Monday, July 25, 2016

Hot This Week: July 25

It was a big week for new movies! The top four titles on the list are all new, led by the latest installment of the Divergent series. Drake's Views is back on top of the music chart, followed by a new LP from ScHoolboy Q. Daniel Silva takes over the fiction list, where he is joined by the second in Chuck Wendig's Star Wars trilogy that fills in the gaps leading up to The Force Awakens. A new memoir from Jaycee Dugard is the top newcomer in non-fiction.

DVD
  1. Allegiant
  2. London Has Fallen
  3. Miracles from Heaven
  4. Kung Fu Panda 3
  5. Zootopia
  6. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot
  7. Deadpool
  8. How to Be Single
  9. 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi
  10. Triple 9
CD
  1. Drake, Views
  2. ScHoolboy Q, Blank Face
  3. Blink-182, California
  4. Twenty One Pilots, Blurryface
  5. Hamilton Original Broadway Cast Soundtrack
  6. Rihanna, ANTI
  7. Beyonce, Lemonade
  8. Chevelle, The North Corridor
  9. Adele, 25
  10. Switchfoot, Where the Light Shines Through 
Fiction
  1. The Black Widow, Daniel Silva
  2. The Girls, Emma Cline
  3. First Comes Love, Emily Giffin
  4. Magic, Danielle Steel
  5. The Games, James Patterson and Mark Sullivan
  6. End of Watch, Stephen King
  7. The Nightingale, Kristin Hannah
  8. All the Light We Cannot See, Anthony Doerr
  9. Star Wars: Aftermath - Life Debt, Chuck Wendig
  10. Here's to Us, Elin Hilderbrand
Non-Fiction
  1. Crisis of Character, Gary J. Byrne
  2. Hamilton: The Revolution, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Jeremy McCarter
  3. Bill O'Reilly's Legends and Lies: The Patriots, David Fisher
  4. Between the World and Me, Ta-Nehisi Coates
  5. When Breath Becomes Air, Paul Kalanithi
  6. Freedom, Jaycee Dugard
  7. Wake Up America, Eric Bolling
  8. Grit, Angela Duckworth
  9. White Trash, Nancy Isenberg
  10. You'll Grow Out of It, Jessi Klein

Friday, July 22, 2016

In Memoriam: Garry Marshall

Written by Jon Williams

We’ve noted before that 2016 has been a difficult year in the entertainment industry, having already lost a number of notable names. Sadly, that trend held true this week with the passing of Garry Marshall, the legendary writer, director, and producer of comedies for the screen both big and small. He was 81 years old.

Marshall actually studied for a career in journalism, but he soon found his footing as a comedy writer. The early to mid-1960s were quite a busy time for him. He started off writing sketches for The Tonight Show when Jack Paar was the host, which soon led to gigs writing for some of the most popular sitcoms of the era, such as The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Lucy Show, and Gomer Pyle, USMC. In 1970 he had another hit on his hands when he, along with partner Jerry Belson, adapted Neil Simon’s play The Odd Couple into the beloved TV series starring Jack Klugman and Tony Randall.

And that’s where Marshall’s TV career really skyrocketed. In 1974 he created the iconic show Happy Days, that idyllic look at American life in the 1950s and ‘60s through the eyes of the Cunningham family. Spinning off from that show in 1976 came Laverne & Shirley, which starred Marshall’s sister Penny. Then, in 1978, he scored a real coup when he discovered Robin Williams and cast him as the title alien in the show Mork & Mindy, thus changing the face of comedy forever.

If that were all the credits to Garry Marshall’s name, that would still be a pretty outstanding career. But that’s not all by any means. Having worked exclusively in television to that point, in 1982 he stepped into the director’s role for his first feature film, Young Doctors in Love (currently unavailable). One of the movie’s cast members was Hector Elizondo, who became one of Marshall’s closest friends and would go on to have at least a minor role in each of his movies to come. And what movies they were—Marshall’s directorial credits include such well-loved films as Beaches, Pretty Woman, Runaway Bride, and The Princess Diaries. His final films were a trio of holiday-related ensemble comedies: Valentine’s Day, New Year’s Eve, and this year’s Mother’s Day.

Garry Marshall had a stellar career in comedy, and by all accounts he was as fine a person as he was an entertainer. His voice will be sadly missed, but library patrons can continue to enjoy and explore his hilarious and timeless work. Make sure you have all the classics listed above on your shelves, and you can SmartBrowse his name on our website for more selections.

Monday, July 18, 2016

Hot This Week: July 18

Last week's hottest movies stay hot, with new titles Eddie the Eagle and Hail, Caesar! joining the list at nos. 8-9. In music, the new album from rockers Blink-182 nudges Drake from the top spot for the first time in a while. Danielle Steel's new novel rockets to the top of the fiction list, while the titles on the non-fiction list just undergo a bit of shuffling.

