#FDL: Nonfiction for Women’s History Month

Check out one of these fascinating nonfiction books about remarkable women for Women’s History Month! Try one these or find more available through our collection.

How to Say Babylon: A Memoir   by Safiya Sinclair

Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Pérez

She Said: Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story That Helped Ignite a Movement  by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey

Normal Women: Nine Hundred Years of Making History by Philippa Gregory

The Girls of Atomic City: The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II Denise Kiernan

I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy

Year of the Tiger: An Activist’s Life by Alice Wong

The Light of Days: The Untold Story of Women Resistance Fighters in Hitler’s Ghettos by Judy Batalion

A Black Women’s History of the United States by Daina Ramey Berry

Women in White Coats: How the First Women Doctors Changed the World of Medicine by Olivia Campbell

An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

Romantic Outlaws: The Extraordinary Lives of Mary Wollstonecraft and Her Daughter Mary Shelley by Charlotte Gordon

Vanguard: How Black Women Broke Barriers, Won the Vote, and Insisted on Equality for All by Martha S. Jones

The Genius of Women: From Overlooked to Changing the World by Janice Kaplan

Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot by Mikki Kendall

The Woman They Could Not Silence: One Woman, Her Incredible Fight for Freedom, and the Men Who Tried to Make Her Disappear by Kate Moore

Fly Girls: How Five Daring Women Defied All Odds and Made Aviation History by Keith O’Brien

The Witches: Salem, 1692 by Stacy Schiff

Beautiful Country by Qian Julie Wang

– Post by Susie Rivera, Reference Specialist

#FDL is an update on all things Fondulac District Library and books.

 

2024-03-12T12:00:44-05:00March 12th, 2024|

#FDL: Nonfiction Highlights for Black History Month

From the Civil War, to the 1960s Civils Rights Movement, to Black Lives Matter—these books from our nonfiction collection are essential reads for Black History Month.

 

 

Gateway to Freedom: The Hidden History of the Underground Railroad by Eric Foner

–Pulitzer Prize–winning historian, fugitive slaves, antislavery activists, New York

 

Building on fresh evidence—including a detailed record of slave escapes secretly kept by Sydney Howard Gay, one of the key organizers in New York—Foner elevates the underground railroad from folklore to sweeping history. The story is inspiring—full of memorable characters making their first appearance on the historical stage—and significant—the controversy over fugitive slaves inflamed the sectional crisis of the 1850s. It eventually took a civil war to destroy American slavery, but here at last is the story of the courageous effort to fight slavery by “practical abolition,” person by person, family by family.

 

Vanguard: How Black Women Broke Barriers, Won the Vote, and Insisted for Equality for All by Martha S. Jones

– Feminist, Activism, Social Justice in the 1960s

In Vanguard, acclaimed historian Martha S. Jones offers a new history of African American women’s political lives in America. She recounts how they defied both racism and sexism to fight for the ballot, and how they wielded political power to secure the equality and dignity of all persons. From the earliest days of the republic to the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act and beyond, Jones excavates the lives and work of black women—Maria Stewart, Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, Fannie Lou Hamer, and more—who were the vanguard of women’s rights, calling on America to realize its best ideals.

 

Say Their Names: How Black Lives Came to Matter in America by Curtis Bunn, Michael H. Cottman, Patrice Gaines, Nick Charles and Keith Harriston

-George Floyd Murder, Racial disparity, Ferguson, societal change

For many, the story of the weeks of protests in the summer of 2020 began with the horrific nine minutes and twenty-nine seconds when Police Officer Derek Chauvin killed George Floyd on camera, and it ended with the sweeping federal, state, and intrapersonal changes that followed. It is a simple story, wherein white America finally witnessed enough brutality to move their collective consciousness. The only problem is that it isn’t true. George Floyd was not the first Black man to be killed by police—he wasn’t even the first to inspire nation-wide protests—yet his death came at a time when America was already at a tipping point.

