Penelope’s Poetry Parlor: January

Our theme for the library this year is What a Wonderful World, and to that end, we’re focusing on seeing the wonder in our world. Usually, every month at the desk, we have an article available for patrons to read and discuss with Julie, our library director, but this year, we’re handing out poems instead. Our trusty library goose is also helping us pen a monthly column that focuses on some of the gems in our poetry collection.

Our January poems available at the desk are the lyrics to the song “What a Wonderful World” in honor of our theme and Wendell Berry’s “The Peace of Wild Things.”

We don’t have any Wendell Berry poetry collections at the Berryville Library–though we do have his work available in our system–but I wanted to draw attention instead to a poetry collection we have from a local author who has spoken at the library.

Book Buzz: Inspiring Historical Fiction, Magical Realism Westerns, Arkansas Gangsters, and More

Every month, we’re profiling new-ish releases that are getting critical and commercial buzz. For January, we’re looking at WWII fiction inspired by a true story; a magical realism Western that focuses on the Chinese experience in 1800s America; a look at the gangster past of Hot Springs, Arkansas; and a new feature–a monthly spotlight on new audiobooks.

Movie Review: The Irishman (2019)

I’ve written on here before about being a Martin Scorsese fan. In recent years, Scorsese has moved away from the organized crime movies he became known for, and though I’ve enjoyed a lot of those movies, I’ll always have a soft spot for his iconic mob movies. Scorsese’s 2019 effort–The Irishman–generated a lot of buzz when it was being made. The buzz tended to be less about the movie itself and more about the process/circumstances surrounding the making of the movie. It marks Scorsese’s return to the organized crime genre, reunited him with two longtime collaborators (Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci, the latter coming out of retirement), included his first collaboration with Al Pacino, employed de-aging effects to the cast, was released on Netflix, and clocked in at 3 hours, 30 minutes.

Much less attention was paid to the story the movie told, that of Frank Sheeran. A trucker who worked as a hit man for Pennsylvania mobster Russell Bufalino, he claimed to know the real story behind the 1970s disappearance of mob-connected union leader Jimmy Hoffa.

Could any movie live up to all this hype?

What A Wonderful World: January

This year, our theme at the library is What A Wonderful World. We’re focusing on a different color for each month, and January’s is spring green for a fresh start. To that end, we’re highlighting books at the library with that color (or something close to it 🙂 ) on the cover!