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SCPL Headquarters Staff Picks January 2019
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You Were Never Really Hereby Jonathan Ames Joe, a former FBI agent and decorated Marine, is a brutal hit-man that only hires out for jobs that require his special skill set. Joe’s weapon of choice: a hammer. When one of his jobs goes awry, Joe finds himself dealing with a corrupt politician and the mob. Determined to save an innocent girl’s life, Joe fights back in the only way a man with nothing left to lose can. Now a major motion picture starring Joaquin Phoenix, You Were Never Really Here is a gritty, disturbing story of corruption and one man’s violent pursuit for punishment. The writing is captivating and the action-packed story moves along at a breakneck pace. A must read for fans of crime thrillers! Revenge is a dish best served cold and Joe is here to deliver! Brandi
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My Sister, the Serial Killerby Oyinkan BraithwaiteI’m an only child, so I guess I’ll never know firsthand what it’s like to have to clean up after my sibling’s messes. But I got pretty close by reading My Sister, the Serial Killer, and the messes are exactly what you think they are based on the title. Main character Korede, a nurse at a hospital in Lagos, Nigeria, spends some of her free time dreaming about one of the doctors at the hospital, Tade, but she also spends some of her free time dumping bodies of her beautiful sister Ayoola’s boyfriends after she kills them. After number three goes in the lagoon, Ayoola shows up announced at the hospital, enchanting Tade and deeply frustrating Korede, who knows exactly what it means to be in Ayoola’s clutches. My Sister, the Serial Killer is a darkly humorous novel that lifts the veil on how far siblings will go to protect each other, and is an interesting commentary on how female siblings are treated, often pitted against each other by their own families based on who is more attractive. Braithwaite builds depth into the sisters’ story by using Korede’s memories of their father, a vicious man who quite possibly caused the state in which Korede and Ayoola find themselves. My Sister, the Serial Killer is a short little book, but it’ll stay with you well after you’re done reading it. Even if you don’t have siblings. Jess
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Heart-Shaped Boxby Joe Hill Judas Coyne is a rock-n-roll baddie. And even now in his mid-fifties, he still keeps writing and performing his music, dates women half his age, and continues to build his collection of morbid items. So when he finds out there is a ghost for sale, naturally, he must have it. But what Jude doesn't know until it's too late is that this ghost is the spirit of his ex-girlfriend's stepfather. His ex-girlfriend who killed herself after having been sent back home by Jude after he couldn't deal with her strange, self-destructive behaviors anymore. Craddock, the spirit, is seeking revenge on Jude for throwing his step-daughter away like a piece of garbage and anyone else who helps Jude along the way. Joe Hill won the Bram Stoker Award for best first novel for this debut and rightfully so. Knowing how to master the perfect balance between fantasy, horror and a satisfying ending is, to me, a rare gift and Joe Hill's got it. So take it from someone whose normal reading habits don't usually stray from thrillers that this fantasy/horror novel is so worth your time. Crystal
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The Wicker Kingby Kayla Ancrum The Wicker King is about two high school boys, Jack and August. Jack has developed a hallucinatory disorder where he begins to see things that aren't there, and it's gradually getting worse. Jack is slowly becoming increasingly convinced that he is in a parallel world that needs to be saved. Instead of urging him to seek help, August tries to help him by playing along with what Jack is seeing, thinking that his friend will eventually snap out of it. But as Jack sinks deeper into this other world, he drags August with him, until neither boy is sure what's real and what is not. (You probably won’t, either.) This novel is strange, it is dark, and will have you questioning until the end. It’s the sort of book that draws you in with its mixed media and ever-darkening pages before really sinking its teeth into you. It is sad, it is dark, and the ending is one of the best twist endings I’ve ever read in a book. Yet it also addresses the very real, very serious issues of abusive and codependent relationships, parental neglect, and mental illness, and speaks to what can happen if these issues are left unresolved. It reminded me a bit of Seanan McGuire's Wayward Children series, in this way. An excellent and thought provoking read. Taylor
