The Summit County Library’s Book to Film Club will get to watch “Turtles All the Way Down.”
The club, which is free and open to the public, will meet at 6 p.m. on Thursday at the Kimball Junction Branch, 1885 W. Ute Blvd., to discuss John Green’s book and Hannah Marks’ 2024 film, rated PG-13, of the same name, said Library Director Daniel Compton.
“We do talk about the differences between the film and book, but once we get over that, we really start talking about the themes in the book and film and how they resonate,” he said. “The beauty of literature and film is you’re going to be able to pull something from them that has a universal meaning everyone can relate to. We can talk about those things in a meaningful way and hear different perspectives and, hopefully, walk out of the building with a better understanding.”
Compton selects books and their film adaptations that generally yield positive reviews.
“That’s not always easy to do,” he said with a laugh. “Often you will hear from people who have read the book and watched the film say they hated the film or that the film is nothing like the book. We don’t want people to have a bad experience reading books or watching films. So we do our best. We’re not perfect, but we do try hard.”
Sometimes a theme will inspire the selection.
“May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and we found ‘Turtles All the Way Down,’ which deals with a young lady who has OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder) and faces some really tough challenges in her life,” Compton said. “We thought it would be the perfect opportunity to screen this film, raise a little awareness about people who are going through struggles like this and, maybe, gain a little more empathy and understanding of people who do experience mental health challenges.”
The 2024 feature by Sundance Film Festival alumni Hannah Marks is about Aza Holmes, played by Isabela Merced, who strives to be a good daughter, a good friend and a good student, while dealing with invasive and obsessive thoughts that she cannot control.
“We would have selected this book and film no matter what, but it kind of worked out that this month’s theme worked perfectly with what is in the book and film,” Compton said.
A license was necessary to publicly screen the film, which was originally released for streaming only on HBO MAX, according to Compton.
“One of the great things about the Book to Film program is that we can get the license to screen films that maybe people don’t have the opportunity to see otherwise in the theater or on screaming services,” Compton said. “We are not allowed to publicly screen a film unless we have the license to do so. We have a license that covers a lot of films but not everything. But in this case, ‘Turtles All the Way Down’ is covered with our license, so we can screen it publicly.”
Compton always checks a database the library has access to regarding the films that can be screened with the license.
“If a film pops up there, I know I’m good to go,” he said. “So if I’m planning months ahead, I can see and know that I have the rights to do a screening.”
Sometimes a film based on a book is available on services like Netflix or is a Netflix Original, which the library doesn’t have rights to, Compton said.
“With those, I generally can’t get approval to screen that publicly, so that’s when we’ll do some months where we’ll have the club members watch the film on their own and then we’ll get together for a virtual discussion,” he said.
The library does have access to films streaming on Kanopy, Compton said.
“The nice thing is that the library has the rights to show any of the films on Kanopy at the library, and if you have a library card you can create a Kanopy account and stream thousands of domestic and foreign films, TV shows and documentaries,” he said. “We give you a certain amount of tickets — 30 tickets per month. Each film costs a certain amount of tickets, and the tickets reload every month. It’s an incredible resource that you can watch through an app on your phone or smart TV. We also have a streaming device that library card holders can check out.”
Compton enjoys the Book to Film Club’s post-screening discussions.
“You want to have a meaningful discussion, and that, to me, is what public libraries and public places should be about,” he said. “They should be safe places where you can have meaningful conversations about stuff like this.”
The Book to Film Club started in 2014, and there are people who have been with it since the beginning, Compton said.
“They have formed lifelong friendships, and I have too,” he said. “When they move out of state, we miss them, but what’s really interesting is when we do the virtual discussions, some of the people who have moved will join us.”
Anyone can join the club, Compton said.
“People are also welcome to come watch the films without reading the books,” he said. “Even if people just want to come watch the film, they don’t have to stay for the discussion. But if they decide to stay and want to do more, we can add them to our email list.”
The Summit County Library’s Book to Film Club usually meets in person the second Thursday of the month, but this summer, the library will move to another location, according to Compton.
“So, I put in some flexibility where I told the club that we’ll have to watch films on our own and then do Zoom sessions,” he said.
Summit County Library’s Book to Film Club’s schedule and formats through October is as follows:
- July 9 — Simon Stone’s 2021 film, “The Dig,” rated PG-13, based on John Preston’s book of the same name, virtual
- Aug. 13 — Clint Bentley’s 2025 film, “Train Dreams,” rated PG-13, based on Denis Johnson’s book of the same name, virtual
- Sept. 10 — 2025 TV miniseries, “Death by Lightning,” based on Candice Millard’s “Destiny of the Republic,” virtual
- Oct. 8 — Alfred Hitchcock’s 1963 film, “The Birds,” based on the short story by Daphne du Maurier, in person
The Summit County Library’s Book to Film Club: ‘Turtles All the Way Down’
- When: 6 p.m. Thursday
- Where: Summit County Library Kimball Junction Branch, 1885 W. Ute Blvd.
- Cost: Free
- Web: summit.events.mylibrary.digital