Browsing Area Book of the Week, October 29, 2012.

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness.   Library Call Number: PS3608.A7436 D57 2011.

          Diana Bishop grew up an orphan and became a Yale scholar in history.  When she uncovers an enchanted text in Oxford’s ancient Bodleian Library, she’s forced to come to terms with her own past. Her parents both came from long lines of witches and wizards and, though she wants nothing to do with magic, the book she’s found leaves a trail soon followed by all sorts of demons, witches and vampires, anxious to get their hands on the magical tome full of potent alchemical spells. 

          With the help of a 1,500 year old vampire, Bishop is the only one who can stop the magic of the book from being unleashed into the world.  She has to come to terms with her family’s secrets and turn back the mystical evil threatening the world.

          Sub-titled all Souls Trilogy, this is the first in a projected series of books that may grow to pop status.

Library Video of the Week, October 29, 2012.

     

Howl’s Moving Castle, directed by Hayao Miyazaki. Featuring the voices of Jean Simmons, Lauren Bacall, Christian Bale and Billy Crystal.

Library Call Number:PN1995.9.F36H69 2004.

               Adapted from the Amazon Review by Charles Solomon:    Like a dream, Howl's Moving Castle carries audiences to vistas beyond their imaginations where they experience excitement, adventure, terror, humor, and romance. …The #3 film in Japanese history with a box office of $210 million, Howl is…based on a juvenile novel by Diana Wynne Jones…Sophie, a 19-year-old girl who believes she is plain, has resigned herself to a drab life in her family's hat shop--until the Witch of the Waste transforms her into a 90-year-old woman. In her aged guise…Sophie discovers her hidden potential in a magical environment--the castle of the title. Miyazaki creates a ramshackle structure that looks like it might disintegrate at any moment. Sophie's honesty and determination win her valuable new friends: Markl, Howl's young apprentice; a jaunty scarecrow; Calcifer, a temperamental fire demon; and Heen, a hilarious, wheezing dog. She wins the heart of the dashing, irresponsible wizard Howl, and brings an end an unnecessary and destructive war. The film overflows with eclipsing visuals that range from frightening aerial battles to serene landscapes, and few recent features--animated or live action--offer as much magic as Howl's Moving Castle.