Library director, Christopher Wolfe, suffered an incapacitating stroke and Liesl Weiss is named interim director for the Department of Rare Books and Special Collections at a Toronto university. Under her leadership two prized items have been discovered missing. One item is a Plantin Polyglot Bible which was published between 1568 and 1573. The other is a Peshawar manuscript, an early mathematical document that was found in 1881 in Pakistan. The Plantin was a recent acquisition thanks to generous donors who want to see the item. Is it misplaced or was it stolen? A library staff member is suspected of the thefts when she goes missing. Police are eventually called in to locate the missing staffer and hopefully find the missing documents.
This is an interesting account of fundraising in academic libraries. For a Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, donors are essential and need to be wined and dined. That seemed to be the main focus for library director, Christopher Wolfe, and he was very good at his job. On the other hand Liesl Weiss was content to work behind the scenes and was contemplating retirement. The interim director position is forced upon Liesel with at least 3 mysteries to solve.
From true crime to history to art, there are some excellent nonfiction books coming out this year. I thought I’d share a few of the titles I’ve added to my endless TBR pile.
Treasured: How Tutankhamun Shaped a Century by Christina Riggs Publication Date: February 1, 2022. Request a copy from the Library here. When it was discovered in 1922, the 3,300-year-old tomb of Tutankhamun sent shockwaves around the world, turning the boy-king into a household name overnight and kickstarting an international obsession with Egyptology that endures to this day. Professor of Visual Culture Christina Riggs offers a bold account of the tomb’s excavation, archeology and colonialism, tourism and cultural exhibitions, politics, and more – and all just in time for the discovery’s centennial anniversary. Get ready to have Steve Martin’s “King Tut” stuck in your head for weeks. How’d you get so funky? Funky Tut!
Sandy Hook: An American Tragedy and the Battle for Truth by Elizabeth Williamson Publication Date: March 8, 2022. Request a copy from the Library here. On December 14, 2012, a gunman killed twenty first-graders and six educators at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. A decade later, the Sandy Hook killings have been lumped into a messy cycle of conspiracy theories involving the JFK assassination, 9/11, the 2020 President election, and other events. Some people have insisted the tragedy never occurred or was staged by the government to prompt the passage of gun control legislation. Drawing on hours of extensive research, New York Times reporter Elizabeth Williamson provides a definitive account of the school shooting and the aftermath, including the work of Sandy Hook parents who fought to defend themselves and the legacies of their children against the frenzied distortions of conspiracy theorists.
Ancestor Trouble: A Reckoning and a Reconciliation by Maud Newton Publication Date: March 29, 2022. Request a copy from the Library here. Maud Newton’s ancestors have vexed and fascinated her since she was a girl. Her mother’s father, who came of age in Texas during the Great Depression, was said to have married thirteen times and been shot by one of his wives. Her mother’s grandfather killed a man with a hay hook and died in a mental institution. Maud’s father, obsessed with the “purity” of his family bloodline, traced his family back to the Revolutionary War. Diving headfirst into her genealogy, Maud Newton exposes the secrets and contradictions of her ancestors to show the transformational possibilities that reckoning with ancestors has for all of us.
Smashing Statues: The Rise and Fall of America’s Public Monuments by Erin L. Thompson Publication Date: February 8, 2022. Request a copy from the Library here. Since 2020, we’ve witnessed heated debates and outright protests and violent clashes over public monuments. Why do we care so much about hunks of marble? How do we decide which monuments should stay up and which ones need to come down? Erin L. Thompson, Professor of Art Crime at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, takes readers on a journey through America’s turbulent relationship with statues, particularly monuments concerning the Confederacy, slavery, and America’s founding fathers, and how we can better navigate the legal, political, and social concerns involved in our public monuments.
Gentrifier: A Memoir by Anne Elizabeth Moore Publication Date: October 19, 2021. Request a copy from the Library here. In 2016, a Detroit arts organization granted writer and artist Anne Elizabeth Moore a free house in Detroit’s Bangladeshi “Banglatown.” Accompanied by her cats, Moore moves to the bungalow where she gardens, befriends the neighborhood youth, and grows to intimately understand civic collapse and community solidarity. When the troubled history of her house comes to light, Moore finds her life destabilized by the aftershocks of the housing crisis and governmental corruption.
