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Biography and Memoir February 2023 |
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| Remainders of the Day: A Bookshop Diary by Shaun BythellWelcome to... The Bookshop, the largest used bookstore in Scotland, run by witty owner Shaun Bythell.
Read it for: a lively account of the charms and challenges of everyday life at the store, featuring a colorful cast of characters, including cunning shop cat Captain.
Series alert: Bythell previously chronicled his Bookshop adventures in Confessions of a Bookseller and Seven Kinds of People You Find in Bookshops, both of which were translated into more than 30 languages. |
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| Your Table Is Ready: Tales of a New York City Maître D' by Michael Cecchi-AzzolinaWhat it's about: author Michael Cecchi-Azzolina's decades spent working as a maître d' in some of New York City's hottest fine dining restaurants.
What's inside: a fast-paced account of dysfunction and debauchery within the restaurant industry; dishy anecdotes on serving Jackie Gleason, Dustin Hoffman, Tennessee Williams, Anna Wintour, and more.
For fans of: Anthony Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential. |
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| Weightless: Making Space for My Resilient Body and Soul by Evette DionneWhat it is: National Book Award finalist Evette Dionne's chronicle of how systemic fatphobia has shaped her life as a plus-sized Black woman.
Read it for: an incisive look at the intersection of race, gender, and wellness, featuring personal anecdotes and pop culture musings.
Reviewers say: "A provocatively necessary collection" (Kirkus Reviews) and "an urgent call for change" (Publishers Weekly). |
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| Rough Sleepers: Dr. Jim O'Connell's Urgent Mission to Bring Healing to Homeless People by Tracy KidderWhat it is: an inspiring portrait of physician Jim O'Connell, who founded the Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program.
Why you might like it: Journalist Tracy Kidder spent five years following O'Connell and his team as they navigated bureaucratic challenges to administer compassionate care to some of the city's most vulnerable.
Author alert: Pulitzer Prize winner Kidder is the bestselling author of Mountains Beyond Mountains. |
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| The McCartney Legacy: Volume 1, 1969-73 by Allan Kozinn and Adrian SinclairWhat it is: a nostalgic and well-researched biography chronicling the first four years of musician Paul McCartney's post-Beatles life and career.
Featuring: hundreds of interviews with fellow musicians, colleagues, and more; revealing, never-before-seen archival materials.
Series alert: Co-written by music critic Allan Kozinn and documentarian Adrian Sinclair, this richly detailed survey is the first in a planned two-volume series. |
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Focus on: Black History Month
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| Until I Am Free: Fannie Lou Hamer's Enduring Message to America by Keisha N. BlainWho it's about: Mississippi civil rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer (1917-1977).
What's inside: an inspiring portrait of a woman whose advocacy against voter suppression and police brutality continues to resonate.
Further reading: Walk With Me: A Biography of Fannie Lou Hamer by Kate Clifford Larson. |
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| To Walk About in Freedom: The Long Emancipation of Priscilla Joyner by Carole EmbertonWhat it is: a thought-provoking look at the limitations of America's Reconstruction era as seen through the eyes of biracial and formerly enslaved North Carolina woman Priscilla Joyner (1858-1944).
Featuring: interviews conducted with Joyner as part of the Federal Writers' Project in the 1930s.
Why you should read it: This richly contextualized blend of biography and history illuminates how Black Americans created their own thriving communities in the wake of emancipation. |
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| Read Until You Understand: The Profound Wisdom of Black Life and Literature by Farah Jasmine GriffinWhat it is: Guggenheim Fellow Farah Jasmine Griffin's impassioned exploration of the ways in which Black literature has shaped and reflected her life, with referenced works grouped thematically.
Chapters include: "The Quest for Justice;" "Rage and Resistance;" "The Transformative Potential of Love;" "Of Gardens and Grace."
Try this next: anthology Well-Read Black Girl: Finding Our Stories, Discovering Ourselves, edited by Glory Edim. |
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| True: The Four Seasons of Jackie Robinson by Kostya KennedyWhat it is: a moving and unconventional biography of groundbreaking Brooklyn Dodgers baseball player Jackie Robinson.
What sets it apart: True focuses solely on four years in Robinson's career: 1947 (his first season playing Major League Baseball); 1949 (the year he won Most Valuable Player); 1956 (his final season in the sport); and 1972 (the year his uniform number was retired and he met an untimely death).
Reviewers say: "Baseball fans shouldn't miss this" (Publishers Weekly). |
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| Illustrated Black History: Honoring the Iconic and the Unseen by George McCalmanWhat's inside: a celebration of the diversity of Black Americans' accomplishments in politics, education, science, the arts, and more.
Featuring: vibrant illustrated portraits and mini-biographies of 145 trailblazers.
Read it for: "a unique and engaging entry point into Black history that will no doubt inspire further research" (Booklist Reviews). |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Atlantic County Library System | 40 Farragut Avenue, Mays Landing, NJ 08330
Phone: (609) 625-2776 | www.atlanticlibrary.org
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|  | Atlantic County Executive Dennis Levinson
Atlantic County Board of Commissioners, Maureen Kern, Chairwoman |
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