In the event that you have been pulling a Rip Van Winkle and have been asleep for the last 20 years, you are very aware that last night marked the opening of the latest Star Wars film, the first in ten years, and the first since 1983’s Return of the Jedi featuring Luke Skywalker (we hope), Han Solo, and Princess Leia. As you gear up to watch the latest movie once, twice, twenty times in the theater, the library has plenty to offer you, whether you believe the movies should be watched in numerical order (starting with Episode I: The Phantom Menace) or in the order they were released (starting with Star Wars, later to be called Episode IV: A New Hope). Enjoy and may the force be with you!
(Before we continue, I’m just going to share the opinion that the only way to watch the movies is in the order they were released, the first movie will always be called just Star Wars, and it’s okay to pretend the prequels don’t exist).

• Check out our Star Wars displays in the children’s and adult reference areas featuring books, CDs of the soundtrack, and coloring pages. And yes, the coloring pages are available in both the adult and children’s sections.
• Admire not one but two different posters of Yoda encouraging you to read, in our teen area.
• The Movies and Shows
  • Get all six Star Wars movies at the library!
  • Not a fan of the special editions? Request these versions of the classical trilogy DVDs and choose the option to view the original theatrical releases.
  • Couldn’t get enough of the prequel era? Watch the movie and all seasons of The Clone Wars.
  • Will the Emperor accept a collect call from Darth Vader? What will happen when Gary the Stormtrooper participates in “take your daughter to work day?” Find out the answers to that and more with Robot Chicken: Star Wars.
  • Re-watch the classic trilogy, Family Guy style with the cartoon’s version of Episodes IV-VI.
  • If you do want to watch the ultimate Star Wars spoof, though, don’t forget Mel Brooks’s Spaceballs. Be sure to enjoy with your Spaceballs flamethrower and Spaceballs breakfast cereal.
• The Music
  Would Star Wars be as beloved with John Williams’s amazing score?
  • Stream the soundtrack to The Force Awakens using the library’s digital subscription to Hoopla.
  • Prefer to expand beyond the current soundtrack? Stream all of Hoopla’s Star Wars music offerings, including John Williams conducting the Boston Pops playing Star Wars selections and other movie classic themes. I’m listening to it as I’m writing this and it’s gotten me in the mood to see the new movie!
  • Check out the soundtracks to The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, and Revenge of the Sith from our AV department.
  • Download and keep some Star Wars related music with the library’s subscription to Freegal. One such album is the wonderfully weird Baby Wars, featuring lullaby versions of all of the famous themes, including the Imperial March.
• The Books Episode I: Fiction
  Disney may have deemed that most of the Expanded Universe is no longer canon, but that doesn’t mean you still can’t enjoy one of the countless Star Wars novels published over the last 38 years. If you’re a big fan, you’re probably already reading fan fiction, none of which is canon, so why not relax and continue to enjoy?
  • Peruse our adult Science Fiction section, children’s room, and teen area for our collection of Star Wars novels. My favorites are The Truce at Bakura by Kathy Tyers, set immediately after the events of Return of the Jedi; Tatooine’s Ghost by Troy Denning, dealing with Princess Leia accepting her legacy as Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader’s daughter; and (believe it or not), the novelization of The Revenge of the Sith by Matthew Stover, which details the fall and struggles of Anakin Skywalker in a way that is captured so much better here than it was in the movie.
  • Peruse our graphic novels sections in the teen, adult, and children’s areas for Star Wars related graphic novels. Get some serious tales with the Star Wars Omnibus series. Ever wondered how Vader would handle raising two rambunctious twins on the Death Star? Find out with Darth Vader and Son and Vader’s Little Princess.
  • Use the library’s subscription to Hoopla to stream audiobook versions of many of the Star Wars related books, or to read e-book versions.
  • Want more e-books and audiobooks? Download Star Wars related e-books and audiobooks for your tablet, computer, or e-reader from the Minuteman Library Network and library’s subscription to Overdrive, including Aftermath by Chuck Wendig, the run up novel to The Force Awakens.
• The Books Episode II: The Non-Fiction
  • Check out the library’s collection of Star Wars related non-fiction, including Star Wars: The Visual Dictionary and How Star Wars Conquered the Universe by Chris Taylor.
  • Nearly everyone associated with Star Wars has either written a memoir or has a (not always authorized) biography written of him or her. My favorite is Wishful Drinking, based on Carrie Fisher’s one woman show. My advice is to listen to it on audio to get the full effect, but not while you’re driving as it could get dangerous to laugh that hard while operating a vehicle.
• The Reviews
  Check out reviews of all six movies as well as related articles using the library’s subscription to the historic archives of The Boston Globe and New York Times.
  • Star Wars
  • The Empire Strikes Back
  • Return of the Jedi
  • The Phantom Menace
  • Attack of the Clones
  • Revenge of the Sith

posted by Laura