All the Living and the Dead: From Embalmers to Executioners, an Exploration of the People Who Have Made Death Their Life’s Work by Hayley Campbell Publication Date: August 16, 2022. It’s still a little too early to request a copy of this gem, but keep checking back with the Library as we move closer to summer! Inspired by a her longtime fascination with death, Hayley Campbell embarked on a three year trip across the US and the UK to met with a variety of professionals in the death industry to see how they work. She encountered funeral directors, embalmers, former executioners, anatomy students, homicide detectives, and more, and asked them the same question: Why choose a life of working with the dead? Campbell is already getting comparisons to Mary Roach so don’t miss this one.
A Taste for Poison: Eleven Deadly Molecules and the Killers Who Used Them by Neil Bradbury Publication Date: February 1, 2022. Request a copy from the Library here. As any true crime fan can tell you, poison is one of the most enduring and popular weapons of choice for a scheming murderer. It can be slipped into a drink, smeared onto the tip of an arrow or the handle of a door, or even filtered through the air we breathe. But how exactly do these poisons work to break down our bodies, and what can we learn from the damage they inflict? In a fascinating blend of popular science, medical history, and true crime, Dr. Neil Bradbury examines this most morbidly captivating method of murder from a cellular level.
How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America by Clint Smith Publication Date: June 1, 2021. Request a copy from the Library here. Beginning in his hometown of New Orleans, Clint Smith leads readers through an unforgettable tour of monuments and landmarks that offer an intergenerational story of how slavery has been central in shaping our nation’s collective history and ourselves. From Monticello to Whitney Plantation to Angola Prison to Blandford Cemetery, Smith shows how some of our country’s most essential stories are hidden in plain sight and how we can better reflect on the roles of memory and history.
Here are some of the new books coming to our shelves this week for you to add to your book list!
House of Sky and Breath by Sarah J. Maas – After saving Crescent City, Bryce, Hunt and their friends get pulled into the rebels’ plans to chip away at the Asteri’s power, in the second novel of the series following House of Earth and Blood.
Moon Witch, Spider King by Marlon James – This second book in the The Dark Star trilogy delves into the world of Sogolon, where she, a 177-year-old witch, tells her side of the story of what happened to a mysterious boy, as well as her century-long feud with the powerful Aesi, chancellor to the king.
The End of Getting Lost by Robin Kirman – Unable to recall the last year of her life after suffering a head injury on her honeymoon, Gina Reinhold, a young dancer, has the growing sense that her husband is keeping secrets from her as the truth grows more elusive.
Watergate: A New History by Garrett M. Graff – Explores the full scope of the Watergate scandal through the politicians, investigators, journalists and informants who made it the most influential political event of our modern era.
Death of a Green-Eyed Monster by M. C. Beaton – Sergeant Hamish Macbeth’s wedding plans with Constable Dorothy McIver are suddenly at risk when a murder is uncovered in the Scottish town of Lochdubh, in the latest novel of the series following Death of an Honest Man.
Diablo Mesa by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child – Responding to the promise of a hefty donation from a wealthy, eccentric billionaire with space travel ambitions, the Santa Fe Archaeological Institute excavates the site of the 1947 Roswell incident and immediately uncovers two unknown murder victims.
Sierra Six by Mark Greaney – When he sees a ghost from the past – a terrorist leader who was taken out years ago during his very first mission as a junior member of a CIA action team, the Gray Man is not one to leave a job unfinished or a blood debt unpaid.
The Deepest of Secrets by Kelley Armstrong – When secrets start to come out in the town of Rockton, turning people against each other, Detective Casey Duncan, while searching for the person responsible for these revelations, discovers that the culprit is a murderer, and no one knows what will happen next.
The Cage by Bonnie Kistler – Two professional women – colleagues at an international fashion conglomerate – enter an elevator together … but only one is alive when they reach the ground floor.
