Written by Jon Williams
If you’re
anything like me, you’re a sucker for a good dog story. Actually, if you’re
even more like me, you tend to avoid a lot of dog stories, because you tend to
get a little too emotionally invested in them. What can I say? Some of my best
friends have been dogs. Fortunately for storytellers and moviemakers everywhere,
though, it seems that most people are not like me in that regard, as stories
about dogs always turn out to be quite popular.
One such
upcoming release is sure to be a hit with young library patrons. Mogie:
The Heart of the House begins with a litter of puppies that are all
designated to be trained for a variety of jobs—all of them, that is, except for
Mogie, who is too high-spirited for any of these roles. However, Mogie
eventually finds his place keeping kids company at the Ronald McDonald House in
Houston, Texas. This is a touching true story, and you can read a bit more
about Mogie here.
One of the
most popular recent dog stories, of course, and another true story, is Marley and Me. John Grogan’s memoir of “the
world’s worst dog” captured hearts and leapt onto the bestseller lists. It
spawned a movie
adaptation starring Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston. And that movie then
inspired a prequel
of its own, which features a talking Marley going on adventures as a puppy with
his human pal. Bodi. And for those who like dog memoirs, another one that has
gotten plenty of attention is A
Big Little Life from bestselling author Dean Koontz, who shares the
life of his golden retriever Trixie. Koontz’s affection for dogs is well known,
as he has presented heroic canine characters into many of his most popular
novels, including Watchers
and Fear
Nothing.
One dog
story I found particularly compelling was David Wroblewski’s novel The Story of Edgar Sawtelle. I was
hardly alone in that, as it was a selection of Oprah’s Book Club, and Oprah,
along with Tom Hanks, is said to be working toward bringing it to the big
screen. The story is a modern-day retelling of Shakespeare’s Hamlet,
with Edgar’s three dogs playing a pivotal role. Fantastic in its own right, it
also made me aware of the story of Hachiko, the dog who accompanied his owner
to the train station each day, and continued to make the pilgrimage even after
the owner’s death. That tale was made into a movie, Hachi,
starring Richard Gere and Joan Allen, and it was also featured in Martha
Sherrill’s Dog
Man, a book about Morie Sawataishi, who saved the Akita breed from
extinction.
The list of
dog “tails” is nearly endless. In addition to the above, there are classics
like Where
the Red Fern Grows, Old
Yeller, and Sounder,
as well as more contemporary comedies and family films such as Turner
and Hooch, Because
of Winn-Dixie, Hotel
for Dogs, and the Air
Bud movies. Then there are all the animated films— 101
Dalmatians, The
Fox and the Hound, All Dogs
Go to Heaven, Balto—not
to mention TV cartoon dogs like Snoopy
and Scooby-Doo.
Oh, and we can’t forget about Cujo,
the one dog that’s the complete antithesis of all these warm and fuzzy pets,
companions, friends, and heroes.
Clearly,
there is plenty of interest in stories about man’s best friend. What are some
of your favourites? Tell us about them in the comments section below.
Written by Jon Williams
Although it
ended nearly seventy years ago, World War II remains a major factor in the
events of today, and stories surrounding the worldwide conflict continue to
connect with audiences, whether they are grounded in truth or fiction. One of
the most incredible true stories to come out of the war is that of Louis
Zamperini, an Olympic distance runner for the United States who then joined the
Army Air Corps in 1941. When his plane went down in the ocean during a 1943
rescue mission, his tale of survival would become one for the ages. That story
is told by Laura Hillenbrand in the bestselling book Unbroken, which was then made into a
movie
directed by Angelina Jolie. And the rest of Zamperini’s life makes for a pretty
good story in its own right, available in Don’t Give Up, Don’t Give In by
Zamperini and David Rensin.
Another tale
of World War II is getting quite a bit of attention right now, this one on the
fictional side. Anthony Doerr’s novel All the Light We Cannot See came out
on May 6 of last year and has been on the New
York Times best sellers list nearly ever since, topping it several times
and sitting even now at #2. A beautiful story of a young blind French girl and
a German army radio expert, whose disparate paths somehow converge in the war’s
closing days, it’s easy to understand how it has become and remained so
popular.
Of course,
there are any number of World War II stories for your interested patrons. On
the literary side, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention my own favourites, The Winds of War and War and Remembrance by Herman Wouk.
