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SCPL Staff Picks August 2019
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Exhalation: Storiesby Ted Chiang Exhalation is Ted Chiang’s second collection of short science fiction stories and a novella, including previously published selections as well as others that are new to long-time readers. Chiang is concerned with the relationship between various modes of determinism and the possibility of free will as well as the moral use of technology throughout. On this latter subject, he refuses easy pessimism and imagines instead how technologies enrich a moral life. His experiments with narrative perspective are powerful. One of my favorite shorter stories “The Great Silence” takes up a classic theme of science fiction – the search for intelligent life – and twists it by having an African Grey parrot in view of its own extinction as a narrator; the result is moving and damning, as we are reminded of the profound levels of nonhuman intelligence surrounding us that we threaten with our ceaseless waste and destruction. “Exhalation” is told from a different nonhuman perspective. In this case, the narrator is an android that uses its own body to investigate the process of respiration, arriving at a remarkable conclusion. Anchoring the collection, “The Lifecycle of Software Objects” is a provocative novella about life with artificial intelligence. The story introduces us to “digients” or digital entities that can be trained through emergent social learning. We follow the life of a particular programmer with her digient as she raises it from technological infancy to adolescence, experiencing the compromises and joys of a new form of parenthood. Chiang's key themes are present here: we are responsible for what we make and how we act, and the limits of our freedom mark our capacity to care for others. Joseph
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And Then There Were Noneby Agatha Christie Ten strangers are brought to a beautiful but abandoned house on a private island. There under false pretenses, they are connected only by their mutually dark and murdery pasts . . . and they are all being targeted by a mysterious stranger, hidden somewhere on the desolate island. As the various members of the guilty party are picked off one by one, the reader may struggle to spot the killer but will grow ever more familiar with the victims and their past deadly deeds. Probably Agatha Christie’s second most well-known novel after Murder on the Orient Express, this mystery is purely standalone and is without a central detective or mystery-solving figure. The reader is constantly thrown into the perspectives of different characters and, as each one is eliminated by the killer, the tension and dread of the novel grows to a fantastic, if perhaps a little unrealistic, climax. Christie is best when she is exploring the characters, and she has many to play with in the novel: ranging from an estimable judge, to a reckless rich kid, to a young school mistress. It is the reader’s connection to these characters that leads to a satisfying end to the mystery and an exciting read.
Josiah
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Saints at the Riverby Ron Rash Maggie has done her best to avoid her small home town of Tamassee after losing her mother, suffering a falling out with her father, and breaking up with her boyfriend. However, when a young girl drowns and her body is left trapped beneath the Tamassee River, the ensuing removal of the body sparks a national controversy and the newspaper Maggie photographs for assigns her to the story. She is forced to go back to the very place she has been trying to escape, her home. Not only that, but when she arrives she finds that the leader of the environmentalists that are trying to stop the body’s removal to protect the river are led by none other than her ex-boyfriend, while Allen, her co-worker and current love interest, is firmly in support of the body’s removal. It is not long before Maggie begins to feel torn between both the two sides of the town’s controversy and her old and new life. Ron Rash is a master at accurately conveying a sense of place and people and Saints at the River is a prime example of this talent of Rash’s on full display. Tamassee felt like a town I have actually been to before, while Maggie, Allen, and the town’s people were all fleshed out and given their own unique personas and motivations to the point that I genuinely cared what happened to each of them. However, Rash’s wonderful characters and sense of place was not all Saints at the River brought to the table. Rash’s book also had an unforgettable plot that took a hold of me and refused to let go. From the very opening page of the book Rash gives his readers a reason to feel emotionally invested in the town’s crisis by describing the girl’s drowning in a way that is both terrifying and strangely peaceful. Rash’s description of this is so poignant that it stays with you the entirety of the novel and aids in driving the plot forward up until the very end of the book. So if you’re looking for a book that can draw you in with a compelling plot and then make you stay with its unique cast of characters than look no further than Saints at the River. Seth
