GREAT LINE:
Make art not war.
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Some of the best kinds of documentaries are the ones that offer a snapshot of an ordinary life. Jimmy Mirikitani is an American painter who made his living on the streets of Manhattan. He’s one of those men that you pass day-after-day on your way to work – just another street artist, you think. But filmmaker Linda Hattendorf stopped and took notice, and persuaded him in 2001 to document his life. Over time she learned about his past including his experiences in an internment camp. The film spans more than a decade in Mirikitani’s life and takes a number of subtle twists and turns. We follow Jimmy through several life transitions such as when September 11, 2011 happens during the making of the film. Hattendorf presents a slice of life in such a respectful and honest way without thumping viewers over the head with melodrama. I highly recommend this film!
Check the BPL catalog for this title: The Cats of Mirikitani
GREAT LINE:
The river that erased her past will write her future.
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Up the Yangtze, a documentary about the changes that happen along the Yangtze River due to the government’s decision to dam it, is a visual feast. It is a slow-paced film, but quite engaging. We follow the lives of two young villagers as they are sent to work on a luxury cruise ship. Although you see the negative impact of modernization on what was once a beautiful land, you are also presented with the perspective of progress and necessity. Farmers need to send their kids off to the city to work for money, and some of this work contributes to the destruction of their land. Many of the scenes are poignant, such as one in particular when the camera shows a family’s house being overtaken by rising waters. A must-see!
Check the BPL catalog for this title: Up The Yangtze
GREAT LINE:
“Death be not proud.”
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This is one of the most moving and sad films I’ve ever watched. Warning: it is a major tearjerker. It portrays a woman dying of stage IV ovarian cancer, played by the ever-talented Emma Thompson. In her final days she recalls her days as a professor of English literature and reflects upon her life choices and attitudes. It is a film about confronting death, compassion, and kindness versus intellectualism. Based on a Margaret Edson play and directed by Mike Nichols, this film is dialogue-rich. Totally worth watching, but be prepared for some very heavy stuff.
Check the BPL catalog for this title: Wit
GREAT LINES:
On the third night, she told him that once after a lecture they’d attended, she let him speak to the chairman of his department without telling him that he had a dab of pâté on his chin. She’d been irritated with him for some reason, and so she’d let him go on and on, about securing his fellowship for the following semester, without putting a finger to her own chin as a signal.
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This is a beautiful collection of short stories by Jhumpa Lahiri about the lives of immigrants and first generation Americans. The plot-lines play second fiddle to the character developments, which are exquisite. Lahiri is genius at showcasing universally felt emotions – her prose is restrained yet carries tremendous weight in its simplicity. Even though her characters are mostly of Indian descent, any person who has ever felt like a foreigner or out-of-place will be able to relate. The stories can be at times sad or heavy, but Lahiri’s insights into what it is to be human make it worth it. It is ultimately a celebration of the fullness of life. If you are looking for a deep, emotional read, this is the book for you!
Check the BPL catalog for this title: The Interpreter of Maladies
GREAT LINES:
People tell me they would find my job depressing, but I’m always a little puzzled by that. Looking at my patients and their families, I have a remarkable view not just of lives well lived, but of deep commitment and love.
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This is a true story about a cat named Oscar who lives among the residents of Steere House, a nursing and rehabilitation center. He is a seemingly normal cat, cantankerous and stand-offish most of the time, but he has a special gift. Often he knows when a resident is approaching their final hours, at which point he will hop onto their bed and keep vigil. Dr. David Dosa ponders these mysterious displays of comfort, and weaves them into personal anecdotes about the residents, many of them living with Alzheimer’s. A very touching and charming book – a great read for everyone!
Check the BPL catalog for this title: Making Rounds with Oscar
GREAT LINES:
Quite simply, to become immersed is to say ‘no’ to the way the world is and begin to create a new world built not on injustice, greed, individualism and passivity, but rather a world based on justice, community, solidarity, action and love of the other. In short, immersion is to help the world stand the correct way up.
