Red Carpet Reads

The Academy Awards are just around the corner; the nominees were announced on January 22nd, and the awards ceremony will be on February 22nd. And while many of the movies are still in theaters and not yet available on DVD, you can READ the movies. Many of the 81st Annual Academy Award- nominated movies are based on books. 

In mid-February Cedar Mill Library will have a display featuring books that were the basis for Oscar-nominated movies from recent years. And while you’re there, pick up the Oscar booklist.
In the meantime, here are the nominees from 2009 (click on the blue titles to place holds): 

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button – based on short story The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Dark Knight – based partially on The Long Halloween by Jeph Loeb and on various Joker comic book storylines, including elements from The Killing Joke by Alan Moore and The Greatest Joker Stories Ever Told from DC Comics

Defiance – Defiance: The Bielski Partisans by Nechama Tec

Doubt –Doubt: A Parable (play) by John Patrick Shanley

The Duchess – Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire by Amanda Foreman

Hellboy II: The Golden Army – based on the Hellboy comic book series by Mike Mignola

Iron Man – based on the Iron Man comics from Marvel Comics

Man On a Wire – To Reach the Clouds: My High Wire Walk Between the Twin Towers by Philippe Petit

The Reader – The Reader by Bernhard Schlink

Revolutionary Road – Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates

Slumdog Millionaire – Slumdog Millionaire by Vikram Swarup

Wanted – based on the Wanted comic book series by Mark Millar

Song Sung Blue

The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway 2008 (235 pgs)

During the siege of Sarajevo, a man watches from his window as 22 of his friends and neighbors are killed by a single shell while waiting in line for bread. He quietly puts on his tux, picks up his cello, and plays in the wreckage for 22 days. From there, the narrative shifts between three other survivors in the war zone, one of them a sniper charged with keeping the cellist alive during his “concerts.” A moving novel without veering towards maudlin or sappy. It’s a haunting look at how hope sustains people during war and how sometimes survival means creating your own hope.

emotional shrapnel

The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb 2008 (740 pgs)

A heartbreaking book of broad scope, The Hour I First Believed takes a look at the reverberations of tragedy. While Caelem’s back East planning his aunt’s funeral, his wife Maureen becomes a close witness to the Columbine shootings. While not physically injured, the psychic damage spins her off into a years long bout with PTSD, depression, and addiction. Unable to recover from the shootings and searching for some measure of peace, they head off to the family farm in Connecticut. Once there Caelem also stumbles upon secrets from his family’s past that begin to affect him just as strongly as his wife’s ordeal.

Lamb writes tragedy beautifully, his characters real and realistically fallible. Fans of his previous book I Know This Much Is True will not be disappointed. Also recommended for anyone who appreciates realistic fiction by authors like Jacqueline Mitchard, Chris Bohjalian, and Ann Patchett.

no remembrance of things past

The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary Pearson 2008 (266 pgs)

When Jenna wakes up, she can quote the entire text of Walden Pond, but she can’t remember her best friend’s name. Or even if she has a best friend. The parents she doesn’t remember tell her she’s been in a coma following an accident. As Jenna comes to terms with the disturbing holes in her memory, she finds that there’s more to her past than her family wants to tell her.

A great YA book for fans of Among the Hidden or the Uglies series. Enjoyable to read, while also tackling larger issues of medical ethics and the nature of identity. Makes for a fun afternoon read.

Puzzle Me This

Obedience by Will Lavender 2008 (287 pgs)

Students in a Logic and Reasoning class are asked to solve a hypothetical kidnapping before it becomes murder. The plot begins simply, but soon builds to a puzzle of cunning intricacy. Supposedly fictional characters start intruding on real life, and there are hints of a decade-old real murder nearby that bears striking similarity to the fictional case. Soon, three of the students (along with the reader) start to question what is real and whether there will soon be another murder.

This is a great new mystery for people (like me) who don’t read mysteries. It’s just as fun to try to solve the mystery yourself as it is to see all the answers revealed at the last second. I recommend it to fans of puzzles of all sorts and mysteries that keep you guessing.