New Books Tuesday @ RRPL

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These are the books we are adding to our collection this week. Click on the ORANGE text to go to our catalog and place a hold today!

DREAM TOWN by David Baldacci – World War II veteran and private investigator Aloysius Archer becomes enmeshed in a lethal, extended web of murder and deceit in 1953 Los Angeles, in the third novel of the series following A Gambling Man.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF EQUALITY by Thomas Piketty – The world’s leading authority on economic inequality presents a concise history of the historical progress towards equality in the face of crises, violence and social struggle and charts a path forward towards greater economic justice.

BEAUTIFUL by Danielle Steel – A famous, young model has her appearance forever altered and loses the people she loves most in a terrorist attack and changes the course and purpose of her life after reading a revealing letter that accompanied her mother’s will.

KINGDOM OF BONES by James Rollins – When an insidious phenomenon spreads from a cursed sight in the African jungle called the Kingdom of Bones, scientific warriors Commander Gray Pierce and Sigma Force must head off a global catastrophe and uncover the shattering secret at the heart of the African continent.

DEATH OF THE BLACK WIDOW by James Patterson & J.D. Barker – A case from his very first night on the job, where a woman bludgeoned her kidnapper and then vanished, still haunts a Detroit detective years later and he discovers he is not alone in his search.

THE MEMORY LIBRARIAN: AND OTHER STORIES OF DIRTY COMPUTER by Janelle Monae – In a totalitarian world where thoughts—as a means of self-conception—are controlled or erased by a select few, and your life is dictated by those who feel they have the right to decide your fate, Jane 57821 remembers and breaks free.

BLOOD SUGAR by Sascha Rothchild – Although she did kill three people, an animal-loving Miami therapist with a successful practice is accused of murdering her husband, who she actually did not kill, in a new novel from an Emmy-nominated screenwriter of GLOW and The Bold Type.

JILL: A BIOGRAPHY OF THE FIRST LADY by Julie Pace & Darlene Superville – The Washington Bureau Chief for The Associated Press examines the life of first lady Dr. Jill Biden in her roles as wife, mother and educator over 40 years in the public spotlight.

FEVERED STAR by Rebecca Roanhorse – Welcome back to the fantasy series of the decade in Fevered Star—book two of Between Earth and Sky. Living avatars, Serapio and Naranpa, fight to stay human in the face of changes that will transform the great city of Tova as tense alliances form and far-away enemies gather, in the second novel of the series.

PAY DIRT ROAD by Samantha Jayne Allen – Lured into the family business—a private investigation firm—by her supposed-to-be-retired grandfather, Annie McIntyre, while looking into the disappearance of waitress, finds herself identifying with the victim in increasingly, unsettling ways and must confront her own past to survive this case.

~Semanur

Earth Day, Every Day

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Founded in 1970 as a day of education about environmental issues, the first Earth Day saw rallies held in held in Philadelphia, Chicago, Los Angeles and most other American cities, including here in Cleveland, Ohio.

Earth Day is recognized annually on April 22 and is considered to be the largest secular observance in the world, marked by over a billion people every year as a day of action to change human behavior and create global, national and local environmental policy changes.

Rocky River Public Library will celebrate Earth Day this Saturday, April 23 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on our Front Lawn. We’ll have representatives from green-friendly organizations who’ll be here to help you learn ways you can be kinder to our planet, opportunities for recycling, seedlings for planting, crafts to make, a plant swap from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m., and more!

The good, clean Earth Day fun will continue on Sunday, April 24, with a volunteer opportunity to help clean up Rocky River Park. Meet us there, starting at 9:00 a.m.

Sure hope to see you there.

– Carol

What we’re reading now, spring edition…

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This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone

Two soldiers on opposing sides of a war throughout time begin to fall in love via the letters they exchange. While it’s a short read, the book is dense with meaning and subtext, and readers will enjoy the romance and intrigue of this intergalactic Romeo and Juliet story. Shannon

Black Cloud Rising by David Wright Faladé

Tells the story of the African Brigade, a unit of former slaves tasked with rooting out pockets of Confederate guerilla fighters in the Tidewater region of Virginia and in North Carolina’s Outer Banks through the eyes of formerly enslaved Sergeant Richard Etheridge of the African Brigade. Dori

The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn

It’s 1937 when Mila Pavlichenko a young history student, mother, and sharpshooter joins the Russian army. Her rifle skills are soon apparent and she becomes a sniper. She rises through the ranks and is put in charge of a platoon. Her job is to train others and to kill Nazis. Mila is very successful at her job. Americans are very curious about this lady sniper when she comes to Washington D.C.  as a guest of the White House. Is she for real? Emma

A Night at the Sweet Gum Head by Marty Padgett

A deep look at 1970’s gay Atlanta through the lens of the Drag scene, political activists, and the bars that brought them all together. Deeply researched and well written, this non-fiction gives detailed insight into how a community of people who just wanted to live their lives had to become leaders and inspiration in order to exist. Christine

Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark

Set in 1920’s Georgia, this vivid horror story asks the question: What if the Klu Klux Klan was led by actual demons? Stray dog eating, multi-eyed, otherworldly demons. Three Black female demon hunters, led by Maryse, who gets her guidance from ethereal Gullah Aunties, must destroy the Klu Kluxes to stop the spread of White Supremacy. A beautiful and gory blend of historic events with a horror twist. Christine

Goodnight, Beautiful by Aimee Molloy

A thriller that does not hide the inspiration it takes from King’s Misery. As a newlywed couple tries to put down roots in a small town, tragedy strikes when the husband comes up missing and his wife has to beg the authorities to care all while it becomes more and more apparent that he has been lying to her this whole time. As he fights for his life through the only way he knows how, his wife has to reconcile the man she loves with the man she has uncovered. Christine

The Sentence by Louise Erdrich

A touchingly funny book about a small bookstore in Minnesota run by a group of Native American women during the pandemic, and the community of unusual, crazy, genuine people whose lives are touched by this place and by each other.  It’s one of those books where you truly fall in love with the characters and more than anything, want them to find peace and happiness in their lives.  Sara

Cozy up with a new book

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It’s February 1907 on Ellis Island when Molly and her neighbors are distributing warm clothing to immigrant arrivals. A man is stabbed to death there and a young Irish woman, Rose McSweeney, who looks like Molly’s twin is the main suspect. Molly is certain the woman is innocent. Police captain Daniel Sullivan, Molly’s husband, wants his wife to distance herself from any investigation of the murder. Molly does not listen to Daniel’s advice and becomes entangled with more than she anticipated.

The familiar characters are all present. Both little Liam and Bridie, Molly’s ward, are growing up too fast. Sid and Gus, the generous eccentric neighbors, offer to take over the education of Bridie. They believe Bridie’s potential is being wasted at the local public school and they can provide so much more. Molly’s mother-in-law is also present which makes life more difficult in the crowded Sullivan home.

I thoroughly enjoy the Molly Mysteries series and recommend reading the novels in order. (This entry was written with the assistance of the author’s daughter.)

1. Murphy’s Law (2001)
2. Death Of Riley (2002)
3. For the Love of Mike (2003)
4. In Like Flynn (2005)
5. Oh Danny Boy (2006)
6. In Dublin’s Fair City (2007)
7. Tell Me, Pretty Maiden (2008)
8. In a Gilded Cage (2009)
9. The Last Illusion (2010)
10. Bless the Bride (2011)
11. Hush Now, Don’t You Cry (2012)
11.5 The Face in the Mirror (2013)
12. The Family Way (2013)
12.5 Through the Window (2014)
13. City of Darkness and Light (2014)
14. The Edge of Dreams (2015)
15. Away in a Manger (2015)
16. Time of Fog and Fire (2016)
17. The Ghost of Christmas Past (2017)
18. Wild Irish Rose (2022)

~Emma

New Books Tuesday @ RRPL

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Here some of the new exciting releases for you to take a look at this week!

The Investigator by John Sandford – Working with Homeland Security in Texas to investigate the thefts of crude oil, Letty Davenport, the brilliant and tenacious daughter of Lucas Davenport, is pitted against a militia group as the case quickly turns deadly.

Three Debts Paid by Anne Perry – While defending his former university professor charged with assault, young barrister Daniel Pitt works with pathologist Miriam Croft investigating a serial killer who only seems to kill on rainy days—a case that makes him question everything.

The Sacred Bridge by Anne Hillerman – Sergeant Jim Chee, after visiting the sacred Rainbow bridge, investigates the death of a Navajo artist, putting his own life at risk, while Officer Bernadette Manuelito searches for the killer of a hitchhiker connected to a Navajo Nation cannabis enterprise.

Summer at the Cape by RaeAnne Thayne – When her sister Lily drowns while saving a child, Cami Porter returns to Cape Sanctuary where Lily’s business Coastal Pines Glamping is threatened by the man from whom she leased the land, and must keep Lily’s dream alive while dealing with grief and the complexities of relationships.

Shadow Fallen by Sherrilyn Kenyon – A knight of William the Conqueror and son of one of the deadliest powers in existence, Valteri is the necessary key to holding back evil if only he can work with the woman who stands for everything in the universe he hates.

Brighter by the Day: Waking Up to New Hopes and Dreams by Robin Roberts – The beloved co-host of Good Morning America and best-selling author presents a guide to finding a sense of hope, positivity and encouragement during even the darkest days of our lives.

Hello, Molly!: A Memoir by Molly Shannon – The actress looks back on losing her mother, sister and cousin in a car accident with her father at the wheel as well as her days as a beloved Saturday Night Live cast member.

