Grab a cup of tea and get ready to enjoy an afternoon with these fabulous British dramas available now on Hoopla. With Hoopla, you can watch up to 10 programs a month!
It’s the end of an era as Agatha Christie’s brilliant and beloved Hercule Poirot investigates his final cases. The persnickety sleuth, played to perfection by David Suchet, relies on his “little grey cells” and help from his friends Captain Hastings (Hugh Fraser) and Miss Lemon (Pauline Moran) to solve the most intricate mysteries of the Art Deco era.
Set in the 1950s, this series is a moving and intimate insight into the colorful world of midwifery and family life in London’s East End. We are introduced to the local community through the eyes of young nurse Jenny Lee as she lives and works as a midwife alongside the Nuns of the Order of St. Raymond of Nonnatus.
When the battered body of a French student is found on Twickenham Green in London, hardworking and humble DCI Colin Sutton (Doc Martin’s Martin Clunes) is appointed the lead detective on his first big case. Despite objections from his superiors, Sutton believes the young woman’s murder may be connected to a previous attack and embarks on a quest to catch a serial killer.
This week, we’re highlighting Asian American & Pacific Islander Voices in the Young Adult Fiction genre. YA can be enjoyed by anyone, not just teens. We hope that you enjoy these picks!
by Rashida Snowden, Pratt Library Office Assistant
“I never wanted this to happen, but now you have to learn the other part of being a Hulk. The part where the people you fight to protect sometimes fear and hate you. And it’s the hardest part because sometimes to protect what you love, you have to walk away from it.”
I was recently questioned about the green goddess that is on my coffee tumbler that I carry to work on a regular basis. Jennifer Walters, attorney at law. What’s her story? How does it connect to me? Were I to give you every detail, this could take a while and potentially not get to the end of this blog. Let’s start at the beginning, shall we?
My initial introduction to She-Hulk was in the 80’s. It wasn’t as easy to fly your geek flag back then. If one gave any inkling that there were comic books stacked at home or that you read for pleasure, not duty, life could become quite difficult. In many ways, it didn’t make a difference to me because I was already an isolated, socially awkward child. I don’t want to paint myself as a hermit who loomed in the darkness and only crawled out for nourishment and bathroom breaks. I had a wonderful childhood in some ways. I still remember Summers and weekends fondly, exploring the outdoors with my friends (yes, there were a few), Saturday morning cartoons and Kung Fu theater. Books were fond friends. They gave me adventures and experiences beyond my own and created in me an excitement for the future.
TheSavage She-Hulk by David Kraft and Stan Lee eBook
Then came the joy and the girl power of the Savage She-Hulk #1 comic. I was very familiar with the Incredible Hulk by then, and watched Bixby and Ferrigno faithfully, but THIS!!!!! I cannot give an accurate count of how many times I read that comic. What grabbed me from the pages was this woman, who was different in many of the same ways that I am, could be so fierce and powerful. There was the bookworm Jen, who would spend her time in libraries and hide overnight. I never would have had the nerve to do such a thing, but it would have been nice. The transformation from tame, to a bold, unapologetic and self assured green woman made me want to be more. It made me not want to hide everything that was great inside of me. Here I am, black (not green) and somehow that difference is an obstacle. I may as well have been green some days. It creates fear and loathing in others who may not even know why they fear or what it is that they fear.
My first comic book was a Christian publication about the crucifixion. Needless to say, it was pretty hardcore for a beginner. I read through those pages until the binding came undone and the pages scattered. My fascination was not in the words alone, but the imagery. I could spend hours pouring through the pages of comic books. On Sundays, I would take The Baltimore Sun newspaper and clip out my favorite comic strips to save and revisit as many times ad I’d wish.
I, as an army of one could never fight that masses perception of who I am, but here I am being all great and all magic and all shining and all bright. The act of being and the act of becoming is far greater that the act of thinking and the act of judging through a defective and smudged lens. As others judge, let us be great and move great. There is no denial in the evidence that our tracks will leave by just being our great and different and effective selves.
Jen (a.k.a She-Hul, a.k.a Shulkie), in tumbler form is my daily reminder that I am empowered. A reminder that in my flaws, lies beauty and healing in a world that seems so dark. You and me, all of us are out here just being the light, being change, and bringing something different to this stale narrative. What’s your reminder?
If you are looking for drama, Hoopla has you covered with their collection of Lifetime films. From compelling biopics to thrilling mysteries, there’s plenty to watch. Take a look at what’s new to the Lifetime collection now!
To everyone it seems Jade has it all… a successful marketing career, a husband admired and respected by the community, and a young daughter they both dote on. But behind closed doors, Jade’s life is far from idyllic. Her model citizen husband Ed is actually a controlling, sadistic man, who is physically and psychologically abusive.
Wendy Williams made herself a household name with her larger-than-life personality and her ring-mastering of celebrity drama, even engineering delicious celebrity beefs in her quest to get to the bottom of a great scoop. Recently, the spotlight has turned toward her, and this authorized movie gives Wendy a chance to go back and tell her own story.
When outgoing Karen, her husband Scott and their son relocate to Washington for Scott’s job, Karen looks forward to starting a new life. She soon meets Lisa, her charming neighbor, and the 2 women bond. But Lisa cleverly sets herself up as Karen’s victim, until every aspect of Karen’s new life starts to unravel and she doesn’t realize how desperate Lisa is-until things come to a shocking head.
The authorized musical of incomparable gospel singers, The Clark Sisters, recounts the story of the highest selling female gospel group in history and their trailblazing mother, Mattie Moss Clark.
Don’t forget you can download up to 10 e-materials each month with Hoopla. That means you can have eBooks, music, movies, and television episodes ready to enjoy with just a few quick clicks!
For Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, we’re spotlighting one of our favorite authors in the contemporary romance genre, Alisha Rai. If you are looking to fall for a new book, look no further than Rai’s Modern Love series. Complex yet funny, and with a diverse cast of characters, they are great books to enjoy!
In this sizzling novel, two rival dating app creators find themselves at odds in the boardroom but in sync in the bedroom. Rhiannon Hunter may have revolutionized romance in the digital world, but in real life she only swipes right on her career. The cynical dating app creator controls her love life with a few key rules until she meets her newest match, former pro-football player Samson Lima.
One minute, Katrina King’s enjoying an innocent conversation with a random guy at a coffee shop; the next, a stranger has live-tweeted the entire encounter with a romantic meet-cute spin and #CafeBae has the world swooning. Read about a reclusive investor who goes viral, shoving her into the world’s spotlight—and into the arms of the bodyguard she’s been pining for.
Beauty expert and influencer Jia Ahmed has her eye on the prize: conquering the internet today, the entire makeup industry tomorrow. She has little time for love, and even less time for the men in her private messages—until the day a certain international superstar slides into her DMs, and she falls hard and fast. There’s just one wrinkle: he has no idea who she is.
