romance

 

Register for upcoming programs:

Writing workshops:
Thu Mar 12 5:30-7pm: https://www.oneallibrary.org/event/15672103
Tue Mar 24 5:30-7pm: https://www.oneallibrary.org/event/15672130

Crafterday open crafting social:
Sat Mar 14 10am-2pm: https://www.oneallibrary.org/event/14685161

Medicare Made Clear:
Sat Mar 14 10:30am-12:30pm: https://www.oneallibrary.org/event/15403048

Puzzle Piece Mosaics:
Thu Mar 19 6-8pm: https://www.oneallibrary.org/event/15764038

Alabama Symphony ticket vouchers:
Fri Mar 20 Coffee Concert 11am-noon: https://www.oneallibrary.org/event/14817030
Fri Mar 20 full concert 7-9pm: https://www.oneallibrary.org/event/14817031
Sat Mar 21 full concert 7-9pm: https://www.oneallibrary.org/event/14817032

Jigsaw Puzzle Competition:
Wed Mar 25 6-8pm: https://www.oneallibrary.org/event/15766310

 

The next Books & Beyond (BAB) discussion group meeting is Tuesday, March 31st at 6:30pm and the topics we’ll be chatting about are sports & athletics. Read, watch, and/or listen to anything within the selected topic, and come tell us about it: https://www.oneallibrary.org/event/14436792

This month, BAB chatted about all things romance.

The Elopement by Gill Hornby

Mary Dorothea Knatchbull is living under the sole charge of her widowed father, but when he marries Miss Fanny Knight of Godmersham Park, Mary’s life is suddenly changed. Her new stepmother comes from a large, happy and sociable family and Fanny’s sisters become Mary’s first friends. Her aunt, Miss Cassandra Austen, is especially kind. Her brothers are not only amusing, but handsome and charming. As Mary Dorothea starts to bloom into a beautiful young woman, she forms an special bond with one Mr. Knight in particular. Soon, they are deeply in love and determined to marry. Each is from a good family and has known the other for some years. It promises to be the most perfect match. Who would want to stand in their way?

Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternack

First published in Italy in 1957 amid international controversy, Doctor Zhivago is the story of the life and loves of a poet/physician during the turmoil of the Russian Revolution. Taking his family from Moscow to what he hopes will be shelter in the Ural Mountains, Zhivago finds himself instead embroiled in the battle between the Whites and the Reds. Set against this backdrop of cruelty and strife is Zhivago's love for the tender and beautiful Lara, the very embodiment of the pain and chaos of those cataclysmic times. 

Doctor Zhivago (1965, 3h17m, PG-13)

During the Russian Revolution, Yuri Zhivago (Omar Sharif) is a young doctor who has been raised by his aunt and uncle following his father's suicide. Yuri falls in love with beautiful Lara Guishar (Julie Christie), who has been having an affair with her mother's lover, Victor Komarovsky (Rod Steiger), an unscrupulous businessman. Yuri, however, ends up marrying his cousin, Tonya (Geraldine Chaplin). But when he and Lara meet again years later, the spark of love reignites.

Pride by Ibi Zoboi

A smart, funny, gorgeous retelling of Pride and Prejudice. Zuri Benitez has pride. Brooklyn pride, family pride, and pride in her Afro-Latino roots. But pride might not be enough to save her rapidly gentrifying neighborhood from becoming unrecognizable. When the wealthy Darcy family moves in across the street, Zuri wants nothing to do with their two teenage sons, even as her older sister, Janae, starts to fall for the charming Ainsley. She especially can’t stand the judgmental and arrogant Darius. Yet as Zuri and Darius are forced to find common ground, their initial dislike shifts into an unexpected understanding.

Fate by Pamela Leigh Starr (This title is not available in the JCLC)

Desperately trying to deny her attraction to Scott Halloway, Vanessa Lewis wonders if she can cast aside their racial differences and embrace the promise of love.

Blood Orange by Karina Halle (sequel is Black Rose)

From New York Times bestselling author Karina Halle comes a dark and delicious Dracula retelling filled with secrets and lies, dangerous liaisons and a forbidden, student-teacher, second chance love story with a twist.

Tusk Love by Thea Guanzon

As the daughter of an ambitious merchant, Guinevere’s path has been predetermined: marry into a noble house of the Dwendalian Empire, raise her family’s station, and live quietly as a lordling’s obedient wife. But Guinevere longs for a life unbounded by expectations, for freedom and passion and adventure. Those distant dreams become a sudden reality when her caravan is beset by bandits, leaving her guards slain and Guinevere stranded alone on the dangerous Amber Road. Her only chance of survival is to travel alongside Oskar, the aloof half-orc who saved her during the attack.

Persuasion by Jane Austen

Persuaded by her wealthy family to break off her engagement to the young Frederick Wentworth, Anne Elliot finds herself unmarried nearly eight years later. By now, with the Elliot family all but ruined by the spendthrift Sir Walter and his enabling daughter Elizabeth, the prospect of marriage is not only a distant hope for Anne, but a bitter reminder of what could have been. When chance reunites her with Frederick, now the esteemed Captain Wentworth for his accomplishments in the Napoleonic Wars, she will have to navigate feelings both old and new with the reversal brought on by their opposing fortunes. As the two are drawn closer together, they will have to decide if it is possible to rekindle a love that has lain dormant much longer than their engagement was allowed to last.

One of this meeting’s participants let us know that The Jane Austen Society of North America has a regional chapter in Alabama!  The group is hosting a Regency Ball at the Homewood Public Library on Saturday, March 21st.  Doors open at 6:30pm, with dancing commencing at 7pm. Regency-era attired strongly encouraged. Practice dance sessions will be offered at the Homewood Library on the following evenings from 6:30-8:30pm:

February 26

March 5

March 12

March 19

Find out more about the Alabama chapter of The Jane Austen Society of North America at https://austenalweb.wixsite.com/alabama

The Return (2024, 1h56m, R)

After 20 years away, Odysseus (Ralph Fiennes) washes up on the shores of Ithaca, haggard and unrecognizable. The King has returned from the Trojan War, but much has changed in his kingdom. His beloved wife Penelope (Juliette Binoche) is a prisoner in her own home, hounded by suitors vying to be king. Their son Telemachus faces death at the hands of these suitors, who see him as merely an obstacle to their pursuit of the kingdom. Odysseus has also changed--scarred by his experience of the Trojan war, he is no longer the mighty warrior from years past--but he must rediscover his strength in order to win back all that he has lost.

The Odyssey by Homer

Composed at the rosy-fingered dawn of world literature almost three millennia ago, The Odyssey is a poem about violence and the aftermath of war; about wealth, poverty, and power; about marriage and family; about travelers, hospitality, and the yearning for home.

Time to Shine by Rachel Reid

For Landon Stackhouse, being called up from the Calgary farm team is exciting and terrifying, even if, as the backup goalie, he rarely leaves the bench. A quiet loner by nature, Landon knows he gives off strong “don’t talk to me” vibes. The only player who doesn’t seem to notice is Calgary’s superstar young winger, Casey Hicks. They couldn’t have less in common, but Landon needs a place to live that’s not a hotel room and Casey has just bought a massive house—and hates being alone.