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The Protectorby Jodi Ellen Malpas Camille Logan is a high fashion model and the daughter of an extremely wealthy and powerful (read: ruthless) businessman. Nearly ruined by her drug dependent ex-boyfriend, Camille is now focusing on her career in fashion design. Unbeknownst to Camille, her father has been receiving death threats against her and he hires Jake Sharp to be Camille’s personal bodyguard. Jake Sharp is an ex-Special Air Service (special forces unit of the British Army) sniper haunted by his past, a past that doesn’t allow him to truly live, but rather exist and just go through the day-to-day motions. His one saving grace is his job as a strategic security specialist, which he takes extremely serious, if only to avoid confronting his demons. Annoyed at the “babysitting job,” but what Jake and others fail to realize is there is so much more to Camille than the stereotypical rich daddy’s girl. The threat to Camille’s life is not the easy mission Jake originally believed it to be, especially when her own family become suspects. Will Jake track down whoever intends to harm Camille? Perhaps the more important question is what happens when Jake and Camille mix business with pleasure? Will Jake confront his demons and let Camille in, or will his past mistakes & regrets prevent him from living in the present and looking forward to the future? The Protector is a fast-paced romantic suspense novel that beautifully weaves together elements of passion, danger, and emotion. Jodi Ellen Malpas not only crafted a well-written story, but she created well-developed characters, especially Jake Sharp. Our hero is a broken man struggling with some utterly heartbreaking PTSD issues. Even though Jake’s job is to protect, he needed just as much protection when Camille was working her way into his heart. Jodi Ellen Malpas delivers a captivating story with just the right amount of suspense, mystery, and romance that will hold you hostage till the very last page! Brandi
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Mrs. Everythingby Jennifer WeinerMrs. Everything by Jennifer Weiner is about the lives that develop for two sisters over the course of 60 years. Jo and Bethie begin life in Detroit in the 1950s, each with her own visions for a future. Their stories begin in the 1950s and end in the 2000s. As citizens of the world we all know that so much has changed over the last 60 years but Jennifer Weiner highlights the changes quite brilliantly—leaving us with a story that I did not want to end. The red and pink cover with white and black text and two simple female figures is basic, yet interesting. This cover is the most simple representation of two women who are anything but. In Mrs. Everything, Jo and Bethie have to struggle with the concept of "missing everything" to embark on the life they want to live. Their personal expectations are questioned and revised countless times during the course of the book, resulting in a highly engaging story. Mrs. Everything is the story of two sisters growing up together, growing apart and becoming individuals. This story is framed in a landscape that experiences tremendous change over the course of six decades, and both of the girls figure into the events of these years in different ways. Weiner seemingly implores the reader to strive against perfectionism and the urge to live a life within the confines of social expectations; in giving us two different, multidimensional characters with the exact same background she serves an interesting lesson that who we are is not where we come from, rather it is who we make ourselves to be. Vanessa
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Melmothby Sarah PerryHelen Franklin’s quiet twenty year exile in Prague is suddenly interrupted when her only friend comes to her in a panic, paranoid of an unknown woman coming to take him. Helen dismisses Karel’s frantic babbling about a woman in black watching him until he goes missing without a trace a few days later. As she investigates his disappearance, she finds Karel’s extensive research on Melmoth the Witness, a woman in fine black clothing with bare, bloody feet who eternally walks the earth searching for people with something to hide, for people like Helen. Perry slowly and carefully unwinds Melmoth’s personal history through journal entries and primary artifacts of those who came in contact with her over the centuries, eventually building to the reveal of Helen’s own sins. Melmoth explores the complex relationships between morality, justice, punishment, and mercy. Is Helen’s self-punishment for her sins just? Does she get to decide? Do you the reader? Or does Melmoth?
