Author: Dyja, Tom, author.
Published: 2021
Call Number: 974.7 DYJA
Format: Books
Summary: "A lively, immersive history by an award-winning urbanist of New York City's transformation, and the lessons it offers for the city's future"-- Dangerous, filthy, and falling apart, garbage piled on its streets and entire neighborhoods reduced to rubble; New York's terrifying, if liberating, state of nature in 1978 also made it the capital of American culture. Over the next thirty-plus years, though, it became a different place--kinder and meaner, richer and poorer, more like America and less like what it had always been. New York, New York, New York, Thomas Dyja's sweeping account of this metamorphosis, shows it wasn't the work of a single policy, mastermind, or economic theory, nor was it a morality tale of gentrification or crime. Instead, three New Yorks evolved in turn. After brutal retrenchment came the dazzling Koch Renaissance and the Dinkins years that left the city's liberal traditions battered but laid the foundation for the safe streets and dotcom excess of Giuliani's Reformation in the '90s. Then the planes hit on 9/11. The shaky city handed itself over to Bloomberg who merged City Hall into his personal empire, launching its Reimagination. From Hip Hop crews to Wall Street bankers, D.V. to Jay-Z, Dyja weaves New Yorkers famous, infamous, and unknown--Yuppies, hipsters, tech nerds, and artists; community organizers and the immigrants who made this a truly global place--into a narrative of a city creating ways of life that would ultimately change cities everywhere. With great success, though, came grave mistakes. The urbanism that reclaimed public space became a means of control, the police who made streets safe became an occupying army, technology went from a means to the end. Now, as anxiety fills New Yorker's hearts and empties its public spaces, it's clear that what brought the city back--proximity, density, and human exchange--are what sent Covid-19 burning through its streets, and the price of order has come due. A fourth evolution is happening and we must understand that the greatest challenge ahead is the one New York failed in the first three: The cures must not be worse than the disease.
Author: Brownstein, Ronald, author.
Published: 2021
Call Number: 979.4 BROWNSTE
Format: Books
Summary: Documents the kaleidoscopic year during which transformative talents from Hollywood, Sunset Boulevard, and Beverly Hills heavily influenced pop culture, politics, and social movements. Los Angeles in 1974 exerted more influence over popular culture than any other city in America. Los Angeles that year, in fact, dominated popular culture more than it ever had before, or would again. Working in film, recording, and television studios around Sunset Boulevard, living in Brentwood and Beverly Hills or amid the flickering lights of the Hollywood Hills, a cluster of transformative talents produced an explosion in popular culture which reflected the demographic, social, and cultural realities of a changing America. At a time when Richard Nixon won two presidential elections with a message of backlash against the social changes unleashed by the sixties, popular culture was ahead of politics in predicting what America would become. The early 1970s in Los Angeles was the time and the place where conservatives definitively lost the battle to control popular culture. Rock Me on the Water traces the confluence of movies, music, television, and politics in Los Angeles month by month through that transformative, magical year. Ronald Brownstein reveals how 1974 represented a confrontation between a massive younger generation intent on change, and a political order rooted in the status quo.
Author: Walter, Heather, 1987- author.
Published: 2021
Call Number: F WALTER
Format: Books
Summary: Once upon a time, there was a wicked fairy who, in an act of vengeance, cursed a line of princesses to die. A curse that could only be broken by true love's kiss. You've heard this before, haven't you? The handsome prince. The happily ever after. Utter nonsense. Let me tell you, no one in Briar actually cares about what happens to its princesses. Not the way they care about their jewels and elaborate parties and charm-granting elixirs. I thought I didn't care, either. Until I met Princess Aurora. The last heir to Briar's throne. Kind. Gracious. The future queen her realm needs. One who isn't bothered that I am Alyce, the Dark Grace, abhorred and feared for the mysterious dark magic that runs in my veins. Humiliated and shamed by the same nobles who pay me to bottle hexes and then brand me a monster. Aurora says I should be proud of my gifts. That she...cares for me. Even though a power like mine was responsible for her curse. But with less than a year until that curse will kill her, any future I might see with Aurora is swiftly disintegrating -- and she can't stand to kiss yet another insipid prince. I want to help her. If my power began her curse, perhaps it's what can lift it. Perhaps together we could forge a new world. Nonsense again. Because we all know how this story ends, don't we? Aurora is the beautiful princess. And I...I am the villain..
Author: Leon, Donna, author.
