Staff Choices
The movie follows an Egyptian police band that has booked a performance at an Arab cultural center in Petah Tikva, but end up in the wrong town, (fictional) Bet Hatika, in the middle of the Negev Desert. When there is no transportation out of the city that day, and no hotels for them to spend the night, the eight male band members, through a fortuitous encounter with a café owner, are taken in for the evening by different people throughout the town. The situations that ensue highlight relationships built by finding common ground.
This has been described as a quiet film, and I would agree. It is a sweet charmer about a group of people, who meet under unusual circumstances, and experience life together over the course of one night. There is no great narrative or major action, but it is a lovely, and sometimes funny, story about the human experience.
For those who enjoy well-reviewed, award-winning independent and foreign films.
After nine years away, Larkin returns to her childhood home in South Carolina when her mother, Ivy, takes a life-threatening fall, a fall that becomes the catalyst for exposing long held secrets. As Ivy lies in a hospital bed fighting for her life, Larkin begins her investigation. It is in this search that Larkin uncovers the secrets kept by three teenage friends on an unchaperoned graduation trip to Myrtle Beach fifty years earlier. These three friends had sworn to remain best friends forever, never imagining the heartache that would result from that vow.
The story is dramatic and cleverly layered and there are tons of great characters. Most notably are the three best friends: the beautiful and rich Margaret; CeeCee, the preacher’s daughter; and the always smoking and redheaded artist, Bitty. Each one of them is flawed in their own way. And that is precisely what makes this book so real.
Lovers of Southern women’s fiction will appreciate this dramatic story.
A recent Pulitzer Prize winner, as well as the June pick for the PBS NewsHour-New York Times book club, Less is a perfect summer read.
Anyone who has worked in a large corporate environment or even any work environment may recognize elements of these characters’ behavior. Some instances might make you smile such as when you read about a secret office hideaway equipped with a few spare necessities on an empty floor or when you can cheer someone making a stand against stereotyped bias.
The audiobook version has a full cast that enhances each character’s narrative.
Stephanie is unflinchingly honest in this memoir, and with her background in education and performance, her audiobook narration is a real standout. I listened on Hoopla, and highly recommend the audio format of the book, as the story, in her voice, is powerful; it’s tender and evocative and her love for her brother and her family is potent.
This is one of those books where you’ll laugh and you'll cry – the humor can be dry and quirky and laugh-out-loud funny (Harris was a professional comedy writer) and the tragic moments incredibly dark – but part of the strength of the story is this concurrent thread of humor and sadness. This book is for those who like modern memoirs, and anyone interested in reading a detailed personal account about addiction and grief, told through the lens of a candid, close-knit family.
Notes From a Public Typewriter is a collection of the comments left behind by customers. Some were gibberish, but among the remarks are maxims, whimsies, playful notes, somber expositions, edgy witticisms, sharp observations, random thoughts, anonymous musings and heartfelt reflections.
This book will appeal to those who learned how to type on a manual typewriter (and know what the term “return” means) and to those looking for a feel-good quick, light read.
Lauren is the widow of NHL hockey star Rory Kincaid who leaves it all to fight as a US Ranger overseas. After he is killed in combat, Lauren is caught in web of grief that she has not been able to let go of for four years. When a filmmaker approaches her and her family to produce a documentary about Rory’s life, she fights him every step of the way. Lauren is determined to keep the memory of Rory high on a pedestal and in her heart. However, the secrets that Matt's documentary are uncovering are not what she wants to face.
While this book is truly Lauren’s story, it is also a story about the other women in her immediate family, her mom Beth and her sister Stephanie. I love nothing more than a story about a family of strong women with complex lives.
So many themes covered in this book: professional sports, celebrity status, the military, love, grief, betrayal, traumatic brain injury, documentary filmmaking, and some yummy baking thrown in! Love the way it all ties together to make The Husband Hour a favorite 2018 beach read.