Staff Recommendations
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On the Isle of Antioch
by Maalouf, Amin
Reviewed by: Sheryn Morris, Librarian, Literature & FictionJuly 9, 2024
The novel is divided into four chapters: First notebook: Fog; Second notebook: Patches of Sunlight; Third notebook: Moorings; Fourth notebook: Disappearance. It covers one month, beginning on November 9 and ending on December 9, with no year specified, but is definitely in the present.
Graphic artist Alexandre, aka Alec, has chosen to live alone and work on the island of Antioch, somewhere off the French Atlantic coast. He depends on having consistent electricity for the internet, cell phone service, and radio communication. When electricity... Read Full Review
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Some Desperate Glory
by Tesh, Emily
Reviewed by: Andrea Borchert, Librarian, Koreatown Media LabJuly 1, 2024
Call Number: SF
Some Desperate Glory is the story of a young woman, Kyr, who grew up in a military cult located in space and bent all of her will, energy, and focus toward succeeding in that environment, even if success made her a terrible person. But Kyr didn't realize, until it was too late, that she was never meant to succeed.
It's only when she's forced to flee the only home she's ever known that Kyr, the best student in her class, gains enough perspective to start asking questions about her life. Questions like "If the head of Gaea Station is a hero, why did he need to lie so much... Read Full Review
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Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent
by Dench, Judi
Reviewed by: Sheryn Morris, Librarian, Literature & FictionJune 26, 2024
Call Number: 822.092 D391-3
Actor Dame Judi Dench has portrayed many characters (in comedies and in tragedies) in different formats (stage, screen, TV, sound recordings); in the James Bond franchise, she was featured in the role of M (the first female to do so), whose character gave it all for Queen and country, and then got bumped off; she has been parodied for being Dame Judi by comedian Tracey Ullman—some videos can easily be found on YouTube and are a hoot; she is known as Judi Dench:... Read Full Review
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The Measure: A Novel
by Erlick, Nikki
Reviewed by: Janice Batzdorff, LibrarianJune 17, 2024
If you could find out how long you're going to live, would you want to have that information? If you knew you'd die in fourteen years, would you still marry or have children? Would you tell your parents?
What if the person you're dating snoops and breaks up with you upon discovering your time is short? What if your employer requires that you disclose your life expectancy?
For the protagonists in Nikki Erlick’s novel The Measure, these are not hypothetical questions. Each character and every adult worldwide receives a small box inscribed with words written in their... Read Full Review
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Bits and Pieces: My Mother, My Brother, and Me
by Goldberg, Whoopi
Reviewed by: Sheryn Morris, Librarian, Literature & FictionJune 10, 2024
Call Number: 812.092 G618
For all her candor, no-holds-barred way of expressing herself, we may think we know all there is to know about Whoopi Goldberg. How wrong could all of us be, as you will discover in this autobiographical memoir. This remembrance is primarily about Whoopi's immediate family (her mother Emma Johnson and her brother Clyde Johnson), and all they meant to each other. It is an homage, a paen, especially to her mother, definitely in charge of Whoopi and brother Clyde. She led by example, not putting up with any nonsense and doing all of it with an abundance of love, kindness, wisdom, and magic.... Read Full Review
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The Twilight Garden
by Adams, Sara Nisha
Reviewed by: Daryl M., Librarian, West Valley Regional Branch LibraryJune 3, 2024
There are two residences on Eastbourne Road in Stoke Newington on the outskirts of London. Winston has lived in #79, with his boyfriend Lewis, for several years. Bernice, recently divorced, has just purchased #77 as a new home for herself and her young son, Sebastian. The two houses share a garden, which is increasingly becoming a point of contention between the two new neighbors. Just another bullet point on a growing list of grievances each has about the other.
