Our annual librarian-curated roundup of books, TV shows, movies, and music is here! Explore staff favorites across every age and interest. Discover our staff’s favorite adult fiction and nonfiction titles on this page or browse more using the links below.
Adult fiction: General | Adult fiction: Romance, lives & relationships |
Adult fiction: Thriller, graphic novel, sci-fi & fantasy | Adult nonfiction |
Teen fiction & nonfiction | Kids books | Picture books | Movies & TV shows | Music
Adult fiction: General
All Your Friends Are Here by M. Shaw
Why you should try it: “M. Shaw’s writing conjures images of an unsettling world just next to our own, a bizarre tapestry of barely-recognizable people and shapes that seem familiar, but everyone has the capacity to take some important part of ourselves and twist it into a nightmare from which we cannot wake. This is wonderfully weird, bizarro horror with a deeply resonant, poetic sensibility and an itch-under-your-skin vibe that just won’t quit.” —Michael, Adult Services Library Assistant
Description: Your new favorite assortment of New Weird Lit stories about car-vampires, fascist deer, memory-devouring tree gods, and the torment matrix.
The Antidote by Karen Russell
Why you should try it: “This book highlights the power of memory, and acknowledges the past—both good and bad—in order to find a new way forward. Enjoyed the magical realism woven throughout and all the different characters. Just beautifully done. I did this one on audiobook and highly recommend.” —Margita, Adult Services Supervising Librarian (also recommended by Janet, Patron Services Library Assistant, who “loved reading the book”)
Description: The Antidote opens on Black Sunday, as a historic dust storm ravages the fictional town of Uz, Nebraska. But Uz is already collapsing—not just under the weight of the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl drought but beneath its own violent histories.
Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Why you should try it: “Sweet, sad, incisive, surprising, fast-paced, and I loved thinking more about what it must have been like to be a female astronaut in the 1980s!” —Christine, Adult Services Environmental & Sustainability Specialist
“A story about love and space that caught me off guard, and I loved the ride.”—Ginger, Staff Learning & Well-Being Specialist
Description: Thoughtful and reserved, Joan is content with her life as a professor of physics and astronomy at Rice University and as aunt to her precocious niece, Frances. That is, until she comes across an advertisement seeking the first women scientists to join NASA’s space shuttle program. Selected from a pool of thousands of applicants in the summer of 1980, Joan begins training at Houston’s Johnson Space Center, alongside an exceptional group of fellow candidates. As the new astronauts become unlikely friends and prepare for their first flights, Joan finds a passion and a love she never imagined. In this new light, Joan begins to question everything she thinks she knows about her place in the observable universe.
Audition by Katie Kitamura
Why you should try it: “An absolutely fascinating book, told in two parts. I read it in two days and immediately had to read it again. It was even more fascinating the second time, and yet I still wonder…” —Janet, Patron Services Library Assistant
Description: Two people meet for lunch in a Manhattan restaurant. She’s an elegant and accomplished actress in rehearsals for an upcoming premiere. He’s attractive, troubling, and young—young enough to be her son. Who is he to her, and who is she to him? In this novel, two competing narratives unspool, rewriting our understanding of the roles we play every day—partner, parent, creator, muse—and the truths every performance masks, especially from those who think they know us best.
Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab
Why you should try it: “A few distinct voices telling a centuries-long tale. Sapphic and sad, but with a twisty soul that is irresistible. On audio, the narrators ruined me for months with their talent. I still argue with friends over the ending, months later. That, to me, is a high compliment.” —Ben, Collection Services Library Clerk (also recommended by Camille, Collections Services Library Assistant)
Description: This is a story about hunger. 1532. Santo Domingo de la Calzada. A young girl grows up wild and wily—her beauty is only outmatched by her dreams of escape. But María knows she can only ever be a prize, or a pawn, in the games played by men. This is a story about love. 1827. London. A young woman lives an idyllic but cloistered life on her family’s estate until a moment of forbidden intimacy sees her shipped off to London. This is a story about rage. 2019. Boston. College was supposed to be her chance to be someone new. That’s why Alice moved halfway across the world, leaving her old life behind. But after an out-of-character one-night stand leaves her questioning her past, her present, and her future, Alice throws herself into the hunt for answers . . . and revenge. This is a story about life—how it ends and how it starts.
