Staff Recommendations
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Into the riverlands
by Vo, Nghi
Reviewed by: Andrea Borchert, Librarian, Koreatown Media LabJune 5, 2023
Into the Riverlands is the third in the Singing Hills Cycle series of novellas. But you can read them in any order, and the characters in this installment are delightful.
The Singing Hills series follows the journey of Chih, a wandering cleric of the Singing Hills Monastery and their companion, a talking Hoopoe with a perfect memory, called Almost Brilliant. The clerics of the Singing Hills Monastery and their Hoopoe companions travel collecting and recording... Read Full Review
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Empress of the Nile : the daredevil archaeologist who saved Egypt's ancient temples from destruction
by Olson, Lynne
Reviewed by: Sheryn Morris, Librarian, Literature & FictionMay 30, 2023
Call Number: 932 O51
Christiane Desroches-Noblecourt was born in Paris, France, November 17, 1913, and her lifelong passion for Egypt began as a toddler when her grandfather took her to see the Luxor Obelisk in the Place de la Concorde. He told her about its history and connection with France. As a child the history did not interest her as much as the hieroglyphs. “Those images spoke to me.” A few years later, she became fascinated with the Egyptian antiquities at the Louvre. Eventually she became the world’s leading expert on ancient Egypt; a trained, experienced archaeologist; and... Read Full Review
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Mayumu : Filipino American desserts remixed
by Balingit, Abi
Reviewed by: Sheryn Morris, Librarian, Literature & FictionMay 24, 2023
Call Number: 641.8 B186
According to Abi Balingit, “From my childhood to my mid-twenties, one thing has remained the same: my insatiable desire for new combinations of sweet, salty, savory, sour and umami in desserts.” In her cookbook/memoir she writes about, “what it means to be a Filipino American baker in New York, and to make sweets that taste like home in a tiny kitchen.” She never considered writing a cookbook until contacted by Emmy, who later became her agent. And Emmy discovered Abi because of her blog, The Dusky Kitchen - Baking... Read Full Review
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The Lies of the Ajungo
by Utomi, Moses Ose
Reviewed by: Daryl M., Librarian, West Valley Regional Branch LibraryMay 15, 2023
“There is no water in the City of Lies.”
Tutu has lived all of his short life in the City of Lies with his mother. Located in the Forever Desert, the City of Lies used to have water. . .but the inhabitants were vanquished by the fierce Ajungo Empire which required, in exchange for water, that every person aged thirteen and older have their tongue cut out. The cost is terrible and the Ajungo do provide water, but just enough to keep most people alive. There are still many who die of dehydration, the “blood drought.”
“There are no heroes in the City... Read Full Review
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On the Curry Trail: Chasing the Flavor That Seduced the World: In 50 Recipes
by Iyer, Raghavan
Reviewed by: Sheryn Morris, Librarian, Literature & FictionMay 10, 2023
Call Number: 641.6384 I97
According to Raghavan Iyer, “The sophistication of Indian cuisine, balancing six taste elements: hot, sour, sweet, bitter, salty, and astringent (umami was a much later discovery), is deeply embedded in the annals of ayurvedic medicine, from around the first century BCE, a science that dictated the role of spices, herbs, and other flavorings to regulate various body types for a sense of equilibrium. Temperature contrasts, colors, aromas, and textures were under consideration as well, as practitioners of ayurveda combined seemingly disparate ingredients with highly nuanced... Read Full Review
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Going Zero
by McCarten, Anthony
Reviewed by: Daryl M., Librarian, West Valley Regional Branch LibraryMay 1, 2023
We all know that we are constantly being observed and monitored in today’s world. There are security and surveillance cameras on many homes, businesses, and on the traffic lights at intersections. ATMs and now self-check out machines in retail establishments also include cameras. Purchases, whether online or in a brick and mortar store can, and are, tracked. Many retail establishments offer “discount” cards or memberships that track customer purchases. And the personal information of banking and/or retail customers is regularly breached and sold, while many people willingly... Read Full Review
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Weyward: A Novel
