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Popular Culture March 2021
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| Walking with Ghosts by Gabriel ByrneWhat it is: celebrated Irish actor Gabriel Byrne's humble and intimate memoir detailing his working-class origins and his 40-year career.
Topics include: Byrne's childhood spent in seminary school, which he left after he was molested by a priest; how alcoholism spurred his complicated relationship with fame.
Book buzz: Byrne's lyrical writing style has earned him comparisons to Irish literary icons James Joyce and Seamus Heaney. |
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| Bravey: Chasing Dreams, Befriending Pain, and Other Big Ideas by Alexi PappasWhat it's about: In the aftermath of her mother's suicide, which happened when she was five, Alexi Pappas sought an adventurous life, becoming a filmmaker and record-setting Olympic runner.
Why you might like it: Pappas' candid debut offers an inspiring roadmap to overcoming hardships and following your dreams.
Want a taste? "This book is about making a life, not just living a life. We will grow up together here." |
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Ida B. the queen : the extraordinary life and legacy of Ida B. Wells
by Michelle Duster
Written by her great-granddaughter, a historical portrait of the boundary-breaking civil rights pioneer includes coverage of Wells’s early years as a slave, her famous acts of resistance and her achievements as a journalist and anti-lynching activist. Illustrations.
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| You'll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey: Crazy Stories About Racism by Amber Ruffin and Lacey Lamar Starring: NYC-based comedian and Late Night with Seth Meyers writer Amber Ruffin; and her sister Lacey Lamar, who lives in Omaha, NE.
What's inside: Lacey's firsthand accounts of the racist treatment she's received living in the Midwest, paired with the sisters' funny yet frank commentary on each incident and illustrative photographs.
Who it's for: With its conversational tone, this “must-read” (Library Journal) will appeal to Black women who can relate to the authors' experiences and to readers looking for eye-opening insights on racism. |
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| Just As I Am by Cicely TysonWhat it is: an engaging memoir by iconic Emmy and Tony Award-winning actress Cicely Tyson, published just two days before her death in January at age 96.
Topics include: how Tyson broke barriers and combatted stereotypes in the entertainment industry, including being the first Black actress to wear her natural hair on TV and earning an Oscar nomination for 1972's Sounder, her first lead film role; her volatile relationship with Miles Davis, to whom she was married for eight years. |
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The last black unicorn
by Tiffany Haddish
"From stand-up comedian and actress Tiffany Haddish comes The Last Black Unicorn, a hilarious, edgy, and heart-wrenching collection of autobiographical essays that will leave you laughing through tears. Tiffany Haddish grew up in one of the poorest parts of South Central Los Angeles. Her mother wound up with a debilitating brain injury after surviving a car accident. Tiffany never fit in anywhere: not in the households she rotated through in the foster care system, and certainly not the nearly all whitehigh school she had to ride the bus an hour to attend. As an illiterate ninth grader, Tiffany did everything she could to survive. After a multitude of jobs, she finally realized that she had talent in an area she never would have suspected: comedy. Tiffany faced the 'routine' hindrances of climbing the entertainment business ladder--but had the added obstacles of sex, race, and class in her way. But she got there. She's humble, grateful, down to earth, and funny as hell. She still cleans the toilet the way she was shown by a foster mom who worked as a maid, and she still rolls her joints the way one of her foster dads taught her. Tiffany can't avoid being funny: it's just who she is. But The Last Black Unicorn is so much more than a side-splittingly hilarious collection of essays--it's a memoir of the struggles of one woman who came from nothing and nowhere. A woman who was able to achieve her dreams by reveling in her pain and awkwardness, showing the world who she really is, and inspiring others through the power of laughter"
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| The Princess Diarist by Carrie FisherWhat it is: actress Carrie Fisher's self-deprecating behind-the-scenes account of making the first Star Wars movie at age 19.
Featuring: Fisher's earnest diary entries and poems written during the film's production, which reveal her crush on (and eventual affair with) co-star Harrison Ford; her present-day recollections on the relationship.
Want a taste? “If Harrison was unable to see that I had feelings for him (at least five, but sometimes as many as seven) then he wasn't as smart as I thought he was -- as I knew he was." |
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| Everything's Trash, But It's Okay by Phoebe Robinson; foreword by Ilana GlazerWhat it is: comedian Phoebe Robinson's irreverent follow-up to the New York Times bestselling You Can't Touch My Hair: And Other Things I Still Have to Explain.
Essays include: "The Top Ten Non-Trash Moments of My Life;" "Meeting Bono Twice Was My Reparations;" "How to Be Alone and Only Mildly Hate and Lukewarm Love It."
Try this next: For another freewheeling essay collection by a witty multi-hyphenate, try Samantha Irby's We Are Never Meeting in Real Life. |
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| Rabbit by Patricia WilliamsWhat it's about: comedian Patricia Williams' (aka "Ms. Pat") impoverished upbringing in 1980s Atlanta and her determination to find a better life for her own children.
For fans of: inspiring accounts of overcoming adversity that pull no punches, like Tiffany Haddish's The Last Black Unicorn.
Don't miss: Williams' caseworker offhandedly suggesting she turn to comedy when her criminal record made it difficult to find a job. |
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Idiot : life stories from the creator of Help Helen smash
by Laura Clery
The YouTube and Facebook Video sensation traces her journey from a recklessly impulsive drug addict to a vegan yogi with a fantastic career, a loving spouse and four rescue animals. 75,000 first printing. Media tie-in.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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