Discontent by Beatriz Serrano
Why you should try it: “The narrator of this workplace drama is delightfully disgruntled. She’s an unhappy office drone with a palpable disdain for meetings, co-workers, and, well, work. This is a somewhat dark, yet playful, look at the millennial employee, full of sarcasm and sardonic humor.” —Simon, Adult Services Librarian
Description: On the surface, Marisa’s life looks enviable. She lives in a beautiful apartment in the center of Madrid, has a hot neighbor who is always around to sleep with her, and has rapidly risen through the ranks at her advertising agency. And yet she’s drowning in a dark hole of existential dread induced by the expectations of corporate life. Marisa hates her job and everyone at it. Her success, which is largely built on lies and work she’s stolen from other people, is in danger of being revealed when she’s forced to go on her company’s annual team-building retreat.
Lucky Day by Chuck Tingle
Why you should try it: “Chuck Tingle is so good at horror, both supernatural and just the everyday anxieties of being a neurodivergent queer person.” —Andrea, Collections Services Library Clerk
Description: Four years ago, an unthinkable disaster occurred. In what was later known as the Low-Probability Event, 8 million people were killed in a single day, each of them dying in improbable, bizarre ways. A day of freak accidents that proved anything is possible, no matter the odds. Luck is real now, and it’s not always good. Vera, a former statistics and probability professor, lost everything that day, and she still struggles to make sense of the unbelievable catastrophe. When Special Agent Layne shows up on Vera’s doorstep, she learns he’s investigating a suspiciously—and statistically impossible—lucky casino. He needs her help to prove the casino’s success is connected to the deaths of millions, and it’s Vera’s last chance to make sense of a world that doesn’t.
The Names by Florence Knapp
Why you should try it: “When I first read this in late 2024, I knew it was going to be my favorite 2025 title. Nothing has come close to matching the intensity, flow, and tightness of story. It’s hard to believe this is a debut novel.” —Dontaná, Collection Management Librarian
“It is beautifully written, well-crafted, emotional, and rich, a sliding doors scenario.” —Margita, Adult Services Supervising Librarian
Description: In the wake of an enormous, history-making storm, Cora sets off with her 9-year-old daughter, Maia, to register her son’s birth. Her husband Gordon, a local doctor, respected in the community but a terrifying and controlling presence at home, intends for her to follow his family tradition, going back generations, and name the child Gordon. But on the journey there, Cora wonders if it’s right to impose the burden of this name and its legacy onto her tiny newborn son. She herself has Julian in mind, and Maia offers up her own suggestion: Bear. What follows are three alternate and alternating versions of both Cora’s life and her young son’s life, shaped by her brave, last-minute choice of name.
The Phoebe Variations by Jane Hamilton
Why you should try it: “Worth a read from a local author (her first book in 9 years)—even if just to hear many of the local sites referenced with a slight change in their name (such as the towns of Forest and River Oaks and the Forest and River Oaks High School).” —Janet, Patron Services Library Assistant
Description: Seventeen-year-old Phoebe was never interested in her birth family. On the cusp of her high school graduation, her adoptive mother, Greta, insists on a visit to meet her biological parents and siblings. The encounter is a jolt, a revelation that derails Phoebe. With the help of her best friend Luna, Phoebe runs away—as far as their friend Patrick O’Connor’s chaotic home, where she hopes to go unnoticed among his 13 siblings. What begins as an adolescent rebellion soon spirals into a whirlwind of transformation and self-discovery.
Run for the Hills by Kevin Wilson
Why you should try it: “I’m a big fan of Kevin Wilson’s work, and this latest book did not disappoint. Eclectic, heartwarming, cynical, charming, surprising, moving—reading this story felt like watching Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire dancing—I couldn’t take my eyes off what was happening.” —Christine, Adult Services Environmental & Sustainability Specialist
Description: Ever since her dad left them 20 years ago, it’s just been Madeline Hill and her mom on their farm in Coalfield, Tennessee. While she sometimes admits it’s a bit lonely, and a less exciting life than she imagined for herself, it’s mostly ok. Mostly. Then one day, Reuben Hill pulls up in a PT Cruiser and informs Madeline that he believes she’s his half-sister. Reuben—left behind by their dad 30 years ago—has hired a detective to track down their father and a string of other half-siblings. And he wants Mad to leave her home and join him for the craziest kind of road trip imaginable to find them all.
