Staff Picks: Last Quarter 2020
I’ve been sleeping on this part of my job. Which means, I am rolling four months worth of staff picks into one post. Which is good for you, because it means more book recommendations to choose from.
AVAILABLE AT THE LIBRARY
ELIZABETH’S PICK: This is Your Brain on Parasites by Kathleen McAuliffe
GENRE: Nonfiction, Medical
WHY SHE CHOSE IT: This non-fiction book details how invasive creatures that can only be seen under a microscope can shape society in every way imaginable by controlling our brains and altering our behaviours, changing our cognitive functioning, and making us violent and/or sexually aggressive.
This book was published in 2016 but I found it extremely helpful in explaining many of Canada’s neighbours’ inexplicable (to me) behaviours and beliefs over the course of the past four years. I cannot tell you how many times this book has come to mind and I found myself thinking, “Bingo! Microbes have been at work here!”
Reviewers have said this book is a strong story but the science behind it is shaky. However, over the past number of years, more and more research is coming out that supports the claim that brain damage is linked to religious extremism.
I am recommending this book because it answered many of my “WHY?!” questions.
THE SYNOPSIS: Parasites can live only inside another animal and, as Kathleen McAuliffe reveals, these tiny organisms have many evolutionary motives for manipulating the behavior of their hosts. With astonishing precision, parasites can coax rats to approach cats, spiders to transform the patterns of their webs, and fish to draw the attention of birds that then swoop down to feast on them. We humans are hardly immune to their influence. Organisms we pick up from our own pets are strongly suspected of changing our personality traits and contributing to recklessness and impulsivity—even suicide. Germs that cause colds and the flu may alter our behavior even before symptoms become apparent.
Parasites influence our species on the cultural level, too. Drawing on a huge body of research, McAuliffe argues that our dread of contamination is an evolved defense against parasites. The horror and revulsion we are programmed to feel when we come in contact with people who appear diseased or dirty helped pave the way for civilization, but may also be the basis for major divisions in societies that persist to this day. This Is Your Brain on Parasites is both a journey into cutting-edge science and a revelatory examination of what it means to be human.
CLICK HERE TO RESERVE “This is Your Brain on Parasites” by Kathleen McAuliffe
RACHEL’S PICK: John Dies at the End by David Wong
GENRE: Fiction, Science Fiction, Humour
WHY SHE CHOSE IT: I don’t even know where to start with this book. I’ve never experienced a story quite like “John Dies at the End”, and I doubt I ever will again. A blend of comedy and cosmic horror, this book had me bent over laughing even as my stomach turned from the visceral terror that the story provided. David Wong’s writing style is sharp and witty, and will grab you like a barbed fishhook and reel you in; keeping you stuck in morbid fascination as the story unfolds. Reading this book is akin to watching a car crash—grisly, but impossible to look away from. I absolutely loved it!
THE SYNOPSIS: An alien drug is the first wave of attack by an enemy society from an alternate universe in this comic horror novel. David Wong converses with a reporter to confess to all the bizarre, metaphysical adventures he has endured over the past two years. This conversation frames the whole book. He tells the reporter that he has changed his name to Wong, even though he white, because Wong is the most common name in the world, making him harder to find. He reveals that he is a highly secretive person, isolated from most people, even his family. David was involved in an incident where he injured a bully in high school, an event that eventually led to the boy's suicide. David ended up labeled a disturbed teenager.
LISA S’s PICK: The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
GENRE: Science Fiction, Fantasy Fiction
WHY SHE CHOSE IT: Doesn’t everyone wonder what life would have been like if you had made different decisions? In “The Midnight Library”, Matt Haig tackles just that: the roads you didn’t take and where they would have led. While the book leaned a little on the fluffy side for me, I also had a hard time putting it down. I got a few quotes from the book that struck me and had me saying, “YES!!” rather emphatically. This was a quick and easy read, perfect for the beginning of the year.
THE SYNOPSIS: Between life and death there is a library.
