Looking Glass, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, and Beetlejuice 2.
Get to the know the man behind classic films such as Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Corpse Brideand Alice in Wonderland and learn more about the iconic filmmaker and his work. A must for any film buffs!
Dark Shadows by Harry M. Benshoff
While supernatural events have become fairly commonplace on
daytime television in recent decades, Dark Shadows, which aired on ABC between
1966 and 1971, pioneered this format when it blended the vampires, werewolves,
warlocks, and witches of fictional Collinsport, Maine, with standard soap opera
fare like alcoholism, jealousy, and tangled love. In this volume, author Harry
M. Benshoff examines Dark Shadows, both during its initial run and as an
enduring cult phenomenon, to prove that the show was an important precursor-or
even progenitor-of today's phenomenally popular gothic and fantasy media
franchises like Twilight, Harry Potter, and True Blood.
Benshoff demonstrates that viewers of all ages responded to
the haunted world of Dark Shadows, making unlikely stars out of the show's iconic
characters-reluctant vampire Barnabas Collins, playboy werewolf Quentin
Collins, vengeful witch Angelique DuVal, and vampire hunter Dr. Julia Hoffman.
Benshoff explores the cultural and industrial contexts of the mid-1960s that
gave rise to Dark Shadows and how the show adapted nineteenth-century gothic
novels and twentieth-century horror films into a televised serial format.
Benshoff also examines the unique aspects of the show's casting and performance
modes, its allure as a camp cult text, and the function of the show's many
secondary and tertiary texts-including novels, records, games, comic books, and
the two feature films, House of Dark Shadows (1970) and Night of Dark Shadows
(1971).
In the years since its cancellation, Dark Shadows' enduring
popularity has led to a prime-time NBC remake in the early 1990s, recent talk
of a Tim Burton and Johnny Depp feature film, and a popular ongoing fan
convention. Benshoff's timely study of Dark Shadows will appeal to fans of the
show and all film and television history scholars who are interested in the
roots of one of today's most popular genres.
The Dark Shadows Companion: 25th Anniversary Collection by
Kathryn Leigh Scott
(Not available in the JCLC system) The timeless magic of Dark Shadows continues years
after the first episode was presented on ABC - TV, June 27, 1966. The Dark
Shadows Companion is a special 25th anniversary celebration of the show
everyone "ran home from school to watch."
Rod Serlings’ Night Gallery: An After Hours Tour by Scott
Skelton and Jim Benson
When CBS cancelled Serling's series, The Twilight Zone,
Serling sought a similar concept in Night Gallery in the early 1970s as a new
forum for his brand of storytelling, a mosaic of classic horror and fantasy
tales. In this work, the authors explore the genesis of the series and provide
production detail and behind-the-scenes material. They offer critical
commentary and off-screen anecdotes for every episode, complete cast and credit
listings, and synopses of all 43 episodes. Also featured are interviews with
television personalities including Roddy McDowall, John Astin, Richard Kiley
and John Badham.
J.J. Abrams and Joss Whedon are two of the most imaginative
and accomplished men in Hollywood. As writers, directors, producers, and series
creators, their credits have straddled the mediums of television and film and
range across several genres, from science fiction and horror to action and
drama. In addition to spearheading original projects like Lost and Buffy
the Vampire Slayer, each has also made his mark on some of the most successful
franchises in popular culture—from Mission Impossible, Star Trek, and Star
Wars (Abrams) to Alien and the Avengers (Whedon).
Their output—both oddly similar and yet also wildly different—stand at the
heart of twenty-first century film and television.
In J.J. Abrams vs. Joss Whedon, Wendy Sterba compares the parallel careers in film and television of these creative masterminds—pitting one against the other in a light-hearted competition. With in-depth discussions of their works, the author seeks to determine who is the Spielberg (or perhaps the Lucas) of the twenty-first century. The author looks back upon the beginnings of both men’s careers—to Whedon’s stint as a writer on Roseanne to Abrams’ early scripts for films like Regarding Henry—and forward to their most recent blockbusters, Avengers: Age of Ultron and Star Wars: The Force Awakens. This books also looks at non-fantasy successes (Abrams series Felicity; Whedon’s adaptation of Much Ado about Nothing), as well as commercial failures. At the heart of this study, however, is a tour of their genre-defining hits: Alias and Buffy, Lost and Angel, Super 8 and Serenity along with Whedon’s Avengers films, and Abrams’ rebooted Star Trek adventures.
Filled with sharp-eyed analysis, illuminating anecdotes, and unexpected connections, J.J. Abrams vs. Joss Whedon will appeal to fans of either (or both!) of its subjects, and to any fan of well-told tales of the fantastic, on screens large or small.
