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The book cover shows the silhouette of a person running, with illustrated hills, river, and scrub around them. The book cover is superimposed over an actual stretch of empty highway through wilderness.

Savor Summer Reading

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A blue banner says "Adult Reading Challenge" and has an image of the booklet "Reading is for Everyone" at the right side.

by Cherise T.

Opinions on the best summer reading selections abound. Some readers look forward to extended spans of time to sink into those longer books. Anticipating many hours reading epic novels or multi-volumed biographies, they embrace the joy of following multiple characters or complex historical chronologies uninterrupted. On the opposite side of the spectrum are readers who want their vacation books to be as light as warm-weather clothing or as intoxicating as a margarita. Nothing too serious, please; they want stress-free romance, memoir, and mystery.

The HCLS year-round Adult Reading Challenge journal speaks to everyone. Any time of year, every genre, you can pick a challenge category to enjoy. There are book recommendations, but selections from your “to-be-read” pile are perfect too. All genres are welcome, creating the ideal opportunity to try something new, be it poetry, self-help, science fiction, fantasy, graphic novel, or thriller, to names a few.

A woman dressed in a bright yellow dress walks while reading through a grand lobby with well-lit doors and windows behind her.

This summer, explore the new 2024-2025 challenges and journal prompts. For example, if Read a Book Set in a Library appeals, check out the historical fiction of The Lions of Fifth Avenue by Fiona Davis (which I reviewed). Parallel stories unspool of a New York public librarian in 1993 and her grandmother, the wife of the NYPL superintendent, in 1913, as both women aspire to grow professionally and personally. As a delightful added twist, the 1913 family lives in the library.

If magical fiction sounds just right, The Midnight Library by Matt Haig imagines a library where every book offers the protagonist a different life. Would she have been more fulfilled as a sports star, a musician, or a parent? For a nonfiction page-turner, pick up Susan Orlean’s The Library Book about the devastating 1986 Los Angeles Central Library fire. The arson investigation reads like a good mystery, and librarian interviews delve into the current role of libraries in society.

To participate in the Adult Summer Reading Adventure, complete any three of the challenges or read three books by August 31, 2024. Topics include Explore the American West; Visit a Galaxy Far, Far Away; Get Lost in a Translation; and Reimagined Reading. Finishers receive a completion prize and entry into grand prize drawings.

The book cover shows the silhouette of a person running, with illustrated hills, river, and scrub around them. The book cover is superimposed over an actual stretch of empty highway through wilderness.

World Adventures Summer Book Discussions: Spirit Run by Noé Álvarez
Adults. Register.
This summer, read and discuss books that celebrate journeys of discovery around the world. In June, we discuss Spirit Run: A 6000-Mile Marathon Through North America’s Stolen Land by Noé Álvarez.
Mon, Jun 17; 7 – 8 pm | Elkridge Branch


A bright yellow cover, with a Warhol-like pink and yellow face above the title in bold block letters.

Is the Future Bright? 

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A bright yellow cover, with a Warhol-like pink and yellow face above the title in bold block letters.

By Cherise T.

The eyes. The hot pink. The electric yellow. The cover of Bright Young Women demands attention and so does its story. Attempting to avoid bias, I tend to barely scan flyleaves and reviews. I don’t want to know before I find out for myself. I read just enough words to get a hint of the plot. For this book, “serial killer” was all I needed to see for me to put the book back on the shelf. Although I’m a big Dexter fan, I did not want to volunteer for more sleep-disturbed nights and uneasy days. But then a coworker recommended it, so I took the plunge. 

The idea of writing about a serial killer from the perspective of an attack survivor is not innovative in and of itself. However, author Jessica Knoll has written a unique feminist perspective on the Ted Bundy story. The murdered and assaulted are bright young women living in the academically highest-achieving sorority governed by its formidable president, Pamela Schumacher. Pamela expertly controls all aspects of her sisters’ lives, from maintenance of the sorority house to fashion advice. On the fatal night when her closest friend is murdered, Pamela crosses paths with the killer (referred to only as “the Defendant”), becoming the only reliable eyewitness.  

