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Tag Archives: actors

Tom Lake by Ann Patchett

18 Wednesday Oct 2023

Posted by Weston Public Library Staff in Fiction, United States

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actors, man-woman relationships, mothers and daughters, northern Michigan, storytelling

While they are all home working on the family’s cherry orchard, a mother tells her daughters the story of an important summer in her past. I always love Ann Patchett’s writing, and her new novel does not disappoint, with interesting characters and beautiful descriptions of Northern Michigan.

“Patchett’s intricate and subtle thematic web…enfolds the nature of storytelling, the evolving dynamics of a family, and the complex interaction between destiny and choice….These braided strands culminate in a denouement at once deeply sad and tenderly life-affirming. Poignant and reflective, cementing Patchett’s stature as one of our finest novelists.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“As this spellbinding and incisive novel unspools, Patchett brings every turn of mind and every setting to glorious, vibrant life, gracefully contrasting the dazzle of the ephemeral with the gravitas of the timeless, perceiving in cherries sweet and tart reflections of love and loss.” — Booklist (starred review)

“Meryl Streep…is ideal for narrating Tom Lake…. Streep delivers with her signature whimsy, her cadence lilting from wide-eyed innocence to winking wisdom, blurring the nostalgia for small-town Americana with dashes of big-city dreams.” — New York Times Book Review

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Taste: My Life Through Food by Stanley Tucci

24 Monday Jan 2022

Posted by Weston Public Library Staff in 20th century, Biography, cuisine, Humor, memoir

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actors, anecdotes, biography, food writers, Italian cooking, Stanley Tucci, United States

While Stanley Tucci is known for his films, this memoir focuses primarily on his love of food. Raised in an Italian family with a mother who loved to cook, his interest in food continued as he began cooking and exploring cuisines and restaurants around the world. Along the way, we learn more about his life and family, with many recipes – particularly for Italian dishes – sprinkled throughout the book. Guaranteed to lift your spirits! I highly recommend the audiobook, read by the author himself, which adds to the warmth and humor of his story.

“An instant classic, Stanley Tucci’s TASTE is as captivating, simple, charming and insanely moreish as the best Italian food. Take it to bed with you and you will fall asleep dreaming you’re in Italy. But take it to the kitchen and you will find yourself using it as often as a pan or a peeler.” –Stephen Fry

“The man, the myth, The Devil Wears Prada legend Stanley Tucci has blessed our hungry souls with a food memoir to feed our mounting appetite for the actor and cook’s wit, warmth and, let’s face it: tight polo shirts. He divulges some of his most treasured memories and stories behind favourite recipes — prepare to feel bereaved when it’s over.”—Joanna Taylor, Evening Standard

“Through food and scenes of family life, Stanley Tucci shares both his personal story and his celebration of all-things taste. With tales from peanut butter sandwiches to lobster in Maine, with recipes from the perfect Negroni to his wife’s roast potatoes, he draws us to his table. Come hungry for the food, the cocktails, the gossip and the fun. Just never, ever, cut up your spaghetti.”  –Yotam Ottolenghi

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Fools and Mortals by Bernard Cornwell

09 Friday Feb 2018

Posted by Weston Public Library Staff in Fiction, Historical Fiction, Humor, London

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actors, brothers, Great Britain, historical fiction, London, Queen Elizabeth 1558-1603, thriller, William Shakespeare 1564-1616

Philippa Gregory describes this book perfectly: “With all the vivid history that is his trademark, Bernard Cornwell transports the readers to the playhouses, backstreets, and palaces of Shakespeare’s London with added depth and compassion, and a likeable hero.”  This is historical fiction at its best with a thriller element thrown in for sheer reading pleasure.

“In this delightful departure from his popular military historicals, Cornwell (The Flame Bearer, 2016) conducts a boisterous behind-the-scenes romp through the often sordid world of the Elizabethan theater…. Cornwell displays his usual masterful attention to detail…. Sumptuously entertaining.” (Booklist)

“Marvelous…. Full of drama, both on- and offstage, and with numerous delightful, laugh-out-loud moments, this novel is an absolute joy. A must-have for anyone who loves the theater, this is easily the best book this reviewer has read this year.” (Library Journal, starred review)

 

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Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

07 Wednesday Sep 2016

Posted by Weston Public Library Staff in Fiction, Future

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actors, adventure, time travel

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I still think about this book several months after reading it. The novel opens as a disease quickly spreads around the world and society collapses, then skips ahead twenty years to show the aftermath and the people that have survived. Focusing on a handful of characters, this is a powerful, beautifully written story.

“Soul-quaking. . . . Mandel displays the impressive skill of evoking both terror and empathy.” —Los Angeles Review of Books

 “Station Eleven is so compelling, so fearlessly imagined, that I wouldn’t have put it down for anything.”
— Ann Patchett

“A superb novel . . . [that] leaves us not fearful for the end of the word but appreciative of the grace of everyday existence.” —San Francisco Chronicle 

“Mandel delivers a beautifully observed walk through her book’s 21st century world…. I kept putting the book down, looking around me, and thinking, ‘Everything is a miracle.’”—Matt Thompson, NPR

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Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling

14 Wednesday Oct 2015

Posted by Weston Public Library Staff in Biography, Humor

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actors, adulthood, comedy, conduct of life, television culture, United States

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My next pick is going to be Mindy Kaling’s new memoir/essays “Why not me?”. It comes out today.  I absolutely loved her last book “Is everyone hanging out without me?”, which I listened to on CD (read by the author, even better). If anyone is a fan of her comedy TV writing (The Office, The Mindy Project), this new book is a must-read. Her writing is very funny, sweet and honest.

“…insightful personal essays from one of Hollywood’s cleverest writers… Intrepid and often irreverent, Kaling humbly probes her own triumphs and defeats with laugh-out-loud results”. —Kirkus Reviews

“Kaling has written a second book that’s funnier, sharper and more confident than her 2011 collection of personal essays and pop culture riffs called Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns).  Even the title of that initial effort implied that Kaling was trying to find her place; the tone of this new one announces that she’s found it and is more than comfortable inviting people to spend time with her there.”—Washington Post

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