In Say Their Names, five seasoned journalists probe this critical shift. With a piercing examination of how inequality has been propagated throughout history, from Black imprisonment and the Convict Leasing program to long-standing predatory medical practices to over-policing, the authors highlight the disparities that have long characterized the dangers of being Black in America. They examine the many moderate attempts to counteract these inequalities, from the modern Civil Rights movement to Ferguson, and how the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and others pushed compliance with an unjust system to its breaking point. Finally, they outline the momentous changes that have resulted from this movement, while at the same time proposing necessary next steps to move forward.

 

-Emancipation, Slavery around the world, social justice, racial caste system

Ranging across the Americas, Europe and Africa, Manjapra unearths disturbing truths about the Age of Emancipations, 1780-1880. In Britain, reparations were given to wealthy slaveowners, not the enslaved, a vast debt that was only paid off in 2015, and the crucial role of Black abolitionists and rebellions in bringing an end to slavery has been overlooked. In Jamaica, Black people were liberated only to enter into an apprenticeship period harsher than slavery itself. In the American South, the formerly enslaved were ‘freed’ into a system of white supremacy and racial terror. Across Africa, emancipation served as an alibi for colonization. None of these emancipations involved atonement by the enslavers and their governments for wrongs committed, or reparative justice for the formerly enslaved-an omission that grassroots Black organizers and activists are rightly seeking to address today.

 

 

 

– Annotations from the publishers

#FDL is a weekly update on all things Fondulac District Library and books.

 

2024-02-24T10:09:51-06:00February 24th, 2024|

#FDL: Contemporary Romance Authors

In the mood for romance? Try one of these authors who set their novels during modern times. These are character-driven stories that typically focus on the emotional growth of the protagonist who finds a new and exciting relationship, not without its challenges.

Tessa Bailey

Colleen Coble

Alyssa Cole

Jenny Colgan

Sonali Dev

Erin Duffy

Helen Fielding

Dorothea Benton Frank

Julie Garwood

Jasmine Guillory

Ali Hazelwood

Emily Henry

Helen Hoang

Abby Jimenez

#FDL is an update on all things Fondulac District Library and books.

 

2024-02-12T15:57:19-06:00February 12th, 2024|

#FDL: Historical Fiction – January Giveaway

Historical fiction a genre of story-telling where events are set in a real place during a culturally significant time, usually at least 50 years prior to publication.  The details of the story can include a mixture of actual and imagined people and events. Here are four upcoming historical fiction titles.

 

 

 

 

 

Clear by Carys Davies

Expected publication: 04/02/24

Scotland, 1840s

John, an impoverished Scottish minister, has accepted a job evicting the lone remaining occupant of an island north of Scotland—Ivar, who has been living alone for decades, with only the animals and the sea for company. Though his wife, Mary, has serious misgivings about the errand, he decides to go anyway, setting in motion a chain of events that neither he nor Mary could have predicted.

Shortly after John reaches the island, he falls down a cliff and is found, unconscious and badly injured, by Ivar who takes him home and tends to his wounds. The two men do not speak a common language, but as John builds a dictionary of Ivar’s world, they learn to communicate and, as Ivar sees himself for the first time in decades reflected through the eyes of another person, they build a fragile, unusual connection.

Unfolding in the 1840s in the final stages of the infamous Scottish Clearances—which saw whole communities of the rural poor driven off the land in a relentless program of forced evictions—this singular, beautiful, deeply surprising novel explores the differences and connections between us, the way history shapes our deepest convictions, and how the human spirit can survive despite all odds. Moving and unpredictable, sensitive and spellbinding, Clear is a profound and pleasurable read.

