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Around the world in 80 books
By David Damrosch. 2021
A transporting and illuminating voyage around the globe, through classic and modern literary works that are in conversation with one…
another and with the world around them *Featured in the Chicago Tribune' s Great 2021 Fall Book Preview* Inspired by Jules Verne&’s hero Phileas Fogg, David Damrosch, chair of Harvard University&’s department of comparative literature and founder of Harvard&’s Institute for World Literature, set out to counter a pandemic&’s restrictions on travel by exploring eighty exceptional books from around the globe. Following a literary itinerary from London to Venice, Tehran and points beyond, and via authors from Woolf and Dante to Nobel Prize–winners Orhan Pamuk, Wole Soyinka, Mo Yan, and Olga Tokarczuk, he explores how these works have shaped our idea of the world, and the ways in which the world bleeds into literature. To chart the expansive landscape of world literature today, Damrosch explores how writers live in two very different worlds: the world of their personal experience and the world of books that have enabled great writers to give shape and meaning to their lives. In his literary cartography, Damrosch includes compelling contemporary works as well as perennial classics, hard-bitten crime fiction as well as haunting works of fantasy, and the formative tales that introduce us as children to the world we&’re entering. Taken together, these eighty titles offer us fresh perspective on enduring problems, from the social consequences of epidemics to the rising inequality that Thomas More designed Utopia to combat, as well as the patriarchal structures within and against which many of these books&’ heroines have to struggle—from the work of Murasaki Shikibu a millennium ago to Margaret Atwood today. Around the World in 80 Books is a global invitation to look beyond ourselves and our surroundings, and to see our world and its literature in new ways
Warmth: Coming of age at the end of our world
By Daniel Sherrell. 2021
&“ [ Warmth ] is lyrical and erudite, engaging with science, activism, and philosophy . . . [Sherrell] captures the…
complicated correspondence between hope and doubt, faith and despair—the pendulum of emotional states that defines our attitude toward the future. &” — The New Yorker &“Beautifully rendered and bracingly honest.&” —Jenny Odell, author of How to Do Nothing From a millennial climate activist, an exploration of how young people live in the shadow of catastrophe Warmth is a new kind of book about climate change: not what it is or how we solve it, but how it feels to imagine a future—and a family—under its weight. In a fiercely personal account written from inside the climate movement, Sherrell lays bare how the crisis is transforming our relationships to time, to hope, and to each other. At once a memoir, a love letter, and an electric work of criticism, Warmth goes to the heart of the defining question of our time: how do we go on in a world that may not?
This is a gift for you
By Emily Winfield Martin. 2021
A stunning companion to the best-selling and beloved The Wonderful Things You Will Be , this book celebrates how we…
say "I love you" with gifts as heartfelt as a daisy, as magical as a dream, and as comforting as a place to belong. It is a poetic tribute to the simple joys of life and nature, and a reminder that the greatest gift we have is time spent together. The gift of quiet and the gift of loud, your hand in my hand out in a crowd. New York Times bestselling author Emily Winfield Martin joyously and thoughtfully shares the different ways of giving and loving. Like a beautifully wrapped gift, life's every day moments are precious: in both the little things and the big things, we can all find wonder. From a feather, to a hug, to a sunset, this book captures these gifts within its pages to remind readers how much they are loved, and how incredible this world we share is. A meaningful gift for any occasion or holiday, and a stand-out for birthdays, graduations and other milestones, with its loving and inspiring message: "But this is a gift, here, just you and me." This Is a Gift for You is perfect for little ones (and those who read to them!) who love The Wonderful Things You Will Be and are looking for more magic, inspiration, and unconditional love from the pen and paintbrush of Emily Winfield Martin
Hemingway's boat: everything he loved in life, and lost, 1934-1961
By Paul Hendrickson. 2011
Explores the last twenty-seven years of the life of writer Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961) and describes the solace that he found…
aboard his fishing boat Pilar, which he obtained in 1934. Discusses both Hemingway's literary career and his family, including his cross-dressing youngest son Gregory. Some strong language. 2011
Goodnight, goodnight, construction site (Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site)
By Tom Lichtenheld, Sherri Duskey Rinker. 2011
Tough trucks work all day long puffing smoke, lifting big metal beams, and moving dirt at a construction site, until…
they get tuckered out and go to sleep for the night. For preschool-grade 2. 2011
The book in the Renaissance
By Andrew Pettegree. 2010