Strange Houses by Uketsu
Why you should try it: “Have you ever looked at the layout of a house and wondered what they were thinking when they put that design together? Well, have you ever wondered if a house was carefully designed to carry out MURDERS? Explore how the inner workings of a home and family can manifest themselves in the very blueprints of the home they live in. This is available as an audiobook, but the physical or at least ebook is a must-read, as the strange houses themselves cannot make an appearance otherwise.” —Maya, Collections Services Supervising Librarian
Description: When a writer fascinated by the macabre is approached by an acquaintance, he finds himself investigating an eerie house for sale in Tokyo. At first, with its bright and spacious interior, it seems the perfect first home. But upon closer inspection, the building’s floor plans reveal a mysterious “dead space” hidden between its walls. Seeking a second opinion, the writer shares the floor plans with his friend Kurihara, an architect, only to discover more unnerving details throughout. What is the true purpose behind the house’s disturbing design? And what happened to the former owners who disappeared without a trace?
Strange Pictures by Uketsu
Why you should try it: “Unravel a mystery that feels like falling down an internet rabbit hole, along with the computer chair investigator characters in the novel. This is available as an audiobook, but the physical or at least ebook is a must-read, as the strange pictures themselves cannot make an appearance otherwise.” —Maya, Collections Services Supervising Librarian
Description: A pregnant woman’s sketches on a seemingly innocuous blog conceal a chilling warning. A child’s picture of his home contains a dark secret message. A sketch made by a murder victim in his final moments leads an amateur sleuth down a rabbit hole that will reveal a horrifying reality. Structured around these 9 childlike drawings, each holding a disturbing clue, Uketsu invites readers to piece together the mystery behind each and the overarching backstory that connects them all.
Vera, or Faith by Gary Shteyngart
Why you should try it: “Set in the near future where cars drive kids to school and have virtual friends, this turned out to be an intriguing story centered around the life of a bright 10-year-old girl who sees the world through a unique and captivating lens.” —Janet, Patron Services Library Assistant
Description: The Bradford-Shmulkin family is falling apart. A very modern blend of Russian, Jewish, Korean, and New England WASP, they love one another deeply, but the pressures of life in an unstable America are fraying their bonds. There’s Daddy, a struggling, cash-thirsty editor whose Russian heritage gives him a surprising new currency in the upside-down world of 21st century geopolitics; his wife, Anne Mom, a progressive, underfunded blue blood from Boston who’s barely holding the household together; their son, Dylan, whose blond hair and Mayflower lineage provide him pride of place in the newly forming American political order; and, above all, the young Vera, half-Jewish, half-Korean, and wholly original.
Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy
Why you should try it: “A haunting and gorgeous book. The island setting felt like its own character. Loved learning about the complicated family dynamics. Full of mystery, discovery, love, and family. A devastatingly beautiful book.” —Margita, Adult Services Supervising Librarian
Description: Dominic Salt and his three children are caretakers of Shearwater, a tiny island not far from Antarctica. Home to the world’s largest seed bank, Shearwater was once full of researchers, but with sea levels rising, the Salts are now its sole inhabitants. Until, during the worst storm the island has ever seen, a woman mysteriously washes ashore. Isolation has taken its toll on the Salts, but as they nurse the woman, Rowan, back to strength, it begins to feel like she might just be what they need. Rowan, long accustomed to protecting herself, begins to imagine a future where she could belong to someone again. But Rowan isn’t telling the whole truth about why she set out for Shearwater. When she discovers sabotaged radios and a freshly dug grave, she realizes Dominic is keeping his own secrets.
