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The taste of things
by
DVD MOVIE WORLD FRENCH Taste
"Set in France in 1889, the film follows the life of Dodin Bouffant as a chef living with his personal cook and lover Eugénie. They share a long history of gastronomy and love, but Eugénie refuses to marry Dodin, so the food lover decides to do something he has never done before: cook for her."--Container.
Moomin : the complete Tove Jansson comic strip
by Tove Jansson
COMIC Moomin
Graphic Novels, Adventure, Kids
A cute and quaint comic series that's not just for kids! I loved accompanying the Moomin family on their hilarious adventures through Moominvalley. Also a good Pride Month read from the artist and writer Tove Jansson, a queer icon! -Annie
Why We Read: On Bookworms, Libraries, and Just One More Page Before Lights Out
by Shannon Reed
OverDrive eBook
Nonfiction, Memoir, Humor
*NATIONAL BESTSELLER**A Good Housekeeping Reads pick*A hilarious and incisive exploration of the joys of reading from a "beloved and wonderful writer" (George Saunders), teacher, bibliophile, and Thurber Prize SemifinalistWe read to escape, to learn, to find love, to feel seen. We read to encounter new worlds, to discover new recipes, to find connection across difference, or simply to pass a rainy afternoon. No matter the reason, books have the power to keep us safe, to challenge us, and perhaps most importantly, to make us more fully human.Shannon Reed, a longtime teacher, lifelong reader, and New Yorker contributor, gets it. With one simple goal in mind, she makes the case that we should read for pleasure above all else. In this whip-smart, laugh-out-loud-funny collection, Reed shares surprising stories from her life as a reader and the poignant ways in which books have impacted her students. From the varied novels she cherishes (Gone Girl, Their Eyes Were Watching God) to the ones she didn't (Tess of the d'Urbervilles), Reed takes us on a rollicking tour through the comforting world of literature, celebrating the books we love, the readers who love them, and the ways in which literature can transform us for the better.
Perfect for those that love reading about other people reading in order to inspire you to read more. -Annie
A simple wish
by
jDVD Simple
When Anabel wished for a fairy-godmother, she never dreamed his name would be Murray. They have until midnight to rescue her dad, battle a wicked witch, and recover stolen magic wands to restore the world to a place where wishes really can come true.
I don't care that this movie has 2.8 stars on Letterboxd. As a kid, I used to watch this movie on VHS, put it in the rewinder, and watch it again. I got a sudden craving for it and was delighted to learn that we had it on DVD. Watching it now as an adult, I'm not sure this would be a hit with adults who didn't grow up watching it, but it's still iconic to me. A 90's family-friendly flick with a runtime of just an hour and a half and, in my opinion, stellar performances from Mara Wilson and Marty Short... What more could you ask for in a kids' film? -Annie
Spotlight
by
DVD MOVIE DRAMA Spotlight
The riveting true story of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Boston Globe investigation that would rock the city and cause a crisis in one of the world's oldest and most trusted institutions. When the newspaper's tenacious 'Spotlight' team of reporters delve into allegations of abuse in the Catholic Church, their year-long investigation uncovers a decades-long cover-up at the highest levels of Boston's religious, legal, and government establishment.
I remember seeing this in theaters in 2015 when it first came out. It's almost 10 years later, and this movie is still a tour de force. If you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend doing so. -Annie
Planet Earth III
by
DVD 508 Planet
Completing the Planet Earth trilogy, Planet Earth III explores the greatest habitats on our planet and the extraordinary animals that live in them. Filled with wonder and insight, Planet Earth III celebrates places and animals beyond our imagination. From the depths of the ocean to the most remote jungle, discover the planet's last great wild places and the astonishing strategies animals have evolved to survive. Each episode focuses on a distinct and dazzling habitat, including grasslands and deserts, forests, freshwater habitats, and coasts. This contemporary chapter of Planet Earth also reveals the new challenges that wildlife faces in our modern and crowded world.
Animals are so cool! And some of these shots are truly mind-blowing. If you loved the previous Planet Earth installments, this one won't disappoint. -Annie
Ungrateful mammals
by Dave Eggers
741.973 /Eggers
Humor, Animals, Philosophy, Art / Art History
Before he embarked on his writing career, Dave Eggers was classically trained as a draftsman and painter. He then spent many years as a professional illustrator and graphic designer before turning to writing full-time. More recently, in order to raise money for ScholarMatch, his college-access nonprofit, he returned to visual art, and the results have been exhibited in galleries and museums around the country. Usually involving the pairing of an animal with humorous or Biblical text, the results are wry, oddly anthropomorphic tableaus that create a very entertaining and eccentric body of work from one of today's leading culture makers.
