Whenever I see an adaptation of a good book, I walk into the theater or sit down in front of the television and tell myself that I must be prepared to handle the changes made to the story, however unreasonable they may seem to me.  After all, books, comics, movies, television shows, and video games all present good methods for telling a story, but what works in one medium may not work so well in the other.

For example, most books require descriptions of locations, people, and the thoughts in the characters’ heads.  The other mediums that I mentioned are visual- they don’t need to include a description of what Jay Gatsby looks like or how Nancy Drew is feeling because we should be able to see these things through an actor’s performance.  Length is often a problem too- the stories in books can go on as long as the author wants; the stories in television shows and video games need to be long to fill out a certain number of episodes or levels, and movies have to be much more concise to meet a reasonable running time.

But sometimes I just can’t help feeling upset when I see what I believe are unnecessary changes to a good story.  You would never know that Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was a critically successful film if you listened to me rant about it.  Percy Jackson and the Olympians comes to mind too, and I have yet to see a faithful Dracula adaptation that respected Bram Stoker’s original novel.

Baz Luhrman’s The Great Gatsby presented a whole different kind of experience for me.  It has about five direct changes from the book that I can think of off the top of my head, and only one of them is important.  It even has the narrator, Nick Carraway, writing about his experiences as he flashes back to his summer at West Egg, and some of the novel’s text is actually shown floating across the screen as the movie transitions from one scene to the next.

It has to be one of the most faithful adaptations of a book that I have ever seen.

Whether or not that makes it a good movie on its own turned out to be a whole other question.

On the positive side, the cast of this movie is perfect.  Leonardo DiCaprio is- for lack of a better description- a great Gatsby.  Seeing him specifically play the character even sharpened the tragedy of the story for me, because Jay Gatsby deludes himself into believing that he is his own Jack Dawson, coming to rescue the rich girl that he loves from her evil rich suitor.  But Daisy isn’t as strong as Rose and a part of her does love her husband, Tom.  I didn’t feel a lot of chemistry between DiCaprio and Carey Mulligan, but I think that’s the point of their relationship.  They’re more in love with the ideas they have about each other than the actual person.

Visually, this movie is a lot more intense than some of the other Great Gatsbys that I’ve seen.  It is big, grand, and fast-paced.  But I still felt like the movie was missing something.  I took a long time writing this review, trying to figure out what it was, and I still can’t figure it out.

Maybe the movie was a little too faithful to the book, strange as that sounds.  Having Nick narrate the story and showing him writing down the text from the novel was a really neat idea.  But occasionally there are moments when he describes something- how he felt about someone or what that character was thinking- a technique that does not belong in a movie.  We can see the characters on the screen, so we should be allowed to figure out for ourselves what’s going on inside Daisy’s head or Nick’s changing opinions of people throughout the movie.  We don’t need him to tell us.

I wish I knew why I didn’t enjoy this movie as much as I enjoyed the book.  It followed the story, everyone played their roles well, it was beautiful to look at, but it was definitely lacking something.  You can decide for yourself if you’d like to check it out at your nearest theater.  But I recommend reading the book first!

Red Dragon is the first book published in the acclaimed series by Thomas Harris which features Dr. Hannibal Lecter.  I have been enjoying the show with my roommates who, knowing that I read some of Harris’ work, started to ask me questions. Unfortunately I had not read Red Dragon and therefore had few answers for them. The next day the book came across my desk and I took it as a sign to start reading.

Before I start to gush over this book I feel that a few words of caution are needed. This is a graphic novel when it comes to violence. It also has some disturbing themes including child abuse. Harris has an amazing ability to make you cringe while making it impossible to stop reading. As previously stated I have been reading his books since 2003 and to be honest I had forgotten how much I enjoy his style. It’s amazing to me how interesting he makes a character’s spiraling out of control.

I was also surprised by how much I liked the main character, Will Graham. I’m not sure why I was surprised as I have enjoyed the portrayals of him in the 2001 movie and 2013 television series. In the books the reader is allowed in Will’s head:  all his intelligence, insecurities, compassion and his wonderfully snarky nature. The reader also has insight into the killer whom Will is trying to catch. I can’t say much about the killer but he is a wonderfully layered character.

