home Engineering Library Reading Revelry: April

Reading Revelry: April

Since April is National Poetry Month, this month’s selections are all poems about nature, love, and life. We hope all of our patrons find time this month enjoy a poem, two poems, or four poetry books recommended by the staff at the Engineering library. Happy Reading!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pretty Boys Are Poisonous by Megan Fox

ISBN: 9781668050415
Publication Date: 2023-11-07
“These poems were written in an attempt to excise the illness that had taken root in me because of my silence. I’ve spent my entire life keeping the secrets of men, my body aches from carrying the weight of their sins. My freedom lives in these pages, and I hope that my words can inspire others to take back their happiness and their identity by using their voice to illuminate what’s been buried, but not forgotten, in the darkness,” says Fox. Pretty Boys Are Poisonous marks the powerful debut from one of the most well-known women of our time. Turn the page, bite the apple, and sink your teeth into the most deliciously compelling and addictive books you’ll read all year.

 

 

 

 

 

Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude by Ross Gay

ISBN: 9780822980407
Publication Date: 2015
Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude is a sustained meditation on that which goes away—loved ones, the seasons, the earth as we know it—that tries to find solace in the processes of the garden and the orchard. That is, this is a book that studies the wisdom of the garden and orchard, those places where all—death, sorrow, loss—is converted into what might, with patience, nourish us.

 

 

 

 

 

Cover ArtBright Dead Things by Ada Limón; Ada Limón

ISBN: 9781571319258
Publication Date: 2015-09-15
“I am beautiful. I am full of love. I am dying,” the poet writes. Building on the legacies of forebears such as Frank O’Hara, Sharon Olds, and Mark Doty, Limón’s work is consistently generous and accessible–though every observed moment feels complexly thought, felt, and lived. “These poems are, as my students might say, hella intimate. They are meticulously honed and gorgeously crafted.”―Huffington Post “Limón’s work is destined to find a place with readers on the strength of her voice alone. Her intensity here is paradoxically set against the often slow burn of life in Kentucky, and the results will please readers.”–Flavorwir

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Lost Spells by Robert Macfarlane; Jackie Morris

ISBN: 9781487007799
Publication Date: 2020-10-27
The Lost Spells evokes the wonder of everyday nature, conjuring up red foxes, birch trees, jackdaws, and more in poems and illustrations that flow between the pages and into readers’ minds. Robert Macfarlane’s spell-poems and Jackie Morris’s watercolour illustrations are musical and magical: these are summoning spells, words of recollection, charms of protection. To read The Lost Spells is to see anew the natural world within our grasp and to be reminded of what happens when we allow it to slip away.
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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

Reading Revelry: March

Happy March and early happy International Women’s Day (March 8th)! This month, our recommendations are books by women and about women. We hope you enjoy. Happy Reading!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nettle and Bone by T. Kingfisher

ISBN: 9781250244048
Publication Date: 2022-04-26
Marra — a shy, convent-raised, third-born daughter — is relieved not to be married off for the sake of her parents’ throne. Her older sister wasn’t so fortunate though, and her royal husband is as abusive as he is powerful. From the safety of the convent, Marra wonders who will come to her sister’s rescue and put a stop to this. But after years of watching their families and kingdoms pretend all is well, Marra realizes if any hero is coming, it will have to be Marra herself. If Marra can complete three impossible tasks, a witch will grant her the tools she needs. But, as is the way in stories of princes and the impossible, these tasks are only the beginning of Marra’s strange and enchanting journey to save her sister and topple a throne.

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-García

ISBN: 9781432885380
Publication Date: 2021-02-24
After receiving a frantic letter from her newly-wed cousin begging for someone to save her from a mysterious doom, Noemí Taboada heads to High Place, a distant house in the Mexican countryside. She’s not sure what she will find–her cousin’s husband, a handsome Englishman, is a stranger, and Noemí knows little about the region. Noemí is also an unlikely rescuer: She’s a glamorous debutante, and her chic gowns and perfect red lipstick are more suited for cocktail parties than amateur sleuthing. But she’s also tough and smart, with an indomitable will, and she is not afraid: Not of her cousin’s new husband, who is both menacing and alluring; not of his father, the ancient patriarch who seems to be fascinated by Noemí ; and not even of the house itself, which begins to invade Noemi’s dreams with visions of blood and doom.

