Blog Post
Staff Picks: Check Out LP Records at AADL!
by eapearce
In 2022, vinyl record sales surpassed the sales of CDs for the first time since 1987. Did you know that AADL has an ever-growing collection of records for checkout? Our music selection librarian works hard to curate our record collection and purchases a wide variety of classic and brand new titles. Below, read about a few recent additions to our collection that you can take home to play on your record player today! And don’t forget: come celebrate Record Store Day with us on April 22! Over a dozen vendors will be selling records and music-related items in our Downtown Lobby, you’ll have the chance to design and create your own record sleeve, and we’ll have DJ Dave Lawson spinning tunes all afternoon.
Lover’s Game, by The War and Treaty | Request Now
If you haven’t had the privilege of listening to the country music powerhouse husband and wife duo The War and Treaty, you’re in for a treat! Michael and Tanya Trotter have renamed their duo several times since first forming it in Albion, Michigan in 2014, but they’ve been The War and Treaty since 2017, and they’re here to stay. Now based in Nashville, the two have hit it big with their major label debut album, Lover’s Game. They’ve long been appreciated at live shows, but Lover’s Game allows those of us still here in Michigan to enjoy their awesome sound along with the lucky folks who get to hear them live in Nashville. The Trotters say that Lover’s Game, much of which was written during the pandemic, is “the beginning of a new campaign to expand their borders and win the hearts and minds of country music.” They channel a broad range of southern music on the album; not just country and folk, but blues and soul, gospel, R&B and rock, too. This is truly country music for everyone, even those who can’t imagine themselves throwing on a country record–give it a shot!
Blog Post
Staff Picks: A Feast for Arab American Heritage Month
by emjane
Arab American Heritage Month is a wonderful reminder to visit AADL’s ample cookbook collection! I highly recommend making a trip to the 641 shelves on the second floor of the Downtown Library and flipping through any books that catch your eye. But if you’re looking for some curated selections, try out some of these favorites below!
Cardamom and Lime: Recipes from the Arabian Gulf by Sarah Al-Hamad | Request Now
This cookbook is a dream to flip through, with large pictures of every dish and easy-to-follow instructions. Al-Hamad shares both the Arabic name and the English equivalent for each recipe and provides a paragraph of relevant information before the recipe itself, giving historical and locational context for each offering. I’m looking forward to cooking the Potato “Chops” (p. 41): small lamb patties encased in a potato and rice mixture and then fried in vegetable oil. I’ve not made anything like them yet, but they sound delicious!
Blog Post
Staff Picks: Buzzy Books of 2023 (So Far!)
by eapearce
We’re far from even halfway through the year, but of course there’s already buzz about what books might make the “best of” lists this year. Often, books published earlier in the year don’t get as much press as books published in the summer and fall, so it can be easy to miss excellent titles that get released in the first quarter! If you’re wondering what titles are being talked about, read on and consider adding yourself to the hold lists!
Couplets, A Love Story, by Maggie Millner | Request Now
In this unique story told in verse, the protagonist leaves a stable relationship with a man to begin her first relationship with a woman, and thus begins the exploration of her queerness. This is more than a coming-out story, however: Millner also explores the obsession so many of us have with being a part of a “couple,” the meaning of being alive and in love, and the difference between having one or both things, and the challenging journey of self-discovery. What do we lose in partnerships and what do we gain? Is the joy of a new relationship worth the potential of it falling apart and the parties involved being left with the wreckage? There is no one answer to the questions and ideas Millner poses in Couplets, but it’s lovely to explore and consider her viewpoints and compare them with your own.
Blog Post
Staff Picks: Celebrate National Poetry Month!
by eapearce
Every year, April is National Poetry Month. We like to highlight some of our favorite collections of poetry on displays, through programs, and in the newsletter! Read on for some recommendations of excellent, varied collections of poetry that you can check out from AADL. And stop by our Downtown Library throughout the month of April to browse several staff-curated displays with more great poetry recommendations.
Musical Tables, by Billy Collins | Request Now
Beloved American poet Billy Collins has been writing for decades. His newest collection, Musical Tables, just published this year, features poems in a new style that he has become interested in: extremely short poems. Many are just three or four lines, evoking simple feelings or fleeting moments in stark, relatable words. Many are wry or witty, as with “The Code of the West”: Say what you want/about me/but leave the horse/I rode in on out of it. Others still manage to be heartbreaking and deeply thoughtful, despite their brevity, as in “Divorce”: No more heavy ball, just the sound/of the dragged chain/with every other step. Collins was the Poet Laureate of the US from 2001 to 2003 and later the New York State Poet from 2004 through 2006. Born in 1941, he has published close to twenty volumes of poetry over the course of his prolific career.
Blog Post
Staff Picks: Great Graphic Novels
by emjane
We’re finally at the point where we can move beyond convincing adult readers that graphic novels are a valid format, right? (But just in case you need the pep talk – “Comics aren’t just for kids! Adding visuals to storytelling makes for a full reading experience and engaging and varied reading pace!”) Sometimes it’s wonderful to dive into a long, multi-volume Graphic Experience (and if that’s what you’re looking for, might I recommend Chew, Fables, or Scott Pilgrim, three of my favorites I find myself returning to) – but there’s something wonderful about a stand-alone graphic novel. Here are four of my favorites!
