From the latest adaptation of Jane Austen’s novel Emma to author Liu Cixn’s classic Three-Body Problem, this is the second instalment in a series of recommendations from UBC librarians and library staff. Find your next novel, film or documentary in UBC Library’s online collections.
Independent learning
Stephanie Savage, Scholarly Communications and Copyright Librarian, has been preoccupied with thoughts about the economy and capitalism in recent months. “As a result, I have been reading books about class, wealth and consumerism,” she says. Stephanie recommends My life with things: the consumer diaries by Elizabeth Chin: “My Life with Things is a meditation on the author’s relationship with consumer goods and highlights the cultural value and significance of possessions and consumption.”
“Sociologist Rachel Sherman’s Uneasy street: the anxieties of affluence is a revealing and fascinating look at how today’s elite view their wealth and place in society,” Stephanie shares.
Kimberly Fama, Reference Librarian at David Lam Library, has been finding motivation in Angela Duckworth’s book, Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance. “This book offers invaluable lessons using anecdotes, scientific evidence and personal stories that will make you realize that hard work and perseverance can play a bigger role in achieving success rather than just having natural talent,” Kim explains.
Classics and adaptations
“Recently I watched Emma, the 2020 adaptation of the classic Jane Austen novel. This latest version is so fun and beautifully shot,” said Savage. “The Library recently subscribed to Audio Cine Films, an online database of Hollywood and international feature films. Because I am spending most of my time at home I have had a lot of opportunity to take advantage of this new resource.”
Allan Cho, Research Commons Librarian, suggests a classic in China for almost two decades, Three-Body Problem by author Liu Cixin. “First of the three-book trilogy gained immediate acclaim in 2014 in North America when it was nominated for the Nebula Award for the best works of science fiction or fantasy,” Allan shares.
“C.C. Tsai (Tsai Chih Chung)’s illustrated versions of Chinese classics are always my favorite,” shares Phoebe Chow, Program Services Assistant at the Asian Library. “His wonderful drawings brilliantly capture the spirit of the difficult original text. The Way of Nature collected stories written by Zhuangzi, a pivotal figure in Classical Philosophical Daoism. These thought-provoking stories talk about how human beings live with nature and what the basics of nurturing life are.”
Documentaries
If you’re interested in documentaries, Phoebe has also been spending her time watching Free Solo, a film about the first person to free solo climb Yosemite’s 3,000 feet high El Capitan Wall, and Forever, Chinatown, a James Q. Chan film.
“Forever, Chinatown reminds me to cherish the present moment and people around you. The world is ever-changing, but memories can be long-lasting. Sometimes they are even prettier. Highly recommend!” says Phoebe.
Looking for more recommendations? UBC librarians and library staff are here to help.
- Double Melancholy: Art, beauty, and the making of a brown queer man, a novel by C.E. Gatchalian.
- After Life a 1999 Japanese film that asks the recently deceased “If you had to choose your single happiest memory, what would it be?”
- Barry Lyndon, Stanley Kubrick’s 1975 film set in the late 18th
- Infernal Affairs = Wu jian dao a crime thriller movie about a mole in the police department and an undercover cop.
- Naxos Music Library the world’s largest online classical music library