Victoria

We are each other's harvest : celebrating African American farmers, land, and legacy

by Natalie Baszile

630.973 /Baszile
Black History, Black Lives Matter, Nonfiction

"In this impressive anthology, Natalie Baszile brings together essays, poems, photographs, quotes, conversations, and first-person stories to examine black people's connection to the American land from Emancipation to today. In the 1920s, there were over one million black farmers; today there are just 45,000. Baszile explores this crisis, through the farmers' personal experiences. In their own words, middle aged and elderly black farmers explain why they continue to farm despite systemic discrimination and land loss. The Returning Generation--young farmers, who are building upon the legacy of their ancestors, talk about the challenges they face as they seek to redress issues of food justice, food sovereignty, and reparations."--

An absolutely fascinating exploration of African American connection to land past, present and future. I loved the acknowledgment of historical truths and hopes for restorative futures in this series of essays, poems and photography. -Victoria

World travel : an irreverent guide

by Anthony Bourdain

910.202 /Bourdain
Travel

"A guide to some of the world's most fascinating places, as seen and experienced by writer, television host, and relentlessly curious traveler Anthony Bourdain"--

If you're looking to fill the indelible void Anthony Bourdain left in our hearts, this book will not do that. It will offer glimmers of him via his insightful quotes sprinkled throughout and essays by those who were close to him. At the very least it will whet your whistle to delve back into Kitchen Confidential, Parts Unknown, No Reservations and your other favorites. -Victoria

You are your best thing : vulnerability, shame resilience, and the Black experience -- an anthology

by

152.44 /You
Black Lives Matter, Self Help

This stark, potent collection of essays on Black shame and healing present a space to be vulnerable and affirm the fullness of Black love and Black life. They allow readers to recognize and process the trauma of sexual assault, and white supremacy and sexual assault, in order to work toward healing. Through lived experiences, we can work to dismantle oppressive systems-- of all types-- in this country. -- adapted from jacket and Introduction.

I've read much of Brené Brown's work, but I think this one is my favorites so far because it builds on her framework in a different way. These essays lay out what vulnerability, shame resilience and determination can look like in BIPOC places and spaces. By cracking open who can authentically feel and more importantly learn to thrive by being vulnerable and succeeding despite what has happened to them in the past, her contributing authors offer insight and solace for the reader. The reader can feel more resonance with the authenticity of her work in a way they may never have been able to before. As we begin to see each other on a spectrum of cultural experiences, backgrounds, social statuses, mental health and gender, we have a greater capacity to learn, empathize, communicate and share in each other's vulnerabilities. I loved this book! -Victoria

The lost soul

by Olga Tokarczuk

jE Tokarczu
Picture Books

"'Once upon a time there was a man who worked very hard and very quickly, and who had left his soul far behind him long ago. In fact his life was all right without his soul--he slept, ate, worked, drove a car and even played tennis. But sometimes he felt as if the world around him were flat, as if he were moving across a smooth page in a math book that was covered in evenly spaced squares...' The Lost Soul is a deeply moving reflection on our capacity to live in peace with ourselves, to remain patient, attentive to the world. It is a story that beautifully weaves together the voice of the Nobel Prize-winning Polish novelist Olga Tokarczuk and the finely detailed pen-and-ink drawings of illustrator Joanna Concejo, who together create a parallel narrative universe full of secrets, evocative of another time. Here a man has forgotten what makes his heart feel full. He moves to a house away from all that is familiar to him to wait for his soul to return. The Lost Soul is a sublime album, a rare delicacy that will delight readers young and old. 'You must find a place of your own, sit there quietly and wait for your soul.'"--

This is a stunning picture book I found in the Children's collection but this title will very possibly be enjoyed more by adults. The author reminds us that often, when we are hurrying around with our jobs, our families, and all of the countless other things on our to-do lists, our hearts move on from our souls and our souls get lost. In some ways the pandemic forced many of us to examine our priorities and what really matters in life. If there was ever a time to reconnect with our souls, that time is now! The illustrations are pensive and gorgeous and align perfectly with the moral of the story. If you like this, check out Cicada by Shaun Tan. -Victoria

We do this 'til we free us : abolitionist organizing and transforming justice

by Mariame Kaba

303.372 /Kaba
Black Lives Matter, Political

"What if social transformation and liberation isn't about waiting for someone else to come along and save us? What if ordinary people have the power to collectively free ourselves? In this timely collection of essays and interviews, Mariame Kaba reflects on the deep work of abolition and transformative political struggle."--Page 4 of cover.

