Are You Ready for Memorial Day Weekend?

Memorial Day Weekend: a time for spending with family…

…in the car…

…for hours.

Why not read a book while you’re in the car?

Or are you like me, a control freak, and drive everywhere? No offense…

Or do you get carsick while reading directions when forced to be the trusty navigator?

Well here are some fabulous non-book options furnished by your fabulous library, to entertain you instead of being bored, sick, or forced to play the license plate game again.

Audiobooks: PGTPL has a fabulous collection of books on CD. Whether you like non-fiction, historical fiction, or even teen fiction and children’s books, we have something for you. Pop in a CD, and listen to great authors, actors, and professional voices read you great books. Many more audiobooks are available for download on Overdrive as well. My favorites: Beauty Queens, written and performed by Libba Bray via OverDrive; and Horton Hears a Who and other stories, performed by Dustin Hoffman available through Evergreen.

Playaways: If your trusty vehicle doesn’t have a CD player, don’t fret! We have these cute little do-dads called Playaways. You just plug a set of headphones in and listen to the story.

DVDs: If you have a fancy vehicle with DVD players, we can load you up with great movies from our collection. You can even find movies about wherever you’re going with our extensive non-fiction DVD shelves. One movie I like that’s good for all ages: IMAX Under the Sea, narrated by Jim Carrey. Popcorn not included.

CDs: Tired of trying to find a great radio station in the middle of nowhere? Grab a handful of CDs and create your own playlist. I enjoy exposing my kids to music that I like, so I don’t have to listen to the Hokey Pokey a million times. However, Barenaked Ladies have a great kid’s CD called Snacktime that rocks!

Especially for Kids:

Playaway Views: Got kids? Got kids that love Elmo, Arthur or fairy tales? We have Playaway Views in the Children’s room! These nifty handheld buddies are personal movie players. They are pre-loaded, so you don’t have to fuss with DVDs or extra pieces. Earphones can be plugged in, but aren’t necessary…unless Elmo’s voice will make the drive feel like Purgatory. My child’s favorites: Between the Lions and Strega Nona.

Kid Kits: Help yourself and help our children’s room staff flex their creative muscles by compiling a kid kit for your child. Stop by the children’s room a week or so before your trip and fill out a kid kit form. You will let the librarians know how old your child is, what his interests are, and what kind of materials he would like. Then, the librarian will pull together materials for your child to take with him on his trip! You can pick them up when convenient for you, and have all the items you need to keep your kid excited about being in the car for eight hours…well…maybe.

I hope you have a safe trip to wherever your three day weekend takes you. Me? I’m thinking a couch staycation is in order!


-Michelle

2012 Plainfield Garden Tour

The 2012 Annual Friends of the Plainfield Library Garden Tour will be Saturday June 23, and Sunday, June 24.

Tickets for the tour are $12.00 and are available online now on the Plainfield Garden Tour website. Tickets will be available the week prior to the tour at the following locations:

• Plainfield-Guilford Twp. Public Library*
• Marsh Supermarket in Plainfield*
• Ferguson Hardware*
• Gear Up Cyclery*
• Cox's Plant Farm*
• Plainfield Chamber of Commerce

*Tickets available at these locations the days of the tour.

2012 Plainfield Garden Tour Art Auction

This year the Friends asked people to submit their artwork in a contest to be used on the Garden Tour tickets. There were so many wonderful submissions! The winners were:

• First Place: Olivia Roath
• Second Place: Carol Mongan
• Third Place: Barbara Harris
• Under 12 Winner: Audrey Havenor

The artwork is now on display in the library, and you're invited to purchase it! The starting price for each piece was selected by the artist, and is listed in the book in front of the large display case. Bidding will end May 31st, at which time the winning purchasers will be contacted by phone.

Money from both Garden Tour tickets and the Art Contest Silent Auction directly benefit the library. Have you ever attended a program at the library? If so, you've benefited from our Friends group! Friends money helps support library programming, including speaker fees, supplies, and snacks.