Wow, No Thank You by Samantha Irby

ISBN: 9780525563488
Publication Date: 2020-03-31
Irby is forty, and increasingly uncomfortable in her own skin despite what Inspirational Instagram Infographics have promised her. She has left her job as a receptionist at a veterinary clinic, has published successful books and has been friendzoned by Hollywood, left Chicago, and moved into a house with a garden that requires repairs and know-how with her wife in a Blue town in the middle of a Red state where she now hosts book clubs and makes mason jar salads. This is the bourgeois life of a Hallmark Channel dream. She goes on bad dates with new friends, spends weeks in Los Angeles taking meetings with “tv executives slash amateur astrologers” while being a “cheese fry-eating slightly damp Midwest person,” “with neck pain and no cartilage in [her] knees,” who still hides past due bills under her pillow.

The Undocumented Americans by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio

ISBN: 9780399592683
Publication Date: 2020-03-24
Writer Karla Cornejo Villavicencio was on DACA when she decided to write about being undocumented for the first time using her own name. It was right after the election of 2016, the day she realized the story she’d tried to steer clear of was the only one she wanted to tell. So she wrote her immigration lawyer’s phone number on her hand in Sharpie and embarked on a trip across the country to tell the stories of her fellow undocumented immigrants.
home Resources and Services From the Tortured Poets Department

From the Tortured Poets Department

We know a thing or two about Tortured Poets at Mizzou Libraries.

To help tide you over until April 19th, here are just a few of the tortured poets in our collection.

‘All’s fair in love and poetry.’

 

Skies by Alison Brackenbury

Skies is Alison Brackenbury’s ninth Carcanet collection. In these poems, Brackenbury sustains delicate proximities between war and love, joy and sadness, summer and winter.

 

 

Black Girl, Call Home by Jasmine Mars

A literary coming-of-age poetry collection, an ode to the places we call home, and a piercingly intimate deconstruction of daughterhood, Black Girl, Call Home is a love letter to the wandering black girl and a vital companion to any woman on a journey to find truth, belonging, and healing.

 

 

For All of Us, One Today: An Inaugural Poet’s Journey by Richard Blanco

A fluid, poetic memoir anchored by Richard Blanco’s experiences as America’s fifth inaugural poet In this brief and evocative memoir, Richard Blanco shares his life as a Latino immigrant and openly gay man discovering a new, emotional understanding of what it means to be an American.

 

 

 

From From by Monica Youn

“Where are you from . . . ? No—where are you from from?” It’s a question every Asian American gets asked as part of an incessant chorus saying you’ll never belong here, you’re a perpetual foreigner, you’ll always be seen as an alien, an object, or a threat.

 

 

 

Africa in My Skin by Rafael Nino Feliz

…more than an idea of social class or politics proper, the poet takes us on a journey across the islands of the Caribbean region where he uncovers the footprints of its inhabitants.

 

 

 

 

That Little Something by Charles Simic

His wry humor and darkly illuminating vision are on full display here as he moves close to the dark ironies of history and human experience. Simic understands the strange interplay between the ordinary and the odd, between reality and imagination.

 

 

 

The Broken String by Grace Schulman

The award-winning author of Days of Wonder celebrates the wonders and limitations of life through the power of music as she meditates on such themes as joy, faith, death, and the human heart.

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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.

home Engineering Library, Uncategorized Reading Revelry February

Reading Revelry February

Happy Black History month! This month’s Reading Revelry is focused on supporting the visibility of Black authors and books about Black culture, history, and people. We hope you will find something enjoyable and educational out of our picks for this month. Happy Reading!

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Fifth Season by N. K. Jemisin

ISBN: 9780316229296
Publication Date: 2015-08-04
This is the way the world ends. . .for the last time. It starts with the great red rift across the heart of the world’s sole continent, spewing ash that blots out the sun. It starts with death, with a murdered son and a missing daughter. It starts with betrayal, and long dormant wounds rising up to fester. This is the Stillness, a land long familiar with catastrophe, where the power of the earth is wielded as a weapon. And where there is no mercy.

