From the unique standpoint of an American woman who married into a Japanese family and has lived in Japan for more than thirty years, Rebecca Otowa weaves enchanting tales of her adopted home that portray the perspective of both the Japanese and the foreigner on the universal issues that face us all—love, work, marriage, death, … Continue reading THE MAD KYOTO SHOE SWAPPER: AND OTHER SHORT STORIES, by Rebecca Otowa, Tuttle Publishing/PGC
Biography
GENERATION BRAVE, THE GEN Z KIDS WHO ARE CHANGING THE WORLD, by Kate Alexander, Illustrated by Jade Orlando, Andrews McMeel Publishing
An illustrated celebration of Gen Z activists fighting to make our world a better place. Gen Z is populated—and defined—by activists. They are bold and original thinkers and not afraid to stand up to authority and conventional wisdom. From the March for Our Lives to the fight for human rights and climate change awareness, this … Continue reading GENERATION BRAVE, THE GEN Z KIDS WHO ARE CHANGING THE WORLD, by Kate Alexander, Illustrated by Jade Orlando, Andrews McMeel Publishing
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DREAMING IN CODE: ADA BYRON LOVELACE, COMPUTER PIONEER, by Emily Arnold McCully, Candlewick Press
This illuminating biography reveals how the daughter of Lord Byron, Britain's most infamous Romantic poet, became the world's first computer programmer. Even by 1800s standards, Ada Byron Lovelace had an unusual upbringing. Her strict mother worked hard at cultivating her own role as the long-suffering ex-wife of bad-boy poet Lord Byron while raising Ada in … Continue reading DREAMING IN CODE: ADA BYRON LOVELACE, COMPUTER PIONEER, by Emily Arnold McCully, Candlewick Press
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HOLLYWOOD EVE: EVE BABITZ AND THE SECRET HISTORY OF L.A., by Lili Anolik, Katherine Monaghan, Simon & Schuster
Los Angeles in the 1960s and 70s was the pop culture capital of the world—a movie factory, a music factory, a dream factory. Eve Babitz was the ultimate factory girl, a pure product of LA. The goddaughter of Igor Stravinsky and a graduate of Hollywood High, Babitz posed in 1963, at age twenty, playing chess … Continue reading HOLLYWOOD EVE: EVE BABITZ AND THE SECRET HISTORY OF L.A., by Lili Anolik, Katherine Monaghan, Simon & Schuster
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AND I’D DO IT AGAIN: THE EXTRAORDINARY ADVENTURES OF AN EDWARDIAN HEIRESS, by Aimee Crocker, Forward by Helen Lederer, Head of Zeus
Aimée Crocker was an heiress to gold and railroad fortunes and a daughter of Judge Edwin B. Crocker (1818-1875), legal counsel for the Central Pacific Railroad, Justice of the California Supreme Court in 1865 and founder of the Crocker Art Museum. Her father was a brother of Charles Crocker, one of the "big four" California … Continue reading AND I’D DO IT AGAIN: THE EXTRAORDINARY ADVENTURES OF AN EDWARDIAN HEIRESS, by Aimee Crocker, Forward by Helen Lederer, Head of Zeus
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THE STRANGE TRUE TALE OF FRANKENSTEIN’S CREATOR, MARY SHELLEY, by Catherine Reef, Clarion Books
On the 200th anniversary of the publication of Frankenstein, comes a riveting biography of its author, Mary Shelley, whose life reads like a dark gothic novel, filled with scandal, death, drama, and one of the strangest love stories in literary history. The story of Frankenstein’s creator is a strange, romantic, and tragic one, as … Continue reading THE STRANGE TRUE TALE OF FRANKENSTEIN’S CREATOR, MARY SHELLEY, by Catherine Reef, Clarion Books
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ALL THE EVER AFTERS, The Untold Story of Cinderella’s Stepmother, by Danielle Teller, William Morrow/HarperCollinsPublishers
In the vein of Wicked, The Woodcutter, and Boy, Snow, Bird, a luminous reimagining of a classic tale, told from the perspective of Agnes, Cinderella’s “evil” stepmother. We all know the story of Cinderella. Or do we? As rumors about the cruel upbringing of beautiful newlywed Princess Cinderella roil the kingdom, her stepmother, Agnes, who … Continue reading ALL THE EVER AFTERS, The Untold Story of Cinderella’s Stepmother, by Danielle Teller, William Morrow/HarperCollinsPublishers
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DAMNATION ISLAND, POOR, SICK, MAD, & CRIMINAL IN THE 19TH-CENTURY NEW YORK, by Stacy Horn, Algonquin Books
DESCRIPTION: Today it is known as Roosevelt Island. In 1828, when New York City purchased this narrow, two-mile-long island in the East River, it was called Blackwell’s Island. There, over the next hundred years, the city would send its insane, indigent, sick, and criminal. Told through the gripping voices of Blackwell’s inhabitants, as well as … Continue reading DAMNATION ISLAND, POOR, SICK, MAD, & CRIMINAL IN THE 19TH-CENTURY NEW YORK, by Stacy Horn, Algonquin Books
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THE BRIDGE, by Peter J. Tomasi, Illustrated by Sara Duvall, Abrams Comicarts/Abrams Books, Hachette Book Group
More than 130 years after its completion, the Brooklyn Bridge remains one of the most extraordinary landmarks and symbols of Brooklyn and New York City—and the story behind this architectural marvel is just as extraordinary. The Brooklyn Bridge was originally designed by John Augustus Roebling, but it was his son, Washington, and his daughter-in-law, Emily, … Continue reading THE BRIDGE, by Peter J. Tomasi, Illustrated by Sara Duvall, Abrams Comicarts/Abrams Books, Hachette Book Group
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THE LIBRARY, by Stuart Kells, Counterpoint/Perseus/Hachette Book Group
"If you think you know what a library is, this marvellously idiosyncratic book will make you think again." —The Sydney Morning Herald Libraries are much more than mere collections of volumes. The best are magical, fabled places whose fame has become part of the cultural wealth they are designed to preserve. Some still … Continue reading THE LIBRARY, by Stuart Kells, Counterpoint/Perseus/Hachette Book Group
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