Author Mark Clark talks writing, researching & Kirk v. Picard

Mark Clark is a polymath of geek culture.

He's written two books about Star Trek, a critical filmography of 1960s horror cinema, and, most recently, a FAQ about Star Wars.

He recently visited Mentor Public Library and was kind enough to talk about his writing.

Clark explained how he gathers new information on topics as well researched as Star Trek and Star Wars. He also discussed how he picks the subjects for his books.

He even weighed in on two of the most important pop-culture debates of our era: Kirk v. Picard; and Star Trek v. Star Wars.

That's right. The man behind not one but two Star Trek FAQs divulged if he's an original-series or Next-Gen guy, a Trekkie or a Jedi!

He also told us the biggest myth surrounding the making of Star Wars. It's a tale that even George Lucas perpetuates.

For more author talks at Mentor Public Library, visit our YouTube page.

The Force will be with us this Monday (and you should be there too)

We have an author visiting us next week that will please Jedi masters and lil' Padawans alike.

Mark Clark—the author of Star Wars FAQ: Everything Left to Know About the Trilogy That Changed the Movies—will talk about a galaxy far, far away at 7 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 8., at our Main Branch.

He'll discuss the origins of Star Wars and explore how behind-the-scenes drama during the writing of Episode VI: The Return of the Jedi influenced the current blockbuster Episode VII: The Force Awakens.

Clark is a polymath of geek culture. In addition to Star Wars FAQ, he's also written two books about Star Trek and a critical filmography of 1960s horror cinema.

The talk is free and open to everyone. You can register for it on Mentor Public Library's website or by calling 440-255-8811 ext. 216.

By the way, if you or your kids love Star Wars, then we have all kind of books, videos, albums and even video games that you can borrow for free with your library card.

Jedi Training at Mentor Public Library

Marschall takes it up a notch by turning his storm trooper mask into a Ty Fighter helmet.

We had a Jedi Training session on Saturday at our Main Branch. Young padawans practiced their lightsaber skills, agility and more.

They also got crafty, making their own storm trooper masks and BB-8 droids.

The 501st Legion tries to arrest another young Jedi during MPL's training session.

The special program celebrated The Force Awakens, the newest Star Wars film.

If your kid loves Star Wars, we have dozens of Star Wars books that can get him or her excited about reading too.

We also have Star Wars books for teens and adults, by the way, as well video games, DVDs of the TV shows and (naturally) the movies that started it all.

Mentor Public Library can be your go-to locale for Star Wars media, whether you're looking for a book to share with your child or the movies for a Star Wars marathon.

The padawans practice their lightsaber techniques on these inflatable storm troopers.

For a lot more photos from our Star Wars program, check out Mentor Public Library's Facebook page.

James Renner's Favorite Halloween Costume

Author and journalist James Renner visited Mentor Library earlier this month to discuss the fun, frightening and possibly fictional denizens of this state for his book, It Came from Ohio: True Tales of the Weird, Wild and Unexplained.

When we interviewed him about his book, he told us an awesome story about his favorite Halloween costume. At the time, we couldn't work the anecdote into our video, but we also didn't forget about it either.

So, as a special Halloween treat, we present Renner's favorite Halloween costume:

And remember, on Halloween, kids can wear their costumes and go trick-or-treating at any of the Mentor Public Library branches!

Throwback Thursday: Father's Day Edition

Father's Day is this Sunday. You still have time to buy him a tie he'll never wear. Or you can just borrow a movie from the library that he'll actually want to watch.

We're even willing to offer some suggestions.

(As always, you can check out any and all of these movies and books from the Mentor Public Library. We’ve even linked to our collection so you can put them on hold wherever you are.)

1. James Bond. Whether your dad prefers Daniel Craig, James Bond, Pierce Brosnan or Roger Moore—we refuse to acknowledge that anyone might prefer George Lazenby—we have what he wants. If he also likes the Ian Fleming novels, we have those too.

2. Rocky. Want a fun idea for Father's Day? Rent your dad all the Rocky movies—well, you can probably skip Rocky 5—and let him spend the day watching those. He'll laugh as Rocky tussles with Thunderlips, cry as he calls for Adrian and cheer as he beats communism by punching it. I promise you'll be his favorite kid. (Unless one of your siblings got him all the James Bond movies.)

