The White Plains Library Staff have assembled their favorite movies, music and television. It's a wonderfully wide-ranging list and should help with your holiday shopping or just some entertainment for yourself. Enjoy!
Below you'll find a list with links to the catalog or resource where they're available as well as a blurb on why staff enjoyed it.
On the Screen:
The Booksellers
This documentary presents a lively view of New York’s antiquarian, rare-book scene and the fascinating, passionate collectors and dealers who inhabit it. The film is directed by D.W. Young and narrated by actress Parker Posey, with insightful comments from New York humorist and book lover, Fran Lebowitz. The viewer experiences the challenges of the trade to keep pace with the internet and e-commerce. Some hope remains with visits to the iconic 3rd -generation family-run NY bookstores, the Strand and Argosy. We will actually be discussing this film via Zoom as part of our 2024-2025 Short Story Book/Film Series using the anthology and theme, Stories of Books and Libraries. Register here to join in the January 23rd discussion.
-Barbara Wenglin, Reference/Program Librarian
The Librarians
A fantastic show about a secret, magical library protected by a number of amazingly talented librarians, cataloguing their adventures. It’s a favorite I’ve rewatched a number of times, so I definitely recommend it if you’ve never had the pleasure!
-Erica Roberts, Librarian I Youth Services
Turn Every Page
This captivating documentary explores the complex, sometimes contentious, 50-year professional relationship of acclaimed Pulitzer Prize author Robert Caro and his editor, literary giant Robert Gottlieb. The film focuses on the pair, both in their late 80s, as they work to complete the final, fifth volume of Caro’s biography of Lyndon Johnson. Gottlieb’s daughter, filmmaker Lizzie Gottlieb, had to convince the men to be the subject of her documentary, at first only filming them separately, later filming them editing together. Robert Gottlieb died in 2023 after the completion of the project. We will be discussing this film also via Zoom as part of our 2024-2025 Short Story Book/Film Series using the anthology and theme, Stories of Books and Libraries. Keep your eye on our calendar for the Spring date, TBA.
-Barbara Wenglin, Reference/Program Librarian
Music:
folklore by Taylor Swift
When a patron asked me a reference question about Taylor Swift, I became curious about Swiftyism. Featuring inventive songwriting by Swift and collaborators and lush instrumentation, this atmospheric album offered a very accessible introduction that led me to want to hear more. Written while in COVID-19 quarantine, it exemplifies the power of imagination during the pandemic.
-Susan Hoover, Adult Services Librarian
Heat by Tove Lo
A collaborative extended play with SG Lewis, every song makes you want to find a dance floor. Really good for an after work pump-up.
-Gabi Rodriguez, Librarian I Children’s Services
Songs of a Lost World by The Cure
Probably my album of the year, and what a complete album it is. Drawing heavily from the lush soundscape portions of earlier albums like Disintegration, rather than the more pop-song structures of songs like “Friday, I'm in Love,” it is an epically beautiful album filled with soaring guitars and synths backing against heartbreaking lyrics (much of the album deals with the loss of family members and the inevitability of aging). Put on some headphones and listen straight through. Personal favorite tracks: “Alone,” “A Fragile Thing,” and “Drone: No Drone.”
-Joshua Carlson, Librarian III – Manager, Youth Services
STARFACE by Lava La Rue
Lava La Rue is an innovative, unapologetically themselves, musician and a cofounder of the NINE8 collective in London. STARFACE is Lava La Rue’s debut album. It has a dreamlike sound meant to wake people up that is completely its own.
-Gabi Rodriguez – Librarian I Children’s Services
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