Books, Movies, and Music

View this item in the catalog.

Meet Flavia de Luce, a bright and devious eleven-year-old; often left to her own devices, she is an amateur chemist and avid student of poisons. Set at Buckshaw, the crumbling family house, in England in the 1950s, Flavia is intrigued rather than horrified when murder occurs nearby, and throws herself into the investigation with gusto. Being a mystery, the novel is plot-driven, but Flavia is a highly amusing character (though rather more capable, observant, and self-aware than most real-life eleven-year-olds). This is the first in a series of four (so far) mysteries in which Flavia stars, and if you like this one, you’ll almost certainly enjoy the rest: The Weed That Strings the Hangman’s Bag, A Red Herring Without Mustard, and I Am Half-Sick of Shadows.

The HBO series Treme is set in post-Katrina New Orleans. The show focuses on how residents are coping with the aftermath of the storm and the difficulties they face from destroyed homes, lack of basic utilities and city services that are in disarray.  The characters represent a wide cross-section of the population and provide an interesting tableau.  It may take a few episodes to get a feel for the many characters but the time spent is well worth it.  In all the episodes there is music and plenty of it. If you enjoy the sounds of New Orleans jazz and funk, this show will not disappoint.  The show’s creators first worked together on the hit series The Wire and many actors from that series appear in Treme.