Happy Valentine’s Day! Why not use today as a good excuse to show some love to one of your favorite books and give it another read? Personally, I love to revisit A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle. First published in 1962, this young adult fantasy novel won the Newbery Medal, the Sequoyah Book Award, and the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award.
Thirteen-year-old Meg Murry is unhappy. Although really smart, she struggles in school, she faces bullies on a daily basis and more than anything, wishes her missing physicist father would come home. Life for Meg is forever changed when she meets her eccentric new neighbors, Mrs. Whatsit and Mrs. Who, and their third companion, the disembodied voice of Mrs. Which. These three strangers are actually supernatural beings who transport Meg, along with her small brother, Charles Wallace, and their friend Calvin O’Keefe on a journey through time and space in search of Mr. Murry, who disappeared while working on a government project.
When I first read A Wrinkle in Time as a middle-schooler, I loved the book for its girl-power messages and for how it introduced me to the idea of time travel and got me interested in science. Today, when I reread this adventure-filled, coming of age story about the fight between Good and Evil, it is like being wrapped in a cozy blanket of nostalgia. Go ahead and rediscover your own favorite book today.
Evelyn is the leading scientist on genetic cloning. When she discovers a clone of herself at her ex-husband’s house, she realizes that he has stolen her research to make the perfect wife. Somehow, the husband ends up dead on the kitchen floor, and Evelyn and her clone have to cover up the murder in this science fiction-flavored domestic thriller. Shannon
I just picked up this new novel that snagged a starred review in Booklist and am really excited to dig in. Described as a literary horror tragedy, this thought-provoking book looks at marginalization and systemic oppression through a classic haunted house story, with some contemporary twists. The haunted house in this tale is actually a full-contact escape room attraction, and a team of contestants must stay in the house to win thousands of dollars. That can’t end well, right? After each interlude of court documents or descriptions of that evening, the story moves to longer, more character-driven chapters, where readers get to know the key people in the large cast, including Kendra, a Black teenager new to Nebraska and Jaidee, a gay Thai college student. Nicole
I’m currently reading a YA book with a lot of crossover appeal. Noble Blood fans rejoice! Dana Schwartz, host of the chart-topping podcast about history’s most infamous and ill-fated royals, has written a gothic mystery filled with grave robbers, dark magic, and 19th century science. Hazel Sinnett wants to be surgeon more than a wife, dressing in men’s clothes to attend courses at the Edinburgh Anatomist’s Society. When she’s discovered, she makes a deal: Pass the medical exam independently, and the University will permit her to officially enroll. The only problem? Hazel needs bodies to study. While she’s made the acquaintance of resurrection man Jack, Jack is trying to solve the mystery behind his missing friends and several graveyard secrets. Oh, and stay alive during a plague. Anatomy: A Love Story is the latest pick for Reese Witherspoon’s YA Book Club. Two additional titles that I love: The Prophets by Robert Jones Jr. (So exceptionally good, and a debut, and impossible for me to write an adequate blog review so I’m glad it can be shown off in some way), Real Life by Brandon Taylor. Thanks! Kari
The story centers around the Henry Clay Frick family in 1919 and later his mansion/collections/museum which were given to the city of New York. Two models decades apart are drawn to the Frick family. I’m not sure how the novel will end but am enjoying the plot. This is a book for fans of historical fiction, art history and landmarks of New York. Emma
Paul Tremblay’s story of a televised exorcism and its aftermath does one of the things that I love about the horror genre; instill the reader with a sense of doubt. A Head Full of Ghosts gives multiple (and temporally varied) perspectives on a family’s experience having their lives turned into a paranormal investigation show when it is suspected that their eldest daughter is possessed. Tremblay gives the reader no certainty on what’s “really” going on and holds a tread of tension that I am unsure is ever broken. Greg