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The Electric Woman: A Memoir in Death-Defying Actsby Tessa Fontaine The Electric Woman is a memoir about one woman’s travels with the last American traveling sideshow, the World of Wonders, but it is also about a mother-daughter relationship. Tessa is a girl who resolves to stop being a ‘fraidy cat’ and channels her courageous mother in the aftermath of that mother suffering a stroke. The appeal for me was in the sideshow performing but I was continually drawn forward by the mother-daughter dynamics. Among other things, I loved Tessa’s brazen approach to learning new things. With no knowledge of swallowing fire or performing in a sideshow she did a quick Google search and creatively altered her resume. In addition to embarking on a year of travel and adventure Tessa learned how to swallow fire, swords and most importantly her fear. Most importantly she learned that there is no actual trick—no short cut. Her reasons for joining the circus are certainly different that her mother’s reasons for performing acrobats on a surfboard, but both mother and daughter had to figure things out for themselves. I have dreamed about running away to join the circus—or at the very least move to a big city. The resolution in this book is a touch deeper than any one particular mother daughter relationship; it is about the constant discovery of magic and fantasy in the world around us and in our selves. Read it if you have ever thought about being someone other than yourself—or if you love memoir for its brazen adventure and self-discovery that takes place in 400 pages or less. Vanessa
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Where the Crawdads Singby Delia OwensIf I had to pick my favorite book of 2018, it would have to be Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. Owens debut novel is a beautifully written story about a girl named Kya. After being abandoned by her family at a young age, Kya learns to survive the harsh and wild marsh land of North Carolina. Somewhat a legend in town, Kya, aka “the marsh girl”, gets her self mixed up in the murder of a local boy. Where the Crawdads Sing is an emotional story that had me laughing and crying. You’ll definitely want to read this Reese Witherspoon book club pick before she turns it into a motion picture. Shannon
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The Only Harmless Great Thingby Brooke Bolander At only 92 pages, Brooke Bolander’s The Only Harmless Great Thing is barely longer than your average short story, but packed into this thin volume is a big enough gut punch to leave the reader reeling. The novella is a alternate history of sorts, combining the real events of the electrocution of Topsy the elephant in 1903 with the suffering of the radium girls, early 20th century female factory workers exposed to radiation found in self-luminous paint. By combining these two events and casting elephants as sentient beings suffering along with the female factory workers, Bolander has crafted a story filled with environmental and feminist outrage, weaving the two elements together into a fiery meditation on heritage, oppression, and friendship. The actual story of the novel is told from several very subjective points of view, which means the plot can be a little hard to follow at times. However, the prose is so visceral and filled with energy, and the characters so understandable in their anger against their oppressors, that it becomes quite a quick read. Despite its short length, The Only Harmless Great Thing is a uniquely complete experience and is an enjoyable read for anyone looking for something quick, poignant, and relevant to the current sociopolitical climate.
Josiah
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White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racismby Robin J. DiAngelo Who isn’t looking for a way to engage in healthy dialogue with the world around us? I acknowledge that race is an uncomfortable topic and I wanted to read more about how to come to terms with the way I process race and work through encounters as a white female. In White Fragility, Robin Diangelo asks us to look the way we talk and think about race and offers some important thoughts to consider as we interact with those around us. Diangelo is a white anti-racism educator who attempts to improve relationships and the discussion when and where racism arises. Diangelo addresses that discussion about race often leads to uncomfortable feelings and escalating tensions. She offers a plan for us all to ‘interrupt’ tendencies to resort to racism and division that is palatable and thought provoking. From Diangelo I learned how to begin to address my personal privilege and use this awareness to have these important conversations about racism. This book is perfect for anyone who is looking to explore social improvement and better interact with the world regarding race and privilege. Vanessa
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The Hot Rockby Donald E. Westlake John Dortmunder is a thief and a darn good one too. After serving his time for getting caught during a job, Dortmunder is finally getting out of prison and breathing free air again. Yet before he even walks one block Dortmunder is approached with another job offer of the criminal nature. Steal the $500,000 Balaboma emerald. The emerald is in the possession of a small African nation that has recently gained their independence and split between two groups, the Akinzi and the Talabwo. The Akinzi took the stone when the nation split and the Talabwo want it back, and their UN representative believes John Dortmunder is just the man he needs to pull off the heist. The only problem is that although Dortmunder is a skilled thief, whatever he plans always seems to go inexplicitly wrong. So what begins as a simple heist turns into something else entirely. Although The Hot Rock was written in 1987 and is dated in a few ways, it is one of those books that has stood the test of time fairly well. When I stumbled upon it I was searching for a book that could make me laugh, and The Hot Rock succeeded on that front very well. Dortmunder and the quirky personalities of him and his crew of fellow miscreants are hilarious and their continual poor luck makes everything even more amusing. In addition, the plans that Dortmunder comes up with to steal the emerald are incredibly entertaining to read and the plot stays at a good pace throughout the entire novel. So if you’re looking for a good laugh and enjoy a good heist story, check out The Hot Rock. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. Seth
