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Biography and Memoir July 2020
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The Book of Rosy: A Mother's Story of Separation at the Border by Rosayra Pablo Cruz and Julie Schwietert Collazo What it is: a haunting exploration of the Trump administration's family separation policy, as experienced by one Guatemalan family.
What happened: Fleeing Guatemala after her husband's murder, asylum seeker Rosayra Pablo Cruz and her two sons traveled more than 2,000 miles to the southern U.S. border. Once they arrived, Pablo Cruz spent 80 days detained in an Arizona facility, and her children were placed with a foster family in the Bronx.
Read it for: a searing account of the lingering effects of separation. | |
A Very Punchable Face : A Memoir
by
Colin Jost
What it is: a collection of humorous essays by the Saturday Night Live head writer and Weekend Update co-anchor Colin Jost.
Why you should read it: "This book is sure to be a collector's item, because how many more white guys will be allowed to write books?"-Tina Fey and Amy Poehler
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18 Tiny Deaths : The Untold Story of Frances Glessner Lee and the Invention of Modern Forensics
by
Bruce Goldfarb
What it is: an eye-opening biography of Frances Glessner Lee, who brought American medical forensics into the scientific age.
Best known for: creating the Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death, a series of dollhouses that appear charming--until you notice the macabre little details: an overturned chair, or a blood-spattered comforter. And then, of course, there are the bodies--splayed out on the floor, draped over chairs--clothed in garments that Lee lovingly knit with sewing pins.
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Resistance : A Songwriter's Story of Hope, Change, and Courage
by
Tori Amos
What it is: reflections by the Grammy-nominated music artist on how her career has been informed by her political views on toxic patriarchal power structures.
Why you should read it: Tori Amos teaches us to engage with intention in this tumultuous global climate and speaks directly to supporters of #MeToo and #TimesUp, as well as young people fighting for their rights and visibility in the world.
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Minor Feelings : an Asian American Reckoning
by
Cathy Park Hong
The subject matter: Asian Americans inhabit a purgatorial status: neither white enough nor black enough, unmentioned in most conversations about racial identity. In the popular imagination, Asian Americans are all high-achieving professionals. But in reality, this is the most economically divided group in the country, a tenuous alliance of people with roots from South Asia to East Asia to the Pacific Islands, from tech millionaires to service industry laborers. How do we speak honestly about the Asian American condition--if such a thing exists?
About the author: Poet and essayist Cathy Park Hong, daughter of Korean immigrants, grew up steeped in shame, suspicion, and melancholy. She would later understand that these "minor feelings" occur when American optimism contradicts your own reality--when you believe the lies you're told about your own racial identity. Her intimate and devastating book traces her relationship to the English language, to shame and depression, to poetry and artmaking, and to family and female friendship.
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Thanks, Obama: My Hopey, Changey White House Years by David Litt What it is: a witty chronicle of author David Litt's five-year tenure as a speechwriter for President Obama.
Read it for: an engaging behind-the-scenes look at some of the highs (writing four White House Correspondence Dinner speeches) and lows (making careless diplomatic gaffes) of an illustrious gig.
Author alert: Litt's latest book, the optimistic political history Democracy in One Book or Less, hit bookshelves in June. | |
I'm Just Happy To Be Here: A Memoir of Renegade Mothering
by
Janelle Hanchett
What it's about: Renegade Mothering blog creator Janelle Hanchett's self-destructive early years of parenthood, during which she grappled with postpartum depression, an unhappy marriage, alcoholism, and cocaine addiction.
Is it for you? Hanchett's unflinching though ultimately inspiring portrait of redemption and recovery will resonate with readers weary of the "sanctity of motherhood" and those who like rousing stories of second chances.
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Nanaville: Adventures in Grandparenting by Anna Quindlen What it's about: Anna Quindlen's examination of her changing family dynamics as she goes from parent to grandparent and must recalibrate her relationship with her child and her own understanding of herself.
Want a taste? "Those who make their opinions sound like the Ten Commandments see their grandchildren only on major holidays and in photographs."
About the author: Pulitzer Prize winner Quindlen is also known for her fiction, including Still Life with Breadcrumbs and Object Lessons. | |
Naturally Tan
by
Tan France
What it's about: the Queer Eye star and designer recounts his complicated early life as a closeted gay youth from a traditional South Asian family in Yorkshire, sharing insights into his coming of age, emergence as an artist and happy marriage.
What the author says: "The book is meant to spread joy, personal acceptance, and most of all understanding."
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Dear Girls : Intimate Tales, Untold Secrets & Advice for Living Your Best Life
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Ali Wong
What it is: a collection of the standup comedian’s humorous and heartfelt letters to her daughters, covering everything they need to know in life, like the unpleasant details of dating, how to be a working mom in a male-dominated profession and how she trapped their dad.
About the author: Alexandra Wong is an American stand-up comedian, actress, and writer. She is noted for her Netflix stand-up specials Baby Cobra and Hard Knock Wife, both of which received critical acclaim.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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