Wednesday, December 22, 2021

New Releases: January Edition

Did one of the book covers on our homepage catch your eye? They are all new titles being released in January 2022, and all are well-reviewed and anticipated. You can read the description of each below, then click the linked title to request a copy or get your name on the wait list. And don't forget to watch for more featured releases next month!

Featured Fiction for January

Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez

It's 2017, and Olga and her brother, Pedro “Prieto” Acevedo, are boldfaced names in their hometown of New York. Prieto is a popular congressman representing their gentrifying Latinx neighborhood in Brooklyn, while Olga is the wedding planner for Manhattan’s power brokers. But behind closed doors things are less rosy. Sure, Olga can orchestrate the love stories of the 1% but she can’t find her own. Then she meets Matteo, who forces her to confront family secrets. Olga and Prieto’s mother, Blanca, a Young Lord turned radical, abandoned her children to advance a political cause, leaving them to be raised by their grandmother. Now, with the winds of hurricane season, Blanca has come barreling back into their lives.


How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu

In 2030, an archeologist arrives in the Arctic to continue the work of his deceased daughter, where researchers are studying secrets revealed in melting permafrost, including the preserved remains of a girl who died of a virus. Once unleashed, the Arctic plague reshapes life for generations, traversing the globe, forcing humans to devise ways to embrace possibility amidst tragedy. In a theme park designed for terminally ill children, an employee falls in love with a mother desperate to keep her infected son. A scientist finds that one of his test subjects—a pig—develops capacity for human speech. A painter and her granddaughter go on a cosmic quest to locate a new planet. From funerary skyscrapers to hotels for the dead to interstellar starships, the author takes readers on an original and compassionate journey.

Daughter of the Moon Goddess: Celestial Kingdom, Book One by Sue Lynn Tan

Growing up on the moon, Xingyin is used to solitude, unaware that she is being hidden from the Celestial Emperor who exiled her mother. But when Xingyin’s existence is discovered, she is forced to flee, leaving her mother behind. Alone and afraid, she makes her way to the Celestial Kingdom, a land of wonder and secrets. Disguising her identity, she seizes an opportunity to learn alongside the Crown Prince, mastering archery and magic, even as passion grows between her and the emperor’s son. To save her mother, Xingyin embarks on a perilous quest, confronting legendary creatures and vicious enemies across the earth and skies. When treachery looms and forbidden magic threatens the kingdom, she must challenge the Celestial Emperor.

Featured Nonfiction for January

Emotional Inheritance: A Therapist, Her Patients, and the Legacy of Trauma by Galit Atlas

The people we love and those who raised us live inside us; we experience their emotional pain, we dream their memories, and these things shape our lives in ways we don’t always recognize. Emotional Inheritance is about family secrets that keep us from living to our full potential, create gaps between what we want for ourselves and what we are able to have, and haunt us like ghosts. In this transformative book, the author entwines the stories of her patients, her own stories, and decades of research to help us identify the links between our life struggles and the “emotional inheritance” we all carry. 

Murder at Teal's Pond: Hazel Drew and the Mystery that Inspired Twin Peaks by David Bushman and Mark T. Givens

In 1908, Hazel Drew was found floating in a pond in Sand Lake, New York, beaten to death. The unsolved murder inspired rumors, speculation, ghost stories, and, almost a century later, the phenomenon of Twin Peaks. Who killed Hazel Drew? Like Laura Palmer, she was a paradox of personalities―young and beautiful with secrets. Perhaps the trickier question is, Who was Hazel Drew? Seeking escape from her poor country roots, Hazel found work as a domestic servant in the notoriously corrupt metropolis of Troy, New York. Fate derailed her plans for reinvention. But the investigation that followed her brutal murder was fraught with red herrings, wild-goose chases, and unreliable witnesses. Did officials really follow the leads? Or did they bury them to protect the guilty?

Rise: My Story by Lindsey Vonn

A fixture in American sports for almost 20 years, Vonn is a legend. With a career that transformed how America celebrates female athletes, Vonn—who retired in 2019 as the most decorated American skier of all time—was in the vanguard of that change. In Rise, she shares her incredible journey, going behind the scenes of a life built around resilience and risk-taking. She offers a glimpse into her pursuit of her limits, a pursuit so focused on one-upping herself that she pushed her body past its breaking point. While this grit and perseverance helped her fight injuries, it came with a cost—physical and mental. Vonn opens up about her depression and struggles with self-confidence. She dissects the moments that sidelined her and how, each time, she came back using an approach rooted in hard work.

Tuesday, December 21, 2021

WooReads Winter Reading Challenge For Adults: Patron Book Reviews

 

Join the WooReads: Winter Reading Challenge for Adults for a chance to win a L.L. Bean tote bag featuring the WPL logo. All you have to do is log at least 9 books from December 1- February 28 to be entered into the drawing. Our WooReaders have been doing an excellent job of logging their books so far! Check out their reviews below. 


What an amazing book!! I really felt like I was there in the hot, Harlem summer, walking the streets from Harlem to Manhattan, riding the subways and navigating the underworld with Mark Purvis. Great writing, great plot and great character development. A must-read for any kid growing up in a city and kids in general. ~ Mario W.

Neat collection of short autobiographical episodes from a bunch of sequential artists, like Sergio Aragones, William Strout, and Fabio Moon. ~ Amy W.

McQuiston's second book is so much like their first, Red, White and Royal Blue, but also so very different. You can see their style carrying through, but the big emotions are so different when you're talking about a public love vs a private love. One Last Stop is all about learning to live by learning about yourself in big ways and small ways and finding yourself in how you relate to others (and how they relate to you). ~ Sarah L.

