LibraryReads Recommends Great Books

Written by Jon Williams

Working as a partnership between public libraries and a group of major publishers, LibraryReads is a program designed to promote librarians’ favorite novels to adult readers each month. Beginning in September of 2013, each month they produce a list of ten newly published titles nominated and voted on by librarians across the country. That very first list was a winner right off the bat, containing, among others, the very popular Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell.

Since the beginning, 160 novels have been selected by LibraryReads for recommendation to patrons, with a fresh batch ready to go for the first month of the new year. With December being somewhat slow for the publication of new titles, instead of producing a new list, LibraryReads instead came out with their “Favorite of Favorites,” the very best of previously selected titles. It’s a list of great books that showcases the great taste librarians have for literature. The previously mentioned Fangirl made the list, as did another novel by Rowell, Landline. The list also includes Pulitzer Prize winner The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt and National Book Award finalist All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr.

The book selected as the overall favorite, though, was The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin, originally selected for the April 2014 list. The story of a grumpy bookseller and collector who undergoes a gradual transformation when a young girl comes into his life, it is Zevin’s eighth novel. Her first, Elsewhere, published in 2005, was a YA novel dealing with the afterlife. Since then, she has written for both teens and adults, with Storied Life being her most acclaimed work to date.

The full list of LibraryReads Favorite of Favorites can be found in our January audiobook buyer’s guide, or on our website. And for January, it’s back to the usual list of ten brand new novels for patrons to check out. This first list is headlined by such titles as As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust, the new Flavia de Luce title from Alan Bradley, and The Rosie Effect, follow-up to The Rosie Project, by Graeme Simison. It also includes The Magician’s Lie by Greer Macallister, The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins, The Bishop’s Wife by Mette Ivie Harrison, Vanessa and Her Sister by Priya Parmar, First Frost by Sarah Addison Allen, and Full Throttle by Julie Ann Walker.

Interested in LibraryReads for your library? No problem! Check out the program’s website for materials you can use to promote each month’s titles to your patrons. While you’re there, you can find out how to nominate books for the list and participate in selection, if you don’t already. Help bring your love of books—and audiobooks!—to patrons who might otherwise miss these great reads.

Hot This Week: December 29

Welcome to the last tabulation of 2014, which sees the new TMNT take the movie list by storm. Taylor Swift finishes the year strong, returning to the #1 spot on the music chart, challenged by the new release from Nicki Minaj. In fiction, Phil Klay's recent National Book Award propels his book of short stories, Redeployment, onto the list for the first time. In non-fiction, the release of Angelina Jolie's movie about the amazing life of Louis Zamperini spurs the return of Unbroken after a brief time off the list.

DVD

1. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
2. Guardians of the Galaxy
3. Into the Storm
4. Let's Be Cops
5. If I Stay
6. How to Train Your Dragon 2
7. Tammy
8. 22 Jump Street
9. And So It Goes
10. The Expendables 3

CD

1. Taylor Swift, 1989
2. Nicki Minaj, The Pinkprint
3. Pentatonix, That's Christmas to Me
4. J. Cole, 2014 Forest Hills Drive
5. D'Angelo and the Vanguard, Black Messiah
6. Sam Smith, In the Lonely Hour
7. One Direction, Four
8. Ed Sheeran, X
9. Garth Brooks, Man Against Machine
10. AC/DC, Rock or Bust

Fiction

1. Gray Mountain, John Grisham
2. Revival, Stephen King
3. Hope to Die, James Patterson
4. All the Light We Cannot See, Anthony Doerr
5. The Escape, David Baldacci
6. Tom Clancy's Full Force and Effect, Mark Greaney
7. Leaving Time, Jodi Picoult
8. The Burning Room, Michael Connelly
9. Redeployment, Phil Klay
10. Edge of Eternity, Ken Follett

Non-Fiction

1. Killing Patton, Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard
2. 41, George W. Bush
3. What If?, Randall Munroe
4. Yes Please, Amy Poehler
5. Unbroken, Laura Hillenbrand
6. As You Wish, Cary Elwes and Joe Layden
7. The Andy Cohen Diaries, Andy Cohen
8. Being Mortal, Atul Gawande
9. You Can't Make This Up, Al Michaels and L. Jon Wertheim
10. The Innovators, Walter Isaacson

Hot This Week: December 22

Tammy jumps over 22 Jump Street to gain the top movie spot for the week, while the summer blockbuster Guardians of the Galaxy makes its first appearance. In music, J. Cole pushes T-Swizzle to the #2 spot, at least temporarily, and is joined by newcomers Carrie Underwood and K. Michelle. While those charts see plenty of new titles, both audiobook lists see familiar favorites staying strong and simply switching positions as the holidays approach.

