A Galaxy Far, Far Away at the Hoboken Public Library: Star Wars Books, Movies, and More!

3 Feb

My husband, father, and I are huge Star Wars fans so we were very excited to get to see The Force Awakens on New Year’s Day.  It recaptured for me the excitement of the first three films I loved as a child.  If the new film has awakened a desire for more Star Wars, like me, check out the many Star Wars related items available from the Hoboken Public Library.
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Star Wars in 100 Scenes, by Jason Fry

This thorough guide covers the first six Star Wars movies with 100 scenes that capture favorite characters and pivotal moments from the films.  It even includes behind the scene trivia.

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Star Wars Omnibus: The Complete Saga, Episodes I-VI

This omnibus edition collects in one volume the comic book adaptations of all of the Star Wars films from Dark Horse.

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Star Wars. What is a Wookiee?, by Linda Gambrell

Narrated by C3P0 this book allows young readers to learn about the other droids and aliens of the Star Wars Universe.  A fun way to encourage your next generation of jedi to read.

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Star Wars: Absolutely Everything You Need to Know, by Adam Bray, Kerrie Dougherty, Cole Horton, and Michael Kogge

This book goes beyond the six movies and also includes trivia and information from Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels.

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Star Wars IV, V, VI [DVD, BluRay]

See the original films again or for the first time.  I recently showed my son A New Hope for the first time though The Empire Strikes Back, the first film I ever saw in the theaters will always be my favorite.

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Star Wars I, II, II  [DVD, BluRay]

Though the prequels are often criticized by fans of the originals, especially with the unpopular Jar Jar Binks in The Phantom Menace, these films are still worth checking out at least once to see the complicated back story of Darth Vader.

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Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga

For those looking to experience Star Wars, rather than just watch it, check out this video game for the Wii, which will have you playing through all six of the first movies in fun Lego style. Star Wars The Clone Wars: Lightsaber Duels is also available for the Wii.  For those preferring other gaming systems Angry Birds Star Wars is available for Xbox 360 and Star Wars The Force Unleashed II is available for the Xbox 360 and PS3.

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Star Wars Character Encyclopedia, by Simon Beecroft

Kids (and likely also their parents) will enjoy this illustrated look at over 200 profiles from the Star Wars Universe.

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William Shakespeare’s Star Wars: Verily, A New Hope, by Ian Doescher

If you are fan of the mashup genre, which takes things like zombies or vampires and mixes them with classic works of literature, then check out this retelling of Star Wars in iambic pentameter.  William Shakespeare’s The Empire Striketh Back: Star Wars Part the Fifth and William Shakespeare’s the Jedi Doth Return are also available.

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The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia, by Stephen J. Sansweet & Pablo Hidalgo and Bob Vitas & Daniel Wallace ; with Chris Cassidy, Mary Franklin & Josh Kushins

Stop by the reference department to browse this definitive three volume set that looks at the movies, games, comics, novels, and more. It even includes a timeline of major events in the Star Wars universe.

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How Star Wars Conquered the Universe: The Past, Present, and Future of a Multibillion Dollar Franchise, by Chris Taylor

If your curious how one movie spawned not only sequels and prequels, but an empire of merchandising, then you should enjoy reading Chris Taylor’s account of Star Wars and how it became a global phenomenon.

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Wishful Drinking, by Carrie Fisher

I still remember being so excited to dress like Princess Leia for Halloween back when I was kid.  I wanted to be Carrie Fisher when I grew up.  Wishful Drinking though also captures the less glamorous side of her life and the struggles she faced with drinking and drug use.  Fisher manages though to keep her humor and spunk even through the rough parts.  It was great seeing her again in the new film; her daughter even has a cameo wearing her hair in the now classic side bun hair style.

Of course there is plenty more especially if you are looking for fiction that expands on the Star Wars Universe.  Kids can enjoy The Princess, the Scoundrel, and the Farm Boy: An Original Retelling of Star Wars: A New Hope by Alexandra Bracken or The Phantom Bully by Jeffrey Brown.  For adults there are books like Star Wars. Survivor’s Quest by Timothy Zahn.  Plus check out the animated continuation of the stories such as Star Wars, The Clone Wars (set during the time between Episodes II and III) and Star Wars Rebels (set between Episodes III and IV) on DVD.  If you have a favorite let us know in our comment section!

