by Beth Cronk, Litchfield head librarian
Movies inspire people to read. As I look at the latest copy of the report of the items with the longest waiting lists in our library system, I see
that four of the top five high-demand books this week have been made into
current movies.
The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History is a nonfiction book from 2009 by Robert M.
Edsel. The Monuments Men is also now a
movie in theaters, starring George Clooney, Matt Damon, and Bill Murray. So now
everyone is reading the book! If you
stop in hoping to see it on the shelf, you won’t have any luck for a while
because it’s so popular. Litchfield owns
a copy but it’s checked out. In fact,
there are 21 people on waiting lists for ten copies in the system. However, we all share resources across the
Pioneerland Library System, so as soon as a copy is returned anywhere, it goes quickly
to the next person on the list. This
shortens waiting times and allows efficient resource sharing, giving you access
to a vast variety of books no matter which community you live in. If you want to read this book, you can order
it through our online catalog or ask a library staff member to order it for
you. We also have this book available as
an e-book.
Labor Day is another current movie based on a book. The novel by Joyce Maynard came out in
2009. The new movie stars Kate Winslet
and Josh Brolin. There are currently
fourteen people on the waiting lists, but there are eleven copies in the
system. That will move quickly, and
you’ll get it faster if you reserve the book than if you wait for our copy to
land on our shelf. This is another title
available to check out as an e-book.
One exception to the book-to-movie pattern this week is The Longest Ride by Nicholas Sparks. This
is bestselling author Sparks’ latest, which came out in September. Demand has cooled off enough six months later
that there are several copies of the book available on library shelves, but
there’s still a big demand for the large-print version of the book: thirteen
people on the list for four copies. If
by chance you’re one of those people and you don’t really want a large-print
edition, let us know and we’ll get you the regular print on the next delivery.
Twelve Years a Slave just won the Oscar for best
picture. The book it’s based on is very
popular right now, with seventeen people on the waiting list for eight copies
in the system. We also have the e-book
and the audiobook. Solomon Northrup’s
well-written account of his capture and captivity was a bestseller when it was
published in 1853 and is now back on the bestseller lists in 2014.
Lone Survivor is a current movie starring Mark Wahlberg,
recently nominated for Oscars in sound editing and mixing. It’s based on a 2008 book by Marcus Luttrell
with Patrick Robinson: Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10.
Right now there are ten people on the reserve list for ten copies, so
that will move quickly. Since Litchfield’s
copy is checked out and long overdue, don’t wait for it to show up on our
shelf; definitely place an order if you want to read it. We also have it
available as an e-book.
So many people in our community make use of our free ordering
system and delivery service. Last year,
Litchfield Library customers ordered in almost 11,000 books, CDs, and movies
from other libraries. Our library sent
out about the same number to people in other libraries. There’s no way a
library can have everything that people in a community might want. We all have access to a huge variety of books
and other materials because of the sharing we’re able to do through our
regional library system. If you haven’t
tried ordering something yet, talk to us and we’ll be very glad to help you get
exactly what you want.