When Nora Seed finds herself in the Midnight Library, she has a chance to make things right. Up until now, her life has been full of misery and regret. She feels she has let everyone down, including herself. But things are about to change.
The books in the Midnight Library enable Nora to live as if she had done things differently. With the help of an old friend, she can now undo every one of her regrets as she tries to work out her perfect life. But things aren’t always what she imagined they’d be, and soon her choices place the library and herself in extreme danger.
Before time runs out, she must answer the ultimate question: what is the best way to live?
RACHEL’S PICK: Warriors Into the Wild by Erin Hunter
GENRE: Junior Fiction, Fantasy Fiction
WHY SHE CHOSE IT: If you have been lucky enough to never been on the receiving end of one of my rants about Erin Hunter’s prolific “Warriors” series, I’m sorry to tell you, but your luck has run out today. “Warriors” is a massive, trans-generational epic spanning 40+ books (and counting) and over 15 more spinoffs and side stories. It has been running since 2003, and Erin Hunter gives no sign of slowing down as of yet. And what is it about, you may ask?
Well…cats. Cats in the woods.
It may sound a bit ludicrous, I know, but “Warriors” is filled with enough drama, sabotage, politics (watered down enough to be palatable for a younger audience, of course), intrigue and romance to rival Game of Thrones. It is technically a junior fiction series, but the relative simplicity of the writing style and the depth of the plot makes it accessible to both younger and older demographics. Heck, if I had the time, I would read the whole series over again at the age of 20.
So tell your kids! Tell your friend’s kids! The literary journey of a lifestime all starts here, with “Warriors: Into the Wild” by Erin Hunter.
THE SYNOPSIS: Fire alone can save our Clan...
For generations, four Clans of wild cats have shared the forest according to the laws laid down by the powerful ancestors. But the warrior code is threatened, and the ThunderClan cats are in grave danger. The sinister ShadowClan grows stronger every day. Noble warriors are dying — and some deaths are more mysterious than others.
In the midst of this turmoil appears an ordinary housecat named Rusty... Who may yet turn out to be the bravest warrior of them all.
CLICK HERE TO RESERVE “Warriors Into the Wild” by Erin Hunter
ELIZABETH’S PICK: White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo
GENRE: Nonfiction, Social Movements
WHY SHE CHOSE IT: f you’ve not heard about this book, you need to read it. If you’ve heard about it and have been putting off reading it, you need to read it. This New York Times best-selling book hit me hard. I cannot tell you how many times, as I listened to the audiobook, I thought to myself, “I do that. I say that. I think that. I am being described here. That is me.” And, as a person who considers herself non-judgmental and evolved on the acceptance of other people scale, I found out that I’m not really and that I have a lot of work to do.
I would like everyone to read this book. I would like everyone to take this book to heart and really see themselves within its pages. I believe our World would be a much, much better place if we all read this book.
Note: This title is also available on the Libby app in eBook and audiobook formats.
THE SYNOPSIS: In this “vital, necessary, and beautiful book” (Michael Eric Dyson), antiracist educator Robin DiAngelo deftly illuminates the phenomenon of white fragility and “allows us to understand racism as a practice not restricted to ‘bad people’ (Claudia Rankine). Referring to the defensive moves that white people make when challenged racially, white fragility is characterized by emotions such as anger, fear, and guilt, and by behaviors including argumentation and silence. These behaviors, in turn, function to reinstate white racial equilibrium and prevent any meaningful cross-racial dialogue. In this in-depth exploration, DiAngelo examines how white fragility develops, how it protects racial inequality, and what we can do to engage more constructively.
CLICK HERE TO RESERVE “White Fragility” by Robin DiAngelo
LISA G’s PICK: Highway of Tears by Jessica McDiarmid
GENRE: Nonfiction, True Crime
WHY SHE CHOSE IT: A 2019 account of the stretch of B.C. highway where an alarming number of Indigenous women have been found murdered or gone missing. This book also has a staggering number of facts from the first page about being an Indigenous woman in Canada today, and the work we need to do to put a spotlight on the problem of unsolved murders and missing women who have never been found. This book is an important read for every Canadian.
