|
Books in the National Media December 2017
|
|
|
|
|
Catalina by Liska JacobsFired from MoMA after an affair with her married boss, Elsa Fisher, angry, reckless and hell-bent of self-destruction, returns to Los Angeles where she joins some old friends on a trip to Catalina Island, putting the lives of those around her at risk. Featured in Entertainment Weekly, December 1
|
|
|
Prairie fires : the American dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder by Caroline FraserA comprehensive historical portrait of Laura Ingalls Wilder draws on unpublished manuscripts, letters, diaries and official records to fill in the gaps in Wilder's official story, sharing lesser-known details about her pioneer experiences while challenging popular misconceptions about how her books were ghostwritten. Featured in Entertainment Weekly, December 8
|
|
|
Obama : An Intimate Portrait: The Historic Presidency in Photographs by Pete SouzaA visual biography of Barack Obama's historic presidency, captured in unprecedented detail by his White House photographer, includes images documenting the most consequential hours of the Obama administration as well as the 44th President's encounters with world leaders, cultural figures and family member. Featured on The Daily Show, December 11
|
|
|
The only girl in the world : a memoir by Maude JulienA memoir by a therapy specialist in manipulation and psychological control describes her harrowing upbringing by fanatic parents, who raised her in isolation through traumatic disciplinary exercises designed to "eliminate weakness," and recounts how she eventually escaped with the help of an outsider. Featured on NPR's Weekend Edition, December 9
|
|
|
Endurance : a year in space, a lifetime of discovery by Scott KellyAn illustrated memoir by the astronaut who spent a record-breaking year aboard the International Space Station shares candid reminiscences of his voyage, his colorful formative years and the off-planet journeys that shaped his early career. Featured on The Opposition with Jordan Klepper, December 7
|
|
|
Blood at the root : a racial cleansing in America by Patrick PhillipsA harrowing testament to the deep roots of racial violence in America chronicles acts of racial cleansing in early 20th-century Forsyth County, Georgia, where the murder of a young girl led to mob lynchings, acts of terror against black workers and violent protests by night riders who would enforce whites-only citizenship. Featured on NPR's Fresh Air, December 8
|
|
|
Featured on The View, December 5
|
|
|
Why we sleep : unlocking the power of sleep and dreams by Matthew P WalkerA first book by the director of UC Berkeley's Sleep and Neuroimaging Lab outlines a groundbreaking exploration of sleep that explains how to harness its transformative power to improve overall health and life quality, covering subjects ranging from caffeine and REM sleep to sleep patterns and the role of sleep in illness. Featured on CBS This Morning, December 16
|
|
|
Three Daughters of Eve by Elif ShafakA tale by the internationally best-selling author of The Architect's Apprentice is set over an evening in contemporary Istanbul and follows the efforts of a woman to navigate cultural, religious and economic tensions during a seaside mansion dinner party while enduring painful memories of her deep multicultural friendships during her Oxford years Featured on NPR's Morning Edition, December 8
|
|
|
The last black unicorn by Tiffany HaddishThe stand-up comedienne and co-star of The Carmichael Show presents an uproarious and poignant collection of autobiographical essays that reflect her disadvantaged youth as a foster child in South Central Los Angeles; her discovery of her talent for comedy; and her struggles with gender, race and class boundaries in the entertainment industry. Featured on NPR's Author Interviews, December 14
|
|
|
Elmet by Fiona Mozley "Part fairy tale, part coming-of-age story, part revenge tragedy with literary connections, Mozley's first novel is a shape-shifting, lyrical, but dark parable of life off the grid in modern Britain. Mozley's instantaneous success . . . is a response to the stylish intensity of her work, which boldly winds multiple genres into a rich spinning top of a tale." --Kirkus Reviews
Featured in NPR's Arts & Life, December 2
|
|
|
