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Morbidly Curious Books

Welcome, curious friends….

We have a new guide full of book recommendations for those who prefer the darker side of non-fiction.

Our resident goth librarian, Mara, has curated a delightfully spooky list of books to satisfy your spooky book cravings.

Below are just a few of the books Mara has found, so be sure to check out the whole guide for more.

 

 

 

Stiff by Mary Roach

Stiff is an oddly compelling, often hilarious exploration of the strange lives of our bodies postmortem.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dark Archives by Megan Rosenbloom

On bookshelves around the world, surrounded by ordinary books bound in paper and leather, rest other volumes of a distinctly strange and grisly sort: those bound in human skin. Would you know one if you held it in your hand?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Goodbye Hello by Adam Berry

From paranormal investigator and host of Kindred Spirits Adam Berry comes Goodbye Hello, which blends supernatural and psychological research to explore the paranormal and afterlife to try and help answer big questions about the end.

 

 

 

 

 

Gardening Can Be Murder by Marta McDowell

This fun, engrossing book takes a look at the surprising influence that gardens and gardening have had on mystery novels and their authors. With their deadly plants, razor-sharp shears, shady corners, and ready-made burial sites, gardens make an ideal scene for the perfect murder.

 

 

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Taira Meadowcroft

Taira Meadowcroft is the Public Health and Community Engagement Librarian at the Health Sciences Library at the University of Missouri.

Reading Revelry: October 2024

Happy October everyone! We hope your classes are going well! For this month’s Reading Revelry, we have three sinisterly scary books to get you in the mood for Halloween. 

To learn more about the books, click on the hyperlink in the title. If you have questions or issues requesting items, please contact us at (573) 882-2379.

Happy reading!

Our picks for October:

 

The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole
ISBN: 9780321398925 
Publication Date: 1764 

This book is often considered the first “gothic” novel.
Despite its short length, Walpole expertly crafts an uncanny and unforge
ttable story about a wedding gone wrong.  

 

 

 

Tender Is The Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica 
ISBN: 9781982150921
Publication
Date: 2017 (English translation 2020) 

In a world where animals carry a virus that makes them
poisonous and deadly for human consumption, society has moved on to a new protein source…humans.
This book is NOT for the faint of heart.
 

 

 

 

 

 

The Harpy by Megan Hunter
ISBN: 9780802148162
Publication Date: 2020

This book follows Lucy, a loving wife and mother to two children.
When her husband, Jake, is found to be having an affair,
Lucy decides to stay with Jake on one condition:
she gets to have her revenge three times.

Books to Celebrate Disability Culture Month at Mizzou

Mizzou began a tradition of celebrating Disability Culture Month, formerly Celebrate Ability Week, every September! Learn about Mizzou events happening the month of September to celebrate Disability Culture Month.

Below are a few we have available for check out. You can view the whole list of recommendations here.

Have a purchase recommendation? Use our book recommendation form

 

Being Heumann recounts Judy Heumann’s lifelong battle to achieve respect, acceptance, and inclusion in society. Paralyzed from polio at eighteen months, Judy’s struggle for equality began early in life. From fighting to attend grade school after being described as a “fire hazard” to later winning a lawsuit against the New York City school system for denying her a teacher’s license because of her paralysis, Judy’s actions set a precedent that fundamentally improved rights for disabled people.

 

 

 

 

Blackness and disability : critical examinations and cultural interventions by Christopher Bell

“Disability Studies diverge from the medical model of disability (which argues that disabled subjects can and should be “fixed”) to view disability as socially constructed, much in the same way other identities are. The work of reading black and disabled bodies is not only recovery work, but work that requires a willingness to deconstruct the systems that would keep those bodies in separate spheres. This pivotal volume uncovers the misrepresentations of black disabled bodies and demonstrates how those bodies transform systems and culture. Drawing on key themes in Disability Studies and African American Studies, these collected essays complement one another in interesting and dynamic ways, to forge connections across genres and chronotopes, an invitation to keep blackness and disability in conversation.

 

Care Work: Dreaming Disability Justice by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha

In this collection of essays, Lambda Literary Award–winning writer and longtime activist and performance artist Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha explores the politics and realities of disability justice, a movement that centers the lives and leadership of sick and disabled queer, trans, Black, and brown people, with knowledge and gifts for all. Care Work is a mapping of access as radical love, a celebration of the work that sick and disabled queer/people of color are doing to find each other and to build power and community, and a tool kit for everyone who wants to build radically resilient, sustainable communities of liberation where no one is left behind. Powerful and passionate, Care Work is a crucial and necessary call to arms.