And They Were Roommates by Page Powars

You can't resist this hilarious, unputdownable second-chance-romance about the most unlikely, gay roommate mishap. Romance is the last thing on Charlie’s mind. On his first day at Valentine Academy for Boys, Charlie’s carefully crafted plan to hide his identity as the school’s only trans student is set in motion. Only to be immediately destroyed. Charlie has been assigned the worst roommate in the world (possibly the universe): Jasper Grimes, the boy who broke Charlie’s heart the year before he transitioned. Except, Jasper doesn’t recognize Charlie.

The Incubus’s Assistant by Amy Padilla (Not available in the JCLC)

When Avery showed up for his temp job on Monday morning, he had certain expectations in mind. He was not expecting to end up as a feeder to his incubus boss. It was an innocent mistake, and he's determined to move on, but the experience left him breathless and more than a little curious. So when his new boss is left without a feeder, he volunteers to help. After all, that's what any good assistant would do. Right?

Sky Daddy by Kate Folk

Linda is doing her best to lead a life that would appear normal to the casual observer. Weekdays, she earns $20 an hour moderating comments for a video-sharing platform, then rides the bus home to the windowless garage she rents on the outskirts of San Francisco. But on the last Friday of each month, she indulges her true passion, taking BART to SFO for a round-trip flight to a regional hub. The destination is irrelevant, because each trip means a new date with a handsome stranger—a stranger whose intelligent windscreens, sleek fuselages, and powerful engines make Linda feel a way that no human ever could. . . . Both subversive and unexpectedly heartwarming, Sky Daddy hijacks the classic love story, exploring desire, fate, and the longing to be accepted for who we truly are.

Dandelion is Dead by Rosie Storey

When Poppy discovers unanswered messages from a charming stranger in her late sister's dating app, she makes an impulsive choice: She'll meet him, just once, on what would have been Dandelion's fortieth birthday. It's exactly the kind of wild adventure her vivacious sister would have pushed her toward. Jake is ready to find something real—and not least because his ex-wife's twentysomething boyfriend has moved into their old family home. When he meets the intriguing woman who calls herself Dandelion, their connection is undeniable, and he can think of little else. With sparkling wit and aching tenderness, debut author Rosie Storey gives us a modern love story about the courage it takes to live again after loss and finding hope in the most unexpected places.

The Bridges of Madison County by Robert James Waller

If you've ever experienced the one true love of your life, a love that for some reason could never be, you will understand why readers all over the world are so moved by this small, unknown first novel that they became a publishing phenomenon and #1 bestseller. The story of Robert Kincaid, the photographer and free spirit searching for the covered bridges of Madison County, and Francesca Johnson, the farm wife waiting for the fulfillment of a girlhood dream, The Bridges of Madison County gives voice to the longings of men and women everywhere -- and shows us what it is to love and be loved so intensely that life is never the same again.

Item descriptions pulled from Amazon and Rotten Tomatoes.

 

gold rushes

 

Mark your calendars for the Friends of the O’Neal Library annual book sale!  The invitation-only Preview Party takes place on Thursday, February 19^th, then the sale is open to the public Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.  For more information about the Preview Party, click here https://oneallibrary.org/support-friends

The next Books & Beyond Discussion Club will be on Tuesday, February 24^th at 6:30pm.  A slight venue change will be in effect as we’ll be meeting in the 2^nd floor Quiet Room.  As always, if you’d rather attend online, register an email address to receive a Zoom link: https://oneallibrary.org/support-friends

Enjoyable:

Golden Omegaverse duology by R. L. Randolph, Gold Rush and Gold Mine

Gold Rush is book one in a why choose (MMMMF) omegaverse duology set in the Golden Omegaverse. Part one ends on a cliffhanger, June's happily ever after is guaranteed in part two. Juniper Walden has lived a life of quiet obscurity as a Beta and romance author. When one of her novels gains traction and she's suddenly trapped in a broken elevator with two strangers the night before her UK book tour, she realizes her future might not be so clear-cut.

The Poker Bride: The First Chinese in the Wild West by Christopher Corbett

The Poker Bride vividly reconstructs a lost period of history when the first Chinese sojourners flooded into the country and left only glimmering traces of their presence scattered across the American West.

The Rush: America’s Fevered Quest for Fortune 1848-1853 by Edward Dolnick

In the spring of 1848, rumors began to spread that gold had been discovered in a remote spot in the Sacramento Valley. A year later, newspaper headlines declared "Gold Fever!" as hundreds of thousands of men and women borrowed money, quit their jobs, and allowed themselves- for the first time ever-to imagine a future of ease and splendor. In The Rush, Edward Dolnick brilliantly recounts their treacherous westward journeys by wagon and on foot and takes us to the frenzied gold fields and the rowdy cities that sprang from nothing to jam-packed chaos. 

Journey by James Michener

In 1897, gold fever sweeps the world. The promise of untold riches lures thousands of dreamers from all walks of life on a perilous trek toward fortune, failure—or death. Journey is an immersive account of the adventures of four English aristocrats and their Irish servant as they haul across cruel Canadian terrain toward the Klondike gold fields.

The Sisters Brothers (2018)

It's 1851, and Charlie and Eli Sisters are both brothers and assassins, boys grown to men in a savage and hostile world. The Sisters brothers find themselves on a journey through the Northwest, bringing them to the mountains of Oregon, a dangerous brothel in the small town of Mayfield, and eventually, the gold rush land of California -- an adventure that tests the deadly family ties that bind.

Dawson City: Frozen Time (2016)

In 1978 Canada, a bulldozer digs up a long-lost collection of 533 nitrate film prints from the early 1900s. Streams free with a valid library card for residents of cities that subscribe to Kanopy and/or Hoopla.  Streams on Tubi with free account.

Our Moon: How Earth’s Celestial Companion Transformed the Planet,Guided Evolution, and Made Us Who We Are by Rebecca Boyle

 “A riveting feat of science writing that recasts that most familiar of celestial objects into something eerily extraordinary, pivotal to our history, and awesome in the original sense of the word.”—Ed Yong, New York Times bestselling author of An Immense World

The Path Between the Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal1870-1914 by David McCullough

The National Book Award–winning epic chronicle of the creation of the Panama Canal, a first-rate drama of the bold and brilliant engineering feat that transformed global trade routes and shaped modern American history, as told by Pulitzer Prize–winning author and master historian David McCullough.

Not as enjoyable:

Ghosts of Crook County: An Oil Fortune, a Phantom Child, andthe Fight for Indigenous Land by Russell Cobb

In the early 1900s, at the dawn of the “American Century,” few knew the intoxicating power of greed better than white men on the forefront of the black gold rush. When oil was discovered in Oklahoma, these counterfeit tycoons impersonated, defrauded, and murdered Native property owners to snatch up hundreds of acres of oil-rich land.

Writer and fourth-generation Oklahoman Russell Cobb sets the stage for one such oilman’s chicanery: Tulsa entrepreneur Charles Page’s campaign for a young Muscogee boy’s land in Creek County. Problem was, “Tommy Atkins,” the boy in question, had died years prior—if he ever lived at all. Ghosts of Crook County traces Tommy’s mythologized life through Page’s relentless pursuit of his land. 