DVD

1. Tammy
2. 22 Jump Street
3. Guardians of the Galaxy
4. Maleficent 
5. The Expendables 3
6. Let's Be Cops
7. The Giver
8. How to Train Your Dragon 2 
9. Tyler Perry's A Madea Christmas
10. The Purge: Anarchy

CD

1. J. Cole, 2014 Forest Hills Drive
2. Taylor Swift, 1989
3. Pentatonix, That's Christmas to Me
4. Carrie Underwood, Greatest Hits: Decade #1
5. AC/DC, Rock or Bust
6. K. Michelle, Anybody Wanna Buy a Heart?
7. One Direction, Four
8. Sam Smith, In the Lonely Hour
9. Ed Sheeran, X
10. Garth Brooks, Man Against Machine

Fiction

1. Gray Mountain, John Grisham
2. All the Light We Cannot See, Anthony Doerr
3. Revival, Stephen King
4. Hope to Die, James Patterson
5. The Escape, David Baldacci
6. Tom Clancy's Full Force and Effect, Mark Greaney
7. Leaving Time, Jodi Picoult
8. The Burning Room, Michael Connelly
9. Edge of Eternity, Ken Follett
10. Flesh and Blood, Patricia Cornwell

Non-Fiction

1. Killing Patton, Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard
2. 41, George W. Bush
3. Yes Please, Amy Poehler
4. What If?, Randall Munroe
5. You Can't Make This Up, Al Michaels and L. Jon Wertheim
6. Being Mortal, Atul Gawande
7. The Andy Cohen Diaries, Andy Cohen
8. As You Wish, Cary Elwes and Joe Layden
9. Not That Kind of Girl, Lena Dunham
10. The Innovators, Walter Isaacson

The Newsroom Fades to Black

Written by Jon Williams

The third and final season of The Newsroom concluded this past season, bringing an end to HBO’s series about the perils and challenges of trying to do serious TV journalism in an era of reality TV and the endless quest for ratings. The lead role of passionate newsman Will McAvoy was ably handled by Jeff Daniels (in quite a departure from his other recent appearance as Harry Dunne in Dumb and Dumber To), heading an ensemble cast that also included Sam Waterston, Jane Fonda, Emily Mortimer, and Olivia Munn, among others.

The Newsroom was created by Aaron Sorkin, who also served as the primary writer for all 25 episodes. Sorkin started his career as a playwright, and got his start in Hollywood by writing the play A Few Good Men, adapting it himself for the movie starring Jack Nicholson and Tom Cruise. With its famous “You can’t handle the truth!” line thundered by Nicholson’s character, Sorkin’s reputation as a writer of smart, snappy dialogue was born. He would then go on to write the films Malice (currently unavailable) and The American President.

From there, Sorkin would make his first foray into the television world—in more ways than one. His first series, Sports Night (also unavailable), was, like The Newsroom, a show about doing television. Inspired by ESPN’s SportsCenter, the show focused on a group of people putting together a nightly sports show. The comedy was well received by critics but scored low ratings (perhaps inspiring one of the conflicts at the heart of The Newsroom) and was only on for two seasons. It led, however, directly into The West Wing, the breakthrough drama starring Martin Sheen as President Jed Bartlet and focusing on his staff and administration.

The West Wing ran for seven seasons, ending in 2006, which saw the debut of Sorkin’s next series, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. With it, he returned to the world of television production, this time looking at a sketch comedy series. However, it garnered much the same reaction as Sports Night, and only lasted one season. At that point, Sorkin returned to working for the big screen, adapting books into screenplays for the hit movies Charlie Wilson’s War, The Social Network (for which he won an Academy Award), and Moneyball.

With The Newsroom heading into the sunset, one of the projects on Sorkin’s horizon is another adaptation for the silver screen, this time of Walter Isaacson’s biography of Steve Jobs. He has said recently that he is unlikely to write again for television; if that’s true, he’s certainly left viewers with some great shows and memorable moments. Make sure you have his acclaimed work on your shelves for patrons to explore and enjoy.

Hot This Week: December 15

Three new titles join this week's DVD listing, with Tammy coming up just short of last week's #1, 22 Jump Street. Rock legends AC/DC are back on the music charts with their latest release, Rock or Bust. The fiction and non-fiction lists both saw little change from last week, with the only new title on either list being Full Force and Effect, Mark Greaney's continuation of Tom Clancy's popular Jack Ryan series.

DVD

1. 22 Jump Street
2. Tammy
3. Maleficent 
4. The Expendables 3
5. Tyler Perry's A Madea Christmas
6. The Giver 
7. X-Men: Days of Future Past
8. The Purge: Anarchy
9. Sex Tape
10. Hercules

CD

1. Taylor Swift, 1989
2. Pentatonix, That's Christmas to Me
3. AC/DC, Rock or Bust
4. Sam Smith, In the Lonely Hour
5. One Direction, Four
6. Idina Menzel, Holiday Wishes
7. Garth Brooks, Man Against Machine
8. Mary J. Blige, The London Sessions
9. Frozen Soundtrack
10. Ed Sheeran, X