Forty-five years later, Pamela, now an attorney, is notified that there is additional information on the crime, and so begins the reader’s journey between past and present. We follow the events of that 1978 night at Florida State University. We meet Tina Cannon who travels to Florida in 1978 to meet Pamela. Tina hopes to link the 1978 atrocities to the 1974 disappearance of her friend in Washington state. The detectives resist connecting the two events, and the many murders and attacks in between, to one killer. 

The triumphs of this novel emerge in Pamela’s and Tina’s narratives. While researching Ted Bundy after I finished this book, I learned even more about the significance of the decisions Knoll has made in crafting this historical fiction. She intentionally addresses how the police and university behaved in the wake of the murders. Knoll takes on the cavalier treatment of the students after the trauma and how they were expected to return to school without additional security or support. She describes the often absurd content of the trials and the cases’ news coverage. She includes the public’s ongoing fascination with the mysterious man who evaded capture and was eagerly embraced as intelligent and attractive despite factual evidence to the contrary. 

The concept of media manipulation of readers and viewers has contemporary resonance. This novel skillfully develops each character’s perspective without losing track of the timeline of evidence. Bright Young Women simultaneously exposes how far society has come and how far it has yet to go in addressing the ways facts are researched and presented.

Bright Young Women is available from HCLS in print and in e-book and e-audiobook formats.

Cherise Tasker is an Adult Instructor and Research Specialist at the Central Branch. When not immersed in literary fiction, Cherise can be found singing along to musical theater soundtracks. 

A painted canvas of a small beige house against a bright blue sky and green grass.

The Perfect Stories of Claire Keegan

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A painted canvas of a small beige house against a bright blue sky and green grass.

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by Cherise T.

In literary fiction, every month should celebrate Irish Heritage. For 2024, explore the beauty that is the work of Claire Keegan. “Long short stories,” as Keegan refers to them, are the ideal length for busy times and for reading again and again. Every word is perfect.

Keegan has joined the impressive lineage of Irish writers who construct characters of such depth, with language of such magic, that their work is beyond compare. So Late in the Day: Stories of Women and Men, Keegan’s most recent work to be published in the US, is a collection of three relationship stories.
In the first, a self-absorbed man’s engagement fails. In the second, a woman writer faces her creative process. In the third, a woman stepping out of her comfort zone walks into
a hell-bound affair.

In Small Things Like These (also as e-book), the setting is 1980s rural Ireland during the Christmas season. The protagonist Bill Furlong, a thoughtful, hardworking supplier of coal and lumber, is grateful for his wife, his financially stable life in economically treacherous times, and his five daughters for whom he provides a loving home and a solid Catholic school education. Born out of wedlock, Bill yearns to know who his father was, although few people from his early life remain to shed light on his parentage. Bill cares about those around him, and as he tries to sleep each night, his mind is “going round in circles,” as his thoughts are “going over small things like these.” The narrative follows Bill as he discovers the exploitation of girls and young women at a local convent. Will Bill risk what he knows and what he has and stand against this oppression?

In Foster (also as e-book), the elementary school-aged Cait is sent to live with relatives who are virtual strangers to her. Because her parents do not have the means to raise their numerous children and her mother is pregnant again, Cait spends a summer filled with attention and love that she has not before experienced. “I am in a spot where I can neither be what I always am nor turn into what I could be.” Foster is the source material for The Quiet Girl, the first Irish language film to be shortlisted for an Oscar. Indulge in both and life will be richer for it.

Cherise Tasker is an Adult Instructor and Research Specialist at the Central Branch. When not immersed in literary fiction, Cherise can be found singing along to musical theater soundtracks.

The photograph shows students in an SAT test prep class at HCLS Miller Branch taking the practice test in three meeting rooms.