Adult fiction: Romance, lives & relationships
Flirting Lessons by Jasmine Guillory
Why you should try it: “This book is full of sweetness and caring, and a bit of spice.” —Dontaná, Collection Management Librarian
Description: Avery Jensen is almost 30, fresh off a breakup, and she’s tired of always being so uptight and well-behaved. She wants to get a hobby, date around (especially other women), flirt with everyone she sees, wear something not from the business casual section of her closet—all the fun stuff normal people do in their twenties. One problem: Avery doesn’t know where to start. She doesn’t have a lot of dating experience, with men or women, and despite being self-assured at work, she doesn’t have a lot of confidence when it comes to romance. Enter Taylor Cameron, Napa Valley’s biggest flirt and champion heartbreaker. Taylor just broke up with her most recent girlfriend, and her best friend bet her that she can’t make it until Labor Day without sleeping with someone. So, she offers to give Avery flirting lessons.
A Gentleman’s Gentleman by TJ Alexander
Why you should try it: “A delight! Not quite cozy, but certainly slow burn. I closed this book bereft that I couldn’t stay with the characters. The mains seem to resemble a certain duo from the Good Omens TV adaptation, but there is no supernatural element—just a comedy of errors and twists and true love for nervous queers!!!” —Ben, Collection Services Library Clerk
Description: The notoriously eccentric Lord Christopher Eden is a “man of unusual make” and even more unusual habits: he wears pastels year round, prefers to live as far from the prying eyes and ears of the ton as possible, including to any swarm of servants that would normally befit a man of his station. His penchant for privacy threatens to be upended entirely when Christopher receives word from his lawyers that, according to his late father’s will, he must find a wife in London by the end of the season if he intends to maintain his status. He cannot imagine a worse fate. After all, as a “man of unusual make” who also doesn’t happen to be attracted to women, his chances of making a wife happy are about on par with his future wife’s chances of staying silent about their arrangement. Enter the handsome—if stoic—James Harding, the new valet Christopher very reluctantly hires, knowing he must keep up appearances befitting that of a wealthy, eligible bachelor.
Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry
Why you should try it: “Emily Henry does a great job branching out into literary fiction with this novel while still using her signature wit and charm. She is so good at writing interpersonal relationships that make you feel for each person! I loved the romance and how optimistic the main character was!” —Maddie, Patron Services Library Assistant (also recommended by Fiona, Middle School Librarian)
Description: Alice Scott is an eternal optimist still dreaming of her big writing break. Hayden Anderson is a Pulitzer Prize-winning human thundercloud. And they’re both on balmy Little Crescent Island for the same reason: to write the biography of a woman no one has seen in years—or at least to meet with the octogenarian who claims to be Margaret Ives. Tragic heiress, former tabloid princess, and daughter of one of the most storied (and scandalous) families of the 20th century. Margaret invites them both for a one-month trial period, after which she’ll choose the person who’ll tell her story.
Adult fiction: Thriller, graphic novel, sci-fi & fantasy
A Curse Carved in Bone by Danielle Jensen
Why you should try it: “This is book two of the Saga of the Unfated and picks up right where we left off with Freya in the last book. She struggles with making sense of truth, tribalism, fate, and her own agency. In a world full of people looking to control her, she charges forward to find her own path and try to send as few innocent people to Helheim in the process, lest it weigh heavily on her conscience.” —Maya, Collections Services Supervising Librarian
Description: With the secret of her divine heritage revealed, Freya finds herself on a path that will see thousands of lives lost to the magic in her blood. Desperate to avoid this dark fate, she risks an alliance with Skaland’s greatest enemy to seek answers from the seer who foretold her future—the same seer who sent Bjorn to kill her. While Freya still seethes with rage over Bjorn’s betrayal, the blood oaths that bind her demand that she keep him close as she hunts for a way to avert the looming war.
The Intruder by Freida McFadden
Why you should try it: “This book legitimately felt like a Lifetime movie, but in the best way possible! I’m not even kidding. The plot was weirdly addictive.” —Camila, Patron Services Library Assistant (also recommended by Janet, Patron Services Library Assistant)
Description: Casey’s cabin in the wilderness is not built for a hurricane. Her roof shakes, the lights flicker, and the tree outside her front door sways ominously in the wind. But she’s a lot more worried about the girl she discovers lurking outside her kitchen window. She’s young, she’s alone, and she’s covered in blood. The girl won’t explain where she came from or loosen her grip on the knife in her right hand. And when Casey makes a disturbing discovery in the middle of the night, things take a turn for the worse.