I was disappointed with the conclusion of this book. I had built up expectations for more encounters with the entity and a more dramatic ending. Just thought there'd be more excitement since this book was made into a movie. ~ Sandra B.





Reading Resources

Everything is better with a book! Did you know you can read eBooks and listen to audiobooks through the
 Libby and Hoopla apps? Both are free to use with your WPL card. You can read on mobile devices, tablets, or in your browser. If you need help navigating these resources, register for the Demystifying eBooks & Audiobooks class taught at the Main Library. 

Saturday, December 18, 2021

Vinyl Sticker Submission Form


Thank you for attending Introduction to Inkscape for Making Stickers with Technocopia. Please use the link below to submit your design for cutting on the library's vinyl cutter. 


Vinyl Sticker Submission Form 



Monday, December 13, 2021

WooReads Winter Reading Challenge For Adults: Patron Book Reviews

 


Hello WooReaders! We're back with a new challenge for the winter. Join the WooReads: Winter Reading Challenge for Adults for a chance to win a L.L. Bean tote bag featuring the WPL logo. All you have to do is log at least 9 books from December 1- February 28 to be entered into the drawing. Stay inside and snuggle up with a book this winter season!

To find your next great read, check out Reader's Corner for books recommended by WPL librarians. Looking to make a warm winter meal? View our Cozy Cooking booklist. 

Try one of our Bundles if you'd like a librarian to select books, magazines or DVDs for you. For information on adult classes and programs, visit mywpl.org

Enjoy these book reviews submitted by your fellow patrons through our WooReads challenge. 


Crime of the Ancient Marinara by Stephanie Cole

This is an entertaining cozy set in Tuscany, Italy. Nell Valenti is helping to set up a cooking school in an old villa surrounded by beautiful olive groves and forest. The premiere class is soon marked by a murder in its midst. Lots of humor and intrigue with a generous number of suspects, mysterious twists and red herrings. ~Mary R.




The author, who was born with a neuromuscular condition that allows him to walk extremely short distances, uses a wheelchair most of the time. He wrote this book at the time in his life where he and his wife had a one year old son. This life-changing event that he was not sure was ever in his future, caused him to reflect on his life thus far. This is not a long book, but an important one in terms of the rights of the disabled. Well worth the time.
~ Linda J.



Just One Damned Thing After Another by Jodi Taylor

Ever wondered what really happened in history? The lucky protagonist (or some may say unlucky) receives a job of a lifetime: time travel and document what really happens. It doesn't come easy though. Historian Madeleine Maxwell suffers many hardships because time is never easy on anyone. This science fiction novel is appropriately named and certainly a page turner. ~ Lex P.


The Family Roe: An American Story by Joshua Prager

An extraordinarily comprehensive overview of most of the people involved in the decision Roe v. Roe: not just the story, in extraordinary detail, of Norma McCorvey and her family (parents, siblings, cousins, children, partners) but the lives of the lawyers involved, the judges who handed down the decisions, the prosecutors who fought the other sides of the court cases. Don't start this book unless you are willing to spend the time to appreciate the detail and the thoughtfulness of the almost 500 pages of the primary text. The notes run another 140 pages, and in them are buried myriad details to delight or surprise. ~ Deb E.

Wednesday, December 1, 2021

Consumer Reports Holiday Gift Guide

Need help finding the best brands for your holiday purchases?  Before you head to the stores or start shopping online, check out the Consumer Reports Holiday Gift Guide.  

You will find:

❅Top gift ideas
❅Holiday deals
❅Buying guides
❅Safe gathering suggestions 
❅Do’s & Don’ts for safe holiday cooking
❅Holiday shopping tips & advice 


You also have FREE access to the online version of Consumer Reports with your Worcester Public Library card.   If you’re a fan of the magazine, you’ll enjoy being able to view the same helpful information from home.

To access Consumer Reports, go to WPL's website and then to the online databases page in the Resources tab and click on the home icon where Consumer Reports is listed. All you need to enter is your WPL library card number and password.  You can also click here for direct access to the database page.  


To borrow the print issue you can place a hold for pickup at the main library or one of the branches.  
  1. First go to account login at  mywpl.org.  Enter your library card number and password. This will bring you to the online catalog.
  2.  Enter "Consumer Reports" in the search bar and select "serial publications & magazines" in the format drop down menu.  Hit enter.
  3. Click on the "Place Hold" button.  You can then choose a specific issue using the "Select a Part" drop down menu.
  4. Select which issue you want, choose how you want the library to notify you when it's ready for pick up, and which library you want to pick up at.  Click submit.
For more information on Consumer Reports click here to see our previous blog.

WooReads: Winter Reading Challenge For Adults

 


WooReads: Winter Reading Challenge for Adults 

Dec 1, 2021 - Feb 28, 2022 

Join WooReads on Beanstack, an online tool where you can
keep track of your reading, post book reviews, discover good reads, win prizes,
and stay connected with the many library-related programs and resources!


***Win a WPL Tote Bag!***

Readers who log at least 9 books will be automatically entered into a drawing* for two chances to win a L.L. Bean Boat and Tote zip-top bag embroidered with the WPL logo. These coveted totes have been gently-used for our book club in a bag kits but have found new life as an exciting prize for our dedicated readers!

*Books read starting December 1, 2021 must be logged by February 28, 2022.
*Must be a Worcester Resident to win. Library employees are ineligible.


Programs and Resources
 be inspired by local talent.

-Visit WPL’s Reader’s Corner for staff picks, new titles, book lists, and more.

-Attend one of our several librarian-led book clubs to discuss books and meet 
like-minded readers.


Sign up at mywpl.beanstack.org today. For mobile users, download the Beanstack Tracker app to get started.