 

Defying Disability : The Lives and Legacies of Nine Disabled Leaders by Mary Wilkinson

This book tells the stories of nine disabled leaders who, by force of personality and concrete achievement, have made us think differently about disability. Whatever direction they have come from, they share a common will to change society so that disabled people get a fair deal.

 

 

 

 

 

Demystifying Disability : What to Know, What to Say, and How to Be an Ally by Emily Landau

People with disabilities are the world’s largest minority, an estimated 15 percent of the global population. But many of us—disabled and nondisabled alike—don’t know how to act, what to say, or how to be an ally to the disability community. Demystifying Disability is a friendly handbook on the important disability issues you need to know about

 

 

 

 

Disfigured : on fairy tales, disability, and making space by Amanda Leduc

Fairy tales shape how we see the world, so what happens when you identify more with the Beast than Beauty? If every disabled character is mocked and mistreated, how does the Beast ever imagine a happily-ever-after? Amanda Leduc looks at fairy tales from the Brothers Grimm to Disney, showing us how they influence our expectations and behaviour and linking the quest for disability rights to new kinds of stories that celebrate difference.

 

 

 

 

Disability aesthetics by Tobin Siebers

Disability Aesthetics is the first attempt to theorize the representation of disability in modern art and visual culture. It claims that the modern in art is perceived as disability, and that disability is evolving into an aesthetic value in itself. It argues that the essential arguments at the heart of the American culture wars in the late twentieth century involved the rejection of disability both by targeting certain artworks as “sick” and by characterizing these artworks as representative of a sick culture

 

 

 

 

Women, Disability, and Culture by Anna Siri

Women and girls with disabilities find themselves constantly having to deal with multiple, intersectional discrimination due to both their gender and their disability, as well as social conditioning. Indeed, the intersection made up of factors such as race, ethnic origin, social background, cultural substrate, age, sexual orientation, nationality, religion, gender, disability, status as refugee or migrant and others besides, has a multiplying effect that increases discrimination yet further. The book seeks to pay the right attention to the condition of women with disabilities, offering points for reflection, also on the different, often invisible, cultural and social undertones that continue today to feed into prejudicial stereotypes.

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Taira Meadowcroft

Taira Meadowcroft is the Public Health and Community Engagement Librarian at the Health Sciences Library at the University of Missouri.

Reading Revelry: September (2024)

Hello everyone! We hope you’ve has had a wonderful start to the semester! This month we have two book recommendations for when you need a break from homework.

If you are interested in requesting these books, click on the hyperlink in the title, and on the blue “Place Request” button on the left side of the page. If you have questions or issues requesting items, please contact us at (573) 882-2379

Happy reading!

Our picks for September:  

 

 

Biography of X By Catherine Lacey  ISBN: 9780374606176
Publication Date: March 21, 2023

This suspenseful literary masterpiece follows C.M, widow of the eclectic artist known as X, as she tries to unravel the threads of mystery left behind in X’s death. C.M. sets out on an unforgettable quest to find out who her late wife really was. Told in an alternate timeline of history, with lots of pop culture references, this book will leave you enthralled until the very last page  

 

 

 

 

Martyr! By Kaveh Akbar 
ISBN: 9780593537619 
Publication Date: January 18, 2024 

Cyrus Shams is obsessed with martyrs, so much so he is writing a book about them. His life has been plagued with senseless violence and loss, and martyrs are a unique comfort for him. He becomes drawn to Orkideh, an artist who is spending her final days as a live art piece at the Brooklyn Museum. Determined to include her in his book of martyrs, Cyrus travels from Indiana to New York to meet her. The journey leads him to discover answers to his past. Told in multiple perspectives, this debut novel is as hilarious as it is devastating.

 

 

 

Summer Reading Favorites from Mizzou Librarians

We asked Mizzou Librarians to tell us what their favorite read of the summer was and asked them to explain why it was their favorite. They could:

  • Write a few sentences OR
  • Provide 3-5 descriptive words OR
  • What emojis would describe the book?

The books could be published in any year and any genre as long as they were available at Mizzou Libraries or in Mobius.

We know it’s hard to pick a favorite book, but we have some great selections to add to your tbr.

 

Heartstopper Vol. 3 by Alice Oseman

“The Heartstopper graphic novel series is A+. It’s about young love and finding yourself. My jaw hurt from smiling the entire time reading this,” -Taira M.