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Strengthen Your Back: Exercises to Build a Better Back and Improve Your Posture by Inc. Dorling Kindersley In 2004, I fell off a horse (or to be more accurate, she threw me over the jump we were supposed to go over together) and herniated the last three discs in my lower back, beginning years of back and leg pain, various treatments, and ultimately two surgeries to account for the herniation and reoccurrence of my L5-S1 disc. I fell when I was 18 and had no idea that up to 80% of adults suffer from back pain at some point in their lives, and many of us struggle with how to cope with the pain and strengthen the muscles that support the spine. Strengthen Your Back aims to fill the knowledge gap between doctors and back pain sufferers by offering readers a comprehensive, readable guide on the back. This book explains how the back is built (it’s incredible to see how complex the spine is) and how to assess your pain, but I think where this guide earns its weight in gold is in the final two sections. "Preventing and Coping with Pain" elaborates very specifically on how to do things like get out of a car and pick up things when suffering from back pain, while "Maintenance and Rehabilitation Exercises" details, with excellent illustrations, exactly how to stretch and strengthen the back while suffering or recovering from a back injury. It’s always most important to consult a doctor first, but as I read through this book, I thought of my worst days, when I couldn’t figure out how to sit at a desk in class or get out of bed without searing pain, and I desperately wish I’d had Strengthen Your Back with me to help navigate and live with back pain. Publisher Dorling Kindersley has put out some of the most trustworthy, clear, and stylish nonfiction guides of the last decade, and Strengthen Your Back is an excellent addition to their catalog. Highly, highly recommend. Jess
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The Overstoryby Richard Powers The Overstory was my favorite book published in 2018. It is a true achievement that pushes the boundaries of the novel to account for the silent world of the natural environment. Told in four major sections, corresponding to the significant sections of a tree (“Roots,” “Trunk,” “Crown,” and “Seeds”), Richard Powers’ novel draws together the stories of nine major characters and the entanglements of their lives with different tree species. While the novel’s pacing is patient, its narrative subject is urgent – the disastrous impact of human activity on the earth’s climate and biodiversity troubles each of these characters in different ways. Champions for reading fiction often argue for its ethical and political importance as an engine for sympathy; we read to understand the experience of others, the argument goes, and in order to imagine ourselves in their situations. Powers broadens this aim, encouraging us to think in the place of nature by refracting periodic human struggles through the longer lifespans and time scales of trees. By the novel’s end, I felt like I had read a sweeping history of the latter half of the twentieth century through the intertwined lives and losses of the main characters in the novel. Rarely have I read a book this moving in its aching portrayal of those characters and their differing levels of recognition as parts of nature, no longer apart from it. Joseph
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Killing Eve Despite the many trappings and tropes of the spy genre, I am always down for an epic hunt for The Bad Guy. But as evidenced by BBC’s Killing Eve, it’s even better when the hunt is for The Bad Gal. When Eve Polastri, a permanently frazzled lower level employee at MI5, is called into a meeting about an assassination, she posits that perhaps the killer is a woman, sparking a chain of events that leads to Eve heading her own task force with MI6, hunting the unpredictable murderer-for-hire Villanelle. Meanwhile, the porcelain-faced Villanelle herself travels the globe, killing whoever her handler tells her to, while spending her free time tracking Eve and her team. The cat and mouse game unfolds with both gritty tension and delightful fun, thanks to Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer, who play Eve and Villanelle, respectively. Oh and Comer elevate Eve and Villanelle from what could well be one-note caricatures to nuanced portraits of powerful but imperfect women who are both in deeper than they realized. Killing Eve is stylishly filmed, with a sleek, electronic soundtrack that perfectly fits the mood of the show and costume design that builds additional depth for both Eve and Villanelle. The siren call of a truly successful entry into the spy canon is neverending tension with a wedge of fun, and Killing Eve serves it all up on a perfectly polished platter...which Villanelle probably stole from a Bulgarian mansion. Jess