This is a great story. I was on the edge of my seat while reading it, even having seen the movie. So if you like crime books I would recommend it. If you haven’t tried crime books but enjoy television series like Criminal Minds or even Hannibal I would recommend it.

Want to read something different?  We’ve added some new releases to our book collection that may interest you:

Adult

• Mickey and Willie: Mantle and Mays, the Parallel Lives of Baseball’s Golden Age, by Allen Barra
• The Roberts Court: The Struggle for the Constitution, by Marcia Coyle
• Midnight in Peking: How the Murder of a Young Englishwoman Haunted the Last Days of Old China, by Paul French
• The Feud: The Hatfields and the McCoys, by Dean King
• Blogging and Tweeting Without Getting Sued, by Mark Pearson

YA

• Loki’s Wolves, by K.L. Armstrong and M.A. Marr
• Cameron and the Girls, by Edward Averett
• Pulse, by Patrick Carman
• Reached, by Ally Condie
• Beautiful Redemption, by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
• Sapphire Blue, by Kerstin Gier
• Arclight, by Josin McQueen
• Born Wicked, by Jessica Spotswood

Thanks to a very generous donation from the West Chester Rotary Club, we were also able to purchase many new YA books and graphic novels for you to enjoy, including:

• Batman: Earth One, by Geoff Johns
• Drama, by Raina Telgemeier
• Dawn of the Arcana Vols. 4-8, by Rei Tma
• The Goddess Test, by Aimee Carter
• Green Lantern, Volume 1: Sinestro, by Geoff Johns
• Green Lantern, Volume 2: The Revenge of Black Hand, by Geoff Johns
• My Parent Has Cancer and It Really Sucks: Real-Life Advice from Real-Life Teens, by Maya and Marc Silver
• Pulse, by Patrick Carman
• This Is What Happy Looks Like, by Jennifer E. Smith

If these books are not on the shelf when you visit our library, remember that you can always put them on hold, either through the help of one of the librarians or through your account at: http://catalog.ccls.org/.

Insurgent is the second book in the Divergent series by Veronica Roth. I read the first book, Divergent, about a year ago when it was recommended to me by a friend. She knew that I have a soft spot for dystopian novels. I hesitated to read Insurgent because of the mixed reviews I found online. When I found the courage to pick up the book I couldn’t put it down!

I promise not to spoil anything for those who haven’t started the series yet. The protagonist of the series is Tris Prior, a sixteen year old who like most teenagers is trying to find her place in the world. Unlike most teenagers she has to make a choice at sixteen which could literally change her world forever. The people of dystopian Chicago live in four groups or Factions, who value different ways of life. The Abington value selflessness, the Candor value honesty, the Amity value peacefulness, the Erudite value knowledge and the Dauntless value bravery. Upon turning sixteen teenagers go to a special ceremony and choose which Faction they want to live in for the rest of their lives. If you choose to leave your Faction you choose to leave your whole family. Oh and if you fail the initiation process you will be Fractionless, which is like being homeless. Forever.

In the first book Tris makes her choice and we are with her on her journey to be true to herself. In Insurgent we watch as Tris struggles with the repercussions of the choices she made in Divergent. It is wonderful to read about her growth in Insurgent. I also enjoyed the fact that she is a very real and flawed character. Flawed but fighting to fix herself and what is going on around her. She and the rest of the characters are wonderfully written by Roth.

A great story with very real characters! Highly recommend it especially if you are a fan of dystopian novels like the Hunger Games.

The beginning of March is significant to librarians for two reasons: winter is disappearing- and so are the Dr. Seuss books!  Our Children’s Department certainly doesn’t have very many on the shelf anymore, so if you would also like to celebrate his birthday by reading his classic stories to your children (or to yourself- you’re never too old for Dr. Seuss!) you should come quickly and see what’s left.

It’s hard to pick a favorite Dr. Seuss book, but my personal choice would probably be The Lorax.  I still remember watching the original animated version in elementary school and how much the ending surprised and haunted me.  It’s a story about how a faceless businessman, called “the Once-ler,” comes across a forest of Truffula trees and harvests their fluffy tops to make “thneeds.”  Everyone wants one, which means he has to keep cutting down Truffula trees to keep up with the demand.  The Lorax comes to “speak for the trees” and warn the Once-ler that he needs to stop hurting the environment, but the Once-ler would rather please his paying customers.  As the reader, I kept waiting for something good to happen to the trees, the Barbaloots, and the Humming Fish, but nobody listens to the Lorax until it is too late.  The Once-ler’s greed destroys the forest, the animals are forced to move to other places, and finally the Lorax leaves too.