His Name Is George Floyd (Pulitzer Prize Winner) by Robert Samuels; Toluse Olorunnipa

ISBN: 9780593490617
Publication Date: 2022-05-17
A landmark biography by two prizewinning Washington Post reporters that reveals how systemic racism shaped George Floyd’s life and legacy–from his family’s roots in the tobacco fields of North Carolina, to ongoing inequality in housing, education, health care, criminal justice, and policing–telling the story of how one man’s tragic experience brought about a global movement for change.

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

ISBN: 9780061120060
Publication Date: 2006-05-30
Out of print for almost thirty years–due largely to initial audiences’ rejection of its strong black female protagonist–Hurston’s classic has since its 1978 reissue become perhaps the most widely read and highly acclaimed novel in the canon of African-American literature. This book follows the recounting of the life of Janie Crawford. Janie recounts her life, her love, the lives of her family, and the world she navigates as a black women living in Florida in the early 20th century.

Black Women Taught Us by Jenn M. Jackson

ISBN: 9780593243336
Publication Date: 2024-01-23
A reclamation of essential history and a hopeful gesture toward a better political future, this is what listening to Black women looks like–from a professor of political science and columnist for Teen Vogue. “Jenn M. Jackson is a beautiful writer and excellent scholar. In this book, they pay tribute to generations of Black women organizers and set forward a bold and courageous blueprint for our collective liberation.”–Imani Perry, author of South to America.

 

Mizzou Librarians Share Their Favorite Reads of 2023

We asked Mizzou Librarians to recommend their favorite reads of 2023 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?

And of course, we got a lot of recommendations. The books could be published in any year and any genre as long as they were available at Mizzou Libraries or in Mobius.

Check out some books to help keep you entertained during these cold January days.

 

Y/N by Esther Yi

“Darkly funny, intense, beautiful prose, 3-am uncanny,” – Amanda M.

 

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

“Magical, Victorian, atmospheric, gentle,” – Julia P.

 

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

“Sci-Fi, Dystopia, Revenge, Kick-Ass Women AND invitation to fight🥊,” Megan B.

 

Thirty-three Teeth by Colin Cotterill

“Quietly humorous mystery set in Laos featuring elderly coroner. (Bonus note: the Soho Crime imprint is a fun way to travel the world: https://sohopress.com/soho-crime/),” Anne B.

 

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

“”Homecoming” by Yaa Gyasi captivated me with its sweeping narrative that spans generations, exploring the impact of slavery on two half-sisters and their descendants. The characters are vividly drawn and left a lasting impression on me. It’s powerful and thought-provoking, making it a standout and one of the best things I read this year,” Shannon C.

 

Still Life by Sara Winman

“This book is a lovely exploration of love in its many forms. It is a historical fiction book set in England during the end of WWII and stretching from then through the lives of the characters after the war. And, there is a wonderful, mystical parrot. Who can ask for more?”- Cindy B.

 

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

“Historic, Chilling, Action-Packed, Thought Provoking, Fashionable.” Gabe H.

 

The Wager by David Grann

“I love history and Mystery and this has all of that and more! Mutiny, Murder and Non Fiction,” Michelle B.

 

Trejo: My Life of Crime, Redemption, and Hollywood by Danny Trejo

“Unusual & honest autobiography of a Mexican-American; sort of like a rags-to-riches story. You may not recognize his name, but you will know his face from the many characters he has played. He is currently on “Saint George” with George Lopez.” – Tammy G.

 

The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese

“This is a beautifully written story spanning three generations of a family in India. They have mysterious medical condition which causes someone in each generation to die by drowning. I found both the joy and sorrow in this book incredibly moving.” -Katy E.

 

Goth: A History by Laurence Tolhurst

“Like a ghost of Goth past, Lol holds your hand and reminds you of all your gorgeous, beloved memories of days past. I felt seen, nostalgic, and vindicated. A must for all the Elder Goths out there. 💀🧛🧛‍♀️🖤” – Mara I.

