Movie Madness

College basketball isn't the only major event on television in March. Some of the fall and winter's biggest films have been released on DVD this month, including several Oscar winners. Take a look at these fan favorites and then visit PCL's webpage to place a hold on one (or more!)

*2012 (PG-13)
*The Blind Side (PG-13) - Winner of the Oscar for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role - Sandra Bullock
*Broken Embraces (R)
*An Education (PG-13)
*Fantastic Mr. Fox (PG)
*New Moon (PG-13)
*Precious (R) - Winner of the Oscars for Best Writing and Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role - Mo'Nique
*The Princess and the Frog (G)
*Sherlock Holmes (PG-13) - Winner of the Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Robert Downey, Jr.
*Up in the Air (R) - Winner of the Golden Globe for Best Screenplay
*Where the Wild Things Are (PG)

And keep an eye out for these April DVD releases:

*Crazy Heart (R) - April 20th - Winner of the Oscars for Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures - "The Weary Kind" and Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role - Jeff Bridges
*The Lovely Bones (PG-13) - April 20th
*The Young Victoria (PG) - April 20th - Winner of the Oscar for Best Achievement in Costume Design
*Avatar (PG-13) - April 22nd - Winner of the Oscars for Best Achievement in Art Direction, Best Achievement in Cinematography and Best Achievement in Visual Effects
*It's Complicated (R) - April 27

The "Lost" Books

Fans of the hit television show Lost are treated to more than just an intriguing story line. The show also features many unique literary references. According to co-creator, executive producer and writer Damon Lindelof, the inclusion of such books is due to "...the fact that we've been influenced by literature in the way we've shaped the show, and it's a nod to that process...We pick the books with a great deal of meticulous thought and specificity and talk about what the thematic implications of picking a certain book are, why we're using it in the scene and what we want to audience to deduce from that choice." (Bradner)

Whether you watch the show or not, you may want to pick up one of these featured titles:

*Watership Down by Richard Adams
*A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
*Lancelot by Walker Percy
*Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
*Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie
*The Chosen by Chaim Potok
*Fear and Trembling by Soren Kierkegaard

For more info, check out the Oprah Book Club article "Get Lost in Sawyer's Bookshelf," and read the Los Angeles Times piece "The books of 'Lost' and TV-inspired book clubs."

Bradner, Liesl. "The books of 'Lost' and TV-inspired book clubs." Los Angeles Times. 19 March 2009. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/jacketcopy/2009/03/literature-lost.html.
Hellstern, Melissa. "Get Lost in Sawyer's Bookshelf." Oprah's Book Club. 24 March 2010. http://www.oprah.com/oprahsbookclub/Get-in-Sawyers-Bookshelf.

Prepub Alert

Can't wait for your favorite author's next book? Mark your calendar and gather your bookmarks, because there are a number of hot titles coming out this spring. Here is a list of some of the most highly anticipated publications:

Richard Paul Evans - The Walk (April 6th)
Mary Higgins Clark - The Shadow of Your Smile (April 13th)
Anna Quindlen - Every Last One (April 13th)
David Baldacci - Deliver Us From Evil (April 20th)
Alexander McCall Smith - The Double Comfort Safari Club (April 20th)
Iris Johansen - Eight Days to Live (April 20th)
Stuart Woods - Lucid Intervals (April 20th)
Isabel Allende - Island Beneath the Sea (April 27th)
Fern Michaels - Return to Sender (April 27th)
Nora Roberts - Savor the Moment (April 27th)
Andrew Gross - Reckless (April 27th)
Dorothy Garlock - Stay a Little Longer (April 30th)
Robert B. Parker - Blue-Eyed Devil (May 4th)
Lee Child - 61 Hours (May 18th)
John Sandford - Storm Prey (May 18th)
Stieg Larsson - The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest (May 25th)

Which books will you be placing on hold?

Irish Fiction

Celebrate St. Patrick's Day by picking up one of these top-notch books set in Ireland, each accompanied by an excerpt from a Publisher's Weekly review.

*Darling Jim by Christian Moerk - "Like the itinerant Irish storyteller at the crux of this riveting novel, Danish-born author Moerk mixes mythology, Arthurian legend, fairy tales, noir and horror in his American debut." (Starred Review)

*The Ghosts of Belfast by Stuart Neville - "With this stunning debut, Neville joins a select group of Irish writers, including Ken Bruen, Declan Hughes and Adrian McKinty, who have reinvigorated the noir tradition with a Celtic edge." (Starred Review)

*An Irish Country Doctor by Patrick Taylor - "...Taylor's novel makes for escapist, delightful fun."

*The Lace Makers of Glenmara by Heather Barbieri - "...Barbieri's world generates convicing warmth and emotion, making it worth a look for Friday Night Knitting Club fans..."

*Song of Ireland by Juilene Osborne-McKnight - "...her characters are vivid and her action scenes well handled, making her latest a sure winner among Irish history buffs and fans of rich, multilayered fantasy."

*Venetia Kelly's Traveling Show by Frank Delaney - "This hybrid quest saga, bildungsroman, and grassroots view of Ireland in its post-civil war era is immersive and enjoyable, and it showcases Delaney's talent for inventive metaphor, which he manipulates with an expert hand."

Do you have any favorite Irish authors or books?

All About Alice

The upcoming release of Tim Burton's 3-D movie version of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland has sparked a renewed interested in the famous story and author. Charles Dodgson, better known as Lewis Carroll, was inspired to write the tale by his ten-year-old neighbor Alice Liddell. The publication of this classic book proved to have a profound impact on the real-life Alice, along with readers worldwide. This is evident in a letter written by Alice Liddell to her older sister: "But oh my dear, I am getting tired of being Alice in Wonderland. Does it sound ungrateful? It is. Only I do get tired."

Interested in learning more?

_

Check out Alice I Have Been, Melanie Benjamin's fictional take on Alice Liddell and her life. Click here to read the starred review from Publisher's Weekly, and here to read "Years Beyond the Rabbit Hole, 'Alice' Looks Back," NPR's coverage of the book.

_

Also, give the Syfy channel's mini-series version of Alice a try. Click here for details, including a behind the scenes video.

_

Click here to read critic reviews of Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland.

_

Library Journal published an in-depth reader's advisory article for Alice's Adventures in Wonderland that can be read here.

_

Stop by the library and pick up one of the many items related to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, including the books Alice I Have Been by Melanie Benjamin, Alice's Adventures: Lewis Carroll and Alice in Popular Culture by Will Brooker, Alice in Wonderland and Philosophy: Curioser and Curioser edited by Richard Brian Davis, The Annotated Alice, and the films Alice and Alice in Wonderland.

_

Quote by Alice Liddell taken from NPR's article "Years Beyond the Rabbit Hole, 'Alice' Looks Back."