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Biography and Memoir July 2018
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| There Are No Grown-Ups: A Midlife Coming-of-Age Story by Pamela DruckermanWhat it is: part memoir, part self-help guide, this witty and lighthearted collection of 25 essays explores American expat life in Paris, the realities of aging, and family relationships.
Want a taste? "You know you're a fortysomething parent when you've decided that swimming counts as a shower."
Chapters include: "How to Have a Midlife Crisis;" "How to Plan a Ménage à Trois;" and "How to Think in French." |
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| Barracoon: The Story of the Last "Black Cargo" by Zora Neale HurstonWhat it's about: In 1927, author and anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston interviewed Cudjo Lewis (c. 1841-1935), one of the last known survivors of the Atlantic slave trade; the transcript of their conversation was only recently discovered.
Read it for: Hurston's folkloristic preservation of Lewis's West African vernacular and storytelling.
Is it for you? Lewis' clear account of his capture and enslavement is both graphic and illuminating. |
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| The Destiny Thief: Essays on Writing, Writers, and Life by Richard RussoWhat it is: a moving and insightful peek into the creative process and everyday life of a prolific writer, leisurely told in a series of nine essays.
About the author: Novelist Richard Russo's Empire Falls won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2002; this is his first essay collection.
Don't miss: The poignant "Imagining Jenny" originally appeared as the afterword to Jennifer Boylan's 2003 memoir She's Not There and discusses how Russo's friendship with Boylan changed after the latter's gender-reassignment surgery. |
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| Young Washington: How Wilderness and War Forged America's Founding Father by Peter StarkWhat it is: a lively chronicle of how George Washington's early career exploits during the French and Indian War shaped him from a volatile young man into an empathetic and respected military leader.
Read it for: adventure writer Peter Stark's thrilling, vivid narrative, supplemented with letters, journal entries, and military documents.
Reviewers say: "a discerning history of pre-Revolutionary America and the man who shaped its future" (Kirkus Reviews). |
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Focus on: Prison and Captivity
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| A House in the Sky by Amanda Lindhout and Sara CorbettWhat it's about: In 2008, 25-year-old Canadian journalist Amanda Lindhout was captured by Somali rebels in Mogadishu and held for ransom for 15 months.
Don't miss: the urgent and evocative prose.
Is it for you? Though the memoir has an upbeat ending, Lindhout's harrowing descriptions of the violence she endured may be too disturbing for some readers. |
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| The Last Girl: My Story of Captivity, and My Fight Against the Islamic State by Nadia MuradWhat it is: the raw yet inspiring story of Nadia Murad's escape from captivity by the Islamic State, for whom she was forced to serve as a "sabiya" (or sex slave) after her Yazidi village in Iraq was destroyed in 2014.
About the author: Nadia Murad is a Nobel Peace Prize nominee and the United Nations Goodwill Ambassador for the Dignity of Survivors of Human Trafficking. |
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| Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan StevensonWhat it's about: In 1994, lawyer and social justice activist Bryan Stevenson founded the Equal Justice Initiative, which provides legal representation to inmates on Alabama's death row -- many of whom face miscarriages of justice.
Further reading: Stevenson provides the foreword to Anthony Ray Hinton's heartwrenching and hopeful memoir (and Oprah's latest Book Club selection) The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row, which chronicles his 30 years of false imprisonment. |
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Film Showing: Make Mine Music
Thursday, July 19, 10:00 am
Library Meeting Room
Share in Walt Disney’s extraordinary vision of pairing imaginative stories with spectacular music in Disney’s 8th full-length animated classic. In the tradition of Fantasia, Make Mine Music is a glorious collection of musically charged animated shorts featuring the fun-filled favorite, Peter and the Wolf, narrated by Sterling Holloway, the beloved voice behind Winnie the Pooh. Children ages 18 and under who arrive by 10:30 am will receive a chance to win a copy of the movie. Light refreshments provided. Rated G. This Summer Reading Program activity is fun for the whole family.
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Bookmarks: Lord of Misrule
Friday, July 20, 2:00 pm
Library Meeting Room
Jessica Hoffmaster will review Lord of Misrule by Jaimy Gordon. The book is divided into four sections, each concerned with one of four horse races at a “down on the luck” racetrack. The novel drew a positive response, with many reviewers focusing on Gordon’s skillful and complex prose style. It received the National Book Award for Fiction in 2010.
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Movies in Washington Park: Coco
Friday, July 20, 8:15 pm
North Pointe Pavilion, Washington Park
The Michigan City Parks and Recreation Department and the library collaborate for summer Movies in Washington Park. The July movie is Coco. Despite his family’s generations-old ban on music, young Miguel dreams of becoming an accomplished musician like his idol Ernesto de la Cruz. Desperate to prove his talent, Miguel finds himself in the stunning and colorful Land of the Dead. The movies are shown at the North Pointe Pavilion at dusk. Mark your calendar for Paddington 2 on August 17.
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Axis 360 eBooks
Find popular fiction, non-fiction, and picture e-books and e-audiobooks for children, teens, and adults! It's simple--just download the app on your device, search for "Michigan City Public Library", and log in with your library card number and PIN.
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Biography in Context
Research notable people from the past and today using this multimedia site with articles, books, photos, and videos. Log in with your library card number.
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Library Catalog
Look up books and other materials, place items on hold, and more.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Michigan City Public Library 100 E. 4th Street Michigan City, Indiana 46360 219-873-3044mclib.org/ |
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