Published: 2021
Call Number: LP F LEON
Format: Large print
Summary: In his many years as a commissario, Guido Brunetti has seen all manner of crime and known intuitively how to navigate the various pathways in his native city, Venice, to discover the person responsible. Now, in Transient Desires, the thirtieth novel in Donna Leon's masterful series, he faces a heinous crime committed outside his jurisdiction. He is drawn in innocently enough: two young American women have been badly injured in a boating accident, joy riding in the Laguna with two young Italians. However, Brunetti's curiosity is aroused by the behavior of the young men, who abandoned the victims after taking them to the hospital. If the injuries were the result of an accident, why did they want to avoid association with it? As Brunetti and his colleague, Claudia Griffoni, investigate the incident, they discover that one of the young men works for a man rumored to be involved in more sinister nighttime activities in the Laguna. To get to the bottom of what proves to be a gut-wrenching case, Brunetti needs to enlist the help of both the Carabinieri and the Guardia di Costiera. Determining how much trust he and Griffoni can put in these unfamiliar colleagues adds to the difficulty of solving a peculiarly horrible crime whose perpetrators are technologically brilliant and ruthlessly organized. Donna Leon's Transient Desires is as powerful as any novel she has written, testing Brunetti to his limits and forcing him to listen very carefully for the truth.
Author: Novak, Brenda, author.
Published: 2021
Call Number: LP F NOVAK
Format: Large print
Summary: "Autumn takes her kids home for the summer to the charming beachside town where she was raised. She seeks comfort working alongside her mother and aunt at their bookshop... And when she runs into the boy who stole her heart in high school, old feelings start to bubble up again. Is she free to love him, or should she hold out hope for her husband's return? She can only trust her heart--and hope it won't lead her astray"--
Author: Michaels, Fern, author.
Published: 2021
Call Number: LP F MICHAELS
Format: Large print
Summary: "Ellie Bowman barely remembers the incident that put her into a coma. When she awoke, filled with unease, all she knew for certain was that her boyfriend, Rick, was missing. She knew she needed to get away from her old life and recover in safety. With the proceeds of a video game she helped develop, Ellie starts over in rural Missouri, working from her cottage and trusting no one except her friend and business partner. Yet even in this quiet small town, it's impossible to completely isolate herself. Especially when a curious eight-year-old boy, smitten with Ellie's pup, stops by every day to talk to him over the fence. Little by little, Ellie is being drawn back into the world through the neighbors and community around her, realizing that everyone has their own fears and obstacles to contend with. But when Ellie hears that Rick has resurfaced, her nightmares return, and with them, small snippets of memory. No one has heard from Rick since before the incident, so why is he back now? Ellie wants to move forward with her life, but first she must find the courage to look into her past, no matter what she finds there . . ."--Publisher description.
Author: Stephenson, Stacie, author.
Published: 2021
Call Number: 613
Format: Books
Summary: "With practical steps to improve everything from brain health and energy to immunity and weight, Vibrant introduces readers to a new way of looking at health, as something each person can control for themselves, rather than something that happens to them"--
Author: Haines, Carolyn, author.
Published: 2021 2020
Call Number: LP F HAINES
Format: Large print
Summary: "Sarah Booth and Cece are in Lucedale, Mississippi, where the newly-pregnant Tinkie is treating her friends to a girls' weekend at the fabulous new Bexley B&B. The facials, organics, food, and fitness coaches are supposed to be phenomenal, but Tinkie's primary aim is to attend the Sunrise Easter Services at the incredible Palestinian Gardens, a miniature Holy Land that spreads over 20 acres and has recreations of all parts of Jerusalem-and to speak with the Biblical scholar, gardener, and creator of the Palestinian Garden Daniel Reynolds. After waking up at the crack of dawn for the service the three friends wander around the gardens, taking in the wonder of entire cities in miniature and the acres of the Holy Land, with the River Jordan winding through it all. The day is brightening when they find themselves at the Mount of Olives--with a dead body. Daniel identifies the dead man as local lawyer Perry Slay, who was well known for his sly and underhanded dealings, and had plenty of people out for his blood. When Erick Ward, a local pharmacist, is arrested, Sarah Booth takes the case. As the bodies pile up like a pillar of salt and the suspect list grows as long as the River Jordan, Sarah Booth, Cece, and Tinkie must resurrect the truth before their own lives--and that of Tinkie's unborn child--are endangered"--
Author: Koontz, Dean R. (Dean Ray), 1945- author.
Published: 2021
Call Number: LP F KOONTZ
Format: Large print
Summary: "A decade ago, Emily Carlino vanished after her car broke down on a California highway. Writer David Thorne still hasn't recovered from losing the love of his life, or from the guilt of not being there to save her. Then David meets Maddison Sutton, beguiling, playful and keenly aware of all David has lost. But what really takes his breath away is that everything about Maddison is just like Emily. Is she Emily? Or an irresistible dead ringer? What game is she playing? Whatever the risk in finding out, David's willing to take it for this precious second chance. It's been ten years since he's felt this inspired, this hopeful, this much in love--and he's afraid"--Back cover.
