Wonderfalls

One of the best rewards of the proliferation of TV on DVD is the chance to see series that were canceled prematurely.  One such gem is Wonderfalls, a comedic drama (or is it dramatic comedy?) about Jaye Tyler, a sarcastic college graduate who has opted for an expectation-free life by working in a tourist shop at Niagara Falls.  Her routine takes an unexpected turn when the souvenirs for sale begin to speak to her, giving her strange instructions:  “don’t give her money back” or “break the taillight”.  Jaye, played with a wry vulnerability by Caroline Dhavernas, worries she might be crazy, and her dysfunctional family and quirky friends do not offer much comfort.  Wonderfalls, produced by Regency Television and 20th Century Fox, is a 2004 series not given a chance to find its audience, but this set features all thirteen episodes, including nine that were never shown.

I Was Told There'd Be Cake

Even if your life bears little resemblance to a twenty-something New Yorker's, you will find yourself laughing in solidarity with Sloane Crosley in I Was Told There'd Be Cake.  This debut collection of personal essays offers observations on modern rites of passage with wit and panache.  Whether writing about apartment struggles, impossible bosses, friends’ weddings, or summer camp, Crosley is transparently flawed and funny.  The incredible becomes outrageous, but the strangeness that is life grounds each episode.  The next time you contemplate a change in your eating habits or find yourself locked out, you’ll wish it were as entertaining a story as those included here.

The Fiction Class

“You’ve known there was something special about you for a long time, haven’t you?”  With these words, the students in Susan Breen’s The Fiction Class are introduced to their instructor, Arabella Hicks.  Arabella is a skilled professional, though she certainly doesn't feel that way when she makes her weekly visits to her mother.  Every Wednesday after teaching her mismatched group of aspiring writers, Arabella then steels herself to spend time with the one person who makes her crazy.  Elements of her two roles begin to mingle, and it is through this curious combination that Arabella finds her own true voice.  Possibly the next-best thing to attending a writing seminar of your own, The Fiction Class is a tribute to those who appreciate the craft of finding just the right words to tell a good story.

Andrew Greeley

Chicago native Andrew Greeley is known as priest, author, journalist, and benefactor.  He is one of the most influential Catholic thinkers of our time, and his wit and insights make him a popular subject for national radio and television interviews.  A prolific writer, Father Greeley is celebrated for both his general fiction and his mystery series.  He is also credited with many important works on the Catholic faith, especially those that examine contemporary and controversial issues.  His versatility is evident in two of his most recent works: Irish Tiger, the eleventh installment in the Nuala Anne McGrail mysteries, and A Stupid, Unjust, and Criminal War: Iraq, 2001-2007.  Father Greeley is very active in his hometown, contributing a weekly column to the Chicago Sun-Times and helping to establish local charities.  Further proving his loyalty, his website declares he "remains an inveterate Chicago sports fan, cheering for the Bulls, Bears, and the Cubs, while praying for them to improve."

Celebrate Knowledge

    Question:  Can you name the firm whose seventy thousand seasonal white-collar employees work only four months a year?  (Hint:  they are hard at work right now!)

April 13-19 is National Library Week, and the theme is "Join the Circle of Knowledge".  What better way to celebrate than to take a trip into Brainiac: Adventures in the Curious, Competitive, Compulsive World of Trivia Buffs?  Author Ken Jennings uses the story of his record-breaking 74 wins on the popular game show Jeopardy! as a framework by which to explore the history and fascination of trivia contests.  His style is light and personable, and his enthusiasm for the world of trivia lovers is contagious.  Jennings even peppers each chapter with questions, and the reader cannot help but feel a little smarter just for following along.  Moreover, if you can name H&R Block as the answer to the question above, then you already know something Jennings didn't when he was finally beaten by another Jeopardy! contestant.

Heavyweight Prize Writing -- the 2008 Pulitzers

   Congratulations to the 2008 Pulitzer Prize winners!  The honor in fiction was awarded to Junot Diaz for The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, a novel that has continued to amass both critical and popular acclaim since its debut last fall.  In the history category, Daniel Walker Howe took the Prize for What God Hath Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815 - 1848.  Biographer John Matteson has been named a winner for Eden's Outcasts: The Story of Louisa May Alcott and Her Father, as has Saul Friedlander for The Years of Extermination: Nazi Germany and the Jews, 1939-1945.  Also newsworthy is the awarding of a special music citation to Bob Dylan, which lauded his "profound impact on popular music and American culture, marked by lyrical compositions of extraordinary poetic power."   

Rhett Butler's People

  Barb Bisbee of the Fiction/AV/Teen department recommends Rhett Butler’s People by Donald McCaig:

Rhett Butler's People is an intriguing companion to Gone with the Wind.  It’s an epic story which chronicles the life and times of the adventurous and romantic hero, Rhett Butler.  Some of the people who shape Rhett’s life include his uncompromising, mean-spirited father, Rhett’s devoted sister Rosemary, his best friend and one-time slave, Tunis Bonneau, former love Belle Watling and, of course, the love of Rhett’s life, the passionate Scarlett O’Hara.  By all accounts, Gone with the Wind is so legendary that it seems untouchable.  However, Donald McCaig’s adaptation of the beloved Margaret Mitchell saga is a worthy story that never questions the essence of the characters:  family, land, country, and, most of all, love.

Charlton Heston, an epic life

   "If you need a ceiling painted, a chariot race run, a city besieged, or the Red Sea parted, you think of me."    -- Charlton Heston

Evanston-born Charlton Heston, Oscar winner for his star turn in Ben Hur (1959), died Saturday, April 5, 2008.  Best known for heroic roles in grand epics such as The Ten Commandments (1956) and El Cid (1961), Heston brought intensity and presence to his work both on screen and off.  A World War II Army veteran, he visited troops during the Vietnam War and in 2003 was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.  Author Patrick O’Brian counted Heston as a friend and even envisioned him one day playing his title character Captain Jack Aubrey.  A writer himself, Heston penned his autobiography In the Arena as well as a book entitled To Be a Man: Letters to My Grandson.  Among his many other film credits are The Greatest Show on Earth (1952), Julius Caesar (1970), and The Planet of the Apes (1968).

The First Patient

What if those closest to the President of the United States couldn't be trusted with his safety?  In The First Patient, strange episodes have begun to plague the country's leader, and his personal physician has mysteriously disappeared.  Dr. Gabe Singleton, an old friend of the President's, is asked to take the job.  Not long after arriving in Washington, he realizes that his college buddy is in the midst of a health crisis that could have national ramifications.  Gabe must balance dedication to his patient with responsibility to his country, and attacks on his own life only add to his suspicions.  Michael Palmer crafts a tense thriller that explores frightening scientific abuses and the vulnerability of the leader of the free world.