Fiction

1. Hope to Die, James Patterson
2. Gray Mountain, John Grisham
3. The Escape, David Baldacci
4. Revival, Stephen King
5. Tom Clancy's Full Force and Effect, Mark Greaney
6. All the Light We Cannot See, Anthony Doerr
7. The Burning Room, Michael Connelly
8. Leaving Time, Jodi Picoult
9. Flesh and Blood, Patricia Cornwell
10. Edge of Eternity, Ken Follett

Non-Fiction

1. Killing Patton, Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard
2. 41, George W. Bush
3. Yes Please, Amy Poehler
4. What If?, Randall Munroe
5. Being Mortal, Atul Gawande
6. The Andy Cohen Diaries, Andy Cohen
7. You Can't Make This Up, Al Michaels and L. Jon Wertheim
8. As You Wish, Cary Elwes and Joe Layden
9. The Innovators, Walter Isaacson
10. Not That Kind of Girl, Lena Dunham

Grammys More Than Just Music

Written by Jon Williams

In case you missed it somehow, the Grammy Award nominations were announced last week in an all-day event that culminated in a concert special that came with the Album of the Year nominees. The artists and albums up for that coveted award are Beck’s Morning Phase, Beyonce’s self-titled surprise, Pharrell’s GIRL, Ed Sheeran’s X, and Sam Smith’s In the Lonely Hour. You can find these CDs, along with all the others up for awards in all categories, in our collection of 2015 Grammy nominees.

When you hear about the Grammys, your mind automatically turns to music—which is only natural, as the awards honor the best and brightest in the music industry, and at the ceremony the awards themselves take a backseat to some of the most notable performances of the year. With that in mind, it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that not all Grammy Awards are given out for music. One such award is that for comedy album, which has a stellar lineup this year. Here are the nominees for this year:

Louis C.K. – Oh My God: Even if you don’t know Louis C.K. by sight, chances are excellent that you know his work. In addition to his standup, he has a long and successful comedy writing career, including for Letterman and Saturday Night Live. He has been nominated for several Emmy Awards, winning in 1999 for The Chris Rock Show, and again just last year for his own show, the acclaimed FX series Louie.

Jim Gaffigan – Obsessed: If there’s one overarching theme in Jim Gaffigan’s comedy, it’s that he likes to talk about food. A lot. He has authored two books of humor: Dad Is Fat and Food: A Love Story; the titles should give you some idea. As such, his humor is generally pretty clean and family-appropriate. Although he doesn’t maintain a steady presence in Hollywood, it’s certainly not out of the ordinary to see him on film or TV, with roles in Super Troopers and That ‘70s Show, to name just a couple.

Patton Oswalt – Tragedy Plus Comedy Equals Time: Patton Oswalt, on the other hand, is all over the place. Performing as a comedian for over twenty years, he has also gotten regular Hollywood work. He does a fair amount of voice work, most notably starring as Remy the Rat in Disney/Pixar’s Ratatouille. Most recently he’s had a recurring role on Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. He’s also frequently found on Twitter, where he’s been known to experiment with the form as a method of delivering comedy.

Sarah Silverman – We Are Miracles: Like Louis C.K., one of Sarah Silverman’s first jobs was writing for SNL, although she had little success and was fired after one season. Obviously, that hasn’t deterred her, as she has gone on to become one of the biggest names in comedy. She, like Patton Oswalt, has done some voiceover work, such as in Wreck-It Ralph, and plenty of other acting work besides. She has appeared on Louie, and most recently was in the Seth MacFarlane comedy A Million Ways to Die in the West.

Weird Al Yankovic – Mandatory Fun: Okay, so this one actually is musical in nature, as well as being hilarious. Al took the Internet by storm earlier this year with the release of this, his fourteenth album, releasing a video per day for a week, including parodies of Pharrell’s “Happy” and Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines.” We wrote about him and his career at the time, but one thing we failed to mention (specifically) is that he won a previous Grammy for Best Comedy Album in 2003 for Poodle Hat.

All of the nominees have plenty of hilarious material available; SmartBrowse each of their names on our website for their films, audiobooks, and standup specials on DVD and CD. Who do you think is the funniest of the bunch?

Hot This Week: December 8

The action comedy 22 Jump Street, starring Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill, debuts atop this week's movie listing, with three other new titles showing up as well. In music, it was a week of resurgence, with Taylor Swift reclaiming #1 and the ever-popular Frozen soundtrack climbing back onto the chart, along with Ariana Grande and Maroon 5. The fiction list grows even more top-heavy with James Patterson joining Baldacci, Grisham, and King, while the non-fiction list remains largely the same from last week.

