Library Loot

The University City Library delivers books to readers at the Crown Center every three weeks, and today was the day.  We take our bag of books to the office on Wednesday to be picked up by the delivery person, who leaves new books.  It's all coordinated by Dave, who calls on Wednesday if he hasn't heard from us.  Here are the three newest ones for me (plus two children's books that were in my friend Donna's bag, which I've already read before taking them to her apartment tomorrow).  This first novel is brand new, having been acquired by the library in July.  I need to read it quickly so others on the waiting list can read it, too.

Clock Dance ~ by Anne Tyler, 2018, fiction

Willa Drake can count on one hand the defining moments of her life.  In 1967, she is a schoolgirl coping with her mother's sudden disappearance.  In 1977, she is a college coed considering a marriage proposal.  In 1997, she is a young widow trying to piece her life back together.  And in 2017, she yearns to be a grandmother, but isn't sure she ever will be.  Then, one day, Willa receives a startling phone call from a stranger.  Without fully understanding why, she flies across the country to Baltimore to look after a young woman she's never met, her nine-year-old daughter, and their dog, Airplane.  This impulsive decision will lead Willa into uncharted territory ― surrounded by eccentric neighbors who treat each other like family, she finds solace and fulfillment in unexpected places.

The Mapmaker's Daughter: ~ by Catherine Nouri Hughes, 2017, fiction

This historical novel is set in the 16th century and is the confession of Nurbanu, born Cecilia Baffo Veniero ― the mesmerizing, illegitimate Venetian who became the most powerful woman in the Ottoman Empire at the height of its power under Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent.  Queen Mother Nurbanu, on her sickbed, is determined to understand how her bond with the greatest of all Ottoman sultans, Suleiman the Magnificent, shaped her destiny ― not only as the wife of his successor but as the appointed enforcer of one of the Empire’s most crucial and shocking laws.  Nurbanu spares nothing as she dissects the desires and motives that have propelled and harmed her; as she considers her role as devoted and manipulative mother; as she reckons her relations with the women of the Harem; and as she details the fate of the most sophisticated observatory in the world.  Nurbanu sets out to “see” the causes and effects of her loves and choices, and she succeeds by means of unflinching candor ― right up to the last shattering revelation.

Days of Awe: Stories for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur ~ by Eric A. Kimmel, illustrated by Erika Weihs, 1991, children's

Three traditional stories deal with the power of charity, a shepherd's prayers, and a beggar's forgiveness.

Not My Idea: A Book About Whiteness ~ by Anastasia Higginbotham, 2018, children's, 8/10

This is a picture book that invites white children and parents to become curious about racism, accept that it's real, and cultivate justice.

The People Shall Continue (40th anniversary special edition) ~ by Simon J. Ortiz, illustrated by Sharol Gravees, 1977 and 2017, children's, 9/10

This telling of the history of the Native/Indigenous peoples of North America recounts their story from Creation to the invasion and usurpation of Native lands.  As more and more people arrived, The People saw that the new men did not respect the land.  The People witnessed the destruction of their Nations and the enslavement of their people.  The People fought hard, but they eventually agreed to stop fighting and signed treaties.  Many things changed and became more difficult, but The People continued to farm and create crafts.  They remembered and told their children, "You are Shawnee. You are Lakota. You are Pima. You Acoma. . . . You are all these Nations of the People."  The People held onto their beliefs and customs and found solidarity with other oppressed people.  And despite struggles against greed, destruction of their lands, and oppression, The People persisted.