Silicon Gold Rush: The Next Generation of High-Tech Stars Rewritesthe Rules by Karen Southwick

Originally published in 1999, this hasn’t aged well. BAB reader described it as “boring.”
“A hotbed of activity for far-sighted thinkers and determined doers, the high technology industry has given rise to a pioneering group of entrepreneurs and executives which is not only behind today's most innovative technological advances, but at the forefront of a dynamic new movement in business.”

General Discussion:

CBS 42: “Alabama’s Gold Rush: A Tiny Town Once Worth Millions”

https://www.cbs42.com/news/alabamas-gold-rush-a-tiny-town-once-worth-millions/

The Mosquito: A Human History of Our Deadliest Predator by Timothy Winegard

A pioneering and groundbreaking work of narrative nonfiction that offers a dramatic new perspective on the history of humankind, showing how through millennia, the mosquito has been the single most powerful force in determining humanity’s fate.

This Podcast Will Kill You https://thispodcastwillkillyou.com

This podcast might not actually kill you, but Erin Welsh and Erin Allmann Updyke cover so many things that can. In each episode, they tackle a different topic, teaching listeners about the biology, history, and epidemiology of a different disease or medical mystery. The do the scientific research, so you don’t have to.

BAB member (ME) shared information and a couple of published articles about controversies surrounding fanfiction and current evolutions in the subject.

“Should Stephenie Meyer have sued E.L. James when she had the chance?” by Danielle Binks https://daniellebinks.substack.com/p/should-stephenie-meyer-have-sued

“3 Harry Potter fan fiction authors are coming to a bookstore near you” by Dhanika Pineda
https://www.npr.org/2025/02/14/nx-s1-5261003/harry-potter-fanfiction-authors-publish-books

East of Eden by John Steinbeck

In his journal, Nobel Prize winner John Steinbeck called East of Eden "the first book," and indeed it has the primordial power and simplicity of myth. Set in the rich farmland of California's Salinas Valley, this sprawling and often brutal novel follows the intertwined destinies of two families—the Trasks and the Hamiltons—whose generations helplessly reenact the fall of Adam and Eve and the poisonous rivalry of Cain and Abel.

Dinosaurs at the Dinner Party: How an Eccentric Group ofVictorians Discovered Prehistoric Creatures and Accidentally Upended the World by Edward Dolnick

In Dinosaurs at the Dinner Party, celebrated storyteller and historian Edward Dolnick leads us through a compelling true adventure as the paleontologists of the early 19th century puzzled their way through the fossil record to create the story of dinosaurs we kn
ow today.

Scavengers by Kathleen Boland

A rollicking debut novel about a cautious daughter and her eccentric, estranged mother venturing west in search of buried treasure—and a way back to each other—before they run out of patience, money, and options. Seems loosely inspired by the real 2010 hunt for buried treasure as explored in the Netflix docuseries, Gold & Greed: The Hunt for Fenn’s Treasure (An eccentric man named Forrest Fenn sets off a real-life treasure hunt when he hides a chest of gold in the Rockies and leaves clues in a cryptic poem. https://www.netflix.com/title/81636832)

Book and DVD descriptions pulled from Amazon and Rotten Tomatoes.

Books & Beyond

 

The next Books & Beyond Discussion Group (BAB) meeting will be Tuesday, January 27 at 6:30pm and the topic up for discussion is gold rushes.  Don’t get too bogged down in what that means!  If you’re looking for ideas, click here to find the BAB area on our Shelf Care page to see some of the books out on display at the 2^nd floor service desk.

Last week, BAB met for our final chat of 2025 and there was no assigned topic.  I’m always surprised and pleased at the great variety of information our members bring to the table!

A Taste of Poison: Eleven Deadly Molecules and the KillersWho Use Them by Neil Bradbury

As any reader or listener of murder mysteries can tell you, poison is one of the most enduring—and popular—weapons of choice for a scheming murderer. It can be slipped into a drink, smeared onto the tip of an arrow or the handle of a door, even filtered through the air we breathe. But how exactly do these poisons work to break our bodies down, and what can we learn from the damage they inflict? In a fascinating blend of popular science, medical history, and true crime, Dr. Neil Bradbury explores this most morbidly captivating method of murder from a cellular level.

Hidden Killers BBC series (streaming on Tubi, the Roku Channel, and Youtube)

Suzannah Lipscomb reveals the killers that lurked in every room of the Tudor, Victorian, Edwardian, and Post-war home.

The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde

The first in a series of outlandishly clever adventures featuring the resourceful, fearless literary detective, Thursday Next. In Jasper Fforde's Great Britain, circa 1985, time travel is routine, cloning is a reality (dodos are the resurrected pet of choice), and literature is taken very, very seriously. England is a virtual police state where an aunt can get lost (literally) in a Wordsworth poem and forging Byronic verse is a punishable offense. All this is business as usual for Thursday Next, renowned Special Operative in literary detection. But when someone begins kidnapping characters from works of literature and plucks Jane Eyre from the pages of Brontë's novel, Thursday is faced with the challenge of her career. Fforde's ingenious fantasy unites intrigue with English literature in a delightfully witty mix.

The Black Girl Survives in This One: Horror Stories

Celebrating a new generation of bestselling and acclaimed Black writers, The Black Girl Survives in This One makes space for Black girls in horror. Fifteen chilling and thought-provoking stories place Black girls front and center as heroes and survivors who slay monsters, battle spirits, and face down death. Prepare to be terrified and left breathless by the pieces in this anthology.

The Impossible Fortune by Richard Osman

It’s been a quiet year for the Thursday Murder Club. Joyce is busy with table plans and first dances. Elizabeth is grieving. Ron is dealing with family troubles, and Ibrahim is still providing therapy to his favorite criminal. But when Elizabeth meets Nick, a wedding guest asking for her help, she finds the thrill of the chase is ignited once again. And when Nick disappears without a trace, his cagey business partner becomes the gang’s next stop. It seems the duo have something valuable—something worth killing for.

Christmas with the Queen by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb

December 1952. While the young Queen Elizabeth II finds her feet as the new monarch, she must also find the right words to continue the tradition of her late father’s Christmas Day radio broadcast. But even traditions must evolve with the times, and the queen faces a postwar Britain hungry for change. 

As preparations begin for the royal Christmas at Sandringham House in Norfolk, old friends—Jack Devereux and Olive Carter—are unexpectedly reunited by the occasion. Olive, a single mother and aspiring reporter at the BBC, leaps at the opportunity to cover the holiday celebration, but even a chance encounter with the queen doesn’t go as planned and Olive wonders if she will ever be taken seriously. 

Jack, a recently widowed chef, reluctantly takes up a new role in the royal kitchens at Sandringham. Lacking in purpose and direction, Jack has abandoned his dream to have his own restaurant, but his talents are soon noticed and while he might not believe in himself, others do, and a chance encounter with an old friend helps to reignite the spark of his passion and ambition. As Jack and Olive’s paths continue to cross over the following five Christmases, they grow ever closer. Yet Olive carries the burden of a heavy secret that threatens to destroy everything. 

Christmas Day, December 1957. As the nation eagerly awaits the Queen’s first televised Christmas speech, there is one final gift for the Christmas season to deliver… 

The Gown by Jennifer Robson

An enthralling historical novel about one of the most famous wedding dresses of the twentieth century—Queen Elizabeth’s wedding gown—and the fascinating women who made it.