This was a delightful novel about two brothers, Charley Sutherland, a college English professor who has a concealed magical ability he can’t quite control: he can bring characters from books into the real world, and his somewhat estranged brother Rob, who is left to reluctantly help clean up Charley’s messes. The real trouble begins when they discover there is another person with this summoning ability, and they are NOT using it for good. As the fictional world begins to threaten the real world, the brothers must unite to try and put things in order. I thought the ending was a little unrealistic at first, but then remembered that the whole book is about fictional literary characters living in the modern world, so I guess anything goes! Sara
Gornichec takes a largely overlooked member of Norse mythology, Angrboda, and tells her story, including her relationship with Loki. A relationship that directly results in the events that would induce Ragnarok and the end of the world. The Witch’s Heart takes a well-known pantheon and builds upon it an entirely new story that provides depth to characters both unknown and prominent in popular culture. Trent
A multi-generational story about the Lyons family and their neighborhood, the Briar Patch. A short novel written with the most beautiful and haunting prose; it explores poverty, racism, ghosts, and otherworldly beings. Horror comes in many forms. Christine
The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics
by Daniel James Brown
Dreams do come true! The rowing team from the University of Washington in Seattle experienced the epitome. Their goal was to participate in the 1936 Berlin Olympics. The young men under freshman coach Tom Bolles and later head coach Al Ulbrickson brought home the gold medal after years of hard work. In addition to their coaches, the team was gifted with the quiet presence of legendary boat builder George Pocock.
The University of Washington’s rowing team was made up of working-class young men unlike the team members of many competitors. They had to scrimp and save and do without to participate in various competitions. Just 10 days before the team was scheduled to leave for Berlin, Coach Ulbrickson learned from the U.S. Olympic Committee that his team would need to pay its way to the Olympics. They needed $5000 quickly or another team with ready funds would take their place. The city of Seattle stepped up to the challenge and the money was raised.
The Berlin Olympics was orchestrated by propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels and filmed by Leni Riefenstahl, Germany’s top filmmaker. The city was cleaned up and undesirables (according to the Nazis) were taken away to make a positive impression on the world.
This is a story for anyone interested in Olympic history or amateur/collegiate sports. The author was able to interview one of the team members, Joe Rantz, in preparation for writing the book. Personally, I learned a lot about rowing technique and strategy.
These are the books we are adding to our collection this week. Click on the teal text to go to our catalog and place a hold today!
Abandoned in Death by J. D. Robb – Homicide detective Eve Dallas investigates after a woman’s body is found on a city playground bench holding a sign reading “bad mommy,” in the newest novel of the long-running series following Forgotten in Death.
City of the Dead by Jonathan Kellerman – Court-consulting child psychologist Alex Delaware and homicide detective Milo Sturgis unravel a baffling mystery after a naked corpse in the street leads to the discovery of another murder, in the latest novel of the long-running series following Serpentine.
Dark Horseby Gregg Hurwitz – A former government assassin helps a South Texas drug kingpin, a man who does bad things for good reasons, after a vicious cartel kidnaps his 18-year-old daughter, in the seventh novel of the series following Prodigal Son.
Stealby James Patterson & Howard Roughan – When the son of the founder of the world’s largest hedge fund is thought to have committed suicide, but a body hasn’t been found, his father, believing that he is still alive, turns to Dylan Reinhart for help, drawing him into a world of multi-million-dollar secrets and danger.
Shadows of Pecan Hollow by Caroline Frost – Set in Texas in the 1970s and 90s, a debut novel looks at the lives of a fierce woman and the partner-in-crime she can’t escape.
Nobody’s Magic by Destiny O. Birdsong – Three black women with albinism find themselves at a crossroads in their lives, in this novel, told in three parts, that is a meditation on grief, female strength and self-discovery set against the backdrop of social and racial histories.
The Great Mrs. Elias by Barbara Chase-Riboud – The author of the award-winning Sally Hemings now brings to life Hannah Elias, one of the richest black women in America in the early 1900s, in a novel swirling with atmosphere and steeped in history.
