Interest: Book Lovers
News of the World
In the wake of the Civil War, Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd travels through northern Texas, giving live readings from newspapers to paying audiences hungry for news of the world. An elderly widower who has lived through three wars and fought in two of them, the captain enjoys his rootless, solitary existence. In Wichita Falls, he is offered a $50 gold piece to deliver a young orphan to her relatives in San Antonio. Four years earlier, a band of Kiowa raiders killed Johanna’s parents and sister; sparing the little girl, they raised her as one of their own. Recently rescued by …
Get Your Library Card This September
Published: September 1, 2021
September is National Library Card Sign-Up Month
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Book Club Kits for Adults
Each kits contains 10 copies of the book and resources to get the most out of your discussions. Being Heumann : an unrepentant memoir of a disability rights activist Heumann, Judith Paralyzed from polio at eighteen months, Judy’s struggle for equality began early in life. From fighting to attend grade school after being described as a “fire hazard” to later winning a lawsuit against the New York City school system for denying her a teacher’s license because of her paralysis, Judy’s actions set a precedent that fundamentally improved rights for disabled people. As a young woman, Judy rolled her wheelchair …
Dear America : notes of an undocumented citizen
The movement of people–what Americans call ‘immigration’ and the rest of the world calls ‘migration’–is among the defining issues of our time. Technology and information crosses countries and continents at blistering speed. Corporations thrive on being multinational and polyglot. Yet the world’s estimated 244 million total migrant population, particularly those deemed ‘illegal’ by countries and societies, are locked in a chaotic and circular debate about borders and documents, assimilation and identity. Born in the Philippines and brought to the U.S. illegally as a 12-year-old, Vargas hid in plain-sight for years, writing for some of the most prestigious news organizations in …
Code Girls : the untold story of the American women code breakers of World War II
Documents the contributions of more than ten thousand American women who served as codebreakers during World War II, detailing how their efforts shortened the war, saved countless lives, and enabled their subsequent careers.
March. Books 1, 2, 3
A first-hand account of the author’s lifelong struggle for civil and human rights. After the success of the Nashville sit-in campaign, John Lewis is more committed than ever to changing the world through nonviolence — but as he and his fellow Freedom Riders board a bus into the vicious heart of the deep south, they will be tested like never before. By the fall of 1963, the Civil Rights Movement has penetrated deep into the American consciousness, and as chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, John Lewis is guiding the tip of the spear. The only hope for lasting …
Reading with Patrick : a teacher, a student, and a life-changing friendship
Michelle Kuo arrived in the rural town of Helena, Arkansas, as a Teach for America volunteer in 2004, bursting with optimism and drive. But she soon encountered the jarring realities of life in one of the poorest counties in America. In this memoir, Michelle shares the story of her complicated but rewarding mentorship of one student, Patrick Browning, and his remarkable literary and political awakening. Fifteen and in the eighth grade, Patrick begins to thrive under Michelle’s exacting attention. However, after two years of teaching, Michelle leaves Arkansas to attend law school. When, on graduating, she learns that Patrick has …
What the Eyes Don’t See : a story of crisis, resistance, and hope in an American city
From the heroic pediatrician who rallied a community and brought the fight for justice to national attention comes a powerful firsthand account of the Flint water crisis–a dramatic story of failed democracy and inspiring citizen advocacy and action. In the heart of the world’s wealthiest nation, one hundred thousand people were poisoned by the water supply for two years–with the knowing complicity of their government. Written by the crusading pediatrician who helped turn the crisis into a transformative movement for change, What the Eyes Don’t See is a devastating insider chronicle of the Flint water crisis, the signature environmental disaster …
Shores Beyond Shores : from Holocaust to hope : my true story
As Irene’s Pappi fights to save his family during the Holocaust, Irene’s childhood is lost. Play is restricted. Family and friends disappear. Finally, with the Dutch police at their door comes the reality that Irene’s father has not moved his family far enough from Hitler’s Germany. By January 1945, the family is struggling to survive a death camp. Irene tends her ailing parents, cares for starving kids, and even helps bring clothes to her Amsterdam neighbor Anne Frank, before her family is offered a singular chance for freedom…providing the Nazi doctor says they are healthy enough. After two weeks of …
The Intuitionist
An elevator inspector becomes the center of controversy when an elevator crashes. The inspector, Lila Mae Watson, is a black woman who inspects by intuition, as opposed to visual observation, and now she must prove her method was not at fault. A study of society’s attitude to technology and a debut in fiction.
