Comedy Central Roasts...

On Sunday, September 1, Comedy Central's highly rated series of celebrity roasts will focus for the first time on an Academy Award nominee. James Franco, who received Best Supporting Actor consideration for his portrayal of mountaineer Aron Ralston in the 2010 film "127 Hours," will join the roll call of past targeted celebrities that have included William Shatner, Donald Trump, Charlie Sheen, Joan Rivers and Pamela Anderson.

 

Born in California in 1978, James Franco first achieved notice as Daniel Desario in the now-cult TV series "Freaks and Geeks." Having lost the lead role to Tobey Maguire in the "Spider-Man" trilogy, Franco did play Peter Parker's best friend Harry Osborne in all three movies. In 2008 Franco won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Actor portraying gay rights activist Scott Smith in "Milk." His work in "127 Hours" won him the Spirit Award for Best Male Lead in 2011.  That same year he cohosted the Academy Awards with Anne Hathaway to considerable public notice.

 

James Franco has distinguished himself by continually playing characters with a troubled past and/or life. He is also known a Renaissance man who has pursued interests in painting and poetry, the latter resulting in a book of verse that will be published in April 2014.

 

"The Comedy Central Roast of James Franco" will air at 10 p.m.  The host will be actor and comedian Seth Rogen, Franco's co-star both in "Freaks and Geeks" and the 2008 film "Pineapple Express."

 

In addition to the film titles cited, Merrick Library also has the following movies on DVD featuring the talents of James Franco:

 

Annapolis

The Dead Girl

Eat, Pray, Love

The Great Raid

Howl (playing poet Allen Ginsberg)

In the Valley of Elah

Oz: The Great and Powerful

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Spring Breakers

Tristan and Isolde

Your Highness

Labor Day weekend.

Where did THAT come from?  

The forecast calls for some rain, some sun, how to make plans?  

Come in and pick up some new DVDs in case it rains. 

 Grab some hot new paperbacks in case you go to the beach.

 If you have a staycation planned take a look at the 

great new titles we have in non-fiction and fiction. 

Not sure what to read or watch?  Ask us!

The Merrick Library is open today from 9-6 

and Saturday from 9-1. 

The Merrick Library will be closed on 

Sunday and Monday 

in observance of this holiday.

(Be advised doors will close 15 minutes prior to closing time.)

A Breaking Bad (and Beyond) 

Reading List...

"The books on this list range from the personal to the mythological to the journalistic, and some intertwine all three. They all depict a world of stark contrasts. There is danger here. There are hardscrabble heroes and self-made gods dripping with hubris. Each book is infused with the poetry of landscape, in which humans like Walter White and Jesse Pinkman try to craft their own story with what their realities have handed them."  - Lauren Eggert-Crowe, themillions.com

Titles include Desert America: Boom and Bust in the New Old West by Ruben Martinez, Alburquerque: A Novel by Rudolfo Anaya, Winter’s Bone by Daniel Woodrell, and more. Read Lauren Eggert-Crowe's piece here and then come in today for your copies of these great titles.

On the subject of typewriters, this piece from the Wall Street Journal is timely...

"Death Keeps Typewriters Alive, Clacking...Funeral Homes a Key to Survival; Function Follows Forms" by Laura Kusisto

"Swintec, a New Jersey typewriter company, is one of the last manufacturers standing in a dying industry. What has helped keep it alive? Funeral homes.  Funeral directors in a handful of states must tap out death certificates on a typewriter, relics of the days when the machines represented a modern improvement over an undertaker's handwriting.  "If they run out of typewriter tape, they're out of business," says Edward Michael, a Swintec executive." 

See who else needs typewriters in this WSJ article...click here. 

This article appeared August 22, 2013, on page A1 in the U.S. edition of The Wall Street Journal

New Audio Books!

Bones of the Lost, by Kathy Reichs

 When Charlotte police discover the body of a teenage girl along a desolate stretch of two-lane highway, Temperance Brennan fears the worst. The girl’s body shows signs of foul play. Inside her purse, police find an airline club card bearing the name of prominent local businessman John-Henry Story, who died in a horrific fire months earlier. How did Story and the girl know each other? Was she an illegal immigrant turning tricks? Was she murdered? Was he?

Tell No Lies, by Gregg Hurwitz

A series of anonymous threats intended for others puts Daniel Brasher—and everyone he loves—in the path of a relentless killer...who is outmaneuvering authorities. A fast paced thriller!

The Whole Enchilada, by Diane Mott Davidson

Caterer and sleuth extraordinaire Goldy Schulz jumps from the frying pan into the fire as she tries to solve a puzzling murder that is much too close to home, in this latest entry in the New York Times bestselling series from "today's foremost practitioner of the culinary whodunit."