Westerly Sun Column | Bored This Week? We Can Keep You Busy.

The last week of December – the days between the holidays and the new year –  always feels a bit like being in limbo. If you’re looking to stay busy, but have no urge to be productive, our staff have come through with a list of their favorite books and movies that came out in 2022.

We’ve all been very busy with TV this year, and there were way too many to mention. Our bookkeeper, Sara, loves dark comedies like “Dead to Me”, “Righteous Gemstones”, and “Hacks”. Children’s Associate Stevie is a fan of “Abbott Academy”, the acclaimed mockumentary sitcom about elementary school teachers in Philadelphia; if you or a loved one are an educator, you’ll likely find extra pleasure in it. Several of us have been obsessing over the anthology series “White Lotus”, an immensely enjoyable social satire following privileged guests at vacation resorts in Hawaii and Italy. Graphic novels and their television counterpoints have been popular as well – Tim in Technology enjoyed the “Sandman” series on Netflix, which was based on the comic series by Neil Gaiman, and Sara recommended
“Umbrella Academy”, a superman series based on the comics by Gerard Way. If you need more superhero recommendations, Bill, our Assistant Director, enjoyed the free web comic series called “X-Men Elsewhen” which picks up where author John Byrne left off back in 1980. A few other series that were mentioned are “The Crown”, “The Serpent Queen”, “Love is Blind”, “Peaky Blinders”, and “All Creatures Great and Small”. For many of these, the newest seasons have yet to come out on DVD, but you can check out the earlier seasons at the library.
For movies, “Marcel the Shell with Shoes On” and “Spirited” are great for all age groups and comedies like “Everything Everywhere All at Once” and “Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris” will keep you laughing (as they did for Bill and Gina)! Keara recommends the tragicomedy “The Banshees of Inisherin”, and Colleen and Amanda enjoyed mysteries like “Death on the Nile” and See How They Run”. There’s something for everyone!

Of course, plenty of favorite books were mentioned as well. In Circulation, Marilyn enjoyed “Horse” by Geraldine Brooks, Keely highlighted “A Place in the World: Finding the Meaning of Home” by Frances Mayes, and Meghan recommends “They Never Learn” by Layne Fargo. Our Outreach Coordinator, Amanda, loved “Beautiful Little Fools”, author Jillian Cantors’ reimaging of “The Great Gatsby”. Executive Director Brigitte was excited to read “Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance” by Alison Espach, who teaches creative writing at Providence College! If you listen to audiobooks, Stacey suggests Molly Shannon’s memoir “Hey, Molly!”, which is read by the author, and if you have little ones at home you should absolutely check out “Peanut Goes for the Gold” by Jonathan Van Ness.

Again, you can check out most of these through our library or consortium. While you’re here, give us some of your own recommendations, especially for items we don’t already own!

By Cassie Skobrak, Adult Services Librarian