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Biography and Memoir June 2018
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Berenice Abbott : a life in photography
by Julia Van Haaften
What it's about: Berenice Abbott is to American photography as Georgia O'Keeffe is to painting or Willa Cather to letters. Abbott's sixty-year career established her not only as a master of American photography, but also as a teacher, writer, archivist, and inventor. Famously reticent in public, Abbott's fascinating life has long remained a mystery--until now.
Why you should read it: Chided for wearing pants while taking pictures of New York City as part of the Federal Art Project in the 1930s, and told that nice girls don't go to rough places, Abbott responded, I'm not a nice girl. I'm a photographer . . . I go anywhere. And everywhere she went, Abbott took photographs of stunning precision, exacting composition, and exhilarating energy.
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| Inseparable: The Original Siamese Twins and Their Rendezvous with American History by Yunte HuangWhat it's about: In 1829, conjoined twins Chang and Eng Bunker immigrated from Thailand to America, making careers as "human oddities" in sideshow attractions around the world. Their lives offstage were just as sensational: they married white sisters (inciting racist tabloid gossip) and fathered 21 children between the two of them.
Read it for: Yunte Huang's timely examination of "otherness" as inseparable from American identity and history -- much like the Bunkers' own conjoined existence. |
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| True Stories from an Unreliable Eyewitness: A Feminist Coming of Age by Christine LahtiWhat it is: a bawdy and intimate collection of essays from actor Christine Lahti, touching on her fractious childhood, her feminist awakening in college, parenthood and aging, and career highs and lows.
Did you know? Lahti is an Academy, Emmy, and Golden Globe Award winner, and was famously in the bathroom when she was awarded the Golden Globe in 1998.
Chapters include: "What I Wish I'd Known About Love Scenes;" "Dear Pregnant Women of a Certain Age." |
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| Eunice: The Kennedy Who Changed the World by Eileen McNamaraWhat it is: an insightful portrait of the Stanford-educated Kennedy -- the 5th of Joseph and Rose's nine children -- whose efforts helped advance the disability rights movement.
About the author: Eileen McNamara is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and director of the Journalism Program at Brandeis University.
Why it's significant: Shining a light on an overlooked member of the Kennedy dynasty, McNamara argues that Eunice's political legacy rivals that of her more famous brothers. |
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Ned Christie : The Creation of an Outlaw and Cherokee Hero
by Devon Abbott Mihesuah
What it is: Who was Nede Wade Christie? Was he a violent criminal guilty of murdering a federal officer? Or a Cherokee statesman who suffered a martyr's death for a crime he did not commit?
Why it's significant: Mihesuah ... spotlights our fascination with villains and martyrs, murder and mayhem, and our dangerous tendency to glorify the "Old West." More than a biography, Ned Christie traces the making of an American myth.
What the reviewers say: "Highly recommended for readers interested in Native American studies or the Old West." (Library Journal)
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I hate everyone, except you
by Clinton Kelly
What it's about: Bestselling author and television host Clinton Kelly pens a hilariously candid, deliciously snarky collection of essays about his journey from awkward kid to slightly-less-awkward adult.
About the author: Kelly is a television personality (Freakin' Fabulous, 2008), of What Not to Wear and The Chew fame.
Why you should read it: Kelly is a candid essayist, never allowing the snark to detract from his stated goal of practicing kindness toward others.
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Saving Alex : when I was fifteen I told my Mormon parents I was gay, and that's when my nightmare began
by Alex Cooper
What it's about: When Alex Cooper was fifteen years old, life was pretty ordinary in her sleepy suburban town and nice Mormon family. At church and at home, Alex was taught that God had a plan for everyone. But something was gnawing at her that made her feel different.
Why you should read it: Alex is not alone; the headlines continue to splash stories about gay conversion therapy and rehabilitation centers that promise to "save" teenagers from their sexuality. Saving Alex is a courageous memoir that tells Alex's story in the hopes that it will bring awareness and justice to this important issue. A bold, inspiring story of one girl's fight for freedom, acceptance, and truth.
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| Logical Family: A Memoir by Armistead MaupinWhat it's about: After brief stints in law school and the military, beloved author Armistead Maupin (Tales of the City) eschewed his conservative Southern upbringing for the freewheeling San Francisco of the 1970s, finding a community in the burgeoning LGBTQ rights movement.
Is it for you? With a nonlinear yet nuanced narrative, Logical Family will appeal to Maupin's fans and general readers alike.
Want a taste? "Sooner or later, we have to venture beyond our biological family to find our logical one, the one that actually makes sense for us." |
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Mama's boy, preacher's son : a memoir
by Kevin Jennings
What it's about: A compelling, intensely personal memoir recalls growing up poor in the South, the son of a fundamentalist preacher and self-taught mother, describing his mother's determination that he would attend college, his discovery of a world beyond poverty where he could live openly as a gay man, and the need to hide his identity in his career as a high-school teacher.
What the reviewers say: "A refreshingly readable memoir." (Booklist)
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| Sally Ride: America's First Woman in Space by Lynn SherrWhat it is: an intimate biography of the astronaut and icon, whose heavily guarded personal life remained a secret until her death in 2012, when her obituary revealed her as a lesbian survived by her partner of 27 years.
What sets it apart: Written with the cooperation of Ride's partner, family, and colleagues, journalist (and longtime friend of Ride) Lynn Sherr's sensitive, thoroughly researched portrait celebrates Ride's life and legacy. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Carrollton Public Library 1700 Keller Springs Road, Carrollton Texas 75006 4220 North Josey Lane, Carrollton Texas 75010 |
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