Zero Dark Thirty is a dramatization about the 10-year search for Osama bin Laden after the 9/11 attacks. Maya is a young CIA officer who refuses to give up the search even when it involves torture. Maya and Seal Team 6’s efforts ultimately secure bin Laden in this engrossing film.
Josef Horkai wakes up paralyzed after being frozen for 30 years and has no memories of his past or the “kollaps” that destroyed the world. Immobility by Brian Evenson is a postapocalyptic thriller about how to trust the motives of others when you can’t trust your own mind.
A camping trip, a flash flood, and Abby’s husband and daughter disappear. In her determined search for them, she is confronted with questions leaving her to wonder if she really knew her husband at all. Intrigued? Find the answers in Barbara Taylor Sissel’s new book Evidence of Life.
Barb F. of Fiction/AV/Teen Services recommends Alif the Unseen by G. Willow Wilson:
Author G. Willow Wilson creates a fast-paced story that combines modern hacker culture and ancient Muslim mysticism. Set in an unnamed Middle Eastern city, the story centers on computer hacker Alif. Alif writes a program that is able to secretly detect the online activity of the woman who broke his heart. The program catches the attention of government censors and the chief of state security, known as “The Hand of God”. A series of dangerous adventures involving an ancient manuscript dictated by the Jinn, religious leaders, and a plethora of supernatural creatures is set in motion. This fantasy thriller is an interesting look at the world of both the seen and unseen.
The Metabarons by Alexandro Jodorowsky and Juan Gimenez is an epic space opera graphic novel. The characters include humanoids, cyborgs, and other mechanical and living creatures. It is a story of bravery, sacrifice, loyalty, survival, ethics, and morality. The plot, enhanced by luscious illustrations, makes this book a page-turner.
Vampire Academy, the first in a series, introduces us to a world where vampires exist. Rose is dhampir, half human – half vampire, and in training at St. Vladimir’s Academy to protect the vampire ruling class. This fast-paced, supernatural romance appeals to those of us who still love a good vampire novel.
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.
Mary Karr says her third memoir, Lit, is about “leaving home to find home.” It is a hard look at her early adulthood wrought with insecurity, denial, and alcoholism. Fortunately, she tells her story with sharp observations and a sometimes dark humor that helps make this a powerful story of redemption.
John of Fiction/AV/Teen Services recommends The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz:
Much of Junot Diaz’s Pulitzer Prize-winning debut novel The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao isn’t even about the hapless New Jersey nerd of its title. The impressive scope of the book expands to include multiple generations of Oscar’s family and the supposed curse which first befell them in the Dominican Republic’s oppressive past. Real or imagined, this curse encompasses tragic events for both Oscar and his forebears—but the story unfolds in a voice that’s lively and playful, rich with allusions and digressions. This ingeniously nimble prose will draw you into an unforgettable mix of geeky dreams and nightmarish history.
There is an effortless elegance and charm to Trouble in Paradise, Ernst Lubitsch’s masterful, early Hollywood, romantic comedy. Gaston and Lily are a glamorous, larcenous couple embroiled in a scheme to steal a fortune from a gorgeous perfume magnate – but what happens when Gaston begins to fall for her?