Seasoned activist, abolitionist, community organizer and Founder/Director of Project NIA (an organization that works to end the incarceration of children and young adults by promoting restorative and transformative justice practices,) Mariame Kaba's latest book is a collection of essays that have been described as a "pragmatic playbook" that reimagines institutionalized systems and how ordinary people can collectively implement change. In her essays she describes what it means to defund and abolish the police and how we as communities can contribute to making our spaces more equitable through strategic, collective action. In the beginning of her book she cites a quote from her father: "Everything worthwhile is done with other people". Everything she has done in her work has amplified this sentiment and I think is a truly beautiful mantra. Well worth reading! -Victoria

Tom Waits

by Matt Mahurin

779.2 /Mahurin
Nonfiction

"A collection of portraits of musician Tom Waits, the result of a 30-year collaboration with photographer and illustrator Matt Mahurin This book is a testament to the unique collaboration, going back three decades, between the photographer and illustrator Matt Mahurin and the musician Tom Waits. Having shot magazine portraits, album covers, and music videos of Waits, Mahurin was inspired to resurrect 100 dormant film negatives as a jumping off point to explore his own surreal, poetic, and occasionƯally dark vision. The images vary from traditional porƯtraits to ones that capture Waits in concert--but the majority are imagined scenes in which Waits is more muse than musician. In addition to the diverse images, the book includes a foreword by Waits, an essay by Mahurin on their longtime collaboration, and 20 original paintings, drawings, photographs, and digital images inspired by Waits's song titles."--Publisher's website.

An incredible illustrated foray into Wait's career. If you can't have this as a coffee table book at home, you should at least check it out and ogle it! -Victoria

Whereabouts

by Jhumpa Lahiri

FICTION Lahiri Jhumpa
Fiction

"A marvelous new novel from the Pulitzer Prize winning author of The Lowland and Interpreter of Maladies--her first in nearly a decade. Exuberance and dread, attachment and estrangement: in this novel, Jhumpa Lahiri stretches her themes to the limit. The woman at the center wavers between stasis and movement, between the need to belong and the refusal to form lasting ties. The city she calls home, an engaging backdrop to her days, acts as a confidant: the sidewalks around her house, parks, bridges, piazzas, streets, stores, coffee bars. We follow her to the pool she frequents and to the train station that sometimes leads her to her mother, mired in a desperate solitude after her father's untimely death. In addition to colleagues at work, where she never quite feels at ease, she has girl friends, guy friends, and "him," a shadow who both consoles and unsettles her. But in the arc of a year, as one season gives way to the next, transformation awaits. One day at the sea, both overwhelmed and replenished by the sun's vital heat, her perspective will change. This is Jhumpa Lahiri's first novel she wrote in Italian and translated into English. It brims with the impulse to cross barriers. By grafting herself onto a new literary language, Lahiri has pushed herself to a new level of artistic achievement"--

It's always fascinating to me when authors learn a language and create new literary works in their new tongue. In this book Lahiri, born to Bengali parents and immersed in English as a child, moved to Italy as an adult to learn yet a third language. Whereabouts; a frameless, semi-plotless novel written in Italian and translated back to English by Lahiri is a story that follows a woman in the middle of her life's journey and, in succinct chapters describes among other things a year of her living, loving and losing. The author's language is sparse, pared down and distilled completely to only what is necessary. Her observational insights and metaphors are astute and deep. I listened to the audiobook while meandering around and while unlike anything she's written before, this is an introspective and contemplative read I would recommend. -Victoria

The Tree in Me

by Corinna Luyken

jE Luyken
Picture Books

Through text and illustrations of children reveling in nature, explores the various ways we as human beings are strong, creative, and connected to others. Each of us is like a tree, with roots and fruit, and an enduring link to everything else in nature.

