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Lifting as they climbed : mapping a history of black women on Chicago's south side : a self-guided tour

Mariame Kaba

977.311 /Kaba
History

This publication features a number of Black women who contributed to the development of Chicago from the mid-19th century to today. It tells a story of Black women activists and artists who lived and worked on Chicago's South Side by taking readers on a tour of relevant landmarks and locations. The vast majority of women featured on this tour were active members of multiple organizations who pursued a broad range of issues. Others were artists (writers, painters, musicians, dancers) who both documented the conditions of Black people and shaped the culture of Chicago & the entire country. Chicago's Black women activists organized to make the city work better for themselves, their loved ones and communities. There are 33 main locations, mostly centered on the South Side of Chicago, featured in this guidebook. We've also included 10 additional sites of interest. --

A self-guided walking tour of historical sites focused around the contributions made by Black women to the city of Chicago. Some great local history research went into this book! -Jason

The shining

Stephen King

FICTION King, Stephen
Horror

This is probably the only horror book I've ever read, and it's completely amazing. Gripping, compelling, intensely psychological. -Amanda

The perfect nanny : a novel

Leïla Slimani

FICTION Slimani Leila
Suspense, Fiction

"When Myriam, a French-Moroccan lawyer, decides to return to work after having children, she and her husband look for the perfect nanny for their two young children. They never dreamed they would find Louise: a quiet, polite, devoted woman who sings to the children, cleans the family's chic apartment in Paris's upscale tenth arrondissement, stays late without complaint, and hosts enviable kiddie parties. But as the couple and the nanny become more dependent on one another, jealousy, resentment, and suspicions mount, shattering the idyllic tableau. Building tension with every page, The Perfect Nanny is a compulsive, riveting, bravely observed exploration of power, class, race, domesticity, and motherhood--and the American debut of an immensely talented writer"--

Lelia Slimani's international best seller is a great summer read. Translated from French, this novel begins with a startling discovery and takes the reader back in time to closely examine in the lives of Myriam and Paul, their two children and Mila and Adam and their nanny Louise. -Maeve

The book thief

Markus Zusak

YOUNG ADULT FICTION Zusak, Markus
Young Adult, Historical Fiction

Trying to make sense of the horrors of World War II, Death relates the story of Liesel--a young German girl whose book-stealing and story-telling talents help sustain her family and the Jewish man they are hiding, as well as their neighbors.

This gorgeous, heartbreaking book is literally told from the perspective of Death, and is set during the Holocaust. It's so beautiful and haunting--once you read it, you'll never forget it. -Amanda

Peace like a river

Leif Enger

FICTION Enger, Leif
Fiction

Fair or not, Enger's first novel will inevitably be compared to the work of Garrison Keillor: both men are veterans of Minnesota Public Radio, and the book very much shares the spirit of Keillor's radio work and fiction, with its quiet, observant gaze capturing the beauty of simple things, related through wise and thoughtful characters in this case, the Land family from North Dakota. Asthmatic youngster Reuben Land tells the admittedly shaggy-dog story of his older brother Davy, who shoots and kills two violent intruders as they break into the family's home;Davy is convicted but manages to flee. Both the Lands and the law follow in hot pursuit, but the family seems to have support from a higher power father Jeremiah himself has performed a miracle or two in his lifetime (walking on water, healing the afflicted with his touch, and the like). Biblical allusions abound, and fantastic things happen, such as the patriarch's four-mile tour via tornado. "Make of it what you will," says Reuben. LJ Reviews, June 2001

First ever All Iowa Reads book selected in 2003, still a great read of young man's journey after a tragic event. -Susan C

North and south

Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell

FICTION Gaskell, Elizabeth Cleghorn
Literary Fiction

A wonderful romance set during the Industrial Revolution. If you like Jane Austen, you'll love this! -Amanda