2012: books to movie

Last Friday the movie 2012 opened, starring John Cusack, Amanda Peet, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Thandie Newton, Woody Harrelson and Danny Glover. This apocalyptic movie has a really cool viral website that tells more about the movie but which should be taken with a large pinch of salt! In fact, it has been severely criticised for scaremongering, and for blurring the lines between fact and fiction, science and pseodo-science. It's fun to visit, though! See what you think.

The year 2012 is a year cloaked in controversy among scientists, researchers, and new age philosophers. If you want to find out more about the 2012 phenomenom, you could check out a couple of items available at Harford County Public Library. The movie 2012 is based on the work of the following authors:

Journalist Daniel Pinchbeck, author of both the anthology Toward 2012 (Find this book in our catalog), and 2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl,
and -

John Major Jenkins, a pioneer of the 2012 movement and author of The 2012 Story : the myths, fallacies, and truth behind the most intriguing date in history (Find this book in our catalog).

Read what it says in our catalog about Toward 2012: "An informed, challenging, and engaging collection of essays on the new choices in lifestyles and community as we begin the countdown toward the year 2012. This fresh and thought-provoking anthology draws together some of today’s most celebrated visionaries, thinkers, and pioneers in the field of evolving consciousness— exploring topics from shamanism to urban homesteading, the legacy of Carlos Castaneda to Mayan predictions for the year 2012, and new paths in direct political action and human sexuality. Toward 2012 highlights some of the most challenging, intelligent pieces published on the acclaimed website Reality Sandwich. It is coedited by Daniel Pinchbeck, the preeminent voice on 2012, and online pioneer Ken Jordan, and features original works from Stanislav Grof, John Major Jenkins, and Paul D. Miller (DJ Spooky); interviews with Abbie Hoffman and artist Alex Grey; and a new introduction by Pinchbeck. Here are ideas that trace the arc of our evolution in consciousness, lifestyles, and communities as we draw closer to a moment in time that portends ways of living that are different from anything we have expected or experienced."

We also own Pinchbeck's DVD 2012 : science or superstition (Find the DVD in our catalog)

Book to Movie - The Men Who Stare at Goats

Believe it or not, the movie The Men Who Stare at Goats, directed by Grant Heslof and starring Jeff Bridges, George Clooney, Kevin Spacey and Ewan McGregor, is based on a true story. Read more about the movie...

To read more about the story check out The Men Who Stare at Goats by British journalist Jon Ronson. (Find this book in our catalog).

Read also the reviews of the book in our catalog. Here are some excerpts: "As Ronson reveals, a secret wing of the U.S. military called First Earth Battalion was created in 1979 with the purpose of creating "Warrior Monks," soldiers capable of walking through walls, becoming invisible, reading minds and even killing a goat simply by staring at it. Some of the characters involved seem well-meaning enough, such as the hapless General Stubblebine, who is "confounded by his continual failure to walk through his wall." But Ronson (Them: Adventures with Extremists) soon learns that the Battalion's bizarre ideas inspired some alarming torture techniques being used in the present-day War on Terror." And: "Ronson approaches the material with an open mind and a delightfully dry sense of humor, which makes this an entertaining, if unsettling, read."

Book to Movie - Precious/Push

Precious the movie opened November 6. See more on the Precious website. Directed by Lee Daniels and starring Gabourey “Gabby” Sidibe, Paula Patton, Mo’Nique, Mariah Carey, Sherri Shepherd and Lenny Kravitz, it’s based on the novel Push by Sapphire.

Harford County Public Library has two versions of Push - find the movie tie-in version, find the 1997 version.

This is what it says about the book in our catalog: "NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE Includes a Reading Group Guide Precious Jones, an illiterate sixteen-year-old, has up until now been invisible to the father who rapes her and the mother who batters her and to the authorities who dismiss her as just one more of Harlem's casualties. But when Precious, pregnant with a second child by her father, meets a determined and radical teacher, we follow her on a journey of education and enlightenment as she learns not only how to write about her life, but how to make it truly her own for the first time."

Book to Movie - East to the Dawn: the life of Amelia Earhart

The new movie, Amelia, about Amelia Earhart (Read more...) is based upon two books:

East to the Dawn: The Life of Amelia Earhart by Susan Butler (Find one edition in our catalog. Find another edition in our catalog)

This is what it says about the biography in our catalog: "Journalist Butler deepens the familiar picture of the US flier who vanished mysteriously in 1937 to reveal Earhart's personae as an educator, a social worker, a lecturer, a businesswoman, and a promoter of women's rights. She also provides details about that last flight and wades through the accumulated mythology to seek a reasonable explanation for her loss. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or."

The Sound Of Wings: The Life Of Amelia Earhart by Mary S. Lovell (Find this book in our catalog)

"This definitive biography of aviation legend Amelia Earhart delivers a brilliantly researched report on Earhart's life--from her tomboy childhood and early fascination with flying, her peculiar business/matrimonial realtionship with publisher G.P. Putnam to her consuming quest for avaiation fame." (summary in our catalog)

Books to Movies - A Woman in Berlin

According to PW of 7/17/09, "Today, the independent film A Woman in Berlin opens in limited release, starring Nina Hoss, Yevgeni Sidikhin and Irm Hermann. It’s based on A Woman in Berlin: Eight Weeks in the Conquered City: A Diary by Anonymous (then a 34-year-old journalist who started the diary in April 1945, when the Russians were invading Berlin and the city's mostly female population was heading to its cellars to wait out the bombing), translated by Philip Boehm.” Find this book in our catalog.