 

The Hidden Life of Cecily Larson by Ellen Baker

Expected publication: 02/20/24

American Midwest, early 20th century

In 1924, four-year-old Cecily Larson’s mother reluctantly drops her off at an orphanage in Chicago, promising to be back once she’s made enough money to support both Cecily and herself. But she never returns, and shortly after high-spirited Cecily turns seven, she is sold to a traveling circus to perform as the “little sister” to glamorous bareback rider Isabelle DuMonde. With Isabelle and the rest of the circus, Cecily finally feels she’s found the family she craves. But as the years go by, the cracks in her little world begin to show. And when teenage Cecily meets and falls in love with a young roustabout named Lucky, she finds her life thrown onto an entirely unexpected—and dangerous—course.

In 2015, Cecily is now 94 and living a quiet life in Minnesota, with her daughter, granddaughter, and great-grandson. But when her family decides to surprise her with an at-home DNA test, the unexpected results not only bring to light the tragic love story that Cecily has kept hidden for decades but also throw into question everything about the family she’s raised and claimed as her own for nearly seventy years. Cecily and everyone in her life must now decide who they really are and what family—and forgiveness—really mean.

Sweeping through a long period of contemporary history, The Hidden Life of Cecily Larson is an immersive, compelling, and entertaining family drama centered around one remarkable woman and her determination to survive.

 

The Things We Didn’t Know by Elba Iris Pérez

Expected publications: 02/06/24

Massachusetts & Puerto Rico, 1950s

Andrea Rodríguez is nine years old when her mother whisks her and her brother, Pablo, away from Woronoco, the tiny Massachusetts factory town that is the only home they’ve known. With no plan and no money, she leaves them with family in the mountainside villages of Puerto Rico and promises to return.

Months later, when Andrea and Pablo are brought back to Massachusetts, they find their hometown significantly changed. As they navigate the rifts between their family’s values and all-American culture and face the harsh realities of growing up, they must embrace both the triumphs and heartache that mark the journey to adulthood.

A heartfelt, evocative portrait of another side of life in 1950s America, The Things We Didn’t Know establishes Elba Iris Pérez as a sensational new literary voice.

 

The Queen of Sugar Hill: A Novel of Hattie McDaniel by ReShonda Tate

Expected publication: 01/30/24

Los Angeles, 1940s

It was supposed to be the highlight of her career, the pinnacle for which she’d worked all her life. And as Hattie McDaniel took the stage in 1940 to claim an honor that would make her the first African-American woman to win an Academy Award, she tearfully took her place in history. Between personal triumphs and tragedies, heartbreaking losses, and severe setbacks, this historic night of winning best supporting actress for her role as the sassy Mammy in the controversial movie Gone With the Wind was going to be life-changing.
Or so she thought.

Months after winning the award, not only did the Oscar curse set in where Hattie couldn’t find work, but she found herself thrust in the middle of two worlds—Black and White—and not being welcomed in either. Whites only saw her as Mammy and Blacks detested the demeaning portrayal.

As the NAACP waged an all-out war against Hattie and actors like her, the emotionally conflicted actor found herself struggling daily. Through it all, Hattie continued her fight to pave a path for other Negro actors, while focusing on war efforts, fighting housing discrimination, and navigating four failed marriages. Luckily, she had a core group of friends to help her out—from Clark Gable to Louise Beavers to Ruby Berkley Goodwin and Dorothy Dandridge.

The Queen of Sugar Hill brings to life the powerful story of one woman who was driven by many passions—ambition, love, sex, family, friendship, and equality. In re-creating Hattie’s story, ReShonda Tate delivers an unforgettable novel of resilience, dedication, and determination—about what it takes to achieve your dreams—even when everything—and everyone—is against you.

 

Annotations from the publishers

 

Post by Melissa Friedlund, Adult Services Specialist

 

Giveaway

Enter your name here for a chance to win ARCs of the books mentioned in this post. One entry per person. Drawing to be held approximately 7 days after this post.

ARCs are “advanced reading copies.” These are free copies of a new books given by a publisher to librarians and other reviewers before the book is printed for mass distribution.

#FDL is a weekly update on all things Fondulac District Library and East Peoria.

2024-01-25T15:31:02-06:00January 25th, 2024|

#FDL: Staff Favorites from 2023

FDL staff members read a wide variety of books last year! These are just a few of their favorites from 2023. Click on a title below to find it in our catalog.

