Author: Solnit, Rebecca, author.
Published: 2021
Call Number: B ORWELL
Format: Books
Summary: "A fresh take on George Orwell as a far more nature-loving figure than is often portrayed, and a dazzlingly rich meditation on roses, gardens, and the value and use of beauty and pleasure in the face of brutality and horror. "In the spring of 1936 a man planted roses." That man was George Orwell, shortly before he went off to fight against fascism in Spain. Today, those rosebushes are still thriving. This is the starting point for Rebecca Solnit's new book, which presents another side of Orwell, a neglected arcadian Orwell who took enormous pleasure in the natural world and found great meaning and value in it. Orwell's planting of the roses is an axle from which Solnit's chapters radiate out like spokes as she brilliantly explores its various contexts, perspectives, and meanings, following the contours of Orwell's life and tracking how deeply enmeshed the love of nature is in all his writing. Journeying to the cottage in Wallingford where Orwell lived in 1936, she examines his desire to be agrarian and settled, how gardening restored him, and how planting something can be an act of fidelity and faith. Probing at the beauty and meaning of roses, she draws in the revolutionary photography and politics of Tina Modotti and makes a clandestine visit to a Columbian rose factory, where 80% of America's roses for sale are grown. She tracks the history of gardening, showing how the desire to garden is culturally determined and often rooted in class, recounts the immense battles over breeding and genetics in Russia during Stalin's time, and probes into the colonialist roots of Orwell's forebears, who worked in opium production in India and profiteered from sugar and slavery in Jamaica. Solnit shows how these points of intersection illuminate Orwell's work, and how that illumination shines forth on larger questions about beauty, pleasure, meaning, relationship, and hope. Her book establishes that "Orwellian" could stand for something more than ominous, corrupt, and sinister"--
Author: Hanson, Victor Davis, author.
Published: 2021
Call Number: 323.6
Format: Books
Summary: "Most of human history is full of the stories of peasants, subjects, or tribes. The concept of the "citizen," an idea we take for granted, is historically quite rare-and was, until recently, amongst America's most profoundly cherished ideals. But without shock treatment, warns historian and conservative political commentator Victor Davis Hanson, American citizenship as we have known it for well over two centuries may soon vanish. In The Dying Citizen, Hanson outlines the forces that have brought us to the twilight of American citizenship, and led to the deeply fractured politics of the present era. Over the last half-century, numerous forces from both above and below have conspired to undermine the value we place in the idea of citizenship-and our vigilance in protecting it. To be self-governing, citizens must be economically autonomous, but the evisceration of the middle class and the rise of inequality have made many Americans dependent on the federal government. Citizenship exists within delineated borders-but open borders and the elite concept of "global citizenship" have rendered meaningless the idea of allegiance to a particular place. Citizenship relies on the renunciation of tribal identity in favor of the state, but identity politics have eradicated the idea of a collective civic sense of self. A vastly expanded unelected bureaucracy has overwhelmed the power of elected officials, thereby destroying the sovereign power of the citizen. Progressive academics and activists lay siege to the institutions and traditions of constitutional citizenship. As in the revolutionary years of 1848, 1917, and 1968, 2020 has ripped away our complacency about the future of our most cherished ideals. Americans are forced to confront the fragility of citizenship-indeed, the fragility of our nation. But this calamitous year may also teach Americans to rebuild and recover what we have lost. The choice is ours"--
Author: Offerman, Nick, 1970- author.
Published: 2021
Call Number: 917.3
Format: Books
Summary: With wit, heartwarming stories and a keen insight into new and exciting ways to see both the past and the future of the country, the actor, writer and woodworker takes a literary journey to America's frontier to celebrate the people and landscape that have made it great. In his new book, Nick takes a humorous, inspiring, and elucidating trip to America's trails, farms, and frontier to examine the people who inhabit the land and what that has meant to them and us--and to the land itself--both historically and currently. In 2018, Wendell Berry posed a question to Nick, a query that planted the seed of this book, sending Nick on two journeys with pals--a hiking trip to Glacier National Park with his friends Jeff Tweedy and George Saunders, as well as an extended visit to his friend James Rebanks, the author of The Shepherd's Life and English Pastoral. Next, in 2020, Nick and his wife, Megan Mullally bought an Airstream trailer to drive across (several of) the United States.These three trips inspired Nick to think about: our relationship with nature in our national parks, in our farming, and in our backyards ; what we mean when we talk about conservation ; and the importance of outdoor recreation, all subjects very close to Nick's heart. --adapted from front jacket flap
Author: Candon, Emma Mieko, author.
