Staff Picks
September 2016
Books
Mr. and Mrs. Bunny--Detectives Extraordinaire!
by Bunny

Middle-schooler Madeline's hippie parents have been kidnapped from Hornby Island, Canada, by foxes, and Madeline, upon discovering that she can understand animal languages, hires two rabbit detectives to find them.

This pick is from Bev at the Romeoville Branch
Time Between Us
by Tamara Ireland Stone

In 1995 Evanston, Illinois, sixteen-year-old Anna's perfectly normal life is turned upside-down when she meets Bennett, whose ability to travel through space and time creates complications for them both.





This pick is from Stephanie at the Crest Hill Branch
The Black Dagger Brotherhood : An Insider's Guide
by J. R. Ward

An insider's guide to the Black Dagger Brotherhood series offers profiles of the members of the Brotherhood and their romantic adventures, includes a teaser for the upcoming novel in the series, Lover Avenged, and features an original short story about Zsadist and Bella. Original.

This pick is from Kellen at the Lockport Branch 
Angela's Ashes : A Memoir
by Frank McCourt

The author recounts his childhood in Depression-era Brooklyn as the child of Irish immigrants who decide to return to worse poverty in Ireland when his infant sister dies.




This pick is from Van at the Romeoville Branch
Movies & TV
Juno

When a sixteen-year-old is faced with an unplanned pregnancy, she sets out to find adoptive parents for her baby.






This pick is from Ryan at the Romeoville Branch
Vikings

Follows Viking Ragnar Lothbrok and his family as Ragnar rises to become king of the Viking tribes






This pick is from Flannery at the Lockport Branch
Zoolander 

As Derek Zoolander searches for meaning in his life at the end of his fashion modeling career, he is brainwashed by the evil fashion guru Mugatu to kill the Prime Minister of Malaysia.





This pick is from Ellen at the Crest Hill Branch
Best Exotic Marigold Hote

A group of British retirees decide to outsource their retirement to a newly renovated hotel in Jaipur, India, that is being marketed as a retirement residence, but when they arrive, they find it to be in less luxurious condition than they had imagined, although they are soon charmed and transformed by their shared experiences.



This pick is from Elizabeth at the Crest Hill Branch
Music CDs
Substance

by New Order

Substance is a double-disc set collecting New Order's singles, including several songs that were never available on the group's albums, at least in these versions. Substance collects the best of their remixes, and in the process it showcases not only the group's musical innovations, but also their songwriting prowess -- "Temptation," "Blue Monday," "Bizarre Love Triangle," and "True Faith" are some of the finest pop songs of the '80s.

Track List

1) Ceremony
2) Everything's Gone Green
3) Temptation 
4) Blue Monday
5) Confusion 
6) Thieves Like Us 
7) Perfect Kiss
8) Subculture
9) Shellshock
10) State of the Nation
11) Bizarre Love Triangle
12) True Faith
13) In a Lonely Place
14) Procession 
15) Cries and Whispers 
16) Hurt
17) The Beach
18) Confused
19) Lonesome Tonight
20) Murder
21) Thieves Like Us (Instrumental)
22) Kiss of Death
23) Shame of the Nation 
24) 1963

This pick is from Amy at the Crest Hill Branch


 
Philharmonics

by Agnes Obel

Combining a strong ear for immediate appeal -- Obel's deep singing voice is lovely and her ear for a calm hook is crucial -- with a feeling of just-unsettled-enough unease is key. Part of it lies in Obel's ear for vocal arrangements; hearing her own overdubbed harmonies showcases her talents further, both as performer and producer. The short instrumental "Falling, Catching" starts off the album on a sweet note -- perhaps sickly sweet, there's something so strangely focused in its intensity that it almost unsettles.  On Powdered Ground" has a gentler sweetness that feels like a slight respite toward the end, but Philharmonics in general aims for the darkly beautiful and succeeds on an unexpected level.

Track List 

1) Falling, Catching
2) Riverside 
3) Brother Sparrow
4) Just So 
5) Beast
6) Louretta
7) Avenue
8) Philharmonics
9) Close Watch
10) Wallflower
11) Over the Hill
12) On Powdered Ground

This pick is from Amanda at the Crest Hill Branch  
Help!

by The Beatles

 Help!, which includes "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away," "Ticket to Ride," and "Yesterday," mingles tracks featured in the film with groundbreaking original songs. With the release of this album, The Beatles brought a wide array of instrumentation (woodwinds, electric piano, tambourine) and orchestration to a pop album. The immediacy of their songwriting, their jangling riffs, and their charismatic vocals helped to usher in the sound of the '60s.

Track List

1) Help!
2)  The Night Before
3) You've Got to Hide Your Love Away
4) I Need You
5) Another Girl
6) You're Going To Lose That Girl
7) Ticket To RIde
8) Act Naturally 
9) It's Only Love
10) You Like Me Too Much
11) Tell Me What You See
12) I've Just Seen A Face
13) Yesterday 
14) Dizzy Missy Lizzy
15) Help! (Documentary)  

This pick is from Jane at the Lockport Branch.  

 
 
Back To Black

by Amy Winehouse

The tiny Londoner with the towering voice turns pain and punchlines into a retro soul masterpiece, building on the understated neo jazz of her debut Frank and raiding her own chaotic life (defiant hellraising on “Rehab”, toxic love on “You Know I’m Know Good”, weed-clouded escapism on “Addicted”) to devastating effect. 

Track List 

1) Rehab
2) You Know I'm No Good
3) Me and Mr. Jones
4) Just Friends
5) Back to Black
6) Love is a Losing Game
7) Tears Dry on Their Own
8) Wake Up Alone 
9) Some Unholy War
10) He Can Only Hold Her

11) Addicted

This pick is from Ryan at the Romeoville Branch. 

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Crest Hill, Lockport, & Romeoville
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