A biweekly selection from our shelves, as curated by your favorite SPL librarians!
For the week of October 12, 2021: Fiction | Nonfiction | Graphic Novels | Movies/TV, Music & More
Fiction
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China Room by Sunjeev Sahota
A transfixing, "powerfully imaged" (USA Today) novel about two unforgettable characters seeking to free themselves--one from the expectations of women in early 20th century Punjab, and the other from the weight of life in the contemporary Indian diaspora. |
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Gordo by Jaime Cortez
Shedding profound natural light on the inner lives of migrant workers, Jaime Cortez's debut collection ushers in a new era of American literature that gives voice to a marginalized generation of migrant workers in the West. |
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Inheritance of Orquídea Divina by Zoraida Córdova
The Montoyas are used to a life without explanations. They know better than to ask why the pantry never seems to run low or empty, or why their matriarch won't ever leave their home in Four Rivers. But when Orquídea Divina invites them to her funeral and to collect their inheritance, they hope to learn the secrets that she has held onto so tightly their whole lives. Instead, Orquídea is transformed, leaving them with more questions than answers. |
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Madam by Phoebe Wynne
Discover the secrets of Caldonbrae Hall in this riveting, modern gothic debut set at an all girls' boarding school perched on a craggy Scottish peninsula. A darkly feminist tale pitched against a haunting backdrop, and populated by an electrifying cast of heroines, Madam will keep readers engrossed until the breathtaking conclusion. |
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The View Was Exhausting by Mikaella Clements and Onjuli Datta
The View Was Exhausting is a funny, wickedly observant modern love story set against the backdrop of exotic locales and the realities of being a woman of color in a world run by men. |
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What If You & Me by Roni Loren
Horror author and true-crime podcaster Andi Lockley has spent so long researching real-life horror stories, she's practically forgotten what dating is. But when a detective moves next door and provides new fodder for her podcast-and a sense of safety she hasn't felt in a long time-she starts to wonder if it's time to retire her trust-no-man mentality. |
Nonfiction
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The Case of the Murderous Dr. Cream: The Hunt for a Victorian Era Serial Killer by Dean Jobb
Framed around one salacious trial in 1891 London, a fascinating and vividly told true-crime narrative about the hunt for one of the first known serial killers, whose poisoning spree in the US, Canada, and England coincided with the birth of forensic science as well as the public's growing appetite for crime fiction such as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes novels. |
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The Ledger and the Chain: How Domestic Slave Traders Shaped America by Joshua D. Rothman
In The Ledger and the Chain, acclaimed historian Joshua D. Rothman recounts the shocking story of the domestic slave trade by tracing the lives and careers of Isaac Franklin, John Armfield, and Rice Ballard, who built the largest and most powerful slave-trading operation in American history. |
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Mergers and Acquisitions: Or, Everything I know About Love I Learned on the Wedding Pages by Cate Doty
A compulsively readable behind-the-scenes memoir that takes readers inside the weddings section of The New York Times--the good, bad, and just plain weird--through the eyes of a young reporter just as she's falling in love herself. |
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Poet Warrior: A Memoir by Joy Harjo
Joy Harjo, the first Native American to serve as U.S. poet laureate, invites us to travel along the heartaches, losses, and humble realizations of her "poet-warrior" road. A musical, kaleidoscopic, and wise follow-up to Crazy Brave, Poet Warrior reveals how Harjo came to write poetry of compassion and healing, poetry with the power to unearth the truth and demand justice. |
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The Young Crusaders by V.P. Franklin
An authoritative history of the overlooked youth activists that spearheaded the largest protests of the Civil Rights Movement and set the blueprint for future generations of activists to follow. |
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Yours Cruelly, Elvira: Memoirs of the Mistress of the Dark by Cassandra Peterson
The woman behind the icon known as Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, the undisputed Queen of Halloween, reveals her full story, filled with intimate bombshells, told by the bombshell herself. |
Graphic Novels
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And Now I Spill the Family Secrets by Margaret Kimball
Both a coming-of-age story about family dysfunction and a reflection on mental health, And Now I Spill the Family Secrets is funny, poignant, and deeply inspiring in its portrayal of what drives a family apart and what keeps them together. |
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Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Willow by Mariko Tamaki
Now, truly alone for the first time in her life, Willow must rely only on her instincts -- and her magic -- to save herself from a different kind of threat than Buffy ever prepared her to face in her first ever comic book series! |
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Constitution Illustrated by R. Sikoryak
R. Sikoryak is the master of the pop culture pastiche. He employs his magic yet again to investigate the very framework of the country with 'Constitution Illustrated'. By visually interpreting the complete text of the supreme law of the land with more than a century of American pop culture icons, Sikoryak distills the very essence of the government legalese from the abstract to the tangible, the historical to the contemporary. |
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Dias de Consuelo by Dave Ortega
Small press comic based on the life of the author/artist's Abuela, Consuelo Castanon Herrera. |
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Let’s Make Dumplings! by Hugh Amano and Sarah Becan
Includes dumpling history and lore, this comic book cookbook invites readers to explore the big little world of Asian dumplings and proves that intricate folding styles and flavorful fillings are achievable in the home kitchen. |
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Sensor by Junji Ito
Horror master Junji Ito explores a new frontier with a grand cosmic horror tale in which a mysterious woman has her way with the world! |
Movies/TV, Music & More
Movies/TV
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Deutschland 83 by Edward Berger and Samira Radsi Format: DVD It's 1983. The Cold War is hot. The threat of nuclear conflict looms. Born and raised in East Germany, Martin Rauch is sent undercover, as Moritz Stamm, to West Germany, to work for a top General in the Bundeswehr. |
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Grave of the Fireflies by Isao Takahata Format: DVD As the Empire of the Sun crumbles upon itself and a rain of firebombs falls upon Japan, the final death march of a nation is echoed in millions of smaller tragedies. Seita and his younger sister Setsuko are two children born at the wrong time, in the wrong place, and now cast adrift in a world that lacks not the care to shelter them, but simply the resources. |
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Happily by Bendavid Grabinsky Format: DVD After fourteen years of marriage, Tom and Janet still can't keep their hands off each other. When they discover their friends are resentful of their constant public displays of affection, the couple starts to question the loyalty of everyone around them. Then, a visit from a mysterious stranger thrusts them into an existential crisis, leading to a dead body, a lot of questions, and a very tense couples' vacation in this dark romantic comedy. |
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Shadow in the Cloud by Roseanne Liang Format: DVD In the throes of World War II, Captain Maude Garrett joins the all-male crew of a B-17 bomber with a top-secret package. Caught off guard by the presence of a woman on a military flight, the crew tests Maude's every move. Just as her quick wit is winning them over, strange happenings and holes in her backstory incite paranoia surrounding her true mission. |
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Zola by Janicza Bravo Format: DVD Zola, a Detroit waitress, is seduced into a weekend of partying in Florida. Her trip turns into a wild saga involving a pimp, an idiot boyfriend, and Tampa's finest strip clubs in this film based on the greatest Twitter story ever told. |
Music
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Dancing with the Devil: The Art of Starting Over by Demi Lovato Format: CD Dancing with the Devil...The Art of Starting Over is the accompanying album to Dancing with the Devil, a documentary series chronicling Demi Lovato's voyage in recovery. Where the series focused on the past, the album, as its title suggests, is a bit of a rebirth, where Lovato is looking forward to a new phase in their career -- not that Lovato has taken their trauma off the table entirely. |