A fun, amusing, and quick read! I didn't know Dave Eggers was an illustrator and graphic designer before turning to writing — it's inspiring to know that all art can fuel other forms of art. Give this flip through before seeing him in conversation at the Englert on Thursday, March 7! -Annie
The girl who leapt through time
by
BLU-RAY Girl
After discovering she can leap through time, high school student Makoto Konno does what any teenager would do. She re-takes tests, corrects embarrassing situations, and sleeps in as late as she wants, never thinking that her carefree time traveling could have a negative effect on the people she cares about. By the time she realizes the damage she's done, she'll have to race against time to set things right.
I don't know why I held off on watching this movie because it's SO GOOD. -Annie
Listen, beautiful Márcia
by Marcello Quintanilha
GRAPHIC NOVEL Quintanilha
Graphic Novels
"Listen, Beautiful Márcia is a gripping story about a family pushed to the brink. Márcia is a nurse in a hospital near Rio and lives in a favela with her boyfriend, Aluisio, and her daughter, Jaqueline, whom she had very young with another man. Jaqueline, a troubled young adult, makes life difficult for her mother and Aluisio and rebelliously hangs out with members of a neighborhood gang, leading to violent altercations between mother and daughter. The situation degenerates even more when Jaqueline is arrested. Márcia and Aluisio, distraught, realize that Jaqueline is in deeper trouble than they ever thought. Listen, Beautiful Márcia is a fast-paced, flamboyantly colorful new graphic novel by one of the most important Brazilian graphic novelists working today. Marcello Quintanilha's first English-language graphic novel is a tour de force -- a tightly wound drama filled with masterful suspense and a deep love for family and character."--Publisher.
A beautifully illustrated, fast-paced, and brightly-colored graphic novel looking into a working class family in Brazil and their struggles with gang violence. The colors alone make it worth the read! -Annie
Flux : a novel
by Jinwoo Chong
SCIENCE FICTION Chong Jinwoo
Fiction, Science Fiction, Mystery
"A blazingly original and stylish debut novel about a young man whose reality unravels when he suspects his mysterious new employers have inadvertently discovered time travel--and are using it to cover up a string of violent crimes..."--Dust jacket flap.
This one was a real page-turner and a quick read to add to your stats before the end of 2023! I loved the way this narrative was organized and probably has something for everyone in it! -Annie
Theatrhythm : final bar line.
by
VIDEO GAME Switch Theatrhythm
"A rhythm-action game packed with 385 carefully selected music tracks from across the whole Final Fantasy series."--Container
Sometimes all you need is a solid rhythm game full of Final Fantasy bops. No need to know the songs, stories or really anything about the franchise. Just enjoy the music and relive the battles you might have fought once before. Also not sure if this is what the game makers intended, but this is a really fun two-player game if you split the Joy-Cons and divide the rhythm labor. -Annie
Chain Gang All Stars: A Novel
by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
OverDrive Audiobook
Diverse Characters, Fiction, LGBTQ+, Dystopian
FINALIST FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD IN FICTION • A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF THE YEAR • A READ WITH JENNA BOOK CLUB PICK • NATIONAL BESTELLER • Two top women gladiators fight for their freedom within a depraved private prison system not so far-removed from America’s own in this explosive, hotly-anticipated debut novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Friday Black • LONGLISTED FOR THE ANDREW CARNEGIE MEDAL FOR EXCELLENCE “Like Orwell’s 1984 and Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, Adjei-Brenyah’s book presents a dystopian vision so…illuminating that it should permanently shift our understanding of who we are and what we’re capable of doing.” —The Washington Post “This book will change you!...A masterpiece.” —Jenna Bush Hager, The Today Show’s #ReadWithJenna She felt their eyes, all those executioners… Loretta Thurwar and Hamara “Hurricane Staxxx” Stacker are the stars of Chain-Gang All-Stars, the cornerstone of CAPE, or Criminal Action Penal Entertainment, a highly-popular, highly-controversial, profit-raising program in America’s increasingly dominant private prison industry. It’s the return of the gladiators and prisoners are competing for the ultimate prize: their freedom. In CAPE, prisoners travel as Links in Chain-Gangs, competing in death-matches for packed arenas with righteous protestors at the gates. Thurwar and Staxxx, both teammates and lovers, are the fan favorites. And if all goes well, Thurwar will be free in just a few matches, a fact she carries as heavily as her lethal hammer. As she prepares to leave her fellow Links, she considers how she might help preserve their humanity, in defiance of these so-called games, but CAPE’s corporate owners will stop at nothing to protect their status quo and the obstacles they lay in Thurwar’s path have devastating consequences. Moving from the Links in the field to the protestors to the CAPE employees and beyond, Chain-Gang All-Stars is a kaleidoscopic, excoriating look at the American prison system’s unholy alliance of systemic racism, unchecked capitalism, and mass incarceration, and a clear-eyed reckoning with what freedom in this country really means from a “new and necessary American voice” (Tommy Orange, The New York Times Book Review).