Insomnia by Sarah Pinborough – With her 40th birthday approaching—the same time her mother went insane—Emma Averell is unable to sleep, and loses time during the day, symptoms her mother showed, leading her to wonder if the madness is in her blood or is she slowly beginning to lose her mind.

Take My Hand by Dolen Perkins Valdez – In 1973 Montgomery, Alabama, Civil Townsend, a young black nurse working for the Montgomery Family Planning Clinic, grapples with her role when she takes two young girls into her heart and the unthinkable happens, and nothing will ever be the same for any of them.

Last Dance on the Starlight Pier by Sarah Bird –  In 1932 Galveston, Evie Grace Devlin, escaping a dark past in vaudeville and becoming a good person, is swept up into the alien world of dance marathons, which thrusts her into the spotlight where the promise of a family, a purpose and even love wait in the wings.

~Semanur

Dive into a Sea of Tranquility

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Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel

In 1912, English immigrant Edwin St. Andrew wanders into a forest on Vancouver Island and unwittingly witnesses a fragment of time occurring at an Oklahoma City Airship Terminal in the year 2172 –a phenomenon also witnessed in the same spot and caught on film by Vincent, a teenage girl in the 1990s.

Gaspery-Jacques Roberts grew up in Night City on the moon’s Colony Two. In 2401, he is hired by the Time Institute to investigate this recurring blip in time, a scene which has also been written into a pandemic novel by Night City novelist Olive Llewellyn. Gaspery travels throughout time to investigate the anomaly and meets with Llewellyn in a chapter titled “Last Book Tour on Earth,” set just as a pandemic is about to hit. The connections Gaspery makes with the people who witnessed this time blip only seem to increase his questions about reality, life, and humanity.

I devoured Sea of Tranquility in a single sitting and while its plot is tricky to describe, it is the perfect post-quarantine novel. It subtly asks big questions about the human experience, while taking you on a magical journey through time that reminded me how good making connections with people (even through time and space) feels. While Sea of Tranquility can be read independently, fans of Mandel’s most recent novels, The Glass Hotel (2020) and the recently adapted for television Station Eleven (2014) will especially enjoy how Mandel continues to build on the multiverse of characters that span across her novels.

-Carol

Review of Siren Queen by Nghi Vo

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Cover of Siren Queen by Nghi Vo. Image is a link to the RRPL catalog.

Hollywood is said to be a magical place where anything can happen. Lucky nobodies can be discovered on the street and catapulted into stardom, while someone who bags your groceries one day might be lighting up the silver screen the next. In Nghi Vo’s newest outing Siren Queen, Golden Age Hollywood really is a fairy tale, but the kind that runs on magic, sacrifices, and demons controlling the big studios. The lucky few actors who become stars rise up to become immortal beings in the sky, while anyone who fails becomes fuel for the movie machine. Luli Wei yearns to see her name in lights, but she is a poor Chinese American girl who refuses to be what the studio wants: the maid character, a bit part, or a racist caricature. Instead, her only path forward to stardom and immortality is to embrace the monster inside her. With luck, courage, and conviction, Luli may achieve the stardom that she so desperately desires.

Vo’s protagonists often rail against sexism and racism in their respective societies, and Luli is no different. Since she is not a white heterosexual man, she fights against the societal and magical forces that would keep her from being a star or relegating her to only bit parts. Readers looking for nuanced lesbian romance will enjoy the different relationships with Luli’s various partners over the course of the novel. As always with Vo’s books, readers must pay attention and read between the lines; the world of Siren Queen is mystical, complicated, and very little is explained about the world or the magic system. Vo takes you along for the ride and you are expected to follow along or be swept under, much like Luli Wei in the world of Hollywood. This is another strong novel from Vo about an admirable, complicated woman learning to embrace who she is, whether that is a monster or a movie star (or both!).

Release date: May 10, 2022

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC!

Historical Fiction for your consideration

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This novel is based on the life of Lyudmila “Mila” Pavilchenko, nicknamed “Lady Death”. When the Germans invaded Russia, Mila enlisted. She was a librarian, young mother and history student working on her dissertation. Mila rose through the ranks and oversaw a platoon. Her job was to train others and kill Nazis. Mila became a successful female sniper with 309 kills.

In 1942, Mila was part of a delegation to Washington D.C. to help persuade America to open a second front during World War II. Americans were curious about the lady sharpshooter and Mila became a popular speaker. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and Mila became fast friends their friendship continuing well after FDR’s passing.

In a male-dominated army during WWII, Mila was a rare person who deserves her place in history.

~Emma

Moon Knight: Read Before You Watch

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The MCU’s latest streaming series, Moon Knight, premiered just last week on Disney+ and has been met with generally great critical reviews. If you are asking yourself “Who is Moon Knight?”, there are plenty of comics and graphic novels that can help answer your questions before you dive into this new show. Just hop on over to hoopla where you can check out a great assortment of Moon Knight comics to read before you watch!