Published: 2021
Call Number: F CANDON
Format: Books
Summary: This thrilling original novel is inspired by the upcoming Star Wars Visions animated anthology series. A mysterious former Sith wanders the galaxy in this stunning Star Wars tale, an original novel inspired by the world of The Duel from the Star Wars Visions animated anthology.The Jedi are the most loyal servants of the Empire. Two decades ago, Jedi clans clashed in service to feuding lords. Sickened by this endless cycle, a sect of Jedi rebelled, seeking to control their own destiny and claim power in service of no master. They called themselves Sith. The Sith rebellion failed, succumbing to infighting and betrayal, and the once rival lords unified to create an Empire . . . but even an Empire at peace is not free from violence. Far on the edge of the Outer Rim, one former Sith wanders, accompanied only by a faithful droid and the ghost of a less civilized age. He carries a lightsaber, but claims lineage to no Jedi clan, and pledges allegiance to no lord. Little is known about him, including his name, for he never speaks of his past, nor his regrets. His history is as guarded as the red blade of destruction he carries sheathed at his side. As the galaxy's perpetual cycle of violence continues to interrupt his self-imposed exile, and he is forced to duel an enigmatic bandit claiming the title of Sith, it becomes clear that no amount of wandering will ever let him outpace the specters of his former life.
Author: Dykstra, Katherine, author.
Published: 2021
Call Number: 363.2595
Format: Books
Summary: "A riveting investigation into a cold case asks how much control women have over their bodies and the direction of their lives. In July 1970, eighteen-year-old Paula Oberbroeckling left her house in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and never returned. A cold case for fifty years, Paula's story had been largely forgotten when Katherine Dykstra began looking for answers. A woman was dead. Why had no one been held responsible? How could a community give up and move on? Could there ever be justice for Paula? Tracing the knowns and unknowns, Dykstra discovers a girl who was hemmed in by the culture of the late 1960s, when women's rights had been brought to the fore but had little practical bearing on actual lives. The more she learns about Paula, the more parallels Dykstra finds in the lives of the women who knew Paula, the lives of the women in her own family, and even in her own life. Captivating and expertly crafted, What Happened to Paula is a timely, powerful look at gender, autonomy, and the cost of being a woman"--
Author: Lang, Rachel, author. Bond, Cody, illustrator.
Published: 2021
Call Number: 133.43
Format: Books
Summary: Modern Day Magic is the only step-by-step guide that shows how to weave magical practice into your daily life. The book offers practical exercises, meditations, rituals, and journal prompts designed especially for men and women with busy schedules. With eight simple magic rules, Modern Day Magic is also a primer to help readers understand fundamental magic rules and practices to help them unlock their magical power and use it to reclaim and change their lives for the better.
Author: Orlean, Susan, author. Orlean, Susan. It bird. Orlean, Susan. Show dog. Orlean, Susan. Lady and the tigers. Orlean, Susan. Riding high.
Published: 2021
Call Number: 591.5
Format: Books
Summary: 'How we interact with animals has preoccupied philosophers, poets, and naturalists for ages,' writes Susan Orlean. Since the age of six, when Orlean wrote and illustrated a book called Herbert the Near-Sighted Pigeon, she's been drawn to stories about how we live with animals, and how they abide by us. Now, in On Animals, she examines animal-human relationships through the compelling tales she has written over the course of her celebrated career. These stories consider a range of creatures, the household pets we dote on, the animals we raise to end up as meat on our plates, the creatures who could eat us for dinner, the various tamed and untamed animals we share our planet with who are central to human life. In her own backyard, Orlean discovers the delights of keeping chickens. In a different backyard, in New Jersey, she meets a woman who has twenty-three pet tigers--something none of her neighbors knew about until one of the tigers escapes. In Iceland, the world?s most famous whale resists the efforts to set him free; in Morocco, the world's hardest-working donkeys find respite at a special clinic. We meet a show dog and a lost dog and a pigeon who knows exactly how to get home.
Author: Seeck, Max, 1985- author. London, Kristian, translator.
Published: 2021 2020
Call Number: F SEECK
Format: Books
Summary: "Finnish investigator Jessica Niemi is back in this terrifying new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Witch Hunter. Six months have passed since Jessica's encounter with the mysterious serial-killing coven of witches and the death of her mentor Erne. Her nightmares about her mother and the witchcraft that undid her have only gotten worse, but she's doing what she can to stay focused. Her homicide squad, now under new leadership, has been given a murder case and a new series of disappearances to investigate. A young woman's corpse has washed up on an icy beach, and two famous Instagram influencers have gone missing at the same time. The missing influencers and the murdered woman all have ties to a sinister cult. Jessica finds an eerie painting-of a lighthouse on a frigid island-as she investigates and under the picture is a gruesome poem detailing a murder. The nightmares about her dead mother have intensified and seem all too real, making Jessica wonder if the woman might be trying to tell her something about the killings. And as Jessica works frantically to solve her latest case, her terrifying past and the coven of witches that almost killed her shockingly reemerge and threaten to destroy her"--
Author: Banville, John, author.