 

The Swans of Fifth Avenue by Melanie Benjamin

“Truman Capote spills the tea on New York socialites,”- Diane

 

 

Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop by Hwang Bo-Reum

“A woman reinvents herself and her life by starting a bookshop in her beloved local community. A lovely, heartwarming read about identity, goals, dreams as well as finding community,” Stara H.

 

Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune

“Hopeful, a new way to think about loss and death,” – Megan

 

Goodbye Hello: Processing Grief and Understanding Death Through the Paranormal by Adam Berry

“This is not a self-help book. It is Adam’s personal take on grief and dying from both a supernatural and psychological standpoint, peppered with stories and interviews from his career in the paranormal. You might find out you’re not crazy/it’s not just you after all.” – Mara, your morbidly curious librarian

 

A Pirate’s Life for Tea: a Cozy Fantasy with Ships Abound by Rebecca Thorne

“I just discovered the cozy fantasy subgenre, which this novel falls into. It also has many of my favorite things: tea, adventure, good people, and a little romance.” – Noel K.

TAGS:

Taira Meadowcroft

Taira Meadowcroft is the Public Health and Community Engagement Librarian at the Health Sciences Library at the University of Missouri.

National Book Lovers Day August 9th

Reading reinforces our humanity by helping us to see others and be seen. We love this unofficial holiday where we can celebrate our love of reading. Not that we ever need an excuse to celebrate reading.

Below are some of our book lists to help you add to your TBR:

Books to Celebrate Pride

Summer Reading Revelry

Books to Read on the Beach (or Couch!) This Spring Break

Mizzou Librarians Share Their Favorite Reads of 2023

Summer Reads for Doctors — or Anyone Interested in the World of Medicine

Take A (Reading) Bite Out of Shark Week

Books to Celebrate Disability Culture Month at Mizzou

National Hispanic Heritage Month Book Recommendations

Native American Heritage Month Book Recommendations

home Resources and Services, Staff news Books to Celebrate Pride

Books to Celebrate Pride

It’s officially Pride Month and to help celebrate this month of love and acceptance, we asked our Mizzou Librarians what stories they’d like to celebrate.

Below are just a few of the recommendations that tell stories of triumphs and struggles of the LGBTQ community, all of which are available to request. You can view the whole list of recommended reads here.

Be sure to search the library catalog to see what else we have.

Have book recommendation? Let us know here.

BirthdayBirthday by Meredith Russo

Eric and Morgan decided they were best friends for life. They’ve stuck by each other’s side as Morgan’s mom died, as he moved across town, as Eric joined the football team, as his parents started fighting. But Morgan feels trapped in a mixed-up body, in a wrong life, in Nowheresville, Tennessee, on repeat. With a dad who cares about his football team more than his son, and a best friend who can never know his biggest secret. Six years of birthdays reveal Eric and Morgan’s destiny as they come together, drift apart, fall in love, and discover who they’re meant to be– and if they’re meant to be together.

 

Golden Boy Golden boy a novel Abigail Tartellin.

The Walker family is good at keeping secrets from the world. They are even better at keeping them from each other. Max Walker is a golden boy, with a secret that the world may not be ready for. This novel is a riveting tale of a family in crisis, a fascinating exploration of identity, and a coming-of-age story like no other.

 

 

I am Your Sister: Collected and Unpublished Writings of Audre LordeI am your sister collected and unpublished writings of Audre Lorde

I Am Your Sister is a collection of Lorde’s non-fiction prose, written between 1976 and 1990, and it introduces new perspectives on the depth and range of Lorde’s intellectual interests and her commitments to progressive social change. Presented here, for the first time in print, is a major body of Lorde’s speeches and essays, along with the complete text of A Burst of Light and Lorde’s landmark prose works Sister Outsider and The Cancer Journals. Together, these writings reveal Lorde’s commitment to a radical course of thought and action, situating her works within the women’s, gay and lesbian, and African American Civil Rights movements.

 

Legends & LattesLegends lattes a novel of high fantasy and low stakes Travis Baldree.

After a lifetime of bounties and bloodshed, Viv is hanging up her sword for the last time. The battle-weary orc aims to start fresh, opening the first ever coffee shop in the city of Thune. But old and new rivals stand in the way of success — not to mention the fact that no one has the faintest idea what coffee actually is. If Viv wants to put the blade behind her and make her plans a reality, she won’t be able to go it alone. But the true rewards of the uncharted path are the travelers you meet along the way. And whether drawn together by ancient magic, flaky pastry, or a freshly brewed cup, they may become partners, family, and something deeper than she ever could have dreamed.

