Author: Rachel

Love May Fail by Matthew Quick

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love may fail2I was looking for an audiobook to listen to in the car when I came across Love May Fail by Matthew Quick.  I really enjoyed reading his previous novel, Silver Linings Playbook (and watching the movie adaptation) so I checked it out without bothering to look at what this book was about.  If you have kids in the car with you, then you do not want to listen to this book.  Read it instead.

Love May Fail starts by introducing us to Portia Kane, who is currently sitting in her clothes closet, drunk, waiting for her husband and his lover to arrive.  After a hilarious confrontation, Portia decides to leave and gets on a plane.  While she is intoxicated.  She stumbles to her seat and finds herself sitting next to a nun.  Sister Maeve is kind and listens to Portia tell her tale of woe.  Before they part, Sister Maeve gives her a note and her address, in case Portia would ever want to write to her in the future.  And it is a good thing that Portia writes to her.  It turns out that they are looking for the same thing.

The plane lands in Philadelphia, Portia’s hometown.  We quickly realize why Portia would want to escape this place after the first encounter with her mother.  Her mother is kind but clearly mentally unstable.  After dragging her mother to a nearby diner, Portia runs into a former classmate and learns that a beloved high school English teacher was forced to retire after a brutal attack.  This teacher was the only decent man that Portia Kane ever had in her life.  Determined to find him and bring him back to the classroom, Portia begins her quest.

Some people believe that God has a master plan that brings people together.  Other people call it destiny.  Whatever you call it, in Love May Fail, you will see how one chance encounter can lead you to the person that you are looking for.  Matthew Quick brings multiple characters together through chance encounters that lead Portia to her former teacher, Mr. Vernon.  But just because you find the person that you are looking for, it does not mean that there is always a happy ending.  Mr. Vernon is a broken man when Portia finds him.  Will she be able to convince him that life is worth living?

Love May Fail is full of dark subject matter, but it is a very funny book.  Portia Kane is a believable flawed middle aged woman that is trying to find the one person that she believes has goodness inside him.  Along her journey, Portia encounters other characters that help her on her quest.  And she may find that there are other people that are good along the way.

 

Language of Love

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Mango_colorDo you want to impress your sweetheart with your ability to say “I love you” in a different languages?  If so, the library can help!

The Davenport Public Library subscribes to a database called Mango Languages which can help you learn several different foreign languages.  So if you want to know how to say, “I love you” in another language this Valentine’s Day, you should take a look at Mango.

Mango Languages offers courses in  71 different languages.  But if you want to learn the “Language of Love”, you might want to try French. Or Italian.  Or possibly Spanish or Portuguese.  Those four languages have entire lesson plans dedicated to “Romance”.  Not only will you learn how to say, “I love you” in your chosen language, but you will also learn terms of endearment.  The lessons in the Romance section also teach you how to introduce yourself, offer to buy someone a drink, and other phrases that could be useful on a date.

I find that it is very easy to learn new foreign phrases on Mango Languages.  The lessons are interactive.  You can see the word and hear how it is pronounced at the same time.  You can play back the word as many times as you need to in order to get the pronunciation right.  And the best thing about Mango Languages is that you can learn at your own pace.  All you need is an Internet connection and a Davenport Public Library card in order to access Mango Languages!  Go to the Online Resources section of our website.  Scroll down alphabetically until you see Mango.  It is best if you sign up for a FREE account and all you need is an email account and password.  You can also find Mango Languages on Google Play and the App store.

Good luck with learning your new foreign phrases!

v day

Meet Me in Atlantis by Mark Adams

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AtlantisMeet Me in Atlantis: My Obsessive Quest to Find the Sunken City by Mark Adams

The Lost City of Atlantis.  One of the Western World’s most famous tales.  Many people dismiss the story as a myth.  But what is interesting about the story of Atlantis is that it was recorded by the great philosopher Plato and that he is the only written source on this story.  The debate over whether or not Atlantis is real or fiction stretches back to Plato’s death back in 347 BC!  Plato claimed that the story was true and the he heard the story from reputable sources.  However, even Plato’s famous student Aristotle expressed doubts about Atlantis being a real place with the quote, “He who invented Atlantis also destroyed it”.