Alaina
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The Mongol Derby is a grueling 1000 kilometer (621 mile) horse race across the Mongolian steppe that retraces the route of Genghis Khan’s horseback messenger system, which predated the Pony Express by roughly 600 years. In 2013, at the age of 19, Lara Prior-Palmer became the youngest person and the only female ever to win the race, and her journey is chronicled in Rough Magic: Riding the World’s Loneliest Horse Race. Prior-Palmer explains what urged her to sign up for the race (an itch for wanderlust, more than anything) and how she survived the race despite not knowing much about endurance riding (with help from her fellow riders, for the most part). Prior-Palmer seeks to make sense of the wild race, which includes 24 stops to switch horses, which are semi-wild Mongolian ponies. Prior-Palmer’s journey is as introspective as it is about the race: why does she feel so restless? Will she ever stop needing to move? While Rough Magic has a bit of unpolished nature about it--it was, after all, written by a teenager who wasn’t intending to write a book of this--the story of how Prior-Palmer managed to not only survive but win the Mongol Derby is an incredible one. Well worth reading for horse people (hello, my friends!) or fans of books like The Electric Woman by Tessa Fontaine. Jess
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The Last House Guestby Megan MirandaLooking for a great page turner to take on your next vacation? Meagan Miranda’s newest book and Reese Witherspoon’s August book club pick, The Last House Guest, is the perfect summer thriller. Avery and Sadie are best friends. They are inseparable until Sadie is found dead. The police rule her death a suicide, but Avery can’t help but think she was murdered. This book started off slowly but definitely picked up pace and had an ending that I didn’t see coming. The Last House Guest is a fantastic read and will have you sitting on the edge on your seat! Shannon
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Breakthrough is the incredible true story of a 14 year old boy named John, who fell in an icy pond and was submerged underwater for fifteen minutes. Doctors unsuccessfully tried to perform CPR on him for forty-three minutes. As they were about to declare him dead, his mother entered the room and John’s heart started to beat again. Breakthrough is a touching movie with a great cast. If you like Miracles in Heaven and Heaven is for Real you’ll definitely want to see this! A great movie for the whole family. Shannon
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Us Us, Jordan Peele’s second film after the Academy-Award winning Get Out, is a psychological horror story that explores basic human fears around questions of identity and social privilege through its inventive use of doppelgangers and suggestive world-building. After a prologue set on the Santa Cruz Boardwalk that recounts a significant childhood trauma for Adelaide Wilson (Lupita Nyong’o), the movie picks up in the future as she and her family are bound for the same beach community on a summer vacation. Their first night in their vacation home is interrupted by a group of four strangers, all of whom look like members of the Wilson family except for some crucial, creepy differences. As they fight to survive the night with these mysterious “tethered” doubles, the Wilsons learn more about their intricate interconnections. Peele’s writing and direction is open-ended but unapologetically moral and political throughout; once we are shown the real twist at the end of the film and we see the scope of the violence experienced by the Wilson’s, we feel implicated in it on a number of levels. His concept of “the tethered” has echoes of other doubles in film and literary storytelling, but Peele’s version wears its relevance clearly and resounds more with every viewing; from human-generated climate change to mass incarceration and punitive immigration policies, we live with daily reminders that one person’s (or even species’) freedom and flourishing occur at the precise cost of another’s suffering and even extinction. Joseph
