New Releases: March Edition

Check out these highly anticipated March releases featuring fiction and nonfiction titles. Click on the title to request a copy or get your name on the waitlist. Don’t forget to watch for more featured releases next month! 

Fiction

Evil Eye by Eta Rum

After Yara is placed on probation at work for fighting with a racist coworker, her Palestinian mother claims the provocation and all that’s come after were the result of a family curse. While Yara doesn’t believe in old superstitions, she finds herself unpacking her strict, often volatile childhood growing up in Brooklyn, looking for clues as to why she feels so unfulfilled in a life her mother could only dream of.

Biography of X by Catherine Lacey 

Pulsing with suspense and intellect while blending nonfiction and fiction, Biography of X is a roaring epic that plumbs the depths of grief, art, and love. In her most ambitious novel yet, Catherine Lacey, one of our most acclaimed literary innovators, pushes her craft to its highest level, introducing us to an unforgettable character who, in her tantalizing mystery, shows us the fallibility of the stories we craft for ourselves.

What Happened to Ruthy Ramirez by Claire Jimenez

The Ramirez women of Staten Island orbit around absence. When thirteen‑year‑old middle child Ruthy disappeared after track practice without a trace, it left the family scarred and scrambling. One night, twelve years later, oldest sister Jessica spots a woman on her TV screen in Catfight, a raunchy reality show. She rushes to tell her younger sister, Nina: This woman's hair is dyed red, and she calls herself Ruby, but the beauty mark under her left eye is instantly recognizable. Could it be Ruthy, after all this time?

Nonfiction

We Were Once a Family: A Stry of Love, Death, and Child Removal in America by Roxanna Asgarian 

After a car crash of two white mothers and their six adopted black children was deemed a murder suicide, we follow Asgarian as she tries to uncover more about the children and their birth families. Her reporting uncovers racial biases and corruption as children of color are separated from birth parents without proper cause. The result is a riveting narrative and an indictment of a system that continues to fail America’s most vulnerable children while upending the lives of their families.

Planta Sapiens: The New Science of Plant Intelligence by Paco Calvo

A leading figure in the philosophy of plant signaling and behavior, Paco Calvo offers an entirely new perspective on plant biology. In Planta Sapiens, he shows for the first time how we can use tools developed in animal cognition studies in a quest to deeply understand plant intelligence.Most importantly, he demonstrates that plants are neither objects nor resources; they are agents in themselves, and for themselves.

Above Ground by Clint Smith

Clint Smith’s vibrant and compelling new collection traverses the vast emotional terrain of fatherhood, and explores how becoming a parent has recalibrated his sense of the world. Above Ground wrestles with how we hold wonder and despair in the same hands, how we carry intimate moments of joy and a collective sense of mourning in the same body. 

Reference Shelf: Government Documents

As a reference librarian here at the Worcester Public Library, I often see patrons searching for reliable and trustworthy information on a wide range of topics. From environmental research to health resources, government documents are a valuable resource for library patrons. In this blog post, I’d like to explore what government documents are and what you’ll find here at WPL.

Government documents are publications produced by the federal government. They provide all different types of information on a wide range of topics, including technical scientific data, general overviews of a currently political topics, weather, and health.  U.S. laws, regulations, and even the constitution, are also all government documents.

There are good reasons to keep government documents in mind when doing research.  Lots of time, effort, and expertise are used to make sure the government has the best information possible to provide to the public and make decisions, making these documents quite authoritative.  In some cases, like the census, the government has the only real comprehensive data set.  Government documents are also generally free of copyright, meaning they can be reused.   

The Worcester Public Library has been a depository library since 1859, which means we have been receiving and housing government documents for more than 150 years!  Because of this long tenure, WPL has a large collection of government documents, with some dating back more than a hundred years.

Most government documents are held in WPL’s basement, so if you are searching our catalog and see an item with an unusual call number, don’t hesitate to ask a librarian to help you find it.  Chances are you have stumbled upon a government document and it will need to be retrieved for you.  Newer documents can be found displayed on the second floor alongside a display of recently returned or used government documents.

Reference Librarian Ben Izaurralde poses with his display of U.S. Government documents on #LibraryShelfieDay at the Worcester Public Library in Worcester, MA. This library has been part of the #FDLP since 1859. @worcester_PL pic.twitter.com/dinCstUxLx

— USGPO (@USGPO) January 25, 2023

In keeping with the Government Publishing Office’s mission of “keeping America informed,” most government documents are now available online.  The information is not all in one place however, and you will generally need to go to the website of the agency which published the information to find what you need.  Fortunately, documents from a number of different government agencies can be searched and found through our catalog.   If you need to view one of these documents, just look for the link under the ‘Electronic resources’ heading in the record.  This link will take you directly to the document.