As a kid, I did not like that ending.  Dr. Seuss finishes the story on an ambiguous, but hopeful note, by having the Once-ler give the last Truffula seed to an unknown boy.  I did not like not knowing for sure if the Truffula forest would heal and come back; I wanted a clear, positive answer.  But because the book didn’t give away a clear answer, I thought about it more than other Dr. Seuss stories long after I finished it.  Ironically, it ended up becoming my favorite for that same reason.  Even more ironically, the 2012 movie adaptation did have a conclusive ending to the story- and I didn’t like it!  I guess some things are really better left to the reader’s imagination.

Dr. Seuss wrote so many wonderful books.  His illustrations, rhymes, and creative stories are very funny while they subtly teach us important lessons.  Which ones are your favorites?

“The West Chester Library Association have so far completed their work of providing a suitable building for the use and preservation of the library, that on Tuesday evening, February 7^th [1888], the dedication exercises were held.  The weather was very unfavorable.  The pavements were slippery and at 7:30 o’clock in the evening when the audience were assembling a drizzling rain was prevailing, but nevertheless the building was crowded to its utmost capacity.  The lower room was used for the dedication services, and the upper room in the charge of a committee of ladies was made ready for the social event of the evening which followed.”

West Chester Public Library 1888, photo by C.E> Bradford

So begins the lengthy article (almost 40 column inches) in a February 1888 edition of the Daily Local News describing, in full, the dedication of the West Chester Public Library.  The reporter is unknown, but he included almost every word spoken that evening: a speech by Lincoln L. Eyre, Esq. of Philadelphia and a lengthy poem by Sarah W. Peterson, recited by James Monaghan, Esq. of West Chester.  Sentiments in both speech and poem reflect the times which saw public libraries as repositories of good literature that could help shape readers into moral, cultured and enlightened citizens of the republic.

Mr. Monaghan also spoke, noting that “good books are a blessing and bad books are a curse,” and going on to state that, “I never read three books of fiction in my life and never will. I hope that class of reading will be kept out of this library and especially the red-pepper literature.”  One has the feeling that he’d be dismally disappointed in our reading habits today and exactly what Mr. Monaghan meant by “red-pepper literature” is not clear at the moment.  However, one can guess, and suspects that H. Rider Haggard’s Allen Quatermain novels, purchased in the early 1900’s, would not have been acceptable reading materials per the good lawyer.

Also mentioned was the “Bayard Taylor Memorial Window” which “had been ordered without expense to the library.”  That “window” was actually five stained-glass windows placed at the front of the main floor of the library building.  The windows were put in place shortly after the February dedication and still grace the main floor today.

The reporter then went on to describe the social event held in the “upper room,” now the Children’s Department.  On display were photographs of the new library building taken by Charles Bradford, and interestingly, “photographs of the Electric Light Works as they looked the morning after the explosion.”  One wonders what happened!  There was a “flower table” with “button-hole bouquets” for sale; small calendars with the library building pictured on them “sold rapidly.”  Refreshments were available and a “fancy table,” where such things as “scent bags” were sold for the benefit of the library.

The library formally opened its doors to the public in April of 1888.  Patrons could read books in the library, or if they had purchased a certificate for $5 per year they could borrow books to read at home.  The library did not become a free public library until 1906.

Are you looking for a good book to read to your children that you haven’t seen before?  Here are some of the newest picture books that have arrived at our library:

Charley’s First Night; written by Amy Hest

This is a very sweet little story, narrated by a boy who takes care of his new puppy, Charley, during Charley’s first night in his new home.  It should also be a nice book to read to your children if they are about to get their own first pet.

Zephyr Takes Flight; written by Steve Light
As you might’ve guessed from the cover, Zephyr is a little girl who dreams of becoming a pilot.  In this story, she finds a hidden door in her room that leads to a world full of airplanes- and flying pigs!  It’s an entertaining story and I would love to read more children’s books by this author in the future, either about Zephyr or a similar character.