Orders to kill : the Putin regime and political murder by Amy W. KnightA detailed account of the practice of covert assassination in Russian politics in the years since Putin's ascendance draws on a wealth of circumstantial evidence to document the regime-benefiting deaths of innumerable journalists, activists and political opponents. Featured on C-Span Book TV, December 24
|
|
|
No time to spare : thinking about what matters by Ursula K. Le Guin"From acclaimed author Ursula K. Le Guin, and with an introduction by Karen Joy Fowler, a collection of thoughts--always adroit, often acerbic--on aging, belief, the state of literature, and the state of the nation. Ursula K. Le Guin has taken readers toimaginary worlds for decades. Now she's in the last great frontier of life, old age, and exploring new literary territory: the blog, a forum where her voice -- sharp, witty, as compassionate as it is critical -- shines. No Time to Spare collects the bestof Ursula's blog, presenting perfectly crystallized dispatches on what matters to her now, her concerns with this world, and her wonder at it. On the absurdity of denying your age, she says, "If I'm ninety and believe I'm forty-five, I'm headed for a very bad time trying to get out of the bathtub." On cultural perceptions of fantasy: "The direction of escape is toward freedom. So what is 'escapism' an accusation of? " On her new cat: "He still won't sit on a lap" Featured in Entertainment Weekly, December 8
|
|
|
Improv Nation : How We Made a Great American Art by Sam WassonFrom the best-selling author of Fosse comes a sweeping history of the uniquely American art form of improv, which has never been more popular, from its beginnings during the McCarthy Era through the rise of such institutions as Second City, the Groundlings and the Upright Citizens Brigade and such performers as Tine Fey, Steve Carell and Bill Murray. Illustrations. Featured in Entertainment Weekly, December 8
|
|
|
Hiddensee : a tale of the once and future Nutcracker by Gregory MaguireThe best-selling author of Wicked presents an imaginative tale rooted in early 19th-century German Romanticism that explores parallels between the origin legend of the famous Nutcracker with the life of Drosselmeier, the toymaker who carves him. Featured on NPR's Author Interviews, December 3
|
|
|
Featured on NPR's Fresh Air, December 4
|
|
|
Anatomy of a scandal : a novel by Sarah Vaughan"An astonishingly incisive and suspenseful novel about a scandal amongst Britain's privileged elite and the women caught up in its wake. Sophie's husband James is a loving father, a handsome man, a charismatic and successful public figure. And yet he stands accused of a terrible crime. Sophie is convinced he is innocent and desperate to protect her precious family from the lies that threaten to rip them apart. Kate is the lawyer hired to prosecute the case: an experienced professional who knows that the law is all about winning the argument. And yet Kate seeks the truth at all times. She is certain James is guilty and is determined he will pay for his crimes. Who is right about James? Sophie or Kate? And is either of them informed by anything more than instinct and personal experience? Despite her privileged upbringing, Sophie is well aware that her beautiful life is not inviolable. She has known it since she and James were first lovers, at Oxford, and she witnessed how easily pleasure could tip into tragedy. Most people would prefer not to try to understand what passes between a man and a woman when they are alone: alone in bed, alone in an embrace, alone in an elevator...Or alone in the moonlit courtyard of an Oxford college, where a girl once stood before a boy, heart pounding with excitement, then fear. Sophie never understood why her tutorial partner Holly left Oxford so abruptly. What would she think, if she knew the truth?" Featured in Entertainment Weekly, December 8
|
|
|
Silent Witness : The Civil War Through Photography and Its Photographers by Ron FieldThe Civil War changed America forever. It shaped its future and determined its place in history. For the first time in military history, the camera was there to record these seismic events, from innovations in military and naval warfare, to the battles themselves; from commanders at critical moments in the battle, to the ordinary soldier tentatively posing for his first ever portrait on the eve of battle. Displaying many rare images unearthed by the author, an acclaimed Civil War historian, this beautiful volume explores how the camera bore witness to the dramatic events of the Civil War. It reveals not only how the first photographers plied their trade, but also how photography helped shape the outcome of the war and how it was reported to anxious families across the North and South. Featured in Entertainment Weekly, December 15/22