DVD

1. 22 Jump Street
2. Maleficent 
3. The Expendables 3
4. X-Men: Days of Future Past
5. Neighbors
6. Sex Tape
7. Hercules
8. The Purge: Anarchy
9. Earth to Echo
10. Edge of Tomorrow

CD

1. Taylor Swift, 1989
2. Pentatonix, That's Christmas to Me
3. Various Artists, ShadyXV
4. One Direction, Four
5. Sam Smith, In the Lonely Hour
6. Rick Ross, Hood Billionaire
7. Ariana Grande, My Everything
8. Frozen Soundtrack
9. Maroon 5, V
10. Garth Brooks, Man Against Machine

Fiction

1. Hope to Die, James Patterson
2. The Escape, David Baldacci
3. Gray Mountain, John Grisham
4. Revival, Stephen King
5. The Burning Room, Michael Connelly
6. All the Light We Cannot See, Anthony Doerr
7. Prince Lestat, Anne Rice
8. Leaving Time, Jodi Picoult
9. Flesh and Blood, Patricia Cornwell
10. Blue Labyrinth, Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

Non-Fiction

1. 41, George W. Bush
2. Killing Patton, Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard
3. Yes Please, Amy Poehler
4. What If?, Randall Munroe
5. The Andy Cohen Diaries, Andy Cohen
6. You Can't Make This Up, Al Michaels and L. Jon Wertheim
7. Being Mortal, Atul Gawande
8. Not That Kind of Girl, Lena Dunham
9. Choose Your Own Autobiography, Neil Patrick Harris and David Javerbaum
10. As You Wish, Cary Elwes and Joe Layden

Hot This Week: December 1

Welcome to December! The news after the long holiday weekend is that Taylor Swift has been bumped from #1 by One Direction. Likewise, in fiction, the latest from thriller-meister David Baldacci debuts at the top, moving Stephen King to #2. In non-fiction, on the other hand, the top titles remain the same, with Brooke Shields's new memoir being the only newcomer at #10.

DVD

1. X-Men: Days of Future Past
2. Hercules 
3. Edge of Tomorrow
4. Neighbors
5. Maleficent
6. Sex Tape
7. A Million Ways to Die in the West
8. Mr. Peabody & Sherman
9. The Fault in Our Stars
10. Godzilla

CD

1. One Direction, Four
2. Taylor Swift, 1989
3. Pentatonix, That's Christmas to Me
4. Nickelback, No Fixed Address
5. Garth Brooks, Man Against Machine
6. Pink Floyd, The Endless River
7. Foo Fighters, Sonic Highways
8. In This Moment, Black Widow
9. Idina Menzel, Holiday Wishes
10. Sam Smith, In the Lonely Hour

Fiction

1. The Escape, David Baldacci
2. Revival, Stephen King
3. Gray Mountain, John Grisham
4. The Mistletoe Promise, Richard Paul Evans
5. The Burning Room, Michael Connelly
6. The Cinderella Murder, Mary Higgins Clark and Alafair Burke
7. Flesh and Blood, Patricia Cornwell
8. All the Light We Cannot See, Anthony Doerr
9. The Job, Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg
10. Prince Lestat, Anne Rice

Non-Fiction

1. 41, George W. Bush
2. Killing Patton, Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard
3. Yes Please, Amy Poehler
4. Being Mortal, Atul Gawande
5. The Andy Cohen Diaries, Andy Cohen
6. What If?, Randall Munroe
7. Small Victories, Anne Lamott
8. Dreamers and Deceivers, Glenn Beck and Kevin Balfe
9. Not That Kind of Girl, Lena Dunham
10. There Was a Little Girl, Brooke Shields 

True Detective Season 2 Cast Announced

Written by Jon Williams

Early in 2014, HBO continued its string of buzzworthy hit shows with the original series True Detective. The first season of the show featured Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson as the detectives in question, and its eight episodes followed their 17-year hunt for a serial killer in southern Louisiana. The series was received well by audiences and critics alike, garnering ten Emmy nominations and five wins, including Outstanding Casting.

That outstanding casting is on display once again as the stars for Season 2 have been confirmed. As an anthology series, each individual season will tell an entirely new story, and so McConaughey and Harrelson will not return in their roles. Instead, a completely different cast of characters will focus on another case, set this time somewhere in California.

One of the early casting announcements, and one that raised some eyebrows, was Vince Vaughn as a criminal kingpin. Vaughn, of course, is known primarily for screwball comedies like Wedding Crashers and Dodgeball, which are at odds with True Detective’s dark, gritty tone. Despite this perception, he’s no stranger to dramatic (and often dark) roles, having starred in such films as Clay Pigeons and Domestic Disturbance—not to mention his portrayal of one of the most iconic villains of all time, Norman Bates, in the 1998 remake of Psycho.

Playing Vaughn’s character’s wife in True Detective will be Kelly Reilly, who was just confirmed earlier this week. This English actress has had quite a variety of roles in a career that dates back to the mid-1990s. Most prominent among them might be as Mary Morstan, paramour of Dr. John Watson in Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes and its 2011 sequel. She also starred as detective Anna Travis in three seasons of the British television Above Suspicion, and has been seen recently in films like Cavalry and Heaven Is for Real.

Another early announcement, confirmed in September at the same time as Vaughn, was Colin Farrell. Farrell will play one of the cops, but one that also owes allegiance to Vaughn’s criminal mastermind. First and foremost a movie star, Farrell actually got his start in television, appearing in Series 4 and 5 of the BBC’s Ballykissangel. Shortly thereafter he made his way to Hollywood with roles in films like Hart’s War with Bruce Willis and Minority Report with Tom Cruise. He’s been involved in several high-profile remakes, including Miami Vice, Fright Night, and Total Recall, and he won a Golden Globe for In Bruges.

