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Fabulous Fiction Firsts #834, Celebrating Women’s History Month

by muffy

city_of_laughter

City of Laughter, * * a debut novel (also in downloadable eBook and audiobook) by a Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers Award winner Temin Fruchter is “a wondrous intergenerational story of queerness and Jewish folklore.” (Publishers Weekly)

Called “brainy and richly textured (The New York Times) the novel opens in 18th century Ropshitz, Poland where a holy jester whose job is to make wedding guests laugh, receives a visitation from a mysterious stranger. In present day New York, 32-year old Shiva Margolin, reeling from the recent death of her father and the breakup with her girlfriend, Dani found among her father’s things, photos of her enigmatic maternal grandmother, Syl, and great-grandmother Mira. But her mother Hannah refuses to talk about them. 

Frustrated with the generational silence, Shiva starts studying the work of Jewish folklorist S. Ansky, and enrolls in a master's program which presents her with an opportunity to visit Warsaw, only hours away from Mira's small town of Ropshitz. She hopes her family's mysteries will make more sense if she walks in their footsteps.

“This novel, like Shiva’s work, is a collection of beautiful scraps—scraps of folktales and memory, hidden family histories, love letters, accounts of strange happenings in the past and present—all tangled together and rewoven into a whole that’s strange, lush, imaginative and pulsing with life…As Shiva becomes more deeply immersed in the lives of her foremothers, those foremothers become more vibrant and detailed, in prose that moves from shimmering and dreamlike to sharply funny to wonderfully contemplative.” (BookPage)

Readers might also enjoy The Thirty Names of Night * * * * by Zeyn Joukhadar (2020), and The Fortunes of Jaded Women by Carolyn Huynh (2022).

* * * * = 4 starred reviews

* * = 2 starred reviews

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Staff Picks: Recommendation Potpourri: Seven Books in Seven Days

by emjane

At the end of February, I took one of those wonderful, restorative vacations where you fly somewhere warm and don’t do much of anything for a week. When I find myself lucky enough to have these “gift of time” trips, I still can’t help but set up a little structure and challenge myself to read a book a day. I have the benefit of being a fast reader, and I also stack the deck a bit by leaving the giant tomes at home (you can only pack so many books!), but on the trips where I manage to achieve that silly benchmark, I return home bubbling about the reading even more than about the sunshine! Here are my reading highlights from that trip!

 

No One is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood | Request Now

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Staff Picks: Graphic Novels Series to Start

by nicole

If you're sick of standalone reads or need something to keep you hooked for a while, here are some great graphic novel series from AADL's collection. These titles are perfect if you're looking to start a new series.

Saga by Brian K. Vaughan | Request Now

The cover of Saga by Brain K. VaughnBlending sci-fi and romance, Saga is a sweeping tale about star-crossed lovers from enemy worlds fighting to find their place in the universe. When Alana first meets Marko, they're two soldiers fighting on opposite sides of a never-ending galactic war. Against all odds, they fall in love and risk everything to escape and bring a fragile new life into their dangerous old universe. This story is a wild, intergalactic ride that follows new parents Marko and Alana as they try to raise their child in a war-torn galaxy. This epic space opera is both heartfelt and hilarious, and is intended for mature readers only. Readers who love the first book can find the others in the series in AADL's catalog.

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Staff Picks: A Bit of Romantasy

by lucroe

For readers craving that overlap between romance and fantasy, check out these titles that have it all: magic, creatures, and love! 

Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna | Request Now
The cover of Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu MandannaA cozy romantasy about Mika Moon, who happens to be a witch but no one knows except her coven, who don't understand how lonely she has felt throughout the years. When a mysterious message arrives asking her to come to Nowhere House to train three young witches how to control their magic, she knows it's a bad idea to go. Who knows, maybe there she'll find something worth taking a chance on like the house librarian Jamie Kelly who she is immediately attracted to but who gives her the cold shoulder. Could she melt that icy heart of his?

 

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Staff Picks: New Historical Fiction at AADL

by eapearce

Historical fiction remains one of the most popular genres for local readers! Titles in the genre offer readers the opportunity to learn more about past events, especially ones you’re not familiar with, often in a less-dense manner than non-fiction books about the same events might provide. If you’re looking for your next historical fiction read, check out one of these newly added titles to the library collection and add yourself to the holds list.

The Berlin Letters, by Katherine Reay | Request Now

The cover of The Berlin Letters by Katherine ReayThe Cold War is coming to a close and CIA codebreaker Luisa Voekler is frustrated. Since a young girl, she’s always enjoyed using her logical, quick mind to solve puzzles and crack codes. She expected to move up quickly in the CIA, but while her colleagues are working hard to complete assignments that will hopefully finally bring the Cold War to an end, Luisa is stuck still cracking leftover codes from back during World War II. When she analyzes a letter with symbols she recognizes from her childhood, though, something clicks into place and she begins to wonder if her long-lost father is not, in fact, dead after all, as she’s always thought. Determined to figure out the truth, Luisa travels East Germany, determined to get her father out–if he’s still alive. As the book races toward the climactic fall of the Berlin Wall, readers journey with Luisa to the heart of Berlin to experience the monumental moment with her, and to hopefully share in her discovery of answers to questions she has had her whole life. This book includes book discussion questions at the end, making it a good fit for book clubs!

