Start the new year right by picking up a book by one of these new fiction authors. There are plenty of options this month. And, as always, you can find a longer list of new titles in our catalog.
“At the Wolf’s Table” by Rosella Postorino
Left alone in Germany while her husband is fighting on the front lines of WWII, Rosa Sauer leaves Berlin seeking safety and is instead forced by the SS to become one of Hitler’s food tasters. Twice a day she accompanies nine other women to the Wolf’s Lair, Hitler’s secret headquarters, where they taste all of Hitler’s meals before he does. As the war worsens, the group of tasters becomes increasing more fractious, dividing into those who are loyal to Hitler and those who, like Rosa, aren’t Nazis even though they risk their lives to protect one every day. Continue reading “Debut Author Spotlight: January 2019”
With the new year comes new librarian favorites! I’m excited to start this year on such a positive note with plenty of books. We have a trilogy-finisher, a long-awaited second novel and several heartwarming reads to protect you from the cold and snow outside. Check out these books nominated by librarians across the country with this month’s LibraryReads.
“Once Upon a River”
by Diane Setterfield
“A wonderfully dark and mysterious read. Something happens one stormy winter solstice evening that triggers a chain of events that changes the lives of all the main characters. Moody and mystical. For readers who love gothic fiction like ‘The Death of Mrs. Westaway‘ and ‘The Clockmaker’s Daughter.’”
~Melanie Liechty, Logan Library, Logan, UT Continue reading “January LibraryReads”
A few things that prompt me to make lists:
- Obligations
- Aspirations
- Needs
- Problems
- Nostalgia
- Mistrust of my own memory
- A desire to share reading recommendations
I harbor an extreme fondness for lists, both creating and reading them. Judging by the number of books on the topic, I know I have a lot of company.
Last year saw the publication of three noteworthy books containing suggested reading lists. “1,000 Books to Read Before You Die” is the product of decades of work. James Mustich, a longtime book seller, pulls titles from many genres, time periods and cultures. His suggestions include Plato and Zadie Smith, as well as “The 9/11 Commission Report.” Continue reading “Literary Links: List Mania”
We’re taking a look back at some the most in-demand nonfiction book titles released in 2018 at DBRL. In 2018 there were several categories of nonfiction books that were popular.
Memoirs/Biographies
Continue reading “Most In-Demand Nonfiction of 2018”
Here is a quick look at the most noteworthy nonfiction titles being released this January. Visit our catalog for a more extensive list.
Top Picks
“Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will to Survive” by Stephanie Land
“Evicted” meets “Nickel and Dimed” in Stephanie Land’s memoir about working as a maid, a beautiful and gritty exploration of poverty in America. While the gap between upper middle-class Americans and the working poor widens, grueling low-wage domestic and service work — primarily done by women — fuels the economic success of the wealthy. Land worked for years as a maid, pulling long hours while struggling as a single mom to keep a roof over her daughter’s head. In “Maid,” she reveals the dark truth of what it takes to survive and thrive in today’s inequitable society. Continue reading “Nonfiction Roundup: January 2019”
It has been another stellar year of reading. I love looking back at what I have read and analyzing the various books and the tangents that I went on for the year.
I overshot my goal of 100 by just a little — I managed to read 170. I was all prepared to be really impressed with myself but when I took a closer look it just means that I read shorter books than last year. For example, the shortest book I read was a book that my daughter brought back to me from her visit to Atlantis Books in Greece called “Unpacking My Library” by Walter Benjamin. It was a slight 23 pages long. And the longest book I read was “Mencken: The American Iconoclast” by Marion Elizabeth Rogers at 662 pages, which is still about 300-400 pages shorter than my longest books for previous years.
Our library took part in Book Riot’s Read Harder Challenge for 2018 and so, of course, I couldn’t resist. I even took the challenge a step farther in reading only books by women in the hopes that I might get a little closer reading at least half of my total books for the year by women. How did I do with that goal? I read 110 books by women!!! That is my first time ever breaking (or really even getting near to) this goal of reading 50% by women authors. And how has that affected me overall? I have to admit that I have much less patience for old white men now. I hope to keep this trend of reading more women up in the coming year and I’m already planning out my Read Harder Challenge for 2019.
I still managed to read broadly through time with many books from before I was born such as “The Little Prince” by Antoine de Saint-Exupery, “Mrs. Dalloway” by Virginia Woolf, and “Excellent Women” by Barbara Pym. But a large portion (58) of the books I read were published this year. There were only a handful of books that I felt compelled to actually own including, “Everyone’s a Aliebn When Ur a Aliebn Too” by Jomny Sun, “Educated” by Tara Westover, “In the Shadow of 10,000 Hills” by Jennifer Haupt, “Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald” by Therese Anne Fowler, and “Dear Fahrenheit 451” by Annie Spence.
