Photo Credit: Neil McIntosh

Summer’s here, and after a few weeks off from school, relaxation and midday naps have become exhausting . So why not change things up this summer? CPL’s got you covered. This summer we’re planning on producing an original web series on things to do over the summer. Cooking? Gardening? Origami? Geocaching? What about  underwater basket-weaving? We’ve got a whole list of topics to cover this summer, but we could always use your help! Post your suggestions in the comments section and don’t forget to check this blog for new, cool ways to spend your summer.

For they have no magic to stir men’s hearts.

One of our final projects of the year was to make a video trailer for the Award Winning Novel, The Devil in the White City, by Erik Larson. An interesting fact to note about the book is that it is nonfiction; the events in the book actually happened. Of course, minor details were dramatized to allow the book to read like a novel, but the skeleton of the story is untouched. Only a few blocks separated the utopian “White City” envisioned by the nation’s finest architects, from the hell created by serial killer H.H. Holmes in his ominous “castle”. Suspense builds as the fates of two men rest on the success of Chicago’s greatest endeavor.

We’ve searched Youtube for other good student-made trailers and here are some of our suggestestions:

This one focuses more on the dark side of the story:

And if you’re looking for a trailer with a more humorus twist:

As of yesterday, Baz Luhrmanns movie adaptation of The Great Gatsby hits the silver screen, not with a bang, but with a whimper? Although praised with reviving the Roaring 20’s with a moxie that the original movie lacked, the production is criticized for its inability to convey Fitzgerald’s message. The heart of the Great Gatsby’s message is lost amid the falling glitter that always finds a way into Luhrmann’s films. Well that’s what all the critics say anyway. Luhrmann seems to glamorize the 1920’s extravagant lifestyle, leaving behind Fitzgerald’s message of the era’s superficial morality.  But that doesn’t mean its not a production worth watching, after all,  a little party never hurt anyone. If you truly want to understand the Great Gatsby, read the book here at the CPL and guess what, the books in this library are real, old sport.

Books and Poems from the Lost Generation

Hollow Men by T.S. Eliot

The Emperor of Ice Cream by Wallace Stevens

What Lips I Have Kissed and When and Why by Edna St. Vincent Millay

This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway

Winter is over, (kind of, you can never tell ’round these parts) and the arrival of Spring is nigh! We’ve lost an hour of glorious sleep, but that’s okay because IT’S SPRING BREAK!  Spring is the time when there are cute baby things everywhere and pretty flowers start shooting out of the ground, and it’s also a great time to read; if you aren’t much for parties, know that CPL is open over the break and you’re welcome to swing by. Whether you are a light reader or an avid one, there are plenty of books here to pique your interests and occupy yourself throughout spring break.

Photo Credit: Ann Harrison

Yes, it’s around that time of year where you’re either attending a romantic dinner or sobbing into a single-serve T.V. dinner. If you’re looking for a way to fall in love again or drown away the sorrow, you can bet that there’s a book to suit your needs.