On the Shelf

Header Right Social

FacebookInstagramYoutubeMeetupOn the Shelf Blog

Header Right Search

Music

Hearts Beat Loud

by Leave a Comment

Hearts Beat Loud
Format: Digital Movie, DVD, Blu-ray
Who it’s for: Adults, Teens

If you like feel-good movies, about fathers and daughters, with great soundtracks, well, I’ve got a film for you:

Hearts Beat Loud stars Nick Offerman as Frank, and Kiersey Clemons as his daughter Sam. Frank and Sam’s mother were musicians. She died when Sam was little, and Frank never re-married. He’s been running a record shop for 17 years, but things are going to have to change. Sam is heading across the country soon, to pursue her dream of studying to become a doctor, and the record shop won’t support her out-of-state pre-med tuition.

Frank and Sam have regular jam sessions, and one night they play a song Sam has written, about her budding summer romance, which Frank records, and uploads to Spotify on a whim. To their surprise, the song becomes a hit, and the opportunity to pursue a career in music opens up to Sam and Frank. Frank has fantasies of their daddy-daughter-duo sweeping the indie rock scene, while Sam is firm about going to school, despite developing strong feelings for her new love. What will they do?

I thought Hearts Beat Loud was really sweet, and just what I needed to escape the complicated world we find ourselves in, just for a few hours. Offerman and Clemons have great chemistry, and the movie also features entertaining performances from Toni Collette as Frank’s landlady, and Ted Danson as his bar-owning best friend. This intergenerational story may also be a good movie for parents to share with their older children (it’s rated PG-13). Put the DVD or Blu-ray on hold, or stream it via Hoopla today!

Warmer in the Winter

by Leave a Comment

Warmer In The Winter by Lindsey Stirling
Format:  Music
Who it’s for:  Everyone

I love Lindsey Stirling’s music, but I especially love her holiday album, Warmer in the Winter.  You will recognize a lot of old favorites like Carol of the Bells, Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy and Jingle Bell Rock.  All songs are played in Lindsey’s signature violin style.  This is the perfect music to listen to while wrapping gifts, snuggling under a blanket, while reading a book, in the car or anywhere!

Some of us are struggling to read during this COVID-19 pandemic.  If you need an uplifting and pretty way to get into the holiday spirit, check out this holiday album on Hoopla. Happy Holidays!

Find it on hoopla digital.

Daisy Jones & The Six

by Leave a Comment

Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Format: Full cast digital audiobook
Who it’s for: Adults

“Daisy Jones & The Six” is a fictional story about a rock band in the mid-sixties-seventies. The audiobook includes a full cast ensemble and it did not disappoint. Taylor Jenkins Reid does a fantastic job of making the listener think they are reading non-fiction. The structure of this book is incredible. It is written in interview format, minus the questions. Each beloved character takes part talking about Daisy Jones and how she joins the rock band The Six. We get into the personal and professional lives of these characters, the rise and fall of the band, love, drug addiction, cheating, friendship and forgiveness. The book has an amazing but subtle twist that made me go search for her other books in our catalog.

Find it in the catalog

The Happy Ever After Playlist

by Leave a Comment

The Happy Every After Playlist by Abby Jimenez
Who it’s for: Adults
Format: eBook

After two years of grieving for her fiancé, Sloan finds a lost dog that steals her heart.  Sloan tries to contact Tucker’s owner with no luck, so she is hopeful that she will get to keep him.  Unfortunately, just when she thinks Tucker is hers to keep, his owner, Jason, contacts her and he definitely wants his dog back.  Jason is on a music tour in Australia and so the two decide that Sloan will keep Tucker until his return.  A long distance romance starts to develop between them.

When Jason returns, they quickly develop a relationship.  However, is Sloan ready to give her heart to another after losing her fiancé?  With Jason’s music career taking off, will they be able to stick together while he is on tour?

This was a fun, flirty romance with lots of heart.  A great escape during quarantine.  This is a standalone romance, but you may want to read about Sloan’s friend, Kristen, first in, The Friend Zone. 

Find the eBook of The Happy Ever After Playlist on Overdrive/Libby and The Friend Zone on Overdrive/Libby.

The Wicked + The Divine

by Leave a Comment

The Wicked + The Divine
Format: eBook, Book
Who it’s for: Adults

The Wicked + The Divine takes place in a world much like the one we are familiar with, but with a unique twist: Every ninety years, a phenomenon called the Recurrence takes place, and 12 deities – gods and goddesses – incarnate the bodies of young people, imbuing them with supernatural powers. For two years these members of the “Pantheon” use their powers to create superhuman art, inventions, and inspiration. They are loved and hated. Then they die. And it’s happening again.

It’s the 2010’s, and our gateway to the Pantheon is Laura, a “fangirl.” Laura adores the Pantheon and would do anything to be among them. She attends a deity’s performance, gets to meet some, befriends one, and is then swept up into a vast conspiracy involving the all the gods, the mysterious person who discovers/awakens them, and the truth behind the Recurrence and what causes it.

The Wicked + The Divine is a story about life and death. It’s a story about music and how it can speak to us and through us. It’s a story about the desire to create, and how consuming that drive can be. It’s a story about the cult of celebrity: how we worship them, or attempt to “cancel” them. (The Pantheon are the ultimate stars; they even bare resemblance to pop music icons to reinforce this idea.)

If you like mythology, music, and mystery, check out the graphic novel series The Wicked + The Divine, starting with Vol. 1 The Faust Act. We have the complete series at the library, and digitally via Hoopla. See it in our catalog.

Another Run Around The Sun

by Leave a Comment

Another Run Around The Sun by Ben Taylor
Format: Digital Music
Who it’s for: Teens, Adults

If summer has you ready to unwind with peaceful melodies, Ben Taylor’s Another Run Around The Sun is one you’ll want to check out. His soothing vocals and acoustic guitar require little of listeners but if one wishes to pay more attention, Taylor’s lyrics are pure poetry.

From the song, Digest:

Now times change & the game plays on
And the truth remains but the rules have all gone wrong
Life rises, now here we are
Still looking for the place where we belong

No worries – the songs aren’t all wistful.

From the song, You Must’ve Fallen

And through the absence of light I can hear you enchant in the night so
It’s perfectly clear that I got nothing to lose and nothing to fear and
I got nothing to do except want to want be near

If you’re still on the fence, let me add one more thing to consider. Ben Taylor, while an extraordinary singer/songwriter in his own right, is the son of music royalty, Carly Simon and James Taylor. You will undoubtedly recognize the similarity of his voice with his father’s. If you are a fan of either parent (or both) you’ll enjoy Ben Taylor’s music. Find it on hoopla digital