THE SYNOPSIS: A searing and revelatory account of the missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls of Highway 16, and an indictment of the society that failed them.
For decades, Indigenous women and girls have gone missing or been found murdered along an isolated stretch of highway in northwestern British Columbia. The highway is known as the Highway of Tears, and it has come to symbolize a national crisis.
Journalist Jessica McDiarmid investigates the devastating effect these tragedies have had on the families of the victims and their communities, and how systemic racism and indifference have created a climate where Indigenous women and girls are over-policed, yet under-protected. Through interviews with those closest to the victims—mothers and fathers, siblings and friends—McDiarmid offers an intimate, first-hand account of their loss and relentless fight for justice. Examining the historically fraught social and cultural tensions between settlers and Indigenous peoples in the region, McDiarmid links these cases to others across Canada—now estimated to number up to 4,000—contextualizing them within a broader examination of the undervaluing of Indigenous lives in this country.
Highway of Tears is a powerful story about our ongoing failure to provide justice for missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, and a testament to their families and communities' unwavering determination to find it.
CLICK HERE TO RESERVE “Highway of Tears” by Jessica McDiarmid
RACHEL’S PICK: Target Practice by Mike Maihack
GENRE: Graphic Novel, Science Fiction
WHY SHE CHOSE IT: Mike Maihack’s “Cleopatra in Space” series is a fun little 5-volume graphic novel adventure. Its plot is exactly what it says on the tin: it’s Cleopatra, but she’s in space. Filled with time travel, laser guns and feline overlords, “Target Practice” is the start to an exciting space opera that’s the perfect fit if you’re looking for something short and enjoyable to dip your toes into!
THE SYNOPSIS: When Cleopatra finds a mysterious tablet that zaps her to the far, REALLY far future, she learns of an ancient prophecy that says she is destined to save the galaxy from the tyrannical rule of the evil Xaius Octavian.
She enrolls in Yasiro Academy, a high-tech school with classes like algebra, biology, and alien languages (which Cleo could do without), and combat training (which is more Cleo's style). With help from her teacher Khensu, Cleo learns what it takes to be a great leader, while trying to figure out how she's going to get her homework done, make friends, avoid detention, and everything else that comes with being the future queen of the universe!
LISA S’s PICK: Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah
GENRE: Fiction, Coming-Of-Age
WHY SHE CHOSE IT: This is one of THOSE books for me. It made me laugh, it made me ugly cry, it made me want to throw the book across the room. It was just one of those books that touched on ALL of my emotions. It’s the story of two lifelong best friends, one living in the other’s shadow, the betrayal that breaks them apart, and what finally brings them back together. Tully and Kate are characters I still think about today. To me, that’s the mark of a great story: one where the characters continue to pop up in my mind, like old friends. “Firefly Lane” has been adapted into a series on Netflix (premiering February 3, 2021), and I can’t wait to see this story brought to the screen.
THE SYNOPSIS: In the turbulent summer of 1974, Kate Mularkey has accepted her place at the bottom of the eighth-grade social food chain. Then, to her amazement, the “coolest girl in the world” moves in across the street and wants to be her friend. Tully Hart seems to have it all—beauty, brains, ambition. On the surface they are as opposite as two people can be: Kate, doomed to be forever uncool, with a loving family who mortifies her at every turn. Tully, steeped in glamour and mystery, but with a secret that is destroying her. They make a pact to be best friends forever; by summer’s end they’ve become TullyandKate. Inseparable.
From the beginning, Tully is desperate to prove her worth to the world. Abandoned by her mother at an early age, she longs to be loved unconditionally. In the glittering, big-hair era of the eighties, she looks to men to fill the void in her soul. But in the buttoned-down nineties, it is television news that captivates her. She will follow her own blind ambition to New York and around the globe, finding fame and success… and loneliness.
