OKelly Memorial Library

Review of the DVD Dolittle starring Robert Downey, Jr., Tom Holland, Salena Gomez, and Michael Sheen Dolittle did little for me.   There you have it.   What more needs to be said?   Much, because this movie was a huge disappointment.   From the time my daughters and I saw the trailer in December we were looking forward to when it would come to the big screen.   Both want to be zoologists when they grow up.   This movie not only has a doctor who “talks to the animals” but has animals, thanks to recent innovations in the technical world, who appear to be talking back to the good doctor.   What better movie for us to take in as a family of future zoologists?   But my two future zoologists gave up on the movie once the novelty of the talking animals wore off.   I was left alone on the couch watching a movie that kept getting increasingly tedious.   I finally turned it off.   Done with the predictable plot.   Done with the overblown acting.   Even done with the precocious, little

Review of/Introduction to the Bible – Part I Welcome to the library known as the bible!   That is one of the first things readers should understand as they approach the bible.   It is not so much a book but a collection of books in which one finds various forms of literature, i.e. narrative, poetry, litany, etc.   My intent in writing this brief review/introduction is to give the reader some tips as they consider entering what I consider to be the most intriguing and inspirational “library” of all time. First when purchasing a bible consider what you want to do with it.   Is it just for reading, study or both?   There are paraphrases of the bible.   These are bibles that have taken an English translation and updated the language in an attempt to make the text more comprehensible.   The prime example of this is The Living Bible which is fine to read but not for study.   For studying the bible you want to use a translation.   Translations have as their source the original Hebrew fo

After being challenged to read this book, because I typically don’t read gruesome books by some known authors that write that type of tale, I actually found myself totally drawn in to the story and unable to put the book down.        It’s about a husband and wife, and what happens to them within a 2-day span of time.  When she is kidnapped, the husband frantically tries to get the ransom that the kidnappers demanded. And quick!  This story has more twists and turns than you can imagine.       I recommend reading “The Husband “ if you like lots of excitement, even if you’re not really a Koontz fan.   By S.M. OKelly Library Associate

Review of the DVD Jumanji: The Next Level starring Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, and Karen Gillan To follow up a hit movie with a satisfying sequel is quite the challenge, but it has been done.   Godfather II was as good and perhaps even better than the original Godfather .   In my estimation the Harry Potter series, books and movies, gets better as it moves from the Sorcerer’s Stone to Deathly Hallows .   And so it is possible.   Though not always successful.   Think of City Slickers and City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly’s Gold .   The key is whether the sequel adds something worthwhile to the narrative of the first.   I didn’t think much of Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle .   For me it was very sophomoric and lacked a good storyline.   It had action.   Yes.   It had sexual inuendo and crude humor.   Of course.   But if all the characters had died by the end of the movie that would have been fine.   I really hadn’t grown to care for any of them.   So why the nee

 Rose, a 14 year old Texan, in self defense kills the man that murdered her grandfather, who has taken care of her since she ran away from foster care.  She is then spirited away to Mexico by the close family friend, Bull Tyler.  There she is taken in by a family she comes to love.  Meanwhile, Bull goes back to Texas to take the blame for the killing, saying he did it in self defense, and was acquitted.    Then 12 years later, Rose kills another man who has killed her Mexican parents and is about to rape and kill her.  A Mexican cartel had moved into her small town killing anyone who stood in their way, including Rose’s family members.  Once more, Rose escapes from the cartel by running across the border back to Texas. She now wants to claim the land left to her by her dead grandfather, all the while hiding from the cartel.     Janet Dailey delivers in this intriguing story of the heroine’s fierce determination to claim what is rightfully hers, and finding a love that is true.  

Review of the DVD Gettysburg starring Tom Berenger, Jeff Daniels, and Martin Sheen As I write this it is Memorial Day and I am thinking of the innumerable men and women who through our two hundred and forty-four year history made the ultimate sacrifice so that we, the American people, might enjoy the many freedoms afforded us by our constitution.   I wanted to bring this home to my two young daughters during this period of “Covid-19 sheltering in place” by having them sit down with their dear, old dad and watch the DVD Gettysburg .   I lost them after the first skirmish, but I really like this DVD.   For me it brings to life one of the most pivotal battles of the Civil War and humanizes that entire conflict. We know the names.   Robert E. Lee.   George Meade.   Longstreet.   Pickett.   Buford.   Hancock.   We have heard of the significant sites.   Little Round Top.   Cemetery Ridge.   Devil’s Den.   But what this movie does more than any book or historical narrative is remind

I’m a big Baldacci fan.  I love the mysteries of his crime novels.  Now, I can honestly say that I also liked his story of love and redemption as two people began overcoming their pasts.  A very touching novel.    Baldacci’s writing style didn’t change, even though the genre changed.  Still as engaging as ever.  A real joy to read this story and I look forward to another.  S. M. OKelly Library Associate

Review of Rebel Yell by S. C. Gwynne The more history one has personally the more interest one takes in it generally.   I have found this to be true for me.   The older I get the more interested I have become in history.   And one of my favorite parts of history is that of the Civil War.   And few things take me more into it than a good biography that delves deeply into the personality of the individual being expounded upon.   Rebel Yell by S. C. Gwynne is one such book. In recent years many of the key figures of the Confederacy, as well as the American Revolution, have been criticized for their compliance, if not out right support, for the institution of slavery, and rightly so.   Slavery was and remains an evil institution, even if for most of history it was an accepted one.   And so why did honorable men like Robert E. Lee and Thomas J. Jackson fight for a Confederacy that intended to sustain such an evil?   Rebel Yell does not provide a direct answer to that perplexity f

Review of Martin Luther: The Man Who Rediscovered God and Changed the World by Eric Metaxas In 2017 Lutheran churches around the globe celebrated the 500 th anniversary of the posting of Martin Luther’s 95 theses to the door of the Wittenberg chapel that ignited one of the epoch moments in world history, the Reformation.    Understandably there was a plethora of books and other material that came out not-coincidentally with that celebration.   One such volume was a biography of Martin Luther himself authored by the noted radio and TV personality, Eric Metaxas, entitled Martin Luther: The Man Who Rediscovered God and Changed the World .   The “rediscovered God” part is certainly debatable, but without a doubt the man and the movement he fostered certainly changed the world.   In 2000 Time magazine recognized Luther as one of the most consequential figures of the last millennium.   That in itself is reason enough for anyone to become acquainted with the life and times of this 16

Book Review "Running Scared" by Lisa Jackson Another book you can get from our digital source RB digital. This book was a fast paced exciting thriller. It is about a young woman that takes on an unusual adoption. Years later she has to deal with a powerful family and a mystery man that are looking for the child now who is a teenager. Lots of twists in the story that keeps you wanting to finish this story. I recommend the book. RV O'Kelly Staffer

Book Review. “The Gospel According to Jesus “ by John MacArthur” This book is for anyone who wants to have a more insightful understanding of the gospel. I delved into things that I hadn’t thought about before pertaining to Jesus’ teachings.   A powerful message for me and I would certainly recommend it to others who want a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ.  A definite thumbs up in my opinion. Accolades to the author.  S.M. OKelly Staff