One afternoon, Lewis finds an envelope in his mail. It is addressed to “the Young Man at Number 79”... Read Full Review
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A Short Walk Through a Wide World
by Westerbeke, Douglas
Reviewed by: Daryl M., Librarian, West Valley Regional Branch LibraryMay 28, 2024
Three sisters gather at what they have decided is a wishing well near their home in Paris. The year is 1885. There are so many terrible things happening in the world that they decide they each will make a wish and sacrifice something important to them by casting it into the well, which they believe will ensure their wishes will be granted. The first two make their wishes (a stop to the bombing of public buildings and that Dr. Homais will find a cure for syphilis) and their sacrifices (a gold chain and a favorite doll, respectively). When it comes to Aubry, the youngest, her wish... Read Full Review
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How to Solve Your Own Murder
by Perrin, Kristen
Reviewed by: Daryl M., Librarian, West Valley Regional Branch LibraryMay 20, 2024
Call Number: M
Annie’s Great Aunt Frances has always been a presence in Annie’s life. A rather nebulous, undefined presence, but a presence none the less. Great Aunt Frances owns the house in Chelsea where Annie has grown up with her mother. Communication from Great Aunt Frances has always been sporadic at best, and communication about her from her mother or grandparents has been equally limited. What Annie knows is this: Great Aunt Frances had her fortune told at a carnival when she was 16 years old. That fortune predicted that she was going to be murdered. That fortune so shook teenage Frances that she... Read Full Review
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Waiting for the Waters to Rise
by Conde, Maryse
Reviewed by: Sheryn Morris, Librarian, Literature & FictionMay 20, 2024
"Babakar is a doctor living alone, with only the memories of his African childhood. In his dreams, he receives visits from his blue-eyed mother and ex-lover Azelia, both now gone, as are the hopes and aspirations he's carried with him since his arrival in Guadeloupe. Until, one day, the child Anais comes into his life, forcing him to abandon his solitude. Anais's Haitian mother died in childbirth, leaving her daughter destitute—now Babakar is all she has, and he wants to offer this little girl a future. Together, they fly to Haiti, a beautiful, mysterious island plagued by violence,... Read Full Review
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The outsider : the life and work of Lafcadio Hearn : the man who introduced voodoo, Creole cooking,
by Kemme, Steve
Reviewed by: Sheryn Morris, Librarian, Literature & FictionMay 13, 2024
Call Number: 814 H436Ke
Lafcadio Hearn, a man with unusual origins and a complex life, whose early life gave no indication as to what he would later achieve, as he repeatedly overcame obstacles and controversies that became a part of his life until his death, and even after. The subtitle of the book is an enticing hint to Lafcadio Hearn’s achievements and to his fascinating life. His father was an Irish officer-surgeon and his mother was a noble-blooded Greek woman, and he was born in 1850 on the Greek island of Lefkada. Lafcadio is a variation on the place where he was born. Abandoned by both... Read Full Review
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The Kamogawa food detectives
by Kashiwai, Hisashi, 1952-
Reviewed by: Sheryn Morris, Librarian, Literature & FictionMay 7, 2024
This is the first book, in a series, to be translated from Japanese into English. From the illustration on the book cover and the title of the book, this might seem to be a cozy mystery. And, in some ways it is. The Kamogawa Diner is located on an insignificant side street in Kyoto, and there is no signage outside. So, how do customers find this place, and how do the owners stay in business? First of all, there is a daily set menu for regulars who eat there. Other customers find the diner from a vaguely worded ad (“We find your food.”) in the Gourmet Monthly. ... Read Full Review
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Sharks in the rivers
by Limón, Ada.
Reviewed by: Sheryn Morris, Librarian, Literature & FictionApril 29, 2024
Call Number: 811 L734
“Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden appointed Ada Limón as the 24th Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress on July 12, 2022 and reappointed her for a historic two-year second term on April 24, 2023. Limón’s second term will begin in September 2023 and conclude in April 2025."
In this collection of poems there are several themes that Limón’s poetry encompasses. Among them are recurring metaphors of water and aquatic life. There are long poems, one with... Read Full Review