The titles and links below will direct you to print copies when available. Click on the title to see all available formats, including recorded versions and eBooks.
You can learn more about using eBooks and eAudiobooks on our blog, and contact us if you need assistance. *Restrictions to using Hoopla apply based on your home address.
Subtitled: Family Stories. Very accessible poems, many featuring family members but others about artists, musicians, and writers. These are interspersed with Kalman’s exquisite, spirit-lifting still-life watercolors. Kalman doesn’t mince words, and there’s a mix of wit, regret, and delight in these pieces. These brief lines encapsulate the delicious interplay of material: “Dark is Life/Spring is here/The Birds are Singing.” Let Kalman give you a jolt of hope in the dark times that many of us feel so burdened by these days.
Subtitled: A Bestiary of Extraordinary Endangered Creatures. Some are exotic, like the pangolin and the golden mole, but Rundell also presents animals we take for granted, like bears or hares. For each she brings rich scientific descriptions, historical and literary references, and what we’ll lose when they’re gone, as some already are. In a chapter on hermit crabs, for instance, she says the coconut crab is endangered because it’s considered an aphrodisiac and goes on to debunk many other erroneous beliefs about sources of natural sexual stimulation. These pages are packed with wonder and surprising facts, ending with a clarion call for action.
I read this biography when it came out in 1993 but was moved to take another look, though I seldom reread, and was richly rewarded yet again. Morris crashes through so many notions of conventional dance tropes. He’s larger than life, fiercely talented, and follows his vision no matter what others think. He grew up in Seattle, exploring all kinds of dancing from folk to flamenco, and sopping up all sorts of music. In NYC, he put together a group of variegated, dedicated dancers and gradually got noticed, then acclaimed. A fascinating ill-conceived stint in Brussels showed how what looks like a boon—solid employment and bountiful resources—can go astray. I realize I’m sharing one of my special interests here, but if you want to experience heady creative energy on the page, take a look at this jam-packed, exhilarating offering.
Nonie and family have been holed up in NYC’s Museum of Natural History because flood waters have filled the city. They’re trying to preserve what they can of the museum’s treasures while scrambling to survive, subsisting on foraged food and hunting in Central Park. Then they must flee in a birchbark canoe from one of the exhibits because the building’s collapse is immanent. The plan: to make their way to a family farm in New England. A very fraught journey, with injuries, death, and encounters with a few desperate folks who’d managed to live through the deadly mosquito-borne plague that wiped out multitudes. Yes, yet another dystopian novel, but this one is distinguished by its grounding in the natural world and fine characterizations.
Add a comment to: Neshama’s Choices for March 17