Studying to Succeed

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The photograph shows students in an SAT test prep class at HCLS Miller Branch taking the practice test in three meeting rooms.

by Cherise T.

Do you ever wonder where all those navigation tabs at hclibrary.org go? One of the answers is homework help! Adult, teen, or child: you have access to library resources to bolster your learning needs. FREE experienced help is available online via Brainfuse with online tutors in many subjects, daily from 2 – 11:55 pm.

  • math through calculus II
  • science through college introductory biology, chemistry, and physics
  • language arts
  • social studies

You can also access test prep for the SAT and ACT. The platform includes Spanish Foreign Language Lab, GED practice tests, and a Writing Lab. Brainfuse tutors also review resumes, cover letters, and academic papers. Students can submit homework questions for tutor guidance and followup. Brainfuse even provides flashcards in hundreds of subjects and allows you to create new sets.

Under the Research tab, you can find the Test Prep, Practice Exams, and Career Research section with Peterson’s Test & Career Prep and LearningExpress Library. Both include practice tests, study modules, and e-books to boost student skills and confidence from grade school through career advancement. Topical practice tests are available for:

  • high school and college entrance exams
  • graduate, nursing, medical, dental, and law schools
  • Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB)
  • Praxis

For students who require additional professional support in the classroom, an IFSP (Individualized Family Service Plan) and IEP (Individualized Education Program) may be recommended. Two books, Nolo’s IEP Guide: Learning Disabilities and The Complete IEP Guide: How to Advocate for Your Special Ed Child, offer direction in successfully arranging educational services. They include definitions, sample forms, and guidelines for resolving disputes. Each child and each school district is unique, so understanding your student’s rights facilitates academic success.

On Wednesday, Jan 17 at 11 am, HCPSS Early Intervention Services offers a Zoom class to educate parents on the IFSP and IEP. Register here.

Cherise Tasker is an Adult Instructor and Research Specialist at the Central Branch. When not immersed in literary fiction, Cherise can be found singing along to musical theater soundtracks.

A woman's face painting in bold swatches of color. The shape of the face is a perfect oval with strong brows, brown eyes, and deep pink lips.

Hello Beautiful

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A woman's face painting in bold swatches of color. The shape of the face is a perfect oval with strong brows, brown eyes, and deep pink lips.

by Cherise T.

End of year “best of” lists provoke debate and motivate future selections. What have I read and seen that are on the list? Do I agree with the reviews? Which choices will I add to my precious “I want to read” file? 

One of my book clubs is so longstanding that it was originally an “Oprah book club.” When it was time to celebrate our over-20-year anniversary, we decided on a girls’ weekend. Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano was already scheduled for that month, and we could not have chosen a better capstone read. Not only was the discussion more content than neighborhood gossip, more talking than drinking, more debate than segue, we continued to consider the book throughout the weekend. 

All families bear hurt feelings, grudges, and anger. Because the four Padavano sisters (yes, think Little Women) are so close and have such distinct personalities, the emotion in Hello Beautiful runs deep and long. Add a strong mother, a devoted father, and a young man with essentially no family, and you’ve got a multi-generational literary novel that reads like a page turner. 

Beginning in 1960, we meet William Waters whose absent parents contrast with the Padavano parents. Always on his own, William dedicates himself to excelling at basketball. In college, he meets Julia, the oldest Padavano sister, who is his opposite in every way. Now William finds himself enveloped in the love of Julia’s family, including her three sisters, especially Sylvie.  

Throughout, the sisters compare themselves to the March girls in Little Women, and there are many parallels, but this book shines on its own plot twists. Be prepared for love stories, loss, mental illness, and estrangement. We want all the best for this family, but with Napolitano’s skill as a writer, we travel the complicated paths of realistic, complex characters. We see life through the eyes of each of the sisters as well as their children. 