Their Eyes Were Watching God
Fair and long-legged, independent and articulate, Janie Crawford sets out to be her own person–no mean feat for a black woman in the ’30s. Janie’s quest for identity takes her through three marriages and into a journey back to her roots.
Homegoing : a novel
Ghana, eighteenth century: two half sisters are born into different villages, each unaware of the other. One will marry an Englishman and lead a life of comfort in the palatial rooms of the Cape Coast Castle. The other will be captured in a raid on her village, imprisoned in the very same castle, and sold into slavery. Homegoing follows the parallel paths of these sisters and their descendants through eight generations: from the Gold Coast to the plantations of Mississippi, from the American Civil War to Jazz Age Harlem. Yaa Gyasi’s extraordinary novel illuminates slavery’s troubled legacy both for those …
Rebecca
A young girl becomes the second Mrs. Max de Winter, only to find that she is not the mistress of Manderley. Instead the house and its occupants are dominated by the memory of Rebecca, her predecessor.
The Story of Arthur Truluv : a novel
For the past six months, Arthur Moses’s days have looked the same: He tends to his rose garden and to Gordon, his cat, then rides the bus to the cemetery to visit his beloved late wife for lunch. The last thing Arthur would imagine is for one unlikely encounter to utterly transform his life. Eighteen-year-old Maddy Harris is an introspective girl who visits the cemetery to escape the other kids at school. One afternoon she joins Arthur–a gesture that begins a surprising friendship between two lonely souls. Moved by Arthur’s kindness and devotion, Maddy gives him the nickname “Truluv.” As …
Pride and Prejudice
When Elizabeth Bennet first meets eligible bachelor Fitzwilliam Darcy, she thinks him arrogant and conceited; he is indifferent to her good looks and lively mind. When she later discovers that Darcy has involved himself in the troubled relationship between his friend Bingley and her beloved sister Jane, she is determined to dislike him more than ever. In the sparkling comedy of manners that follows, Jane Austen shows us the folly of judging by first impressions and superbly evokes the friendships, gossip and snobberies of provincial middle-class life. This Penguin Classics edition, based on Austen’s first edition, contains the original Penguin …
Bless Me, Ultima
Ultima is a curandera, one who cures with herbs and magic, and she joins Antonio Marez’s family when he is six years old, teaching him the magical secrets of the pagan past.
Little Women
One of the most cherished books in American literature, Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women is the coming-of-age story of the beloved March sisters—Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy—and the trials and hardships they face in smalltown New England during the Civil War. A celebration of family, friendship, and womanhood, it continues to enchant audiences of every generation.
Celebrate Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month
Published: May 18, 2021
Celebrate the culture and historical influence of the AAPI community during Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month!
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Committing to Compassion
Published: December 29, 2020
Last year brought challenges. It also brought opportunities for compassion, community, and patience. In addition to the pandemic, racial unrest throughout the country forced us to think about how we make a community work for everyone. This year, renew your commitment to personal and community growth. In the spirit of spreading knowledge, here are some tools and tips for achieving your resolutions and becoming a more informed and engaged citizen. Talk to your family about race Research from the American Psychological Association shows some preschoolers may have already developed racist beliefs well before adults start talking about race with them. …
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For the Whole World to See: Civil Rights Bibliographies
Published: December 21, 2020
Browse this selection of books and DVD titles that discuss different aspects of the Civil Rights Movement, from the ’50s and ’60s. This list is a part of the For All the World to See exhibit.
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