Joanna's Top 10 Movies

One Fine Day
This is one of my favorite romantic comedies. Michelle Pfeiffer and George Clooney are both amazing in this movie as they play characters who get thrown together for a day when they need help finding a babysitter for their children. They end up having a wild time and learn a few things about themselves along the way.

Nanny McPhee
Nanny McPhee is about a single father searching for a nanny to tend to his seven children. After the children drive away 17 nannies, Nanny McPhee mysteriously comes into the picture to give the children some much needed discipline. I especially love that Emma Thompson and Colin Firth are together in this movie as they are two of my favorite actors of all time. This is a great movie to see with the family!

The Queen
Another favorite actor of mine is Helen Mirren, who does an excellent job playing Queen Elizabeth II in the movie The Queen. This movie focuses on the tragedy of Princess Diana's death and the difficulty Queen Elizabeth II faced when it came to leading the nation in mourning in the loss of the People’s Princess. The inside glimpse into the Royal perspective during this difficult time in England's history is riveting to say the least.

Gone With the Wind and Scarlet
Gone With the Wind is a classic for many reasons. My main reason for loving GWTW is the psychology behind the characters Scarlet and Rhett. They always think about what is in it for them and don't care if someone gets trampled along the way. Scarlet is a sequel movie to GWTW and I like it because it does a fairly good job of continuing the GWTW story. 

The Silence of the Lambs
This is my #1 favorite movie of all time. Those of you who have read my True Crime: Serial Killers blog will know why. I saw the movie poster for SOTL in D. Rose (the local video store in Plainfield back in the 1990s) and I remember seeing this giant moth over Jodie Foster's mouth, and in the design of the moth's back were the bodies of five women. Clearly the image stayed with me for years and when I was in college I saw the movie for the first time. I was horrified by the serial killer Hannibal Lecter and his insights into the twisted mind of Buffalo Bill. Even after seeing this movie more than 50 times I still get freaked out.

Gone Baby Gone
This movie is about two detectives investigating the disappearance of a little girl in Boston. The police are making very little progress and something just doesn’t seem quite right. The detectives run into all sorts of criminals from gangs to pedophiles along the way to finding the missing girl. At the end there is a scary twist that earns the movie a place on my Top 10 Library Movies to see.

The Prince and Me
I’m a bit of a sucker for a sappy romance every now and then. The Prince and Me is about a young Danish prince who is sowing his wild oats. The prince takes a hiatus to Wisconsin to seemingly “get it together” and attend college, which is where he meets and falls head over heels for a woman with determination and drive. This movie is pretty much a “wash, rinse, repeat” romance, but I love it for its sentimental predictability.

Into The Wild
True-life stories are one of my favorite things of all time. Into The Wild is based on a true story about a young man named Christopher McCandless who leaves his life behind to pursue his own path in the wilderness of Alaska . The movie is adventurous, funny and truly inspiring. Other favorite true-life movies include: Grizzly Man, which is about a man who video taped his close interactions with bears; Kinsey is another great movie that is about the Alfred Kinsey, the American biologist who studied and taught human sexuality at Indiana University in the 1940s and 1950s; 127 Hours is about a young man who gets trapped between a boulder in a canyon crag in Utah. It is not for the faint of heart and is also an amazing movie!

Jurassic Park
OK, so here’s the deal: I could watch Jurassic Park every single day for the rest of my life. I’d even throw in Jurassic Park II and III and I would be a happy camper. Every single time I watch the “real life” dinosaurs walking around I get a giddy excitement that I just cannot compare to any other movie. I recall vividly back in 1993 when Jurassic Park was released I wanted to see it soooo badly but my parents would not let me. A few years later I watched it and loved it.

Fargo
Fargo is about a Minneapolis car salesman who is in a lot of trouble. He hires some thugs to kidnap his wife in hopes that the ransom will help him with his troubles. Many things go wrong during the kidnapping, and when Police Chief Marge Gunderson gets on the case things begin to unravel at a rapid pace. The Coen brothers do an excellent job making this movie. Just be prepared for some dark comedy if you decide to see it!

