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Eight Reasons I’m Excited About Hoopla (And You Should Be Too)!

1 Apr

hoopla

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.

2. The Sword in the Stone

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.

4. A Cook’s Tour

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.

6. The Addams Family

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

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A Librarian’s Road Trip with Tina Fey

22 Apr

Today there are many ways for readers to enjoy books.

Digitally-inclined readers can use Kindles, Nooks, Sony eReaders, and iPads–all of which can be borrowed from the Hoboken Public Library. (Click here for details.)

Audiobooks and Playaways, for those who prefer listening to books, are available to borrow from HPL as well.

Despite these options, I still prefer reading, and holding in my hands, an actual book. Hey, books are one reason I decided to become a librarian!

A few months ago I drove to Washington, DC, to visit one of my best friends. I decided to borrow an audiobook for entertainment on the four hour drive–and to avoid the inevitable loss of familiar radio stations during the trip.

I chose Bossypants by Tina Fey, the former head writer and cast member of Saturday Night Live and star of 30 Rock, because I haven’t yet read the book. Also, Tina narrated the audiobook and I wanted to hear her tell the story. (This title is also available on Playaway.)

bossypants

Tina was good company. It was almost as if she was in the car with me. She talked about her childhood and her awkward teenage years, which was way more entertaining than recounting my own childhood and awkward teenage years.

I liked Tina’s behind-the-scenes stories about her time on Saturday Night Live, as I am a longtime fan of the show. She recalled giving notes to Sylvester Stallone on a sketch she wrote, and felt intimidated as she was relatively new to SNL and he was a huge celebrity. Tina said Sly was totally cool about the feedback, though.

Tina also acknowledged that some celebrity hosts were more difficult than others but sadly didn’t name names. I admire her discretion, but still would love to know the dirty details. (Any guesses in the comments? Tina was with SNL from 1997-2006.)

My favorite part of the audiobook was the origin story of Tina’s brilliant, award-winning portrayal of Governor Sarah Palin on SNL during the 2008 presidential election.

After Palin was announced as Senator John McCain’s running mate in August 2008, many people noticed a resemblance between her and Tina. Tina believed people made that connection because she and Palin wore similar eyeglasses.

Lorne Michaels, SNL’s creator, asked Tina to return to the show to play Palin in a sketch. Tina said that was a particularly busy week–she was planning her daughter’s Tinkerbell-less, Peter Pan-themed birthday party and filming an episode of 30 Rock on which Oprah was a guest star.

Tina agreed to do the sketch if it included Amy Poehler*, her co-anchor on SNL’s Weekend Update segment in the early 2000s, and with whom she performed improv with The Second City in Chicago earlier in their careers. Lorne agreed, and SNL head writer Seth Meyers wrote a sketch where Tina played Palin and Amy, who was then very pregnant, portrayed Hillary Clinton.

The sketch was a huge hit. Tina nailed Palin’s accent and mannerisms. She even returned to SNL to reprise the role several times. The audio of this sketch is included in the audiobook, and it is still as funny now as it was in 2008.

Did you catch the joke about Sarah Palin’s “Tina Fey glasses” at the four minute mark in the video?

The audiobook package contains five discs. The first four include the story and the last disc contains media extras like photos and .pdfs. I finished the first two discs on the way to DC, and the last two on the way home. (I didn’t have a chance to use the last disc.)

Although I listened to the audiobook, I still want to borrow and read the actual Bossypants text. Tina made many references to 30 Rock that I couldn’t follow as I wasn’t caught up on the show until now.

If you’re planning a road trip and want some light entertainment for the drive, definitely consider Bossypants. This audiobook made driving on I-95 much less boring.

Don’t forget, there are plenty more audiobooks available at HPL, and from other libraries in the consortium. I definitely plan to borrow another audiobook for my next (currently unplanned) road trip.

“Good night, and have a pleasant tomorrow.”

Kerry Weinstein, Reference Librarian

*Apropos of nothing: Amy Poehler was on the Upright Citizens Brigade in the late 1990s before she joined SNL, and an episode of that show was filmed in my high school’s cafeteria when I was a student. I did not meet Amy, but saw her film some scenes. If only I could have met her then, before she became famous!

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