by Hart, Emilia
Reviewed by: Daryl M., Librarian, West Valley Regional Branch LibraryApril 24, 2023
“The connections between and among women are the most feared, the most problematic, and the most potentially transforming force on the planet.” From: On Lies, Secrets, and Silence by Adrienne Rich
Altha is a 21-year-old woman who, in 1619, is accused of, and tried for, witchcraft in her small English village. She is a healer, like her mother before her. Her mother was long suspected of being a witch for daring to have a greater understanding of biology and physiology than the local doctor. In a small village, that suspicion grows and... Read Full Review
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Catching the light
by Harjo, Joy
Reviewed by: Sheryn Morris, Librarian, Literature & FictionApril 18, 2023
Call Number: 811 H2816H-3
From 2019 to 2022 Joy Harjo was the 23rd Poet Laureate of the United States, and was the first Native American in that position. She is a member of the Muscogee Creek Nation that is geographically located in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Harjo is clear in affirming that the Muscogee Creek Nation Reservation is “at the border of three Native nations that also include the Osage and Cherokee. We honor and acknowledge those original keepers, past, present, and future, who care for these lands. We acknowledge the source of... Read Full Review
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The Motion Picture Teller
by Cotterill, Colin
Reviewed by: Daryl M., Librarian, West Valley Regional Branch LibraryApril 12, 2023
Supot Yongjaiyut knows he is not living his best life. The year is 1996 and Supot lives in Bangkok. During the day, he works for the Royal Thai Mail Service, a job he loathes and for which he knows he has no aptitude. When he’s not at work, he spends his evenings watching movies with his best friend Ali. Ali owns a video store and shares a love of movies, all movies, with Supot. Another thing both men share is the belief that they are waiting for “something big” to happen to them. And that when that something big happens, they will both begin to live their lives the way they were... Read Full Review
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Visual thinking : the hidden gifts of people who think in pictures, patterns, and abstractions
by Grandin, Temple
Reviewed by: Sheryn Morris, Librarian, Literature & FictionApril 5, 2023
Call Number: 152.1 G753
Temple Grandin did not start to speak until she was two years old and was diagnosed with brain damage. Her parents were advised to place her in an institution. She was born in 1947 and Temple says, “I was exhibiting most of the behaviors now fully associated with autism, including lack of eye contact, temper tantrums, lack of social contact, sensitivity to touch, and the appearance of deafness ... the medical profession had not started applying an autism diagnosis to children like me." However at the time Temple was diagnosed with brain damage it was her... Read Full Review
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The exceptions : Nancy Hopkins, MIT, and the fight for women in science
by Zernike, Kate
Reviewed by: Sheryn Morris, Librarian, Literature & FictionMarch 29, 2023
Call Number: 509.73 Z58
When she was a reporter for the Boston Globe Kate Zernike wrote the breaking story that the esteemed Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) had discriminated against women faculty, at all levels. Based on meticulous research this book is an in-depth analysis of what took place and how sixteen women, each of whom thought they were the exception to unfair treatment, came together to realize that each of them had been treated unfairly. Over four years Zernike conducted interviews, used archival material that included letters, university reports, oral... Read Full Review
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I'll build a stairway to paradise : a life of Bunny Mellon
by Griswold, Mac K.
Reviewed by: Sheryn Morris, Librarian, Literature & FictionMarch 20, 2023
Call Number: 712.092 M527Gr
When she died in 2014, 103 years old, it could be said that Rachel Lambert Mellon had lived a very full life, not only for her longevity but for all that she accomplished. She was born into a family of wealth and property, and she twice married men of wealth and property. Her husband Paul Mellon was one of the richest men in the United States For a woman of her time, born in 1910, not much was expected of her other than to marry well, produce children, and take care of her husband, their family, and home. However, there was a great deal more to this woman who was known as... Read Full Review