FICTION
The Girl Who Took What She Wanted by David Handler
Stewart “Hoagy” Hoag hasn’t written any fiction since his debut novel rocked the literary world of the 1980s and then left him with a case of writer’s block. Since then, he’s been reduced to ghostwriting celebrity memoirs. Nikki Dymtryk is Hollywood’s hottest reality TV star, known for her wild party lifestyle and prolific sexual conquests across the music, film, and sports industries. But when the ratings for her show begin to drop, the Dymtryk family engineers a new plan to keep Nikki in the limelight: reinventing the young star as a bestselling author.
River Sing Me Home by Eleanor Shearer
The master of the Providence plantation in Barbados gathers his slaves and announces the king has decreed an end to slavery. As of the following day, the Emancipation Act of 1834 will come into effect. The cries of joy fall silent when he announces that they are no longer his slaves; they are now his apprentices. No one can leave. They must work for him for another six years. Freedom is just another name for the life they have always lived. So Rachel runs.
Our Lady of Mysterious Ailments by T. L. Huchu
When Ropa Moyo discovered an occult underground library, she expected great things. She’s really into Edinburgh’s secret societies – but turns out they are less into her. So instead of getting paid to work magic, she’s had to accept a crummy unpaid internship. And her with bills to pay and a pet fox to feed. Then her friend Priya offers her a job on the side. Priya works at a very specialized hospital, where a new illness is resisting magical and medical remedies alike. If Ropa can solve the case, she might earn as she learns – and impress her mentor, Sir Callander.
Those Empty Eyes by Charlie Donlea
Alex Armstrong has changed everything about herself—her name, her appearance, her backstory. She’s no longer the terrified teenager a rapt audience saw on television, emerging in handcuffs from the quiet suburban home the night her family was massacred. That girl, Alexandra Quinlan, nicknamed Empty Eyes by the media, was accused of the killings, fought to clear her name, and later took the stand during her highly publicized defamation lawsuit that captured the attention of the nation.
NON-FICTION
The Fighting Soul: On the Road with Bernie Sanders by Ari Rabin-Havt
Bernie Sanders inspires fervent love and, even among his enemies, a measure of grudging respect―yet, curiously, we know little about who the man really is, with Sanders deliberately keeping the focus on his policies. Though his campaign ended in abrupt and unexpected defeat, Sanders has pushed the Democratic Party to the left and helped remake American politics―as Rabin-Havt suggests, he has done more to shape our history than anyone else who has not reached the White House. Revelatory and heartfelt, The Fighting Soul depicts the rare politician motivated by principle, not power.
The Case for Cancel Culture: How This Democratic Tool Works to Liberate Us All by Ernest Owens
“___ is canceled.” Chances are, you’ve heard this a lot lately. What might’ve once been a niche digital term has been legitimized in the discourse of presidents, politicians, and lawmakers.
But what really is cancel culture? Blacklisting celebrities? Censorship? Until now, this has been the general consensus in the media. But it’s time to raise the bar on our definition― to think of cancel culture less as scandal or suppression, and more as an essential means of democratic expression and accountability.
Psych: The Story of the Human Mind by Paul Bloom
How does the brain—a three-pound wrinkly mass—give rise to intelligence and conscious experience? Was Freud right that we are all plagued by forbidden sexual desires? What is the function of emotions such as disgust, gratitude, and shame? Renowned psychologist Paul Bloom answers these questions and many more in Psych, his riveting new book about the science of the mind.
The Once and Future Sex: Going Medieval on Women’s Roles in Society by Eleanor Janega
Enshrined medieval thinkers, almost always male, chose for the height of female attractiveness the mythical Helen of Troy, whose imagined pear shape, small breasts, and golden hair served as beauty’s epitome. Casting Eve’s shadow over medieval women, they derided them as oversexed sinners, inherently lustful, insatiable, and weak. In contrast, drawing on accounts of remarkable and subversive medieval women like Eleanor of Aquitaine and Hildegard of Bingen, along with others hidden in documents and court cases, Janega shows us how real women of the era lived.
CHILDREN’S
One Million Trees: A True Story by Kristen Balouch
When the author was 10 years old, she and her sisters went with their parents on the adventure of a lifetime. They flew from their home in California to British Columbia, Canada and joined a crew hired by the Canadian government to plant trees to replace ones that had been cut down by loggers. The family lived in a tent by a river. Mom was the cook; Dad planted baby trees with the crew, and the girls helped them both. At the end of their stay, they had done it—together, the crew planted one million trees! This gentle picture book about environmental sustainability for the youngest readers teaches that even kids can make a contribution to help our planet thrive.
Ages: 5 – 10
LIBRARY OPEN
• Lima Public Library is open to the public six days a week. Hours for the Main Library in Lima are 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Our Cairo, Elida and Spencerville branch libraries are open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Our Lafayette branch is open from 12 noon to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday and 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Friday.
• Curbside pickup is available at the Main Library from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays, and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday. Arrangements can be made by calling 567-712-5239, contacting the library through Facebook Messenger, or putting a hold on a book through the online catalog. 24 hour notice is required. Call us when you arrive (park near the main entrance) and your items will be brought to you.