Kate knows early on that her life will be nothing special. Throughout college, she pretends to be driven by a need for success, but all she really wants is to fall in love and have children and live an ordinary life. In her own quiet way, Kate is as driven as Tully. What she doesn’t know is how being a wife and mother will change her . . . how she’ll lose sight of who she once was, and what she once wanted. And how much she’ll envy her famous best friend…
For thirty years, Tully and Kate buoy each other through life, weathering the storms of friendship—jealousy, anger, hurt, resentment. They think they’ve survived it all until a single act of betrayal tears them apart…and puts their courage and friendship to the ultimate test.
LISA G’s PICK: How to be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
GENRE: Nonfiction, Social Movements
WHY SHE CHOSE IT: A great book to learn not only how to be a proper ally to our BIPOC friends, but to channel the energy we most often spend defending ourselves into furthering justice and equality.
P.S. His voice in the audiobook is amazing!
Note: This title is also available on the Libby app in eBook and audiobook formats.
THE SYNOPSIS: Antiracism is a transformative concept that reorients and reenergizes the conversation about racism—and, even more fundamentally, points us toward liberating new ways of thinking about ourselves and each other. At its core, racism is a powerful system that creates false hierarchies of human value; its warped logic extends beyond race, from the way we regard people of different ethnicities or skin colors to the way we treat people of different sexes, gender identities, and body types. Racism intersects with class and culture and geography and even changes the way we see and value ourselves. In How to Be an Antiracist, Kendi takes readers through a widening circle of antiracist ideas—from the most basic concepts to visionary possibilities—that will help readers see all forms of racism clearly, understand their poisonous consequences, and work to oppose them in our systems and in ourselves.
Kendi weaves an electrifying combination of ethics, history, law, and science with his own personal story of awakening to antiracism. This is an essential work for anyone who wants to go beyond the awareness of racism to the next step: contributing to the formation of a just and equitable society.
CLICK HERE TO RESERVE “How to be an Antiracist” by Ibram X. Kendi
LISA G’s PICK: Finding Murph by Rick Westhead
GENRE: Nonfiction, Biography
WHY SHE CHOSE IT: A must read for everyone, not just hockey fans. While the story reflects on how his sports injuries have contributed to his current situation, any reader who appreciates gritty life stories should find this hard to put down, and find it hard to forget about Joe Murphy.
THE SYNOPSIS: Joe Murphy had it all. In 1986, he became the first college-educated hockey player selected first overall in the NHL entry draft. He won a Stanley Cup in Edmonton four years later. But since then, his life has taken a tragic turn, largely due to the untreated brain injuries he suffered as a player.
Murphy’s life didn’t begin on a track that would lead to homelessness. He was smart, dedicated to hockey and was a key player for the Oilers, Red Wings and Blackhawks, among other teams. But one vicious body check changed his life forever. Despite being shaken by the hit, Murphy was cleared to return to the game. Soon after, his entire life seemed to change.
Murphy became a journeyman, moving from team to team. Along the way, other NHLers said they noticed something different about him, too. Murphy wasn’t acting like himself and soon found himself out of the NHL entirely. Eventually, Murphy became homeless.
In the spring of 2018, Murphy made his way to Kenora, Ontario, where he lived in the bush, spending his days outside a local convenience store, muttering to himself and taking handouts of food and drinks from passersby. The player who had once set the NHL aflame now slept by the side of the road in the unforgiving North.
In Finding Murph, Rick Westhead traces the true story of Joe Murphy and examines the role of the NHL in the downward spiral of one of the league’s most promising players.
RACHEL’S PICK: Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil deGrasse Tyson
GENRE: Nonfiction
WHY SHE CHOSE IT: As someone who loves science but rarely has time to sit down and sift through wordy research papers on the secrets of the universe, this book was a great find! Tyson walks you through all the basics of astrophysics in a clear and concise manner, all within just over 200 pages. Perfect for those looking to understand physics at the macro scale or those who just want a refresher, “Astrophysics for People in a Hurry” is an informative and interesting read for everyone.
THE SYNOPSIS: What is the nature of space and time? How do we fit within the universe? How does the universe fit within us? There’s no better guide through these mind-expanding questions than acclaimed astrophysicist and best-selling author Neil deGrasse Tyson.
