Librarian's Bookshelf: 7 Books I'm Reading Right Now
The Guest List by Lucy Foley
Guests gather for a power couple’s opulent wedding on a remote Irish island, but dark clouds loom as tensions spark and secrets are revealed. Who sent a warning to the bride, and who is responsible for a bloody scene destined to break everything apart? This thrilling, intimate whodunit mystery told from multiple perspectives will keep you guessing until the bitter end. Published: William Morrow, June 2020
There There by Tommy Orange
Twelve Native American characters with personal heartaches and a shared history discover themselves on the way to the Big Oakland Pow Wow, where the ties that bind their fates are intricately woven. Told from multiple perspectives, There There is a deeply felt, character-driven, nuanced look at modern Native American identity. Published: Vintage, May 2019
Kindred by Octavia E. Butler
Dana is a modern black woman living in California when she is inexplicably transported back in time to the antebellum South to repeatedly save the life of a young boy, Rufus, the son of a plantation owner. As Dana balances her modern ways with her new harsh reality, she questions how she can ever escape the forces that keep drawing her back, heal the scars of a second-class existence, and ensure her own foothold in the future. Published: Beacon Press, January 2003. Originally published: 1979.
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
When wealthy Elena Richardson and her four children befriend Shaker Heights newcomer, bohemian traveling artist Mia Warren and her daughter Pearl, a character-driven exploration of race, class, personal choices, and family ties ignites. Progress, perfection, and privilege aren’t always what they seem in this introspective and intricately plotted family drama. Published: Penguin Press, September 2017
Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover
A gritty, heartrending glimpse into the life of a girl growing up off-the-grid as her survivalist parents bar her from attending school, wearing fitting clothing, and doing much of anything except work in the dangerous family junkyard. Her bittersweet redemption is achieved inch by inch as she learns what it means to live as one’s truest self in the world, with or without her family behind her. Published: Random House, February 2018
Hood Feminism by Mikki Kendall
Mikki Kendall wants you to be a better feminist. That starts with white feminists seeing issues like racism, trans rights, police violence, and food and housing security as integral parts of the feminist action plan. An authentic, candid, and fiercely loving plea for intersectional feminism to uplift not just some, but all people. Published: Penguin Books, February 2021
Clean: The New Science of Skin by James Hamblin
Hamblin washes away everything you thought you knew about skincare. An accessible, well-researched, personal, and historic look at how soap changed our social concept of cleanliness, and is changing our skin’s microbiome in the process. For fans of untold history, science, and skincare. Published: Riverhead Books, July 2020