One of my favorite aspects of the book is the empathetic portrayal of William’s teammates and the contrasts between the social world of women and that of men as we move through the end of the 20th century. Napolitano effectively portrays the sisters as a team as well, but a very different team who can hurt each other in only the ways that sisters can. Often, the characters seemed walled off between those who can compartmentalize their emotions and ambitions and those who can’t. 

Truly a novel that has earned a “best of 2023,” Hello Beautiful merits a holiday read or a book discussion’s scrutiny. It holds epiphanies and small miracles. May you have those who greet you throughout your life with “Hello, beautiful.” 

Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano is available in print, large print, e-book,and e-audiobook.

Cherise Tasker is an Adult Instructor and Research Specialist at the Central Branch. When not immersed in literary fiction, Cherise can be found singing along to musical theater soundtracks. 

A miniature Chrismas village, with an unexpected figuring having fallen through the ice of the skating pond.

Holiday To-Do List #1: LAUGH!

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A miniature Chrismas village, with an unexpected figuring having fallen through the ice

by Cherise T.

Goals for the holidays must include laughing out loud. Serious humor bursts the stress bubble, making shopping go quicker, cooking smoother, and socializing more relaxed. Also, it never hurts to take some solid jabs at consumerism.

First stop, Jean Shepherd’s classic, A Christmas Story. This gem can be found as a book, e-audiobook, movie, and musical soundtrack at HCLS. Shepherd gained fame as a radio announcer who included comedy stories in his show. A Christmas Story is his autobiographical tale of nine-year-old Ralphie who wishes for a Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas. He is stymied by the adults in his life who respond, “You’ll shoot your eye out.” Along the way, Ralphie’s dad wins an unusual prize in a puzzle contest, a provocative lamp shaped like a leg in a fishnet stocking. There’s an unforgettable scene where Ralphie’s friend, Flick, takes on the dare of whether his tongue will stick to a frozen flagpole. Spoiler alert: it does.

Need a good laugh and can’t spare much time to read? Go for just one short story, “Christmas Means Giving” by David Sedaris. In fact, if there’s no time to read it, or even if there is, listen to Sedaris’ own charming presentation of this tale of woeful holiday excess. Sedaris reimagines loving thy neighbor and the joy of giving. Who can resist a Christmas card that includes a friend’s stock portfolio? To keep the merriment going, listen to “SantaLand Diaries” as well, picturing the man behind the voice as an elf at Macy’s, assisting in the mayhem that is getting photos taken with Santa in midtown Manhattan. Both essays can be found in Holidays on Ice, available in many formats: print, e-book, e-audiobook, digital audio, and audio on CD. “Christmas Means Giving” is also in Sedaris’s The Best of Me collection that includes many of the writer’s best works and is available in print, e-book, e-audiobook, and audio on CD.

“My personal Festivus would include both latkes and Christmas cookies,” affirms Hannah Hart in My Drunk Kitchen Holidays!: How to Savor and Celebrate the Year. The intoxicated and intoxicating chef wants to be sure everyone can make a “decent” latke with her “Love the Way You Latke” recipe that includes the important step of removing all extra moisture from the potatoes and onions before cooking. Hart is okay with skipping the holidays but doesn’t want anyone missing out on unique, delicious food and drink. Because Hart wants readers to take care of themselves, the cookbook even has a face mask recipe. For more year-round joy, explore her “MyHarto” YouTube channel. Remember, everything’s more festive served in a wine glass, especially mashed potatoes. Cheers!

Cherise Tasker is an Adult Instructor and Research Specialist at the Central Branch. When not immersed in literary fiction, Cherise can be found singing along to musical theater soundtracks. 

Movie poster of In the Heights, with main characters featured on a brick wall mural, the Brooklyn Bridge in the background, and a shaved ice hand cart in the front.

Celebrate Hispanic American Culture in Film

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Movie poster of In the Heights, with main characters featured on a brick wall mural, the Brooklyn Bridge in the background, and a shaved ice hand cart in the front.

by Cherise T.