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This book surprised me in that I don’t usually pick out a book on this subject, but when I was browsing, the cover photograph of a man’s dusty bare feet drew me in. I’m glad it did, because I was rewarded by a smart, sincere first-hand account of an immersion volunteer’s experience in Zambia. Donaldson’s depiction of the impoverished strikes a perfect balance – there is none of that coddling tone sometimes taken when discussing the poor. He tackles the subjects of immersion versus volunteer tourism, injustice, the marginalized, and how existing systems create poverty. He challenges one’s privilege and inaction, but he adopts a fair stance towards everyone including the wealthy, so the book doesn’t read as heavy-handed or preachy to me. Read it!
Check the BPL catalog for this title: Encountering God in the Margins
GREAT LINE:
When I was carrying him, I had the constant sensation that I was a kind of radio tower, within which Adam sat broadcasting some kind of signal to the world around me – not a verbal message but an unnamed energy, a sort of goodness, that drew out people’s best selves and helped them connect with each other.
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Expecting Adam is Martha Beck’s memoir documenting the days leading up to the birth of her second child. During the pregnancy she discovers that her baby has Down’s syndrome. Both she and her husband are in their graduate studies at Harvard and on their way to academic and career success when their lives are turned upside down. Through these tumultuous days, Beck experiences a spiritual awakening that she describes in an honest, straightforward way. She experiences magical moments that stun her skeptical mind. This isn’t about conversion to religion or a New Age spirituality. It is about learning what matters in life.
Check the BPL catalog for this title: Expecting Adam
GREAT LINE:
And so Weetzie and My Secret Agent Lover Man and Dirk and Duck and Slinkster Dog and Fifi’s canaries lived happily ever after in their silly-sand-topped house in the land of skating hamburgers and flying toupees and Jah-Love blonde Indians.
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Francesca Lia Block’s books are my guilty pleasure reading – usually short, offbeat, and delicious. Weetzie Bat is my favorite of her works. It is loosely about the adventures of a quirky teenager living in L.A. The prose is luscious, decadent, slinky. I read this book in one sitting, and it made me want to devour every one of her other books. If you grew up in L.A. (or some other urban place) you will appreciate the broad strokes she paints of the place. Block is a lover of language and the way that words dance together and roll off your tongue. You’ll find most of her books in our Teen section, but make no mistake, this is adult reading as well!
Check the BPL catalog for this title: Weetzie Bat
OPENING LINES:
‘Tears are very close to my eyes,’ says Bhonco, son of Ximiya. ‘Not for pain…no…I do not cry because of pain. I cry only because of beautiful things.’
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Set in a South African village, this story is about two ideologically warring factions, the Believers and the Unbelievers. This division among the Xhosa people came about after a failed prophecy in the nineteenth century, and remains stubbornly strong to the present day. Both sides envision what would be best for the community. The Unbelievers welcome the opening of a casino, saying that it will bring about prosperity in the form of new jobs and opportunities. The Believers fear the impact of economic development on the village way of life. At the center of the story is Camagu, an outsider, a city person who follows a woman back to the village and subsequently becomes embroiled in the ongoing feud. Mda’s prose is beautiful and tinged with magical realism and folklore. It is a thought-provoking argument both for and against economic development, preserving tradition versus embracing new ways. It is also a love story between two people, between a woman and the land, and a story about the consequences of stubbornness.
Check the BPL catalog for this title: The Heart of Redness
OPENING LINES:
I first saw Hundreds Hall when I was ten years old. It was the summer after the war, and the Ayreses still had most of their money then, were still big people in the district.
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A fellow staff member recommended this book to me, and I am glad she did. The Little Stranger is a suspenseful edge-of-the-seat tale about a haunted house. Sarah Waters is a great storyteller. Her plots are riveting, but never at the expense of her lushly descriptive prose. The Little Stranger reaches a level of psychological depth that isn’t for the faintest of heart. It didn’t just scare me – it creepy-crawled its fingers into my brain and unsettled me for a long time afterward. When I reached the middle of this book, I could not stop reading (even though it was four o’clock in the morning and I had work the next day)! If you enjoy a good haunted house story, be sure to check out this book!
Check the BPL catalog for this title: The Little Stranger