New Materials - August 17, 2021

A biweekly selection from our shelves, as curated by your favorite SPL librarians!


For the week of August 17, 2021:  Fiction | Nonfiction | Graphic Novels | Movies/TV, Music & More


Fiction

Black Water Sister Black Water Sister by Zen Cho

When Jessamyn Teoh starts hearing a voice in her head, she chalks it up to stress. Closeted, broke and jobless, she's moving back to Malaysia with her parents - a country she last saw when she was a toddler. She soon learns the new voice isn't even hers, it's the ghost of her estranged grandmother. Now her grandmother’s determined to settle a score against a business magnate who has offended the god--and she's decided Jess is going to help her do it, whether Jess wants to or not.

Butter Honey Pig Bread Butter Honey Pig Bread by Francesca Ekwuyasi

Butter Honey Pig Bread is a story of choices and their consequences, of motherhood, of the malleable line between the spirit and the mind, of finding new homes and mending old ones, of voracious appetites, of queer love, of friendship, faith, and above all, family.

The Lights of Prague The Lights of Prague by Nicole Jarvis

In the quiet streets of Prague all manner of mysterious creatures lurk in the shadows. Unbeknownst to its citizens, their only hope against the tide of predators are the dauntless lamplighters - secret elite of monster hunters whose light staves off the darkness each night.

The Whispering House The Whispering House by Elizabeth Brooks

Freya Lyell is struggling to move on from her sister Stella's death five years ago. Visiting the bewitching Byrne Hall, only a few miles from the scene of the tragedy, she discovers a portrait of Stella--a portrait she had no idea existed, in a house Stella never set foot in. Or so she thought...

Why I Don’t Write Why I Don’t Write: And Other Stories by Susan Minot

A superb collection of short fiction--her first in thirty years and spanning many geographies--from the critically acclaimed author of Monkeys, Evening, and Thirty Girls.

Winter in Sokcho Winter in Sokcho by Elisa Shua Dusapin

An exquisitely-crafted debut, which won the Prix Robert Walser,Winter in Sokcho is a novel about shared identities and divided selves, vision and blindness, intimacy and alienation. Elisa Shua Dusapin's voice is distinctive and unmistakable.

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Nonfiction

The Babysitter The Babysitter: My Summers with a Serial Killer by Liza Rodman and Jennifer Jordan

​​​A chilling true story--part memoir, part crime investigation--reminiscent of Ann Rule's classic The Stranger Beside Me, about a little girl longing for love and how she found friendship with her charismatic babysitter--who was also a vicious serial killer.

Four Hundred Souls Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619-2019 by Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha N. Blain

Four Hundred Souls is a unique one-volume "community" history of African Americans. The editors, Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha N. Blain, have assembled ninety brilliant writers, each of whom takes on a five-year period of that four-hundred-year span. The writers explore their periods through a variety of techniques: historical essays, short stories, personal vignettes, and fiery polemics. They approach history from various perspectives: through the eyes of towering historical icons or the untold stories of ordinary people; through places, laws, and objects.

The Marathon Don’t Stop The Marathon Don't Stop: The Life and Times of Nipsey Hussle by Rob Kenner

The first in-depth biography of Nipsey Hussle, the hip hop mogul, artist, and activist whose transformative legacy inspired a generation with his motivational lyrics and visionary business savvy-before he was tragically shot down in the very neighborhood he was dedicated to building up.

Paris Without Her Paris Without Her: A Memoir by Gregory Curtis

In this moving, tender memoir of losing a beloved spouse, the longtime editor of Texas Monthly, newly widowed, returns alone to a city whose enchantment he's only ever shared with his wife, in search of solace, memories, and the courage to find a way forward.

Ripe Figs Ripe Figs: Recipes and Stories from Turkey, Greece, and Cyprus by Yasmin Khan

The acclaimed author of Zaitoun returns with vibrant recipes and powerful stories from the islands that bridge the Mediterranean and the Middle East.

The Twelve Lives of Alfred Hitchcock The Twelve Lives of Alfred Hitchcock: An Anatomy of the Master of Suspense by Edward White

In The Twelve Lives of Alfred Hitchcock, Edward White explores the Hitchcock phenomenon-what defines it, how it was invented, what it reveals about the man at its core, and how its legacy continues to shape our cultural world.