These epic novels detail the lives of U.S. Navy Captain Victor Henry and his
family as they are swept up in the events leading up to and carrying through
the war. Books like Elie Wiesel’s Night and Anne Frank – The Diary of a Young Girl
detail the true-life horrors of the Holocaust, while the classic novel and Catch-22 injects an element of black
humour into the dire situations facing those fighting the war on a day-to-day
basis. There are even young adult books that address the war, like The Book Thief by Markus Zusak and Number the Stars, the Newbery
Medal-winning novel from Lois Lowry.
For those
who prefer movies to books, there are plenty of options as well. The
aforementioned Winds
of War and War
and Remembrance were each made into miniseries starring Robert Mitchum
as Captain Henry, and show the full scope of the war, including both the
Atlantic and Pacific theatres as well as the Holocaust. Schindler’s
List, detailing Oskar Schindler’s covert efforts to save lives during
the Holocaust, is considered one of the best films of all time, while similarly
acclaimed films like Saving
Private Ryan and HBO’s Band
of Brothers depict on-the-ground combat, as does the recently released Fury,
starring Brad Pitt. To see how the war affected daily life at home, you can’t
go wrong with The
War, from documentarian Ken Burns.
And this is
just scratching the surface of all the books and movies out there on the
subject of World War II. What are some of your favourites, or what’s popular
with patrons at your library? Tell us in the comments section below.
Written by Jon Williams
These days,
when you think of superhero-based entertainment, what comes to mind first is
likely the big-budget blockbuster like The
Dark Knight or Guardians
of the Galaxy. While those movies garner a lot of attention—and for
good reason!—there’s plenty to be excited about for fans looking for more
regular installments in their favourite stories. There’s a long and stories
tradition of superhero shows on TV, and that trend shows no sign of slowing
down anytime soon.
I mentioned The Dark Knight because, of course,
Batman is one of the most popular superheroes. Making his DC Comics debut in
1939, the Caped Crusader finally came
to television in 1966. Adam West and Burt Ward played Batman and Robin, the
Boy Wonder, and the series also included iconic turns from Burgess Meredith,
Cesar Romero, and Julie Newmar and Eartha Kitt as frequent adversaries. The
lighthearted tone of that series differed greatly from the darker, grittier
portrayals seen in the Michael
Keaton and Christian
Bale movies, as well as from the Gotham
TV series currently airing on Fox.
Making his
debut just before Batman, Superman has been a sometime ally and sometime
adversary to his DC Comics counterpart, such as in the upcoming movie Batman v Superman. A cultural icon, the
Man of Steel has been through many television iterations, beginning in 1952
with Adventures
of Superman, which featured George Reeves donning the cape. In 1988, The
Adventures of Superboy followed Clark Kent and his alter ego in his
youth, while in 1993, Lois
& Clark dealt with Superman’s adventures as well has his
relationship with Lois Lane (actress Teri Hatcher’s big break). Following on
the heels of that show’s popularity, Smallville,
in some ways similar to Superboy,
explores Clark Kent’s origins and younger days.
It’s worth
nothing that yet another DC Comics character, Wonder Woman, also had a
series from 1975-1979 featuring the Amazon warrior princess. There have
been considerably fewer series featuring characters from Marvel Comics, at
least until Agents
of S.H.I.E.L.D. hit the airwaves in 2013. A notable example, though, is
The
Incredible Hulk, which ran from 1978 to 1982 and starred Bill Bixby as
scientist Bruce Banner and Lou Ferrigno as the green behemoth he changes into
during moments of intense anger. A TV movie continuation, The
Incredible Hulk Returns, was originally intended as a setup for a
series featuring Thor, another Marvel superhero, but that never panned out.
DC and
Marvel have been the source for so much superhero lore in pop culture, but
there are a number of other tales as well. One of my favourite shows as a kid
was The Greatest American Hero
(currently unavailable), about a hapless everyman who comes to possess a suit
that bestows a number of powers—but, unfortunately, he loses the instructions
and has to figure it out as he goes along. It also featured one of the all-time
great TV theme songs, “Believe It or Not” by Joey Scarbury. A similar premise
underlies the more recent series Heroes,
in which seemingly ordinary people discover their own superpowers. The show
concluded in 2010, but a 13-episode follow-up is scheduled to air this fall on
NBC.
For those
who love their superheroes, there are obviously plenty of options to choose
from, and more on the way. In addition to current shows like Arrow
and The Flash, there are any number
of shows coming soon, such as Powers,
a superhero detective drama starring Sharlto Copley and Eddie Izzard, and Constantine, a series featuring the DC
Comics character played on
the big screen by Keanu Reeves. In addition, there will be a number of
further additions to the Marvel universe, like Daredevil and AKA Jessica
Jones, both of which will be offered by Netflix. So which of these older
shows do you love, and which of the new ones are you looking forward to?
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