Chronicles the first one hundred fifty years of the printed word. Details the origins and evolution of print, culminating in…
Gutenberg's innovation and its momentous consequences for humankind. Examines the religious, economic, and cultural concerns that influenced the production of books. 2010
Alma presses play
By Tina Cane. 2021
A lyrical novel-in-verse that takes us through the journey of coming of age in New York during the 80s. Alma's…
life is a series of halfways: She's half-Chinese, half-Jewish; her parents spend half the time fighting, and the other half silent; and she's halfway through becoming a woman. But as long as she can listen to her Walkman, hang out with her friends on the stoops of the Village, and ride her bike around the streets of New York, it feels like everything will be all right. Then comes the year when everything changes, and her life is overtaken by constant endings: friends move away, romances bloom and wither, her parents divorce and—just like that—her life as she knew it is over. In this world of confusing beginnings, middles, and endings, is Alma ready to press play on the soundtrack of her life?  
Alone
By Megan E. Freeman. 2021
Perfect for fans of Hatchet and the I Survived series, this harrowing middle grade debut novel-in-verse from a Pushcart Prize–nominated…
poet tells the story of a young girl who wakes up one day to find herself utterly alone in her small Colorado town. When twelve-year-old Maddie hatches a scheme for a secret sleepover with her two best friends, she ends up waking up to a nightmare. She's alone—left behind in a town that has been mysteriously evacuated and abandoned. With no one to rely on, no power, and no working phone lines or internet access, Maddie slowly learns to survive on her own. Her only companions are a Rottweiler named George and all the books she can read. After a rough start, Maddie learns to trust her own ingenuity and invents clever ways to survive in a place that has been deserted and forgotten. As months pass, she escapes natural disasters, looters, and wild animals. But Maddie's most formidable enemy is the crushing loneliness she faces every day. Can Maddie's stubborn will to survive carry her through the most frightening experience of her life?
African town
By Charles Waters. 2022
Chronicling the story of the last Africans brought illegally to America in 1860, African Town is a powerful and stunning…
novel-in-verse. In 1860, long after the United States outlawed the importation of enslaved laborers, 110 men, women and children from Benin and Nigeria were captured and brought to Mobile, Alabama aboard a ship called Clotilda . Their journey includes the savage Middle Passage and being hidden in the swamplands along the Alabama River before being secretly parceled out to various plantations, where they made desperate attempts to maintain both their culture and also fit into the place of captivity to which they'd been delivered. At the end of the Civil War, the survivors created a community for themselves they called African Town, which still exists to this day. Told in 14 distinct voices, including that of the ship that brought them to the American shores and the founder of African Town, this powerfully affecting historical novel-in-verse recreates a pivotal moment in US and world history, the impacts of which we still feel today.
A is for oboe: The orchestra's alphabet
By Lera Auerbach. 2022
This deeply imaginative and entertaining poetry collection details the pleasures of the orchestra, from strong-willed A to satisfied Z .…
Two widely acclaimed poets—one a composer and classical pianist as well—have come together to create this extraordinary portrait of the orchestra in all of its richness and fascination, using the structure of the alphabet in a way that's entirely new and delightful. A is for the first note you hear as you take your seat in the concert hall, played by the headstrong oboe. B is for the bassoon, "the orchestra's jester, complaining impatiently through his nose." And C is for the conductor, "like the captain on the bridge of a great ship, navigating the composer's musical charts." Onward the text goes, soaring in reverie and making thought-provoking observations while not taking itself too seriously—illuminating all the various details that flow together to create the nourishing experience of playing or listening to music. * This audiobook contains a downloadable PDF detailing information about the musical excerpts included in the audiobook
Anne Frank: the book, the life, the afterlife
By Francine Prose. 2009
Analyzes The Diary of a Young Girl (DB 57022) as a literary work, a Holocaust narrative, and a cultural artifact.…
Examines the evidence that Anne rewrote her memoir to increase its appeal. Discusses the published book's use in classroom instruction and its adaptation for stage and film. 2009
Role models
By John Waters. 2010
Baltimore director of cult films Pink Flamingos and Hairspray pens essays about the people he admires, including singers Johnny Mathis…
and Little Richard, writer Tennessee Williams, former Charles Manson groupie Leslie Van Houten, gay pornographers, and bar owners. Strong language and some explicit descriptions of sex. Bestseller. 2010
The Grimm legacy (Grimm Legacy Ser.)