 

Out at the Movies: A history of Gay CinemaOut at the Movies A history of Gay Cinema

Over the decades, gay cinema has reflected the community’s journey from persecution to emancipation to acceptance. Politicised dramas like Victim in the 60s, The Naked Civil Servant in the 70s, and the AIDS cinema of the 80s have given way in recent years to films which celebrate a vast array of gay life-styles. Gay films have undergone a major shift, from the fringe to the mainstream and 2005s Academy Awards were dubbed the Gay Oscars with gongs going to Brokeback Mountain, Capote and Transamerica. Producers began clamouring to back gay-themed movies and the most high profile of these is Gus Van Sant’s MILK, starring Sean Penn as Harvey Milk, the first prominent American political figure to be elected to office on an openly gay ticket back in the 70s. The book also includes information on gay filmmakers and actors and their influence within the industry. Interspersed throughout the book are some of the most iconic scenes from gay cinema and the most memorable dialogue from key films.

 

Stella Brings the FamilyStella Brings the Family

Stella’s class is having a Mother’s Day celebration, but what’s a girl with two daddies to do? It’s not that she doesn’t have someone who helps her with her homework, or tucks her in at night. Stella has her Papa and Daddy who take care of her, and a whole gaggle of other loved ones who make her feel special and supported every day. She just doesn’t have a mom to invite to the party. Fortunately, Stella finds a unique solution to her party problem in this sweet story about love, acceptance, and the true meaning of family.

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Taira Meadowcroft

Taira Meadowcroft is the Public Health and Community Engagement Librarian at the Health Sciences Library at the University of Missouri.

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Summer Reading Revelry

Happy Summer! Spend your time off school with this month’s Reading Revelry recommendations. Whether you are looking for something light and romantic, or something full of adventure and magic, we have got you covered. Happy Reading!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik

ISBN: 9780593128480
Publication Date: 2020-09-29
Everyone loves Orion Lake. Everyone else, that is. Far as I’m concerned, he can keep his flashy combat magic to himself. I’m not joining his pack of adoring fans. I don’t need help surviving the Scholomance, even if they do. Forget the hordes of monsters and cursed artifacts, I’m probably the most dangerous thing in the place. Just give me a chance and I’ll level mountains and kill untold millions, make myself the dark queen of the world. At least, that’s what the world expects. Most of the other students in here would be delighted if Orion killed me like one more evil thing that’s crawled out of the drains. Sometimes I think they want me to turn into the evil witch they assume I am. The school certainly does. But the Scholomance isn’t getting what it wants from me. And neither is Orion Lake. I may not be anyone’s idea of the shining hero, but I’m going to make it out of this place alive, and I’m not going to slaughter thousands to do it, either.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eragon by Christopher Paolini

ISBN: 9780375826689
Publication Date: 2003-08-26
When fifteen-year-old Eragon finds a polished blue stone in the forest, he thinks it is the lucky discovery of a poor farm boy. But when the stone brings a dragon hatchling, Eragon soon realizes he has stumbled upon a legacy nearly as old as the Empire itself. Overnight his simple life is shattered, and, gifted with only an ancient sword, a loyal dragon, and sage advice from an old storyteller, Eragon is soon swept into a dangerous tapestry of magic, glory, and power. Now his choices could save–or destroy–the Empire.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Don’t Want You Like a Best Friend by Emma R. Alban

ISBN: 9780063312005
Publication Date: 2024-01-09
It’s 1857, and anxious debutante Beth has just one season to snag a wealthy husband, or she and her mother will be out on the street. But playing the blushing ingenue makes Beth’s skin crawl and she’d rather be anywhere but here. Gwen, on the other hand, is on her fourth season and counting, with absolutely no intention of finding a husband, possibly ever. She figures she has plenty of security as the only daughter of a rakish earl, from whom she’s gotten all her flair, fun, and less-than-proper party games. “Let’s get them together,” she says. It doesn’t take long for Gwen to hatch her latest scheme: rather than surrender Beth to courtship, they should set up Gwen’s father and Beth’s newly widowed mother. Let them get married instead. “It’ll be easy” she says. There’s just…one, teeny, tiny problem. Their parents kind of seem to hate each other. But no worries. Beth and Gwen are more than up to the challenge of a little twenty-year-old heartbreak. How hard can parent-trapping widowed ex-lovers be? Of course, just as their plan begins to unfold, a handsome, wealthy viscount starts calling on Beth, offering up the perfect, secure marriage. Beth’s not mature enough for this… Now Gwen must face the prospect of sharing Beth with someone else, forever. And Beth must reckon with the fact that she’s caught feelings, hard, and they’re definitely not for her potential fiancé. That’s the trouble with matchmaking: sometimes you accidentally fall in love with your best friend in the process.
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Gabe Harman

