What is art house cinema? Picture a small, independent theater. In your mind’s eye, you’re probably not imagining the latest action movie or Summer blockbuster on the marquee. Instead, you may envision foreign, independent, or art films not intended for the mass-market. Many films that started out in art houses are now found in the collection at Mechanics’ Institute. Below are staff recommendations from the 2nd Floor DVD and Blu-ray display.
Heather says:
I’m still pining for...
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BOOKS
FICTION
Craig Cliff The mannequin makers
Patrick Modiano After the circus
Mihail Sebastian For two thousand years
Historical Fiction
Alyssa Cole An extraordinary union...
BOOKS
FICTION
Jojo Moyes The horse dancer
Historical Fiction
Jon Foyt The gilded chateau: World War II's 5th Suit: financing the Nazis, rogue bankers playing bridge in Chateau Rougemont
Mystery, Suspense, Espionage & Intrigue
Sue Ann Jaffarian...
BOOKS
FICTION
Sybille Bedford A legacy
Felicity Hayes-McCoy The library at the edge of the world
László Krasznahorkai The world goes on
Cree LeFavour Lights on, rats out
Pascal Mercier...
When cold weather sets in, we're compelled to bundle up in warm blankets with a hot drink and a good story. The wintry tales in this month's audiobook selections will leave your hands free to decorate the Christmas tree, sip hot chocolate or bake gingerbread people.
Mike Cunningham The Snow Queen
David Guterson Snow Falling on Cedars also available...
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BOOKS
FICTION
Sara Baume Spill simmer falter wither
Mystery, Suspense, Espionage & Intrigue
Casey Barrett Under water
Harry Dolan The man in the crooked hat
Maureen Jennings ...
Winter is coming.
Well, a little.
Here in San Francisco we don't get the dramatic winters of up north or back east, but around this time of year I start wearing my heavy jacket, reaching for my wool socks, and putting on a hat before I walk home at night. In the publishing world, holiday-themed books start showing up around this time of year – including all those fun holiday mystery novels. In the spirit of the season, this month at the Mechanics' Institute we're featuring boo...
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Although most people probably don’t think of comics as a particularly experimental art form, I believe that it is one of the best mediums for the unusual, the surreal, the existential, or the absurd. Comics' unique combination of visuals and text lends itself well for a wide range of stylistic and storytelling possibilities, and has much more to offer than superheroes or pugnacious lasagna-loving-cats. There's a whole world out there of comic artists/authors trying new things and pushing the...
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The Mechanics' Institute Library has just received a donation of the be-all-and-end-all of English dictionaries, the Oxford English Dictionary. Yes, we already had a copy, as virtually every library does. But this isn’t just any copy – it’s the Compact Edition of The Oxford English Dictionary (2nd Edition), which reduces the entire 20 volume set into just a single volume. This particular volume dates back to 1996.
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