Published: 2021
Call Number: F BANVILLE
Format: Books
Summary: When Quirke travels to the coast of San Sebastian, Spain for some relaxation, he sees a woman who he believes had been murdered by her brother several years prior. San Sebastian, Spain. Dublin pathologist Quirke is struggling to relax, despite the beaches, cafés and the company of his lovely wife. When he glimpses a familiar face in the twilight at Las Acadas bar, he knows it can't be April Latimer-- she was murdered by her brother, years ago. When Quirke makes a call back home to Ireland, Detective St. John Strafford is dispatched to Spain. But he is not the only one en route: A relentless hit man is on the hunt for his latest prey, and the next victim might be Quirke himself. -- adapted from jacket
Author: Sáenz, Benjamin Alire, author.
Published: 2021
Call Number: Y SAENZ
Format: Books
Summary: "Aristotle and Dante continue their journey to manhood in this achingly romantic, tender tale set against the backdrop of the AIDS epidemic in 1980s America. In Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, two boys fell in love. Now they must learn what it means to stay in love--and to build their relationship in a world that doesn't seem to want them to exist. In their senior year at two different schools, the boys find ways to spend time together, like a camping road trip they take in the desert. Ari is haunted by his incarcerated older brother and by the images he sees on the nightly news of gay men dying from AIDS. Tragedy feels like his destiny, but can he forge his own path and create a life where he can not only survive, but thrive?"--
Author: Stross, Charles, author.
Published: 2021
Call Number: F STROSS
Format: Books
Summary: "The alternate timelines of Charles Stross' Empire Games trilogy have never been so entangled than in Invisible Sun-the techno-thriller follow up to Dark State-as stakes escalate in a conflict that could spell extermination for humanity across all known timelines. An inter-timeline coup d'état gone awry. A renegade British monarch on the run through the streets of Berlin. And robotic alien invaders from a distant timeline flood through a wormhole, wreaking havoc in the USA. Can disgraced worldwalker Rita and her intertemporal extraordaire agent of a mother neutralize the livewire contention before it's too late?"--
Author: Kearsley, Susanna, 1966- author.
Published: 2021
Call Number: F KEARSLEY
Format: Books
Summary: "In the autumn of 1707, old enemies from the Highlands to the Borders are finding common ground as they join to protest the new Union with England, the French are preparing to launch an invasion to carry the young exiled Jacobite king back to Scotland to reclaim his throne, and in Edinburgh the streets are filled with discontent and danger. Queen Anne's commissioners have begun settling the losses and wages owed to those Scots who took part in the disastrous Darien expedition eight years earlier. When young widow Lily Aitcheson comes forward to collect her husband's wages, her claim is challenged. Adam Williamson, one of the men who's assigned to investigate Lily's case, has only days to decide if she's honest ... or whether he's being used as a pawn in a treacherous game. Told in two timelines that interweave the troubled weeks in Edinburgh in 1707 with the tales of a woman who lived through the Killing Times, a revolution, and Scotland's loss of a colony in the Americas, this is a story of intrigue, adventure, endurance, romance ... and the courage to hope"--
Author: Robb, J. D., 1950- author.
Published: 2021
Call Number: LP F ROBB
Format: Large print
Summary: "The body was left in a dumpster, the victim a woman known for keeping the cops informed of any infractions she witnessed on the street. But the notebook where she scribbled her intel on offenders is nowhere to be found. Then Eve is summoned to a nearby building site to view more remains unearthed by recent construction work. She isn't happy when she realizes that the scene of the crime belongs to her husband, Roarke. Now Eve must enter a complex world of real estate development, family history, shady deals, and shocking secrets to find justice for two women whose lives were thrown away"--Back cover.
Author: Howard, Ron, 1954- author. Howard, Clint, 1959- author. Howard, Bryce Dallas, 1981- writer of foreword.
