TitleTales

World Cup Mania: by Kathryn Lynip

Adult Special Topics—5/14/10
I don’t know about any of the rest of you, but I have already been gearing up for this year’s World Cup play by buying myself a Team Brazil shirt that I wear at every opportunity (thanks Target!) and expanding my cable package so that I have ESPN at least for the summer. I am delighted that soccer is finally starting to catch on in all corners of America. It is about time. I grew up overseas and football has always had two meanings for me. I hope that I will begin to see soccer-themed displays going up in the libraries I visit. Chances are that there are fans in your community too. Here are some ideas for titles to display. There are several great World Cup guides coming out such as: The World Cup by Terry Crouch, The World Cup’s Strangest Moments by Peter Seddon and DK’s The Soccer Book which is being revised to include this year’s results. ESPNs World Cup Companion has fantastic pictures and a brief history of the games and some of the greatest moments and players over the last 80 years. There are two recent soccer memoirs about teams that have enlarged hearts and joined communities together, Outcasts United and The Boys from Little Mexico. For the next generation there is an Elmo boardbook called Be a Soccer Player! and Matt Christopher’s Legendary Sports Events has World Cup coming out this June.

• Browse our World Cup Mania list

Favorite Summer Films: by Erin Stachowiak

A/V Special Topics—05/14/10
I’m looking forward to summer. Where I’m from, we’ve only had a glimpse so far, nothing concrete. One day it’s 75 degrees and the next it’s 45 and rainy. Agonizing anticipation takes over as the farmers begin to till their fields and the corn begins to sprout. To help me get through some of the colder days of spring, I reach for the films and concert DVDs that remind me of summer.

Some of my favorite films of all time are set in the summer sun and heat. Caddyshack, Jaws, The Long, Hot Summer, Meatballs, One Crazy Summer and Summer of Sam are all on my list of Favorite Summer Films. I watch them every year and you can bet I watch them more than once!

Even before we hit 70+ temperatures, I start checking who is playing at the summer music festivals. There are well known artists that tour every summer, like Jimmy Buffett and Kenny Chesney. Or, think of the unknown bands that you can discover at an outdoor festival. You can travel to Reading, Bonnaroo or Lollapalooza, maybe you can experience a free summer concert somewhere near your home, or pop in a DVD of popular performances to bring the festival into your living room.

What films and festivals remind you of summer?

• Browse our DVD: Summer Favorites list

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