It’s the story of a block that was disappearing. Once upon a time, in a faraway land called Nueva York, en un barrio called Washington Heights. Say it, so it doesn’t disappear – Usnavi

National Hispanic American Heritage Month happens September 15 to October 15. For a small celebration, visit Central Branch on Sunday, Oct 1, at 1:30 pm, to watch In the Heights. An exuberant celebration of community, family, music, and culture, the film highlights the lives of Hispanic Americans living in Washington Heights, New York. In a rare combination, both spectacular musical numbers and warm, insightful character portrayals captivate the viewer.

Usnavi, a neighborhood bodega owner surrounded by friends and found family, yearns to return to his Dominican Republic birthplace. Usnavi’s friend, Nina, has just returned from a year at an exclusive out-of-state college, but she is questioning her choices and goals. Usnavi and his friends are guided by the neighborhood’s Abuela Claudia who sings a film-stopping anthem, “Paciencia y Fe,” about the lessons of patience and faith she learned as a Cuban immigrant. Based on the Broadway show, the film has a score written by Lin Manuel-Miranda who makes a cameo appearance as Piraguero, the “guy” who sells piragua, flavored shaved ice.

The biographical documentary, My Name Is Lopez, describes the life and accomplishments of Trinidad “Trini” Lopez, one of the first Mexican American performers to achieve mainstream status as a rock and roll performer. Trini’s parents were undocumented immigrants, and he reached for a life beyond his Texas upbringing. His career included acceptance as a member of Frank Sinatra’s “rat pack.” Lopez refused to anglicize his image, enduring countless racial injustices, and is considered a trailblazer for Latin performers. Sadly, he died of COVID in 2020, at the age of 83.

Stand and Deliver tells the story of a Hispanic math teacher, Jaime Escalante, inspiring students in an under-resourced school in Los Angeles. Determined to disrupt the cycle of underachievement amongst his Latino students, Escalante sets a goal for his class to reach the level of AP calculus. As Escalante is mocked by his fellow teachers and threatened by gang members, he makes many personal sacrifices to inspire those around him. This award-winning film, based on a true story, includes outstanding performances by Edward James Olmos, Lou Diamond Phillips, Rosanna DeSoto, and Andy Garcia.

The Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum join in paying tribute to the generations of Hispanic Americans who have positively influenced and enriched our nation and society. Learn more at
www.hispanicheritagemonth.gov.

Cherise Tasker is an Adult Instructor and Research Specialist at the Central Branch. When not immersed in literary fiction, Cherise can be found singing along to musical theater soundtracks. 

Mission Impossible: Summer 

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by Cherise T.

It’s August, it’s hot, you need to complete a few more adventures for Summer Reading 2023. Cue the music and jump into Mission: Impossible. Not only can you see the world, but you can watch Tom Cruise do all his own stunts over 25 years of true movie star magic.  

At this point in film history, Tom Cruise embodies Ethan Hunt, heroic Impossible Missions Force (IMF) agent. The seventh installment, Dead Reckoning, is in theaters currently (with part 2 arriving in 2024), and its trailer with Ethan/Tom jumping off a cliff while riding a motorbike is simply heartstopping. Saving the world is assured as long as tech genius Luther, played by Ving Rhames, is by Ethan’s side. Beginning in the third installment, the team is perfected with the addition of field agent Benji, played by Simon Pegg (see also Shaun of the Dead for London electronics salesman battling a zombie apocalypse while maintaining his sense of humor). These three, bolstered by a rotating cast of glamorous spies, defeat the savviest of international criminals. 

Brian De Palma, the great suspense director, kicked off the Mission: Impossible series in 1996. Not-to-be-missed scenes include the exploding fish tank and Ethan suspended upside down by a cable while attempting to infiltrate an impenetrable CIA vault. Cruise later explained he put coins in his shoes to help him balance. 