 

Shadow divers: the true adventure of two Americans who risked everything to solve one of the last mysteries of World War II By Robert Kurson

“This is a real life story of some hobby SCUBA divers that find a WWII U-Boat off the coast of New Jersey, once again proving that truth is stranger than fiction.”- Diane J.

 

Brave Men by Ernie Pyle

“The author, Ernie Pyle, wrote for “Stars and Stripes” and was killed by a sniper in the Pacific Theatre later during WWII. This book begins with the invasion of Sicily in 1943, covers D Day in France, and ends with the arrival of Allied troops in Paris in 1944. I was so surprised how much I enjoyed this book. I feel like I learned more about WWII, how soldiers fought and the support network behind them. The chapters/entries are brief, so it’s easy to pick up and put down.” – Gwen G.

 

Cathedral: Stories by Raymond Carver

“I’m on a big short story kick right now – Raymond Carver, Richard Ford, and (most recently) Jess Walter. Carver reminds me a bit of John Steinbeck; his characters are all hard-luck guys like the men in Steinbeck’s Tortilla Flat.” – Kris A.

 

Unmask Alice: LSD, Satanic Panic, and the Imposter behind the Worl’s Most Notorious Diaries by Michelle Ross

“Unmask Alice is a masterpiece of a book that I would describe as part biography, part horror story, part documentary about the author of Go Ask Alice. It gives the personal history of troubled teens and disturbed icons, while also giving a big-picture perspective of mass hysteria and the effect that it has on politics, and vice versa. In our current era of (targeted) censorship, I believe this is a MUST READ, much like Go Ask Alice was in the 70s.” – Rebecca

 

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

“Chemist Elizabeth Zott is a single mother and the unlikely host of a popular cooking show, “Supper at Six”. She is not an average woman since she stands up for and advocates for women in the 1950s and 60s and wants to be judged on her own work In the 1950s, she has a relationship with a very gifted chemist, Calvin Evans, resulting in her daughter, Madeline. The book has humor mixed with the plight of women during the 1950s and 1960s along with deception in boys’ homes and in research centers.” – Georgia B.

 

The Day After Roswell by Philip Corso

“When I started digging for background information about the David Grusch hearing before Congress in 2023, I discovered this book by a high-ranking military intelligence officer in the 1960’s, whose book dates all the way back to 1997! Wow! It certainly gave me a different view of tech developments and international politics, particularly the relationship between the US and Russia under Ronald Reagan.  The chapter on the Star Wars aspect of the Reagan presidency cast the outcomes of his work in an entirely new light!  It’s definitely worth the time to have a glimpse at the hidden world behind the scenes to aid your understanding of what the big deal is about the Grusch testimony!” – Deb W.

 

The Extraordinaries by TJ Klune

“Teen Angst. Pining. Humor. Superheroes. The audiobook narrator was A+. What more could you want?” – Taira M.

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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.

home Engineering Library Reading Revelry: January

Reading Revelry: January

Season’s Greetings from all of us at the Engineering library. Whether you just finished celebrating the holidays, or you are still celebrating, we want you to have as many opportunities to dig up some readings recommendations as possible. We chose Romance as this month’s Reading Revelry theme to remind us all of warm and exciting days as we gear up to face the rest of a chilling winter. We hope you all find some good selections from our list to settle into the cold months with. Happy Reading!

 

 

Queerly Beloved by Susie Dumond

ISBN: 9780593243978
Publication Date: 2022-05-03
Amy, a semi-closeted queer baker and bartender in mid-2010s Oklahoma, has spent a lifetime putting other people’s needs before her own. Until, that is, she’s fired from her job at a Christian bakery and turns her one-off gig subbing in for a bridesmaid into a full-time business, thanks to her baking talents, crafting skills, and years watching rom-coms and Say Yes to the Dress. Between her new gig and meeting Charley, the attractive engineer who’s just moved to Tulsa, suddenly Amy’s found something-and someone-she actually wants.

