Archive | October, 2015

Four Movies to Watch to Get Your Cinderella Fix

21 Oct

Ed. note: Did you see Elbie’s post about books to read based on the Cinderella story?

Cinderella… Cinderella!!!

Just thinking of it brings me back to girlhood when the land of make believe was more attainable. Fairy godmothers, nasty stepsisters, and the dazzling smile of the handsome prince was breathtaking at the time. As a 90s girl with an unapologetic love for fairytales, Cinderella was one of my favorites besides Belle from Beauty and the Beast (we’ll get to that another time). As some may know, Disney had just came out when a live action version of Cinderella on DVD which I of course pre-ordered online. (Did you?) I knew as soon as the credits were rolling on my TV screen, I had to watch another Cinderella movie. Being born in 90s gave me the opportunity to grow up watching different versions of Cinderella on screen played by actors like Brandy and Drew Barrymore. I am grateful for it because it gave me reassurance that one does not have to look a certain way to be a princess, especially Cinderella. It is literally not about how one looks but by how one reacts to a tough situation. Are you kind or cruel in heat of the moment? Do you have the urge to emotionally stab someone in the heart just to feel like you won? I have some Cinderella movie suggestions that transcend different times and eras but the message of prevailing over your enemies is ingrained into the very fabric of the movies. (Plus, there are all family friendly to watch.) Here are four that would make you swoon for a happily ever after.

Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella (1997)

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Image via Amazon

Who wouldn’t want to hear the late Whitney Houston be the best fairy godmother by singing every note with soulful perfection? (It was, also, co-produced by her.) Yes, Brandy Norwood is not the typical blonde hair and blue eyed version but is just as elegant and beautiful. (She recently the starred in Chicago on Broadway.) The Prince is played by Paolo Montalbán, a Rutgers University and St. Peters Prep alumni. Other than being a handsome face, he is a beautiful singer. Bernadette Peters plays the wicked stepmother and looks beautiful while doing it. Whoopi Goldberg plays the queen and overzealous stepmother. These are just some of the stars that are part of this star studded musical version of Cinderella.

Ever After (1998)

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Ever After is set in the 16th century France. Danielle (Drew Barrymore) is Cinderella. She grows up a rebellious tomboy. Her father loved her the way she was and educated her through books of philosophy and fairy tales. He never held her back from being the person she was. Being a merchant he had to go away many at times. One day, he brought back a regal woman (Anjelica Huston) as his wife, and her two daughters. Danielle thought nothing of it until they showed their real colors toward her and says nothing to not disappoint her father. When he dies of a heart attack, she is reduced to a servant girl in her own house. When she goes into town in disguise, the prince looks her away and doesn’t look back. It is a love story not to miss.

A Cinderella Story (2004)

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Hilary Duff plays the modern Cinderella, Sam Montgomery. She is a jeans and t-shirt wearing underdog in the valley, California. She was orphaned after an earthquake. Austin Ames (Chad Michael Murray) the supposed prince talks to an online mystery girl that happens to be Sam. They both don’t know each other until school dance. Sam hides in a mask so she keeps her secret from the prince. When the clock stuck 12, she dashes for the exit leaving her phone, not a shoe. Watch to see if the romance blooms or goes as fast as a sent text message.

Cinderella (2015)

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The words “Have Courage and be kind” are a new motto from this very recent live action adaption of Cinderella. This phase is adapted into Ella’s (Downton Abbey’s Lily James) life when mother makes her promise to “Have Courage and be Kind” before she dies. Thereafter, she grew up with her widowed father unchanged in spirit. Her father did change by the sadness that took him after his wife’s death. Years later, He married again hoping to gain happiness once more. This did not happen because it was a marriage of convenience not love. The stepmother and stepsisters are struck with jealousy as soon as they see Ella. They withheld their nastiness as much they could until the death of Ella’s father. It was then that they decided to treat her cruelly and call her Cinderella “reducing her to a creature of ash.” Ella’s resilience is the main attribute of the story. I personally think that if the prince wasn’t in the movie, I wouldn’t care because Ella’s display of strength showcased the whole movie.

-Written by Elbie Love, Young Adult Library Assistant

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The Mile Square City Readers Book Club Half-Year Review

19 Oct

In addition to the Science Fiction & Fantasy Book Club, which my colleague Aimee Harris created and facilitates, the Hoboken Public Library has the Mile Square City Readers. This book club, led by me and Rosary, reads mostly new releases and bestselling fiction, plus the occasional classic.

On March 19, 2015 the Mile Square City Readers had its first meeting. At that time, the name of the group was The Hoboken Public Library New Book Club. In September we reached our six month anniversary and decided the “New” label was, well, old. Our amazing members suggested names and voted on Mile Square City Readers.

Here is a review of the titles we have read so far this year.

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

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The first book we read is The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins. The girl is Rachel, who finds herself involved with the disappearance of a woman whose house she passes while riding the commuter train to London. The main question of the story is: Can the reader trust Rachel as a narrator? The group enjoyed this book, and it was a great title for starting off the book club.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

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In April we read Harper Lee’s classic To Kill a Mockingbird ahead of the release of the prequel Go Set a Watchman. I joked that the book club was going “back to school”, as this title appears on many schools’ reading lists. Nearly all members of the group have read this book before, and are fond of the legendary characters Scout and Atticus Finch that Lee created.

Better Than Before by Gretchen Rubin

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We experimented with a nonfiction title in May. Better Than Before by Gretchen Rubin (also known for The Happiness Project) is about how we create habits, good and bad. An interesting discussion came from this book, including theories on how astrological signs can factor into our habits. However, the group wanted to return to fiction so the nonfiction experiment has been shelved.

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

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All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr was our June pick. We decided to read this after the announcement that it won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2015. The Pulitzer website describes the book as “…an imaginative and intricate novel…” The group loved this book and thought it was a beautifully written work of fiction.

In the Unlikely Event by Judy Blume

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In July we read Judy Blume’s In the Unlikely Event, which is based on three plane crashes that happened in Elizabeth, New Jersey in the early 1950s, and how residents were impacted. There are many characters in this book, which the group expressed some difficulty keeping track of, but they enjoyed the story overall, particularly the accurate details included by Blume.

Go Set a Watchmen by Harper Lee

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Harper Lee’s Go Set a Watchman, our August pick, was the most controversial book in the Mile Square City Reader’s Book Club (albeit short) history. There was intense discussion about how Atticus Finch’s character was so drastically different in To Kill a Mockingbird, and how involved Harper Lee was in this work. The group consensus was that this book was better left unpublished.

The Knockoff by Lucy Sykes and Jo Piazza

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The September meeting brought the group’s first author visit: The Knockoff co-author Jo Piazza participated in our discussion over Skype chat! We had a lot of fun talking about the real-life people the characters in The Knockoff are based on (there is an Eve out in the world, yikes!), and how women of a certain age can relate to feeling irrelevant in the workplace when technology changes daily and younger people enter every day.

Looking ahead, we are reading A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay. Please join us at our next meeting on Thursday October 29 at 7:30 PM.

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Titles for each month are announced ahead of time, and we offer copies of the book plus, depending on availability, eBooks available through eLibraryNJ and/or the library’s Technology Lending program.

To keep up with the Mile Square City Readers, send an email to reference AT hoboken DOT bccls DOT org to be added to the mailing list.

-Written by Kerry Weinstein, Reference Librarian and Mile Square City Readers Book Club co-founder

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