CR Book Connection

Portlandia Season 1

erinthelibrarian — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 18:30:26 +0000

“Portlandia” is a sketch comedy show created by Carrie Brownstein and Saturday Night Live’s Fred Armisen. The sketches mostly poke fun at the ultra-liberal, politically correct hipster culture in Portland, Oregon and while they sometimes wildly exaggerate, they are often comically accurate. The comedy is incisive but manages to stay good-natured. It’s clear that Fred and Carrie really like Portland but they just can’t help making fun of it. The sketches are highlighted with great guest cameos by Steve Buscemi, Heather Graham, and Kyle Maclachlan. This is great fun for people who like to laugh at hipsters and hipsters that can laugh at themselves.

New eBooks for Snowy Weekends!

erinthelibrarian — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 16:20:05 +0000

Don’t feel like driving out to the library this weekend? No problem, just visit us at our virtual branch and checkout the latest titles!

Library eBooks from CRPL

erinthelibrarian — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 18:56:38 +0000

Did you get an eReader as a gift this year? We have a growing collection of fiction, young adult, non fiction, and children’s books for you to choose from. Follow our easy directions below for your type of eReader. If you don’t see your eReader on the list, follow the directions for the Nook and Sony readers.

Nook/Sony Directions

Kindle Directions

iPad Directions

The CRPL also offers classes on ebooks and ereaders. Check our event calendar for dates and times!

Read it First!

erinthelibrarian — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 17:35:10 +0000

Going to a movie over the holidays? Read the book first! We have a great selection of print, eBooks, and eAudiobooks of the season’s hottest book-to-movie adaptations. Click on the picture of the book to go to Overdrive, our collection of eBooks and eAudiobooks. Or check the catalog for the print copies!

eBooks:

eAudiobooks:

Goodreads Choice Awards 2011

erinthelibrarian — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 21:51:11 +0000

Goodreads has just announced the winners of their Goodreads Choice Awards. Here are some of the winners:

Divergent by Veronica Roth- Favorite book of 2011
IQ84 by Haruki Murakami- Best Fiction
A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin- Best Fantasy
Bossypants by Tina Fey- Best Humor

Browse the nominees and see the rest of the list at Goodreads.

Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins

erinthelibrarian — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 17:27:36 +0000

Since a nifty trailer for the long awaited movie, The Hunger Games, just went viral, I thought it was time I found out what all the fuss was about.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins is the first of the bestselling Hunger Games trilogy for young adults. It begins like nearly every post-apocalyptic novel. The world we know is gone. In its place is a dystopian society where North America, now known as Panem, is split into 12 districts. Our heroine, Katniss Everdeen, is from the poorest, most remote section. Now…let the games begin…

A century ago, the districts rebelled against the Capitol. As punishment for the uprising, the annual Hunger Games were started. The games work like this: two children from each district are selected as tributes to fight to the death in an arena designed by the evil Capitol. The Hunger Games are required viewing for all Panem citizens – they must watch as 24 children fight to the death. The winner’s district is rewarded with ample food supplies for one year.

While the book is surprisingly violent for a young adult novel, the story is well executed and the characters are rich. Readers are treated to characters like the sinister President Snow, Katniss’ younger sister, Prim – a healer, and lots of tributes of wildly varying skills. As the series progresses through three novels (The Hunger Games, Catching Fire and Mockingjay), Katniss becomes a symbol of rebellion and the center of a love triangle. It’s all sort of post-apocalyptic Rome with a bit of romance thrown in. All three books are fast paced good reads, but The Hunger Games was my favorite.

New eBook Titles

erinthelibrarian — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 17:26:06 +0000

Check out our newest eBook titles available for your Kindle, nook, and iPad.

Spooky Staff Picks

erinthelibrarian — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 17:28:10 +0000

Jeff- Them! – A classic 1950′s horror movie involving giant mutated ants attacking the Southwest.

Dixie- The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, True Blood, and the Halloween movie series with Michael Myers.

Renee- Rot and Ruin and Dust and Decay are fun zombie thrillers by Jonathan Maberry.

Curtis- The Last Sin Eater- A dark dramatic independent film.

Karen- Ghost Story by Peter Straub and Helter Skelter by Vincent Bugliosi.

Erin-Night of the Living Dead- watch the original movie, it’s still terrifying!

Shaun of the Dead

erinthelibrarian — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 17:13:12 +0000

Join Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and Bill Nighy as they battle zombies! Simon Pegg stars as everyman Shaun who we find is a little down on his luck when we meet him. After his community experiences a zombie outbreak, Shaun must step up to the plate as never before as he tries to save the ones he loves. Filled with zombies galore and lots of laughs, you will find this movie a must see for your Halloween viewing pleasure.

The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova

erinthelibrarian — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 17:10:40 +0000

The Historian is different from the vampire novels coming out over the last few years, don’t look for any paranormal romance here. As the title suggests, it is much more of a historical novel than anything else. The story follows three generations of historians trying to unravel a mystery that leads them to uncovering the origins of Dracula. A graduate student named Paul finds a mysterious old book in his office, he takes it to his adviser, who shortly disappears and leads Paul on a desperate chase to find him. The chase takes him all over the world, through ancient cities and libraries while being chased and threatened by sinister characters.

The plot isn’t fast paced, fans of historical fiction will appreciate this more than fans of traditional horror. The result of all this is a very creepy historical thriller. I’m rarely ever frightened by books but this one had me checking my locks and windows. Despite the search for Dracula, the monster himself remains elusive, as I think he should be. Kostova doesn’t fall back on overdone horror tropes, she seems to have learned the lesson that the monster is always scarier when you don’t know where he is.