By Jenna Renaud

Happy Friday, Wildcats! After a year off, Falvey Memorial Library is bringing back Weekend Recs, a blog dedicated to filling you in on what to read, listen to, and watch over the weekend. Jenna, a graduate assistant from the Communication department, scours the internet, peruses the news, and digs through book stacks to find new, relevant, and thought-provoking content that will challenge you and prepare you for the upcoming week. 

Whether it’s because I finally invested in a new iMac after a decade or I’m still mourning the predictable, yet still upsetting death of BlackBerry phones, technology has been top of mind lately. It seems like every day there’s talk of the latest technology trend catching on and spreading like wildfire. For this weekend, I’ve compiled recs to help you keep up with the latest technology news, whether you have 3 minutes or 4 hours. 

If you have 3 minutes… watch this video about the Icelandverse. We’ve all heard about the Metaverse, but have you heard about the Icelandverse? This Icelandic tourism ad pokes fun at Zuckerburg’s Metaverse video and does a good job at making viewers want to book a trip to the real Iceland. 

If you have 5 minutes… get an overview of everything going on regarding the 5G upgrades taking place nationwide and why airports and the FAA aren’t too happy about it. 

If you have 8 minutes… read predictions about 2022 being the year of the smart house and what technological developments we can expect to see in the home. 

If you have 2 hours and 20 minutes… watch Ready Player One on Hulu. Ready Player One is based on the 2011 science fiction novel by Ernest Cline. The story takes place in 2045 where people escape the world by entering into the virtual reality entertainment universe, OASIS. If you haven’t yet seen this movie, it’s definitely worth a watch! 

If you have 4 hours and 30 minutes… read Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. Arguably one of the greatest dystopian novels of all time, Brave New World takes place in a world where technology has taken the place of some of humanity’s most important traditions and purposes. Despite being written in 1931, Huxley’s novel is still incredibly relevant and thought-provoking today.  

Jenna Renaud is a Graduate Assistant in Falvey Memorial Library and a Graduate Student in the Communication Department.

By Jenna Renaud

Happy Friday, Wildcats! After a year off, Falvey Memorial Library is bringing back Weekend Recs, a blog dedicated to filling you in on what to read, listen to, and watch over the weekend. Jenna, a graduate assistant from the Communication department, scours the internet, peruses the news, and digs through book stacks to find new, relevant, and thought-provoking content that will challenge you and prepare you for the upcoming week. 

Whether you have accepted it (or are still in denial like I am) finals are upon us, and the Holidays somehow seem farther away than they did last week. This week I’m sharing recs that help you stay in the know about what’s going on in the world, but also will help you relax and crush the end of the semester. So take a deep breath and add some news reading and stress-buster activities into your weekend.  

If you have 3 minutes… download a mindfulness app like “Insight Timer” or “Headspace” to clear your head and re-center your focus.  

BONUS WEEKDAY REC: On Monday, Dec. 13, attend Mindfulness Monday via Zoom from 1–1:30 p.m. More information and the link can be found here. 

If you have 5 minutes… read The Skimm’s daily newsletter from Thursday that breaks down everything from the Daunte Wright trials to the Beijing Olympics to the latest on the omicron variant. Their quick daily newsletters will help you stay in the know, so the world doesn’t seem entirely different when you emerge from finals in a week. 

If you have 1 hour… and are near Falvey from 4–5 p.m. Friday evening, stop by Room 205 for the Stress-Free Healthy Happy Hour event. Take a break from studying and join in for an hour of pet therapy, giveaways, and stress-reducing activities. Learn more here. 

If you have 1 hour and 3 minutes… listen to the Little Women movie soundtrack on Spotify while you study. It’s one of my go-to focus and study albums! 

If you have 1 hour and 39 minutes… go see Encanto, Disney’s newest animated film that features music by Hamilton’s Lin-Manuel Miranda. Relax watching a Disney movie with great music!  

Jenna Renaud is a Graduate Assistant in Falvey Memorial Library and a Graduate Student in the Communication Department.

Happy Friday, Wildcats! After a year off, Falvey Memorial Library is bringing back Weekend Recs, a blog dedicated to filling you in on what to read, listen to, and watch over the weekend. Jenna, a graduate assistant from the Communication department, scours the internet, peruses the news, and digs through book stacks to find new, relevant, and thought-provoking content that will challenge you and prepare you for the upcoming week. 