Mission: Impossible II finds Ethan saving us all from the release of a deadly virus. The rock climbing sequence is incredible. Ethan is pulled out of retirement for Mission: Impossible III which transports viewers to Rome, Shanghai, and Berlin. Directed by J.J. Abrams (Cruise is an Alias fan), the movie includes an explosive scene on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. 

Ghost Protocol, the fourth in the series, finds Ethan accused of bombing the Kremlin and fighting for his life. Brad Bird bravely ventures beyond his acclaimed animation repertoire, including The Incredibles and Ratatouille, to direct this one. The travelogue encompasses Bangalore, Mumbai, Budapest, Dubai, and Moscow, and Cruise again engages in some impressive climbing, scaling a 1700-foot building. For those prone to hypertension, beware the action sequence in the parking structure. 

The Syndicate is a group of spies gone rogue, and they have nerve gas. Hence, Rogue Nation, get it? Ethan goes to the opera, visits Oxford, hangs suspended from an Airbus, and dives underwater in a long take that has been reported as lasting anywhere from three to six minutes. Cruise trained with a diving instructor to assure he could act as well under the sea as he does on land and in the sky. 

2018 brought the release of Fallout, the sixth installment. The Syndicate has morphed into the Apostles, and Ethan must race to Paris, London, and the Himalayas to retrieve some plutonium. Ethan jumps from a plane, requiring Cruise to do multiple takes skydiving from an aircraft traveling 165 miles per hour at an altitude of 25,000 feet. At one point, production was suspended to allow Cruise to recover from a broken ankle that he suffered performing one of his “easy” stunts jumping between buildings. 

Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to watch all six. There’s no boredom allowed when you have an HCLS library card. 

Cherise Tasker is an Adult Instructor and Research Specialist at the Central Branch. When not immersed in literary fiction, Cherise can be found singing along to musical theater soundtracks. 

Classic film poster featuring Indiana Jones in his trademark hat, brandishing a whip. Other characters urround the edges of the poster.

Action Packed Adventure: Fun Films

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Classic film poster featuring Indiana Jones in his trademark hat, brandishing a whip. Other characters urround the edges of the poster.

by Cherise T.

Join 2023’s Summer Reading Adventures with the best of adventure films. On Sunday, 6/25, at 2 pm, the Central Branch presents Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. Released in 1981, Raiders is one of the most popular action films of all time. The series’ fifth installment arrives in theaters on 6/30, so now is the perfect time to revisit the original on the big screen. Don’t stop there: the HCLS collection of amazing films includes not only DVDs, but hoopla and Kanopy on-demand streaming videos.

The Oscar-winning 2018 documentary Free Solo follows climber Alex Honnold’s quest to scale Yosemite’s 3,000-foot vertical rock formation El Capitan without any safety equipment. Directed by filmmaker Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and her husband, National Geographic photographer Jimmy Chin, also a climber, Free Solo keeps its audience on the edge of their seats. Viewers will be astonished by the effort needed to accomplish the feat and the risks involved for Alex and the crew.

Some of the best adventure films are great for all ages. E.T., the Extra-Terrestrial introduces a friendly alien who must be protected from adults and government officials harboring ulterior motives. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, an animated multiverse adventure, follows Miles Morales, teenager turned superhero, who must foil an evil madman and learn from fellow Spider-People. In Spy Kids, Carmen and Juni Cortez set out to rescue their international spy parents from a children’s show television host and an evil mastermind.

A sweeping, nearly four-hour epic, Lawrence of Arabia tells the story of archaeologist and military intelligence officer T. E. Lawrence in the Ottoman provinces during WWI. Lawrence’s complex mixed allegiance between British and Arab soldiers leads him to strike out on his own daring attacks. Lawrence’s book, Seven Pillars of Wisdom, as well as the Great Courses CD, Life Lessons from the Great Books, provide further insight into this fascinating historical figure.