In J.J. Abrams vs. Joss Whedon, Wendy Sterba compares the parallel careers in film and television of these creative masterminds—pitting one against the other in a light-hearted competition. With in-depth discussions of their works, the author seeks to determine who is the Spielberg (or perhaps the Lucas) of the twenty-first century. The author looks back upon the beginnings of both men’s careers—to Whedon’s stint as a writer on Roseanne to Abrams’ early scripts for films like Regarding Henry—and forward to their most recent blockbusters, Avengers: Age of Ultron and Star Wars: The Force Awakens. This books also looks at non-fantasy successes (Abrams series Felicity; Whedon’s adaptation of Much Ado about Nothing), as well as commercial failures. At the heart of this study, however, is a tour of their genre-defining hits: Alias and Buffy, Lost and Angel, Super 8 and Serenity along with Whedon’s Avengers films, and Abrams’ rebooted Star Trek adventures.
Filled with sharp-eyed analysis, illuminating anecdotes, and unexpected connections, J.J. Abrams vs. Joss Whedon will appeal to fans of either (or both!) of its subjects, and to any fan of well-told tales of the fantastic, on screens large or small.
I Loved Her in the Movies: Memories of Hollywood’s Legendary Actresses by Robert J. Wagner
In a career that has spanned more than sixty years Robert
Wagner has witnessed the twilight of the Golden Age of Hollywood and the rise
of television, becoming a beloved star in both media. During that time he
became acquainted, both professionally and socially, with the remarkable women
who were the greatest screen personalities of their day. I Loved Her in
the Movies is his intimate and revealing account of the charisma of these
women on film, why they became stars, and how their specific emotional and
dramatic chemistries affected the choices they made as actresses as well as the
choices they made as women.
Among Wagner’s subjects are Joan Crawford, Bette Davis, Marilyn Monroe, Gloria Swanson, Norma Shearer, Loretta Young, Joan Blondell, Irene Dunne, Rosalind Russell, Dorothy Lamour, Debra Paget, Jean Peters, Linda Darnell, Betty Hutton, Raquel Welch, Glenn Close, and the two actresses whom he ultimately married, Natalie Wood and Jill St. John. In addition to offering perceptive commentary on these women, Wagner also examines topics such as the strange alchemy of the camera—how it can transform the attractive into the stunning, and vice versa—and how the introduction of color brought a new erotic charge to movies, one that enabled these actresses to become aggressively sexual beings in a way that that black and white films had only hinted at.
Like Wagner’s two previous bestsellers, I Loved Her in the Movies is a privileged look behind the scenes at some of the most well-known women in show business as well as an insightful look at the sexual and romantic attraction that created their magic.
Among Wagner’s subjects are Joan Crawford, Bette Davis, Marilyn Monroe, Gloria Swanson, Norma Shearer, Loretta Young, Joan Blondell, Irene Dunne, Rosalind Russell, Dorothy Lamour, Debra Paget, Jean Peters, Linda Darnell, Betty Hutton, Raquel Welch, Glenn Close, and the two actresses whom he ultimately married, Natalie Wood and Jill St. John. In addition to offering perceptive commentary on these women, Wagner also examines topics such as the strange alchemy of the camera—how it can transform the attractive into the stunning, and vice versa—and how the introduction of color brought a new erotic charge to movies, one that enabled these actresses to become aggressively sexual beings in a way that that black and white films had only hinted at.
Like Wagner’s two previous bestsellers, I Loved Her in the Movies is a privileged look behind the scenes at some of the most well-known women in show business as well as an insightful look at the sexual and romantic attraction that created their magic.
Scandals of Classic Hollywood: Sex, Deviance, and Drama from the Golden Age of American Cinema by Anne Helen Petersen
Believe it or not, America's fascination with celebrity
culture was thriving well before the days of TMZ, Perez Hilton, Charlie Sheen's
breakdown and allegations against Woody Allen. And the stars of yesteryear?
They weren’t always the saints that we make them out to be. BuzzFeed columnist
Anne Helen Petersen is here to set the record straight with Scandals of
Classic Hollywood. Pulling little-known gems from the archives of film history,
Petersen reveals eyebrow-raising information, including:
• The smear campaign against the original It Girl, Clara Bow, started by her best friend
• The heartbreaking story of Montgomery Clift’s rapid rise to fame, the car accident that destroyed his face, and the “long suicide” that followed
• Fatty Arbuckle's descent from Hollywood royalty, fueled by allegations of a boozy orgy turned violent assault
• Why Mae West was arrested and jailed for "indecency charges"
• And much more
• The smear campaign against the original It Girl, Clara Bow, started by her best friend
• The heartbreaking story of Montgomery Clift’s rapid rise to fame, the car accident that destroyed his face, and the “long suicide” that followed
• Fatty Arbuckle's descent from Hollywood royalty, fueled by allegations of a boozy orgy turned violent assault
• Why Mae West was arrested and jailed for "indecency charges"
• And much more
Part biography, part cultural history, these stories cover the stuff that films
are made of: love, sex, drugs, illegitimate children, illicit affairs, and
botched cover-ups. But it's not all just tawdry gossip in the pages of this
book. The stories are all contextualized within the boundaries of film,
cultural, political, and gender history, making for a read that will inform as
it entertains. Based on Petersen's popular column on the Hairpin, but featuring
100% new content, Scandals of Classic Hollywood is sensationalism
made smart.
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