Tag Archives: movie recommendations

All the World’s a Stage: Celebrating International Theater Day

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International Theater Day was established on March 27th, 1961 by the UNESCO International Theatre Institute (ITI). On this day, various national and international theatre events take place, including a circulation of the World Theatre Day International Message. At the invitation of the ITI, a notable figure will share their reflections on ‘the theme of Theatre and a Culture of Peace’, which is then translated into more than 20 languages.

This year’s author of the message is Jon Fosse, a Norwegian writer and playwright, who you can read about here. Of his works, we have his Septology in our catalogue, ready for you to borrow and delve into.

My theater experience is limited to a production of Anastasia at the Elgin and Winter Garden Theatre a few years back (it was delightful and magical!) and constantly foiled attempts to see Matilda the Musical (the tickets sold out so fast).

Every year I tell myself I’ll manage to go to the Stratford festival and see a play…and every year I never do, due to various reasons. But maybe 2024 will be my year; I very much hope to watch Twelfth Night, Romeo and Juliet and/or Wendy and Peter Pan!

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VPL’s Staff Choice Awards of 2023

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Inspired by Adam’s post last year of a similar nature, I thought that it would be fun if the last HOTS post of 2023 was a communal one! And yeah, the title is clickbait; there’s no such official award…but I did reach out to my fellow VPL colleagues and ask them what their favourite and/or most memorable book, movie, show or game was that they enjoyed this year. It didn’t have to be published or created in 2023, but it did have to be currently available in our catalogue (which means I wouldn’t be featuring anything that was currently on order).

My lovely colleagues have delivered their recommendations in their own words. Check it out and discover something new (or old, as the case may be) to explore in 2024!

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Wonder Woman: Dead Earth

“Anything by Daniel Warren Johnson, his comics have been just off the wall amazing. His Wonder Woman mini-series was incredible, but his original work Do A Powerbomb and Murder Falcon are just masterpieces.

He’s the current author of the reboot of the Transformers comics that I have but haven’t started reading yet, but I’m looking forward to it.” — Tommy

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Feel Good Fall Films

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Image of a white ceramic teacup on a saucer full of hot chocolate and marshmallows, with out of focus books and a window behind it.
Photo by Taisiia Stupak on Unsplash

For me, November is always a rough month. All the bright promise of October—with its last days of sun and gorgeous foliage—has usually withered away by now and transformed into blustery gloom, cold rain, and threats of snow (or actual snow, depending on the weather), while the holiday season is still an entire month off.

Winter is coming…but Autumn lingers on, reluctant to go, and so November is also the month where I indulge in maximum coziness. To combat the sudden lack of sunlight and the lower temperatures, I dig out my light therapy lamp, my sweaters, and my softest blanket, ready to settle into something warm and comforting. Including regarding my media consumption.

…This may be a result of burnout after a long and hectic year, now that I’m thinking about it, but whatever the cause, I’m happy and ready to be soothed.

On that note, and wonderfully paralleling Alyssia’s post about ‘Over the Garden Wall’, here are some of my favourite movies that strike the perfect balance of autumnal, cozy, a little bit melancholy, and ultimately hopeful.

And though I am an adult, I do enjoy animated kids’ movies both for their own sake and for the nostalgia factor, so there are some recommendations of that nature too!

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