Category: Book Reviews

• Back-to-Back: Tournament of Books Recap 2026

  Middletown readers can’t get enough of Kristin Hannah. When the bracket for this year’s tournament was unveiled in late February, the librarians at Russell Library were puzzled about which ones to pick in their brackets. “I have NO idea which one is going to win,” said one of my coworkers. “I could honestly see at…

  Jack B.

  April 13, 2026

  Book Reviews, Contests, Libraries, Middletown, CT, Recommendations

  Bracket, EverythingIsTuberculosis, MarchMadness, RussellLibraryGames, TheWomenByKristinHannah, TournamentOfBooks

• Reading the Movies

  Have you ever read a book that you just loved, but then you watched the movie version and it’s just so different that you’re disappointed, sad, or even angry? As a librarian who also loves movies, I’ve had that happen many times. So what’s to be done? With few exceptions, movies and even series (formerly…

  Amy S.

  March 23, 2026

  Book Reviews, Contests, Graphic Novels / Manga, Kids and Teens, Lost In Translation, Movies, Recommendations, Trending

  AlfredHitchcock, AllisonPearson, AnneRice, Beloved, Buffy/Spike, BuffyTheVampireSlayer, DaphneDuMaurier, EJDickson, Hamlet, Hamnet, IDontKnowHowSheDoesIt, IfIHadLegsIdKickYou, InterviewWithAVampire, KPopDemonHunters, MaryBronstein, MeeshTheBadDemon, MinJinLee, Miyazaki, MyNeighborTotoro, NoveList, OneBadMother, OneBattleAfterAnother, Oscars, Pachinko, PhilipaGregory, Read-alike, Rebecca, RoseByrne, RyanCoogler, SarahJessicaParker, Shakespeare, Sinners, SpiritedAway, StudioGhibli, TheWhiteQueen, ThomasPynchon, ToniMorrison, VampiresOfElNorte, Vineland, WolfHall

• Wine & Words: The Cool Underdog

  The Uncool: A Memoir by Cameron Crowe “I am flying high over Tupelo, Mississippi, with America’s hottest band . . . and we are all about to die” Cameron Crowe did not technically say that line, but he wrote it. It is from the acclaimed film, Almost Famous. This film holds a special place in…

  sbarillari

  January 26, 2026

  Book Reviews, Movies, Recommendations, Wine & Words

  AlanRickman, AllmanBrothers, AlmostFamous, AlmostFamousTheMusical, AstiSpumante, BarrettFamily, BoonesFarm, BottleShock, CameronCrowe, CarloRossi, ChateauMontelena, DavidBowie, JoniMitchell, JudgementOfParis, LedZeppelin, LesterBangs, NapaCounty, ParisWineTasting, PennyLane, RussellHammond, Smithsonian, TheEagles, TheUncool, TheUncool:AMemoir, WilliamMiller

• Wine & Words: More than I Bargained For

  The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova Now, I have stated that working in a library does not allow librarians the pleasure to read all day. This is true. It does give us the pleasure of being surrounded by books. In this profession, we come across new books daily. We are given the privilege to be exposed…

  sbarillari

  December 22, 2025

  Book Reviews, Uncategorized, Wine & Words

  #BookReview, #dracula, #ElzabethKostova, #Redwine, #TheHistorian, #winerecommendation

• Timeless Tales: Why We Love Them

  The overwhelmingly positive reactions we have had to our production of A Christmas Carol has brought home to me the importance of classic stories to people both as individuals and as a community. It was amazing how similar everyone’s reaction to this show has been. “A great performance.” “Dickens would love it.” “Phenomenal acting.” And…

  Mary

  December 15, 2025

  A Christmas Carol, Book Reviews, Events, Trending

  AChristmasCarol, CharlesDickens, Christmas Carol, ConnecticutTheater, GhostOfChristmasPresent, JaneAusten, JRRTolkien, WilliamShakespeare