New Materials - September 13, 2022

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


For the week of September 13, 2022:  Fiction | Nonfiction | Graphic Novels | Movies/TV, Music & More


Fiction

Forbidden City Forbidden City by Vanessa Hua

On the eve of China's Cultural Revolution and her sixteenth birthday, Mei dreams of becoming a model revolutionary. When the Communist Party recruits girls for a mysterious duty in the capital, she seizes the opportunity to escape her impoverished village. It is only when Mei arrives at the Chairman's opulent residence--a forbidden city unto itself--that she learns that the girls' job is to dance with the Party elites. Ambitious and whip-smart, Mei beelines toward the Chairman.

The Last White Rose: A Novel of Elizabeth of York The Last White Rose: A Novel of Elizabeth of York by Alison Weir

As in her popular Six Tudor Queens series, Alison Weir captures the personality of one of Britain's most important consorts, conveying Elizabeth of York's dramatic life in a novel that is all the richer because of its firm basis in history.

Ocean State Ocean State by Stewart O'Nan

Set in a working-class town on the Rhode Island coast, O'Nan's latest is a crushing, beautifully written, and profoundly compelling novel about sisters, mothers, and daughters, and the terrible things love makes us do.

Strange California Strange California edited by Jaym Gates and J. Daniel Batt

Strange California is twenty-five tales of strangeness, lavishly illustrated, that will pull you into another world, a world where migrant girls stand up to witches who live in orange groves, where trickster magpies try to steal souls from Russian sisters in the early days of Fort Bragg, where water is both currency and predator, and Gold Rush-era ghosts wander the streets of San Francisco alongside panther ladies.

The Wise Women The Wise Women by Gina Sorell

A popular advice columnist for 40 years, Wendy Wise decides to meddle in her own troubled daughters' lives even though they are holding on some resentments from childhood, while her daughters discover that Wendy has been hiding more than a few problems of her own.

Yerba Buena Yerba Buena by Nina LaCour

At once exquisite and expansive, astonishing in its humanity and heart, Yerba Buena is a testament to the healing qualities of a shared meal, a perfectly crafted drink, a space we claim for ourselves. Nina LaCour's adult debut novel is a love story for our time.

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Nonfiction

The Baby on the Fire Escape: Creativity, Motherhood, and the Mind-Baby Problem The Baby on the Fire Escape: Creativity, Motherhood, and the Mind-Baby Problem by Julie Phillips

What does a great artist who is also a mother look like? What does it mean to create, not in “a room of one’s own,” but in a domestic space? In The Baby on the Fire Escape, award-winning biographer Julie Phillips traverses the shifting terrain where motherhood and creativity converge.

The Devil's Half Acre: The Untold Story of How One Woman Liberated the South's Most Notorious Slave Jail The Devil's Half Acre: The Untold Story of How One Woman Liberated the South's Most Notorious Slave Jail by Kristen Green

In The Devil's Half Acre, New York Times bestselling author Kristen Green draws on years of research to tell the extraordinary and little-known story of young Mary Lumpkin, an enslaved woman who blazed a path of liberation for thousands.

Friends: Understanding the Power of Our Most Important Relationships Friends: Understanding the Power of Our Most Important Relationships by Robin Dunbar

Mixing insights from scientific research with first person experiences and culture, Friends explores and integrates knowledge from disciplines ranging from psychology and anthropology to neuroscience and genetics in a single magical weave that allows us to peer into the incredible complexity of the social world in which we are all so deeply embedded.

Miss Chloe: A Memoir of a Literary Friendship with Toni Morrison Miss Chloe: A Memoir of a Literary Friendship with Toni Morrison by A. J. Verdelle

Toni Morrison, born Chloe A Wofford, was a towering figure in the world of literature when she entered A.J. Verdelle's life. Their literary friendship was a young writer's dream--simultaneously exhilarating, intimidating, fulfilling, and challenging. In this pensive and intricately lyrical book, Verdelle honors Morrison among the cultural greats, while illuminating and celebrating the power of language, legacy, and genius.

What Britain Did to Nigeria: A Short History of Conquest and Rule What Britain Did to Nigeria: A Short History of Conquest and Rule by Max Siollun

Most accounts of Nigeria's colonisation were written by British officials, presenting it as a noble civilising mission to rid Africans of barbaric superstition and corrupt tribal leadership. Thanks to this skewed writing of history, many Nigerians today still have Empire nostalgia and view the colonial period through rose-tinted glasses. Max Siollun offers a bold rethink: an unromanticised history, arguing compellingly that colonialism had few benevolent intentions, but many unjust outcomes.