Not Quite Dead Yet by Holly Jackson
Why you should try it: “Holly Jackson’s adult debut does not disappoint! I couldn’t help but get attached to the (very) cynical main character, and it was thrilling until the very end.” —Maddie, Patron Services Library Assistant (also recommended by Camayia, Communications Specialist)
Description: In seven days, Jet Mason will be dead. Jet is the daughter of one of the wealthiest families in Woodstock, Vermont. Twenty-seven years old, she’s still waiting for her life to begin. “I’ll do it later,” she always says. She has time. Until Halloween night, when Jet is violently attacked by an unseen intruder. She suffers a catastrophic head injury. The doctor is certain that within a week, the injury will trigger a deadly aneurysm. She has at most seven days, and as her condition deteriorates, she has only her childhood friend Billy for help. But nevertheless, she’s absolutely determined to finally finish something: Jet is going to solve her own murder.
Poison Ivy: Volume 5, Human Botany by G. Willow Wilson
Why you should try it: “I love the antihero redemption arc Poison Ivy is having, and Marcio Takara’s art is so gross (a compliment).” —Andrea, Collections Services Library Clerk
Description: With her body and life restored, Poison Ivy embarks on a fierce battle for the natural world, but her mission is upended when she unknowingly resurrects an ancient site from Gotham’s past, awakening something… insatiable. As she confronts a violent ecoterrorist group, dubbed the Order of the Green Knight, Ivy discovers the far-reaching consequences of her actions. If that wasn’t bad enough, Ivy seems to have restarted an ancient conflict between the primordial forces of the Grey and the Green, with Ivy and Janet stuck in the middle, as both sides seek to use the two humans to advance their own secret goals.
A Rebel’s History of Mars by Nadia Afifi
Why you should try it: “This fast-paced space opera that interweaves the life of Kezza, an assassin aerialist living on a Mars colony, and Azad, who finds himself in a group of rebel archaeologists living on another planet 1,000 years into her future. The way the threads weave together keeps you at the edge of your seat while reminding you that history is written by the victors, even as humanity spreads past the borders of our own solar system. Some of the various elements reminded me of The Expanse and The Patternist series, so I recommend reading it for anyone who is a fan of those two series.” —Jaimee, Adult Services Library Assistant
Description: Kezza, an aerialist in the Martian circus, can never return to Earth—but she can assassinate the man she blames for her grim life on the red planet. Her murderous plans take an unexpected turn, however, when she uncovers a sinister secret. A thousand years into the future, Azad lives a safe but controlled life on the beautiful desert planet of Nabatea. His world is upended when he joins a crew of space-traveling historians seeking to learn the true reason that their ancestors left Mars. Separated by time and space, Kezza and Azad’s stories collide in the Martian desert.
Spent by Alison Bechdel
Why you should try it: “This book is both lighthearted and serious, tackling topics like the troubles of having too many goats to how to respond to feeling estranged from family members with vastly different political views from yourself. Once again Alison Bechdel makes you laugh while you worry about where we are headed on this space rock.” —Maya, Collections Services, Supervising Librarian
Description: A cartoonist named Alison Bechdel, running a pygmy goat sanctuary in Vermont, is existentially irked by a climate-challenged world and a citizenry on the brink of civil war. She wonders: Can she pull humanity out of its death spiral by writing a scathingly self-critical memoir about her own greed and privilege?
Adult nonfiction
Blood Wolf Moon: Poems by Elise Paschen
Why you should try it: “I had the good fortune of hearing Elise Paschen read some of these powerful poems about her Osage heritage in person, and that experience definitely enhanced my adoration. One poem in the collection describes seeing the movie Killers of the Flower Moon, a title which, it turns out, David Grann asked if he could use that came from a line of an earlier poem of Paschen’s.” —Christine, Adult Services Environmental & Sustainability Specialist
Description: Paschen explores the story lines of her Osage heritage. The core of the book grapples with a dark period of American history, “The Reign of Terror,” when outsiders murdered individual members of the Osage for their oil headrights. Paschen searches her cultural past and family history in poems about the land, ancestors, childhood, loss, nature, transformation, flight, and language.