Breaking Cat News series by Georgia Dunn “These are comic anthologies on the Libby app. They were a fun way to pack in just a few minutes of reading at a time as I was navigating becoming a parent this year. The comics are absolutely hilarious, whether you are a cat owner or not! Tip: don’t read these while rocking your newborn baby to sleep because you WILL laugh out loud and wake them.” – Chelsea, Youth Services

The London Séance Society by Sarah PennerShe also wrote The Lost Apothecary (another book I loved). What I liked: A skeptical assistant to a renowned psychic tries to solve her sister’s murder, only to find out things are not what they seem. This is a great book for those who love gothic tales of the paranormal with strong women characters. – Christy Schurter, Youth Services

Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon SandersonTress is a fun adventure story on a planet with compelling worldbuilding.” – Nick, Circulation

The Housemaid, by Frieda McFadden. “It has twisty, exciting plot. I found myself rooting for people halfway through the book that I really disliked when the book started. It kept me on my toes!” -Sylvia, Circulation

Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel “It was an amazing story. I love reading about World War II and strong women of that time period” – Nancy Scott, Adult Services

Titanium Noir by Nick Harkaway “This novel is about a detective who investigates crime involving pseudo-immortal plutocrats known as “Titans,” and a Titan has been murdered. This is a great book that blends genres reminiscent of Raymond Chandler and William Gibson: a hard boiled cyberpunk whodunit.” – Jeremy, Adult Services

Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson “I really liked this book for the twists and turns – there were multiple times the plot took an abrupt left turn away from my expectations of how fantasy books about dictators and the rebellions they spawn are supposed to go. All of the characters are really thought out and have a lot of depth to them, which helps make the world that much more immersive.” – Alice, Youth Services

The Last Tale of the Flower Bride by Roshani Chokshi “Mysterious, gothic and lyrical, this novel is beautiful and the story kept me wondering just how dark Indigo’s past really was.” – Susie, Adult Services

Finding Dorothy by Elizabeth Letts “This is a beautifully written, but imagined, story of how the movie “The Wizard of Oz” was made with the involvement of L. Frank Baum’s wife, Maude Gage Baum, after his death. While parts of the story are true to fact, some embellishment keeps it from being a true biography. But it is still a great read!” – Becky, Adult Services

#FDL is an update on all things Fondulac District Library and books.

2024-01-12T10:33:44-06:00January 11th, 2024|

#FDL: Nordic Noir for Chilly Winter Days

Nordic noir is a subgenre of  mystery fiction known for complex psychological plotlines set in Scandinavian locations.  Mainly told from the perspective of detectives, these books feature page-turning stories surrounding violence, murder, and corruption. Captivating descriptions of snowy mountains and landscapes will take you to Scandinavia without leaving your own home!

Jussi Adler-Olsen

Arnaldur Indriðason

Sara Blædel

Kjell Eriksson

Karin Fossum

Sissel-Jo Gazan

Camilla Grebe

Lotte Hammer

Peter Høeg

Anne Holt

Mons Kallentoft

Robert Karjel

Hannah Kent

Lars Kepler

Camilla Läckberg

Stieg Larsson

Jo Nesbø

Yrsa Sigurðardóttir

 

 

#FDL is an update on all things Fondulac District Library and books.

2023-12-14T15:32:16-06:00December 14th, 2023|

#FDL: Native Voices for Native American Heritage Month

November is Native American Heritage Month.  We pay tribute to the rich ancestry and traditions of Native Americans.  Check out this list of Native authors who write fiction and nonfiction works.

