Staff Recommendations
Vi Thục Hà
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The Best We Could Do: An Illustrated Memoir
by Bui, Thi
May 1, 2017
Call Number: 740.9999 B932
Some books need to be written to allow people the ability to safely experience things that they would otherwise might not ever feel or experience. Reading books and experiencing the lives of well-developed characters help foster the mental calisthenics for the people you meet day-to-day. As an example, we have frequent conversations on immigration as a policy, but not as commonly do we have conversations about the emotional devastation and trauma that comes with choosing to leave for a new country. Thi Bui’s debut graphic novel memoir, The Best We Can Do, in its firsthand... Read Full Review
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Robert Moses : the master builder of New York City
by Christin, Pierre.
September 9, 2015
Call Number: 92 M9116Ch
As a public librarian, and as with my brethren who are in other types of public service, there is a balance we navigate between envisioning and understanding the big picture: the real reason for our work, and the actual effect it has upon the public. Sometimes, our work succeeds and invigorates us beyond our wildest dreams (such as when I teach a teen how to create a spreadsheet). Other times we question the often mundane task at hand (as when I analyze circulation statistics of our well-loved library materials).In the graphic biography, Robert Moses: The Master Builder of New... Read Full Review
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Hip hop family tree. Ed Piskor. 1, 1970s-1981
by Piskor, Ed,
November 18, 2014
Call Number: 740.9999 P677-1
Hip Hop Family Tree, Volume 1 sinuously traces and chronicles the cultural revolution of hip hop in New York starting in the mid-1970s. This large format comic strip compiles vignettes that cover the inception of this major American musical form (since rock ‘n roll) and the equally important cultural scene with block parties in the Bronx, the relationship between artists and record stores, radio airplay, showmanship and ever larger speakers. In spite of the large cast of characters, there is a clear story arc that traces ingenuity, commercial interests and tenacity of the people... Read Full Review
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Clariel
by Nix, Garth.
November 2, 2014
Call Number: YA
In this action-packed epic fantasy, Clariel, displaying the typical disgruntled behavior of a young person, bristles at her family’s move to the city of Belisaere. Back in the Great Forest that surrounded bucolic Estwael, Clariel has carved a solitary life perfect for her needs; she has learned hunting, studied plant lore from her Aunt and planned to become a Borderer, someone who patrolled the forests of the kingdom. Her mother Jaciel, a goldsmith of great renown and talent, moved the family to Belisaere to accept the invitation to join the High Guild of Goldsmiths in the city. Her... Read Full Review
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Just my type : a book about fonts
by Garfield, Simon.
January 10, 2013
Call Number: 085.2409 G231
In our modern world, some thought should be applied to the method in which we interact and communicate with written language. Should text and the font used on the computer, in books, on street signage, on products be beautiful, functional, provide clarity or be invisible? When reading a book, should we notice what font is being used? How much identification of a corporation’s brand is tied in with the characteristics of their font choice? Is the Paris Metro the same if it does not employ the swoopy Art Nouveau signage or should the aim be for the consistency of the New York subway... Read Full Review
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The big book of hacks : 264 amazing DIY tech projects
December 31, 2012
Call Number: 621.381 B5925
Much can be written about the popularity and permeation of DIY (do-it-yourself) culture into our everyday lives. The emphasis on self-sufficiency and learning to do things without paying someone, or relying on an expert, has encouraged many to become modern-day homemakers and handypersons by learning to knit, install drywall, bake bread and start a vegetable garden. The library, if anything, is an incubator for DIY with its multitude of programs and books that encourage self education.A subset of this DIY culture is the Maker Movement that takes the DIY ethic and employs engineering acumen... Read Full Review
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Civic Virtue: The Impact of the Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery and the Watts Towers Arts Center
November 30, 2012
Call Number: 709.794 C5825
During the past two years, Southern California cultural institutions joined together to celebrate the Los Angeles art scene from 1945-1980. Pacific Standard Time, the unprecedented undertaking funded by The Getty, celebrated the multiplicity of artists and works created during this fertile period; the exhibits covered by more than 60 cultural institutions included such topics as ceramics, racial identity, feminism, photography, local history, design and architecture.The exhibitions are long gone now, but quite a study can be achieved through the museum catalogs that have come out of this... Read Full Review
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The piper's son
by Marchetta, Melina
August 13, 2012
Call Number: YA
After a night of heavy partying, Tom hits rock bottom. Strung out on drugs and suffering from a concussion, Tom wakes up in the hospital to hear the news from Francesca, a former close friend, that his flatmates have lost their jobs for stealing from the Union pub and his stuff has been tossed out on the street.At this point, Tom’s life has already fallen apart — his favorite uncle died in a terrorist bomb attack on the subway in London, his father, broken from the news, has started drinking heavily, and his mother and his sister have left his father. Unable to cope, Tom breaks... Read Full Review
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Under the big black sun : California art 1974-1981
January 30, 2012
Call Number: 709.794 U555
Starting in 2011 and going through the middle of 2012, Southern California cultural institutions have joined together thematically to celebrate the birth of the Los Angeles art scene from 1945-1980. Pacific Standard Time, the name of this unprecedented undertaking that is funded by The Getty, celebrates the multiplicity of artists and works created during this fertile period; the diversity covered by more than 60 cultural institutions includes such topics as ceramics, racial identity, feminism, photography, local history, design and architecture. A sampling of the shows includes the upcoming... Read Full Review
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Just kids
by Smith, Patti.
October 17, 2011
Call Number: 789.14 S656-1
Patti Smith, punk, poet, artist and muse, describes her coming of age in the 1960s in this award-winning memoir. The book describes her hungry childhood and adult life, as well as the time she spent struggling and meeting the instrumental people of her life. Her relationship, first as lovers and later as friends, with the photographer Robert Mapplethorpe is described tenderly. In addition she dishes about the scene surrounding the Chelsea Hotel and Max's Kansas City, and the vitality and changing mores of New York City during the 1960s and 1970s.Smith includes a charming vignette, from... Read Full Review
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The immortal life of Henrietta Lacks
by Skloot, Rebecca, 1972-
September 19, 2011
Call Number: 610.71 S628
So much medical research today depends upon laboratory-grown human cells which allow researchers to perform repeatable controlled experiments that mimic the human body. During the first half of the 20th century, medical researchers raced to discover and successfully culture these "immortal cells" - cells that duplicate themselves perfectly, continually, and efficiently.The first successful immortal cells, HeLa cells, were taken in 1951 from Henrietta Lacks, a poor African American woman with cervical cancer. These miraculously duplicating HeLa cells, were instrumental in finding the... Read Full Review