There is certainly more that can be said about government documents, so if you have more questions, don't hesitate to reach out.  We are here to help you find the answers to all your burning questions.

New Releases: February Edition

Check out these highly anticipated February releases featuring fiction and nonfiction titles. Click on the title to request a copy or get your name on the waitlist. Don’t forget to watch for more featured releases next month! 

Fiction

Your Driver Is Waiting by Priya Guns

In this electrifyingly fierce and funny social satire—a gender-flipped reboot of the iconic 1970s film Taxi Driver—a ride share driver is barely holding it together on the hunt for love, dignity, and financial security…until she decides she’s done waiting.

Scorched Grace: A Sister Holiday Mystery by Margot Douaihy 

Sister Holiday is more faithful than most, but she’s no saint. To piece together the clues of this high-stakes mystery, she must first reckon with the sins of her chequered past – and neither task will be easy. An exciting start to Margot Douaihy’s bold series that breathes new life into the hard-boiled genre, Scorched Grace is a fast-paced and punchy whodunnit that will keep readers guessing until the very end.

Endpapers by Jennifer Sarvan Kelly

An accessible, character-driven story set in 2003 New York City about a genderqueer book conservator who feels trapped by her gender presentation, her ill-fitting relationship, and her artistic block, as she discovers a decades-old hidden queer love letter and becomes obsessed with tracking down its author.

Nonfiction

Africatown: America’s Last Slave Ship and the Community it Created

An evocative and epic story, Nick Tabor's Africatown charts the fraught history of America from those who were brought here as slaves but nevertheless established a home for themselves and their descendants, a community which often thrived despite persistent racism and environmental pollution.

The Wise Hours: A Journey into the Wild and Secret World of Owls by Miriam Darlington

In The Wise Hours, Darlington watches and listens to the natural world and to the rhythms of her home and family, inviting readers to discover the wonders of owls alongside her while rewilding our imagination with the mystery, fragility, and magnificence of all creatures.

I Know Who You Are: How an Amateur DNA Sleuth Unmasked the Golden State Killer and Changed Crime Fighting Forever by Barbara Rae-Venter

For twelve years the Golden State Killer terrorized California, stalking victims and killing without remorse. Then he simply disappeared, for the next forty-four years, until an amateur DNA sleuth opened her laptop. Barbara Rae-Venter reveals how she went from researching her family history to hunting for a notorious serial killer.

Welcome to the Adult Winter Reading Challenge! This winter we're offering readers two different prizes. 

Prize 1: Pirates 2023 Season Kickoff Package
In partnership with The Massachusetts Pirates, we are offering readers a chance
to win a pair of tickets for any regular 2023 season home game and Pirates swag!

Prize 2: Cozy Readers Dream Package
Win this package geared towards all readers! Includes a neck reading lamp,
page holder, library-themed socks, and WPL swag!

Click here to log into your Beanstack account to start logging your books and reviews. If you don't have an account, you can create one today!

Read these patron book reviews submitted by your fellow readers to get an idea of what to read next! And don't forget to log what you read, WPL events you attend, and your book reviews!

Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree

Great read with a slow and steady love story behind it. The world is rich and colorful and left me wanting several more of these. Lovely lgbt character representation. Don't miss the epilogue and prologue stories after the end.       ~ Margo S. 

Deep Water by Emma Bamford

Keeps you on edge from the very beginning of the book! I couldn’t put it down with how well it was written just wanting to know what’s next. 4.3/5 ~ Kaylee F. 

Little Green by Walter Mosley

Fully developed entertaining read.                 ~ Sandra B.

Tracy Flick Can't Win by Tom Perrotta

Such entertainment for a retired teacher...education at its most hilarious! Politics, shenanigans, stuff the outside world (from education) doesn't hear about.             ~ Ages W. 

NEW - Virtual 50+ Job Seekers Networking Group Starting in January

The Worcester Public Library is joining the Massachusetts Library Collaborative's 50+ Job Seekers Networking Group to support people fifty years or older who are looking for a new job, a new career direction,  or a "second act" career. These biweekly meetings are scheduled on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of the month, from 9:30am to 11:30am, via Zoom with a repeat session offered in the evenings at 6pm to 8pm on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday. Statistics show that 85% of jobs are found through networking.

Join us in a professional forum for networking with peers in an environment conducive to developing new relationships and developing skills and strategies to help in your career transition. Each meeting features a new topic. Meetings include a presentation and hands-on workshop on topics relevant to career transition, with guest speakers, access to hiring managers, small group breakout rooms to network, and 1-on-1 coaching guidance. Participating on a regular basis will give job seekers the tools and strategies needed for a successful job search.

