New Materials - August 3, 2021

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


For the week of August 3, 2021:  Fiction | Nonfiction | Graphic Novels | Movies/TV, Music & More


Fiction

Headliners Headliners by Lucy Parker

Sparks fly when two feuding TV presenters are thrown together to host a live morning show in Lucy Parker's latest enemies-to-lovers contemporary romance. He might be the sexiest man in London, according to his fan site (which he definitely writes himself), but he's also the most arrogant man she's ever met.

The Obsidian Tower The Obsidian Tower by Melissa Caruso

In this fresh epic fantasy bursting with intrigue and ambition, questioned loyalties, and broken magic, one woman will either save an entire continent or bring about its downfall.

On Fragile Waves On Fragile Waves by E. Lily Yu

The haunting story of a family of dreamers and tale-tellers looking for home in an unwelcoming world. This exquisite and unusual magic realist debut, told in intensely lyrical prose by an award winning author, traces one girl's migration from war to peace, loss to loss, home to home.

Son of the Storm Son of the Storm by Suyi Davies Okungbowa

From city streets where secrets are bartered for gold to forests teeming with fabled beasts, a sweeping epic of forgotten magic and violent conquests unfolds in this richly drawn fantasy inspired by the pre-colonial empires of West Africa.

An Unexpected Peril An Unexpected Peril by Deanna Raybourn

January 1889. As the newest member of the Curiosity Club, Veronica Speedwell, is excited to put her many skills to good use. As she assembles a memorial exhibition for pioneering mountain climber Alice Baker Greene, Veronica discovers evidence that the recent death was not a tragic climbing accident but murder. Veronica and her natural historian beau, Stoker, suddenly find themselves embroiled in a mystery involving a peace treaty, a princess, and a murderer.

Wild Love Wild Love by Lauren Accardo

A down-on-her-luck city girl searches for new purpose among the shelves of a failing bookstore in the quaint town of Pine Ridge, New York-until a forbidden love tempts her to go off-book.

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Nonfiction

The Glitter in the Green The Glitter in the Green by Jon Dunn

An acclaimed natural history writer follows the trail of the remarkable hummingbird all over the world.

Heart of Fire Heart of Fire: An Immigrant Daughter's Story by Mazie K. Hirono

From Mazie Hirono, the first Asian-American woman and the only immigrant serving in the U.S. Senate, the intimate and inspiring story of how a girl born in rural Japan went on to become 'a hero on the left' (The Washington Post) - and of the mother whose courageous choices made her journey possible.

Popular Longing Popular Longing by Natalie Shapero

The poems of Natalie Shapero's third collection, Popular Longing, highlight the ever-increasing absurdity of our contemporary life. Punchy, fearlessly ironic, and wickedly funny, Popular Longing articulates what it means to share a planet, for better or more often for worse, with other people.

Punch Me Up to the Gods Punch Me Up to the Gods by Brian Broome

A poetic and raw coming-of-age memoir in essays about blackness, masculinity, and addiction

Rose’s Ice Cream Bliss Rose's Ice Cream Bliss by Rose Levy Beranbaum

From the kitchen of legendary best-selling author and expert on all things sweet Rose Levy Berenbaum, here are 100 easy-to-follow recipes for irresistibly dreamy ice creams and other frozen treats.

Conversations on Writing Ursula K. Le Guin: Conversations on Writing by Ursula K. Le Guin with David Naimon

In a series of interviews with David Naimon (Between the Covers), Le Guin discusses craft, aesthetics, and philosophy in her fiction, poetry, and nonfiction respectively. The discussions provide ample advice and guidance for writers of every level, but also give Le Guin a chance to to sound off on some of her favorite subjects: the genre wars, the patriarchy, the natural world, and what, in her opinion, makes for great writing.

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Graphic Novels

Fictional Father Fictional Father by Joe Ollman

A dysfunctional family lives in the shadow of a world famous comic strip and its tyrannical creator.

Firefly Firefly: The Unification War by Greg Pak

Captain Malcolm Reynolds thought he could outrun his past, but when a simple heist goes wrong, he's forced to confront it. With the fabled Traitor of Serenity Valley in his sights, Mal's quest for revenge will put him at odds with his own crew, forcing him to make a choice: fix the past or fight for the future.

Invisible Kingdom Invisible Kingdom, Vol 2: Edge of Everything by G. Willow Wilson

The explosive aftermath of their shocking discovery has pushed the now-renegade team of captain Grix and acolyte Vess to the furthest reaches of their solar system. They're all alone... but not for long. And when their crew encounters a group of ruthless spacefaring privateers, they might not be safe for long either.

The Magicians The Magicians. New Class by Lev Grossman

Long after Quentin and his friends have graduated from Brakebills College for Magical Pedagogy, Dean Fogg invites a historic new group of students to enroll- the first ever class of hedge magicians, rogue practitioners of unsanctioned magic. But the traditional magicians aren't too thrilled to have the rule-breaking outcasts in their hallowed halls, and tempers flare as the student bodies clash to prove their superiority - not realizing a new danger has emerged to threaten them all.

Monumental Monumental: Oscar Dunn and His Radical Fight in Reconstruction Louisiana by Brian K. Mitchell

A graphic history informed by newly discovered primary sources, Monumental resurrects, in vivid detail, Louisiana and New Orleans after the Civil War--and presents an iconic American life that never should have been forgotten.

Redbonel Redbone: The True Story of a Native American Rock Band by Christian Staebler & Sonia Paoloni

Experience the riveting, powerful story of the Native American civil rights movement and the resulting struggle for identity told through the high-flying career of west coast rock n' roll pioneers Redbone.

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Movies/TV, Music & More

Movies/TV

Broken Hearts Gallery Broken Hearts Gallery by Natalie Krinsky
Format: DVD

Dumped by her boyfriend, a New York art gallery assistant creates an exhibit for souvenirs from past relationships.

John Lewis John Lewis: Good Trouble by Dawn Porter
Format: DVD

Using interviews and rare archival footage, this chronicles Lewis's 60-plus years of social activism and legislative action on civil rights, voting rights, gun control, health care reform, and immigration.

Music

After Hours After Hours by The Weeknd
Format: CD

After Hours is, above all else, a breakup album. Tesfaye fills much of this neatly sequenced, ballad-heavy set with penitence and longing. He sets the tone with an escapist fantasy that turns into a nightmarish relapse, and is tormented for much of the duration by seeking and receiving salvation and ruination from the same relationship.

Cher. Vol. 2 Cher. Vol. 2 by Cher
Format: CD

20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of Cher, Vol. 2 collects 12 tracks from her second coming as a power ballad-blasting metal babe in the '80s as well as songs from her remarkable comeback as a dancefloor diva in the late '90s.

Wildcard Wildcard by Miranda Lambert
Format: CD

Call Wildcard the opening of a new chapter of Miranda Lambert's career. Taken on an individual basis, each track is clever and playful, yet the cumulative effect of Wildcard is ever so slightly slight, a possible side effect of an album meant to be nothing but a party.

& More

Mary Jane Mary Jane by Jessica Anya Blau
Format: Spoken CD

"Almost Famous" meets Daisy Jones and the Six in this funny, wise, and tender novel about a fourteen-year-old girl’s coming of age in 1970s Baltimore, caught between her strait-laced family and the progressive family she nannies for—who happen to be secretly hiding a famous rock star and his movie star wife for the summer.

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