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Topic Guide

Live the Fantastic: 2020 Adult Summer Reading

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ReadersServices_KCMO

The Kansas City Public Library

Staff-created list

This year’s Summer Reading Program invites readers of all ages to LIVE THE FANTASTIC and experience the power of storytelling. Behold your quest: Read any five books between June 1 and July 31, 2020. Pick stories in your preferred format, log them online, and earn a reward. Get started at https://www.kclibrary.org/summerreading.

By:

ReadersServices_KCMO

The Kansas City Public Library

21 items

21 items

Midwestern Strange

Midwestern Strange

Hunting Monsters, Martians, and the Weird in Flyover Country

by Hollars, B. J.

Book - 2019

As a child, the author was fascinated with tales of the unknown or slightly-known or rumored-to-be-known. As an adult, B.J. explored the many lesser known...Show more As a child, the author was fascinated with tales of the unknown or slightly-known or rumored-to-be-known. As an adult, B.J. explored the many lesser known oddities of the Midwest and discovered more human oddities than alien ones. All charming, inexplicable, and intriguing. Just because something is weird, doesn't mean it is wrong. Show less

As a child, the author was fascinated with tales of the unknown or slightly-known or rumored-to-be-known. As an adult, B.J. explored the many lesser known...Show more As a child, the author was fascinated with tales of the unknown or slightly-known or rumored-to-be-known. As an adult, B.J. explored the many lesser known oddities of the Midwest and discovered more human oddities than alien ones. All charming, inexplicable, and intriguing. Just because something is weird, doesn't mean it is wrong. Show less

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18 Tiny Deaths

18 Tiny Deaths

The Untold Story of Frances Glessner Lee and the Invention of Modern Forensics

by Goldfarb, Bruce

Book - 2020

Frances Glessner Lee, born a socialite to a wealthy and influential Chicago family in the 1870s, was never meant to have a career, let alone one steeped i...Show more Frances Glessner Lee, born a socialite to a wealthy and influential Chicago family in the 1870s, was never meant to have a career, let alone one steeped in death and depravity. Yet she developed a fascination with the investigation of violent crimes and made it her life's work. Best known for creating the Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death, a series of dioramas that appear charming-until you notice the macabre little details: an overturned chair, a blood-spattered comforter. And then, of course, there are the bodies-splayed out on the floor, draped over chairs-clothed in garments that Lee lovingly knit with sewing pins. Lee developed a system that used the Nutshells dioramas to train law enforcement officers to investigate violent crimes, and her methods are still used today. 18 Tiny Deaths is the story of a woman who overcame the limitations and expectations imposed by her social status and pushed forward an entirely new branch of science that we still use today Show less

Frances Glessner Lee, born a socialite to a wealthy and influential Chicago family in the 1870s, was never meant to have a career, let alone one steeped i...Show more Frances Glessner Lee, born a socialite to a wealthy and influential Chicago family in the 1870s, was never meant to have a career, let alone one steeped in death and depravity. Yet she developed a fascination with the investigation of violent crimes and made it her life's work. Best known for creating the Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death, a series of dioramas that appear charming-until you notice the macabre little details: an overturned chair, a blood-spattered comforter. And then, of course, there are the bodies-splayed out on the floor, draped over chairs-clothed in garments that Lee lovingly knit with sewing pins. Lee developed a system that used the Nutshells dioramas to train law enforcement officers to investigate violent crimes, and her methods are still used today. 18 Tiny Deaths is the story of a woman who overcame the limitations and expectations imposed by her social status and pushed forward an entirely new branch of science that we still use today Show less

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Black Leopard, Red Wolf

Black Leopard, Red Wolf

by James, Marlon

Book - 2019

In the first novel in Marlon James's Dark Star trilogy, myth, fantasy, and history come together to explore what happens when a mercenary is hired to find a missing child. In the first novel in Marlon James's Dark Star trilogy, myth, fantasy, and history come together to explore what happens when a mercenary is hired to find a missing child. Show less

In the first novel in Marlon James's Dark Star trilogy, myth, fantasy, and history come together to explore what happens when a mercenary is hired to find a missing child. In the first novel in Marlon James's Dark Star trilogy, myth, fantasy, and history come together to explore what happens when a mercenary is hired to find a missing child. Show less

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Baba Dunja's Last Love

Baba Dunja's Last Love

by Bronsky, Alina

Book - 2016

Baba Dunja is a Chernobyl returnee. Together with a motley bunch of former neighbours, they set off to create a new life for themselves in the radioactive...Show more Baba Dunja is a Chernobyl returnee. Together with a motley bunch of former neighbours, they set off to create a new life for themselves in the radioactive no-man's land. Geiger counter and irradiated forest fruits be damned, there in that abandoned patch of Earth they have everything they need. Terminally ill Petrov passes the time reading love poems in his hammock; Marja takes up with 100-year-old Sidorow; Baba Dunja whiles away her days writing letters to her daughter ... rural bliss reigns, until one day a stranger turns up in the village, and the small settlement faces annihilation once again. With her trade-mark wry humour Bronsky tells the story of a community that shouldn't exist, and of a very unusual woman who late in life finds her own version of paradise. Show less

