(R)  Drama

Two best friends’ lives change when one of them is diagnosed with cancer. Inspired by personal experiences, an original story about friendship, love, survival, and finding humor in unlikely places.

REAL STEEL

(PG-13) Action

Charlie Kenton is a washed-up fighter who lost his chance at a title when 2000-pound, 8-foot-tall steel robots took over the ring. Now nothing but a small-time promoter, Charlie earns just enough money piecing together low-end bots from scrap metal to get from one underground boxing venue to the next. When Charlie hits rock bottom, he reluctantly teams up with his estranged son Max to build and train a championship contender.

FINAL DESTINATION 5  

(R) Horror

During the bus ride to a corporate retreat, Sam has a premonition in which he and most of his friends, as well as numerous others, die in a horrific bridge collapse. When his vision ends, events begin to mirror what he saw, and he frantically ushers as many of his colleagues, including his friend, Peter, and girlfriend, Molly, away from the disaster before Death can claim them.

THE WHISTLEBLOWER

(R) Drama

When Nebraska cop Kathryn Bolkovac accepts a U.N. peacekeeper position in postwar Bosnia, she discovers a deadly sex trafficking ring. Risking her own life to save the lives of others, she uncovers an international conspiracy that is determined to stop her, no matter the cost. With masterful acting and a heart-racing plot, an acclaimed film inspired by actual events.

- posted by Ralph, Media Services

Teju Cole – Open City

Feeling adrift after ending a relationship, Julius, a young Nigerian doctor living in New York, takes long walks through the city while listening to the stories of fellow immigrants until a shattering truth is revealed.

Jeffrey Eugenides – The Marriage Plot

Madeleine Hanna breaks out of her straight-and-narrow mold when she falls in love with charismatic loner Leonard Bankhead, while at the same time an old friend of hers resurfaces, obsessed with the idea that Madeleine is his destiny.

Alan Hollinghurst – The Stranger’s Child

Embraced by the family of his Cambridge schoolmate, Cecil Valance writes an inspiring poem in an autograph album that becomes a staple of every English classroom after he is killed during World War I.

Edith Pearlman – Binocular Vision

Presents a collection of short stories that focus on the trials and tribulations of a group of Northeasterners.

Dana Spiotta – Stone Arabia

Sharing a close bond that supersedes other relationships, Nic, a fiercely reclusive musician; and Denise, his dedicated sister and solitary audience member, become increasingly isolated in the wake of Nic’s obsessive work, a situation that grows vulnerable as the siblings age.

The awards finalists in the other categories can be seen at the National Book Critics Circle’s blog.  The winners will be announced on Thursday, March 8, 2012.

(All book descriptions are from the respective publishers.)

- posted by Sonia, Readers’ Services

Monday, January 30th  at 7PM  

Meeting Room A on the Lower Level

With 20-Something Librarians

Jackie Ranaldo and Jessikah Chautin

This program is open to any 20-something looking for a great book discussion group. No registration is required and the program is free. Non-Syosset residents are welcome. Please call 516-921-7161 x 239 for details.

Look forward to seeing you there!

Check out our Facebook page for upcoming events and great suggestions for your next read:

Syosset Public Library 20-Something Book Club

- Posted by Jackie, Readers’ Services

(PG-13) Action

After uncovering a deadly lie, Nathan is propelled on a lethal, no-holds-barred mission to learn the truth. Aided by a  family friend, Nathan’s hunt for the facts pits him against ruthless assassins and questionable allies.

The Ides of March

(R) Drama

During the frantic last days before a heavily contested Ohio presidential primary, an up-and-coming campaign press secretary finds himself involved in a political scandal that threatens to upend his candidate’s shot at the presidency.

- posted by Ralph, Media Services

The Lost Wife

by

Alyson Richman

with  Jackie Ranaldo, Head of Readers Services

Tuesday, January 24 at 1 PM and 7:30 PM

“During the last moments of calm in prewar Prague, Lenka, a young art student, and Josef, who is studying medicine, fall in love. With the promise of a better future, they marry–only to have their dreams shattered by the imminent Nazi invasion. Like so many others, they are torn apart by the currents of war.”

Alyson Richman the author of “The Lost Wife” will be joining us to discuss her book on

Friday, February 3, at 2 PM

in the Theater.

Copies of the book will be sold by the Friends of the Library at the event.

- posted by Sonia, Readers’ Services

Tagged: author, author visit, book clubs, book discussions, books, events for readers, reading ]]> http://spl225.wordpress.com/2012/01/15/monthly-book-club-author-visit/feed/ 0 40.796986 -73.503041 40.796986 -73.503041 spl225 the-lost-wife alyson richman http://spl225.wordpress.com/2012/01/10/new-in-dvd-91/ http://spl225.wordpress.com/2012/01/10/new-in-dvd-91/#comments Tue, 10 Jan 2012 16:59:25 +0000 Sonia http://spl225.wordpress.com/?p=6408 Continue reading →]]> MONEYBALL

(PG-13) Drama

The story of Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane’s successful attempt to put together a baseball club on a budget by employing computer-generated analysis to draft his players.

KILLER ELITE

(R) Action

When two of the world’s most elite operatives, Danny, a retired contract killer, and Hunter, his longtime mentor, go up against the cunning leader of a secret military society, their hunt takes them around the globe, from Australia to Paris, London, and the Middle East. As the stakes rise along with the body count, Danny and Hunter are soon plunged into an action-packed game of cat and mouse where no one is what they seem.

