The Book Nook

By Ben Lathrop, Hyde Park Library

Library News

Books by the Banks

The 19^th annual Books by the Banks Cincinnati Regional Book Festival returns Saturday, November 14, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Downtown Main Library. The festival, which is free and open to the public, features national, regional and local authors and illustrators; book signings; panel discussions; and activities for the entire family to enjoy. Full details can be found at booksbythebanks.org.

Fountain Lighting & Storytime on the Square

Join us Saturday, November 21 at 5 p.m. for a special holiday storytime in Hyde Park Square, then stay to see the annual lighting of the Kilgour Fountain!

Coming Soon

You tell me! What kinds of events, classes and services would you like to take advantage of at the library? Stop in and let us know, or send us an email at hydepark@chpl.org!

Ben’s Bookshelf

I recently binge-watched the first season of The Shards, which plays more like a salacious teen drama than the mystery/thriller by Bret Easton Elis that it’s based on, but I still enjoyed it quite a bit. The show does a great job replicating early ‘80s glamour and has some excellent music cues. The main character, Brett, is a fictionalized version of the author, and his real-life first novel, Less Than Zero comes up frequently in the plot. So frequently that I got the Elvis Costello song stuck in my head for a few days and felt compelled to get my hands on the book. There’s not a strong plot, but the writing precisely captures a very specific slice of life, like a time capsule of broody teenage angst and outrageous excess.

It’s an interesting pairing with another book inspired by a recent viewing: The Mao Game by former child actor Joshua Miller. I looked up Miller after being floored by his performance in The River’s Edge and discovered that later in life he’d earned an MFA from the University of Iowa (my alma mater) and had written this semi-biographical novel. It’s an intense story of growing up too fast in Hollywood that travels many of the same roads as Elis does, but with a much less detached style.

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