The Twelve Topsy-Turvy, Very Messy Days of Christmas by James Patterson

At Christmastime, the Sullivans are missing someone dear to them ... until unexpected guests begin to arrive at their empty brownstone in Harlem—and they keep coming. And they stay. For twelve long, hard, topsy-turvy, messy days. But that’s when the Sullivans discover that the moments in life that defy hope, expectation, or even imagination, might be the best gifts of all.

Miranda Mills Youtube channel

Subscribe for weekly reading vlogs and seasonal living inspiration in the English countryside. I especially enjoy reading golden age mysteries, classic literature, vintage books and nature writing. Join me as I share reading vlogs, literary adventures, book hauls and reviews.

Lords & Ladles (requires an Acorn TV subscription, but there are many clips on Youtube)

Lords and Ladles feature three of Ireland's top chefs - Derry Clarke, Catherine Fulvio and Paul Flynn - who are challenged to recreate elaborate menus from different centuries in some of Ireland's grandest Country Homes.

London Rules by Mick Herron

Ian Fleming. John le Carré. Len Deighton. Mick Herron. The brilliant plotting of Herron’s twice CWA Dagger Award-winning Slough House series of spy novels is matched only by his storytelling gift and an ear for viciously funny political satire.

The Powers That Be by David Halberstam

Crackling with the personalities, conflicts, and ambitions that transformed the media from something that followed the news to something that formed it, The Powers That Be is David Halberstam's forceful account of the rise of modern media as an instrument of political power, published here with a new introduction by the author.

Slayer Slang: A Buffy the Vampire Slayer Lexicon by Michael Adams (not available in the JCLC, request from Interlibrary Loan)

In its seven years on television, Buffy the Vampire Slayer has earned critical acclaim and a massive cult following among teen viewers. One of the most distinguishing features of the program is the innovative way the show's writers play with language: fabricating new words, morphing existing ones, and throwing usage on its head. The result has been a strikingly resonant lexicon that reflects the power of both youth culture and television in the evolution of American slang. Using the show to illustrate how new slang is formed, transformed, and transmitted, Slayer Slang is one of those rare books that combines a serious explanation of a pop culture phenomena with an engrossing read for fans of the show, word geeks, and language professionals.

Love Lettering by Kate Clayborn

Meg Mackworth’s hand-lettering skill has made her famous as the Planner of Park Slope, designing custom journals for her New York City clientele. She has another skill too: reading signs that other people miss. Knowing the upcoming marriage of Reid Sutherland and his polished fiancée was doomed to fail is one thing, but weaving a secret word of warning into their wedding program is another. Meg may have thought no one would spot it, but she hadn’t counted on sharp-eyed, pattern-obsessed Reid. A year later, Reid has tracked Meg down to find out how she knew that his meticulously planned future was about to implode. 

Law & Order (tv show)

A BAB member reports that all 25 seasons have dropped for streaming on Hulu! Lives hang in the balance as detectives and prosecutors pursue justice in New York City. In cases ripped from the headlines, police investigate serious and often deadly crimes, weighing the evidence and questioning the suspects until someone is taken into custody. The district attorney's office then builds a case to convict the perpetrator by proving the person guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Working together, these expert teams navigate all sides of the complex criminal justice system to make New York a safer place -- and keep the worst offenders off the streets.

The Weight of Ink by Rachel Kadish

Set in London of the 1660s and of the early twenty-first century, The Weight of Ink is the interwoven tale of two women of remarkable intellect: Ester Velasquez, an emigrant from Amsterdam who is permitted to scribe for a blind rabbi, just before the plague hits the city; and Helen Watt, an ailing historian with a love of Jewish history. Electrifying and ambitious, The Weight of Ink is about women separated by centuries—and the choices and sacrifices they must make in order to reconcile the life of the heart and mind.  

People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks

Inspired by a true story, People of the Book is a novel of sweeping historical grandeur and intimate emotional intensity by an acclaimed and beloved author. Called “a tour de force” by the San Francisco Chronicle, this ambitious, electrifying work traces the harrowing journey of the famed Sarajevo Haggadah, a beautifully illuminated Hebrew manuscript created in fifteenth-century Spain. When it falls to Hanna Heath, an Australian rare-book expert, to conserve this priceless work, the series of tiny artifacts she discovers in its ancient binding—an insect wing fragment, wine stains, salt crystals, a white hair—only begin to unlock its deep mysteries and unexpectedly plunges Hanna into the intrigues of fine art forgers and ultranationalist fanatics.

A Traitor to Memory by Elizabeth George

When Eugenie Davies is killed by a driver on a quiet London street, her death is clearly no accident. Someone struck her with a car and then deliberately ran over her body before driving off, leaving nothing behind but questions.

What brought Eugenie Davies to London on a rainy autumn night? Why was she carrying the name of the man who found her body? Who among the many acquaintances in her complicated and tragic life could have wanted her dead? And could her murder have some connection to a twenty-eight-year-old musical wunderkind, a virtuoso violinist who several months earlier suddenly and inexplicably lost the ability to play a single note? For Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley, whose own domestic life is about to change radically, these questions are only the first in an investigation that leads him to walk a fine line between personal loyalty and professional honor.

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

As children, Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy were students at Hailsham, an exclusive boarding school secluded in the English countryside. It was a place of mercurial cliques and mysterious rules where teachers were constantly reminding their charges of how special they were. Now, years later, Kathy is a young woman. Ruth and Tommy have reentered her life. And for the first time she is beginning to look back at their shared past and understand just what it is that makes them special—and how that gift will shape the rest of their time together.

How High We Go In the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu

For fans of Cloud Atlas and Station Eleven, a spellbinding and profoundly prescient debut that follows a cast of intricately linked characters over hundreds of years as humanity struggles to rebuild itself in the aftermath of a climate plague—a daring and deeply heartfelt work of mind-bending imagination from a singular new voice. 

Children of Men by P.D. James

Civilization itself is crumbling as suicide and despair become commonplace. Oxford historian Theodore Faron, apathetic toward a future without a future, spends most of his time reminiscing. Then he is approached by Julian, a bright, attractive woman who wants him to help get her an audience with his cousin, the powerful Warden of England. She and her band of unlikely revolutionaries may just awaken his desire to live . . . and they may also hold the key to survival for the human race. Told with P. D. James’s trademark suspense, insightful characterization, and riveting storytelling, The Children of Men is a story of a world with no children and no future.

1923 (tv show)

This prequel spinoff from the Yellowstone series follows an earlier generation of The Duttons as they face a new set of challenges in the early 20th century, including the rise of Western expansion, Prohibition, and the Great Depression.

We Don’t Know Ourselves: A Personal History of ModernIreland by Fintan O’Toole

In We Don't Know Ourselves, Fintan O'Toole weaves his own experiences into Irish social, cultural, and economic change, showing how Ireland, in just one lifetime, has gone from a reactionary "backwater" to an almost totally open society - perhaps the most astonishing national transformation in modern history.

Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan

It is 1985 in a small Irish town. During the weeks leading up to Christmas, Bill Furlong, a coal merchant and family man faces into his busiest season. Early one morning, while delivering an order to the local convent, Bill makes a discovery which forces him to confront both his past and the complicit silences of a town controlled by the church.

