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Biography and Memoir April 2019
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| The Pianist from Syria by Aeham AhmadWhat it's about: Born a second-generation Palestinian refugee in Syria, accomplished pianist Aeham Ahmad sought solace in music as the ongoing Syrian civil war tore his adopted homeland apart.
Author alert: Readers may remember Ahmad from the widely-circulated videos of him playing piano in a rubble-strewn Damascus; in 2015, he won the International Beethoven Prize for Human Rights.
Is it for you? This day-to-day account of the conflict -- and Ahmad's eventual immigration to Germany -- is both wrenching and inspiring. |
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| Sounds Like Titanic by Jessica Chiccehitto HindmanWhat it is: the surreal stranger-than-fiction chronicle of Jessica Chiccehitto Hindman's four years spent working as a fake violinist for a famous and eccentric unnamed composer.
Wait, what? Hindman and her fellow musicians played their instruments to packed houses across America, even performing on PBS -- but the music audiences heard blared from hidden CD players.
Reviewers say: "tricky, unnerving, consistently fascinating" (Kirkus Reviews); "far-reaching, insightful, and unputdownable" (Booklist). |
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| The Bold World: A Memoir of Family and Transformation by Jodie PattersonWhat it's about: Activist Jodie Patterson finds her mettle tested when her third child, three-year-old Penelope, announces, "I'm a boy."
Read it for: Patterson's candid reflections on black womanhood and parenting a transgender child.
For fans of: Nishta J. Mehra's Brown White Black and other moving family memoirs that address issues of intersectionality. |
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| First: Sandra Day O'Connor, An Intimate Portrait of the First Woman Supreme Court... by Evan ThomasWhat it is: a deeply researched biography of Sandra Day O'Connor, who in 1981 became the first woman appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Don't miss: gossipy tidbits of Court intrigue (O'Connor and her fellow justice Antonin Scalia couldn't stand each other).
Did you know? In 1973, O'Connor also became the first female Senate Majority Leader when she was elected to lead the Arizona state Senate. |
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| The Master Plan: My Journey from Life in Prison to a Life of Purpose by Chris Wilson with Bret WitterWhat it's about: At 17, Chris Wilson was sentenced to life in prison after killing a man in self-defense. Though his sentence was commuted after 10 years, he spent the intervening time working on his "Master Plan" for success, completing an Associate's Degree and learning new languages.
A fresh start: Once released, Wilson started a business that hires ex-convicts and found fulfillment as a motivational speaker.
Who it's for: readers who enjoy uplifting stories of second chances. |
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| Game of Crowns: Elizabeth, Camilla, Kate, and the Throne by Christopher AndersenWhat it is: an engaging collective biography of the three most powerful women in the British monarchy -- reigning queen Elizabeth II; Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall; and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge.
Why you might like it: Bestselling royal biographer Christopher Andersen's "catnip for royal watchers" (Vanity Fair) offers a dishy and detailed examination of the monarchy's possible futures following Elizabeth's death or abdication. |
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Queen Victoria : twenty-four days that changed her life
by Lucy Worsley
The BBC historian presenter and best-selling author of Courtiers explores the life and myriad roles of Queen Victoria as they reflected her defiance of gender conventions and defining position in a time of extraordinary change and political resistance
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Gods and Kings: The Rise and Fall of Alexander McQueen and John Galliano
by Dana Thomas
In the dramatic and rarefied atmosphere of avant-garde fashion design, Alexander McQueen and John Galliano may have had the most astounding careers, from brilliant spectacle to burnout. Both came from humble London origins, both studied at a famous art school, and both achieved notoriety in Paris houses of fashion. In this dual biography of artistic geniuses, author Dana Thomas, who knew the men through her work at the New York Times Style Magazine, tracks their glittering paths -- and their comedowns -- against the background of the contemporary fashion industry.
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| A Royal Experiment: Love and Duty, Madness and Betrayal -- The Private Lives of King... by Janice HadlowWhat it's about: "Mad King" George III of the dysfunctional Hanover line sought to be a moral compass for his subjects by conducting a virtuous public and private life -- often at the expense of his own relationships.
Read it for: George's faithful yet complicated marriage to Queen Charlotte, who bore him 15 children and often sublimated her own desires to ensure the success of his reign.
Book buzz: Originally published in the UK as The Strangest Family, A Royal Experiment was a 2014 Booklist Editors' Choice pick. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Richmond Public Library 101 East Franklin Street Richmond, Virginia 23219 (804) 646-7223rvalibrary.org/ |
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