|
|
|
Strangers in Budapest by Jessica Brilliant KeenerMoving to the enigmatic city of Budapest shortly after the fall of the Communist regime, a young American couple is asked to check on an elderly stranger who harbors a secret desire to exact revenge on a man he holds responsible for his daughter's death. By the best-selling author of Night Swim. Featured in Entertainment Weekly, December 1
|
|
|
"Maya Angelou said that 'there is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you. Indeed, there is an agony in our nation that the stories, the voices, and the images of Black Americans are so unknown, untold, and unseen in our wider understanding of history. This bountiful collection of once-unpublished photographs both gives expressive voice to their subjects and helps to relieve this agony, bringing to life a more complete picture of the compelling, complex, and beautiful story that is America."-- Cory Booker, U.S. senator and bestselling author of United: Thoughts on Finding Common Ground and Advancing the Common Good. Featured in Entertainment Weekly, December 15/22
|
|
|
The Odyssey by HomerWritten in iambic pentameter verse and a vivid, contemporary idiom, a new translation of the epic poem, and the first by woman, matches the number of lines in the Greek original, thus maintaining Homer’s intended pace. Featured on NPR's Book Review, December 2
|
|
|
I've Been Thinking : Reflections, Prayers, and Meditations for a Meaningful Life by Maria ShriverAs a prominent woman juggling many roles, Maria Shriver knows just how surprising, unpredictable, and stressful everyday life can be. In this moving and powerful book, she shares inspiring quotes, prayers, and reflections designed to get readers thinking, get them feeling, get them laughing, and help them in their journey to what she calls The Open Field--a place of acceptance, purpose, and passion--a place of joy. Featured on The Today Show, December 15
|
|
|
Poison : a novel by Galt NiederhofferStarting over after moving to Seattle, a newly blended family forged by two seemingly happy career people becomes subject to small omissions and a series of denials that escalate in menacing ways. By the award-winning author of A Taxonomy of Barnacles. Featured in Entertainment Weekly, December 8
|
|
|
Immortal life : a soon to be true story by Stanley BingA ruthless, aging trillionaire tech inventor engages in a battle of wills against an increasingly desperate man whose body has been created to host the immortality-minded inventor's consciousness. By the best-selling author of Crazy Bosses. Featured on CBS This Morning, December 5
|
|
|
Featured on NPR's Fresh Air, December 19
|
|
|
Insidious intent by Val McDermidA latest entry in the best-selling series by the award-winning author of Splinter the Silence finds Tony Hill and Carol Jordan on the trail of a serial killer who targets single women at weddings. Featured in Entertainment Weekly, December 8
|
|
|
.Fortress America : how we embraced fear and abandoned democracy by Elaine Tyler MayThe award-winning social historian and author of America and the Pill untangles the roots of America's culture of national and personal security, arguing that the nation's collective obsession with defense and danger is placing us at risk for the loss of democratic traditions. Featured in NPR's Author Interviews, December 17
|
|
|
Featured on NPR's All Things Considered, December 10
|
|
|
Thalia : a Texas trilogy by Larry McMurtryCollects the acclaimed Western fiction author's first three novels for the first time—Horseman, Pass By, Leaving Cheyenne and The Last Picture Show—which are all set in the north Texas town of Thalia after World War II. Featured in Entertainment Weekly, December 15/22
|
|
|
Vacationland : true stories from painful beaches by John HodgmanThe best-selling author of That Is All presents a memoir of his cursed travels through the woods of Massachusetts and coastal Maine, describing his midlife transformation from an idealistic youth to an eccentric family man and his observations on such subjects as the horror of freshwater clams and the evolutionary purpose of the mustache. Featured on The Late Show, December 7
|
|
|
Harford County Public Library
1221-A Brass Mill Rd Belcamp, Maryland 21017 410-273-5600 hcplonline.org
|
|
|
|