It’s February! Fall in love with one of our Staff Picks!
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Marissa – Circulation
Life and Death in Shanghai, by Nien Cheng, Biography 921 Cheng
This is an autobiography depicting the author’s experience in China during the Cultural Revolution of the 1960’s. It details her confinement, persecution, and torture under false charges of being a British spy. During her time in prison, her daughter was murdered by the same group that had arrested and imprisoned the author. Eventually, she is able to escape to the United States. I found this book incredibly interesting and equally terrifying to read. It was interesting to learn about another country’s history, especially from an individual’s perspective and experience, but terrifying to read all the difficulties that the author endured and realize that this actually happened.
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Cathy – Circulation
Unforgotten, starring Sanjeev Bhaskar, Nicola Walker, and Jordan Long, TV Series DVD Unforgotten
Four seasons of great British mysteries. Interesting characters with excellent development. If you like mysteries and British scenery, this is the show for you! As each episode unfolds, they link seemingly unrelated characters to the main theme of the mystery. It kept me guessing – the show is not a traditional police procedural drama, it is way more evolved. The ending is one of the best I’ve ever watched. Have a tissue handy!
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Karen – Reference
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, by Taylor Jenkins Reid, Fiction Reid
Sometimes the lives of others aren’t as glossy as they appear. Evelyn Hugo is a glamorous actress and producer, and lives her life in the tabloids of the early 50’s Hollywood. She rises to fame due to her looks, her love life, and her acting abilities. Was it all worth it? Would she do it all again? Does she have regrets? And which of her husbands was the love of her life? These are all answered within the book, along with the themes that our lives are what we make them and family is how we define it.
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Laura – Circulation
I listened to this audiobook, and the narration was fantastic. I binged it in less than a week….I imagine the book is hard to put down as well! Evelyn Hugo is an aging and reclusive Hollywood movie icon finally ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life…and she chooses a virtual nobody to write her story. Magazine reporter Monique Grant jumps at the opportunity to write Evelyn’s story, even though she has no idea why Evelyn would possibly choose her. Whether you love Evelyn or hate her, you can’t help but become enamored with her larger than life character as you hear her story unfold.
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The Violin Conspiracy, by Brendan Slocumb, Fiction Slocumb
As a kid, young Rayquan has a dream to become a world class violinist. His mother is….less than supportive. But his grandma shows him love and support, and gifts him his PopPop’s old fiddle. Then in college, he discovers his beat-up family fiddle is actually a priceless Stradivarius worth $10,000,000. Ray and his violin take the world by storm, until the violin is stolen for a five million dollar ransom. As Ray preps for the biggest competition in the world, he must also try to find his most prized possession. While I did finish up the book in a few short days, I solved the mystery half way through the book.
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Michelle – Administration
Fairy Tale, by Stephen King, New Fiction King
I can’t say enough good things about this book – I LOVED it! I didn’t want it to end. King created a fairy tale in a way that only he can. The story follows Charlie, a 17-year-old boy whose life changes forever when he hears the cries of a dog calling for help for his fallen owner. That simple act of kindness leads Charlie on a grand adventure to a world full of the fairy tale archetypes we have known since childhood. While this is a fairly long book, I just could not put it down. I needed to know what happened next. I have long been a fan of the way King creates a whole world for the reader while keeping the story moving along at a brisk pace and this book is no different.
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Like a lot of people, I have always been intrigued by the Royal Family and was excited to dive into a real behind-the-curtain look. Prince Harry’s side of the story is quite different from the story presented by the press or even by the family as a whole. He debunks so many of the themes that we have been led to believe over of the years. He shares quite a few personal stories and while he has had a number of difficult events in his life, he presents his story with humor and does not devolve into self-pity. He also shares some truly funny stories. I listened to the audiobook, read by the author, and to hear him tell his own stories gave it a more personal feeling. I would recommend this audiobook to anyone with any interest in the Royal Family or in stories of military service. It was certainly eye-opening.
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Paula – Circulation
Alice and Jack live the perfect lives in their perfect 1950s experimental town. All of the husbands leave in the morning at the same time for their secret job that’s supposed to make a difference for the town, while the wives stay home and do the housework, enjoying the luxuries their lives have to offer. Alice doesn’t have any reason to question her perfect life, but when one of the wives starts making accusations, she starts to have her doubts. What are the men really doing when they go to work? Why do all of the residents share similar experiences and memories from their pasts? Alice makes it her mission to convince her husband and the rest of the town that something dark is going on and nothing is as it seems. I enjoyed this movie a lot more than I thought I would. The acting is phenomenal, as are Florence Pugh and Harry Styles because they naturally are. The ending is a great plot twist that I did not see coming. And, well, it’s Harry Styles, so you should just watch it anyway.
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Hubbell – Circulation
Take Me Out to the Ballgame: A History of Baseball in America, from The Modern Scholar series, Lecture CD 796.357 SHU
Pitchers and catchers report soon! This Great Courses lecture chronicles America’s true national sport from its inception (no, not Abner Doubleday) to the present. Baseball was so intertwined with American public life for more than 100 years until it ceded popularity to American football over the last 30 years or so. This lecture from Kenyon College professor Timothy Shutt covers the origins of the sport, the beginnings of the professional era, the Negro Leagues, integration, and the heydays of the 50’s and 60’s. You can almost smell the grass and hear the buzz of the crowd.
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Nancy – Reference
Less and Less is Lost, by Andrew Sean Greer, Fiction Greer and New Fiction Greer
Less, by Andrew Sean Greer, has received numerous starred reviews and awards, including the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for fiction. I loved it when I first read it five years ago and still smile every time I see it on the shelf. The protagonist, Arthur Less, embarks on an escapist trip around the world and lands in unbelievably hilarious situations.
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In the sequel, Less is Lost, Arthur Less is on the move yet again. This time, his adventurous spirit takes him across the United States. If you’re looking for a romantic comedy with a quirky, loveable character, give Arthur Less a try.
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Forget My Name, by Zerocalcare, New Adult Graphic Novel Zerocalcare (Graphic)
Zerocalcare, an Italian cartoonist, created an unforgettable character of the same name with great eyebrows and an armadillo for a conscience. In Forget My Name, Zerocalcare suffers the loss of a loved one. As he struggles to deal with his emotions, he explores his relationships with the help of his armadillo. Zerocalcare sprinkles this heavy topic with humorous anecdotes, much like the wildly entertaining Netflix series Tear Along the Dotted Line. I’ve read the book and watched the Netflix series twice. Love the eyebrows!
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Jean – Reference
Meredith, Alone, by Claire Alexander, New Fiction Alexander
So what if Meredith hasn’t left her house in over 1,000 days? Her home is her safe haven and in today’s world, she can order in anything she needs. She has a good job and good friends who regularly visit, so really, what’s the problem? But when Tom McDermott from a befriending charity shows up at her doorstep, and not long after, her estranged sister shows up, the tightly controlled environment she has created to help her feel safe begins to fray. With the help of good friends, Meredith begins to confront the traumatic memories of the past that have kept her walled off from the world at large. With a moving storyline and a cast of interesting characters that will leave you thinking about them when you put the book down, this is a feel-good story not to be missed!