Detained: A Boy’s Journal of Survival & Resilience by D. Esperanza
Why you should try it: “A child’s journal entries as they are held in a detention center—timely & powerful. Read it in Spanish or read it in English, but read it.” —Nora, Adult Services Latine Language & Culture Librarian
Description: D. Esperanza was just 13 years old when he lost his caregivers, his beloved grandmother and uncle. Since both of his parents were working and living in the United States, D was left on his own in a small town in Honduras. He quickly realized he simply could not make enough money to survive, so he made the difficult decision to head north with his cousins and hopefully reunite with his parents in El Norte. Together, the boys struggled to survive a long and treacherous journey through Central America and Mexico. Along the way, D and his cousins formed a deep bond, only for the four to be brutally separated at the border of the United States. When he is captured and processed at a facility, neither D nor his family are given an update on when he will be released or where he’ll go next. Over the next five months, he kept a journal of his experience.
Forest Euphoria: The Abounding Queerness of Nature by Patricia Ononiwu Kaishian
Why you should try it: “A nice blend of science and memoir and a reminder that nature is not as binary as some would like to think it is.” —Andrea, Collections Services Library Clerk
Description: Growing up, Patricia Ononiwu Kaishian felt most at home in the swamps and culverts near her house in the Hudson Valley. A child who frequently felt out of place, too much of one thing or not enough of another, she found acceptance in these settings, among other amphibious beings. In snakes, snails, and, above all, fungi, she saw her own developing identities as a queer, neurodivergent person reflected back at her—and in them, too, she found a personal path to a life of science.
Good Game, No Rematch: A Life Made of Video Games by Mike Drucker
Why you should try it: “I am of a generation where many of us were raised on video games. Especially if you were a weird kid who didn’t have a lot of ‘outdoor hobbies’ or huge groups of friends. Escapism was found in exploring these strange, hilarious, sometimes bizarre digital worlds. Mike Drucker was one such kid, and now he’s a professional comedy writer with a self-deprecating streak who has decided to blend his memoirs with his experiences of video gaming. Hilarious, fun, sometimes poignant, and endlessly relatable.” —Michael, Adult Services Library Assistant
Description: At the ripe age of three, Mike Drucker got his very first Nintendo console—the Nintendo Entertainment System—and he was hooked. Every video game felt like a new chapter was opening in his life, expanding his world for the better and—sometimes—for worse. Mike split his career between gaming and comedy, landing an internship with Saturday Night Live, playing Wii Sports with the cast and crew, and then a job at Nintendo, where he named an iconic character in the Legend of Zelda series. Then he returned to comedy with a job writing for The Tonight Show, never forgetting the video games that brought him there.
The House of My Mother: A Daughter’s Quest for Freedom by Shari Franke
Why you should try it: “Shari Franke does an amazing job of telling her haunting life story in this memoir. Her voice is strong, and she narrates the audiobook, making the story even more powerful.” —Maddie, Patron Services Library Assistant
Description: From eldest daughter Shari Franke, the shocking true story behind the viral 8 Passengers family vlog and the hidden abuse she suffered at the hands of her mother, and how, in the face of unimaginable pain, she found freedom and healing.
Lin-Manuel Miranda: The Education of an Artist by Daniel Pollack-Pelzner
Why you should try it: “The first proper biography I’ve read, and I gotta say… I really liked it. Greatly appreciated the constant input and quotes from the legend of all inspiration himself.” —Koko, Patron Services Library Assistant
Description: How did Lin-Manuel Miranda, the sweet, sensitive son of Puerto Rican parents from an immigrant neighborhood in Manhattan, rise to become the preeminent musical storyteller of our time? Miranda’s journey is a testament to the power of creativity, collaboration, and cultural synthesis. Drawing on interviews with Miranda’s family, friends, and mentors—and many conversations with Miranda himself—Daniel Pollack-Pelzner delves into the formative experiences that shaped Miranda as an artist, from his early musicals in high school and college to the creation of his Broadway and Hollywood triumphs.