Ireland’s Dirty Laundry documentary film (I don't find this readily streaming anywhere)

Built on the testimony of those who worked in Ireland's notorious Magdalene Laundries, this documentary tells the full, shocking story of a shameful system, created by the Irish State but supported by all levels of Irish society, which enslaved over 10,000 women for decades. The film bears witness to the women's experiences in their own words, before during and after their time in the laundries, and show how, even today, attempts are being made to try to silence them. We examine not only why and how the Magdalene phenomenon arose, but also how it was allowed to continue unchallenged for so long. At every level - family, parish and state - Irish society, at best, turned a blind eye; at worst, it supported, facilitated and even profited from the operation of these institutions, while perpetuating the stigma and shame of the women imprisoned there.

The Chieftans: Live Over Ireland, Water from the Well (I don't find this readily streaming anywhere)

Journey with The Chieftains to the special places and people of the home counties that formed the band’s musical soul. Derek Bell, Kevin Conneff, Martin Fay, Sean Keane, Matt Molloy, and Paddy Moloney tell the tales of their earliest memories of Irish music. Their thoughtful and often amusing stories capture the emotion behind the scenes of every performance.

Remastered: The Miami Showband Massacre (streaming on Netflix)

In 1974, while on the way home from a gig, the apolitical Irish rock group, The Miami Showband, fell into the crosshairs of a Protestant unionist paramilitary group that planted explosives on their bus when it was stopped at a fake checkpoint.

Philomena (film)

A world-weary political journalist picks up the story of a woman's search for her son, who was taken away from her decades ago after she became pregnant and was forced to live in a convent.

New Orleans' Irish Channel neighborhood 

Bound by Jackson Avenue and Delachaise, Magazine, and Tchoupitoulas streets, New Orleans’ Irish Channel is a quaint neighborhood named in honor of the wave of Irish immigrants who first settled there in the 1830s. Then, it was known for its shotgun homes, working-class community, and the ports and breweries where many residents worked. Today, the Irish Channel remains a mainly residential neighborhood with a thriving brewery scene and a number of local hangouts and restaurants. 

 

Item descriptions pulled from Amazon, Rotten Tomatoes, IMDB, and Youtube.

 

Forensic Sciences

 

The November meeting for Books & Beyond to chat about forensics was a novel one for the group…we had a special guest, Dr. Greg Davis, Chief Coroner/Medical Examiner for Jefferson County! 

He shared aspects of his education, career path, and job with us and it was fascinating!  I asked him if there were any movies, tv shows, books, etc. that got the job right, and he shared a few things.

Coroner to the Stars (2025) (I saw this film at this year's Sidewalk Film Festival in downtown Birmingham and loved it!)

Coroner to the Stars chronicles the extraordinary journey of Dr. Thomas Noguchi, the former Los Angeles County Chief Medical Examiner-Coroner whose groundbreaking autopsies forever shaped American culture. From Marilyn Monroe and Robert Kennedy to Sharon Tate and Natalie Wood, Noguchi's outspoken expertise pushed forensic science into the spotlight-even as Hollywood elites and political adversaries sought to silence him. A Japanese immigrant who unwittingly rose to fame in a city driven by stardom, Noguchi's fearless pursuit of truth often placed him in the cross hairs of controversy.

Dial M for Murder (1954) 

Ex-tennis pro Tony Wendice (Ray Milland) wants to have his wealthy wife, Margot (Grace Kelly), murdered so he can get his hands on her inheritance. When he discovers her affair with Mark Halliday (Robert Cummings), he comes up with the perfect plan to kill her. He blackmails an old acquaintance into carrying out the murder, but the carefully orchestrated set-up goes awry, and Margot stays alive. Now Wendice must frantically scheme to outwit the police and avoid having his plot detected.

M.A.S.H. (1970) (Dr. Davis specifically mentioned the surgery scenes in this film as accurately reflecting a full and busy medical examiners office.)

Based on the novel by Richard Hooker, M*A*S*H follows a group of Mobile Army Surgical Hospital officers at they perform surgery and pass the time just miles from the front lines of the Korean Conflict. Led by Captains Hawkeye Pierce (Donald Sutherland) and Trapper John McIntyre (Elliott Gould), they add to the chaos and hilarity of the situation.

A few of our group members shared some titles, either in the meeting during the discussion, or via email afterward.

Postmortem by Patricia Cornwell

A killer is stalking the streets of Richmond, Virginia. When the bodies begin to mount, Chief Medical Examiner Kay Scarpetta is pulled into a chilling investigation that blends high-stakes forensics with psychological warfare. Armed with cutting-edge science and unflinching resolve, Scarpetta must navigate hostile forces both inside and outside the investigation—because someone isn’t just trying to hide the truth. They’re trying to kill her.

Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin

Adelia Aguilar is a rare thing in medieval Europe - a woman who has trained as a doctor. Her specialty is the study of corpses, a skill that must be concealed if she is to avoid accusations of witchcraft. But in Cambridge a child has been murdered, others are disappearing, and King Henry has called upon a renowned Italian investigator to find the killer - fast. What the king gets is Adelia, his very own Mistress of the Art of Death. 

Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach

An oddly compelling, often hilarious exploration of the strange lives of our bodies postmortem. For two thousand years, cadavers (some willingly, some unwittingly) have been involved in science's boldest strides and weirdest undertakings. They've tested France's first guillotines, ridden the NASA Space Shuttle, been crucified in a Parisian laboratory to test the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin, and helped solve the mystery of TWA Flight 800. For every new surgical procedure, from heart transplants to gender reassignment surgery, cadavers have been there alongside surgeons, making history in their quiet way.

The Spectacular by Fiona Davis

New York City, 1956: the city is reeling from a string of bombings orchestrated by a person the press has nicknamed the “Big Apple Bomber,” who has been terrorizing the citizens of New York for sixteen years by planting bombs in popular, crowded spaces. With the public in an uproar over the lack of any real leads after a yearslong manhunt, the police turn in desperation to a young doctor at a local mental hospital who espouses a radical new technique: psychological profiling.

The Science of Murder: The Forensics of Agatha Christie by Carla Valentine

Christie wouldn't have talked of "forensics" as it is understood today—most of her work predates the modern developments of forensics science—but in each tale she harnesses the power of human observation, ingenuity, and scientific developments of the era. A fascinating, science-based deep dive, The Science of Murder examines the use of fingerprints, firearms, handwriting, blood spatter analysis, toxicology, and more in Christie's beloved works.

Royal Autopsy, BBC documentary series, 2 seasons

• Autopsy and dramatized reconstructions explore the deaths of King Charles II and Queen Elizabeth I, examining the final days of these British monarchs through a fusion of investigation and historical reenactment.
• The lives and deaths of King Charles II and Queen Elizabeth I are investigated in this fusion of cold case investigation and lavish historical drama. A modern day autopsy is conducted to help determine the cause of death of these two key British monarchs while the final dying days are brought to life in emotional dramatic reconstructions.