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Graphic Novels

Billionaires Billionaire: The Lives of the Rich and Powerful: Jeff Bezos, the Koch bros, Rupert Murdoch by Darryl Cunningam

"In Billionaires, Darryl Cunningham offers an illuminating analysis of the origins and ideological evolutions of four key players in the American private sector--Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, media mogul Rupert Murdoch, and oil and gas tycoons Charles and David Koch. What emerges is a vital critique of American capitalism and the power these individuals have to assert a corrupting influence on policy-making, political campaigns, and society writ large.

Breakwater Breakwater by Katriona Chapman

A loner and introvert, Chris has drifted through her job in the cinema for years, when Dan joins and gradually becomes part of her life. But as they grow closer, she must decide if the solitary life she's built is the one she's actually most suited to after all.

Crossroads Crossroads: I Live Where I Like: A Graphic History by Koni Benson

Drawn by South African political cartoonists the Trantraal brothers and Ashley Marais,Crossroads: I Live Where I Like is a graphic nonfiction history of women-led movements at the forefront of the struggle for land, housing, water, education, and safety in Cape Town over half a century. Drawing on over sixty life narratives, it tells the story of women who built and defended Crossroads, the only informal settlement that successfully resisted the apartheid bulldozers in Cape Town.

Hardears Hardears by Matthew Clarke and Nigel Lynch

Hardears is an Afro-Caribbean fantasy-adventure graphic novel by Matthew Clarke and Nigel Lynch. The story takes place in an alternative world on Jouvert Island; a magical analog of the island of Barbados and begins when a superstorm of unprecedented strength obliterates the island, leaving it totally defenseless.

Invisible Differences Invisible Differences: A Story of Asperger's, Adulting, and Living a Life in Full Color by Julie Dachez

Marguerite feels awkward, struggling every day to stay productive at work and keep up appearances with friends. The everyday noise and stimuli assaults her senses, the constant chatter of her coworkers working her last nerve. Then, when one big fight with her boyfriend finds her frustrated and dejected, Marguerite finally investigates the root of her discomfort: after a journey of tough conversations with her loved ones, doctors, and the internet, she discovers that she has Aspergers. Her life is profoundly changed - for the better.

SFSX SFSX (safe sex). Volume 1, Protection by Tina Horn

In a draconian America where sexuality is strictly bureaucratized and policed, a group of queer sex workers keep the magic alive in an underground club called the Dirty Mind. Using their unique talents for bondage and seduction, they resolve to infiltrate the mysterious government Pleasure Center, free their incarcerated friends, and fight the power!

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Movies/TV, Music & More

Movies/TV

The Expanse The Expanse. Season 4. developed by Mark Fergus & Hawk Ostby
Format: DVD

With the Ring Gates now open to thousands of new planets, a blood-soaked gold rush begins, igniting new conflicts between Earth, Mars, and the Belt. Meanwhile, on one unexplored planet, the Rocinante crew gets caught in a violent clash between an Earth mining corporation and desperate Belter settlers as deadly new threats from the protomolecule emerge.

I Was At Home But I Was at Home, But... by Angela Schanelec
Format: DVD

The film tells the story of Astrid, a forty-something mother of two, struggling to regain her balance in the wake of her husband's death. Her adolescent son Phillip disappeared for a week and now that he has returned, he faces disciplinary action at school and his toe requires amputation. As new questions confront Astrid from every angle, even simple activities like buying a bicycle or engaging with a work of art, are fraught with unexpected challenges.

Proud Proud by Philippe Faucon
Format: DVD

In 1981, it was still illegal to be gay in France. Today, same-sex marriage is recognized and has paved the way for legalizing the adoption of children by LGBTQ families. This is the story of Charles, Victor, and Diego, three generations of the same family who represent the seismic social changes that took place in just three decades.

The Reason I Jump The Reason I Jump by Jerry Rothwell
Format: DVD

Based on the best-selling book by Naoki Higashida, is an immersive cinematic exploration of neurodiversity through the experiences of nonspeaking autistic people from around the world. The film blends Higashida's revelatory insights into autism, written when he was just thirteen, with intimate portraits of five remarkable young people. It opens a window for audiences into an intense and overwhelming, but often joyful, sensory universe.

Music

The Lucky Ones The Lucky Ones by Pentatonix
Format: CD

The new original album from Pentatonix, and the follow-up to their 2015 self-titled original album that reached number one on Billboard's Top 200 chart and is certified gold, takes fans through an emotional journey in healing, reflection, and self-acceptance, taking absolutely nothing for granted.

& More

Of Women and Salt Of Women and Salt by Gabriela Garcia
Format: Spoken CD

A sweeping, masterful debut about a daughter's fateful choice, a mother motivated by her own past, and a family legacy that begins in Cuba before either of them were born.

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