A very informative and gripping dystopian novel that will make you think about the U.S. prison system and how we consume modern-day professional sports. -Annie
Carmilla : the first vampire
by Amy Chu
GRAPHIC NOVEL Chu
Diverse Characters, Fantasy, Horror, LGBTQ+, Graphic Novels, Mystery
"Before Dracula, before Nosferatu, there was...CARMILLA. At the height of the Lunar New Year in 1990s New York City, an idealistic social worker turns detective when she discovers young, homeless LGBTQ+ women are being murdered and no one, especially the police, seems to care. A series of clues points her to Carmilla's, a mysterious nightclub in the heart of her neighborhood, Chinatown. There she falls for the next likely target, landing her at the center of a real-life horror story-and face-to-face with illusions about herself, her life, and her hidden past. Inspired by the gothic novel that started a genre and layered with dark Chinese folklore, this queer, feminist murder mystery is a tale of identity, obsession and fateful family secrets"--
A cool reimagining of the 1872 classic "Carmilla" that takes queer vampire murder mystery to a new level by incorporating Chinese folklore in the heart of 1990s New York. Perfect for the dark season! -Annie
Above ground : poems
by Clint Smith
811.6 /Smith
Black Lives Matter, Black History, Nonfiction, Poetry, Literary Nonfiction
Clint Smith's vibrant and compelling new collection traverses the vast emotional terrain of fatherhood, and explores how becoming a parent has recalibrated his sense of the world. There are poems that interrogate the ways our lives are shaped by both personal lineages and historical institutions. There are poems that revel in the wonder of discovering the world anew through the eyes of your children, as they discover it for the first time. There are poems that meditate on what it means to raise a family in a world filled with constant social and political tumult. Above Ground wrestles with how we hold wonder and despair in the same hands, how we carry intimate moments of joy and a collective sense of mourning in the same body. Smith's lyrical, narrative poems bring the reader on a journey not only through the early years of his children's lives, but through the changing world in which they are growing up--through the changing world of which we are all a part.
A beautiful and healing collection of poems from Clint Smith (author of "How the Word Is Passed"), reflecting on the ups and downs of parenthood, how it has changed him and other epiphanies that come with it. Sprinkled with both the small happy memories and the bursts of grief that can come with the vicissitudes of life, loss and trauma. -Annie
Super Mario Bros.. Wonder
by
VIDEO GAME Switch Super
"Discover the power of Wonder! Wonder flowers transform you... or the world around you! Collect badges. Equip badges to jump higher, swim faster, and more. Astounding power-ups: Elephant Mario, Bubble Mario, Drill Mario"--Container.