Author: Archer, Jeffrey, 1940- author.
Published: 2021
Call Number: F ARCHER
Format: Books
Summary: "William Warwick, now a Detective Inspector, is tasked with a dangerous new line of work, to go undercover and expose crime of another kind: corruption at the heart of the Metropolitan Police Force. His team is focused on following Detective Jerry Summers, a young officer whose lifestyle appears to exceed his income. But as a personal relationship develops with a member of William's team, it threatens to compromise the whole investigation. Meanwhile, a notorious drug baron goes on trial, with the prosecution case led by William's father and sister. And William's wife Beth, now a mother to twins, renews an old acquaintance who appears to have turned over a new leaf, or has she? As the undercover officers start to draw the threads together, William realizes that the corruption may go deeper still, and more of his colleagues than he first thought might be willing to turn a blind eye."--Publisher.
Author: Hertz, Noreena, author.
Published: 2021
Call Number: 302.17 HERTZ
Format: Regular print
Summary: "An economist takes on the most urgent social issue of our time, exploring the evolution of the global loneliness crisis, the sweeping impact of social isolation during the coronavirus, and the opportunities a post-Covid world presents to reverse these trends--by finding new ways to reconnect with each other, our communities, and even our democracy. Even before the global pandemic brought terms like "social distancing" into the vernacular, loneliness was well on its way to becoming the defining trait of the twenty-first century. Today, nearly half of adults in the United States report feeling lonely, and more than twenty percent of millennials say they have "no friends at all." All around us, the fabric of community is unraveling. And technology isn't the lone culprit. Rather, the crisis stems from the dismantling of civic institutions, the radical reorganization of the workplace, mass urban migration, and decades of neoliberal policies that placed self-interest above the collective good. On one hand, the prolonged period spent under lockdown has accelerated these trends: from remote work to contactless commerce to the hollowing out of shared public spaces. On the other, it has sharpened our awareness of the toll isolation takes on our families, our communities, and our mental health. This is not merely a mental health crisis. Loneliness increases our risk of heart disease, cancer, and dementia. Statistically, it's as bad for our health as smoking fifteen cigarettes a day. It's also an economic crisis, costing us billions annually. And it's a political crisis, as feelings of marginalization fuel divisiveness and extremism around the world. In The Lonely Century, readers accompany Hertz as she "rents a friend" in Manhattan, attends a "how to read a face" class at an Ivy League university, and meets Japanese nursing home residents who knit bonnets for their robot caregivers. Along the way, she urges us to ask ourselves what kind of world we want to create, post-pandemic: one where we retreat further into our self-isolating bubbles and remain ever-fearful of others, or one where we are more committed to reconnecting with one another, and with the democratic process itself. From compassionate AI to new models for urban living to the ingenuity unleashed in finding new ways to stay connected in the era of social distancing, The Lonely Century offers a hopeful vision for how to heal our fractured communities and restore connection in our lives. In the wake of Covid-19, this is not only more urgent, but more possible than ever"--
Author: Christy, Bryan, author.
Published: 2021
Call Number: F CHRISTY
Format: Books
Summary: "Tom Klay is a celebrated investigative wildlife reporter for the esteemed magazine, The Sovereign. But Klay is not just a journalist. His reporting is cover for an even more dangerous job: CIA agent. Klay's press credentials make him a perfect spy - able to travel the globe, engage both politicians and warlords, and openly record what he sees. While on assignment in Kenya, Klay is attacked and his closest friend is murdered. Soon Klay's carefully constructed double life unravels as his ambition turns to revenge. The CIA has an answer. Klay is offered a devil's bargain to capture the man who killed his friend by infiltrating the offices of the woman he once loved, South Africa's special prosecutor, Hungry Khoza. But Klay soon discovers that he and Hungry are part of a larger, more lethal game - one that involves a ruthless mercenary and a global superpower."--Publisher.
Author: Robinson, Peter, 1950- author.
Published: 2021
Call Number: LP F ROBINSON
Format: Large print
Summary: "When property developer Connor Clive Blaydon is found dead, Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks and his Yorkshire team dive into the investigation. As luck would have it, someone had installed a cache of spy-cams all around his luxurious home. The team hope that they'll find answers, and the culprit, among the video recordings. Instead of discovering Connor's murderer, however, the grainy and blurred footage reveals another crime: a brutal rape. If they can discover the woman's identity, it could lead to more than justice for the victim; it could change everything the police think they know about Connor and why anyone would want him dead"--
Author: Keefe, Patrick Radden, 1976- author.