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The Predator Two words: predator dogs. Yes, the Predator has a pet, two of them in fact. Dear reader, you’re probably thinking "do I want to see a movie with predator dogs?" You do! From space to small town suburbia, the hunt comes home in this reinvention of the Predator series. A Predator ship crash-lands on Earth. Why is the Predator here and what is the Predator after? The fate of the human race now rests in the hands of a ragtag crew of military veterans and an evolutionary biologist. The Predator has its own fresh identity, but does a great job staying true to the franchise. With the perfect blend of comedy and action, The Predator is one heck of a monster movie featuring alien hunters set on eliminating the human race. With a fantastic cast that stands out with their unlikely chemistry and hilarious comic relief, razor-sharp pacing, and witty dialogue, The Predator is a great film for all action enthusiasts! Will The Predator win an Oscar? No. But it will provide one hour and forty-one minutes of pure entertainment and sometimes that’s all you want from a movie. The final moments of The Predator has me excited for the future of the franchise. Overall, The Predator was just an insanely entertaining film that is a Must Watch for every true Predator fan! Brandi
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Secret Sunshine Secret Sunshine is a South Korean film about major concerns pitched at a humble scale. It is a story of grief and partial recovery where a character finds and loses her faith. The director explores the mysteries of being alive and the inexplicable motives in human action with patience and curiosity. Jeon Do-Yeon's performance as Shin-ae, the grieving widow at the center of the film, was powerful and moving. Tragedy strikes after she moves to her late husband’s hometown with their son in search of a different life, a choice she makes seemingly without a clear reason. This scenario – wishing for clear guidance about how to live and acting in spite of the absence – is echoed in the film’s unflinching exploration of religion. Shin-ae turns to faith in order to account for her suffering, only to find it insufficient. Through her story, we see a gripping portrayal of how people use religion to settle personal scores, and claim authority in parts of their lives where they have none. While I enjoyed the whole movie, the ending was particularly satisfying. After enduring her losses, grief, and existential crises, we end with Shin-ae giving herself a haircut. It is a gesture of closure and a subtle rejection of supernatural explanations for life suggesting that we are the only ones responsible for the kind or cruel things we do to ourselves and each other. That’s enough mystery for a lifetime. Joseph
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The Hating Gameby Sally Thorne Lucy and Josh are executive assistants to the co-CEOs of a publishing company. They don't see eye to eye on anything either. Josh is uptight, meticulous and iron-fisted, while Lucy is bubbly, bright and a pushover. In fact, through passive-aggressive behavior, Lucy and Josh show each other every day just how much they hate one another with the juvenile games they play. But these games that are meant to frustrate and intimidate each other have taken a slight turn. After they share an otherworldly elevator kiss and then Josh shows some unexpected kindnesses, Lucy wonders if they hate each other at all. Is Joshua Templeman a good guy? With a promotion on the horizon that would make one of them the other's boss, the stakes have come to an all-time high. Not wanting to lose this chance at her dream job, she treads lightly surrounding these new kindnesses from Josh because she's just not sure if this is all part of his cruelest game yet. SQUEEEEEE!!! This book is adorable! And sexy! And smart! And Lucy is refreshing, relatable and endearing. When a book can make me laugh, tear-up and give me those stomach butterflies, I know I've scored. So if you're in the mood for a fun read with engaging well-developed characters, this story is for you. Also, Katie Schorr does a fantastic job narrating. Crystal
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"What do they study now, our girls? A bit of addition and subtraction, telling time, making change. Counting, of course. They would learn counting first. All the way up to one hundred."
The average woman speaks 20,000 words a day. The average man speaks 7,000. So what would happen if women could only speak 100 words a day, or face a painful electric shock? They would be effectively silenced. This is the world that Christina Dalcher has created in VOX. Women have lost their careers, their independence, and their voice. Woman are expected to be quiet, behave, and obey their husbands, brothers, and fathers, as part of the ultra-right wing's "Pure Movement," which aims to bring America back to its roots.