This game was well worth the long wait for a new 2D side-scrolling Super Mario Bros. platformer. If you haven't already heard the hype, prepare yourself for a world of new and innovative powerups, more detailed character expressions (compared to previous games) and a storyline that'll certainly have you in wonder... or at least wondering. -Annie
Persepolis
by Marjane Satrapi
BIOGRAPHY Satrapi, Marjane
Graphic Novels
Another good read for Banned Books Week. Twenty years after its initial publishing, this graphic memoir still holds the same gravitas. The illustrations and humor mixed in tastefully with the distressing and gut-wrenching moments throughout the book are what makes it a real page-turner. The book recounts graphic novelist Marjane Satrapi's experiences growing up in Iran during the overthrow of the Shah's regime, the ascendancy of the Iranian Revolution and the devastating effects of war with Iraq. Today, the book is banned in Iran (previously in Lebanon and challenged in some U.S. school districts). -Annie
The awakening, and selected stories
by Kate Chopin
FICTION Chopin, Kate
Fiction, Classics, Literary Fiction
A fast read with gorgeous writing and imagery. This book was censored for decades after its publishing in 1899 for its depictions of female sexual desire and a protagonist who opposed traditional social and gender norms. If you haven't read this Romantic classic yet, I highly recommend it for Banned Books Week! -Annie
After the funeral
by Agatha Christie
MYSTERY Christie, Agatha
Mystery
This book — one of the later Hercule Poirot mysteries by Agatha Christie — may go by other names (my copy is titled "Funerals Are Fatal"). If you liked "Knives Out" and basically any other Christie novel, you'll probably like this one too! -Annie
The three-body problem
by Cixin Liu
SCIENCE FICTION Liu Cixin
Science Fiction
"With the scope of Dune and the commercial action of Independence Day, this near-future trilogy is the first chance for English-speaking readers to experience this multple-award-winning phenemonenon from China's most beloved science fiction author. Set against the backdrop of China's Cultural Revolution, a secret military project sends signals into space to establish contact with aliens. An alien civilization on the brink of destruction captures the signal and plans to invade Earth. Meanwhile, on Earth, different camps start forming, planning to either welcome the superior beings and help them take over a world seen as corrupt, or to fight against the invasion. The result is a science fiction masterpiece of enormous scope and vision"--
Although this book took me a long time to really get into (I lack a basic understanding of quantum mechanics and astronomy...), I couldn't put it down once I reached about the halfway mark. Don't be daunted by the science jargon; you'll be glad you stayed for the riveting plot, historical tidbits and intriguing dialogue. I'm also glad that the jargon wasn't too dumbed down since it made it so much more authentic and rewarding to read when I actually was able to visualize some of the concepts. I can understand how it can be difficult to put these details in popular science fiction (let alone translate it from another language), and I thought the attempt was well-done and not too complex so as to throw off the reader from the rich meat of the story. I'm curious to see how the upcoming January 2024 Netflix series will pull it off. -Annie
How to Stand Up to a Dictator: The Fight for Our Future
by Maria Ressa
OverDrive eBook
Technology, Memoir, Political, History
Introduction by Amal ClooneyFrom the recipient of the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize, an impassioned and inspiring memoir of a career spent holding power to account.Maria Ressa is one of the most renowned international journalists of our time. For decades, she challenged corruption and malfeasance in her native country, the Philippines, on its rocky path from an authoritarian state to a democracy. As a reporter from CNN, she transformed news coverage in her region, which led her in 2012 to create a new and innovative online news organization, Rappler. Harnessing the emerging power of social media, Rappler crowdsourced breaking news, found pivotal sources and tips, harnessed collective action for climate change, and helped increase voter knowledge and participation in elections.But by their fifth year of existence, Rappler had gone from being lauded for its ideas to being targeted by the new Philippine government, and made Ressa an enemy of her country's most powerful man: President Duterte. Still, she did not let up, tracking government seeded disinformation networks which spread lies to its own citizens laced with anger and hate. Hounded by the state and its allies using the legal system to silence her, accused of numerous crimes, and charged with cyberlibel for which she was found guilty, Ressa faces years in prison and thousands in fines.There is another adversary Ressa is battling. How to Stand Up to a Dictator is also the story of how the creep towards authoritarianism, in the Philippines and around the world, has been aided and abetted by the social media companies. Ressa exposes how they have allowed their platforms to spread a virus of lies that infect each of us, pitting us against one another, igniting, even creating, our fears, anger, and hate, and how this has accelerated the rise of authoritarians and dictators around the world. She maps a network of disinformation—a heinous web of cause and effect—that has netted the globe: from Duterte's drug wars to America's Capitol Hill; Britain's Brexit to Russian and Chinese cyber-warfare; Facebook and Silicon Valley to our own clicks and votes.Democracy is fragile. How to Stand Up to a Dictator is an urgent cry for Western readers to recognize and understand the dangers to our freedoms before it is too late. It is a book for anyone who might take democracy for granted, written by someone who never would. And in telling her dramatic and turbulent and courageous story, Ressa forces readers to ask themselves the same question she and her colleagues ask every day: What are you willing to sacrifice for the truth?
