Langley-Adams Library Recommendations

In need of a humorous feel-good book? I highly recommend "All About Me" by Mel Brooks! I also recommend that you listen & read it-as Mel narrates it and the book provides photos. I listened to this while I was walking and found myself laughing out loud. I am sure all that walked past me wondered what I was listening to-ha!        Mel Brooks is more than meets the eye by the way. Did you know that Mel, 95 years old, was taught military engineering skills at the Virginia Military Institute and served as a corporal in the 1104th Engineer combat Battalion, 78th Infantry Division defusing land mines as the Allies advanced into Nazi Germany? That his real name is Melvin Kaminsky? Did you know thanks to Brooks' production company "The Elephant Man", "The Fly", "84 Charing Cross Road'-just to name a few dramatic movies got made? Mel was smart enough to realize he was too known for comedy to let his association with these great films be known (unti...

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood follows fictional characters, Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt), as well as Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie). Actor Rick Dalton and his stunt double, Cliff Booth, move through the ups and downs of fame and Hollywood life in the late 1960s, while Sharon Tate has a lot of similar experiences separately. I don’t know that I’ve even seen any of Quentin Tarantino’s other movies, but I still really enjoyed Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. While the movie can be considered slow at times, the portrayal of this time period of Hollywood feels very authentic and pure. After this movie’s 2019 release, Brad Pitt went on to win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in 2020, which was very well deserved, in my opinion. There’s a sequence at the end that is sure to be enjoyed by anyone who watches the entire movie, even if they didn’t like parts of it. Overall, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood serves as a great period piece and character study, while offerin...