Said It, Spelled It, Said It

Thanks to everybody who spent Saturday night spelling with us.  We had a full house with 35 amazing spellers who powered through seven rounds of increasingly difficult words.

Not everybody made it to the finals.  Dianne took home a special “She Tried It” prize for being the first speller eliminated.  A tiny mistake on “colossal” took her out of the running.

Between rounds spellers and spectators alike delighted in some lunch box treats as well as some decidedly more adult beverages.  In true back to school spirit, attendees also learned a bit about banned books, posing with their favorite challenged book for a mug shot.

Check out the rest of the mug shots at www.ireadbannedbooks.tumblr.com where you can submit your own banned book photo.  You can also stop by the library any time this week and get booked.

Then came the Death Match.  Our final six spellers faced ridiculously tough words like “Reykjavik” and “scilicet.”  In the end, one speller emerged at the champion.  Patricia dominated the stage with her perfect spelling of “tagliatelle,” and was rewarded with a lovingly bedazzled trophy and gifts from Fly Bird.

Kenanna, Cheryl, Jill, Kristen, and Tom gave Patricia a run for her money during the final round.  Our five runners-up shared the spoils, each taking home a trophy or something special from Fly Bird.

Thanks again to the Friends of the Library for making this and other library events possible, as well as Megan Owdom-Weitz for her great poster design and our fearless bartender Danielle. And of course, we couldn’t have done it without Rory and her ever helpful sentences or Ed and his sweet bee duds.

Check out all of the photos on the library’s Flickr page and watch here for more after hours events from genre X.

The Spell Yeah! Poster is Here…Oh Yeah!

Thanks to our resident artist Megan Owdom-Weitz for another fabulous event poster! If you’ve been to a previous genre X after hours event, you might recall her handiwork. See Hi-Lo Tech, Hop on Pop and Smell the Glove to see just how good she makes us look.

To get your own piece of her handmade goodness, including the now famous Midwest is Best tees & totes, or shirts featuring dinousaurs dreaming of bacon, visit her store.

If you’re interested in joining in the Spell Yeah! fun on Saturday, September 24th, you’re in luck…there are still slots in the spotlight available. Register now to reserve yours! Shall these spots fill up, fear not! There will be additional slots available on site.

For full details, including rules (you know, the fun stuff), see the original event entry here.

Spell ya later!

Goodreads Says Read This

Goodreads has unveiled their new recommendation engine today. Marketing themselves as the “Netflix of book recommendations”, the system uses data from any user who has rated at least 20 books and purports to be able to suggest things they will enjoy based on their selections. I’m awfully interested in the world of recommendation engines, and I thought it would be fun to put Goodreads’ new tool to the test.

The image above is a screenshot from the list of books that Goodreads is recommending based on the genre X bookshelf I keep. Meaning, these are the books they think someone who has read the books we have all read would like. On closer inspection, it looks like the books are based on similarities of individual titles on the list rather than looking at the list as a whole, but I still think it’s fun to take a look.

The list of the 50 titles that Goodreads recommends to genre X is after the jump.

Read more

September 2011 – Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self

We heard you, genre Xers: I Was Told There’d Be Cake was not your favorite short story collection, but bear with us as we read Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self by Danielle Evans. If the critics got it right, you’ll be glad you did.  Here’s a sample of what “they” had to say about this month’s pick.

“This debut collection is contemporary, powerful, and very real. While race is a factor throughout, with biracial characters, mixed-race romantic relationships, and plenty of interaction among people of different ethnicities, it remains subsidiary to themes like family relationships, romantic attachments, coming-of-age, belonging, and searching or yearning for direction in life. [...] A smartly written and enjoyable collection from an up-and-coming author; particularly recommended for those interested in contemporary relationships in our increasingly diverse and global society.” (Library Journal, 9/2010)

“Danielle Evans’s whip-smart first story collection charts the liminal years between childhood and the condition dubiously known as being a grown-up. Told from a close distance, these stories lack the rich patina of hindsight, their pleasures coming instead from an immediacy and an engaging voice. They evoke the thrill of an all-night conversation with your hip, frank, funny college roommate.” (NY Times, 10/2010)”

“Danielle Evans’ Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self is a remarkable short-story collection in a good year for short-story collections. Every story takes on its own life, all her characters live rich and complicated lives, and the plotting never grows too predictable or unfocused. Evans has a few of the problems typical of young short-story writers, but for the most part, this is a collection of perfectly conceived little tales that look at underexposed corners of American life.” (The Onion, 10/2010)

Stop by the second floor Adult and Teen Services Desk at the Main Library of the Oak Park Public Library to pick up your copy. Then bring your appetite and your opinions to Molly Malone’s on Tuesday, September 27th at 8 pm.  See you there!

Deja Vu

We hope you enjoy this post from guest contributor, Heidi Gustad. To check out more of Heidi’s writing on modern crafting and home decor, check out Hands Occupied.

Original Footloose trailer

Has anyone noticed that both Dirty Dancing and Footloose are being remade this year? From the looks of the new Footloose’s trailer, we’re in store for a couple of throwback dance numbers, a la Ren (Kevin Bacon) jumping around an old warehouse. Comparing the two trailers below, you’ll also notice a couple of near-identical shots, including Ren saving Ariel, the preacher’s daughter, from a train. The new trailer spends some more time outlining the plot of the movie, focusing on why the small town of Bomont, Texas has outlawed dancing. The other thing that becomes obvious in watching the new trailer is the addition of… HIP HOP. Oh boy! (read: sarcasm) Maybe it will be like You Got Served! Speaking of which…

According to IMDB, the man they’ve cast in the lead role is a legitimate dancer, with roles in You Got Served, Center Stage: Turn It Up, and the TV reality show Dancelife. Maybe if I decide to sit through this remake, I’ll at least be entertained by physical feats?

New Footloose trailer

Then we’ve got Dirty Dancing. Its remake is only in development at this point, but Kenny Ortega, of Newsies (yes, THAT Newsies) and High School Musical fame, has been signed on to be the director. Are we in for Dirty Dancing III: The High School Years?

Original Dirty Dancing trailer

There’s no trailer available yet for the Dirty Dancing remake, but you can’t forget about the 2004 prequel, Dirty Dancing II: Havana Nights.

All of this leads me to wonder, why the remakes? The Fox show Glee is so absurdly popular among high schoolers these days*, all of whom were born after the ‘80s, that I’m not surprised both of these dancing-centric classics are being rehashed. Particularly in the case of the to-be-written Dirty Dancing [III?] and its director’s Disney cred, I think we’re in for something poppy and dance-filled, perhaps with some auto-tuning sprinkled on top.

Ladies and gentlemen, it’s time to leave your thoughts. Do you think we’re got something good or potentially scary on our hands? I just don’t know how to feel, other than old, about this remake situation.

*I’ll admit, I’ve seen every episode of Glee at least once. I also love Newsies. It can’t be helped. Maybe Kenny Ortega will remake Newsies too! And Christian Bale can play the old guy.

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Don’t forget, if you are looking to recreate a little 80s magic all your own, join us for Spell Yeah! A 20s and 30s Spelling Bee on Saturday, September 24th. Registration begins September 10th. Spell early and often!