THERE BE DRAGONS

(PG-13)  Drama

When journalist Robert Torres is assigned to write a book about Josemaria Escriva, the controversial founder of Opus Dei, he hopes it will bring him closer to his father, Escriva’s childhood friend. As Torres uncovers more about his father’s past, he learns dark secrets that will change his world forever.

WHAT’S YOUR NUMBER?

(R)  Comedy

The outrageously funny comedy that asks: can nineteen wrongs make Mr. Right? When Ally Darling reads an article that leads her to believe she’s going to be alone forever, she begins a wild search to find the best ‘ex’ of her life. But Ally’s quest to reconnect with her former lovers goes hilariously awry, from a puppeteer who’s more wooden than his puppet to a gynecologist with a ‘spotty’ memory. Through it all, Ally might just find the man of her dreams in the last place she ever expected.

-posted by Ralph, Readers’ Services

The most recent choices include classic films, documentaries, animation and experimental motion pictures. Syosset library owns a number of these honored films: Bambi (1942), Forrest Gump (1994), Hester Street (1995), The Kid (Charlie Chaplin’s 1921 classic), Norma Rae (1979), War of the Worlds (1953) and Stand and Deliver (1991).

This year the public nominated more than 2200 films!  These nominated films were reviewed by the film curators of the Library and the members of the NFPB and the final 25 were chosen.

You can check the list of all the films that have been named to the National Film registry since 1989. The list is searchable by title, release year and year added to the registry. You can also check the names of personnel involved with the films. Intrigued? You can get involved in the selection of films for the 2012 registry by nominating up to 50 titles by email or regular mail.

The films must be at least 10 years old. Can’t think of a title?  Here’s a list of well known but not yet selected films  to help you get started.

How could they have skipped Return of the Jedi?

- posted by Brenda, Reference Services

THE HANGOVER PART II

(R) Comedy

Two years after the bachelor party in Las Vegas, Phil, Stu, Alan, and Doug jet to Thailand for Stu’s wedding. Stu’s plan for a subdued pre-wedding brunch, however, goes seriously awry.

THE GUARD

(R) Comedy

An unorthodox Irish policeman with a confrontational personality is teamed up with an uptight FBI agent to investigate an international drug-smuggling ring.

I DON’T KNOW HOW SHE DOES IT

(PG-13) Comedy

A comedy centered on the life of Kate Reddy, a finance executive who is the breadwinner for her husband and two kids. When Kate gets handed a major new account that will require frequent trips to New York, Richard also wins the new job he’s been hoping for and both will be spreading themselves even thinner. Complicating matters is Kate’s charming new business associate Jack Abelhammer, who begins to prove an unexpected source of temptation.

- posted by Ralph, Media Services

State of Wonder by Ann Patchett

A researcher at a pharmaceutical company, Marina Singh journeys into the heart of the Amazonian delta to check on a field team that has been silent for two years–a dangerous assignment that forces Marina to confront the ghosts of her past. – 2011 favorite of Karen, Library Director

Turn of Mind by Alice LaPlante

Implicated in the murder of her best friend, Jennifer White, a brilliant retired surgeon with dementia, struggles with fractured memories of their complex relationship and wonders if she actually committed the crime, a situation also marked by her grown children and live-in caretaker. – 2011 favorite of Betty P., Reference Services Librarian

The Rules of Civility by Amor Towles

A chance encounter with a handsome banker in a Greenwich Village jazz bar on New Year’s Eve 1938 catapults witty Wall Street secretary Katey Kontent into the upper echelons of New York society, where she befriends a shy multi-millionaire, an Upper East Side ne’er-do-well and a single-minded widow. - 2011 favorite of Evelyn, Librarian Trainee

The Story of Beautiful Girl by Rachel Simon

It is 1968. Lynnie, a young white woman with a developmental disability, and Homan, an African American deaf man, are locked away in an institution and have been left to languish, forgotten. Deeply in love, they escape, and find refuge in the farmhouse of Martha, a retired schoolteacher and widow. But the couple is not alone-Lynnie has just given birth to a baby girl…- 2011 favorite of Nadine, Children’s Services Librarian

This will be R and R’s last post for 2011.  Be sure to check back with us in the new year.  Until then please have a wonderful holiday - we wish all of our readers a very happy and  healthy 2012!!

- posted by Sonia, Readers’ Services

NR Action  

A child grows up to be a hardcore assassin after she witnesses the brutal murder of her parents in Bogota. Working for her uncle as a professional killer, she remains focused on her ultimate goal: to hunt down and get revenge on the mobster responsible for her parents’ deaths.

Straw Dogs

R Drama

A young couple moves to a quaint southern town. Soon their perfect getaway turns out to become a living hell when dark secrets and lethal passions spiral out of control. Trapped by a pack of depraved locals led by a ruthless predator, they face a night of agonizing suffering and endless bloodshed. Now their only hope for survival is to become more savage then their merciless torturers.

Warrior

PG-13 Drama

An ex-Marine haunted by a tragic past, Tommy Riordan returns to his hometown of Pittsburgh and enlists his father to train him for an MMA tournament awarding the biggest purse in the history of the sport. As Tommy blazes a violent path towards the title prize, his brother, Brendan, returns to the amateur ring to provide for his family. The two brothers must finally confront the forces that tore them apart, all the while waging the most intense, winner-takes-all battle of their lives.

Midnight in Paris

PG-13 Comedy

A romantic comedy about a family traveling to the French capital for business. The party includes a young engaged couple forced to confront the illusion that a life different from their own is better.

Also new this week:

Glee: The Concert Movie (PG Musical), Margin Call ( R Drama) and The Tempest (PG-13 Drama).

- posted by Ralph, Media Services