Catalogging Consortium Spring 2014
Several titles caught my eye in the Consortium catalog - here's a peek:
1. She Wore Red Trainers: A Muslim Love Story by Na'ima B. Robert (Kube Publishing). This YA title introduces Ali and Amirah (who wears red trainers/sneakers). Ali is dealing with the death of his mother and "exploring his identity as a Muslim". Amira has sworn never to marry but...well, they fall hard for each other (of course!). This one is billed as a "unique romance that explores the possibilities and passions young Muslims face when falling in love." I'm hoping the characters are compelling, though they kind of had me with the Converse high tops on the cover.
2. Men Explain Things to Me by Rebecca Solnit (Haymarket Books). This short (100pgs) NF title (an essay really) is just what it sounds like - Solnit's take on "conversations between men who wrongly assume they know things and wrongly assume women don't." It is apparently the origin of the term "mansplaining". (Plus, REBECCA SOLNIT. Do you really need to think twice about anything with her name attached to it?)
3. Jam Today Too by Tod Davies (Exterminating Angel Press). I am endlessly attracted to cookbooks and just so not good at cooking. I have big dreams to eat well and eat interesting things but it never seems to happen. I don't know why this is, but it is. Anyway, Davies has created not just a cookbook but a memoir discussing new ways to "cook and enjoy a meal with friends, family and even beloved pets, during the best and worst time." How can you resist?
4. The Stonehenge Letters by Harry Karlinsky (Coach House Books). A mystery with photographs and illustrations wherein a psychiatrist in the Nobel Museum finds letters from famous people providing explanations as to why Stonehenge was built. Apparently they were responding to a contest in Nobel's will (open only to Nobel laureates) with a prize to whoever solves the mystery of Stonehenge. That's a pretty unusual novel premise!
5. Looking for Jack Kerouac by Barbara Shoup (Engine Books). BARABARA SHOUP! A YA title set in 1964 that involves a road trip by some Kerouac fans down to St Petersburg, FL to find their hero (who really lived there at the time). I don't know how to begin with the proposed wonderfulness of this book (great cover too!) but Barbara Shoup + Kerouac for teens just sounds great.
6. Ancient Oceans of Central Kentucky by David Connerley Nahm (Two Dollar Radio). First, the title itself is great and hard to beat (it's what grabbed my attention). Leah's little brother Jacob disappeared when they were young, now a grown man shows up at her job and claims to be him. Back to childhood memories and figuring out what happened for Leah! It's described as a "wrecking-ball of a novel that attempts to give meaning and poetry to everything that comprises small-town life in central Kentucky." I do not think there are enough novels set in Kentucky, (where the author is from), so nice to see this one.
7. Red Love: The Story of an East German Family by Maxim Leo (Pushkin Press). Leo's memories of growing up in East Germany with his rebellious parents and the questions he seeks to answer about why their marriage did not last are what fuels this title. Mostly, I'm attracted to the idea of growing up in a country that no longer exists - which is so far from my own experience it might as well be another universe.
8. Domestic Arrangements by Norma Klein (Ig Publishing). Another entry from Lizzie Skurnick Books. I love Norma Klein so much - she was hugely important to my teen years. This one is about Tatiana, who becomes famous for filming a nude scene at 14 in a major movie. "A stunning example of Klein's fearless take on the complexities of adolescence..." The intro is written by Judy Blume.
Do I really need to say anymore? I didn't think so.
9. Point of Direction by Rachel Weaver (Ig Publishing). A psychological thriller in remote coastal Alaska about a couple hired to be caretakers at a lighthouse. Things do not go well - of course! Obviously the AK setting has me on this one and although I don't know if they identify it as such, the cover pic is of Eldred Rock Lighthouse in Lynn Canal, which is just really cool. (Not too remote though - the ferry goes by every single day more than once.) Always happy to see a book set in AK that is not...well, not making fun of AK. Here's hoping this is a good one.