18 Tiny Deaths: The Untold Story of Frances Glessner Lee and the Invention of Modern Forensics by Bruce Goldfarb

Frances Glessner Lee, born a socialite to a wealthy and influential Chicago family in the 1870s, was never meant to have a career, let alone one steeped in death and depravity. Yet she developed a fascination with the investigation of violent crimes and made it her life's work. 18 Tiny Deaths, by official biographer Bruce Goldfarb, delves into Lee's journey from grandmother without a college degree to leading the scientific investigation of unexpected death out of the dark confines of centuries-old techniques and into the light of the modern day.

The Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death by Corinne May Botz (Not held in the Jefferson County Library Cooperative)

Frances Glessner Lee, a wealthy grandmother, founded the Department of Legal Medicine at Harvard in 1936 and was later appointed captain in the New Hampshire police. In the 1940s and 1950s she built dollhouse crime scenes based on real cases in order to train detectives to assess visual evidence. Still used in forensic training today, the eighteen Nutshell dioramas, on a scale of 1:12, display an astounding level of detail: pencils write, window shades move, whistles blow, and clues to the crimes are revealed to those who study the scenes carefully.

Corinne May Botz's lush color photographs lure viewers into every crevice of Frances Lee's models and breathe life into these deadly miniatures, which present the dark side of domestic life, unveiling tales of prostitution, alcoholism, and adultery. The accompanying line drawings, specially prepared for this volume, highlight the noteworthy forensic evidence in each case. Botz's introductory essay, which draws on archival research and interviews with Lee's family and police colleagues, presents a captivating portrait of Lee.

Of Dolls & Murder (2010, available on Youtube) 

John Waters narrates Susan Marks’ documentary film exploring the field of murder-scene dioramas, and their originator, who intended them as training tools for detectives in the 1930s and '40s.

Maggots, Murder, and Men: Memories and Reflections of a Forensic Entomologist by Zakaria Erzinclioglu (Not held in the Jefferson County Library Cooperative)

The science of forensic entomology-the application of insect biology to the investigation of crime-is extremely specialized, combining as it does an expert knowledge of entomology with keen powers of observation and deduction. Before his untimely death in 2002, Dr. Erzinclioglu had been a practitioner for over twenty-five years and was involved in a great number of investigations, including high-profile cases, where his evidence was critical to the outcome.

A great admirer of Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Erzinclioglu compares his own techniques with those of his fictional hero, and takes the reader behind the often gruesome but deeply fascinating scenes of a murder investigation. This absorbing book ranges over cases from history, prehistory and mythology to the present day and is as gripping and readable as a good thriller.

The Skin Collector by Jeffrey Deaver

In his classic thriller The Bone Collector, Jeffery Deaver introduced readers to Lincoln Rhyme-the nation's most renowned investigator and forensic detective. Now, a new killer inspired by the Bone Collector is on the loose and Rhyme must untangle the twisted web of clues before the killer targets more victims-or Rhyme himself. The killer's methods are terrifying. He stalks the basements and underground passageways of New York City. He tattoos his victims' flesh with cryptic messages, using a tattoo gun loaded with poison, resulting in an agonizing, painful death. When a connection is made to the Bone Collector-the serial killer who terrorized New York more than a decade ago-Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs are immediately drawn into the case. 

Forever Ours: Real Stories of Immortality and Living from aForensic Pathologist by Janis Amatuzio

Forensic pathologist Janis Amatuzio first began recording the stories told to her by patients, police officers, and other doctors because she felt that no one spoke for the dead. She believed the real experience of death, namely the spiritual and otherworldly experiences of those near death and their loved ones, was ignored by the medical professionals, who thought of death as simply the cessation of breath. She knew there was more. From the first experience of a patient in her care dying to the miraculous "appearances" of loved ones after death, she began recording these experiences. Dr. Amatuzio found that by telling the story of their death to a loved one, she could help bring some sense of completion to the grieving family and friends. Written by a scientist in approachable, nonjudgmental language for anyone who has lost someone they love, this book offers stories that can't be explained in purely physical terms.

Title descriptions pulled from Amazon and Rotten Tomatoes.

 

 

oh, the horror!

 

The next Books & Beyond meeting will be on Tuesday, November 25 at 6:30pm in the Library’s Conference Room.  The topic up for discussion is forensic sciences.  There are many topics within forensics, but I have invited the Jefferson County Medical Examiner to the meeting to speak about that aspect in particular. 

In October, Books & Beyond met to chat about all things horror.  If you aren't ready to give up those spooky books quite yet, read on!

Horror: A Thematic History in Fiction and Film by Darryl Jones

As Darryl Jones shows, the horror genre is huge. Ranging from vampires, ghosts, and werewolves to mad scientists, Satanists, and deranged serial killers, the cathartic release of scaring ourselves has made its appearance in everything from Shakespearean tragedies to internet memes. Exploring the key tropes of the genre, including its monsters, its psychological chills, and its love affair with the macabre, this thematic history discusses why horror stories disturb us, and how society responds to literary and film representations of the gruesome and taboo.

The Elementals by Michael McDowell

After a bizarre and disturbing incident at the funeral of matriarch Marian Savage, the McCray and Savage families look forward to a restful and relaxing summer at Beldame, on Alabama's Gulf Coast, where three Victorian houses loom over the shimmering beach. A haunted house story unlike any other, Michael McDowell's The Elementals (1981) is one of the finest novels to come out of the horror publishing explosion of the 1970s and '80s.

Frankie’s Funhouse: Animatronic Horror Romance by Beatrix Hollow (This title not available via the JCLC, but some of the author's other work is available on Hoopla)

Desperation for cash has led me down a rainbow painted hallway to Frankie’s Funhouse—a children’s gambling casino. Or as my boss likes to call it, a pizza arcade. The coworkers are strange, the patrons are disturbing, and the animatronics are possessed. Which I was willing to put up with until my boss died. Well, he was murdered, actually. Now I have to serve pizza and birthday cake while thinking about burning down the mall to hide a body for an animatronic that keeps hitting on me.

The Guy Sure Looks Like Plant Food to Me by Santana Knox (This title is not available via the JCLC, but it is on Amazon.)

This is a killer rom-com, feel-good, magical short story homage to Little Shop of Horrors about fated love blooming in the most unexpected of places.

Eat the Ones You Love by Sarah Griffin

After losing her job and her fiancé and moving back from the city to live with her parents, Shell Pine needs some help. And according to the sign in the window, the florist shop in the mall does too. Shell gets the gig, and the flowers she works with there are just the thing she needs to cheer up. Or maybe it’s Neve, the beautiful shop manager, who is making her days so rosy?

But you have to get your hands dirty if you want your garden to grow—and Neve’s secrets are as dark and dangerous as they come. In the back room of the flower shop, a young sentient orchid actually runs the show, and he is hungry . . . and he has a plan for them all.

The House with a Clock in its Walls by John Bellairs

When Lewis Barnavelt, an orphan. comes to stay with his uncle Jonathan, he expects to meet an ordinary person. But he is wrong. Uncle Jonathan and his next-door neighbor, Mrs. Zimmermann, are both magicians! Lewis is thrilled. At first, watchng magic is enough. Then Lewis experiments with magic himself and unknowingly resurrects the former owner of the house: a woman named Selenna Izard. It seems that Selenna and her husband built a timepiece into the walls--a clock that could obliterate humankind. And only the Barnavelts can stop it!  Adapted to a movie, starring Jack Black as Uncle Jonathan.

