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Monthly Archives: December 2014

Even This I Get to Experience by Norman Lear

29 Monday Dec 2014

Posted by Weston Public Library Staff in Biography

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comedy, directors, producers, screenwriters, television culture

9781594205729_p0_v1_s114x166From the comedic genius who brought you Archie Bunker in “All in the Family”, “Maude”, “The Jeffersons”, and countless other TV productions comes Norman Lear’s autobiography.  An extraordinary, funny, touchingly warm and beautifully written review of a life lived, for 92 years, with love, passion, honesty, and humor.

“This is, flat out, one of the best Hollywood memoirs ever written… An absolute treasure.”-Booklist (starred)

“The Norman Lear who emerges from “Even This I Get to Experience” is engaging and unpompous, an amusing storyteller who pokes fun at himself and writes with brutal honesty about his life, especially his childhood. And what a story!”-The Wall Street Journal“Immensely likeable…[Lear] isn’t always a mensch in “Even This I Get to Experience” (italics, characteristically, his), but at least he can write like one…. In this city, Norman Lear and his post-coaxial contemporaries built a mass medium with their bare hands. On good days — as Lear well recalls, and recalls well — they made it sing. If only more with their talent had lived so long; if only more who live so long had his talent.”-Los Angeles TimesFind this book             Find the audio cd’s

Rise: a Soldier, a Dream and a Promise Kept by Daniel Rodriquez with Joe Layden

22 Monday Dec 2014

Posted by Weston Public Library Staff in Biography, Non-fiction, Sports

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Afghan War, Clemson Tigers, football, post-traumatic stress disorder, United States Army, veterans

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An inspirational story of a young man who barely graduated from high school, enlisted in the Army, saw combat in both Iraq and Afghanistan, and then promised himself that if he returned to the US alive that he would play college football.  Pure guts and determination propelled this young man from the battle field to the football field.  A must read!

“Daniel Rodriguez–a decorated combat veteran–doesn’t sugarcoat the hard parts of his life. A warrior who fought on the battlefield, wrestled with PTSD, and now wins victories on the gridiron, his story reminds us that with grit and determination we can move through suffering to strength. Rise is an inspiring story of a resilient warrior who knows what it means to keep a promise.” –Eric Greitens, Navy SEAL and author of New York Times bestseller, The Heart and the Fist

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Hunting and Gathering by Anna Gavalda; translated from the French by Alison Anderson

10 Wednesday Dec 2014

Posted by Weston Public Library Staff in Fiction

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France, friendship, marginality, Paris

9781594481444_p0_v1_s114x166

I discovered this diamond in the rough.  Four people, having hit rock bottom in their varied lives, who don’t even really like each other but are forced to live in an apartment in Paris because there is nowhere else, somehow rise above their broken lives.   Through dialogue alone, one learns about their back stories.  From the dust cover:  “Apart, they may be homeless, but together, this curious, damaged quartet may be able to face the world”.  This is a hopeful, uplifting book.  Their journey-to-find joy will stick with you long after you have put the book down.  I have heard from some who make it a point to re-read this book every year.

“Enjoyable, well-paced and engaging” — Houston Times Literary Supplement

“Like Amelie, Hunting and Gathering stops at nothing to make the reader feel good. Reading it reminded me of tucking into one of those beautifully constructed little cakes that you see in the windows of elegant French patisseries” Sunday Telegraph

“An elegant, ironic tale. This will be a classic.” Cosmopolitan

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Care of Wooden Floors by Will Wiles

03 Wednesday Dec 2014

Posted by Weston Public Library Staff in Fiction

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black humor, care and maintenance, comedy, domestic, housesitting, wooden floors

9780007424436_p0_v1_s114x166

Witty, dark, and hysterical are just a few of the adjectives that describe this novel. British humor at its best.

“If you are a fan of Kafka, you should enjoy this novel, which is reminiscent of The Metamorphosis.” —Kirkus Reviews

“One of the funniest and cleverest books of the year.….Care of Wooden Floors reads like a farce directed by Alfred Hitchcock, and the novel’s denouement will surprise even the most jaded readers.” —Washington Independent Review of Books

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