Fiction

Sherman Alexie

Angeline Boulley (YA)

Joseph Bruchac

Louise Erdich

Brandon Hobson

Stephen Graham Jones

Darcie Badger

Terese Marie Mailhot

Tommy Orange

Rebecca Roanhorse

Cynthia Leitich Smith (YA)

Jesmyn Ward

David Heska Wanbli Weiden

James Welch

Nonfiction

Black Hawk

Shonda Buchanan

Heid E. Erdrich

Danielle Geller

Eric Gansworth (YA)

Joy Harjo

Robin Wall Kimmerer

Winona LaDuke

Mary Beth Leatherdale (YA)

Denise Low

Terese Marie Mailhot

Joseph Marshall

Anton Treuer (YA)

David Treuer

Elissa Washuta

–Post by Susie Rivera, Adult Services Specialist

#FDL is an update on all things Fondulac District Library and books.

2023-11-14T16:26:15-06:00November 16th, 2023|

#FDL: Popular Paranormal Fiction

It’s that spooky time of year!  Check out this list of titles that have been popular in 2023!  Click on a title to view it in our catalog and place a hold.

 

Wolfsong by TJ Klune

Not Your Ex’s Hexes by April Asher

The Spite House by Johnney Compton

The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston

Cursed at Dawn by Heather Graham

Shadow Dance by Christine Feehan

The Witches of Bone Hill by Ava Morgyn

Last to Leave the Room by Caitlin Starling

Bad Luck Vampire: An Argeneau Novel by Lynsay Sands

The Stranger Upstairs by Lisa M. Matlin

The Forest Demands Its Due by Kosoko Jackson

Howl at the Moon: An Urban Fantasy Fairy Tale by Deborah Wilde

–Post by Susie Rivera, Adult Services Specialist

#FDL is an update on all things Fondulac District Library and books.

2023-10-26T17:27:05-05:00October 26th, 2023|

#FDL: International Authors – October Giveaway

Whether it is fiction or nonfiction, international authors can open our eyes to new corners of the human experience. Below are some upcoming titles from international authors that range from cozy mystery to reporting the aftermath of a recent tragedy.

Expectant Detectives by Kat Ailes (United Kingdom)

Expected Publication: January 9, 2024

For Alice and her partner Joe, moving to the sleepy Cotswold village of Penton is a chance to embrace country life and prepare for the birth of their unexpected first child. He can take up woodwork; maybe she’ll learn to make jam. But the rural idyll they’d hoped for doesn’t quite pan out when a dead body is discovered at their local antenatal class and they find themselves suspects in a murder investigation.

With a cloud of suspicion hanging over the heads of the whole group, Alice sets out to solve the mystery and clear her name, with the help of her troublesome dog, Helen. However, there are more secrets and tensions in the heart of Penton than first meet the eye. Between the discovery of a shady commune up in the woods, the unearthing of a mysterious death years earlier and the near-tragic poisoning of Helen, Alice is soon in way over her head.

The Favorites by Rosemary Hennigan (Ireland)

Expected Publication: November 14, 2023

Most students would kill to be accepted into the prestigious Law and Literature cohort at Franklin University. But for Jessie Mooney, enrollment in the course is about more than elite campus status, rigorous thought, and professional connections. It’s her chance to get close to charismatic professor Jay Crane—and take him down.

From the moment she discovered their secret relationship, Jessie’s been convinced Crane is to blame for the events leading to her sister’s death. Still haunted by their last email exchange— You know what you did —she’ll cross any line to hold him accountable. But when Jessie finally earns Crane’s trust and the coveted position as one of his “favorites,” attracting the other students’ envy and suspicion, the truth becomes darkly twisted. Is it justice Jessie craves, or revenge? And what does she stand to lose if she gets her way?

Shimmering with tension, this provocative novel explores the nature of obsession, the inequities of power, and the ways that anger, desire, and love reveal the best, and worst, of us.