The Princess Bride satirizes fairy tales, damsels in distress, swashbuckling pirates, and miracle workers. Follow the trail of, “My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.”

Today it’s Episode IV, A New Hope, but back in 1977, it was the origin story of, “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…” Star Wars. Buckle up and travel through hyperspace.

As one of the movies’ greatest readers, Belle from Beauty and the Beast (also a live action film), sings, “I want adventure in the great wide somewhere.”

Cherise Tasker is an Adult Instructor and Research Specialist at the Central Branch. When not immersed in literary fiction, Cherise can be found singing along to musical theater soundtracks. 

Be part of HCLS’ Summer Reading Adventures.

A black and white portrait of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, wearing her dissent color and sporting a golden crown.

Now That’s Chutzpah 

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A black and white portrait of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, wearing her dissent color and sporting a golden crown.

Truly walking a mile in another person’s shoes is rarely possible, but when you want to take a stroll, biography and memoir are right here inside the doors of everyone’s favorite library. Aspiring to understand the Jewish experience, readers can check out materials with unique perspectives on Jewish heritage. Consider exploring the lives of three Jews raised in Brooklyn, New York. 

In June 2013, Ruth Bader Ginsburg seized the rare opportunity to read a dissent from the bench of the Supreme Court. Wearing her “dissent collar,” she stated that the court’s majority opinion was a “demolition” of the Voting Rights Act. A slight 80-year-old woman with a soft voice, Justice Ginsburg was already legendary for her groundbreaking work on gender equality as well as her rigorous workout regimen, but her words were her superpower. She may have been the physical opposite of the deceased rapper Notorious B.I.G., but they both used language to pack a punch, and so the Notorious R.B.G. Tumblr (a multimedia blog site) was born. Fact-checked by RBG herself, Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, by Irin Carmon and Shana Knizhnik, presents one of the most fun and inspiring biographies available. Packed with tribute art, photographs of folks in RBG costumes, judicial wisdom, and primary sources, tweens and adults alike can embrace this book. There is also a young readers’ edition. 

Speaking of art, who does not love Where the Wild Things Are and New Yorker cartoons? Wild Visionary: Maurice Sendak in Queer Jewish Context, by Golan Y. Moskowitz, makes an in-depth journey into Sendak’s legacy. His upbringing and life as a Jewish gay man informed the futuristic outlook he brought to his books. Because they lost so much family in the Holocaust, Sendak’s parents were overly protective, and home felt as if it were filled with “dead Jews.” Considered a literary and artistic disrupter, Sendak believed that books were a way for children to safely explore their natural fears. Throughout his life, Sendak used his art to confront injustice, challenge prejudice, and engage readers in the gravity of children’s emotional lives. 

Against a backdrop of a black and puple diamond pattern, an illustration shows three people sitting on an sofa. Two elderly people next to a younger person. The text bubble reads, "Can't we talk about something more PLEASANT?"

Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant is New Yorker magazine cartoonist Roz Chast’s graphic memoir. The art is poignant and funny, provocative and familiar. Doesn’t every family have at least one closet so deep that we never know what was really in it until the person dies and the time comes to clean out its contents? Chast mines the contents of her life, including drawings, possessions, photos, letters, and family anecdotes to create an unforgettable portrait of her upbringing and a piercing view of death. Her relationship with her parents was fraught, making this an uncomfortable read at times. Chast’s dark humor in addressing challenging end-of-life issues resonated deeply with me. Her parents lived into their 90s, and she draws and writes about falls, elder law, dementia, nursing aides, financial fears, incontinence, bed sores, hospice. Filled with universal family truths, the book is one I’ve read and reread, rare for me. It’s a head-on confrontation with the circle of life. 

Cherise Tasker is an Adult Instructor and Research Specialist at the Central Branch. When not immersed in literary fiction, Cherise can be found singing along to musical theater soundtracks.