Of the Wild (Can be obtained through an ILL request) by Elizabeth Wambheim; Hannah Culbert (Cover Design by)

ISBN: 9781735753201
Publication Date: 2021-06-28
Aeris, a shapeshifter of the Wild, steals children from unloving homes and raises them as his own in an enchanted grove deep in the Woods. Under the protective eye of their new guardian, the children absorb the forest’s magic and grow more fey-like than human: some of them sprout mushrooms or flowers while others develop scales or wings. But the reserve of magic that keeps Aeris and his forest home alive is inexplicably running dry. With his life waning and the dangers of the Wild creeping closer and closer, Aeris will do anything to protect his family, even set his hopes on an unlikely new arrival in the Woods: a human stranger.

The Duke and I by Julia Quinn

ISBN: 9780063063235
Publication Date: 2020-12-01
In the ballrooms and drawing rooms of Regency London, rules abound. From their earliest days, children of aristocrats learn how to address an earl and curtsy before a prince–while other dictates of the ton are unspoken yet universally understood. A proper duke should be imperious and aloof. A young, marriageable lady should be amiable…but not too amiable. Daphne Bridgerton has always failed at the latter. Everyone likes Daphne for her kindness and wit. But no one truly desires her. She is simply too deuced honest for that, too unwilling to play the romantic games that captivate gentlemen. Amiability is not a characteristic shared by Simon Basset, Duke of Hastings. Recently returned to England from abroad, he intends to shun both marriage and society. Yet an encounter with his best friend’s sister offers another option. If Daphne agrees to a fake courtship, Simon can deter the mamas who parade their daughters before him.

Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date by Ashley Herring Blake

ISBN: 9780593550571
Publication Date: 2023-10-24
Everyone around Iris Kelly is in love. Her best friends are all coupled up, her siblings have partners that are perfect for them, and her parents are still blissfully married. And she’s happy for all of them, truly. Iris doesn’t want any of that–dating, love, romance. She’ll stick to her commitment-free hookups, thanks very much, except no one in her life will just let her be. Everyone wants to see her settled down, but she holds firmly to her no dating rule. There’s only one problem–Iris is a romance author facing an imminent deadline for her second book, and she’s completely out of idea
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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

home Engineering Library Reading Revelry: December

Reading Revelry: December

Happy December Readers! For this month, we wanted to focus on some mystery novels to dive into after the chaos of finals and the end of the semester. We hope you all have a good, restful break. Happy Reading!

CW: Please be aware that most of these selections are murder mysteries. They all contain gore and horror elements in varying degrees.

 

 

 

 

 

Hogfather by Terry Pratchett; Stephen Briggs (Adapted by)

ISBN: 9781350244696
Publication Date: 2021-03-11
It’s the night before Hogswatch. And it’s too quiet. Superstition makes things work in the Discworld, and undermining it can have consequences. It’s just not right to find Death creeping down chimneys and trying to say ‘Ho Ho Ho…’It’s the last night of the year, the time is turning, and if Susan, gothic governess and Death’s granddaughter (sort of), doesn’t sort everything out by morning, there won’t be a morning. Ever again…

The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson

ISBN: 9781410455765
Publication Date: 2013-03-18
Two men, each handsome and unusually adept at his work, embodied an element of the great dynamic that characterized America’s rush toward the twentieth century. Daniel Hudson Burnham, a renowned architect, was the brilliant director of works for the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair. Henry H. Holmes, a young doctor, was the satanic murderer of scores of young women in a torture palace built for the purpose near the fairgrounds.

Murder on the Orient Express, Level 4 by Agatha Christie

ISBN: 9781405892148
Publication Date: 2013-09-16
A train journey from Turkey to France is dalayed by thick snow. So when a passenger on the train is found murdered in his bed, it is the perfect opportunity for Agatha Christie’s famous detective, Hercule Poirot, to prove his ability and solve the crime using the power of his brain.

Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann

ISBN: 9780307742483
Publication Date: 2018-04-03
In the 1920s, the richest people per capita in the world were members of the Osage Nation in Oklahoma. After oil was discovered beneath their land, the Osage rode in chauffeured automobiles, built mansions, and sent their children to study in Europe. Then, one by one, the Osage began to be killed off. The family of an Osage woman, Mollie Burkhart, became a prime target. One of her relatives was shot. Another was poisoned. And it was just the beginning, as more and more Osage were dying under mysterious circumstances, and many of those who dared to investigate the killings were themselves murdered.
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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

home Engineering Library EL&TC: November Reading Revelry

EL&TC: November Reading Revelry

The month of November is the chilly calm before the mighty storm of finals week. There will be papers, exams, and stress. Although, it doesn’t have to be all work. Rest is just as important. And why not rest your mind by escaping into the cozy, fantastical worlds within this month’s Reading Revelry selections? The holiday break is almost here, and you’ll do great on your finals. Happy Reading!

 

 

Witch Hat Atelier 1 by Kamome Shirahama

ISBN: 9781632367709
Publication Date: 2019-04-23
In a world where everyone takes wonders like magic spells and dragons for granted, Coco is a girl with a simple dream: She wants to be a witch. But everybody knows magicians are born, not made, and Coco was not born with the gift for magic. She’s resigned to her un-magical life, until a traveling magician passes through her village, and Coco learns what everybody “knows” might not be the truth.

A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher

ISBN: 9781614505242
Publication Date: 2020-07-21
Fourteen-year-old Mona isn’t like the wizards charged with defending the city. She can’t control lightning or speak to water. Her familiar is a sourdough starter and her magic only works on bread. She has a comfortable life in her aunt’s bakery making gingerbread men dance.But Mona’s life is turned upside down when she finds a dead body on the bakery floor. An assassin is stalking the streets of Mona’s city, preying on magic folk, and it appears that Mona is his next target.

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna

ISBN: 9780593439357
Publication Date: 2022-08-23
Mika Moon knows she has to hide her magic, and is used to keeping her head down with one exception: an online account, where she posts videos ‘pretending’ to be a witch. She thinks no one will take it seriously. But someone does. An unexpected message arrives, begging her to travel to the remote and mysterious Nowhere House to teach three young witches how to control their magic. When a threat comes knocking at their door, Mika will decide whether protecting her found family is worth risking it all.

The House Witch by Delemhach

ISBN: 9781039410251
Publication Date: 2022
When Finlay Ashowan joins the staff of the King and Queen of Daxaria, he’s an enigma. No one knows where he comes from or how he came to be where he is, which suits Fin just fine. He’s satisfied simply serving as the royal cook, keeping nosy passersby out of his kitchen, and concocting some truly uncanny meals. But Fin’s secret identity doesn’t stay hidden for long. After all, it’s not every day a house witch and his kitten familiar, Kraken, take to meddling in imperial affairs. As his powers are gradually discovered by the court, Fin finds himself involved in a slew of intrigues.
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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

home Engineering Library Reading Revelry: October

Reading Revelry: October

October is all about embracing Autumn by spending a cozy afternoon with a good book. Whether you’re looking for something light and heartwarming or something dark and mysterious, we’ve got you covered with this month’s Reading Revelry selections. From all of us at the Engineering library, happy fall and happy reading!

 

 

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

ISBN: 9780385353304
Publication Date: 2014-09-09
Kirsten Raymonde will never forget the night Arthur Leander, the famous Hollywood actor, had a heart attack on stage during a production of King Lear. That was the night when a devastating flu pandemic arrived in the city, and within weeks, civilization as we know it came to an end. Twenty years later, Kirsten moves between the settlements of the altered world with a small troupe of actors and musicians. They call themselves The Traveling Symphony, and they have dedicated themselves to keeping the remnants of art and humanity alive. But when they arrive in St. Deborah by the Water, they encounter a violent prophet who will threaten the tiny band’s existence.