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Staff Picks: Fabulous Fiction from U-M Alum

by emjane

The Helen Zell Writers Program, University of Michigan’s MFA program, has an impressive alumni list, who—would you believe it—have written some impressively good books! Here are a few of my favorites.

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett | Request Now

The cover of The Vanishing Half, by Brit BennettTwin sisters Desiree and Stella both leave home at 16 and their lives, which up until that point had been lived in tandem, dramatically diverge. Told from shifting perspectives between Desiree, Stella, and their daughters, The Vanishing Half spans generations to tell an engaging story of identity, family, and connection.

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Staff Picks: Teen Books on TV

by nicole

Several Teen books have been adapted into shows in the past few years. If you like to read the book before you see it on TV, check out these YA stories that have been recreated for the small screen.

Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman | Request Now

The cover of Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil GaimanAccording to the Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, the world will end on a Saturday. Next Saturday, in fact. Just after tea. Which means that Armageddon will happen on Saturday night. So the armies of Good and Evil are gathering, the Four Bikers of the Apocalypse are revving up their mighty hogs and hitting the road, and the world's last two remaining witch-finders are getting ready to fight the good fight, awkwardly armed with antiquated instructions and stick pins. Armageddon is in the air. Which is a major problem for Crowley, a fast-living demon, and his opposite and old friend Aziraphale, a fussy angel. They like it down here, and they're not particularly looking forward to the end of it all. So they've got no choice but to defeat the marching ranks of the Witchfinder's army and - somehow - stop the Rapture from happening. Above all, they've got to find and kill the most powerful being on earth, the Antichrist (which is a shame, as he's a really nice kid). There's just one glitch: someone seems to have misplaced him. This over-the-top story is equal parts humor and fantasy, and the TV series is also available in our catalog.

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Staff Picks: Breakfast Bonanza: Cookbooks for the Start of Your Day

by eapearce

Whether or not you believe that the most important meal of the day is breakfast, as the old adage goes, there is something to be said about having a delicious beginning to your morning. In the following cookbooks, you’ll get ideas for how to make breakfast unique, yummy, easy, and all three!

Breakfast: The Cookbook, by Emily Miller | Request Now

The cover of Breakfast: The Cookbook, by Emily MillerThis delightful and comprehensive book shares recipes for home-cooking breakfasts from all over the world. Hundreds of recipes are compiled here with straightforward and simple instructions, so that you can prepare a dish that you’ve perhaps never even heard of before (a good thing, if you’re cooking at 7am!). Culinary notes and backgrounds on the origins of the recipes add a nice touch and provide the reader with interesting insight as to where the recipe they are preparing comes from and how people in that region might enjoy it. Conveniently, the index is organized by both food and country, so you can search for what you’re looking for by either categorization. Recipes are divided by food type as well as dietary restriction, such as gluten-free, vegetarian or vegan, quick and easy, under five ingredients and more. Lovely photographs accompany the recipes. This is a great book for any breakfast-lover, or even for anyone who is breakfast-curious and looking to up their morning meal routine.

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Staff Picks: Motown Turns 65

by lucroe

Berry Gordy founded Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, later adding the Motown Records label. We celebrate the immense contribution to music with some books, CDs, and a movie. To learn more about Motown go to Detroit’s own Motown Museum.

Where Did Our Love Go? : the Rise and Fall of the Motown Sound by Nelson George | Request Now
Where did our Love go?Originally written in the 1980s, this is a well-researched and straightforward account of Motown’s history. George traces Berry Gordy’s career as well as the vocalists, songwriters and musicians who made the Motown sound synonymous with the 1960’s. In the end, according to accounts, Gordy lost touch with his artists and Motown became “…just another record company…”. George has written a book that shows great appreciation for the Motown that was once a powerhouse of the music industry.

 

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Staff Picks: New Music by Black Artists in Celebration of Black History Month

by eapearce

AADL is always adding new music to our collection in the form of both CDs and LP records! This month we’ve got a feature on newly added titles by Black artists, in celebration of February being Black History Month. Enjoy!

Afro Futuristic Dreams, by Idris Ackamoor & The Pyramids | Request Now

Afro Futuristic DreamsThis new jazz album, the first by Idris Ackamoore since 2020, draws influences from a wide variety of artists: you’ll hear elements of Parliament Funkadelic, Sun Ra and Fela Kuti along with more traditional jazz sounds and combinations. The smoothness of Afro Futuristic Dreams doesn’t take away from its politically charged message, aided by Ackamoor delivering straightforward lyrics about current events. Ackamoor, who came of age in the 1960s, has always felt that making music is about “making change happen,” and it’s clear on this new record that he’s pushing for change in the United States in lots of ways. The Pyramids were founded in the early 1970s in Ohio, and became known for combining African rhythms with the psychedelic jazz that was particularly popular in the U.S. at the time. Known for being one of the few bands who actually spent time traveling and playing in Africa to best capture the authentic sounds they were seeking, they’re just as strong as ever accompanying Ackamoor on this record (he was a founding member of the band back in the day). This record is well worth a listen.