Corinna Luyken has done it again! Author of The Book of Mistakes and My Heart, The Tree in Me is an ode to the connection and bond that inextricably links us to the natural world: how we are in nature and nature is in us. The illustrations are absolutely delightful and this is an ode to that feeling you get when you're admiring everything that is blooming around you right now. Perfect for ages 4-8, though adults will appreciate this little treasure as well! -Victoria

Broken: (in the best possible way)

by Jenny Lawson

Humor, Self Help

"As Jenny Lawson's hundreds of thousands of fans know, she suffers from depression. In Broken (in the best possible way), she explores her experimental treatment of transcranial magnetic stimulation with brutal honesty. But also with brutal humor: "People do different things to distract themselves during each treatment. I embroider. It feels fitting. I'm being magnetically stabbed in the head thousands of times as I'm stabbing the embroidery myself. I don't embroider the same patterns my grandmother did. I embroider girls with octopus faces, David Bowie, a flowery bouquet with FUCK YES written in the middle. They let you do anything as long as it's 'positive.'" Jenny discusses the frustration of dealing with her insurance company in "An Open Letter to My Insurance Company," which should be an anthem for anyone who has ever had to call their insurance company to try and get a claim covered. On the lighter side, she tackles such timelessly debated questions as "How do dogs know they have penises?" We see how her vacuum cleaner almost set her house on fire, how she was attacked by three bears, business ideas she wants to pitch to Shark Tank, and why she can never go back to the post office. Of course, Jenny's long-suffering husband Victor-the Ricky to Jenny's Lucille Ball-is present throughout. A treat for Jenny Lawson's already existing fans, and destined to convert new ones, Broken is a beacon of hope and a wellspring of laughter"-- Provided by publisher.

Thank you Jenny Lawson for another hilarious, mortifying and insightful sojourn into your wacky and entirely relatable world. Lawson hits all of the important things you may have thought about yourself but have never admitted out loud. I definitely received some suspicious looks on the bus ride home for giggling to myself- not sorry! Fallible is the new flawless y'all! Fans of David Sedaris, Allie Brosh and Samantha Irby will appreciate this one. -Victoria

Darius the Great is Not Okay

by Adib Khorram

YOUNG ADULT FICTION Khorram Adib
Diverse Characters, Young Adult

Clinically-depressed Darius Kellner, a high school sophomore, travels to Iran to meet his grandparents, but it is their next-door neighbor, Sohrab, who changes his life.

A great story about friendship, finding value, purpose and acceptance of yourself for who you really are at your core. I really loved how this book realistically tackled mental illness and the interactions Darius has with his family and friends about it. Soccer, Iran, bullying, depression, and tea; this book has it all! -Victoria

Concrete Rose

Young Adult

Maverick feels strongly about family ties, making choices he feels necessary to help support his mom while his King father serves time, and leave him literally holding his son in a doctor's waiting room after he gets paternity test results back and his babymomma ghosts. Now the child he's raising is impacting the lives of his family and his girlfriend, and the gang life he led to support them all financially could leave them all bearing his responsibilities since it endangers his life. It looks like he may have been offered a chance to go straight, but leaving the King Lords won't be easy, and a "real" job has high demand for low return.

Incredible prequel to Angie Thomas' The Hate U Give. Learning about who Maverick and Lisa are as teenagers as well as looking at exploring a different generation in Garden Heights felt like I gained so much perspective into Starr's life and upbringing. In a recent interview I watched with Thomas, she said the novels are stand-alone in a way and could be read in any order so if you missed The Hate U Give, check it out while you wait! -Victoria

The Patron Saints of Nothing

Read Woke, Young Adult

When seventeen-year-old Jay Reguero learns his Filipino cousin and former best friend, Jun, was murdered as part of President Duterte's war on drugs, he flies to the Philippines to learn more.

This is the story of Jay- a Filipino-American straddling two countries; the US where he's spent most of his life and the Philippines, where his parents chose to leave shortly after he was born in pursuit of a better life. Author Randy Ribay excels in exploring identity, what it means to look a certain way and be interpreted in another. Another theme I appreciated was no matter how much you feel a part of the country you left behind, you will often be seen as an outsider once you leave making you question where your home really is. This book is an excellent read for young adults and adults. It humanizes victims of the war on drugs in the Philippines and allows the reader to explore the conflict from alternative perspectives. This is an exceptional read and provides many opportunities for discussion around immigration, politics, family tradition and connections. -Victoria

King and the Dragonflies

Black History, Diverse Characters

"In a small but turbulent Louisiana town, one boy's grief takes him beyond the bayous of his backyard, to learn that there is no right way to be yourself"-- Provided by publisher.