Gabe Harman is a Senior Info Specialist at MU's Engineering library. He focuses on out-reach, instruction, and circulation

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Reading Revelry: May

Happy May! This month’s Reading Revelry recommendations are focused on change and adventure. For all of our students gearing up to complete their semester and begin a well deserved break, these might be concepts you’re about to experience. We hope this month’s selections help you through a season of new chapters. Happy Reading!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Everyone Dies Famous in a Small Town by Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock

ISBN: 9781984892591
Publication Date: 2021-04-20
A lyrical and heartfelt collection by an award-winning writer that connects the lives of young people from small towns in Alaska and the American west. Each story is unique, yet universal. In this book, the impact of wildfire, a wayward priest, or a mysterious disappearance ricochet across communities, threading through stories. Here, ordinary actions such as ice skating or going to church reveal hidden truths. One choice threatens a lifelong friendship. Siblings save each other. Rescue and second chances are possible, and so is revenge.

 

 

 

 

 

Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson

ISBN: 9781250899651
Publication Date: 2023-04-04
The only life Tress has known on her island home in an emerald-green ocean has been a simple one, with the simple pleasures of collecting cups brought by sailors from faraway lands and listening to stories told by her friend Charlie. But when his father takes him on a voyage to find a bride and disaster strikes, Tress must stow away on a ship and seek the Sorceress of the deadly Midnight Sea. Amid the spore oceans where pirates abound, can Tress leave her simple life behind and make her own place sailing a sea where a single drop of water can mean instant death?

 

 

 

 

 

The City of Brass by S. A. Chakraborty

ISBN: 9780062678102
Publication Date: 2017-11-14
Nahri has never believed in magic. Certainly, she has power; on the streets of eighteenth-century Cairo, she’s a con woman of unsurpassed talent. But she knows better than anyone that the trades she uses to get by–palm readings, zars, and a mysterious gift for healing–are all tricks, both the means to the delightful end of swindling Ottoman nobles and a reliable way to survive. But when Nahri accidentally summons Dara, an equally sly, darkly mysterious djinn warrior, to her side during one of her cons, she’s forced to reconsider her beliefs. For Dara tells Nahri an extraordinary tale: across hot, windswept sands teeming with creatures of fire and rivers where the mythical marid sleep, past ruins of once-magnificent human metropolises and mountains where the circling birds of prey are more than what they seem, lies Daevabad, the legendary city of brass–a city to which Nahri is irrevocably bound
.

 

 

The Cemetery of Untold Stories by Julia Alvarez

ISBN: 9781643753843
Publication Date: 2024-04-02
Alma Cruz, the celebrated writer at the heart of The Cemetery of Untold Stories, doesn’t want to end up like her friend, a novelist who fought so long and hard to finish a book that it threatened her sanity. So when Alma inherits a small plot of land in the Dominican Republic, her homeland, she has the beautiful idea of turning it into a place to bury her untold stories–literally. She creates a graveyard for the manuscript drafts and the characters whose lives she tried and failed to bring to life and who still haunt her. Alma wants her characters to rest in peace. But they have other ideas and soon begin to defy their author: they talk back to her and talk to one another behind her back, rewriting and revising themselves. Filomena, a local woman hired as the groundskeeper, becomes a sympathetic listener to the secret tales unspooled by Alma’s characters. Among them, Bienvenida, dictator Rafael Trujillo’s abandoned wife who was erased from the official history, and Manuel Cruz, a doctor who fought in the Dominican underground and escaped to the United States.
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Gabe Harman

Gabe Harman is a Senior Info Specialist at MU's Engineering library. He focuses on out-reach, instruction, and circulation

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Books to Celebrate Pride Month and Arab American Heritage Month

April is Mizzou’s Pride Month and is also Arab American Heritage month!

This year, not only are we celebrating stories of triumphs and struggles of the LGBTQ community, but also celebrating and recognizing Arab American heritage and culture.

Below are some books in our library collection you can check out to celebrate both of these months. And be sure to check out the dual book display in the Ellis library Colonnade.

 

Books to Celebrate Mizzou Pride Month

Non-binary lives : an anthology of intersecting identities

The Velvet Mafia : the gay men who ran the Swinging Sixties

Queer ear : remaking music theory

 

Books to Celebrate Arab American Heritage Month

Bad girls of the Arab world

Him, Me, Muhammad Ali

Encyclopedia of embroidery from the Arab world