Follow Mark Adams around the world as he interviews people that have studied the lost city of Atlantis.  Some people insist that Atlantis is a legitimate place and that they know the precise location of it.  Other people that speak with Mark Adams are scholars and are less inclined to believe that Atlantis was a real location.  Whether you personally believe in Atlantis or not, you cannot help but be fascinated by the theories that people come up with.

Mark Adams travels to various locations, being shown evidence and possibly proof, that Atlantis existed.  You may think this sounds tedious, but Adams is able to make his journey sound like an exciting adventure.  Much more exciting than Indiana Jones!  One of the first places that he visits is Ireland, home of the Atlantipedia.  The Atlantipedia is similar to Wikipedia, except in this case, the entire web site is devoted to information on Atlantis.  Of course, Mark eventually travels to the Mediterranean and to Greece, home of Plato.  On the way to Greece, he stops at the Straits of Gibraltar.  Many people believe that this is Plato’s site for the Pillars of Heracles.  And yet, some have placed the Pillars of Heracles in North America!

Even if the Lost City of Atlantis is not something that usually captures your attention, you will find yourself engrossed in this story.  After all, the city of Troy has been discovered.  PerhAtlantis2aps Atlantis really existed.  Maybe someone will uncover it.  Or, perhaps it has already been found but we need to find the evidence that links it to Plato’s story.  Anyone that loves the Classics, Greek Mythology, Archaeology, and/or adventure will enjoy this book.

Meet Me in Atlantis: My Obsessive Quest to Find the Sunken City is available in print and in audiobook.

 

The Martian

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The-Martian-2015-movie-posterThe Martian

Just looking at the title, one would assume that this movie is just about space, presumably Mars.  But you would be wrong.  The Martian is a story of survival that just happens to take place on Mars.

Mark Watney, portrayed by Matt Damon, is accidentally left behind on Mars after his crew mates erroneously presumed that he was dead.  Watney must figure out how he is going to survive with some meager supplies.  Surviving in the wilderness on Earth can be quite challenging in itself.  One must find food and clean water as well as have shelter from predators and the elements.  Imagine having all of these problems plus needing to have a supply of oxygen and protect one self from the hostile environment on Mars.

“If the oxygenator breaks down, I’ll suffocate. If the water reclaimer breaks down, I’ll die of thirst. If the Hab beaches, I’ll just kind of implode. If none of those things happen. I’ll eventually run out of food and starve to death. So yeah.” – Mark Watney

And yet, Mark Watney manages to find a way to stay alive.  And he does so with a sense of humor.  Even in  a tense situation, while you are sitting on the edge of your seat, Watney will figure out a way to make you laugh as he himself laughs at danger.  He makes contact with NASA and finds out that it will take a very long time for them to rescue him.  The question becomes, will Mark Watney be able to stay alive long enough so that he can be rescued?

Nominated for Best Picture and for Best Actor, Matt Damon.  The Martian won the Golden Globe Award for Best Picture, Comedy or Musical and for Best Actor, Matt Damon, in a Comedy of Musical.  Do not let the Golden Globe Awards fool you.  Even though The Martian has funny moments, it is not a comedy.

martian bookThe Martian is based on the book of the same name by Andy Weir which is also available at the Davenport Public Library.

 

 

 

Atomic Training: eReader edition

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atomicDid you get a new eReader for Christmas?  Are you having trouble figuring out how it functions?  The library may be able to help you!

Davenport Public Library subscribes to a database called Atomic Training.  This database has thousands of videos that will teach you how to use your Kindle, iPad, Nook or Android device.  And since you have a library card from the Davenport Public Library, you are able to watch these videos at your convenience!

If you have an iPad, you can learn about the different settings and how to install iBooks.  Also, there are tutorials about the Kindle app and the Nook app that you can install on your iPad.  You can also watch videos about finding apps to read newspapers and magazines.

If you have a Kindle, you can learn how to manage your Kindle library, share content on multiple devices, and the different settings and features available.  Also included are videos on how to locate free materials for your Kindle.  Tutorials about Amazon Prime and apps available for Amazon Prime.  You can also find help for how to use your Kindle Fire as a tablet and its Internet Browser.

Nook users can find help on a variety of topics.  You can learn how to set up your Barnes and Noble account along with the different features.  Also, there are are tutorials about using Chrome and Google Play.  Videos have information on how to find newspapers, magazines and other free materials.