If you’ve read anything in the news this week you probably noticed that Facebook has been under fire. Also, Facebook was down for about SIX HOURS on Monday, as well as Facebook’s other social holdings, Instagram and WhatsApp. What was that about? If you want to catch-up on everything going on in the Facebook and social media world, check out these recs. 

If you have 1 minute… follow Falvey Memorial Library on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to keep up with all our updates! 

If you have 2 minutes… Read the first half of this article from The Skimm that gives the highlights on Facebook’s whistleblower and the leaked findings regarding Facebook, Instagram, and teens’ mental health.   

If you have 5 minutes… Read this article from NPR about the Facebook outage on Monday. Also, you can read Zuckerberg’s full statement here. 

If you 1 hour and 34 minutes… Watch the Social Dilemma on Netflix to learn about the potentially dangerous impact of social networking. 

If you have 2 hours… Watch The Social Network on Amazon Prime to learn about Mark Zuckerberg and the founding of Facebook. 

If you have at least 8 hours and 30 minutes… Read App Kid by Michael Sayman, the story of one of Silicon Valley’s youngest entrepreneurs–a second-generation Latino immigrant.   

Jenna Renaud is a graduate student in the Communication Department and graduate assistant in Falvey Memorial Library.

Happy Friday, Wildcats! After a year off, Falvey Memorial Library is bringing back Weekend Recs, a blog dedicated to filling you in on what to read, listen to, and watch over the weekend. Jenna, a graduate assistant from the Communication department, scours the internet, peruses the news, and digs through book stacks to find new, relevant, and thought-provoking content that will challenge you and prepare you for the upcoming week. 

Fall is my ABSOLUTE favorite season, and I have a feeling that a good number of you would agree! Even though we’re a little over a week into the season, the weather has started to drop and I’m seeing more sweaters and flannels popping up around campus. In honor of the BEST season’s arrival – here’s a list of recs to get you in the fall spirit.  

If you have 7 minutes… read this article from PureWow about the best fall Starbucks drinks you can order, both hot and cold! 

If you have 45 minutes… watch an episode (or 10) of Gilmore Girls on Netflix. This feel-good show fits into the fall season perfectly and is a good way to relieve stress before, during, and after midterms. 

If you have 2 hours and 20 minutes… watch Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone on HBO Max. Why does Harry Potter feel like a non-negotiable when fall rolls around? I’m not sure, but I’m not complaining! 

If you have a day… visit Linvilla Orchards! A quick 20-minute drive away from campus, Linvilla Orchards offers all of your classic fall activities from apple picking and a pumpkin patch to corn mazes and hayrides. 

If you have all weekend (or approximately 15 hours)… read The 7 ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton. This murder/mystery novel sets the tone perfectly for fall and Halloween just around the corner. The book is available through Inter-Library Loan. 

Jenna Renaud is a graduate student in the Communication Department and graduate assistant in Falvey Memorial Library.

By Susan Turkel

Have you watched everything on Netflix? Are you done with Amazon Prime and Hulu? Are you ready for something different? The Library can help!

Falvey Memorial Library provides the Villanova community with access to thousands of videos via our streaming subscriptions. We have an online guide —  Streaming Video at Falvey — that will help you get started in your cinematic explorations.

Read on for a taste of the resources and films that are available to you.

Theater on Video

Theater fans will enjoy viewing a variety of filmed stage performances. On the Boards features contemporary works by both international and U.S.-based artists in dance, theater, music, and more. BBC Shakespeare Plays and the Royal Shakespeare Company Collection offer many interpretations of classic works by the Bard. Broadway HD features filmed productions from the iconic theater capital of the United States.

UK-based Digital Theatre+ includes a wide variety of filmed performances, from 21st century pieces by Eclipse Theatre (the UK’s leading Black-led national touring company) to works by Henrik Ibsen, Arthur Miller, and Sophocles. A highlight of Digital Theatre+ is the National Theatre Collection, which includes high quality recordings never previously seen outside of the NT’s Archive. 

Feature Films and Documentaries on AVON

Not into theater? There is something for everyone in Academic Video Online (AVON). Despite its name, AVON offers award-winning dramas, love stories, animated films, and comedies, as well as gripping documentaries. Search by title, actor name, director, or keyword to get started. 