Lenni is seventeen and terminally ill. Margot is eighty-three and awaiting a series of heart surgeries. They unofficially meet at Glasgow Princess Royal Hospital when Margot, decked out in purple from head to toe, goes dumpster diving for a letter and Lenni distracts a nurse from discovering her. Margot and Lenni officially meet in the Rose Room, a therapy space where hospital patients can create art, when Lenni adamantly insists on joining the eighty and above class. When the two discover they’ve lived an astonishing one hundred years, they set out to create one hundred paintings commemorating the key moments of their shared century. Canvases of first kisses, birthday cakes, a baby in a too-small yellow hat, a night full of stars, and more celebrate their lives. Full of tenderness and quiet observations, The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot is one you’ll want to finish with a box of tissues nearby.
While Margot and Lenni are perceptive, funny, and witty, it’s the cast of supporting characters that make this novel come alive. Hospital chaplain Father Arthur and Lenni banter back and forth about faith, loss, watercress sandwiches, and silverfish. Margot’s second husband, Humphrey, is such an enamored astronomer that he stands in the middle of the street, risking life and limb, to better observe the stars. “New Nurse” confides her career insecurities with Lenni and “The Intern” has a satisfying, full-circle moment when it comes to the hospital and the art space. Chicken stories are scattered throughout. Whimsical and sweet, but never saccharine, the novel is a celebration of life and death.
Looking for a book that wants to make you sing and dance? Pick up this oldie from “way back” in 2017.
The Music Shop by Rachel Joyce begins in 1988 at a record store in a small English village, on Unity Street, dead-end strip of struggling shops, whose buildings have been in disrepair for decades.
Frank, forty and single, is the owner of the music shop, which sells only vinyl records (no CDs!). Frank knows absolutely everything about music and always manages to find the right album for the right person at the right time. Someone might come into his shop wanting Duran Duran and walk out with Mozart instead if Frank has a sense that a certain song or type of music will cure them of their blues.
If only Frank could make that kind of magic for himself. Unfortunately, Frank isn’t great at personal relationships as a result of an unorthodox upbringing. He is a poor communicator and finds it hard to stand his ground, even when a real estate developer starts to pressure Frank and his fellow shop owners to sell.
Everything changes on the day that Ilse Brauchmann, an attractive young woman wearing a pea-green coat, peers into Frank’s store window and immediately faints outside of his shop. Will Ilse, who mysteriously always wears gloves, be able to chip away at Frank’s tough exterior and help him come to terms with his past?
As with all of Rachel Joyce novels, this book will make you cry a little and laugh a lot. Pick up The Music Shop if you are looking for a satisfying, feel-good read with a sweet romance and a charming cast of supporting characters. Like that perfect song, it might just heal your soul.
In 1919, Lillian’s landlord killed his wife. Lillian is not connected to the murder, but police want to question her. Lillian is afraid that any connection with a murder will destroy her modeling career. She runs away, ending up at the Frick family home hoping for a cup of tea. However, it’s assumed she’s there to interview for the position of private secretary to Helen Clay Frick, Henry’s spinster daughter. Lillian is hired and does not correct anyone about who she really is. Henry offers Lillian a huge bonus if she can arrange for his lonely daughter’s engagement. Things progress, but…
In 1966, English model Veronica Weber ends up at the Frick Museum for a photo shoot. She is separated from the others and ends up locked in the museum during a winter storm. The archivist is also locked in and together the pair discover remnants of a scavenger hunt created by Helen Clay Frick for her suitor. With time on their hands, they decide to follow the hunt and see where it leads them.
This book is a treat for readers who enjoy historical fiction or art history. Readers will learn about the family of Henry Clay Frick, meet an in-demand model, and solve a decades-long murder mystery.
Two points of historical note:
#1) Henry Clay Frick left much of his estate to the city of New York. Currently the Frick Collection is at a temporary location while the original building is undergoing renovation. (See https://www.frick.org/madison)
#2) The character of Lillian Carter is based on real-life artists’ model Audrey Munson (June 8, 1891 – February 20, 1996). She was considered America’s first supermodel, the inspiration for many statues in New York City and elsewhere that can still be seen today.
Read it or Weep 