Published: 2021
Call Number: 929.2097
Format: Books
Summary: Presents a portrait of three generations of the Sackler family, who built their fortune on the sale of Valium and later sponsored the creation and marketing of one of the most commonly prescribed and addictive painkillers of the opioid crisis. The Sacklers are one of the richest families in the world, known for their lavish donations to the arts and the sciences. The source of the family fortune was vague, however, until it emerged that the Sacklers were responsible for making and marketing a blockbuster painkiller that was the catalyst for the opioid crisis. Keefe begins with the three doctor brothers, Raymond, Mortimer and Arthur, who weathered the poverty of the Great Depression and appalling anti-Semitism. Working at a barbaric mental institution, Arthur conducted groundbreaking research into drug treatments, devised the marketing for Valium, and built the first great Sackler fortune. Forty years later the template he created to sell Valium was employed to launch a far more potent product: OxyContin. -- adapted from jacket
Author: Jimenez, Abby, author.
Published: 2021
Call Number: F JIMENEZ
Format: Books
Summary: "Vanessa lives life on her own terms -- one day at a time, every day to its fullest. She can't afford to think about whether she has the same fatal genetic condition as her older sister. After all, she has way too much to do, traveling the globe and showing millions of YouTube followers the joy in seizing every moment. But lately, life has been anything but pure joy, and travel has come to an abrupt halt. After her younger step-sister drops off an infant and skips town, Vanessa is housebound -- on mommy duty for the foreseeable future and feeling totally out of her depth. The last person she expects to help is her wickedly hot next-door neighbor, Adrian Copeland. After all, she barely knows the guy. But the closer they get, the more she realizes her carefree ways and his need for a life game plan could never be compatible for the long term ... not unless one of them is willing to take a drastic leap of faith"--
Author: Kepnes, Caroline, 1976- author.
Published: 2021
Call Number: F KEPNES
Format: Books
Summary: "Joe Goldberg is back. And he's going to start a family-- even if it kills him. Joe Goldberg is done with cities, done with the muck and the posers, done with Love. Now, he's saying hello to nature, to simple pleasures on a cozy island in the Pacific Northwest. For the first time in a long time, he can just breathe. He gets a job at the local library-- he does know a thing or two about books-- and that's where he meets her: Mary Kay DiMarco. Librarian. Joe won't meddle, he will not obsess. He'll win her the old fashioned way: by providing a shoulder to cry on, a helping hand. Over time, they'll both heal their wounds and begin their happily ever after in this sleepy town. The trouble is . . . Mary Kay already has a life. She's a mother. She's a friend. She's busy. True love can only triumph if both people are willing to make room for the real thing. Joe cleared his decks. He's ready. And hopefully, with his encouragement and undying support, Mary Kay will do the right thing and make room for him."--Provided by publisher.
Author: Francis, Pope, 1936- author. Ivereigh, Austen, author.
Published: 2021 2020
Call Number: 261.8
Format: Large print
Summary: The leader of the Catholic Church discusses what the COVID-19 crisis revealed about the cruelty and inequality of society, what it can teach about handling upheaval, and how to make the world safer, fairer, and healthier for all people.
Author: Duckworth, Tammy, 1968- author.
Published: 2021
Call Number: B DUCKWORT
Format: Books
Summary: The Iraq War veteran traces her impoverished childhood, her decision to join the Army, the months spent recovering from the RPG attack that shot down her helicopter and nearly took her life, and her subsequent mission of serving in elected office.
Author: Perron, Cam, 1994- author. Chiles, Nick, author. Aaron, Hank, 1934-2021, writer of foreword.
Published: 2021
Call Number: 796.3576 PERRON
Format: Books
Summary: "The extraordinary, unlikely, and inspirational true story of the friendships formed between Cam Perron--a white, baseball-obsessed teenager from Boston--and hundreds of former professional Negro League players, who were still awaiting the recognition and compensation that they deserved from Major League Baseball more than fifty years after their playing days were over"--
Author: Hudes, Quiara Alegría, author.
Published: 2021
Call Number: B HUDES
Format: Books
Summary: "Quiara Alegria Hudes was the sharp-eyed girl on the stairs while her family danced in her grandmother's tight South Philly kitchen, "frizzy hair cut short, bangs teased into stiff clouds, sweat glistening in the summer fog, pamper-butt babies weaving between legs." Quiara was awed by her aunts and uncles and cousins, but haunted by the secrets of the family and the unspoken stories of the barrio -- even as she tried to find her own voice in the sea of language around her, written and spoken, English and Spanish, bodies and books, Western art and sacred altars. Her family became her private pantheon, a gathering of powerful orishas with tragic wounds and she vowed to tell their stories--but first she'd have to get off the stairs and join the dance; she'd have to find her langauge. This is an inspired exploration of home, family, memory, and belonging, narrated by the obsessed girl who fought to become an artist so she could capture the world she loved in all its wild and delicate beauty"--
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