Whales on Stilts by M. T. Anderson

Sure, Lily Gefelty is just an average twelve-year-old girl. But her dad—a normal-enough-seeming guy—just so happens to work for an evil genius who plans to unleash an army of extremely cranky, stilt-walking, laser-beam-eyed whales upon the world.

The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher

When a young woman clears out her deceased grandmother’s home in rural North Carolina, she finds long-hidden secrets about a strange colony of beings in the woods.

The Witch (2015, rated R)

In 1630 New England, panic and despair envelops a farmer, his wife and their children when youngest son Samuel suddenly vanishes. The family blames Thomasin, the oldest daughter who was watching the boy at the time of his disappearance. With suspicion and paranoia mounting, twin siblings Mercy and Jonas suspect Thomasin of witchcraft, testing the clan's faith, loyalty and love to one another.

Guillermo del Toro, At Home with Monsters: Inside His Films,Notebooks, and Collections

In 2016, a new exhibit on the work of visionary director Guillermo del Toro debuted at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. This book focuses on del Toro’s creative process, including the well-defined themes that he obsessively returns to in all his films, the journals in which he logs his ideas, and the vast and inspiring collection of art and pop culture ephemera that he has amassed at his private “man cave,” Bleak House. This book delivers an engrossing look into the mind of one of the great creative visionaries of our time.

Crimson Peak (2015, rated R)

After marrying the charming and seductive Sir Thomas Sharpe, young Edith (Mia Wasikowska) finds herself swept away to his remote gothic mansion in the English hills. Also living there is Lady Lucille, Thomas' alluring sister and protector of her family's dark secrets. Able to communicate with the dead, Edith tries to decipher the mystery behind the ghostly visions that haunt her new home. As she comes closer to the truth, Edith may learn that true monsters are made of flesh and blood.

The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins

Meet Jane. Newly arrived to Birmingham, Alabama, Jane is a broke dog-walker in Thornfield Estates––a gated community full of McMansions, shiny SUVs, and bored housewives. The kind of place where no one will notice if Jane lifts the discarded tchotchkes and jewelry off the side tables of her well-heeled clients. Where no one will think to ask if Jane is her real name.

But her luck changes when she meets Eddie Rochester. Recently widowed, Eddie is Thornfield Estates’ most mysterious resident. His wife, Bea, drowned in a boating accident with her best friend, their bodies lost to the deep. Jane can’t help but see an opportunity in Eddie––not only is he rich, brooding, and handsome, he could also offer her the kind of protection she’s always yearned for.

With delicious suspense, incisive wit, and a fresh, feminist sensibility, The Wife Upstairs flips the script on a timeless tale of forbidden romance, ill-advised attraction, and a wife who just won’t stay buried. In this vivid reimagining of one of literature’s most twisted love triangles, which Mrs. Rochester will get her happy ending?

City of Masks by Daniel Hecht

When Lila Beauforte takes up residence in her ancestral home, the 150-year-old Beauforte House in the Garden District of New Orleans, she is terrified by ghostly apparitions. The family reluctantly calls Cree Black for help. Based out of Seattle, Cree, a parapsychologist with a degree from Harvard, is a "ghost buster." But as Cree gets closer to the truth, the proverbial skeletons in the closet of the prestigious Beauforte family come crashing down on her, and she must struggle to keep her own ghosts at bay.

Diavola by Jennifer Thorne

The gorgeous, remote villa in tiny Monteperso seems like a perfect place to endure so much family togetherness, until things start going off the rails―the strange noises at night, the unsettling warnings from the local villagers, and the dark, violent past of the villa itself. Beautifully unhinged and deeply satisfying, Diavola is a sharp twist on the classic haunted house story, exploring loneliness, belonging, and the seemingly inescapable bonds of family mythology.

Camino Ghosts by John Grisham

Mercer Mann, a popular writer from Camino Island, is back on the beach, marrying her boyfriend, Thomas, in a seaside ceremony. Bruce Cable, infamous owner of Bay Books, performs the wedding. Afterward, Bruce tells Mercer that he has stumbled upon an incredible story. Mercer desperately needs an idea for her next novel, and Bruce now has one. The true story is about Dark Isle, a sliver of a barrier island not far off the North Florida coast. It was settled by freed slaves three hundred years ago, and their descendants lived there until 1955, when the last one was forced to leave. Something about the island seriously clouds the dollar signs in the developer’s eyes: the island is cursed. It has remained uninhabited for nearly a century for some very real and very troubling reasons. The deep secrets of the past are about to collide with the enormous ambitions of the present, and the fate of Dark Isle—and Camino Island, too—hangs in the balance.

GENERAL DISCUSSION

One of our members saw a fun (and funny!) production of Dracula put on by the Bell Tower Players at East Lake United Methodist Church. Find more information about their performances here: https://www.eastlakeunitedmethodist.org/btp/

We discussed a novel we couldn’t remember, told from Bertha’s (Jane Eyre) perspective.  Perhaps it is Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys?  

With Wide Sargasso Sea, her last and best-selling novel, she ingeniously brings into light one of fiction’s most fascinating characters: the madwoman in the attic from Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre. This mesmerizing work introduces us to Antoinette Cosway, a sensual and protected young woman who is sold into marriage to the prideful Mr. Rochester. Rhys portrays Cosway amidst a society so driven by hatred, so skewed in its sexual relations, that it can literally drive a woman out of her mind.

If you want a long-term, self-paced fun deep dive into literature, explore the Youtube channel of the Rosenbach Museum in Philadelphia.  There are multi-week, multi-episode explorations of Dracula, Frankenstein, Jane Eyre, Pride & Prejudice, and Sherlock Holmes.  Explore here: https://www.youtube.com/@RosenbachMuseum/playlists

We also discussed how sound effects and music are an integral part of horror movies.  Lots of fun discussion on this topic!

Every Frame a Painting on Youtube is no longer active but was a series of video essays about film form.  The episode we discussed in the meeting was The Marvel Symphonic Universe.  Watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vfqkvwW2fs

Films with music, sound effects, or lack thereof:

The Birds (1963, rated PG-13)

Melanie Daniels (Tippi Hedren) meets Mitch Brenner (Rod Taylor) in a San Francisco pet store and decides to follow him home. She brings with her the gift of two love birds and they strike up a romance. One day birds start attacking children at Mitch's sisters party. A huge assault starts on the town by attacking birds. This was adapted from a short story of the same name by Daphne du Maurier.

Zone of Interest (2023, rated PG-13)

The commandant of Auschwitz, Rudolf Höss, and his wife Hedwig, strive to build a dream life for their family in a house and garden next to the camp.  This was adapted from a book of the same name by Martin Amis.

Paranormal Activity (2009, rated R)

Soon after moving into a suburban tract home, Katie (Katie Featherston) and Micah (Micah Sloat) become increasingly disturbed by what appears to be a supernatural presence. Hoping to capture evidence of it on film, they set up video cameras in the house but are not prepared for the terrifying events that follow.