What the Ermine Saw: The Extraordinary Journey of Leonardo Da Vinci's Most Mysterious Portrait What the Ermine Saw: The Extraordinary Journey of Leonardo Da Vinci's Most Mysterious Portrait by Eden Collinsworth

Expertly researched and deftly told, What the Ermine Saw is an enthralling account of Renaissance Italy and its actors, a comprehensive study of artistry and innovation, and a reminder that genius, power, and beauty always have a price.

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Graphic Novels

After Lambana: Myth and Magic in Manila After Lambana: Myth and Magic in Manila by Eliza Victoria

On the shadowy, noir-tinged streets of Manila, two friends seek a cure for a mysterious malady. To add to their problems, the Magic Prohibition Act has been adopted, and Lambana - the supernatural realm o fthe Diwata - has fallen. Slinky sirenas and wraith-like spirits populate this parallel universe of lurking danger and corruption. Will Lambana spill its secrets and provide the healing balm that's needed? Or will Conrad and Ignacio fail in their quest and perish in the process?

The Bend of Luck The Bend of Luck by Peter and Maria Hoey

Some guys have all the luck... but not all luck is good. The award-winning duo behind Coin-Op Comics return with a mind-bending tale of fortune and family.

Birds of Maine Birds of Maine by Michael Deforge

Take flight to this post-apocalyptic utopia filled with birds.

A Career in Books: A Novel about Friends, Money, and the Occasional Duck Bun A Career in Books: A Novel about Friends, Money, and the Occasional Duck Bun by Kate Gavino

A Career in Books is a graphic novel for everyone who's wanted to "work with books" and had NO idea what it entailed. It's for those who were taken aback by that first paycheck. It's for those who wanted a literary career even in the face of systemic racism, who dealt with the unique challenges of coming from an immigrant family, and whose group chat is their lifeline.

Dirtbag Rapture Vol. 1 Dirtbag Rapture Vol. 1 by Christopher Sebela

She's stoned. She's selfish. She's all that stands between us and the end of the world.

The Passageway The Passageway by Jeff Lemire

From the creative team of GIDEON FALLS and PRIMORDIAL comes the first book in a bold and ambitious new shared horror universe! When a geologist is sent to a remote lighthouse to investigate strange phenomenon he finds a seemingly endless pit in the rocks. But what lurks within and how will he escape its pull?

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Movies/TV, Music & More

Movies/TV

For the Love of Money For the Love of Money by Leslie Small
Format: DVD

In a criminal underworld that revolves around power, money, and danger, protecting family can lead to dark and desperate measures. When the pressures of building a better life become too much, Gigi is pulled back into a role she tried to escape, and gets caught up in the thrill of the ride. But when a shadowy figure threatens her daughter's life, Gigi must choose whether to surrender or fight.

Last Night in Soho Last Night in Soho by Edgar Wright
Format: DVD

In acclaimed director Edgar Wright's psychological thriller, Eloise, an aspiring fashion designer, is mysteriously able to enter the 1960s where she encounters a dazzling wannabe singer, Sandie. But the glamour is not all it appears to be and the dreams of the past start to crack and splinter into something far darker.

Music

Deadpan Love Deadpan Love by Cautious Clay
Format: CD

Deadpan Love, Karpeh's debut album, arrived four years after he left his nine-to-five to focus on music. It continues his measured progression as a stylist of mellow pop songs with soul that articulate pensive self-awareness and a level of empathy.

In Real Life In Real Life by Mandy Moore
Format: CD

It's easy to call In Real Life a sequel to Silver Landings, the 2020 album that found Mandy Moore resuming her music career after a decade hiatus. Where its predecessor was filled with songs of rebirth and empowerment, In Real Life is gentler, concentrating on domestic warmth where the partners are healthy enough to know how to meet in the middle -- a compromise that becomes essential with a new baby entering the family.

Smoke Sessions Smoke Sessions by Nicholas Payton
Format: CD

A wholly contemporary new album that vibrantly captures Payton's open-eared blend of swing, funk, soul and hip-hop influences with drummer Riggins' expansive fluidity behind the kit and Carter's renowned, rock-solid majesty on the bass.

& More

Sparring Partners Sparring Partners by John Grisham
Format: Spoken CD

Jake Brigance returns, a death-row inmate makes an unusual final request, and a dysfunctional legal family gets their day in court. These are just a few of the stories you'll encounter in these three novellas.

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