Lucky and Squash; written by Jeanne Birdsall

This is a cute, funny book about two neighboring dogs, Lucky and Squash, who wish their owners would marry so that they could live and play in the same yard together.  They decide to run away each day to catch their owners’ attention.  The ending is a little abrupt, but overall it’s a cute story.

Bartholomew Biddle and the Very Big Wind; written by Gary Ross

I was very surprised when I reached the end of this book and found out that the author was the same Gary Ross who directed Seabiscuit and The Hunger Games!  His lengthy poem is a fantastic story with beautiful illustrations.  It’s about a boy, Bartholomew, who takes out his bedsheet on a blustery night and uses it to fly to many different places.

The poem is very long (92 pages long!) so it might not hold the attention of very young children, but older children who like poetry and adventures should enjoy it.  It’s also divided into six parts, so parents could read it to their kids a little bit at a time, if they think reading it would take too long otherwise.

“Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon ‘em.”  That famous quote from Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night could easily describe many of the heroes- or in some cases, antiheroes- from children’s and YA fiction.  Some are like Bilbo Baggins from The Hobbit, who can’t stand the thought of any adventures, but throughout the story, they adapt well to the conflicts that they face.

Nick, the main character in the new Nikolas & Company series, by Kevin McGill, is the kind of protagonist that can’t wait to dive into an adventure, but soon realizes that his problems are a lot more difficult and complicated than he’d like them to be.  Unfortunately, the latest book, When Boats Breathe and Cities Speak, ends just as he’s experiencing this rude awakening.  I want to read more about how Nikolas learns to adjust to his new responsibilities in Huron, but that’ll have to wait until the next two books.

I guess I can’t help but automatically sympathize with characters like Nick, because as a fan of fantasy and adventure stories, I sometimes wish that my life was a little more exciting and that I received a letter to Hogwarts or found the magical wardrobe to Narnia.  But then my realistic side kicks in, and I remember that even if these kinds of magical adventures were possible, I wouldn’t last half a second in a duel against Voldemort.  Oh well.

In When Boats Breathe and Cities Speak, Kevin McGill gives readers a lot of new information about how the city of Huron operates, as well as many new characters that live in Mon. Like the exposition found in the first book, this info can take some time to absorb.  But the adventure itself is interesting and I still like the main group of characters, especially Xanthus and Helen.  I just hope that they are given more of a chance to develop in the next two books.   They’ve mostly followed Nick from one place to the next, though they don’t always agree with his ideas.  On the other hand, the book ended on a cliffhanger in regards to their friendship with Nikolas, so I’m very interested in reading what happens to them next.

Speaking of which, the next episode, A Creature Most Foul, was supposedly released in October, according to the back of When Boats Breathe and Cities Speak, but there’s no information about it on the official website, so I don’t know exactly when it has or will be published.  I do know that we have several copies of the first two books, so if you’re thinking about giving this series a try, I recommend that you visit the library soon and check them out!

It always seems like the late fall/early winter season is the time of year when Hollywood decides to release anticipated movies that were adapted from books.  The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 is still at the top of the box office, with Lincoln and Life of Pi not far behind.  If you’re already thinking about taking a trip to the movies to see what all the excitement is about over a particular title, remember that you can always check out the book from our library system as well!

Here are a few books with movie adaptations that are either playing in theaters now, or coming out soon:

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn (Stephenie Meyer)

Like the Harry Potter series, the final Twilight book was split into two movies, and Part 1 has already been released on DVD.  If you haven’t read any of the books yet, or watched any of the movies, then I do not recommend watching the final installment until you’ve caught up.  Also, like its predecessors, the last film is, for the most part, a good adaptation of the source material.  So if you love the story of teenage Bella falling in love with a vampire named Edward, you’ll probably like the movie.  If you hate the books, then there’s not much to like about the movies.

Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln (Doris Kearns Goodwin)

Just to set the record straight, Steven Spielberg’s latest film is based off of this book, not Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard’s Killing Lincoln (though I would recommend their book as well).  Team of Rivals focuses on Lincoln’s presidency and how he appointed his opponents for the Republican presidential nomination to his presidential cabinet.  The film focuses on his fight to pass a Constitutional amendment that would ban slavery before the Civil War ended and the Southern states could fight to overturn it.  Team of Rivals already has a large number of holds, so don’t hesitate to add yourself to the waiting list if you’d like to read it!

