Ferndale Public Library Staff Recommends: Griffin's Eclectic Picks

This post was written by Jeff Milo and Griffin Bray.

Young Griffin Bray is our newest employee, a dutiful and diligent chap serving as library page – tending to the order of all of our shelves (print/media material) and all the recently checked-in-items. Before joining the Ferndale Public Library team, though, he’s long been one of our more avid library attendees, often checking-out a notably eclectic range of insightful books, weightier ventures like science, math and history, as well as the arts (even comic strips)! His tastes certainly run the gamut so we were interested to pick his brain for his first round of recommendations.

Griffin’s Picks

I have read this book five times. As an amateur comic writer/artist, it has been a valuable tool in discovering how to use the medium. It is full of tips on almost every subject, including penciling, inking, coloring and publishing. This book would be a great addition to any comic writer’s library whether he’s a beginner or a professional.

AVP: Alien Versus Predator
DVD
Action/Adventure – A

A mash-up of two iconic sci-fi creatures, AVP is full of action and amazing special effects. A team of scientists ventures into an Antarctic temple where they accidentally release a hoard of killer aliens. A gang of extraterrestrial hunters called predators soon arrive and begin hunting the aliens and any surviving humans. This movie was awesome. It stands alone from either creature’s separate narrative continuity, so anyone can watch it without missing important details from their respective original films. This makes it a great launching point for sci-fi fans.

Jurassic Park (book)
By Michael Crichton
Fic C

This book follows a group of paleontologists, lawyers and a mathematician to an island Theme Park. However, it isn’t your usual park, this one showcases dinosaurs. Something goes wrong shortly after the party arrives and the dinosaurs escape their enclosures. The group must now evade roving dinosaurs and escape the island before they become lunch. Non-stop action is paired with technical explanations for everything, making the book seem almost real. This gripping tale is perfect for anyone looking for a new read.

How To Defeat Your Own Clonse
By Kyle Kurpinski
660.6 K

This is a very humor look at biotechnology. It goes over cloning, genetic engineering, and other biotech operations, as well as clearing up common misconceptions about the processes and results. This information combined with the tongue-in-cheek writing style makes for a thoroughly enjoyable read.

Seven Samurai
DVD Foreign S

This is one of my favorite movies. A feudal Japanese village is being raided by bandits, so the villagers set out and hire seven samurai warriors to protect them. This epic is very engaging, with memorable characters and a great story. The movie is in Japanese with English subtitles but this does nothing to lessen the impact or slow the pace of the film.