Each meeting is facilitated by Deborah Hope, MBA, PCIC, an experienced executive career coach. Deborah is a former Fortune 500 executive, investment banker and entrepreneur and transitioned to executive coaching over 12 years ago. She has coached with Harvard Business School Executive Education programs, the Mass. Conference for Women, and has been trained or certified in a variety of coaching models and assessment tools. Deborah has facilitated 50+ job seekers networking groups since 2016. 

 Attendance at each session is not necessary but highly recommended. Job seekers can join at anytime. 

Register for 1st & 3rd Wednesdays 9:30 am-11:30 am 

Register for 2nd & 4th Wednesdays 6:00 pm-8:00 pm

New Releases: January Edition

 

Check out these highly anticipated January releases featuring fiction and nonfiction titles. Click on the title to request a copy or get your name on the waitlist. Don’t forget to watch for more featured releases next month! 

Fiction

The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff

A young Indian woman finds the false rumors that she killed her husband surprisingly useful—until other women in the village start asking for her help getting rid of their own husbands—in this razor-sharp debut.

How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix

Your past and your family can haunt you like nothing else… A hilarious and terrifying new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Final Girl Support Group. Every childhood home is haunted, and each of us are possessed by our parents. But some houses don’t want to be sold, and their home has other plans for both of them…

The Survivalist by Kashana Cauley

A single Black lawyer puts her career and personal moral code at risk when she moves in with her coffee entrepreneur boyfriend and his doomsday-prepping roommates in a novel that’s packed with tension, curiosity, humor, and wit from a writer with serious comedy credentials.

Nonfiction

Rough Sleepers: Dr. Jim O'Connell's Urgent Mission to Bring Healing to Homeless People creaming on the Inside by Jessica Grose

In Rough Sleepers, Tracy Kidder shows how one person can make a difference, as he tells the story of Dr. Jim O’Connell, a man who invented ways to create a community of care for a city’s unhoused population, including those who sleep on the streets—the “rough sleepers.”

Jellyfish Age Backwards: Nature's Secret to Longevity by Nicklas Brendborg

Mixing cutting-edge research and stories from habitats all around the world, Nicklas Brendborg explores extended life cycles in all its varieties. Along the way, we meet a man who fasted for over a year; a woman who edited her own DNA; redwoods that survive thousands of years; and in the soil of Easter Island, the key to eternal youth. Jellyfish Age Backwards is a love letter to the immense power of nature, and what the immortal lives of many of earth's animals and plants can teach us about the secrets to longevity.

Good for a Girl: A Woman Running in a Man's World by Lauren Fleshman

Fueled by her years as an elite runner and advocate for women in sports, Lauren Fleshman offers her inspiring personal story and a rallying cry for reform of a sports landscape that is failing young female athletes

Adult Winter Reading Challenge

Welcome to the Adult Winter Reading Challenge! This winter we're offering readers two different prizes. 

Prize 1: Pirates 2023 Season Kickoff Package
In partnership with The Massachusetts Pirates, we are offering readers a chance
to win a pair of tickets for any regular 2023 season home game and Pirates swag!

Prize 2: Cozy Readers Dream Package
Win this package geared towards all readers! Includes a neck reading lamp,
page holder, library-themed socks, and WPL swag!

Click here to log into your Beanstack account to start logging your books and reviews. If you don't have an account, you can create one today!

Read these patron book reviews submitted by your fellow readers to get an idea of what to read next! And don't forget to log what you read, WPL events you attend, and your book reviews!

The Chosen by Jerry B. Jenkins

After watching the television series I was interested in reading the book. I am so glad I did because each chapter explained each episode in more depth. It made it easier to understand the characters in the show as well since it created more understanding as to why the characters acted the way they did. ~ Stephanie D. 

Horse by Geraldine Brooks

This novel is based on true horse racing history. -lots of twists and turns going between 2 centuries- the author is a Pulitzer Prize winner, too - but for another book...which I must read. (I finished this book in 3 days!) ~ Agnes W.

Hell's Half-Acre by Susan Jonusas 

Read this for WPL's True Crime Book Club. When I initially read the synopsis, it wasn't something I thought I'd enjoy. To my surprise, I found it to be a good and easy read. I'm looking forward to the discussion. In the 1800's, the Bender family setup a tavern and camp for unsuspecting travelers seeking respite on their journey. Their crimes were of a heinous nature, including burying a child alive! Thought to be dimwitted, they managed to out-run the law and disappear - never to be caught.               ~ Mary T. 

November 9 by Colleen Hoover

This book was absolutely amazing! And the twists had my jaw on the floor!!! Beautiful story throughout! I even found myself sobbing during some chapters. I really enjoyed this books so much. ~ Tiffany C.