Teddy Bear Sleepover

We'd love to have you join us for our annual

Teddy Bear Sleepover!

Children grades K - 3 are invited to bring your teddy bear, favorite stuffed animal or doll (along with a towel or pillow for your teddy to sleep on) to a library party and sleepover! We will enjoy party snacks and play games with your teddy on Thursday evening from 7:00 - 8:15pm. Your teddy will spend the night enjoying bedtime stories and games with the other teddies after you go home. Please come back Friday anytime between 9:00am - 6:00pm to pick up your teddy.

Register online here, or by calling (317) 838-3801.

Teen books…not just for teens!

Hello! For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Courtney, the Teen Services Coordinator. I spend the majority of my time back in area T. My job offers me the awesome opportunity to order all of the teen fiction for the library as well as plan teen programs. How cool is that? As you may’ve guessed, I’m a huge fan of teen fiction and I believe it’s a genre that can be enjoyed by other adults as well. Seriously! I’ve composed a list of my top 10-ish favorite teen books of the moment. Give one a try and let me know what you think!

 

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green – Before I tell you about this book I must confess, I’m a huge John Green fan. I love his books and his vlog that he does with his brother Hank. I could write an entire blog entry on how much I love his work. But I won’t. Well, maybe later. Anyway, back to The Fault in Our Stars. Hazel is a sixteen year old terminal cancer patient. She spends her days watching TV and being obsessed with the author of her favorite book. Her life is forever changed when Augustus Waters shows up at her cancer support group. Upon this meeting, Gus and Hazel’s life will never be the same. Be sure to check out John Green’s other books: Looking for Alaska, and Paper Towns.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky – Told in a diary format, this book is a coming-of-age story about Charlie that follows him through his awkward adolescence as well as learning to cope with the tragedy in his life. Soon to be a movie starring Emma Watson of Harry Potter fame.

Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan – After his band plays, Nick asks Norah, a complete stranger, to be his girlfriend for five minutes to avoid his ex. This action sets off a chain of events that sends the couple all over NYC. Music fans will love this one.

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins – Anna’s dad sends her to boarding school in Paris. Here she meets St. Clair and they become best friends, but Anna may want something more. If you like this one, be sure to check out the companion novel: Lola and the Boy Next Door.

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher- Clay comes home to find a box full of cassette tapes waiting for him. On the tapes is the voice of Hannah Baker who committed suicide two weeks before. Hannah explains the thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life and Clay is one of the reasons.

Heist Society by Ally Carter – Kat has always had a hand in the family business; her family just happens to be con artists and thieves. She tries to escape the lifestyle, but is pulled back in when her father is accused of stealing a mobster’s art collection. Kat’s only option is to steal the paintings back to clear her father’s name. Be sure to check out the sequel: Uncommon Criminals.

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver – After she dies in a car crash, Samantha relives the day of her death over and over.

If I Stay by Gayle Forman – Mia is in a coma following an accident that killed her entire family. The story follows her process of deciding whether to stay or join her family.

Sloppy Firsts by Megan McCafferty – Jessica is devastated when her best friend, Hope, moves away. Now she must face the trials and tribulations of high school alone. This book is the first in a series.

The Hunger Games by Susanne Collins – At this point, who hasn’t heard of The Hunger Games, right?

Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin – After Liz is hit by a taxi and killed, she finds herself in a place that’s very much like Earth. She has to adjust to her new life and figure out how to “live.”

Whip it by Shauna Cross – Bliss is a rebel. She’s out of place in her small Texas town and doesn’t always see eye to eye with her beauty pageant obsessed mother. Then she discovers roller derby and starts skating under the name Babe Ruthless. As a huge roller derby fan myself, I loved everything about this book. Did you know that Indiana has a number of female roller derby teams? If you get a chance, you should check out Naptown Roller Girls, or Circle City Derby Girls.

Well, that’s my top 10-ish. Let me know what you think!

~Courtney