Hoopla means to get excited about something and now for Hoboken Public Library resident card holders, along with other members of BCCLS libraries, Hoopla now means having online access to 15,808 videos (including movies and TV shows), 14,313 audiobooks, and 212,595 music albums! Each month you have an access to up to 8 different choices. Here are 8 things I’m excited about that Hoopla is currently offering. So go online and see what all the Hoopla is about!
1. Serenity
As a huge Joss Whedon fan I was sad when Firefly got cancelled, but Serenity was a wonderful consolation prize. With its blend of Scifi and Western it became an almost instant cult classic. If you’ve enjoyed Whedon’s more recent work on the Avengers franchise and haven’t seen this yet, definitely check this out. For more classic scifi goodness check out David Lynch’s Dune or for a documentary about the archetypical fans checkout the documentary Trekkies about devotees of Star Trek.
If you’ve had enough of Frozen, have your kids checkout one of my favorite Disney films instead. The Sword in the Stone is a charming interpretation of the classic Arthur legend. I especially love the Wizard battle between Merlin and Madam Mim. Also available is The Black Cauldron based on the first in The Chronicles of Prydain high fantasy series by Lloyd Alexander, one of my favorites as a child (please be aware that this one unlike most Disney animation is rated PG). But if you your kids still want more Frozen you can listen to the Frozen Soundtrack or even sing along to the Karaoke version which are available from Hoopla.
3. The Rise and Fall of Ruby Woo by The Puppini Sisters
I’ve been meaning for a while to write in the blog about the retro-wonderfulness that is the Puppini Sisters. Inspired by groups like the Andrews Sisters they take on classic tunes, while also giving fun treatments to covers of “Walk Like an Egyptian” and “Crazy in Love”. Their original pieces are quite lovely. Also checkout Max Raabe and Palast Orchester’s Golden Age, whose cover of “Oops! … I Did It Again” isn’t to be missed.
I loved Bourdain’s classic memoir, Kitchen Confidential, and his latest foodie travel series on the Travel Channel and CNN. If like me you can’t get enough of New Jersey born Bourdain’s dry wit and adventurous spirit check out his first travel series, A Cook’s Tour, where he travels to Tokyo, Paris, Morocco, Russia, and more. If you want more foodie delights check out the terrific films Mostly Martha and The Wedding Banquet or the documentary on the world renowned Spanish molecular gastronomic chef Ferran Adria, El Bulli: Cooking in Progress.
5. Carrie Vaughn’s Low Midnight
Carrie Vaughn’s newest novel Low Midnight is available as an audiobook from Hoopla. You may remember I wrote an earlier blog post about Vaughn’s Kitty series about a radio host DJ who is a werewolf. In Low Midnight, she writes the about of one of my favorite characters, the mysterious Cormac Bennett. You can also listen to other books about Kitty including Vaughn’s first Kitty and the Midnight Hour. If you are a fan of urban fantasy Hoopla has more treats in store including the audiobook short story collection Night Shift featuring paranormal romance stories by Nalini Singh, Ilona Andrews, Milla Vane, and Lisa Shearin. Plus consider checking out two great urban fantasy TV shows: Sanctuary about a group running a preserve for supernatural creatures and Being Human about a ghost, vampire, and werewolf who are roommates.
The Addams Family has more recently spun off into movies and a Broadway musical all of which are enjoyable, but my favorite adaptation of the classic cartoon from The New Yorker, is the original TV series that you can watch now on Hoopla. If you like dark humor check out the quirky Dead Like Me about a reluctant grim reaper. Plus with Hoopla, you can view some episodes of the classic vampire soap Dark Shadows.
7. Return to Oz
Recently as part of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Book Discussion at the library we had a special Oz event where we discussed the first three books in the series and had a special screening of Return to Oz. If you missed the event you can still check out this cult classic film that many fans of Baum’s work feel is a more accurate interpretation of the books than the 1939 Garland musical. If you can’t get enough Oz you can also view The Muppets’ Wizard of Oz. Plus you can listen to the audiobook of Wizard of Oz or the Wicked, the Musical, Soundtrack.
8. Movies, Music, TV, Audiobooks available 24/7!
One of the best things about Hoopla is it allows us to provide our Hoboken Library Card patrons access to materials even when the library is closed. You can borrow music for 7 days, videos for 3 days, and audiobooks for 21 days. Any time you feel like watching a comedy such as Mr. Wrong you can or maybe you’d prefer a documentary like Bowling for Columbine or check out an episode of kid’s shows (my toddler recommends Dinosaur Train and Chuggington). Hoopla has a lot of great musical selections whether you enjoy mainstream powerhouses like Madonna, Lady Gaga, and Imagine Dragons or are a fan of more obscure music such as Industrial bands like KMFDM, :Wumpscut:, and Skinny Puppy. I’m looking forward to checking out Austrian darkwave act L’ Ame Immortelle’s latest Drahtseilakt tonight. I also can’t wait to download the audiobook for Lydia Millet’s Mermaids in Paradise that I’ve been looking forward to reading. There are no waiting lists, no late fees, and you have up to 8 great entertainment choices per month.
You can get more information about using Hoopla here. See our eResources page for even more electronic goodies available 24/7 to Hoboken Public Library Card Holders like magazines, eBooks, downloadable music, reference resources, and more! And let us know your audiobook, movie, music, and TV show recommendations for Hoopla in our comments section.
-Written by Aimee Harris, Head of Reference
Hoboken Library Staff Picks 
2 Responses to “Eight Reasons I’m Excited About Hoopla (And You Should Be Too)!”