Sometimes, your coworkers are so brilliant that you just have to steal their ideas. This post is a shameless ripoff of Dana’s “Your Ticket to a Love Trope” post on our Teen Blog (which, if you’re not reading, you’re missing out).
Horror and romance are very parallel genres. They both follow familiar storylines. They both have a specific feeling they are aiming to invoke. And, of course, they both have common tropes that pop up again and again. I’m going to play a little fast and loose with what counts as a “trope” and what counts as a “subgenre.” Just go with it. Continue reading “Your Ticket to a Horror Trope”
Below I’m highlighting some nonfiction books coming out in May. All of the mentioned titles are available to put on hold in our catalog and will also be made available via the library’s Overdrive website on the day of publication in eBook and downloadable audiobook format (as available). For a more extensive list of new nonfiction books coming out this month, check our online catalog.
Top Picks
“Out of the Corner: A Memoir” by Jennifer Grey (May 3)
In this beautiful, close-to-the bone account, Jennifer Grey takes readers on a vivid tour of the experiences that have shaped her, from her childhood as the daughter of Broadway and film legend Joel Grey, to the surprise hit with Patrick Swayze that made her America’s sweetheart, to her inspiring season 11 win on ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars.” Throughout this intimate narrative, Grey richly evokes places and times that were defining for a generation — from her preteen days in 1970s Malibu and wild child nights in New York’s club scene, to her roles in quintessential movies of the 1980s, including “The Cotton Club,” “Red Dawn,” and her breakout performance in “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.” With self-deprecating humor and frankness, she looks back on her unbridled, romantic adventures in Hollywood. And with enormous bravery, she shares the devastating fallout from a plastic surgery procedure that caused the sudden and stunning loss of her professional identity and career. Grey inspires with her hard-won battle back, reclaiming her sense of self from a culture and business that can impose a narrow and unforgiving definition of female worth. She finds, at last, her own true north and starts a family of her own, just in the nick of time. Continue reading “Nonfiction Roundup: May 2022”
Like a reasonable response to climate change, Charlotte McConaghy’s two adult literary fiction novels are a blend of cataclysmic sadness and rage garnished with a dash of hope.
The first, “Migrations,” is about an emotionally devastated woman going to extravagant lengths to track the last birds on the planet on what may be their final migration. To follow the Arctic tern from Greenland to Antarctica, she talks her way aboard a commercial fishing vessel just before such vessels are outlawed. (The vessels are outlawed because the ocean is almost dead.) Having persuaded the crew that fish-eating birds will lead them to fish, they embark on their epic quest. Slowly and satisfyingly, the mysteries in her past are solved. Among other things, you’ll learn why she’s sad and why she was in prison. Continue reading “The Gentleman Recommends: Charlotte McConaghy”
Lynn Rossy is a Columbia, MO author whose latest book is “Savor Every Bite.” The book provides daily tips and tools for whole-body healing — including how to eat mindfully, move your body in ways that feel delicious, and live with greater ease and joy. She gave an author talk about the book through our library last year. Rossy is a health psychologist who has developed Eat for Life, a research-based mindful eating program. She is the author of one previous book, “The Mindfulness-Based Eating Solution.” Lynn was kind enough to take the time to be interviewed via email. Continue reading “Q&A With Lynn Rossy, Author of “Savor Every Bite””
Join us on May 5 at 12 p.m. for “The Dutch House” by Anne Patchett. Patchett, the New York Times bestselling author of “Commonwealth” and “State of Wonder,” returns with her most powerful novel to date: a richly moving story that explores the indelible bond between two siblings, the house of their childhood and a past that will not let them go. “The Dutch House” is the story of a paradise lost, a tour de force that digs deeply into questions of inheritance, love and forgiveness, of how we want to see ourselves and who we really are. For a list of similarly themed books, try this list.
This zoom discussion is for adults: register here.
Unlike climate change itself, the propensity for writers to gravitate to the subject is natural. Among the seemingly endless range of problems the world must address, it is the one that towers over all others, the one that will, barring dramatic changes in how the world operates, render all others insignificant in the face of rising seas, prolific wet-bulb temperatures (a combination of temperature and humidity that renders the body unable to cool down and therefore unable to not die), mass extinction, food chain collapse, etc.
It’s easy to understand why so many writers are compelled to address the subject, but perhaps it’s not as intuitive why a reader would want to read fiction about it. Perhaps reading such novels will inspire action, and perhaps those actions will help. But also, most of us read fiction for pleasure, and these books, while often horrifying, are also massively entertaining. If something’s going to render massive swaths of our planet uninhabitable, the least it could do is inspire some entertaining fiction. Continue reading “Literary Links: Climate Lit”
Here are a few of the most notable adult fiction debuts coming out in April. These have all received positive reviews in library journals. For a longer list, please visit our catalog.
“Four Treasures of the Sky” by Jenny Tinghui Zhang
Daiyu never wanted to be like the tragic heroine for whom she was named, revered for her beauty and cursed with heartbreak. But when she is kidnapped and smuggled across an ocean from China to America, Daiyu must relinquish the home and future she imagined for herself. Over the years that follow, she is forced to keep reinventing herself to survive. From a calligraphy school, to a San Francisco brothel, to a shop tucked into the Idaho mountains, we follow Daiyu on a desperate quest to outrun the tragedy that chases her. As anti-Chinese sentiment sweeps across the country in a wave of unimaginable violence, Daiyu must draw on each of the selves she has been — including the ones she most wants to leave behind — in order to finally claim her own name and story.
Continue reading “Debut Author Spotlight: April 2022”
Below I’m highlighting some nonfiction books coming out in April. All of the mentioned titles are available to put on hold in our catalog and will also be made available via the library’s Overdrive website on the day of publication in eBook and downloadable audiobook format (as available). For a more extensive list of new nonfiction books coming out this month, check our online catalog. Continue reading “Nonfiction Roundup: April 2022”
Perhaps ideally I’d only wield my immeasurable influence in service of bringing attention to lesser known writers and compelling people to mail me treats, but often a famous writer’s work will insist that I type about it instead. In this case, while Oprah and the Pulitzer committee and the world of literary critics may have done the heavy lifting, I’m here to gently tug and encourage those that have yet to read Colson Whitehead to remedy this. Continue reading “The Gentleman Recommends: Colson Whitehead”
“Frontier
Follies” is written by the author, blogger, and chef Ree Drummond. She talks about life, marriage, motherhood and her adventures in the book. I love how down-to-earth and relatable it is. There were moments that had me laughing and a couple times tearing up. She seems so genuine and I loved hearing stories about her husband, their four kids and their adventures on the ranch. She shared some yummy recipes that were fun to try as well!
Three words that describe this book: Geniune, light-hearted, comical
You might want to pick this book up if: You are a wife or mother looking for a quick, easy read that is relatable. You wont want to put it down!
-Anonymous
This reader review was submitted as part of Adult Summer Reading 2021. We will continue to share these throughout the year.