For those that prefer digital media, Hoboken Library Card and other BCCLS library card holders have access to Hoopla which has a variety of eBooks, digital audiobooks, and soundtracks available.

-Written by Aimee Harris, Head of Reference

Selections from the Hoboken Public Library’s Science Fiction and Fantasy Book Club Part 5: Rosemary’s Baby, Slaughterhouse-Five, and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

6 Jan

This was the second year of the library’s Science Fiction and Fantasy Book Club and we’ve read a great and diverse collection of books.  We already have a few books planned for next year.  In January we will ring in the New Year with the dystopian classic 1984 by George Orwell.  Then in February we will read one of my favorites, Philip Pullman’s The Golden Compass (I’ll even be bringing my replica alethiometer to show off).  I hope you will join us and help plan the books we will be reading for the rest of the year.  Email hplwriters AT gmail  DOT com to be added to our mailing list for the group.  You can see previous book club posts here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4.

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Ira Levin’s Rosemary’s Baby

Ira Levin’s Rosemary’s Baby was our October read in honor of Halloween.  This classic horror novel builds suspense as Rosemary wonders if the nice old neighbors next door might not have diabolical plans for her unborn baby.  Beforehand we watched the Roman Polanski 1968 movie adaptation that was very faithful to the novel and even used some of the original dialogue.  The group was impressed by Sharon Tate’s performance as Rosemary and Ruth Gordon and Sidney Blackmer’s portrayal of the Castevets.  The group felt that the novel depicted some of the limitations and frustration women felt in the traditional role of mother and housekeeper they have often been allotted.  The novel and movie are perfect for those that prefer their horror to be more psychological than gory.

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Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five
In November we read Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five.  I had first read the novel when I was in college and remember being a fan of Vonnegut’s work at the time.  I was interested to reread his most famous novel and see if it still captured my imagination.  The group on the whole enjoyed the book and the movie.  They felt that the movie was visually stunning though sometimes lost some of the dialogue in translation.  The book is told in a very nonlinear fashion since the main character has become “unstuck” from time, but the movie was able to do a good job of handling the transitions.  The book even years later still resonates with its themes dealing with war and whether life is a predetermined path or something we can choose to change.

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C.S. Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

In December, both the family book discussion group and the Science Fiction and Fantasy Book Discussion group for adults, discussed C.S. Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.  The book is a charming tale for children, but it is notable that although written for a younger audience, we still found a lot of topics to discuss within the book including its use of religious symbolism and depiction of childhood during times of war.  The group enjoyed the movie.  The special effects are holding up well and the group was impressed by Tilda Swinton’s malevolent portrayal of the White Witch.

I hope you’ll check out these great science fiction and fantasy works, which are all are available in print from the Hoboken Public Library or as an eBook on one our eReaders for loan at the reference desk.  The movies are all available from BCCLS libraries on DVD.  You can borrow The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe as an eBook from Hoopla, eLibraryNJ, and eBCCLS.  eLibaryNJ and eBCCLS also have it available as a digital audiobook.  Slaughterhouse-Five is available as an eBook from 3M Cloud Library, a digital audiobook from eLibraryNJ and the movie version can be borrowed from Hoopla.

Hope to see you for our discussion of 1984 on Monday January 25 at 6 PM!  There will be a special movie screening beforehand starting at 4 PM (email hplwriters AT gmail DOT com for more details).  The Family Book Discussion will be meeting on Thursday January 7, 6:00 PM to discuss The Bad Beginning (the first from A Series of Unfortunate Events) by Lemony Snicket (Daniel Handler).  The Mile Square City Readers Book Club, will meet on Thursday January 28 at 7:30 PM to discuss the classic Walden by Henry David.  You can get a copy of Walden or 1984 from the Reference Desk or stop by the Children’s Desk for a copy of The Bad Beginning.

-Written by Aimee Harris, Head of Reference

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