This includes Jean McClellan, a (former) doctor of theoretical linguistics. Before the Pure Movement rose to power, Jean was one of the leading researchers on Wernicke’s aphasia, a condition that limits the brain's ability to understand language. Now, she is basically a glorified housekeeper. Until the president's brother is in a skiing accident and diagnosed with Wernicke’s aphasia. Jean is offered a special deal where she is allowed to take off her word counter in exchange for continuing her work on the cure. She is given a once in a lifetime opportunity to make a change- a chance to undo the damage that has been done. This book is part thriller, part cautionary tale. It's very reminiscent of Handmaid's Tale, except that this version is much more easily accessible. “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing” is the main theme that is repeatedly touched on. The author has a message of speaking up for yourself and exercising your freedom of speech which she conveys strongly throughout the book. While it wasn't exactly subtle, the book raises a lot of great points and would be an excellent pick for book clubs. It's also on the shorter side and very fast paced. Overall an excellent read. Taylor
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Madden NFL 19Let me start off by saying, I am not a video gamer. Over Christmas break my son and I played Madden NFL 19. The graphics are so realistic, it almost felt like I was at an actual football game. You start off by choosing your team or you can draft your team and it’s played just like a real football game. Even though I had no clue what I was doing, I somehow managed to score a touchdown! What I liked best about Madden 19 was that I was able to do a celebratory end zone dance, just like the professional football players. Overall, I really enjoyed playing Madden 19. I look forward to battling my son again and improving my game. Shannon
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Doom Patrol: Brick by Brickby Gerard Way Gerard Way’s 2017 Doom Patrol reboot is the kind of wonderful, glittering mayhem you would expect from the lead singer and creative force behind mid-2000-alt-rock-gods My Chemical Romance. Acting as both a continuation and re-imagining of a outcast superhero team that has existed in print as far back as 1963, Doom Patrol Vol. 1 tells the story of ambulance driver Casey Brinke as she is suddenly thrust into the world of superheros and evil, capitalist alien organizations. Along the way, she’ll run into a sentient, god-like ambulance (that was once a sentient street), a mysterious, explosive roommate, and a desert cult, all while trying to understand her own mind boggling origins and bring the original Doom Patrol team back together. This is an insane graphic novel and will most certainly not be everyone's cup of tea, but if you find yourself enthralled by the world of comic books, fantasy, or high concept science fiction this would definitely be worth checking out. Even if your just a fan of wacky, off-the-wall characters coming together to form a gang of outsiders, this might be up your ally. Though the actual reasons for why so many of the crazy things happen is left in the shadows, the events that unfold are constantly surprising and energetic, and the artwork by Nick Derington is simply fantastic: a beautifully clean combination of cartoonish renderings and clever detail acting to perfectly depict the nonsensical action assaulting the reader. If you’re not as interested in diving into the sci-fi mumbo-jumbo, Doom Patrol is just a genuinely fun read and an adventure worth taking if only because of the hilarious heroes and creatures you meet along the way, and the charming artwork. Josiah
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Chewby John Layman Tony Cho is not your everyday policeman. Tony is cibopathic and that means that he gets a psychic impression from whatever he eats. So if Tony eats an apple he sees where it was grown and what pesticides were put on it, but if he eats a hamburger he sees a gruesome vision of the cow it came from being slaughtered. Tony’s power has made him into an officer that can solve seemingly impossible cases, but it comes with the down side of having to eat a lot of very unpleasant things. One day when Tony is caught taking a literal bite out of crime he is recruited by Mason Savoy who is also a cibopath and needs Tony’s help to solve a food conspiracy that could threaten the entire human race. It took a little warming up for me to really get into Chew, but before I knew it I was devouring almost an entire volume each time I sat down to read. Tony and the rest of the ensemble of colorful characters of Chew are hilarious and even heartfelt at times. In addition, their adventures are bizarre, graphic, and disturbingly delightful. It is strange to describe something I enjoyed in that way, but I’m honestly not sure how else to phrase it. It is wonderfully weird in the best possible way and if you can stomach the strangeness I highly recommend it. Seth
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