Summary from our catalog: "For six weeks in 1945, as Berlin fell to the Russian army, a young woman, alone in the city, kept a daily record of her and her neighbors' degradations, determined to describe the common experience of millions."

Books to Movies - opening June 26

My Sister's Keeper, based on the novel by Jodi Picoult (Find this book in our catalog) opens this Friday, June 26. Shelf Awareness for today, Monday, June 22 had this to say about the movie: "A young girl (Abigail Breslin) who has never questioned her role as bone marrow donor for her older sister (Sofia Vassilieva), who has leukemia, starts to crave medical independence. Cameron Diaz and Jason Patric play the sisters' distraught parents; also includes Alec Baldwin and Joan Cusack."

This is what it says about the book in our catalog:

"New York Timesbestselling author Jodi Picoult is widely acclaimed for her keen insights into the hearts and minds of real people. Now she tells the emotionally riveting story of a family torn apart by conflicting needs and a passionate love that triumphs over human weakness. Anna is not sick, but she might as well be. By age thirteen, she has undergone countless surgeries, transfusions, and shots so that her older sister, Kate, can somehow fight the leukemia that has plagued her since childhood. The product of preimplantation genetic diagnosis, Anna was conceived as a bone marrow match for Kate -- a life and a role that she has never challenged...until now. Like most teenagers, Anna is beginning to question who she truly is. But unlike most teenagers, she has always been defined in terms of her sister -- and so Anna makes a decision that for most would be unthinkable, a decision that will tear her family apart and have perhaps fatal consequences for the sister she loves. My Sister's Keeper examines what it means to be a good parent, a good sister, a good person. Is it morally correct to do whatever it takes to save a child's life, even if that means infringing upon the rights of another? Is it worth trying to discover who you really are, if that quest makes you like yourself less? Should you follow your own heart, or let others lead you? Once again, in My Sister's Keeper, Jodi Picoult tackles a controversial real-life subject with grace, wisdom, and sensitivity."

See our catalog for reviews and excerpts. The reviews make an excellent starting point for discussion. My Sister's Keeper is an outstanding choice for a book group.

Chéri, the movie based on the novel by Colette, also opens June 26.
Michelle Pfeiffer, Kathy Bates and Rupert Friend star in this tale of a young man who falls for an aging courtesan in 1920s Paris. Click here for the official website for the movie. The novel was originally published in 1920 and by many is thought to be Colette's best. HCPL will be acquiring copies of the movie tie-in edition, due to be published very soon. Meanwhile the story can be found in Six Novels by Colette. Find this book in our catalog

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Imagine a future where the world is ruled by a dictatorship and they have the power to take you away at any moment. But they don't...instead, they leave it up to chance. Once a year, your life is on the line and if chosen, your death will be considered entertainment for the masses.

This is the society that Katniss grew up in. Her family lives in District 12, one of the many districts ruled by The Capitol. Years ago, the 13 districts tried to rebel against the government of Panem, but the Capitol squashed their rebellion. District 13 was completely wiped off the map, and the rest were turned into slaves to the Capitol, each providing a different resource for those citizens while leaving their own to starve. The Hunger Games, a twisted take on reality entertainment, were designed to remind the people of Panem the power the Capitol has over them; that at a moments notice they can take away a child and force them to fight a battle to the death. And everyone in Panem will be forced to watch as these children try to survive because only one can be declared the winner.

This book is action-packed and hard to put down. Reading the story, you can easily (and eerily) imagine an event like the Hunger Games airing on television today. Contestants are paraded around, try to win sponsors, and then have their trials and tribulations broadcast to the world. But Katniss has her wits about her, even if her people skills are not that great.

There's so much I want to say about this book but I don't want to spoil it for anyone. It is a fantastic read, with writing so vivid, you feel like you're watching a movie (though in a couple years, you will be as Lionsgate just optioned the film rights). It can get gruesome at times, since the kids are fighting to the death, but the violence isn't enough to turn you off if you've watched an action/adventure movie in the passed 10 years.

This is the first book in a planned trilogy, but The Hunger Games has a satisfying ending to itself, so don't worry about being left with a big cliffhanger. Collins leaves the story open just enough to continue, but not enough to leave you feeling like you should have waited for book 2 to be out (which it will be in September).

Do yourself a favor and read The Hunger Games now...because I have a feeling in a few months, everyone else will be talking about it.

Find The Hunger Games in HCPL's catalog (also available in Playaway format)

Books Into Movies Strong Oscar Contenders

Oscar Nominees were announced yesterday, Thursday, January 22, 2009 (click Oscar.com for the official list of nominees).

According to an article today in Shelf Awareness, an online publication of the American Booksellers Association, "Adapting novels to film once again proved to be a winning formula for Oscar nominations in major categories..."
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, based on a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, was nominated for best picture, best director (David Fincher), best actor (Brad Pitt), best supporting actress (Taraji P. Henson) and best adapted screenplay. The story was anthologized in Tales of the Jazz Age and can be found in our library in Novels and stories, 1920-1922 Find this book in our catalog.
Slumdog Millionaire, based upon Vikas Swarup's novel Q&A, was nominated for best picture, best director (Danny Boyle) and best adapted screenplay. Find this book in our catalog.
The Reader, based upon Bernhard Schlink's novel, was nominated for best picture, best director (Stephen Daldry), best actress (Kate Winslet) and best adapted screenplay. Find this book in our catalog.
Revolutionary Road, based upon the novel by Richard Yates, was nominated for best supporting actor (Michael Shannon), best art direction and best costume design.

The Oscars will be presented Sunday, February 22.