Playing another troubled cop will be Taylor Kitsch, who burst onto the scene playing Tim Riggins, the much-loved high school football player at the heart of the Friday Night Lights TV series. From there he jumped into effects-laden blockbusters, starring in Disney’s adaptation of John Carter and as part of the Battleship group. Toning down the bombast, he recently appeared in another HBO production, the critically acclaimed drama The Normal Heart, whose ensemble cast drew rave reviews across the board.

And finally we come to the last member of True Detective’s main cast for Season 2. Rachel McAdams, like Reilly and Kitsch, was just confirmed this week, signing up to play a straight-laced detective (some descriptions list her character as a sheriff) in charge of the investigation. Also like Reilly, McAdams is an alumna of Sherlock Holmes, although she is probably most recognized for earlier roles in Mean Girls and The Notebook. McAdams has a bit of television background, with a role in the Canadian series Slings & Arrows among her first acting jobs.

With a cast like this, it’s easy to assume that the second season of True Detective will be just as big a hit as the first. Make sure you have that first season on your shelves for patrons who may have missed it on TV, and don’t forget all these other great movies and TV shows from these talented actors.

Hot This Week: November 24

The last week of November begins with the latest X-Men film atop the movie listings, joined as a newcomer by the animated tales of a genius dog and his boy, Mr. Peabody & Sherman. Taylor Swift keeps her grip on music's top spot despite stiff competition from Foo Fighters, Pink Floyd, and the return of Garth Brooks. In fiction, one master takes down another, as Stephen King knocks John Grisham to #2, while in non-fiction, a book about one former president by another is this week's top title.

DVD

1. X-Men: Days of Future Past
2. Hercules 
3. Edge of Tomorrow
4. Neighbors
5. Maleficent
6. Sex Tape
7. A Million Ways to Die in the West
8. Mr. Peabody & Sherman
9. The Fault in Our Stars
10. Godzilla

CD

1. Taylor Swift, 1989
2. Foo Fighters, Sonic Highways
3. Pink Floyd, The Endless River
4. Garth Brooks, Man Against Machine
5. Big K.R.I.T., Cadillactica
6. Nick Jonas, Nick Jonas
7. NOW That's What I Call Music 52
8. Pentatonix, That's Christmas to Me
9. Sam Smith, In the Lonely Hour
10. George Strait, The Cowboy Rides Away

Fiction

1. Revival, Stephen King
2. Gray Mountain, John Grisham
3. Flesh and Blood, Patricia Cornwell
4. The Burning Room, Michael Connelly
5. Blue Labyrinth, Douglas Preston
6. Prince Lestat, Anne Rice
7. Leaving Time, Jodi Picoult
8. All the Light We Cannot See, Anthony Doerr
9. Edge of Eternity, Ken Follett
10. The Slow Regard of Silent Things, Patrick Rothfuss

Non-Fiction

1. 41, George W. Bush
2. Killing Patton, Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard
3. Yes Please, Amy Poehler
4. The Andy Cohen Diaries, Andy Cohen
5. Small Victories, Anne Lamott
6. Being Mortal, Atul Gawande
7. The Art of Asking, Amanda Palmer
8. A Colder War, Marin Katusa
9. Not That Kind of Girl, Lena Dunham
10. What If?, Randall Munroe

Looking at the Mockingjay Soundtrack

Written by Jon Williams

The third movie in the Hunger Games series, Mockingjay Part 1, releases into theaters this Friday, and is already projected to be one of the biggest films of 2014. The soundtrack for the film came out earlier this week, and chances are good that you already have it on your shelves (or, more likely, you don’t have it on your shelves, as zealous patrons have already nabbed it). The artists who provide the music on the soundtrack are likely to become in-demand as they’re discovered by new listeners, so let’s take a look at a few of them.

It was announced months ago that the soundtrack would be curated by singer Lorde, best known for her hit “Royals,” which appears on her debut album Pure Heroine. Having just turned 18, you’d think that putting together a soundtrack for a movie in an established blockbuster series might prove a daunting task, but Lorde knocked it out of the park. She provided the lead single, “Yellow Flicker Beat” (a Kanye West rework of the track appears as well), as well as another track, “Ladder Song,” in addition to co-writing four other songs and performing on one of them.

The track she performs on is the opener, “Meltdown” by Stromae, which also features Pusha T, Q-Tip, and Haim. Stromae is the stage name of Paul Van Haver, a Belgian hip-hop/electronic musician. Very popular in Europe, Stromae is just beginning to find an American audience, having been featured over the summer on Late Night with Seth Meyers and NPR.

Two of the songs co-written by Lorde feature collaborations between artists with more familiar names. The fifth track, “All My Love,” is by Major Lazer, the electronic music project of Diplo, and it includes vocals by Ariana Grande, the gold-selling pop sensation whose second album, My Everything, was released in August. The penultimate song on the album is “This Is Not a Game” by the Grammy-winning Chemical Brothers, another electronic duo, in collaboration with R&B artist Miguel, a fellow Grammy recipient for his song “Adorn” from his 2012 Kaleidoscope Dream album.