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Lupin the Third: The Castle of Cagliostro Though usually a thief, and a good one at that, this time around Lupin and his pal Jigen Daisuke are on the path of truth and justice hoping to uncover the mysteries behind Count Cagliostro, his family fortune, and the mysterious organization that has wreaked havoc across the world for centuries via counterfeit currency. Along the way, the dynamic duo will run into past allies and enemies, dodge bullets and swords, and race along the curving mountain roads, ultimately hoping to rescue the young Lady Clarisse d’ Cagliostro from the evil regent’s castle. Though a continuation of the long running Lupin anime, The Castle of Cagliostro stands perfectly on its own as a premier action/adventure film predating similar classic American affairs like Indiana Jones. Though not under the Studio Ghibli mantel, this marks the first film by Hayao Miyazaki, the academy award winning director behind classics like Spirited Away, Kiki’s Delivery Service, and Princess Monoke. The animation is stellar with some truly exciting fight and chase sequences and the world building is perfectly elaborate and over the top. The artists did a great job not only on designing the castle but the people who inhabit it, each with a distinct look, style, and demeanor. In the end everything adds up to an excellent animated adventure. Josiah
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We are living in the golden age of television. There are so many extraordinary shows to watch right now that it’s hard to get to them all, and some shows end up getting the axe even though they’re brilliant, just because there isn’t enough time to watch them. Halt and Catch Fire, which appeared on AMC after Breaking Bad ended its run, is one of those shows. Technically, you could call it a period drama: Halt and Catch Fire takes place during the advent of the personal computer and eventually the internet, tracing the intertwined lives of two men and two women as they attempt to scramble to the top of the pile during the tech explosion. Actors Lee Pace, Scoot McNairy, Mackenzie Davis, Kerry Bishé and Toby Huss all give exceptional, nuanced performances of five very flawed, very ambitious people with the drive to succeed in the Silicon Prairie. Although they attempt to engineer their fates, technology and their competitors fight back with equal aggression. The relationship between Joe (Pace) and Cameron (Davis) is especially fascinating to watch. Halt and Catch Fire may not be one of the top viewed shows, but AMC has developed a reputation for putting out winners. Halt and Catch Fire is definitely one of them. Jess
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Sleeplessby Sarah Vaughn Princess Pyppenia, or Poppy as she likes to be called, is the illegitimate daughter of the recently deceased king of the Harbeny. Being the illegitimate child of a dead king immediately puts Poppy in a very precarious situation politically. Not only that, but her position soon goes from bad to worse when her uncle, the new king of Harbeny, forces her to stay at court rather than allow her to return to her mother in Mribesh. Poppy’s bad luck doesn’t stop there either. Her situation turns from precarious to dire when someone attempts to assassinate her as she returns to her room one night. Without any idea who is trying to kill her, the only person Poppy can trust is her faithful knight and protector Cyrenic, who thwarted the assassination attempt. Cyrenic is a knight of the Sleepless Order which, like the name implies, means that he never sleeps and is therefore able to provide 24/7 protection for Poppy. However, the power of the Sleepless comes at a high price. One day Cyrenic will sleep and when he does he will never again wake up. Every knight of the Sleepless Order has visions to warn them that the day of their eternal sleep is close at hand, and unfortunately for Poppy and Cyrenic, these visions have begun to plague Cyrenic. Their only hope is to find the killer before sleep overcomes Cyrenic and dooms not only Cyrenic to an eternal rest but Poppy as well. Sleepless was one of those graphic novels that I picked up on a whim. Based on the cover art it didn’t look like it is the sort of book I would typically read, but I decided to give it a shot because I’m a sucker for medieval fantasy, and I’m so glad that I gave it a chance! Sleepless has the perfect mix of ingredients for a good fantasy story: intrigue, action, romance, and of course fantasy. However, what is even more impressive is that Sarah Vaughn’s story doses out all of these essential fantasy themes perfectly. The action and romance are not overly explicit, the intrigue progresses the plot and keeps you guessing but isn’t confusing, and the fantasy adds to the story instead of being a crutch it relies on. If you’re looking for a well written fantasy graphic novel look no further than Sleepless, if you’re anything like me you won’t be disappointed. Seth