3. ESPN's 30 for 30. It's OK if you haven't heard of ESPN's 30 for 30 documentary series. Your father has. they've covered everything from the rise of fantasy football to the twilight years of Ali's career. From baseball to bowling, ESPN's covered a moment of your dad's favorite sport in the sort of detail that only a father could love.

4. Die Hard. Also doubles as an excellent Christmas gift.

5. Fast and the Furious. If your dad's a bit older, try Bullitt.

6. Clear and Present Danger. I'm actually talking about the book this time. Just playing the statistics here: There's a good chance that your dad likes Tom Clancy novels and you might not even know it.

7. Indiana Jones. Another opportunity to borrow the whole series. Fair warning: Crystal Skull is to the Indiana Jones series as Rocky 5 is to Rocky.

8. Star Wars. You're dad probably wants to see Episodes IV-VI. (If your dad is a huge Star Wars fan, have him watch the Clone Wars series.)

9. Con Air. This film-length explosion features the Father's Day All-Stars: John Malkovich, Ving Rhames, Steve Buscemi, Danny Trejo and Nicolas Cage.

10. Or you could get your dad what he really wants, which is pretty much anything with Catherine Zeta-Jones.

Come back each week for a new Throwback Thursday profile.

Jedi, Princesses, Superheroes & Colonel Mustard: Halloween at Mentor Public Library

We take Halloween seriously at Mentor Public Library.

We believe that, at least once a year, a grown person should be able to dress like their favorite Clue character.

We believe that an awesome child who wears an equally awesome costume deserves to be rewarded with candy (if it's OK with their parents or guardian.)

We also believe in sharing some of the photos we took of awesome kids in their costumes for you to enjoy. (Once again, we get parental approval first.)

So without further prologue, we present Halloween 2013 at Mentor Library.

Stop me if you've heard this one. A princess, a jedi and Batman walk into a library...

Rowan makes for an adorable ladybug.

Sam, I mean Batman, checks for candy.

It's a Lord of the Rings family! Jedidiah as Frodo, Josie as Arwen, Sadie as a fairy and Adelaide as Lady Galadriel.

What does the bear say? You'll have to ask Ava Marie.

Madeline emulates Tinkerbell.

A Power Ranger and Spider-Man? Now that's a super team-up!

Brayson tests his heat vision. Or his x-ray vision. Or maybe it's just his superhero stare down. Either way, we don't want to make this Kryptonian angry.

And in case you're wondering what our reference staff dressed as...

Ms. Peacock, Professor Plum, Colonel Mustard, Miss Scarlet, Mrs.White and Mr. Green.

For more Halloween fun, check out our Facebook page or this video of our annual zombie walk.

May The Force Be With You

You want to know one of my favorite things about working at the library? (On second thought, that's not a fair question. I have a lot of favorite things.)

The answer is it brings people together through their shared interests.

May 4 was Star Wars Day. (May the Fourth be with you.) So we threw a Star Wars party for the children over on the Read House lawn.

It didn't take long for the kids -- who were strangers a few minutes earlier -- to start talking about their favorite Star Wars moments and (playfully) sparring with their light sabers.

These new friends might not have met if it wasn't for the library... and the awesomeness that is Star Wars.

But the party didn't just bring strangers closer together.

Betsy Hensel brought her 11-year-old daughter, Ashley, to the Star Wars Party. Betsy has loved the Star Wars films for decades but Ashley just recently became a fan of the franchise.

And while the two may not agree on everything -- Ashley is an R2-D2 girl but Betsy prefers Yoda -- they were still able to bond over the Star Wars books in our collection.

We always want Mentor Public Library to be a place where you can find new interests and nurture ones you already have. But it's even more fun to do that with like-minded people.

And now, for reasons of cuteness, a photo of an adorable child dueling Darth Vader on the Read House lawn:

If that's not enough cuteness, here's a quick video we shot at the Star Wars Party, as well. (John Williams, if you're watching this, please don't sue us.)

Till next time, see you at the library.