Collaborations are definitely a strength of the soundtrack, with another coming in the form of “Kingdom,” a song credited to Charli XCX. Known for co-writing and performing on Iggy Azalea’s “Fancy,” her own debut album, Sucker, will be released in December and feature the hit single “Boom Clap.” On the Mockingjay soundtrack, she works with Simon Le Bon of Duran Duran fame.

And there are plenty of non-collaborative songs on the soundtrack as well. One of the singles released for the album is “Dead Air” by Chvrches, an electronic band whose work has been featured in several TV shows. One of the more familiar names on the album is multitalented musician and actress Grace Jones, who contributes “Original Beast.” Other musicians and bands featured include Tove Lo, Tinashe, and Bat for Lashes.

As patrons get a chance to spend some time with this soundtrack—or if they have a hard time getting their hands on it—they’ll be looking for music by these artists. Help fuel their passion by having their CDs on your shelves.

Hot This Week: November 17

The comedy Neighbors retains its top spot on this week's movie list, but four big new titles show up for the first time. Taylor Swift rules the music chart once again--you might want to get used to that for a few weeks--and is joined by two new albums. Michael Connelly's The Burning Room debuts on the fiction list, but cannot overtake John Grisham. In non-fiction, new books from Jennifer Lopez and Bill Nye make their debuts.

DVD

1. Neighbors
2. Edge of Tomorrow
3. Hercules
4. Sex Tape
5. A Million Ways to Die in the West
6. Deliver Us from Evil 
7. Maleficent
8. Godzilla
9. The Fault in Our Stars
10. Transformers: Age of Extinction

CD

1. Taylor Swift, 1989
2. NOW That's What I Call Music 52
3. Bette Midler, It's the Girls
4. Jason Aldean, Old Boots, New Dirt
5. Calvin Harris, Motion
6. Florida Georgia Line, Anything Goes
7. Barbra Streisand, Partners
8. Sam Smith, In the Lonely Hour
9. Brantley Gilbert, Just as I Am
10. Sam Hunt, Montevallo

Fiction

1. Gray Mountain, John Grisham
2. The Burning Room, Michael Connelly
3. Prince Lestat, Anne Rice
4. Leaving Time, Jodi Picoult
5. The Slow Regard of Silent Things, Patrick Rothfuss
6. Edge of Eternity, Ken Follett
7. Havana Storm, Clive and Dirk Cussler
8. All the Light We Cannot See, Anthony Doerr
9. Lila, Marilynne Robinson 
10. Deadline, John Sandford

Non-Fiction

1. Killing Patton, Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard
2. Yes Please, Amy Poehler
3. Not That Kind of Girl, Lena Dunham
4. Being Mortal, Atul Gawande
5. True Love, Jennifer Lopez
6. What If?, Randall Munroe
7. Undeniable, Bill Nye
8. Dreamers and Deceivers, Glenn Beck and Kevin Balfe
9. As You Wish, Cary Elwes and Joe Layden
10. The Innovators, Walter Isaacson

What Is the Criterion Collection?

Written by Jon Williams

If you use our monthly DVD/Blu-ray Buyer’s Guide, you know that each month we feature a selection of movies offered by the Criterion Collection. In the upcoming December catalog, there will be a full page dedicated to them. But have you ever wondered exactly what the Criterion Collection is?

The simple answer, of course, is that it’s a video distribution company. The “About Us” page on Criterion’s website describes their collection as “a continuing series of important classic and contemporary films,” as well as “the greatest films from around the world…in editions that offer the highest technical quality and award-winning, original supplements.” What Criterion does is restore (if necessary) and remaster films for a crisp and clear presentation on DVD and high-definition Blu-ray, and then complement that film with such materials as audio commentary, deleted scenes, ‘making-of’ documentaries, and more. This wealth of esoterica allows the viewer to see the film in the context in which it was made, and has led to Criterion versions being referred to as “film school in a box.” In addition, Criterion was also the innovator of the “letterbox” format, using black bars at the top and bottom of the screen to present movies in a widescreen format, preserving their original aspect ratio (generally 2.35:1) when televisions were designed for a 4:3 display.

The Criterion Collection began in 1984, when VHS was still fighting with Betamax to become to dominant home video system of the day. Not content with the quality offered by either of these formats, though, Criterion in the beginning transferred films onto laserdisc. Although that format never became widespread, it remained Criterion’s sole format until 1998, when it made the switch to the burgeoning DVD format. Ten years later, in 2008, Criterion added Blu-ray to its repertoire, allowing for even better presentation than had previously been available. Currently, Criterion still distributes its films in both DVD and Blu-ray formats.

