Book-to-Movie Alert: In the Heart of the Sea

This March, Ron Howard brings Nathaniel Philbrick's true life adventure story In The Heart of the Sea to the big screen starring Chris Hemsworth, Cillian Murphy and Ben Whishaw.

In the Heart of the Sea brings to new life the incredible story of the wreck of the whaleship Essex--an event as mythic in its own century as the Titanic disaster in ours, and the inspiration for the climax of Moby Dick and recounts its doomed crew's ninety-day attempt to survive whale attacks and the elements on three tiny lifeboats.

"A gripping chronicle of an epic voyage of hardship and survival that deserves to be as well known now as it once was." (Kirkus Reviews)

Read more about the movie here.

Moby Dick Big Read

Have you read the great American classic novel, Herman Melville's Moby Dick?  At 135 chapters, the book can be quite intimidating for even the most avid readers.  The Moby Dick Big Read project aims to help you conquer the book by offering an audio chapter a day online for free.  Although the project launched on the 16th of September, all chapters are archived and can be downloaded through iTunes, making it easy to catch up.  And of course, we have the hard copy of the book available right here at the Community Library.  Happy reading!

Best opening lines

Check out this article from Stylist magazine on the best 100 opening lines, taken from 100 classic novels.  From Pride and Prejudice ("It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife") and Moby Dick ("Call me Ishmael") to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy ("Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the Western Spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small, unregarded yellow sun.") and Eat, Pray, Love ("I wish Giovanni would kiss me") these books start with a flourish and end with millions of satisfied readers.

Spoiler Alert!

Are you one of those people who actively avoids reading spoilers?  Well, according to a new study from UC San Diego, spoilers actually add to the enjoyment of the reading experience, rather than detracting from it.  This article in Wired reports in greater detail about the experiment, in which two groups of college students were asked to read the same 12 short stories, one group with spoilers and the other without.  Those who read the stories with spoilers generally reported enjoying them more.  So go ahead, savor the journey and not just the destination; read a few spoilers and enjoy the ride.  Here are some to get you started: Edgar Sawtelle's father was killed by his uncle (who is now romancing Edgar's mother); Harry Potter's teacher Dumbledore dies in book 6; Katniss's gets together with Peeta in book 3 (sorry, Gale); Edward and Bella marry while Jacob falls in love with their half-vampire daughter in book 4; and Moby Dick eats the revenge-obsessed Captain Ahab.