But today, few of us have time to contemplate the cosmos. So Tyson brings the universe down to Earth succinctly and clearly, with sparkling wit, in tasty chapters consumable anytime and anywhere in your busy day.
While you wait for your morning coffee to brew, for the bus, the train, or a plane to arrive, Astrophysics for People in a Hurry will reveal just what you need to be fluent and ready for the next cosmic headlines: from the Big Bang to black holes, from quarks to quantum mechanics, and from the search for planets to the search for life in the universe.
CLICK HERE TO RESERVE “Astrophysics in a Hurry” by Neil deGrasse Tyson
AVAILABLE ON THE LIBBY APP
ELIZABETH’S PICK: The Dutch House by Ann Patchett
GENRE: Historical Fiction
WHY SHE CHOSE IT: I listened to the audiobook narrated by Tom Hanks and feel my recommendation should stop right here because who wouldn’t want to listen to a book narrated by Tom Hanks? However, it’s not simply that the narration is wonderful, it’s that the story is one you get lost in.
Set in the suburbs of Philadelphia, this “paradise lost” tale spans five decades and tells the story of Danny and Maeve Conroy and the home they grow up in and eventually lose. The story is told from Danny’s point of view looking back at his life. Sentimental and yet heart-warming, the book has been likened to Bronte’s Jane Eyre and Dicken’s Great Expectations.
At ten hours long, this was a story I keeping wishing wouldn’t end.
THE SYNOPSIS: At the end of the Second World War, Cyril Conroy combines luck and a single canny investment to begin an enormous real estate empire, propelling his family from poverty to enormous wealth. His first order of business is to buy the Dutch House, a lavish estate in the suburbs outside of Philadelphia. Meant as a surprise for his wife, the house sets in motion the undoing of everyone he loves.
The story is told by Cyril’s son Danny, as he and his older sister, the brilliantly acerbic and self-assured Maeve, are exiled from the house where they grew up by their stepmother. The two wealthy siblings are thrown back into the poverty their parents had escaped from and find that all they have to count on is one another. It is this unshakeable bond between them that both saves their lives and thwarts their futures.
Set over the course of five decades, The Dutch House is a dark fairy tale about two smart people who cannot overcome their past. Despite every outward sign of success, Danny and Maeve are only truly comfortable when they’re together. Throughout their lives they return to the well-worn story of what they’ve lost with humor and rage. But when at last they’re forced to confront the people who left them behind, the relationship between an indulged brother and his ever-protective sister is finally tested.
LISA G’s PICK: Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss
GENRE: Nonfiction, Self-Help
WHY SHE CHOSE IT: Chris Voss is a former FBI top negotiator who now teaches a negotiation Masterclass. Never Split the Difference is a crash course on what he has to teach and also has some of his personal experiences sprinkled in from his many years negotiating in hostage situations all over the world. You don’t have to negotiate for hostages to love this book-negotiate for a low price on a new car, a big raise, a promotion…anything. Voss breaks down the psychology of negotiation and makes it interesting.
THE SYNOPSIS: A former international hostage negotiator for the FBI offers a new, field-tested approach to high-stakes negotiations—whether in the boardroom or at home.
After a stint policing the rough streets of Kansas City, Missouri, Chris Voss joined the FBI, where his career as a hostage negotiator brought him face-to-face with a range of criminals, including bank robbers and terrorists. Reaching the pinnacle of his profession, he became the FBI’s lead international kidnapping negotiator. Never Split the Difference takes you inside the world of high-stakes negotiations and into Voss’s head, revealing the skills that helped him and his colleagues succeed where it mattered most: saving lives. In this practical guide, he shares the nine effective principles—counterintuitive tactics and strategies—you too can use to become more persuasive in both your professional and personal life.
Life is a series of negotiations you should be prepared for: buying a car, negotiating a salary, buying a home, renegotiating rent, deliberating with your partner. Taking emotional intelligence and intuition to the next level, Never Split the Difference gives you the competitive edge in any discussion.