Carmilla: the First Vampire by Amy Chu; Soo Lee (Illustrator); Sal Cipriano (Illustrator)

ISBN: 9781506734644
Publication Date: 2023-02-28
At the height of the Lunar New Year in 1990s New York City, an idealistic social worker turns detective when she discovers young, homeless LGBTQ+ women are being murdered and no one, especially the police, seems to care. A series of clues points her to Carmilla’s, a mysterious nightclub in the heart of her neighborhood, Chinatown. There she falls for the next likely target, landing her at the center of a real-life horror story and face-to-face with illusions about herself, her life, and her hidden past. Inspired by the gothic novel that started the vampire genre and layered with dark Chinese folklore, this queer, feminist murder mystery is a tale of identity, obsession and fateful family secrets

Archival Quality by Ivy Noelle Weir; Steenz (Illustrator)

ISBN: 9781620104705
Publication Date: 2018-03-06
After losing her job at the library, Cel Walden starts working at the haunting Logan Museum as an archivist. But the job may not be the second chance she was hoping for, and she finds herself confronting her mental health, her relationships, and before long, her grasp on reality as she begins to dream of a young woman she’s never met, but feels strangely drawn to.

DeadEndia: the Watcher’s Test by Hamish Steele

ISBN: 9781910620472
Publication Date: 2018-08-07
Barney and his best friend Norma are just trying to get by and keep their jobs, but working at the Dead End theme park also means battling demonic forces, time traveling wizards, and scariest of all–their love lives!
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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

home Ellis Library, Resources and Services National Hispanic Heritage Month Book Recommendations

National Hispanic Heritage Month Book Recommendations

National Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated annually from September 15 – October 15. National Hispanic Heritage Month celebrates Latino/a and Hispanic heritage, honors histories and the diverse cultures of people from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America.

 During National Hispanic Heritage Month the following Latin American countries celebrate independence days: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua on September 15th, Mexico on September 16th, and Chile on September 18th. 

With the help of Mizzou’s Association of Latin@ American Students,  the Cambio Center, and some faculty from the School of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures, MU Libraries has created a list of book recommendations.  Thank you to these groups and individuals  

Below are a few we have available for check out. You can view the whole list of book recommendations here. And be sure to visit the Hispanic Heritage Month book display in the Ellis Library colonnade.

 

Borderlands = La frontera, Gloria Anzaldúa 

Rooted in Gloria Anzaldúa’s experience as a Chicana, a lesbian, an activist, and a writer, the essays and poems in this volume challenge how we think about identity. Borderlands/La Frontera remaps our understanding of what a “border” is, presenting it not as a simple divide between here and there, us and them, but as a psychic, social, and cultural terrain that we inhabit, and that inhabits all of us. This 20th anniversary edition features a new introduction comprised of commentaries from writers, teachers, and activists on the legacy of Gloria Anzaldúa’s visionary work.

 

The archive and the repertoire : performing cultural memory in the Americas, Diana Taylor

Diana Taylor provides a new understanding of the vital role of performance in the Americas. From plays to official events to grassroots protests, performance, she argues, must be taken seriously as a means of storing and transmitting knowledge. Taylor reveals how the repertoire of embodied memory–conveyed in gestures, the spoken word, movement, dance, song, and other performances–offers alternative perspectives to those derived from the written archive and is particularly useful to a reconsideration of historical processes of transnational contact. The Archive and the Repertoire invites a remapping of the Americas based on traditions of embodied practice.

 

Manuel Álvarez Bravo

Manuel Alvarez Bravo, a pioneer of art photography in Mexico, is a cornerstone of Mexican culture and twentieth-century Latin-American photography. His work ranges from late 1920 to the 90s. Alvarez Bravo’s artistic identity is inextricably linked to the history of his country and the creation of Mexican identity after the revolution of 1910. Thus, his work can be understood both as a reflection of the extraordinary variety of cultures in Mexico as an eccentric drift of surreal avante-garde. The exhibition organised by Fundacion MAPFRE and the accompanying catalogue, runs through 150 photographs, a limited number of iconographic motifs of his work: reflections and illusions of the big city, bodies lying converted into shapes, objects of ambiguous meanings, a wide panoramic that shows his rejection to easy picturesque, his irony insistently ambiguous, and his ability to convert images into symbols beyond the poetic realism typical of Mexican culture.

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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.