Kacen Callendar's 2021 Coretta Scott King Author Honor is a fantastic read. This book will have you hooked from the beginning; highly descriptive locations, complex and relatable characters and important themes that will evoke discussion with young readers. I would recommended this for ages 10 and up. -Victoria

How to be a Good Creature: A Memoir in Thirteen Animals

Memoir, Animals, Nature

A naturalist and adventurer discusses the personalities and quirks of thirteen animals who have profoundly affected her, exploring themes of learning to become empathetic, creating families, coping with loss, and the otherness and sameness of people and animals.

A delightful book for anyone who admires the sentient intellect and all the life lessons animals outside of own species can share with us-if we're paying attention. -Victoria

Caste : the origins of our discontents

by Isabel Wilkerson

305.5122 /Wilkerson

The hierarchy of caste is not about feelings or morality. It is about power-- which groups have it and which do not. Wilkerson explores how America today and throughout its history has been shaped by a hidden caste system, a rigid hierarchy of human rankings. Linking the caste systems of America, India, and Nazi Germany, Wilkerson explores eight pillars that underlie caste systems across civilizations, including divine will, bloodlines, stigma, and more. She discusses why the cruel logic of caste requires that there be a bottom rung for those in the middle to measure themselves against. Finally, she points forward to ways America can move beyond the artificial and destructive separations of human divisions, toward hope in our common humanity. -- adapted from jacket

This book has helped me to process much of what has happened in the US recently. Inequity goes beyond racism and classism. Rather, Wilkerson contends it's rooted in caste; an historically manufactured human pecking order set on ranking humanity that has had lasting impacts not only on our institutions but also in framing our daily individual biases and worldviews. Though originally designed to produce well-oiled economic systems and societies (at the behest of those who were subjugated,) today caste still effectively divides; foreshadowing how others see us, how we see them and our perceived place in economies. Insightful, impactful and I could not put this down until I had read every last word! A fantastic piece of Nonfiction! -Victoria

The boy, the mole, the fox and the horse

by Charlie Mackesy

GRAPHIC NOVEL Mackesy
Graphic Novels

"A modern, illustrated fable for readers of all ages that explores life's universal lessons from beloved British illustrator Charlie Mackesy"--

Absolutely beautiful illustrations to accompany simple yet sage wisdom for the young and the young at heart. This book is the magic bullet elixir your soul needs right now. My family and friends will definitely be receiving a copy this gift-giving season! Available at ICPL as a book and an eBook. -Victoria

Untamed

by Glennon Doyle

BIOGRAPHY Doyle, Glennon

"There is a voice of longing inside every woman. We strive so mightily to be good: good mothers, daughters, partners, employees, citizens, and friends. We believe all this striving will make us feel alive. Instead, it leaves us feeling weary, stuck, overwhelmed, and underwhelmed. We look at our lives, relationships, and world, and wonder: Wasn't it all supposed to be more beautiful than this? We quickly silence that question, telling ourselves to be grateful. We hide our simmering discontent--even from ourselves. Until we reach our boiling point. Four years ago, Glennon Doyle--bestselling Oprah-endorsed author, renowned activist and humanitarian, wife and mother of three--was speaking at a conference when a woman entered the room. Glennon looked at her and fell instantly in love. Three words flooded her mind: There She Is. At first, Glennon assumed these words came to her from on high. Soon she realized that they came to her from within. Glennon was finally hearing her own voice--the voice that had been silenced by decades of cultural conditioning, numbing addictions, and institutional allegiances. This was the voice of the girl Glennon had been before the world told her who to be. She vowed to never again abandon herself. She decided to build a life of her own--one based on her individual desire, intuition, and imagination. She would reclaim her true, untamed self. Soulful and uproarious, forceful and tender, Untamed is both a memoir and a galvanizing wake-up call. It offers a piercing, electrifying examination of the restrictive expectations women are issued from birth; shows how hustling to meet those expectations leaves women feeling dissatisfied and lost; and reveals that when we quit abandoning ourselves and instead abandon the world's expectations of us, we become women who can finally look at our lives and recognize: There She Is. Untamed shows us how to be brave. As Glennon insists: The braver we are, the luckier we get"--

I found Glennon Doyle after I read Brene Brown. I think they both have a searing passion for vulnerability and truth. If you're waiting for Untamed, try Brown's Daring Greatly, or a few titles Doyle recommends: Know My Name by Chanel Miller and Trick Mirror by Jia Tolentini. -Victoria