Seconds by Bryan Lee O’Malley | Request Now
We’ve all made decisions that, in hindsight, we’d make differently if given a second chance. Well, Chef Katie has stumbled across a way to do just that. Simply write down the thing you’d like to redo, eat one of the mushrooms the mysterious girl who appeared in your bedroom gave you, and go to sleep. When you wake up, you get your second chance. Nothing sketchy about that, right? But of course, like any media where you’re messing with the past, nothing is simple and consequences grow. O’Malley’s characters – both Katie and the folks who staff her restaurant – are likable, funny, and deeply relatable. It’s hard to avoid reading this book all in one sitting, but at the same time, I wish it had lasted longer. It’s a story fully told in one volume, but selfishly, I’d love to get more of Katie’s world.
Blog Post
Staff Picks: Celebrate National Arab American Month!
by lucroe
April is National Arab American Heritage Month, and to celebrate the many voices of Arab & Arab American writers here are some highlights of books in our collection from fantasy to poetry to cooking. We also have an ever-growing collection of materials in the Arabic language that you can browse here. Of course, there are too many titles to include in one small blog but we hope you enjoy these authors’ works!
This Woven Kingdom by Tahereh Mafi | Request Now
Alizah is an orphan servant and also a Jinn, still persecuted, even though the wars between Jinn and humans have ended. She is also of royal blood that makes her heir to the Jinn’s lost kingdom. Kamran is the current royal prince in this Kingdom of Ardunia who wants to be a just king like his grandfather. They eventually meet and fall in love. But of course, it is not that easy with possible violent upheavals surrounding them that could potentially put them on opposing sides. This novel has roots in Islamic texts and the Persian epic, Shahnameh. Fantastic world-building and beautiful prose, this should engage any epic fantasy reader. Also, the sequel was just released, These Infinite Threads. If you like this fantasy you may also enjoy The Daughters of Izdihar by debut writer Hadeer Elsbai who blends a unique feminist fantasy inspired by modern Egyptian history.
Blog Post
Staff Picks: Stuck Inside? We Can Help!
by emjane
With early spring, you never know what you’re going to get! I usually dream of front porch swing weather, but more often than not, we’re stuck in second (or third) winter and I’m desperate for something engaging to do indoors. Luckily, we’ve got lots of books that can help spur some indoor fun.
The Perfect Cookie: Your Ultimate Guide to Foolproof Cookies, Brownies & Bars by America’s Test Kitchen| Request Now
Baking is an ideal indoor activity – it’s a fun process and as an added bonus, you end with delicious treats! America’s Test Kitchen is one of my go-to sources for recipes, especially baking. They do a great job of breaking down the steps that go into a recipe, so even if you’re not making something you’re familiar with, you have a high rate of success!
Blog Post
Staff Picks: Spring Clean Your Life
by lucroe
Spring will be here soon, even though with snow on the ground it seems so distant. Along with flowers blooming and sunnier days, Spring brings thoughts of renewal. With this sometimes comes thoughts of cleaning house and organizing one’s life. Here are some books that can provide tips and suggestions in this time of Spring rejuvenation.
Make Space for Happiness : How to Stop Attracting Clutter and Start Magnetizing the Life You Want by Tracy McCubbin | Request Now
Founder of the L.A. company, dClutterfly (the site also has resources for decluttering), has come out with this book to help everyone deal with the emotional attachment of objects in one’s life that may lead to material excess. She provides tips in how to motivate the disorganized or stressed in order to make more meaningful purchase choices as well as letting go of those things that she considers clutter magnets.
Blog Post
Staff Picks: Animal Lives
by lucroe
There is so much to gain from being immersed in and observing nature, besides an overall appreciation of its beauty and wonder, there is the hope that we can become better stewards of our environment. To study nature is not only to understand ourselves and our place in it, but to learn about our fellow creatures as well. Here are but a few of the more recent plethora of books that open up our minds to a new understanding of animals, whether it is the dog in our house, the crustacean in the sea, or ants in the garden, these books fascinate.
Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are? By Frans de Waal | Request Now
Dutch primatologist and frequent writer on animal behavior, de Waal here tackles the way research has been conducted on animals in the past (along with its bias), and how tests should be species specific rather than humancentric. In vignettes, he shows how intelligence tests when given correctly to fit the species, show not only that animals are much smarter and that previous tests were flawed, it challenges the idea that humans are the superior intellect. He also points out through research that animals show empathy, cooperation, and problem-solving capabilities. Well worth the read along with his book on animal emotions called Mama’s Last Hug.
Blog Post
Staff Picks: Award-Winning Audiobooks
by eapearce
Along with using the Libby app to checkout ebooks and audiobooks, AADL has a wide-ranging collection of audiobooks on CD! We’re adding new titles to this collection all the time. Here are some favorite and award-winning audiobooks you might want to check out.
Finding Me, by Viola Davis | Request Now
There’s something special about hearing a book read in the author’s own voice, especially when that book is an autobiography, and especially when the author is Viola Davis. In her memoir, Davis talks about coming-of-age under challenging circumstances in Rhode Island after her sharecropper grandparents migrated there from South Carolina. Listeners follow along with her fascinating story of outrunning her past all the way to finding her true purpose of a creative life on the New York stage and beyond. Davis has said that she hopes her story inspires others to find their outlets for creative expression and not be held back by labels that the world puts on people, especially young Black women.