How does the search for a missing cat turn into a warehouse explosion and a dead billionaire? Only in the world of Dirk Gently, an invention of Douglas Adams, can randomness and chaos actually back into solving cases. The anti-Sherlock Holmes, Gently eschews logic and deduction and instead holds tight to his faith in the interconnectedness of all things. Of course, this holistic approach comes at a price, a price that may include charging clients for a new refrigerator or a Bahamas vacation because, after all, that’s part of the process, too. New to DVD, the 2010 pilot and handful of 2012 episodes are just enough to endear the manic Dirk Gently and his put-upon partner to viewers ready for a madcap departure from the stereotypical British detective.
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Cathleen’s Pick: Slings & Arrows
Canadian series Slings & Arrows is must-viewing for anyone with a weakness for theater. Each season showcases the staging of a Shakespeare play that finds its themes oddly paralleled in the current cast’s shenanigans. An entertaining blend of broad comedy and poignant life lessons played by a masterful cast.
Foolishness
If you think of Shakespeare as stuffy and staid, get ready to experience the drama in a whole new way. Christopher Moore, known for his irreverent humor and wacky plots, takes on the weighty King Lear in Fool. This time the king’s jester, Pocket, is the lead, and he tells a story full of bawdy adventure, murderous mayhem, and outright vulgarity that exposes the royal family as anything but regal. Traditionally, the fool’s role was both to entertain and to expose the truth. This clown goes much further, engineering a complicated scheme to start a war, save a girl, punish the stupid, and do it all with more raunchiness than Shakespeare himself might have imagined. Oh, and there’s a ghost. There’s always a ghost.
Barb B.’s Pick: My Mother Was Nuts
Penny Marshall, star of Laverne and Shirley, has lived by a few simple rules: “try hard, help your friends, don’t get too crazy, and have FUN.” My Mother Was Nuts, Marshall’s intimate memoir, talks with humor and heart about how she stumbled into acting and directing.
Christopher Hitchens was Wrong
In a Vanity Fair essay, “Why Women Aren’t Funny”, Christopher Hitchens states that, though there are some exceptions, most women aren’t funny and, as a whole, the female sex is less humorous than the male. In her book, We Killed: The Rise of Women in American Comedy, Yael Kohen fights Hitchens’ stance, stating, “Women have always been funny. It’s just that every success is called an exception and every failure an example of that rule.” We Killed is an oral history interviewing comedians, writers, producers, and club owners about women in comedy, and what they have to overcome to succeed.
After reading We Killed, check out some of the comedians mentioned by clicking here.
If Evanovich Wrote the Grim Reaper
Looking for an audiobook with laugh-out-loud humor, steamy romance, quirky suspense, and memorable supporting characters? If so, take a chance on Darynda Jones’ First Grave on the Right. Since she was a little girl, Charley Davidson has been talking to dead people. Now there are three murdered lawyers who won’t cross over, and it’s her responsibility to help them. She also has a very sexy someone visiting her lifelike dreams each night. What’s a woman to do? Lorelei King, the award-winning voice of Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum, plays to her strengths in narrating with the right blend of sarcasm, vulnerability, and fun.
What the French Are Talking About
Not everyone has the chance to meet and marry her soul mate, but Natalie does. She and Francois are ridiculously happy together and full of plans for the future — plans that are cut cruelly short when an accident takes him away. Heartbroken and barely functional, Natalie isolates herself until one day when she impulsively kisses a stunned coworker. The odd but charming courtship that follows is the subject of La Delicatesse by David Foenkinos, a runaway bestseller in France and the adult fiction selection for this year’s Book Crossing program. At heart, it’s a playful, offbeat story about the journeys of two unlikely souls and how we are sometimes given what we need instead of what we expect.
JOIN US to chat about Delicacy on Monday, October 1, at 7 pm, and also hear about similar books and movies you may enjoy. A screening of the film adaptation starring Audrey Tautou will be shown Tuesday, October 2, at 1 pm. Registration is required for each event.
The Funniest Guy You’ve Never Heard Of
Dave Hill is a comedian, writer, and musician. You’ve probably never heard of him, but don’t worry, he’s funny. If you like David Sedaris but want less cynicism, more self deprecation, and spades of bravado, Dave Hill is for you.
Have a look at the socially awkward trailer for Hill’s debut memoir, Tasteful Nudes…and Other Misguided Attempts at Personal Growth and Validation. It guest stars Dick Cavett and Malcolm Gladwell.
When Cary Met Sophia
Cary Grant agreed to the film Houseboat because he was in love with Sophia Loren, and their attraction is obvious in this warm family comedy. Grant plays a widower, Tom, who doesn’t know what to do with his three precocious children. Enter Cinzia, a sheltered Italian socialite who desperately wants the chance to meet a real American. Pretending to be a maid, she agrees to care for the children and helps to mend fences between Tom and his estranged family. Loren is captivating as the woman who wins all of their hearts with playfulness, understanding, and an appreciation for dolce far niente, “the sweetness of doing nothing.”
Very Short Strange Tales for Grown-Ups
Like lightning in a bottle, Etgar Keret’s stories are rare, mesmerizing, and combustible. He has a talent for turning reality and expectations inside out and then peppering them with oddball humor. Even when it came to producing his audiobook, Keret bucked tradition. He brainstormed a dream list of who should voice each story and personally wrote the authors and actors to ask. The stories so intrigued the likes of Stanley Tucci, Willem Dafoe, Michael Chabon, Neal Stephenson, Nicole Krauss, Jonathan Safran Foer, Aimee Bender, and Dave Eggers that they agreed! Enjoy a tumble down the rabbit hole and hear their performances on Suddenly, A Knock on the Door.