Looking over the topics in my reading list, it’s obvious that I have continued to be worried about politics and the state of the country, as well as racial issues. I have tried to understand the present by learning more about the past with books like “Leadership in Turbulent Times” by Doris Kearns Goodwin and “Impeachment: An American History” by Jeffrey A. Engel. I have also tried to figure out my part of the racial imbalance in our country with books like “White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism” by Robin DiAngelo and “White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide” by Carol Anderson. And then I have tried to figure out what’s next and what can be done with books like “How to Be a Good Creature: A Memoir in Thirteen Animals” by Sy Montgomery, “Factfulness: Ten Reasons We’re Wrong About the World — and Why Things Are Better Than You Think” by Hans Rosling and “The Soul of America: The Battle for Our Better Angels” by Jon Meacham.
I have made a list of my FAVORITE books read for the year if you would like to take a peek. I don’t know where next year’s reading will take me but I know it will take me through a lot of excellent books, and I’m excited to go there! You can join me at the library for the 2019 Read Harder Challenge and we can journey together.
Here we are again. December. The start of the holiday season and the end of another year. It feels like 2018 just rushed by and now it’s definitely beginning to feel a lot like winter. So while you’re huddling under the covers to keep warm, here are some books to keep you company. They are best enjoyed with a dog (or cat) on your lap and a hot beverage of your choice. And, as always, visit our catalog for a longer list of titles (though ’tis the season for publishing to slow down, so the list is only ten books long).
“Miss Blaine’s Prefect and the Golden Samovar” by Olga Wojtas
A time-travelling murder mystery in which middle-aged librarian Shona McMonagle is recruited by the founder of the Marcia Blaine School for Girls to travel back in time to czarist Russia. As a former head girl at the school, Shona’s education has prepared her for such a mission, with skills ranging from martial arts to country dancing and quantum physics. Her mission: to “prevent a gross miscarriage of romance, and — in any spare time — see to it that only the right people get murdered,” (from the publisher).
“Hearts of the Missing” by Carol Potenza
When several members of the Fire-Sky tribe go missing from their reservation in New Mexico and a young woman linked to them commits suicide, reservation police sergeant Nicky Matthews is assigned the case. Nicky is familiar with the traditions and history of the reservation, which aid her in the investigation, even as she deals with departmental politics and personal difficulties. And when her instincts and mystical visions convince her the suicide was actually murder, she runs up against opposition within the force and begins to suspect that her new partner may not be entirely trustworthy.
Continue reading “Debut Author Spotlight: December 2018”
“Fitter, happier, more productive
Comfortable
Not drinking too much
Regular exercise at the gym
Three days a week
Getting on better with your associate employee contemporaries”
– Radiohead, “Fitter Happier”
If you want to get a glimpse of a real life dystopia not far from your home, I suggest you visit a gym in the first couple months of the year. Gym memberships notoriously spike around the new year, and it isn’t pretty. It’s like “Mad Max,” except instead of everyone battling it out for water, they’re fighting over the last available treadmill. The year’s end is often a marker that prompts people to look back at the year with regret and that regret motivates them to get a gym membership or do other crazy things. Continue reading “Know Your Dystopias: Fitter, Happier, More Productive”
The inside flap of “Rough Animals” by Rae DelBianco proclaims “From a dazzling new voice in fiction, a propulsive rural thriller for fans of “Breaking Bad” and “No Country for Old Men.” Perhaps it seems unlikely, given the abhorrent behavior demonstrated by the bulk of the players in the aforementioned tales and my own highly polished manners and reasonably polished monocles, but I enthusiastically recommend both stories. There are few advertisements one could slap on a book flap that would make me more likely to peruse the contents. After a perusal, I read the novel.
First, I agree that fans of the aforementioned works are more likely to enjoy “Rough Animals.” Second, if, like me, you sometimes roll your eyes at Cormac McCarthy’s prose, you’re going to want to ensure you’re eyes are sufficiently lubricated before commencing this novel. Third, if, also like me, you eventually fall into a rhythm with McCarthy’s style, then I venture you’ll find plenty to enjoy in DelBianco’s debut novel. Continue reading “The Gentleman Recommends: Rae DelBianco”
We are living in an age of inequality and injustice, made worse by an increasingly divisive political atmosphere. Politics aside, some injustices are so ingrained in our society that we are desensitized to them. If they don’t directly affect our lives, we may forget they exist. But, as a society, we should not allow ourselves to forget that injustice is a part of our world and that we cannot sit idly by and allow it to continue.
“[T]he character of our society … cannot be measured by how we treat the rich, the powerful, the privileged, and the respected among us. The true measure of our character is how we treat the poor, the disfavored, the accused, the incarcerated, and the condemned. We are all implicated when we allow other people to be mistreated. An absence of compassion can corrupt the decency of a community, a state, a nation.” — Bryan Stevenson, “Just Mercy”
Bryan Stevenson is a lawyer dedicated to representing those on death row and the founder of the Equal Justice Initiative. He may be the best known advocate for compassion and reform within the American justice system. His book, “Just Mercy,” is a powerful examination of the injustice prevalent in our justice system. Stevenson humanizes prisoners, even those who have spent years on death row. He focuses on the case of Walter McMillan, a young black man on death row for a murder he did not commit. Stevenson relays, in heartbreaking detail, the obstacles and challenges in getting an innocent man off death row, a process that takes years. He reveals the biases that influence decisions and the convoluted workings of the courts which keep innocent people trapped in the system. Continue reading “Literary Links: An Age of Injustice”