Memorial Days: A Memoir by Geraldine Brooks
Why you should try it: “I admire Brooks’ examination of her grief at losing her husband, and the way she brings the reader in with her beautiful, heartbreaking, heartwarming, crystalline prose.” —Christine, Adult Services Environmental & Sustainability Specialist
Description: It was Memorial Day 2019, when Geraldine Brooks received news that her husband, Tony Horwitz, had collapsed and died, far from home, in the middle of his own book tour. The complex tasks required in the face of such a sudden death left her no time to properly grieve for him. Three years later, still feeling broken and bereft, she booked a flight to a remote island off the coast of Tasmania. Alone on a rugged stretch of coast, she revisited a 35-year marriage filled with risk, adventure, humor, and love. There, she pondered the ways other cultures deal with mourning and finally seized the time and space she needed for her own grief.
My (Half) Latinx Kitchen: Half Recipes, Half Stories, All Latin American by Kiera Wright-Ruiz
Why you should try it: “You go in for the recipes, but you stay for the chef’s interesting biography.” —Andrea, Collection Management Librarian
Description: Though she is a first-generation American, Kiera Wright-Ruiz didn’t grow up in a home where many traditions from her family’s home countries were passed down by her parents. Kiera’s childhood was complicated, and the role of caregiver was played by various people in her life: from her mom and dad to her grandparents and foster parents. Many of whom were from all different parts of Latin America, and each of them taught Kiera something about what it means to be Latinx through their food. This cookbook is the story of Kiera’s journey to embrace her identity and all her cultures: Latinx, Asian, and American
The Quiet Ear: An Investigation of a Missing Sound: A Memoir by Raymond Antrobus
Why you should try it: “I read it all in one sitting because I was so intrigued and interested in what he had to say and how he said it. The shame associated with disabilities was a major theme throughout all of the stories, the shame perpetuated by society, feeling like a burden. It’s all still too common, and I hope this book explains to non-disabled people how deeply it harms us.” —Shelley, Children’s Services Librarian
Description: At the hospital where Raymond Antrobus was born, a midwife snapped her fingers by his ears and gauged his response. It was his first hearing test, and he passed. For years, Antrobus lived as a deaf person in the hearing world before he was diagnosed at the age of six. This “in-betweenness” was a space he would occupy in other areas of his life, too. The son of a Jamaican father and white British mother, growing up in East London, it was easy for him to fall through the cracks. It was only when he was fitted with hearing aids at the age of seven that he began to discover his missing sounds. The Quiet Ear is an attempt to fill in those missing sounds in Antrobus’ own life and how they formed his hybrid deaf identity.
Semi-Well Adjusted Despite Literally Everything: A Memoir by Alyson Stoner
Why you should try it: “It’s like Jennette McCurdy’s I’m Glad My Mom Died so obviously go listen (or read).” —Koko, Patron Services Library Assistant
Description: Raised on soundstages and studio lots from the time they were six, shuffling between auditions for Disney Channel, Cheaper by the Dozen, or a Missy Elliott music video, Alyson experienced their defining moments of childhood inside the bizarre fishbowl of Hollywood. From being eight with an 80-hour work week, differentiating fan inquiries from kidnapping plots, and TV execs telling them they’re “not anorexic enough” to stop working and get help, they struggled to find stability and sanity in a chaotic world.
The Serviceberry: Abundance & Reciprocity in the Natural World by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Why you should try it: “Reflective read to help you focus your mind on gratitude, reciprocity, and community. All flourishing is mutual!” —Amy, Adult Services Creative Technology Librarian
Description: As Indigenous scientist Robin Wall Kimmerer harvests serviceberries alongside the birds, she considers the ethic of reciprocity that lies at the heart of the gift economy. How, she asks, can we learn from Indigenous wisdom and the plant world to reimagine what we value most? Our economy is rooted in scarcity, competition, and the harding of resources, and we have surrendered our values to a system that actively harms what we love. Meanwhile, the serviceberry’s relationship with the natural world is an embodiment of reciprocity, interconnectedness, and gratitude.