To access Atomic Training, go to Research Tools on our website. From there, go to Online Resources. Once you are there, you will find Atomic Training. You will have to set up a free account to access the database.  All it requires is an email adress and password.

Pixels

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pixels  I admit, after watching this movie, I do not know if anyone that was born after 1985 would enjoy this movie.  Maybe they would if they like to play old arcade games when they come across one.  But playing an arcade version of Pac Man at Happy Joes is nothing like going to an actual arcade and being surrounded by various games and players. But I digress.

If you do remember going to the arcade and playing games such as Donkey Kong you will find the movie Pixels enjoyable.  No, it will not win any Oscars but it is a fun movie to watch.  Starring Adam Sandler, Peter Dinklage, Kevin James and Josh Gad, this fearless foursome were the some of the top arcade game players back in the day.  The movie opens in 1982 with Brenner and Eddie facing off for the championship.  At the time, a time capsule is launched into space containing various things including video games.

Fast forward to the present year.  Aliens attack a U.S. military base in Guam.  The attack came from creatures that looked similarly to the old video game Galaga.  Cooper is the current President of the United States and he calls his old friend Brenner for help.  The aliens have sent messages to Earth. They received the time capusle from 1982 and they viewed it as a declaration of war.  The aliens have sent video games in the form of pixels to attack Earth.  In order to survive, Earth has to win three rounds of classic video game attacks.  A second attack happens at the Taj Mahal in India before the U.S. is able to react.

Brenner and Ludlow train a group of soldiers to fight the video games.  The key to defeating the game is knowing the pattern.  When a third attack happens in London, the soldiers, Brenner and Ludlow fight off the alien video game version of Centipede. Even the soldiers tried, it is Brenner and Ludlow that save the day.  The fourth game is in New York City and the game is Pac Man.  In order to defeat this game, they are going to need four ghosts.  This is where Peter Dinklage comes into the movie.  The fourth ghost is played by Pac Man creator Toru Iwatani.  Watching a giant Pac Man chomp down the streets of New York is a visual experience I never expected to see.  Eventually Pac Man is defeated until the aliens send a message that one of the ghosts cheated.

The next attack is in Washington, D.C.  And this time, it is not just one game.  It is ALL the video game characters attacking Earth.  For Earth to win, the game Donkey Kong has to be defeated.  Even President Cooper joins the action and fights the aliens.

Before you watch Pixels, you should watch the documentary, The King of Kong: a Fistful of Quarters.  Unemployed school teacher Steve Wiebe has a Donkey Kong, Jr arcade game.  He spendkongs a lot of time playing it.  He looks up the high score for Donkey Kong, and thinks to himself that he can beat that score.  So Steve Wiebe goes after Billy Mitchell’s high score for Donkey Kong.  You may think that no movie about a Donkey Kong score could be interesting to watch.  But you would be wrong.  Apparently, those high scores still matter to a lot of people.  It is an intense experience watching Wiebe go after the high score.  I mention this documentary because you will quickly notice the similarities between these characters and the main characters in Pixels.

 

The Monopolists by Mary Pilon

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monopolistsThe Monopolists: Obsession, Fury, and the Scandal Behind the World’s Favorite Board Game by Mary Pilon

Monopoly. Everyone is familiar with the board game.  The odd little tokens and the fight over who gets to be the racecar. Plastic green houses and plastic red hotels. The person that always insisted on being the banker. The seemingly endless trips around the board, passing “Go” and collecting $200. The agony of landing on Boardwalk when it had multiple hotels on it.

Surprisingly, the board game Monopoly has a long and interesting background.  According to the manufacturers of the game, Parker Brothers, the Monopoly game was created by Charles Darrow.  Parker Brothers even printed the story of how Charles Darrow had created the game Monopoly in 1935 in the instruction booklet for the game:

“In 1934, Charles B. Darrow of Germantown, Pennsylvania, presented a game called MONOPOLY to the executives of Parker Brothers. Mr. Darrow, like many other Americans, was unemployed at the time and often played this game to amuse himself and pass the time. It was the game’s exciting promise of fame and fortune that initially prompted Darrow to produce this game on his own. With help from a friend who was a printer, Darrow sold 5,000 sets of the MONOPOLY game to a Philadelphia department store. As the demand for the game grew, Darrow could not keep up with the orders and arranged for Parker Brothers to take over the game. Since 1935, when Parker Brothers acquired the rights to the game, it has become the leading proprietary game not only in the United States but throughout the Western World”. 