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The Mother-in-Lawby Sally Hepworth Girl meets boy… boy marries girl… girl becomes best friends with her mother-in-law, or so the dream goes, but not so much for Lucy. Lucy is head-over-heels in love with Ollie and cannot wait for their wedding day and becoming a part of his family. She is also determined to have a wonderful relationship with her mother-in-law, Diana, as she lost her own mother to cancer in her teens and is excited to have a mother figure in her life again. If only it were that easy… from day one, Diana appears reserved and distant, almost cold towards Lucy. Diana is often rude, slow to offer affection but quick with the criticism, and three grandbabies later, not much has changed. When Diana is found dead in her home, a note is found leading police to believe suicide rather than foul play but the clues just don’t add up. Was Diana’s death a suicide or was she murdered? Diana and Lucy never had the relationship Lucy tried so hard to make happen, but she wouldn’t hurt Diana… would she? And if not Lucy, then who? The Mother-In-Law is captivating, emotional, thought-provoking, intense, brilliantly plotted, and in the end, a jaw-dropping read (or in this case, listen). I particularly enjoyed the alternating timelines that helped fill in the blanks regarding Diana’s life and the different point of views when it came to telling this unexpected story about a fascinating family dynamic. Sally Hepworth delivered quite an addictive novel: the complex characters, the mystery surrounding Diana’s death, and the seamlessly flowing storyline all came together just like a puzzle, where once the last piece was in position, I couldn’t help but sit back and admire Sally Hepworth’s handiwork. The Mother-In-Law was my first Sally Hepworth novel, but definitely not my last. Brandi
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Ayesha at Lastby Uzma JalaluddinThe first thing that attracted me to this audiobook was the cover--a gorgeous goldenrod background with a beautiful silhouette of a woman wearing a purple and gold accented headscarf and pink painted lips. This book is about the lives of several young Muslim people living in Canada; topics include arranged marriage, family dynamics and religious customs. There is even a love story. Previous reviewers have mentioned that this is a retelling of Jane Austen’s Pride and Predjudice, but I beg to differ. There is so much more going on here. Ayesha is a modern Muslim woman living in Canada who does a favor for her cousin as she works to pay her uncle back for a seemingly insurmountable debt. Khalid has bound himself to tradition and his mother’s attempts at finding him a wife. Ayesha reads her poetry at open mic nights, and during one of these open mics, Khaled and Ayesha’s fates begin to align. The story unwinds from there, asking each of the main characters to question the way things have always been done, or the way their parents and loved ones expect things to be done, and leaving the listener with a very pleasant feeling of resolution. This book has a great story, and relatable characters, I think it will appeal to more than your average Jane Austen reader. If you enjoy romantic comedies or just want to know about how people from other cultural and religious backgrounds live and interact in their worlds, this book is for you. Vanessa
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Brave Enough With electric violin in hand, Stirling presents her most ambitious album yet with Brave Enough, a moving narrative of vulnerability. While the violin is unmistakably the star of the show, she makes use of piano and percussion to accentuate the emotion in her music in ways she previously hasn't, making this her most musically and stylistically complex album so far. She also experiments with other musical styles, bringing in other artists like Dan + Shay for a more country sound on "Those Days," Raja Kuman for the fun Bollywood inspired track "Mirage," and Christina Perri for the titular song to name a few. Where Stirling really shines on this album though is on her primarily instrumental tracks. "Lost Girls," "The Arena," and "The Phoenix" in particular stand out. The first track of the album, "Lost Girls" continues the narrative Stirling established in her previous album, Shatter Me, which she wrote as a metaphor for hitting bottom and deciding to recover from anorexia and depression. Where "Shatter Me" was energetic, angry, and daring, culminating in a moment of action and decisiveness, "Lost Girls" is about the life that follows that decision. The song starts off light, and fanciful, depicting the freedom Stirling is finding in recovery. Then like a storm rolling in, the tone shifts and becomes frantic and unsteady. She was numb in "Shatter Me," and now that she has been shattered, it is tempting to go back to the safe and steady life she lead before, one without great joy but also one without deep sorrow. Ultimately, Stirling decides in "Lost Girls" that although there was comfort in her eating disorder, but that comfort was not worth the limited existence she led and being fully alive in recovery is scary but also wonderful. Alaina
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