In the laserdisc days, Criterion would release mainstream movies, but their focus has narrowed mainly down to art, world, and classic films and documentaries. Although it no longer distributes them, the first two films issued by the Criterion Collection were Citizen Kane and the 1933 version of King Kong (and in both cases, the editions currently available are obviously inspired by the Criterion versions, boasting HD transfers and a full range of special features). It was with Invasion of the Body Snatchers (also no longer available from Criterion) that they introduced letterboxing.

Recent Criterion releases include such films as The Great Beauty (2014 Academy Award winner for Best Foreign Film), Babette’s Feast, Eraserhead, and the Beatles classic A Hard Day’s Night, while upcoming releases are scheduled for L’Avventura, Time Bandits (an update of their 1999 release), and Tootsie. This, however, is a mere sampling of a vast collection that includes more than 800 titles. For the full list of DVDs and Blu-rays available from Midwest Tape, SmartBrowse ‘Criterion Collection’ on our website.

Hot This Week: November 10

Last week's top movie titles shuffle positions, while three new titles join the bottom half of the list. In the least surprising news of the week, Taylor Swift's new pop album 1989 tops the music chart in its first week of release, leading a batch of newcomers that also includes a Led Zeppelin re-release. Six new audiobooks climb onto the fiction list, but none of them could unseat John Grisham from the top spot. Finally, in non-fiction, comedian Amy Poehler grabs the #1 slot with her first book.

DVD

1. Neighbors
2. Sex Tape
3. Godzilla 
4. Transformers: Age of Extinction
5. Blended
6. Deliver Us from Evil
7. The Fault in Our Stars
8. Chef
9. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
10. The Prince

CD

1. Taylor Swift, 1989
2. NOW That's What I Call Music 52
3. Sam Hunt, Montevallo
4. Barry Manilow, My Dream Duets
5. Jason Aldean, Old Boots, New Dirt
6. Florida Georgia Line, Anything Goes
7. Led Zeppelin, Led Zeppelin IV
8. Chris Tomlin, Love Ran Red 
9. Slipknot, .5: The Gray Chapter
10. Black Veil Brides, Black Veil Brides 

Fiction

1. Gray Mountain, John Grisham
2. The Slow Regard of Silent Things, Patrick Rothfuss
3. Prince Lestat, Anne Rice
4. Havana Storm, Clive and Dirk Cussler
5. Leaving Time, Jodi Picoult
6. The Handsome Man's Deluxe Cafe, Alexander McCall Smith
7. Pegasus, Danielle Steel
8. Edge of Eternity, Ken Follett
9. The Peripheral, William Gibson
10. Deadline, John Sandford

Non-Fiction

1. Yes Please, Amy Poehler
2. Killing Patton, Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard
3. Not That Kind of Girl, Lena Dunham
4. Being Mortal, Atul Gawande
5. Food, Jim Gaffigan
6. What If?, Randall Munroe
7. The Innovators, Walter Isaacson
8. Dreamers and Deceivers, Glenn Beck and Kevin Balfe
9. Stop the Coming Civil War, Michael Savage
10. As You Wish, Cary Elwes and Joe Layden

Hot This Week: November 3

Welcome to November! This month's first DVD listing sees the comedy Neighbors bump Transformers from the top spot, with another comedy, Sex Tape, also making its debut. Christmas music puts in its first appearance on the music chart via the new release from a cappella sensations Pentatonix, with seven new titles in all. Literary heavyweight John Grisham powers his way to the top of the fiction list with his new book, while funnyman Jim Gaffigan's take on his favorite subject is the top non-fiction newcomer.

DVD

1. Neighbors
2. Godzilla 
3. Sex Tape
4. Transformers: Age of Extinction
5. The Fault in Our Stars
6. Blended
7. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
8. Brick Mansions
9. The Other Woman
10. Think Like a Man Too

CD

1. Slipknot, .5: The Gray Chapter
2. T.I., Paperwork
3. Neil Diamond, Melody Road
4. Logic, Under Pressure
5. Florida Georgia Line, Anything Goes
6. Jason Aldean, Old Boots, New Dirt
7. Little Big Town, Pain Killer
8. Barbra Streisand, Partners
9. Pentatonix, That's Christmas to Me
10. Annie Lennox, Nostalgia

Fiction

1. Gray Mountain, John Grisham
2. Leaving Time, Jodi Picoult
3. Edge of Eternity, Ken Follett
4. Deadline, John Sandford
5. Beautiful You, Chuck Palahniuk
6. Desert God, Wilbur Smith
7. Lila, Marilynne Robinson
8. All the Light We Cannot See, Anthony Doerr
9. Burn, James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge
10. Somewhere Safe with Somebody Good, Jan Karon

Non-Fiction

1. Killing Patton, Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard
2. Not That Kind of Girl, Lena Dunham
3. Food, Jim Gaffigan
4. Being Mortal, Atul Gawande
5. As You Wish, Cary Elwes and Joe Layden
6. Choose Your Own Autobiography, Neil Patrick Harris
7. The Innovators, Walter Isaacson
8. Stop the Coming Civil War, Michael Savage
9. What If?, Randall Munroe
10. Just Mercy, Bryan Stevenson

Keaton Fits Right into Birdman

Written by Jon Williams

You’ve heard about all the films hovering near the top of the box office—highly publicized films like John Wick, Fury, Ouija, and Gone Girl. But there’s another film out right now that you may not have heard much about, which is garnering critical acclaim and doing quite well for itself in a limited theatrical release. That film is Birdman, about an actor whose career goes off the rails after a successful turn starring as a wildly popular superhero.

