August 2023 Shelf Talk
ADULT
Building: a Carpenter’s Notes on Life & the Art of Good Work by Mark Ellison
Ellison, a master carpenter by trade, shares his stories with readers on building a life worth living using examples of creativity, hard work and his designs as he constructed some of the most iconic, luxurious spaces in New York. Ellison blends “musing on work and creativity with immersive story telling and original sketches, photos and illustrations.” Building is a mediation on a good live well lived and a “delightful philosophical inquiry beyond the facades that we all live behind.”
The King Arthur Baking School: Lessons and Recipes for Every Baker by King Arthur Baking Company
This Food & Wine Best Cookbook of 2022 has been added to the library’s collection of baking books. The book strives to answers common baking questions including those on sourdough, when to add eggs to batter, and pro tips from years of classroom experience. It is a must read for bakers who want to “get better and better” at the art of baking.
A Disappearance in Fiji by Nilima Rao
This historical fiction title is set in 1914 Fiji and follows police sergeant Akal Singh, who would rather be anywhere but the island he refers to as “godforsaken.” His investigation into an indentured Indian woman is more than a disappearance, it confronts the “brutal realities of the indentured workers’ existence.” Rao’s debut mystery brims with “wit, vibrant characters, and fascinating historical detail.”
Night Will Find You by Julia Heaberlin
Set in Texas, this Good Morning America Buzz Pick is a suspense fiction where a reluctant psychic and a scientist are brought together to find a missing girl. Sharply relevant, this book “explores the mysterious nature of belief – in psychics, in science, in conspiracies, in higher power – and the delicate dance between scientific truth and the things we cannot explain.”
YOUNG ADULT
Gleanings by Neal Shusterman
There are still countless tales of the Scythedom to tell. Centuries passed between the Thunderhead cradling humanity and Scythe Goddard trying to turn it upside down. For years, humans lived in a world without hunger, disease, or death with Scythes as the living instruments of population control. Shusterman returns to the world throughout the timeline of the Arc of a Scythe series. Discover secrets and histories of characters you've followed for three volumes and meet new heroes, new foes, and some figures in between.
Wolfwood by Marianna Bayer
Indigo is the daughter of famous reclusive artist Zoe Serra, who made a splash in the '90s art world. But since her mom's breakdown, the two have been barely scraping by. When a gallery owner offers Zoe a revival show for her blockbuster Wolfwood series — which Zoe never finished — Indigo sees it as a chance to finally regain stability. However, Zoe refuses to work on the paintings, saying that she can't return to Wolfwood, so Indigo decides to take up the brush herself.
Taming the Star Runner by S.E. Hinton
Travis is the epitome of cool, especially when he's in trouble. But when he's sent to stay on his uncle's ranch, he finds that his tough attitude doesn't make him any friends, and his city survival skills are no match for the unforgiving land. He does find friendship of a sort with Casey, who runs a riding school. She's the bravest person Travis has ever met, and crazy enough to try to tame the Star Runner, her beautiful and dangerous horse, always on edge and about to explode — like Travis himself.
Stolen City by Elisa A. Bonnin
Twin thieves attempt to pull off a daring heist in Stolen City, the sophomore fantasy novel from Dauntless author Elisa A. Bonnin. In stealing magical artifacts for the Resistance, bounding over rooftops to evade Imperial soldiers, and establishing herself as the darling thief of the underground, Arian Athensor lives a life wrapped in danger and trained towards survival. She'll steal anything for the right price, and if she runs fast enough, she can almost escape the fact that her mother is dead, her father is missing, and her brother, Liam, is tamping down a wealth of power in a city that has outlawed magic.
CHILDREN’S
We the People! by Don Brown
Author-illustrator Brown explores the history of democracy in the United States in this installment of the Big Ideas That Changed the World graphic novel series. This is history in a kid friendly format for ages 8–12. We the People! explores how Athenian and Greek assemblies inspired our legislative and judiciary branches; how Enlightenment ideals of reason, toleration, and human progress shaped the founding fathers' thinking; how Mali's Manden Charter and England's Magna Carta influenced the Bill of Rights; and how the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy directly shaped the US Constitution.
The Woman Who Split the Atom by Marissa Moss
Author and artist Marissa Moss brings her distinctive talents to this illustrated treatment of the life of Jewish physicist Lise Meitner. Beginning each chapter with graphic novel-style pictures, Moss explains the intricacies of radioactivity and nuclear fission, as well as the frustrating prejudices as a woman in a male-dominated field. Once the Nazis gain control in Germany, frustration turns to terror as Meitner is forced to flee. For ages 10–14.
I am a Story by Dan Yaccarino
Yaccarino has illustrated the history of stories and the written word from cave drawings to the first printing press and forward to our digital age. Using sparse wording and his awarding winning art skills he presents a wonderful picture book for ages 4–8 years.
Bear has a Belly by Jane Whittingham
Enjoy this book with toddler-age little ones. The book is a cross between sturdy board books and regular picture books with thin pages. Easy to turn durable pages, check! Repetitive text adding interactive fun, check! Full color vivid photographs show an animal and child per page spread and always adding the refrain of “I do!” — check!