Published: 2021
Call Number: 791.4302
Format: Books
Summary: "With the perspective of time and success--Ron as a filmmaker, producer, and Hollywood A-lister, Clint as a busy character actor--the Howard brothers delve deep into an upbringing that seemed normal to them yet was anything but. Their Midwestern parents, Rance and Jean, moved to California to pursue their own showbiz dreams. But it was their young sons who found steady employment as actors. Rance put aside his ego and ambition to become Ron and Clint's teacher, sage, and moral compass. Jean became their loving protector--sometimes over-protector--from the snares and traps of Hollywood. By turns confessional, nostalgic, heartwarming, and harrowing, THE BOYS is a dual narrative that lifts the lid on the Howard brothers' closely held lives. It's the journey of a tight four-person family unit that held fast in an unforgiving business and of two brothers who survived "child-actor syndrome" to become fulfilled adults."
Author: Foster, Joe, 1935- author.
Published: 2020
Call Number: 338.76
Format: Books
Summary: The remarkable story of how Joe Foster developed Reebok into one of the world's most famous sports brands, having started from a small factory in Bolton. Since the late 19th century, the Foster family had been hand-making running shoes, supplying the likes of Eric Liddell and Harold Abrahams--later immortalized in the film Chariots of Fire--as well as providing boots to most Football League clubs. But a family feud between Foster's father and uncle about the direction of their business led to Joe and his brother Jeff setting up a new company, inspired by the success of Adidas and Puma, and so Reebok was born.
Author: Friedman, Hilary Levey, 1980- author.
Published: 2020
Call Number: 791.6
Format: Books
Summary: "Many predicted that pageants would disappear by the 21st century. Yet they are thriving. America's most enduring contest, Miss America, celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2020. Why do they persist? In Here She Is, Hilary Levey Friedman reveals the surprising ways pageants have been an empowering feminist tradition. She traces the role of pageants in many of the feminist movement's signature achievements, including bringing women into the public sphere, helping them become leaders in business and politics, providing increased educational opportunities, and giving them a voice in the age of #MeToo." --
Author: Grey, Melissa, author.
Published: 2019
Call Number: Y GREY
Format: Books
Summary: Societies thrive on order, and the Rating System is the ultimate symbol of organized social mobility. The higher your rating soars, the more valued you are. The lower it plummets, the harder you must work to improve yourself. For the students at the prestigious Maplethorpe Academy, every single thing they do is reflected in their ratings, updated continuously and available for all to see. But when an act of vandalism sullies the front doors of the school, it sets off a chain reaction that will shake the lives of six special students, Bex, Noah, Tamin, Han, Chase and Javi don't have much in common at first glance, but soon each of them will be forced to face the unfair reality of the ratings--and decide whether they're willing to fight for a better future"--Dust jacket.
Author: Summers, Courtney author.
Published: 2018
Call Number: Y SUMMERS
Format: Books
Summary: Told from the alternating perspectives of nineteen-year-old Sadie who runs away from her isolated small Colorado town to find her younger sister's killer, and a true crime podcast exploring Sadie's disappearance. Sadie's been raising her sister Mattie in an isolated Colorado town, trying her best to provide a normal life and keep their heads above water. When Mattie is found dead, and the police investigation is botched, Sadie is determined to bring her sister's killer to justice. She hits the road following a few meager clues. When West McCray, a radio personality working on a segment about small, forgotten towns in America, hears Sadie's story, he becomes obsessed with finding the missing girl. He starts his own podcast as he tracks Sadie's journey, trying to figure out what happened, hoping to find her before it's too late. -- adapted from jacket
Author: Machado, Carmen Maria, author. Container of (work): Machado, Carmen Maria. Husband stitch. Container of (work): Machado, Carmen Maria. Inventory. Container of (work): Machado, Carmen Maria. Mothers. Container of (work): Machado, Carmen Maria. Especially heinous.
Published: 2017
Call Number: F MACHADO
Format: Books
Summary: Contains short stories about the realities of women's lives and the violence visited upon their bodies. Presents a collection of short stories about the realities of women's lives and the violence visited upon their bodies. A wife refuses her husband's entreaties to remove the green ribbon from around her neck. A woman recounts her sexual encounters as a plague slowly consumes humanity. A salesclerk in a mall makes a horrifying discovery within the seams of the store's prom dresses. One woman's surgery-induced weight loss results in an unwanted houseguest. And in 'Especially Heinous, ' Machado reimagines every episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, a show we naïvely assumed had shown it all, generating a phantasmagoric police procedural full of doppelgängers, ghosts, and girls with bells for eyes. --Adapted from publisher description.
Author: Herbert, Frank, author. Herbert, Brian, writer of supplementary textual content.
Published: 2010 1965
Call Number: PB HERBERT
Format: Books
Summary: Follows the adventures of Paul Atreides, the son of a betrayed duke given up for dead on a treacherous desert planet and adopted by its fierce, nomadic people, who help him unravel his most unexpected destiny.
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