Staff Picks by Tag

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Dyscalculia: A Love Story of Epic Miscalculation By Camonghne Felix Cover Image
$27.00
ISBN: 9780593242179
Availability: On our shelves now at one or more of our stores
Published: One World - February 14th, 2023

I loved loved loved this book. 

A beautiful exploration of love, loss, finding one self, mental health, healing, and care. 

I want to stay home and read it all over again. 

 


Review by Rosa

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A Burst of Light: And Other Essays By Audre Lorde, Sonia Sanchez (Foreword by), Jen Keenan (Illustrator) Cover Image
By Audre Lorde, Sonia Sanchez (Foreword by), Jen Keenan (Illustrator)
$22.95
ISBN: 9780486818993
Availability: On our shelves now at one or more of our stores
Published: Ixia Press - September 13th, 2017

A timeless piece of writing, with reflections on battling cancer, lesbian motherhood, Black American womanhood, community organizing, and love. An important voice to familiarize yourself with now, as Audre Lord's wisdom and vision carry lessons that could help us traverse our most persisting social issues if only we would listen.


Review by Marii

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A Ghost in the Throat By Doireann Ní Ghríofa Cover Image
$16.95
ISBN: 9781771964111
Availability: On our shelves now at one or more of our stores
Published: Biblioasis - June 1st, 2021

Essayist and poet Ni Ghriofa writes a loving autofiction of the sheer physicality of mothering and milk, along with an assay into the life of Eibhlin Dubh Ni Chonaill, AKA Eileen O'Connell, a well-born poet in 18th century Ireland who composed a traditional lament after her husband's murder. Ni Ghriofa pursues connection with this Eibhlin Dubh that goes beyond literary scholarship into something like love. Ni Ghriofa's prose is rich and layered, while magically direct and concrete. 

 

Consider the audio version available from Libro.fm to hear the poem in Gaelic. 


Review by Laura

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Janis: Her Life and Music By Holly George-Warren Cover Image
$18.00
ISBN: 9781476793115
Availability: On our shelves now at one or more of our stores
Published: Simon & Schuster - October 13th, 2020

Perfect for any Janis fan or someone into the 60's music scene. A good slow burn toward fame from a Texas girl who just wanted to paint but then discovered Bessie Smith. And like the cover says, it's about her life and her music, not harping on her death which already takes up too much space when she was such a fantastic vocalist and songwriter that inspired many.

 


Review by Emily

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Sometimes I Trip On How Happy We Could Be By Nichole Perkins Cover Image
$17.99
ISBN: 9781538702741
Availability: On our shelves now at one or more of our stores
Published: Grand Central Publishing - August 17th, 2021

Yes!!! So real and honest on topics like sex, relationships, being black, how a slightly picky list of must-haves in a partner has changed over the years, did I mention sex? Normalizing conversations about pleasure, normalizing not being partnered at a certain age, all from the female perspective, really brought things to the forefront and I enjoyed how fun she could be while still taking it seriously. I know she wouldn't make me dinner but I'd love to be there when she had leftovers.

 


Review by Emily

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A Ghost in the Throat By Doireann Ní Ghríofa Cover Image
$16.95
ISBN: 9781771964111
Availability: On our shelves now at one or more of our stores
Published: Biblioasis - June 1st, 2021

One of the best books I've read about what it means to be a mother and an artist. I still think about this book and the emotional ride it took me on. I found so man answers in these pages. Simply put, I ADORE this book. 


Review by Rosa

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Letter to a Stranger: Essays to the Ones Who Haunt Us By Colleen Kinder (Editor), Leslie Jamison (Foreword by) Cover Image
By Colleen Kinder (Editor), Leslie Jamison (Foreword by)
$19.95
ISBN: 9781643751245
Availability: On our shelves now at one or more of our stores
Published: Algonquin Books - March 22nd, 2022

Concept: Write a letter to a stranger. Maybe you caught their name, maybe they will forever be a mystery but essentially a person who passed by your life only fleetingly. Yet they haunt you, you've never forgotten them. What would that letter say?

Product: This book! 


Review by Emily

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Distant Fathers By Marina Jarre, Ann Goldstein (Translator) Cover Image
By Marina Jarre, Ann Goldstein (Translator)
$16.95
ISBN: 9781939931948
Availability: Out of stock, usually available in 3-10 days
Published: New Vessel Press - June 22nd, 2021

A Memoir of facism, childhood, and then motherhood in early 20th century Italy, written in a unique, pointillist style made famous (relatively speaking) by the stylings of Annie Ernaux or the fiction of Renata Adler. Jarre's speciality is writing the unspoken peculiarities of childhood. Read the first paragraph and tell me you wouldn't read 200 pages of Jarre's work. An immense story of a life. 


Review by Spencer R.

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The Three Mothers: How the Mothers of Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and James Baldwin Shaped a Nation By Anna Malaika Tubbs Cover Image
$28.99
ISBN: 9781250756121
Availability: Out of stock, usually available in 3-10 days
Published: Flatiron Books - February 2nd, 2021

We all know who Marin Luther King, Malcolm X and James Baldwin were, but little has been written about their mothers. The women who raised them and instilled in each an unwavering passion to raise their voices against injustice. Each woman and their lives were different, but they were all instrumental in their sons lives. This book is a tribute to them and all mothers. 


Review by Sue

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Why Fish Don't Exist: A Story of Loss, Love, and the Hidden Order of Life By Lulu Miller Cover Image
$17.99
ISBN: 9781501160349
Availability: On our shelves now at one or more of our stores
Published: Simon & Schuster - April 6th, 2021

At her absolute lowest, Lulu Miller becomes obsessed with early president of Stanford and famed ichthyologist David Starr Jordan. This part-memoir-part-biography is a touching story about struggling with mental health and how we cope in the face of chaos. It's a scientific history lesson on how fish taxonomy influenced the imagined hierarchy of human genetics. It's also a murder mystery. And if you're wondering if fish exist, I promise your question will be answered (they definitely don't)!


Review by Jess

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