An inspiring, fact-filled, and necessary read from 2021 Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Ressa, journalist and co-founder of the Philippines' leading digital media company Rappler. Ressa recounts interactions with Big Tech executives and politicians that will make you feel frustrated at tech companies' prioritization of money and "growth" over stopping the spread of disinformation and misinformation. Read this to learn more about how social media can define our thoughts, actions, and feelings and how to embrace and understand our intellectual freedoms before it's too late. -Annie
We Love Katamari Reroll + Royal Reverie
by
ON ORDER VIDEO GAME
I bought this game myself because I couldn't wait! I played its prequel "Katamari Damacy Reroll" last year for the first time and was hooked even after many hours of hand cramps. It's a simple but not-so-simple game of rolling up everything around you to get bigger so you can roll up more things. You're basically Prince Sisyphus, torturing your thumbs and poor Joy-Cons, in the hopes of pleasing your impossible-to-please king father. If you like whimsical games with peak world building, hilarious dialogue, an absurd art style, and a killer soundtrack, then this is the game franchise for you. Just remember to go easy on your Joy-Cons! -Annie
Mayumu : Filipino American desserts remixed
by Balingit, Abi, author.
641.86 /Balingit
Cookbooks
"A sweet baking book of fantastically imaginative remixed Filipinx American dessert recipes, plus stories of the Filipinx American experience by baker-activist, Abi Balingit When the pandemic started her lonely work-from-home life in 2020, Abi channeled all her energy into the one thing that brought her joy: baking. She started to produce Pasalubong boxes filled with novel treats that blended the Filipino and Asian flavors Abi grew up with and her favorite Western style baked goods, each time selling out within hours and donating the proceeds to support her community in need. Now, Abi shares these cult-favorite desserts with Mayumu (which means "sweet" in one of the 8 major languages in Philippines), an incredibly fresh baking book of 75 recipes for sweet treats, organized in chapters tied to where she discovered these flavors growing up as child of immigrants in a cultural melting pot, from the Philippines, to all around California, to her now home Brooklyn, NY. And she bakes all of these in her tiny, dimly lit, urban kitchen, meaning anyone can do it, too"--
I've been following The Dusky Kitchen on Instagram for a while now, and I love her Filipino-American takes on classic Filipino dishes! Living away from my family in an area with limited Filipino cuisine has been hard, but this cookbook has helped bring a little more of home back into my kitchen as I now make a weekly batch of pandesal to have for breakfast everyday. I appreciate her recommendations for specific ingredient brands as well as different methods to make harder-to-find ingredients like ube halaya from scratch. I have yet to try the more interesting recipes like Kare Kare Cookies or Adobo Chocolate Chip Cookies! -Annie
Bibliolepsy
by Apostol, Gina, author.
FICTION Apostol Gina
"Gina Apostol's debut novel, available for the first time in the US, tells of a young woman caught between a lifelong desire to escape into books and a real-world revolution. It is the mid-eighties, two decades into the kleptocratic, brutal rule of Ferdinand Marcos. The Philippine economy is in deep recession, and civil unrest is growing by the day. But Primi Peregrino has her own priorities: tracking down books and pursuing romantic connections with their authors. For Primi, the nascent revolution means that writers are gathering more often, and with greater urgency, so that every poetry reading she attends presents a veritable "Justice League" of authors for her to choose among. As the Marcos dictatorship stands poised to topple, Primi remains true to her fantasy: that she, "a vagabond from history, a runaway from time," can be saved by sex, love, and books"--
Added by Annie
The magic fish
by Trung, Le Nguyen, author.
GRAPHIC NOVEL Trung
"Real life isn't a fairytale. But Tíên still enjoys reading his favorite stories with his parents from the books he borrows from the local library. It's hard enough trying to communicate with your parents as a kid, but for Tíên, he doesn't even have the right words because his parents are struggling with their English. Is there a Vietnamese word for what he's going through? Is there a way to tell them he's gay?"--
Added by Annie
Afterparties : stories
by So, Anthony Veasna, 1992-2020, author.
FICTION So Anthony
"A debut story collection about Cambodian-American life-immersive and comic, yet unsparing-that marks the arrival of an indisputable new talent in American fiction"--
Added by Annie
Crying in H Mart
by Zauner, Michelle, author.