By Polly Shulman. 2010
Elizabeth gets an after-school job as a page at the New York Circulating Material Repository, which houses magical objects from…
the Grimm brothers' fairy tales. When items disappear Elizabeth and the other pages are drawn into frightening adventures involving mythical creatures and stolen goods. For grades 6-9. 2010
The Penguin anthology of twentieth-century American poetry
By Rita Dove. 2011
Anthology of American poems published between 1900 and 2000, selected and introduced by Pulitzer Prize-winning former U.S. poet laureate Rita…
Dove. Includes brief profiles of each author. Features the works of John Ashbery, Elizabeth Bishop, Gwendolyn Brooks, T.S. Elliot, Adrienne Rich, Anne Sexton, Derek Walcott, and many others. 2011
Why Orwell matters
By Christopher Hitchens. 2002
Essayist explores the life and work of George Orwell (1903-1950), best known as the author of 1984 and Animal Farm.…
Discusses Orwell's political beliefs and the ways they were shaped by the times in which he lived. Challenges Orwell's critics and argues that his ideas remain relevant. 2002
Mon été haïku (Petite marmite)
By Jeanne Painchaud. 2021
Contraints de passer leur été en ville, Thomas, 10 ans, et Billie, 7 ans, dérangent chaque soir leur nouvelle voisine,…
une poète qui n'a pas de temps à leur consacrer... mais qui ne veut surtout pas être étiquetée « TOP Grincheuse du quartier ». Bien malgré elle, la poète les initie à l'art du haïku, pendant qu'au fil des pages la raison empêchant la famille de s'éloigner de la ville se révèle. L'histoire est ponctuée de nombreux haïkus de poètes québécois, canadiens-français et japonais, de même que de quelques haïkus de jeunes apprentis poètes écrits lors d'ateliers animés par l'auteure. Les illustrations chaudes et colorées de Chloloula célèbrent l'été en ville à travers ses ruelles et ses chaudes soirées.
The Sookie Stackhouse companion (Sookie Stackhouse/True Blood)
By Charlaine Harris. 2011
Features the novella Small-Town Wedding, in which Sookie and her boss Sam, a shape-shifter, attend nuptials in Sam's Texas hometown.…
Includes trivia and fan questions, recipes, and a guide to Sookie's world of vampires, werewolves, and fairies. 2011
Beauty is a verb: the new poetry of disability
By Sheila Black, Jennifer Bartlett, Michael Northen. 2011
Anthology shows disability through the lenses of poetry and essays. Features works of early and mid-twentieth-century poets, such as Josephine…
Miles and Larry Eigner, as well as from participants in the later "disability/crip poetics" movement, including John Lee Clark and Daniel Simpson. Offers critical commentary. 2011
Author retraces the travels of English adventurer Sir John Mandeville, who left for the Holy Land in 1322 and returned…
in 1356 with tales of countries throughout Asia that he claimed to have visited. Discusses the influence Mandeville had on explorers and writers in his day. 1996
Leaves of grass
By Walt Whitman. 1959
Digital restoration of the American Foundation for the Blind's 1961 recording of the first version of Walt Whitman's major work,…
narrated by Alexander Scourby and Kevin McCarthy. Although revised by the poet many times during his life, the core content remained. Introduction by Malcolm Cowley. 1855