The book of two ways : a novel

by Jodi Picoult

FICTION Picoult Jodi
Fiction

Dawn Edelstein is on a plane when she is told to prepare for a crash landing. She braces herself as thoughts flash through her mind. The shocking thing is, the thoughts are not of her husband but of a man she last saw fifteen years ago: Wyatt Armstrong. Dawn, miraculously, survives the crash, but so do all the doubts that have suddenly been raised. She has led a good life. Back in Boston, there is her husband, Brian, their beloved daughter, and her work as a death doula. But somewhere in Egypt is Wyatt Armstrong, who works as an archaeologist unearthing ancient burial sites, a career Dawn once studied for but was forced to abandon. The airline ensures that the survivors are seen by a doctor, then offers offers transportation to wherever they want to go. The obvious destination is to fly home, but she could take another path: return to the archaeological site she left years before, reconnect with Wyatt and their unresolved history. As the story unfolds, Dawn's two possible futures unspool side by side, as do the secrets and doubts long buried with them.--Adapted from publisher description.

The new Picoult is highly anticipated. If you're waiting for this one, try a favorite Picoult of mine, Small Great Things; a gripping novel about power, privilege and race. Also try Ruth Hogan's The Keeper of Lost Things. -Victoria

Vesper flights : new and collected essays

by Helen Macdonald

508 /Macdonald
Nonfiction

Macdonald combines some of her best loved essays with new pieces. Her topics range from nostalgia for a vanishing countryside to the tribulations of farming ostriches to her own private vespers while trying to fall asleep. Meditating on notions of captivity and freedom, immigration and flight, she writes about the unexpected guidance and comfort we find when watching wildlife. -- adapted from jacket

A great selection of essays that foster solitude, reverence of nature and slowing-down. If you haven't read Macdonald's H is for Hawk, you should check that out. Lab Girl by Hope Jahren would also most-likely be up your alley. -Victoria

The best of me

by David Sedaris

817.54 /Sedaris
Nonfiction

The American humorist, author, and radio contributor shares his most memorable work in a collection of stories and essays that feature him shopping for rare taxidermy, hitchhiking with a quadriplegic, and hand-feeding a carnivorous bird.

A great selection of essays spanning his career. If you're waiting for this title, check out Holidays on Ice, by David Sedaris, Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson, or Wow, No Thankyou by Samantha Irby. -Victoria

Transcendent Kingdom

by Yaa Gyasi

FICTION Gyasi Yaa
Fiction

"A novel about faith, science, religion, and family that tells the deeply moving portrait of a family of Ghanaian immigrants ravaged by depression and addiction and grief, narrated by a fifth year candidate in neuroscience at Stanford school of medicine studying the neural circuits of reward seeking behavior in mice"--

Gyasi weaves a poignant story of Gifty; a child of an Ghanaian immigrant growing up in the US. Facing loss, dealing with familial addiction and mental illness and the pursuit of excellence, Gyasi adeptly describes a main character who constantly straddles the duality of country and culture. A tender book about deep and difficult subjects. If you're waiting for this book, check out Gyasi's previous novel; Homegoing-an excellent and intrepid historical-fiction work following different Asante descendants and their generational fate. Also check out Behold the Dreamers, by Imbolo Mbue. -Victoria

Decolonize Your Diet

by Luz Calvo and Catriona Rueda Esquibel

Cookbooks

Great Exploration into Indigenous Mexican Cuisine!

The author Michael Pollan advises in Food Rules, "Don't eat anything your grandmother wouldn't recognize;" meaning the food industry has radically changed; especially the Western diet. These words rang particularly true when Decolonize Your Diet co-author Luz Calvo was diagnosed with breast cancer (despite being a vegetarian for 15 years.) She began to research and found that immigrant born Latinas had significantly lower rates of breast cancer than US born Latinas; prompting her to revisit the indigenous cuisine of Mexico. What follows in this cookbook are some amazing recipes cooked with high amounts of fiber, fruits, vegetables and revolutionary love. Fans of Sean Sherman and Beth Dooley's The Sioux Chef's Indigenous Kitchen and Michael W. Twitty's The Cooking Gene will deeply appreciate this cookbook. Also, try the Caldo De Quinoa; it's a great soup and Winter is Coming! -Victoria