What We're Watching: Laurie

Bored To Death. Written and created by Jonathan Ames. Starring Jason Schwartzman, Ted Danson, Zach Galifianakis, Heather Burns and Olivia Thirlby.


Jonathan Ames (Schwartzman), a young novelist and writer for a New York magazine, is experiencing heartbreak as his live-in girlfriend Suzanne (Thirlby) has recently moved out of their Brooklyn apartment. Ames lists himself as an unlicensed private detective on Craigslist which he hopes will help distract him from the emotional pain of losing Suzanne as well as supplement his income while he is working on his second novel. Jonathan winds up involved in many sticky situations as he takes on new cases. Hilarious, quirky, smart and well written. Great chemistry between the actors. Schwartzman at his best.

What We're Listening To: Tracy

Story and Song from the Haunted Mansion, by Disney

In 1969, fans had been eagerly awaiting the opening of the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland for several years. This promotional album was released to introduce the attraction, and featured a story, song, and sound effects. The story, about two teenagers who took shelter in the mansion during a storm, did not end up in the final version of the ride, but it remained a fan favorite. 40 years later, Disney has re-released this beloved album on CD for a whole new generation. Dim the lights, turn up the volume, and sing along with the "grim grinning ghosts!"

What We're Reading: Tracy

The Ghost of Crutchfield Hall, by Mary Downing Hahn.

Quintessential children's ghost story writer, Mary Downing Hahn, delivers another gem just in time for Halloween with The Ghost of Crutchfield Hall.
Twelve year old Florence looks forward to moving into her uncle's English country manor house, anticipating its luxury and comfort after the bleakness of Miss Medleycoate's Home for Orphan Girls. But something unexpected waits for Florence in Crutchfield Hall's dark corners: the vengeful ghost of her cousin Sophie, who intends to return to the world of the living by sending someone else to that of the dead. Will Florence discover the danger in time, and find a way to make Crutchfield Hall a happy home?

What We're Reading: Tracy

Frankenstein: a Cultural History, by Susan Tyler Hitchcock.

It's been almost two centuries since eighteen year old Mary Wollstonecroft Godwin, soon to be Mary Shelley, penned Frankenstein after a nightmare-filled, storm-swept evening in a villa on the shores of Lake Geneva. Challenged by host Lord Byron to write a "ghost story," Mary's tale went on become a classic of Gothic literature, and her monster one of the best-known in all of horror history.

Susan Tyler Hitchcock's engaging study of the Frankenstein phenomena examines the roots of its enduring popularity and traces the branches of its many cultural iterations. From campy vintage television programming (The Munsters) to contemporary catch-phrases (cloning and stem cell research referred to as "Frankenstein" science), the Victorian monster still staggers through our modern world, and appears likely to do so for the foreseeable future. As Hitchcock writes in her introduction:

"Like myth and dream, Shelley's tale contains multitudes. A kaleidoscope in which the moral vectors shift with every viewing, the story of Frankenstein manages to balance contradictory views of human nature within one story. Frankenstein, the central character, is both hero and sinner; his creation is both a glorious accomplishment and a horror-filled crime. From this paradox the story derives its power, surging out from a short novel written by an English teenager in the early nineteenth century to become a universal symbol and a myth known around the world. This is our monster. To know him is to know ourselves."

This Halloween, spend some time with Frankenstein: a Cultural History, and get to know a classic monster.

What We're Reading: Alice

The top ten first novels of the past year display remarkable imagination and artistry as they take us from Alabama to the Azores Islands, Appalachia, Afghanistan, the Philippines, and Manhattan. Their characters journey from childhood to adulthood, rags to riches, confusion to revelation.

The Sterling Heights Public Library has in its collection eight of the top ten first novels as reported in the October 15, 2010 Booklist magazine.

Check them out!

Anthill by Edward O. Wilson

Bloodroot by Amy Greene

Born Under a Million Shadows by Andrea Busfield

Crossing by Andrew Xia Fukuda

The Girl Who Fell from the Sky by Heidi W. Durrow

Ilustrado by Miguel Syjuco

Kapitoil by Teddy Wayne

Ruby's Spoon by Anna Lawrence Pietroni

Rounding out the top ten list are Barnacle Love by Anthony De Sa and Rich Boy by Sharon Pomerantz.

What We're Watching : Laurie

I Need That Record! The Death (or Possible Survival) of the Independent Record Store. Written and directed by Brendan Toller.

Toller explores the possible reasons why many of the independent, or "mom and pop", record stores in the United States are closing their doors. Toller visits several independent record stores and lets the owners/workers talk about why they are closing and what owning/working at the store means to them. Interviews with many musicians on independent record labels (Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth, Ian MacKaye of Fugazi/Minor Threat, Patterson Hood of Drive-By Truckers, Pat Carney of the Black Keys, Lenny Kaye of the Patti Smith Group and Legs McNeil co-founder and writer of Punk Magazine and former senior editor of Spin Magazine) help round out this documentary. Independent record stores not only give music fans a sense of community but also help folks discover amazing bands that the national chain stores do not stock. While downloading songs from iTunes certainly is convenient, there is nothing like holding an actual vinyl record or cd in your hand and checking out the liner notes and art work. Support your independent record store!

Some of my favorite local stores:

Car City Records- St. Clair Shores, MI
http://www.myspace.com/carcityrecords

http://www.facebook.com/pages/St-Clair-Shores-MI/Car-City-Records/323427069692

The Record Collector- Ferndale, MI
http://www.myspace.com/ferndalerecords

Record Time- Roseville, MI
http://recordtime.com/Home

What We're Reading: Edward

The Thieves of Manhattan: a novel

by Adam Langer

Ian Minot is a writer from the Midwest. His is using his inheritance to survive in New York until his stories make him rich and famous. His "Romanian" girlfriend gets her memoir published first. She then leaves him for the writer of a gangbanger memoir. Ian faces the inevitable failure of his dream. At his lowest point he meets Jed Roth. Roth works in the publishing business. He knows the pain of having your work turned down for publication. Roth gets Ian to rewrite Roth's failed work of fiction as Ian's memoir. Once it becomes a best seller, Ian hopes to sell his own works and reveal the hoax. But soon the work of fiction/memoir takes on a life of its own. You will be amazed at the way the story unfolds. One of my top ten reads for the year!