Two excellent collections within AVON are Sony Pictures Classics, mainly for feature films and foreign films, and Film Platform, mostly for documentaries from the U.S. and around the world. See below for a selection of their offerings.

More Great Films on Swank and Kanopy

Packages like AVON are a grab bag; Villanova has no control over which films we can offer you on their platform. The Library also licenses individual films based on faculty requests, for use in specific courses. Once we’ve licensed the film, we are able to offer access via the library catalog to anyone at Villanova for your individual viewing enjoyment. 

These films can be found on two platforms: Kanopy and Swank. There are many great films available to the Villanova community on these platforms in a variety of genres.

Our current Kanopy list includes many foreign films and documentaries, including Rashomon, Stonewall Uprising, YI YI, and Paris is Burning.

You’ll find more popular, “big screen” films on Swank, including Get Out, Black Panther, Dallas Buyers Club, and The Silence of the Lambs.

All of these licenses are limited-term; you’ll see the end date near the access link in the library catalog.

Falvey is happy to help keep you entertained this summer. Pop your popcorn, fluff up your pillows, and settle in for a night at the movies! 

Susan Turkel, MA, MLS, is a Social Sciences Librarian at Falvey Memorial Library.

With winter seeming never-ending and spring still feeling like a far-off dream, it’s time to make a new list of movies and TV shows to watch. Below is a list of five books that have been adapted into TV series or movies for 2021. Many of these books are in Falvey’s collection. If you’re like me, you’ll need to read the book before you watch the movie!

Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah

Platform: Netflix

Release Date: OUT NOW – Feb 1, 2021

The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga

Platform: Netflix

Release Date: OUT NOW – Jan 22, 2021

The Dig by John Preston

Platform: Netflix

Release Date: OUT NOW – Jan 15, 2021

Chasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs by Johann Hari

Movie Title: The United States vs. Billie Holiday

Platform: Hulu

Release Date: Feb 26, 2021

Cherry by Nico Walker

Platform: Apple TV+

Release Date: Mar 12, 2021

Jenna Newman is a graduate assistant in Falvey Memorial Library and a graduate student in the Communication Department.

By Allie Reczek

Welcome to Falvey’s Flick or Flip? My name is Allie Reczek, and I am a sophomore undergrad and student worker in the Library. For this blog, I will pick a book that has been turned into a movie, and argue which I thought was better.

Welcome back to Falvey Flips or Flicks!

This week, I will be discussing Atonement, by Ian McEwan, published in 2001. This novel first takes place in 1935 England, later fast-forwarding to 1940 during World War II, and then decades later for the epilogue.

This book tells the story of Briony Tallis, a 13-year-old girl, her older sister, Cecilia, and Robbie Turner, the family gardener and Cecilia’s secret lover. With a misunderstanding that spirals out of control, Briony becomes the instigator for a lie that results in the imprisonment of Robbie. This puts an end to his relationship with Cecilia, resulting in a deep hatred that leaves Cecilia in such anguish that she refuses to speak to Briony ever again, unable to forgive her for her false accusations.

For the entirety of the novel, readers follow Briony’s life as she grows up, where she realizes the mistake she made in her adolescence and sets out to make matters right. Later on, we find out that Briony “wrote” this book as a way to atone for her faults, yet it is not published until it is too late and nothing can be fixed. 

The movie adaptation, directed by Joe Wright and released in 2007, parallels the novel with some minor changes. 

After reading the book and watching the movie, I feel that the movie best told this romance/war story. The novel I found to be rather dry, delving too far into unnecessary details, such as the position of the grass in the garden and the design on a vase. It took a large part of the book to truly get into the plot and reach the climax, whereas the movie keeps viewers engaged and wanting more.

Additionally, I feel that with a war story such as this one, it is more meaningful and impactful to see the characters and their struggles as opposed to reading it, which can leave significant moments open to interpretation.

However, whether you have just a few hours or a couple of days to spare, Atonement tells an unforgettable story that teaches us the hard truth that sometimes it is too late to apologize for our actions. 

SO… FLICK OR FLIP?

FLICK!

Hi! My name is Allie Reczek, and I am a sophomore Psychology Major. I work as a Marketing and Communication Assistant in Falvey. Hope you enjoy this blog! Which flips or flicks should I debate in the future? Message @villanovalibrary on Instagram or tweet us @FalveyLibrary!