That actor is Riggan Thomson, played by Michael Keaton. It’s not hard to see the parallel between the plot of Birdman and Keaton’s own career. Keaton went through a period of immense popularity in the mid to late 1980s, culminating with his portrayal of Bruce Wayne and his alter ego, the Caped Crusader, in 1989’s Batman and its 1992 follow-up, Batman Returns. He was originally set to play Batman a third time, but he opted to drop out of the production when director Tim Burton did.

Batman has done fine since Keaton’s departure, with the cape and cowl being taken up by Val Kilmer, George Clooney, and Christian Bale, with Ben Affleck on deck to wear it next. Keaton, on the other hand, has been relegated, for the most part, to Hollywood’s background. While his IMDb page will show you that he has remained active, he has certainly not had the same degree of prominence he did prior to his stint as Batman.

Keaton’s birth name is actually Michael Douglas; as he began working in show business in the late ‘70s, he took an alternate name to avoid confusion with the other Michael Douglas, who was already well known. After a couple of one-shots on sitcoms like Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman and Maude, he got a chance to show off his comedy chops against Jim Belushi in the show Working Stiffs. That then led to a role in the 1982 Ron Howard comedy feature Night Shift, and the rest is history. From there he became a sought-after comedic actor, starring in such films as Mr. Mom and Johnny Dangerously, and topping it off with a transcendent performance in the classic Tim Burton film Beetlejuice.

From Night Shift to Batman Returns was a period of ten years, with a number of notable starring roles for Keaton in that timespan. In the 22 years since, they’ve been fewer and further between, but there are definitely some gems. In 1994, he re-teamed with Ron Howard for The Paper, and in 1996 he played several versions of the same character in Multiplicity, directed by the late, great Harold Ramis. He starred in the 1998 holiday film Jack Frost and the 2005 horror movie White Noise. He’s also done some voice acting for Disney/Pixar, voicing characters in Cars and Toy Story 3. More recently, he appeared as the sinister OmniCorp CEO in the RoboCop reboot, bringing a sinister energy to the role.

Birdman features an all-star cast that includes Edward Norton, Zach Galifianakis, Naomi Watts, and Emma Stone, but the movie undoubtedly belongs to Michael Keaton. We’ll have info on its upcoming DVD/Blu-ray release as soon as it becomes available; in the meantime, make sure you have plenty of other Keaton movies on your shelves for your patrons to enjoy. SmartBrowse his name on our website to see everything we have to offer.

Hot This Week: October 27

In a battle of giants, Transformers edged out newcomer Godzilla to keep the top movie spot for a third week. In music, it was a great week for new albums, as seven new releases make the list, led by the first chart topper from country superstars Florida Georgia Line. Jodi Picoult debuts atop the fiction list, which also sees the Man Booker Prize winner by Richard Flanagan make it for the first time. In non-fiction, Hollywood stars Cary Elwes and Neil Patrick Harris make the list with their new titles.

DVD

1. Transformers: Age of Extinction
2. Godzilla
3. Blended
4. The Fault in Our Stars
5. Brick Mansions
6. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
7. The Other Woman
8. Think Like a Man Too
9. Million Dollar Arm
10. Divergent

CD

1. Florida Georgia Line, Anything Goes
2. Jason Aldean, Old Boots, New Dirt
3. Bob Seger, Ride Out
4. You+Me, Rose Ave.
5. Barbra Streisand, Partners
6. Sam Smith, In the Lonely Hour
7. The Game, Blood Moon: Year of the Wolf
8. Hoodie Allen, People Keep Talking
9. U2, Songs of Innocence
10. Jessie J, Sweet Talker

Fiction

1. Leaving Time, Jodi Picoult
2. Deadline, John Sandford
3. Edge of Eternity, Ken Follett
4. Burn, James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge
5. Somewhere Safe with Somebody Good, Jan Karon
6. Lila, Marilynne Robinson
7. All the Light We Cannot See, Anthony Doerr
8. Personal, Lee Child
9. Some Luck, Jane Smiley
10. The Narrow Road to the Deep North, Richard Flanagan 

Non-Fiction

1. Killing Patton, Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard
2. Not That Kind of Girl, Lena Dunham
3. As You Wish, Cary Elwes and Joe Layden
4. Being Mortal, Atul Gawande
5. The Innovators, Walter Isaacson
6. Choose Your Own Autobiography, Neil Patrick Harris
7. Worthy Fights, Leon Panetta 
8. What If?, Randall Munroe
9. Stop the Coming Civil War, Michael Savage
10. Rocks, Joe Perry and David Ritz