However, this story of the creation of Monopoly is not true.  The Monopoly game can be traced back to the early 1900s.  In 1906, Lizzie Magie applied for a patent on a game that she invented called, The Landlord’s Game.  Lizzie Magie was a follower of Henry George and she created the game in order to help explain George’s single tax theory. She played The Landlord’s Game with her friends, who in turn, copied the board so they would have their own copy of the game. Her friends played the game with other friends who copied the game and in turn, shared it with other friends.  The game spread. In 1924, Lizzie Magie renewed her patent for The Landlord’s Game.

This audiobook goes into more detail about the origins of the Monopoly game and how it became the game we all recognize today. People might have always thought the game was created by Charles Darrow if it had not been for a lawsuit in 1973.  Ralph Anspach, an economic professor, created a game that he called, Anti-Monopoly and he was sued by Parker Brothers. The truth of the origins of the Monopoly game were revealed during this time. A fascinating look at America during the turn of the century and through the Great Depression, corporate greed, and the discovery of the truth, this audiobook is one that you don’t want to miss!

National Novel Writing Month

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Crest for National Novel Writing Month
Crest for National Novel Writing Month

Are you trying to write the next great American novel? Do you find yourself needing motivation to write?

If so then you will be happy to learn that November is National Novel Writing Month.  Authors from all around the world are members of the National Novel Writing Month website.  On this website, you can track your writing progress, get pep talks, talk to fellow authors on the forums, and meet other authors in your area.  According to the website,

“National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to creative writing. 

On November 1, participants begin working towards the goal of writing a 50,000-word novel by 11:59 PM on November 30.

Valuing enthusiasm, determination, and a deadline, NaNoWriMo is for anyone who has ever thought about writing a novel.”

 

If you want to challenge yourself to write 50,000 words during the month of November, then check out the National Novel Writing Month website:

 

http://nanowrimo.org/

 

Happy Writing!

The X-Files

- Rachel Leave a comment

x filesThe X-Files is coming back to television on January 24, 2016!  And October is the perfect month to re-watch the original series.  Why? Because the show is creepy. The perfect amount of creepiness to put you in the mood for Halloween.  If you never watched The X-Files, you may mistakenly believe that the show is only about aliens and UFOs.  While there are a lot of episodes that involve aliens, there are plenty of other episodes about creatures that go bump in the night. If you enjoyed shows such as Alfred Hitchcock Presents and the Twilight Show, you will enjoy watching The X-Files.

The show began airing in 1993 and it was on television for nine seasons for a total of 202 episodes.  The show is centered on a pair of FBI Special Agents, Fox Mulder and Dr. Dana Scully.  There are many times that it comes in handy that Scully is a medical doctor.  Along with keeping you healthy, she can perform autopsies.  Mulder is a talented profiler, but he was drawn to the X-files because of his strong belief in the supernatural.  As the series progresses, we learn that Mulder’s younger sister was abducted by aliens when they were children.  But as mentioned earlier, the show is not entirely based on aliens.  Agents Mulder and Scully investigate all sorts of different creatures such mutants, vampires, werewolves, and people with genetic abnormalities and psychic abilities.  A theme of the show is that the United States government is aware of a lot of the creatures and people that Mulder and Scully investigate.  Even after witnessing strange phenomenon first hand, Agents Mulder and Scully often find themselves being shut down by “someone” higher up in the government.  The thought that the government may be keeping secrets about strange life forms is an unsettling part of the show.

If you do not want to watch all 202 episodes of The X-Files, here is a list of the episodes you must watch before the new episodes air on January 24, 2016.

 

Chris Carter, creator of The X-Files, recommends that you watch:

1. “Pilot” (Season 1, Episode 1)

The one that introduced Mulder, Scully, their defining characteristics, their relationship, their world.