Forgottenness by Tanja Maljartschuk (Ukraine)

Expected Publication: January 23, 2024

From one of Ukraine’s most prolific contemporary authors comes this profound novel of belonging and uprootedness, as understood by two exiles across time. Winner of the BBC Ukrainian Book of the Year Award and the German Usedom Prize, Forgottenness movingly―and unflinchingly―illuminates the intricacies of the Ukrainian experience in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. An exceedingly anxious young narrator grapples with a host of conditions, from obsessive-compulsive disorder and alcoholism to a creeping sense of agoraphobia. As her symptoms deepen, she finds unexpected solace and companionship in researching the historical figure of Viacheslav Lypynskyi (1882–1931), a social and political activist of Polish descent who played a pivotal role in the struggle for Ukrainian independence―and just so happened to struggle with hypochondria. Through a series of mesmerizing digressions, the narrator’s own family saga is told in parallel with Lypynskyi’s, culminating in “an impressively sincere self-inquiry about identity”?(Jury of the Usedom Prize, led by Olga Tokarczuk). Shot through with wry humor and brilliantly translated by Zenia Tompkins, this urgent work announces Tanja Maljartshuk as a major voice in world literature.

All She Lost by Dalal Mawad (Lebanon)

Expected Publication: January 9, 2024

On August 4 2020, a huge explosion in the heart of Beirut killed hundreds of people – it is the apocalypse of a sequence of events that have led to Lebanon’s unprecedented collapse. Journalist Dalal Mawad has interviewed tens of Lebanese and foreign women – victims of the explosion, and those stuck in Lebanon – and weaves an extraordinary story of survival, corruption and impunity.

She spoke to mothers who lost their children on August 4, spouses who lost their partners, refugee women who have fled from the war in Syria – and who now find themselves in another failing state. We hear from the Lebanese grandmother, bankrupted by the small nation’s collapse, who remembers Beirut’s glory days of the 1960s – when the likes of Brigitte Bardot and Miles Davis came to Beirut. And then the women like Dalal herself, who have left their home behind.

The women in this book all experienced the explosion and suffered unimaginable loss and tragedy, but it is not just this one event that brings them together. Their personal stories converged to tell the story of a nation whose glory days are long gone, now riven by protracted violence, lurching from crisis to crisis, and fighting to survive. It tells not only of what these women have lost, but also what Lebanon has lost, and a part of the Middle East that is no more.

 

-Annotations from the publishers

 

Post by Melissa Friedlund, Adult Services Specialist

 

Giveaway

Enter your name here for a chance to win ARCs of the books mentioned in this post. One entry per person. Drawing to be held approximately 7 days after this post.

ARCs are “advanced reading copies.” These are free copies of a new books given by a publisher to librarians and other reviewers before the book is printed for mass distribution.

#FDL is a weekly update on all things Fondulac District Library and East Peoria.

2023-10-12T19:19:51-05:00October 12th, 2023|

#FDL: Book Adaptations Coming Soon

There are plenty of book-to-screen adaptations premiering by the end of 2023. Check out this list and read the book or listen to the audiobook before seeing it on film.


-After Elizabeth Zott, a brilliant chemist, is fired from her position in a patriarchal lab, she is given the opportunity to host a TV cooking show in the 1950s.

-On Apple TV+ on October 13, 2023

-Follows historical events in the 1920s surrounding the murders of the wealthy Osage people in California after oil was found in their territory.

-The book was a bestseller in 2017, winner of the Edgar Award and National Book Award nominee

-Film release will be in theaters on October 20, 2023

-World War II novel that alternates between the viewpoints of Marie-Laure LeBlanc, a blind French girl, and Werner Pfennig, a German boy in military school.

-Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction (2015)

-Series premiere will be on Netflix on November 2, 2023

-A prequel to The Hunger Games trilogy, this novel is set many years before, centering on the backstory of 18 year old Coriolanus Snow.

-The film is scheduled to be released in the United States on November 17, 2023


The Color Purple

-This adaptation of Alice Walker’s novel produced by Oprah will be musical this time around.

-The original novel was the Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award.

-The theatrical release date will be December 25, 2023

–Post by Susie Rivera, Adult Services Specialist

#FDL is an update on all things Fondulac District Library and books.

2023-09-28T15:49:03-05:00September 28th, 2023|
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