BIOGRAPHY Zauner, Michelle
"From the indie rockstar of Japanese Breakfast fame, and author of the viral 2018 New Yorker essay that shares the title of this book, an unflinching, powerful memoir about growing up Korean-American, losing her mother, and forging her own identity. In this exquisite story of family, food, grief, and endurance, Michelle Zauner proves herself far more than a dazzling singer, songwriter, and guitarist. With humor and heart, she tells of growing up the only Asian-American kid at her school in Eugene, Oregon; of struggling with her mother's particular, high expectations of her; of a painful adolescence (; of treasured months spent in her grandmother's tiny apartment in Seoul, where she and her mother would bond, late at night, over heaping plates of food. As she grew up, moving to the east coast for college, finding work in the restaurant industry, performing gigs with her fledgling band--and meeting the man who would become her husband--her Koreanness began to feel ever more distant, even as she found the life she wanted to live. It was her mother's diagnosis of terminal pancreatic cancer, when Michelle was twenty-five, that forced a reckoning with her identity and brought her to reclaim the gifts of taste, language, and history her mother had given her. Vivacious and plainspoken, lyrical and honest, Michelle Zauner's voice is as radiantly alive on the page as it is onstage. Rich with intimate anecdotes that will resonate widely, and complete with family photos, Crying in H Mart is a book to cherish, share, and reread"--
Added by Annie
The kiss quotient
by Hoang, Helen, author.
FICTION Hoang Helen
"A heartwarming and refreshing debut novel that proves one thing: there's not enough data in the world to predict what will make your heart tick. Stella Lane thinks math is the only thing that unites the universe. She comes up with algorithms to predict customer purchases--a job that has given her more money than she knows what to do with, and way less experience in the dating department than the average thirty-year-old. It doesn't help that Stella has Asperger's and French kissing reminds her of a shark getting its teeth cleaned by pilot fish. Her conclusion: she needs lots of practice--with a professional. Which is why she hires escort Michael Phan. The Vietnamese and Swedish stunner can't afford to turn down Stella's offer, and agrees to help her check off all the boxes on her lesson plan--from foreplay to more-than-missionary position... Before long, Stella not only learns to appreciate his kisses, but crave all of the other things he's making her feel. Their no-nonsense partnership starts making a strange kind of sense. And the pattern that emerges will convince Stella that love is the best kind of logic.."--
Added by Annie
Dial A for Aunties
by Sutanto, Jesse Q., author.
FICTION Sutanto Jesse
"What happens when you mix 1 (accidental) murder with 2 thousand wedding guests, and then, toss in a possible curse on 3 generations of an immigrant Chinese-Indonesian family? You get 4 meddling Asian aunties coming to the rescue! When Meddelin Chan ends up accidentally killing her blind date, her meddlesome mother calls for her even more meddlesome aunties to help get rid of the body. Unfortunately, a dead body proves to be a lot more challenging to dispose of than one might anticipate--especially when it is accidentally shipped in a cake cooler to the over-the-top billionaire wedding that Meddy, her Ma, and her aunties are working, at an island resort on the California coastline. It is the biggest job yet for their family wedding business--'Don't leave your big day to chance, leave it to the Chans!'--and nothing, not even an unsavory corpse, will get in the way of her aunties' perfect buttercream-cake flowers. But things go from inconvenient to downright torturous when Meddy's great college love--and biggest heartbreak--makes a surprise appearance amid the wedding chaos. Is it possible to escape murder charges, charm her ex back into her life, and pull off a stunning wedding, all in one weekend?"--
Added by Annie
Amboy : recipes from the Filipino-American dream
by Cailan, Alvin, author.
641.59599 /Cailan
Cailan, arguably the most high-profile chef in America's Filipino food movement, spent his youth feeling like he wasn't Filipino enough to be Filipino and not American enough to be an American. As an amboy, the term for a Filipino raised in America, he had to overcome cultural traditions and family expectations to find his own path to success. In this memoir/cookbook, Cailan tells that story through his recipes. -- adapted from inside front cover.
Added by Annie
Minor feelings : an Asian American reckoning
by Hong, Cathy Park, author.