2. “Deep Throat” (Season 1, Episode 2)

This episode introduces the idea of a government conspiracy/cover-up of extra-terrestrial activity and a mysterious informant, code named Deep Throat

3. “Beyond the Sea” (Season 1, Episode 13)

The episode that sees Scully become the believer after the death of her father overlaps with the case of an allegedly psychic serial killermulder

4. “The Erlenmeyer Flask” (Season 1, Episode 24)

There’s a shocking death, and from this point forward, the conspiracy storyline becomes the driving narrative of the show

5. “The Host” (Season 2, Episode 2)

There’s something sinister lurking in the sewers in this classic monster-of-the-week episode

6.  “Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose” (Season 3, Episode 4)

In one of the greatest X-Files episodes ever, Peter Boyle guest stars as a morbid psychic.

7.  “Memento Mori” (Season 4, Episode 14)

Though it features the usual alien rhetoric, this episode is best remembered as the one in which Scully learns she has cancer.

8. “Post-Modern Prometheus” (Season 5, Episode 5)

A Frankenstein-inspired tale about a lovelorn monster. It’s notable for its beautiful black-and-white cinematography.

9.  “Bad Blood” (Season 5, Episode 12)

The signature episode from a young Vince Gilligan, Mulder and Scully investigate a vampire case told in flashback from Mulder and Scully’s POV.

10.  “Milargo” (Season 6, Episode 18)

A favorite of the X-Files writing staff, Mulder and Scully contend with an author whose gruesome fiction becomes reality.

 

 

Top Ten (written by) Vince Gilligan Episodes: (fan favorites)

1. “Bad Blood” (Season 5, Episode 12)

Mulder and Scully investigate vampires from two very different POVs.

2. “Drive” (Season 6, Episode 2)

A man has a terrible headache and forces Mulder to drive him at high speeds.

3.  “Pusher” (Season 3, Episode 17)

A man with psychic abilities is able to make things happen just by saying it aloud.

4. “Folie a Deaux” (Season 5, Episode 19)

A man claims his boss is a giant cockroach.

5.  “Small Potatoes” (Season 4, Episode 20)

A man with a tail can morph into other men.

6. “X-Cops” (Season 7, Episode 12)x-files-unruhe

That’s right. It’s the show Cops starring Mulder and Scully.

7.  “Unruhe” (Season 4, Episode 4)

A killer lobotomizes women with an ice pick, but their images show up at a photo booth surrounded by ghosts.

8.  “Hungry” (Season 7, Episode 3)

A mutant with an insatiable appetite.

9.  “Je Souhaite” (Season 7, Episode 21)

A magic genie causes havoc.

10.  “Sunshine Days” (Season 9, Episode 18)

Murder at the “Brady Bunch house”

http://decider.com/2015/04/07/vince-gilligan-x-files-top-10/

 

x believe
The X-Files I Want to Believe movie

 

The library has the DVD sets of The X-Files as well as the film adaptations.  There are also books and graphic novels about The X-Files at the library.  Check them out today.

A Load of Hooey by Bob Odenkirk

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hooeyYou may recognize Bob Odenkirk as the character Saul Goodman from the AMC drama, Breaking Bad and its spin-off, Better Call Saul.  But Odenkirk has been a comedy writer for a long time and he has written many things that have made you laugh over the years.  He got his start at Chicago’s Second City and went to write at Saturday Night Live alongside Robert Smigel and Conan O’Brien.  Odenkirk is the creator of beloved SNL character, motivational speaker Matt Foley, portrayed by Chris Farley.  He also wrote for Late Night with Conan O’Brien, The Ben Stiller Show, Get a Life, The Dennis Miller Show, and Mr. Show with Bob and David.  A Load of Hooey is Odenkirk’s first book of sketch comedy.

A Load of Hooey is in print and on audiobook.  I listened to the audiobook and I’m glad that I did.  Bob Odenkirk is one of the voice actors, along with David Cross, Jay Johnston, Jerry Minor, Megan Amram and Paul F. Tompkins.  Listening to these talented actors made an already funny book even more delightfully funny to listen to.  Who knew that you could laugh at Hitler?  Bob Odenkirk made that happen.  I laughed at Adolph Hitler thanks to the talented writing of Bob Odenkirk.  And it is not just hated people that Odenkirk writes sketches of.  Nope. He even goes after beloved former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney.  And it’s funny.

So if you enjoy watching sketch comedy, need to listen to a book in the car, don’t have a lot of time, (this audiobook is 2.5 hours long) and you want to laugh, I recommend checking out the audiobook, A Load of Hooey by Bob Odenkirk.  Or you can read it.  But it’s funnier to listen to.  But you should check it out, either format.