June 5, Summer Reading And Watch List

Beaches and theaters may still be closed, but the magic of movies and books is timeless, transporting us from our homes to fantastic places that exist only in the imagination. Shereen Siewert welcomes Marathon County Public Library Marketing Specialist Dan Richter and University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point films expert Cary Elza to talk about the summer’s most-anticipated books, movies and shows, great escapes for the season ahead. Richter will discuss the most talked-about new book releases of the season, while Elza will share a list of must-see movies and streaming programs to add to your watch list.

Shereen’s Recommended Reading List:

For Kids
“The World Needs More Purple People” by Kristen Bell and Benjamin Hart

For Adults
Available Now

“Beach Read” by Emily Henry
“All Adults Here” by Emma Straub
“The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (A Hunger Games Novel)” by Suzanne Collins
“A Burning: A Novel” by Megha Majumdar
“The Choice” by Gillian McAllister
“The Guest List” by Lucy Foley
“The Joyce Girl” by Annabel Abbs
“The Vanishing Half” by Brit Bennett

June
“28 Summers” Elin Hilderbrand (June 16)
“The Last Train to Key West” by Chanel Cleeton (June 16)
“Love” by Roddy Doyle (June 23)
“Mexican Gothic” by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (June 30)
“The Last Flight: A Novel” by Julie Clark (June 23)

July
“The Pull of the Stars: A Novel” by Emma Donoghue (July 21)

August
“The Lions of Fifth Avenue” by Fiona Davis (Aug. 4)

Conversations And Controversies
“American Dirt” by Jeanine Cummins
“If I Had Your Face” by Franches Cha
“The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz” by Erik Larson

Dan Richter’s Recommended Reading List

For Kids
“The World Needs More Purple People” by Kristin Bell and Benjamin Hart
“Pete the Cat: Secret Agent” by Kimberly Dean and James Dean – 6/23/20
“Act (A CLICK graphic novel)” by Kayla Miller – 7/21/20
“Rowley Jefferson’s Awesome Friendly Adventure” by Jeff Kinney – 8/4/20
“Mr. Lemoncello and the Titanium Ticket” by Chris Grabenstein – 8/25/20

For Adults
“Rodham” by Curtis Sittenfeld
“The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” by Suzanne Collins
“Devolution: A Firsthand Account of the Rainier Sasquatch Massacre” by Max Brooks – 6/16/20
“Death in Her Hands” by Otessa Moshfegh – 6/23/20
“Home Before Dark” by Riley Sager – 6/30/20
“Memoirs and Misinformation” by Jim Carrey – 7/7/20
“Antkind” by Charlie Kaufman – 7/7/20
“Sex and Vanity” by Kevin Kwan – 7/14/20
“Chasing the Light” by Oliver Stone – 7/21/20
“Malorie” by Josh Malerman – 7/21/20

Cary Elza’s Recommendations For Early Summer
(Focused on What’s Coming to Streaming)

Adventure/Action/Sci-fi
Twister (Netflix)
I Am Legend (Hulu)
Starship Troopers (Netflix)
Weird Science (HBO)
Equilibrium (Prime)
Attack the Block (for free on Pluto TV!)
I Am Not Okay (series on Netflix)
Zardoz (Hulu)
Dark (German sci-fi/thriller, Netflix)

Drama
Da 5 Bloods (Spike Lee’s first direct to Netflix, comes out June 12)
Do the Right Thing (rent it streaming many places)
He Got Game (Hulu)
Clemency (Hulu)
Lady Bird (Netflix)
Parasite (Hulu)
Ford Vs. Ferrari (HBO)
The Hate U Give (rent, or I think it’s on Cinemax through Hulu)

Mystery/Thriller
Knives Out (Prime)
Out of Sight (Hulu)
Thelma and Louise (Hulu)
Perry Mason, new series (HBO)
Trapped (Icelandic thriller, Prime)

Horror
Get Out (rent streaming)
Us (Hulu with Cinemax)
Jordan Peele’s Twilight Zone (CBS)
The Vast of Night (Prime)
Final Destination movies (HBO)

Biopic/Documentary
13th (Netflix)
When they See Us (Netflix)
Selma (rent streaming)

Silly/Offbeat
Robin Hood: Men in Tights (Hulu)
Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga (Netflix June 26)
Disaster Artist (Netflix)
Amelie (HBO)
The Goonies (HBO)
What We Do in the Shadows (movie on Kanopy, show on Hulu)
Palm Springs (Hulu, July 10)
An American Pickle (HBO, August 6)

Kids Picks (TV)
Ducktales, old and new. But especially new! (Dis+)
Animaniacs (Hulu)
Doug (Dis+)
Kipo and the Age of the Wonderbeasts (Netflix)
Marvel Runaways (older kids, Dis+)
The Imagineering Story (doc on Disney theme parks, Dis+)

Gentle, problem-solving shows I don’t mind putting my kids in front of:
Puffin Rock (Netflix)
Shaun the Sheep (Netflix)
Tumble Leaf (Prime)
Pete the Cat (Prime)
Jake and the Neverland Pirates (Dis+)

Kid/Family Picks (Movies)
Artemis Fowl (Coming to Dis+ instead of theaters June 12)
Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (Dis+ June 26)
Hamilton (Dis+ July 3)
The Iron Giant (HBO)
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies (HBO)
Adventures in Babysitting (HBO)
How to Train Your Dragon (Prime)
Spy Kids 1-3 (Prime)
Where the Wild Things Are (Prime)
E.T.: The Extraterrestrial (Netflix)
West Side Story (Netflix)
Twister (Netflix)
Clueless (Netflix)
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (Hulu)
Horton Hears a Who (Hulu)
The Lego Movie 2 (Hulu)
Tarzan (Dis+ June 26)

Coming Out In Theaters
Tenet (July 17)
Mulan (July 24)
Wonder Woman 1984 (Aug 14)
Antebellum (Aug 21)
Bill & Ted Face the Music (Aug 21)
The New Mutants (Aug 28)
A Quiet Place Part II (Sept 4)