BIOGRAPHY Hong, Cathy Park
"Asian Americans inhabit a purgatorial status: neither white enough nor black enough, unmentioned in most conversations about racial identity. In the popular imagination, Asian Americans are all high-achieving professionals. But in reality, this is the most economically divided group in the country, a tenuous alliance of people with roots from South Asia to East Asia to the Pacific Islands, from tech millionaires to service industry laborers. How do we speak honestly about the Asian American condition--if such a thing exists? Poet and essayist Cathy Park Hong fearlessly and provocatively confronts this thorny subject, blending memoir, cultural criticism, and history to expose the truth of racialized consciousness in America. Binding these essays together is Hong's theory of "minor feelings." As the daughter of Korean immigrants, Cathy Park Hong grew up steeped in shame, suspicion, and melancholy. She would later understand that these "minor feelings" occur when American optimism contradicts your own reality--when you believe the lies you're told about your own racial identity. With sly humor and a poet's searching mind, Hong uses her own story as a portal into a deeper examination of racial consciousness in America today. This intimate and devastating book traces her relationship to the English language, to shame and depression, to poetry and artmaking, and to family and female friendship. A radically honest work of art, Minor Feelings forms a portrait of one Asian American psyche--and of a writer's search to both uncover and speak the truth"--
Added by Annie
In the country : stories
by Alvar, Mia, 1978-
FICTION Alvar Mia
"A powerful, globe-trotting debut short-story collection from an exciting new writer--vivid, character-driven stories about Filipinos from every walk of life. Mia Alvar's stunning debut gives us a vivid, insightful picture of the Filipino diaspora: exiles and emigrants and wanderers uprooting their families to begin new lives in the Middle East and America--and, sometimes, turning back. One man smuggles drugs from his pharmacy in New York to Manila for his ailing father, only to discover an alarming truth about his mother. A woman living in Bahrain faces a challenge that compels her to question her marriage. A college student in Manila struggling to write fiction knows that her brother, who has gone abroad to make money, is the one living a life that stories are made of. The novella-length title story follows the unexpected fates of a journalist and a nurse during the 1970s labor strikes in Manila. Exploring the universal experience of loss, displacement, and the longing to connect across borders both real and imagined, In the Country speaks to the heart of everyone who has ever searched for a place to call home"--
Added by Annie
Sour heart : stories
by Zhang, Jenny, author.
FICTION Zhang Jenny
"Centered on a community of immigrants who have traded their endangered lives as artists in China and Taiwan for the constant struggle of life at the poverty line in 1990s New York City, Zhang's exhilarating collection examines the many ways that family and history can weigh us down and also lift us up. From the young woman coming to terms with her grandmother's role in the Cultural Revolution to the daughter struggling to understand where her family ends and she begins, to the girl discovering the power of her body to inspire and destroy, these seven vibrant stories illuminate the complex and messy inner lives of girls struggling to define themselves. Fueled by Zhang's singular voice and sly humor, this collection introduces Zhang as a bright and devastating force in literary fiction"--
Added by Annie
Know my name : a memoir
by Miller, Chanel, author.
364.1532 /Miller
"She was know to the world as Emily Doe when she stunned millions with a letter. Brock Turner had been sentenced to just six months in county jail after he was found sexually assaulting her on Stanford's campus. Her victim impact statement was posted on BuzzFeed, where it instantly went viral--viewed by almost eleven million people within four days, it was translated globally and read on the floor of Congress; it inspired changes in California law and the recall of the judge in the case. Thousands wrote to say that she had given them the courage to share their own experiences of assault for the first time. Now she reclaims her identity to tell her story of trauma, transcendence, and the power of words. It was the perfect case, in many ways--there were eyewitnesses, Turner ran away, physical evidence was immediately secured. But her struggles with isolation and shame during the aftermath and the trial reveal the oppression victims face in even the best-case scenarios. Her story illuminates a culture biased to protect perpetrators, indicts a criminal justice system designed to fail the most vulnerable, and, ultimately, shines with the courage required to move through suffering and live a full and beautiful life. "Know My Name" will forever transform the way we think about sexual assault, challenging our beliefs about what is acceptable and speaking truth to the tumultuous reality of healing. It also introduces readers to an extraordinary writer, one whose words have already changed our world. Entwining pain, resilience, and humor, this memoir will stand as a modern classic." -- summary from book jacket.
Added by Annie
About Me
Annie works as the ICPL's Public Relations Aide, posting on social media and taking pictures of Library events. Since moving to Iowa City from sunny Florida in February 2023, she has enjoyed living in a place that has snow and taking pottery classes. In her free time, you can find her playing cozy Nintendo Switch games, doing the daily NYTimes Spelling Bee or bullet journaling.
A must-watch for "Ratatouille" fans or anyone who loves food—eating it, cooking it, expressing it, sharing it with others. I love movies that explore food as an expression of language and love. If you're going through a cooking lull, maybe this movie will renew your passion for the kitchen. -Annie