Life of Pi (Yann Martel)

Life of Pi is about a zookeeper’s son, Pi Patel, who plans to move with his family- and their zoo- from India to Canada.  Instead, the ship sinks in a storm and Pi ends up stranded in a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger for 227 days.  After Pi is rescued, those who hear his fantastic story question whether it’s actually true.  Both the book and film received positive reviews, so you may want to give it a try.

Guardians of Childhood (William Joyce)

You’ve probably already heard about DreamWorks Animation’s latest family film, Rise of the Guardians, but you may not know that it’s based on a whole series of children’s books by William Joyce.  Each one stars a character that you probably remember from your own childhood: Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, and the Man in the Moon.  (The movie features Jack Frost as the protagonist.)  Each one is dedicated to protecting children throughout the world.  Currently, there are two picture books and three chapter books:

• The Man in the Moon
• The Sandman
• Nicholas St. North and the Battle of the Nightmare King
• E. Aster Bunnymund and the Warrior Eggs at the Earth’s Core!
• Toothiana: Queen of the Tooth Fairy Armies

It looks like the film’s story differs from the books, but the author co-directed the movie, so it should be a decent adaptation if you already like the series.

The Hobbit (J.R.R. Tolkien)

Back in high school, when I wasn’t buying presents or spending time with loved ones, I would spend my Christmas vacations parked in front on my television, so that I could repeatedly watch Peter Jackson’s adaptations of The Lord of the Rings trilogy- the extended editions, of course.  For eight years, I have waited and waited for Jackson to adapt the prequel, The Hobbit, as well.  And now, here we are at last…almost.  This film only covers the first part of The Hobbit, and two more parts covering the rest of the book will follow.

For those patrons who have never read about Middle Earth before, The Hobbit tells the story of Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit who absolutely does not want to leave his comfy home and embark on anything silly and dangerous like an adventure.  But a wizard named Gandalf and a group of thirteen dwarves enlist him in their quest to reclaim their home from a dragon anyway.  It’s a wonderful book and I highly recommend it!

Les Miserables (Victor Hugo)

All I did was type in the name of the title, and I’ve already got the songs from the musical stuck in my head again!

Technically, that is the version of Les Miserables that will be released on Christmas Day- an adaptation of the popular, epic musical.  It is not strictly based on Victor Hugo’s novel, though both versions tell the same story about the fictional life of French convict Jean Valjean and a failed revolution in Paris.  But if you’re in the mood to try reading a classic, or you’re just curious to read the book that inspired the show, you can place a hold for this very lengthy novel.  You can also rent the Broadway soundtrack if you’d rather hear the people sing.

Happy reading!

My first trip to Hogwarts began about twelve years ago in my school’s library, and to this day, Harry Potter is my absolute favorite series of books.  So, even though The Casual Vacancy didn’t sound anything like a fantasy adventure or the kind of book that I would normally read, I was still ecstatic to read another book by J.K. Rowling.

The story of The Casual Vacancy is centered around the lives of several families in the small, fictional village of Pagford.  Unlike Harry, there is no central protagonist and the chapters move back and forth through each character’s point of view.  After a popular and divisive member of their parish council dies, a small election campaign begins to decide who will take his place.

As I said, this is not the kind of book that I would normally read.  This is not an epic adventure of good vs. evil with magic and monsters and time travel, or even a suspenseful mystery.  But by the conclusion of Part 1, I couldn’t put the book down.  I just had to know what was going to happen to Rowling’s new cast of characters.  I think that’s the secret to why so many people love her books.  Whether they’re likeable or unlikeable, Rowling’s characters feel so real, like people I might encounter at any given moment.  The Casual Vacancy’s cast is deeply flawed and some of them are unlikeable to the point that I felt that I couldn’t stand one more page of their selfish, snobbish attitudes- but their political arguments and ideals sound like the kind we hear in our own lives, even if we don’t always like to acknowledge it.

I’d recommend The Casual Vacancy to anyone who enjoys a good character drama and doesn’t mind small-town politics playing a heavy role in the story.   I don’t think it will appeal to as wide of an audience as Harry Potter did, and if anyone is still wondering, this is definitely not a book for children. But J.K. Rowling’s writing talent shows just as well in The Casual Vacancy as it did in all seven Harry Potter books.