Item descriptions pulled from Amazon and Rotten Tomatoes. Photo by Stefano Pollio on Unsplash

 

 

 

 

100 years of The Great Gatsby

 

"Misunderstanding has been a part of The Great Gatsby's story from the very start. Grumbling to his friend Edmund Wilson shortly after the novel was published in April 1925, Fitzgerald declared that "of all the reviews, even the most enthusiastic, not one had the slightest idea what the book was about". Fellow writers like Edith Wharton admired it plenty, but as the critic Maureen Corrigan relates in her book So We Read On: How The Great Gatsby Came to Be and Why It Endures, popular reviewers read it as crime fiction, and were decidedly underwhelmed by it at that. Fitzgerald's Latest A Dud, ran a headline in the New York World. The novel achieved only so-so sales, and by the time of the author's death in 1940, copies of a very modest second print run had long since been remaindered.

Gatsby's luck began to change when it was selected as a giveaway by the US military. With World War Two drawing to a close, almost 155,000 copies were distributed in a special Armed Services Edition, creating a new readership overnight. As the 1950s dawned, the flourishing of the American Dream quickened the novel's topicality, and by the 1960s, it was enshrined as a set text. It's since become such a potent force in pop culture that even those who've never read it feel as if they have, helped along, of course, by Hollywood."

Read the whole article here: https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20210209-the-worlds-most-misunderstood-novel

Interested in reading The Great Gatsby, or some of the books about or inspired by this great American novel and writer?  Try one of these!

young adult

Tell Me My Name by Amy Reed 

For fans of The Grace Year and We Were Liars comes a mesmerizing, can't-put-it-down psychological thriller—a gender-flipped YA Great Gatsby that will linger long after the final line.

adult nonfiction

On Reading Well: Finding the Good Life Through Great Books by Karen Prior

Prior takes readers on a guided tour through works of great literature both ancient and modern, exploring twelve virtues that philosophers and theologians throughout history have identified as most essential for good character and the good life.

Literary Yarns: Crochet Projects Inspired by Classic Books by Cindy Wang

Learn how to make adorable crochet dolls of your favorite literary characters, including Anne of Green Gables, Elizabeth Bennet, and Sherlock Holmes!

F. Scott Fitzgerald on Writing

A collection of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s remarks on his craft, taken from his works and letters to friends and colleagues—an essential trove of advice for aspiring writers.

Gatsby: The Cultural History of the Great American Novel by Bob Batchelor

A cultural historian, Batchelor explains why and how the novel has become part of the fiber of the American ethos and an important tool in helping readers to better comprehend their lives and the broader world around them.

So We Read On: How the Great Gatsby Came to Be and Why It Endures by Maureen Corrigan

Offering a fresh perspective on what makes Gatsby great - and utterly unusual - So We Read On takes us into archives, high school classrooms, and even out onto the Long Island Sound to explore the novel's hidden depths.

Dear Scott, Dearest Zelda: The Love Letters of F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald

Through his alcoholism and her mental illness, his career lows and her institutional confinement, F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald's devotion to each other endured for over 22 years. Now, for the first time, we have the story of their love in the couple's own letters.

The Gatsby Affair: Scott, Zelda, and the Betrayal that Shaped an American Classic by Kendall Taylor

Both a literary study and a probing look at an iconic couple's psychological makeup, The Gatsby Affair offers listeners a bold interpretation of how one of America's greatest novels was influenced.

Careless People: Murder, Mayhem, and the Invention of The Great Gatsby by Sarah Churchwell

Fitzgerald set his novel in 1922, and Careless People carefully reconstructs the crucial months during which Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald returned to New York in the autumn of 1922 - the parties, the drunken weekends at Great Neck, Long Island, the drives back into the city to the jazz clubs and speakeasies, the casual intersection of high society and organized crime, and the growth of celebrity culture of which the Fitzgeralds themselves were the epitome.

fiction

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Great Gatsby is considered F. Scott Fitzgerald’s magnum opus, exploring themes of decadence, idealism, social stigmas, patriarchal norms, and the deleterious effects of unencumbered wealth in capitalistic society, set against the backdrop of the Jazz Age and the Roaring Twenties.

Beautiful Little Fools by Jillian Cantor

Bestselling author Jillian Cantor reimagines and expands on the literary classic in this atmospheric historical novel told in three women’s alternating voices.

Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald by Therese Fowler

With brilliant insight and imagination, Fowler brings us Zelda's irresistible story as she herself might have told it.

Beautiful Fools by R. Clifton Spargo

Iin 1939, Scott is living in Hollywood, a virulent alcoholic and deeply in debt. Despite his relationship with gossip columnist Sheila Graham, he remains fiercely loyal to Zelda. In an attempt to fuse together their fractured marriage, Scott arranges a trip to Cuba.  After a disastrous first night in Havana, the couple runs off to a beach resort outside the city.

Montauk by Nicola Harrison

Montauk captures the glamour and extravagance of a summer by the sea with the story of a woman torn between the life she chose and the life she desires.

Another Side of Paradise by Sally Koslow

Working from diaries and other primary sources from the time, Sally Koslow revisits a scandalous love affair in this compelling historical novel saturated with the color, glitter, magic, and passion of 1930s Hollywood and London.

The Great Mann by Kyra Lurie

In this poignant retelling of The Great Gatsby, set amongst L.A.’s Black elite, a young veteran finds his way post-war, pulled into a new world of tantalizing possibilities—and explosive tensions.

The Paris Wife by Paula McLain

Following a whirlwind courtship and wedding, Ernest Hemingway and Hadley Richardson set sail for Paris, where they become the golden couple in a lively and volatile group—the fabled “Lost Generation”—that includes Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound, and F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald. Though deeply in love, the Hemingways are ill prepared for the hard-drinking and fast-living life of Jazz Age Paris.

Killing Commendatore by Haruki Murakami

A tour de force of love and loneliness, war and art - as well as a loving homage to The Great Gatsby - Killing Commendatore is a stunning work of imagination from one of our greatest writers.

Nick by Michael F. Smith

A critically acclaimed novelist pulls Nick Carraway out of the shadows and into the spotlight in this "masterful" look into his life before Gatsby (Richard Russo, Pulitzer Prize-winning author)

Daisy by Libby Sternberg

While simultaneously remaining true to the original and adding new information, Sternberg weaves Daisy's perspective and Nick Carraway's account together, correcting what Daisy knows is inaccurate from her cousin's novel.

Rules of Civility by Amor Towles

From the number one New York Times best-selling author, this is a “sharply stylish” (Boston Globe) book about a young woman in post-Depression era New York who suddenly finds herself thrust into high society.

A Certain Age by Beatriz Williams

Williams brings the Roaring '20s brilliantly to life in this enchanting and compulsively listenable tale of intrigue, romance, and scandal in New York society, brimming with lush atmosphere, striking characters, and irresistible charm.

The Gatsby Gambit by Claire Anderson-Wheeler

Deftly subverting romantic notions about money, power, and freedom that still stand today, The Gatsby Gambit is a sparkling homage to, and reinvention of, a world American readers have lionized for generations.

Mansion Beach by Meg Moore

A sparkling, escapist novel following a young woman entwined in the opulent lives of her neighbors, set against a backdrop of scandal, secrets, and a not-so-subtle love triangle.

The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo

Nghi Vo’s debut novel reinvents a classic of the American canon as a coming-of-age story full of magic, mystery, and glittering excess, and introduces a major new literary voice.

film

There are two Great Gatsby films.  Robert Redford starred in the 1974 version and Leonardo DiCaprio headlined the 2013 adaptation.