DVD
  1. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot
  2. Zootopia
  3. How to Be Single
  4. 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi
  5. Deadpool
  6. Triple 9
  7. 10 Cloverfield Lane
  8. Eddie the Eagle
  9. Hail, Caesar!
  10. Ride Along 2
CD
  1. Blink-182, California
  2. Drake, Views
  3. Maxwell, blackSUMMERS'night
  4. Beyonce, Lemonade
  5. Twenty One Pilots, Blurryface
  6. Rihanna, ANTI
  7. Adele, 25
  8. Hamilton Original Broadway Cast Soundtrack
  9. Blake Shelton, If I'm Honest
  10. Meghan Trainor, Thank You
Fiction
  1. Magic, Danielle Steel
  2. First Comes Love, Emily Giffin
  3. The Girls, Emma Cline
  4. The Games, James Patterson and Mark Sullivan
  5. End of Watch, Stephen King
  6. The Girl on the Train, Paula Hawkins
  7. After You, Jojo Moyes
  8. Here's to Us, Elin Hilderbrand
  9. Before the Fall, Noah Hawley
  10. All the Light We Cannot See, Anthony Doerr
Non-Fiction
  1. Crisis of Character, Gary J. Byrne
  2. Hamilton: The Revolution, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Jeremy McCarter
  3. When Breath Becomes Air, Paul Kalanithi
  4. Bill O'Reilly's Legends and Lies: The Patriots, David Fisher 
  5. Wake Up America, Eric Bolling
  6. Between the World and Me, Ta-Nehisi Coates
  7. Grit, Angela Duckworth
  8. White Trash, Nancy Isenberg
  9. But What If We're Wrong?, Chuck Klosterman
  10. Tribe, Sebastian Junger

Monday, July 11, 2016

Hot This Week: July 11

Four new movies debut on this week's list, led by the Tina Fey vehicle Whiskey Tango Foxtrot. The latest album from the Avett Brothers comes onto the chart at #3, behind stalwarts Drake and Beyonce. New novels from Emily Giffin and James Patterson knock Stephen King out of the top fiction slot, and the presidential race begins to make its presence felt on the non-fiction list.

DVD
  1. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot
  2. Zootopia
  3. How to Be Single
  4. Triple 9
  5. 10 Cloverfield Lane
  6. 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi
  7. Deadpool
  8. Precious Cargo
  9. Eye in the Sky
  10. Ride Along 2
CD
  1. Drake, Views
  2. Beyonce, Lemonade
  3. The Avett Brothers, True Sadness 
  4. Twenty One Pilots, Blurryface
  5. Rihanna, ANTI
  6. Hamilton Original Broadway Cast Soundtrack
  7. Adele, 25
  8. Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Getaway
  9. Meghan Trainor, Thank You
Fiction
  1. First Comes Love, Emily Giffin
  2. The Games, James Patterson and Mark Sullivan
  3. The Girls, Emma Cline
  4. End of Watch, Stephen King
  5. The Girl on the Train, Paula Hawkins
  6. Here's to Us, Elin Hilderbrand
  7. After You, Jojo Moyes
  8. Before the Fall, Noah Hawley
  9. Foreign Agent, Brad Thor
  10. All the Light We Cannot See, Anthony Doerr
Non-Fiction
  1. Crisis of Character, Gary J. Byrne
  2. When Breath Becomes Air, Paul Kalanithi
  3. Hamilton: The Revolution, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Jeremy McCarter
  4. Bill O'Reilly's Legends and Lies: The Patriots, David Fisher 
  5. Grit, Angela Duckworth
  6. Tribe, Sebastian Junger
  7. Wake Up America, Eric Bolling
  8. Between the World and Me, Ta-Nehisi Coates
  9. White Trash, Nancy Isenberg
  10. The Rainbow Comes and Goes, Anderson Cooper and Gloria Vanderbilt

Tuesday, July 5, 2016

Hot This Week: July 4

We hope everyone had a wonderful Independence Day weekend! The romcom How to Be Single, with its star-studded ensemble cast, makes its debut atop this week's movie listing. Plenty of new CDs make the music chart, led by the new album from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Drake holds onto the coveted #1 spot for another week. Likewise, Stephen King holds onto the top fiction slot for another week with End of Watch. An examination of class and poverty by Nancy Isenberg debuts in non-fiction.

DVD
  1. How to Be Single
  2. Zootopia
  3. 10 Cloverfield Lane
  4. Deadpool
  5. 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi
  6. Ride Along 2
  7. Dirty Grandpa
  8. Gods of Egypt
  9. The Brothers Grimsby
  10. The Revenant
CD
  1. Drake, Views
  2. Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Getaway
  3. Beyonce, Lemonade
  4. Hamilton Original Broadway Cast Soundtrack
  5. Radiohead, A Moon Shaped Pool
  6. YG, Still Brazy
  7. Rihanna, ANTI
  8. Twenty One Pilots, Blurryface
  9. Mumford & Sons, Johannesburg (EP)
  10. Meghan Trainor, Thank You
Fiction
  1. End of Watch, Stephen King
  2. The Girls, Emma Cline
  3. Here's to Us, Elin Hilderbrand
  4. Duty and Honor, Tom Clancy and Grant Blackwood
  5. The Girl on the Train, Paula Hawkins
  6. Foreign Agent, Brad Thor
  7. After You, Jojo Moyes
  8. The Pursuit, Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg
  9. Before the Fall, Noah Hawley
  10. Sweetbitter, Stephanie Danler
Non-Fiction
  1. Bill O'Reilly's Legends and Lies: The Patriots, David Fisher 
  2. Hamilton: The Revolution, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Jeremy McCarter
  3. Grit, Angela Duckworth
  4. When Breath Becomes Air, Paul Kalanithi
  5. Between the World and Me, Ta-Nehisi Coates
  6. The Rainbow Comes and Goes, Anderson Cooper and Gloria Vanderbilt
  7. The Gene, Siddhartha Mukherjee
  8. White Trash, Nancy Isenberg
  9. Shoe Dog, Phil Knight
  10. Grunt, Mary Roach