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Biography and Memoir November 2020
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Let Love Rule by Lenny KravitzThe popular rock musician reflects on his life, from his struggles at school and tensions at home to his three-decade career as a songwriter, producer, and performer.
Is it for you? Whether you're into rock, funk, reggae, the blues, folk, or psychedelic, Kravitz's music has something to appeal to everyone.
Chew on this: "Love is gentle as a rose. And love can conquer any war. It's time to take a stand. Brothers and sisters, join hands. We got to let love rule."
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One Life
by Megan Rapinoe
The Olympic gold medalist and two-time Women’s World Cup champion describes her childhood in a conservative California town, her athletic achievements and her public advocacy of civil rights and urgently needed social change.
Is it for you? Rapinow grew up in Redding, so she's practically a local.
Food for thought: “Real change lies within all of us. It is in the choices we make every day.”
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| I'll Be Seeing You by Elizabeth BergWhat it's about: Bestselling novelist Elizabeth Berg's (The Story of Arthur Truluv) relationship with her aging parents, whom she helped care for during their final years.
Is it for you? Berg's candid and insightful memoir will resonate with readers who are caring for older family members.
Food for thought: "The failing of an aging parent is one of those old stories that feels abrasively new to the person experiencing it." |
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| Tecumseh and the Prophet: The Shawnee Brothers Who Defied a Nation by Peter CozzensStarring: Shawnee leader, Tecumseh; and his younger brother, Tenskwatawa, who worked together to create a pan-Indian alliance against the United States government in the early 19th century.
What sets it apart: Though there have been many accounts of Tecumseh's life and accomplishments, this well-researched, "long overdue" (Library Journal) dual biography also examines the life and legacy of the overlooked Tenskwatawa. |
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Focus on: National Book Awards
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| The Yellow House by Sarah M. BroomWhat it's about: Author Sarah M. Broom's upbringing as the youngest of 12 children raised in a New Orleans East shotgun house that was later destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.
Why you might like it: Broom's lyrical family history explores the painful reality of redefining "home" following displacement.
Want a taste? "Without that physical structure, we are the house that bears itself up. I was now the house." |
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| What You Have Heard is True: A Memoir of Witness and Resistance by Carolyn ForchéWhat it's about: In 1977, after accepting the invitation of a mysterious acquaintance to visit him in El Salvador, American poet Carolyn Forché was plunged into the horrors of the country's burgeoning civil war, becoming an unlikely activist and resistance fighter.
Is it for you? Vivid depictions of violence may be too much for some readers.
Further reading: Forché's 1981 poetry collection The Country Between Us, inspired by her experiences during the war. |
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| If the Oceans Were Ink: An Unlikely Friendship and a Journey to the Heart of the Qur'an by Carla PowerHow it began: Friends for years, secular journalist Carla Power and Islamic scholar Mohammad Akram Nadwi had become frustrated by the name-calling among and between their communities.
What happened next: Hoping to improve her understanding of Islam, Power undertook extensive study of the Qur'an, meeting with Akram Nadwi weekly for private lessons and observing his lectures at Oxford.
Why you might like it: This engaging Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award finalist offers compelling insight into difficult religious topics. |
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| Heartland: A Memoir of Working Hard and Being Broke in the Richest Country on Earth by Sarah SmarshWhat it's about: The cycle of rural poverty that blighted author Sarah Smarsh's Kansas farming family for generations
Who it's for: Readers looking for a thought-provoking rejoinder to J.D. Vance's Hillbilly Elegy
Reviewers say: "A searing indictment of how the poor are viewed and treated in this country" (Library Journal) |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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