I Can Read Movies

I stumbled upon this clever online collection of fake vintage book jackets for movies the other day and I wanted to share. Here are a bunch of my favorites:







Cool.

New Arrivals!!!

January 1st - January 15th

Librarian's Pick of the Week: Stargirl

Title: Stargirl
Author: Jerry Spinelli
Published: 2000
Age: 13+

Every girl should read this at least once.

Synopsis: "From the day she arrives at quiet Mica High in a burst of color and sound, the hallways hum with the murmur of “Stargirl, Stargirl.” She captures Leo Borlock’s heart with just one smile. She sparks a school-spirit revolution with just one cheer. The students of Mica High are enchanted. At first. Then they turn on her. Stargirl is suddenly shunned for everything that makes her different, and Leo, panicked and desperate with love, urges her to become the very thing that can destroy her: normal. In this celebration of nonconformity, Newbery Medalist Jerry Spinelli weaves a tense, emotional tale about the perils of popularity and the thrill and inspiration of first love."

Review: "Sixteen-year-old Leo recounts Stargirl's sojourn at Mica High in an allegorical story that is engagingly written but overreaches. Everyone notices Stargirl when she comes to school. She wears a granny gown, strums a ukulele, and sings "Happy Birthday" to kids in the cafeteria. She also carries around a pet rat. Her classmates veer between ignoring her and being discreetly fascinated by her weirdness--dancing when there's no music, speaking in class of trolls and stars. Slowly, Stargirl attracts a following, especially after she gives a spellbinding speech in an oratorical contest and singlehandly stirs up school spirit. But her intense popularity is short-lived as, predictably, the teens turn on her. Leo is attracted by Stargirl and her penchant for good works. But just about the time they get together, the rest of the school is shunning her, and to his confusion and despair, Leo eventually turns his back on Stargirl, too. Spinelli firmly captures the high-school milieu, here heightened by the physical and spiritual barrenness of an Arizona location, a new town where people come to work for technology companies and the school team is called the Electrons. Dialogue, plot, and supporting cast are strong: the problem here is Stargirl herself. She may have been homeschooled, may not have seen much TV, but despite her name, she has lived on planet earth for 15 years, and her naivete is overplayed and annoying. When Leo tells her that not everyone likes having somebody with a ukulele sing "Happy Birthday" to them, she is shocked. That she has not noticed she is being shunned is unbelievable, and, at times, readers may feel more sympathy for the bourgeois teens than the earnest, kind, magical Stargirl. That's too bad, because Spinelli's point about the lure and trap of normalcy is a good one. But to make it real, Stargirl needed to have at least one foot on the ground." - Booklist


If you're intrigued, don't forget to check our library's catalog for this book!

Reimagination of the Month

I can't think of a more enjoyable Cary Grant movie than Arsenic and Old Lace. I'm sure lots of you are probably screaming their disagreement right now. (While still more are probably asking... "Who's Cary Grant...?) Many would say that North by Northwest or An Affair to Remember or The Philadelphia Story are his best. But although they are all indeed lovely films, I enjoy this one the best. Cary Grant is just so great in his comedies, and I especially love this dark comedy. So I thought it would be great fun to give it a little bit of a spin.

Items in this set:
Shopruche.com dress, $46
Tory Burch boots, $595
Tanojewelry.com hair accessories, $15
Dorothy Perkins necklace, 12 GBP
Proenza Schouler sunglasses, $290

The movie is about a man named Mortimer Bruster who works at a newspaper. He is also an author who is very outspoken against marriage. But as fate would have it (and the lovely Elaine Harper) we find him getting married at city hall in the very first scene. But now he needs to take a quick trip home to tell his two maiden aunts and his only family. While trying to break the news about his marriage, he also finds out his aunts' newest favorite pasttime; renting rooms out to lonely old men so that they may poison them and burying them in the cellar! It is such a fun movie and I highly recommend it.

Items in this set:
Charlotterusse.com jeans, $30
Peacocks.co.uk flats, 12 GBP
Betsey Johnson earrings, $56
Dorothy Perkins jewelry, 8 GBP
Old Navy, $20