Baba Dunja is a Chernobyl returnee. Together with a motley bunch of former neighbours, they set off to create a new life for themselves in the radioactive...Show more Baba Dunja is a Chernobyl returnee. Together with a motley bunch of former neighbours, they set off to create a new life for themselves in the radioactive no-man's land. Geiger counter and irradiated forest fruits be damned, there in that abandoned patch of Earth they have everything they need. Terminally ill Petrov passes the time reading love poems in his hammock; Marja takes up with 100-year-old Sidorow; Baba Dunja whiles away her days writing letters to her daughter ... rural bliss reigns, until one day a stranger turns up in the village, and the small settlement faces annihilation once again. With her trade-mark wry humour Bronsky tells the story of a community that shouldn't exist, and of a very unusual woman who late in life finds her own version of paradise. Show less

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The Vanishing Half

The Vanishing Half

by Bennett, Brit

Book - 2020

Twin sisters, inseparable as children, who ultimately choose to live in two very different worlds, one black and one white. Twin sisters, inseparable as children, who ultimately choose to live in two very different worlds, one black and one white. Show less

Twin sisters, inseparable as children, who ultimately choose to live in two very different worlds, one black and one white. Twin sisters, inseparable as children, who ultimately choose to live in two very different worlds, one black and one white. Show less

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Big Fish

Big Fish

A Novel of Mythic Proportions

by Wallace, Daniel

Book - 1998

In his prime, Edward Bloom was an extraordinary man. He could outrun anybody. He never missed a day of school. He saved lives and tamed giants. Animals lo...Show more In his prime, Edward Bloom was an extraordinary man. He could outrun anybody. He never missed a day of school. He saved lives and tamed giants. Animals loved him, people loved him, women loved him. He knew more jokes than any man alive. At least that's what he told his son, William. But now Edward Bloom is dying, and William wants desperately to know the truth about his elusive father--this indefatigable teller of tall tales--before it's too late. So, using the few facts he knows, William re-creates Edward's life in a series of legends and myths, through which he begins to understand his father's great feats, and his great failings. The result is hilarious and wrenching, tender and outrageous. Show less

In his prime, Edward Bloom was an extraordinary man. He could outrun anybody. He never missed a day of school. He saved lives and tamed giants. Animals lo...Show more In his prime, Edward Bloom was an extraordinary man. He could outrun anybody. He never missed a day of school. He saved lives and tamed giants. Animals loved him, people loved him, women loved him. He knew more jokes than any man alive. At least that's what he told his son, William. But now Edward Bloom is dying, and William wants desperately to know the truth about his elusive father--this indefatigable teller of tall tales--before it's too late. So, using the few facts he knows, William re-creates Edward's life in a series of legends and myths, through which he begins to understand his father's great feats, and his great failings. The result is hilarious and wrenching, tender and outrageous. Show less

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Rise of Wolf 8

Rise of Wolf 8

Witnessing the Triumph of Yellowstone's Underdog

by McIntyre, Rick

Book - 2019

Yellowstone National Park was once home to an abundance of wild wolves--but park rangers killed the last of their kind in the 1920s. Decades later, the ra...Show more Yellowstone National Park was once home to an abundance of wild wolves--but park rangers killed the last of their kind in the 1920s. Decades later, the rangers brought them back, with the first wolves arriving from Canada in 1995. This is the incredible true story of one of those wolves. Wolf 8 struggles at first--he is smaller than the other pups, and often bullied--but soon he bonds with an alpha female whose mate was shot. An unusually young alpha male, barely a teenager in human years, Wolf 8 rises to the occasion, hunting skillfully, and even defending his family from the wolf who killed his father. But soon he faces a new opponent: his adopted son, who mates with a violent alpha female. Can Wolf 8 protect his valley without harming his protégé? Show less

Yellowstone National Park was once home to an abundance of wild wolves--but park rangers killed the last of their kind in the 1920s. Decades later, the ra...Show more Yellowstone National Park was once home to an abundance of wild wolves--but park rangers killed the last of their kind in the 1920s. Decades later, the rangers brought them back, with the first wolves arriving from Canada in 1995. This is the incredible true story of one of those wolves. Wolf 8 struggles at first--he is smaller than the other pups, and often bullied--but soon he bonds with an alpha female whose mate was shot. An unusually young alpha male, barely a teenager in human years, Wolf 8 rises to the occasion, hunting skillfully, and even defending his family from the wolf who killed his father. But soon he faces a new opponent: his adopted son, who mates with a violent alpha female. Can Wolf 8 protect his valley without harming his protégé? Show less

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Circe

Circe

A Novel

by Miller, Madeline

Book - 2018

In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. But Circe is a strange child—not powerful, like her father, nor vi...Show more In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. But Circe is a strange child—not powerful, like her father, nor viciously alluring like her mother. Turning to the world of mortals for companionship, she discovers that she does possess power—the power of witchcraft, which can transform rivals into monsters and menace the gods themselves. Threatened, Zeus banishes her to a deserted island, where she hones her occult craft, tames wild beasts and crosses paths with many of the most famous figures in all of mythology, including the Minotaur, Daedalus and his doomed son Icarus, the murderous Medea, and, of course, wily Odysseus. But there is danger, too, for a woman who stands alone, and Circe unwittingly draws the wrath of both men and gods, ultimately finding herself pitted against one of the most terrifying and vengeful of the Olympians. To protect what she loves most, Circe must summon all her strength and choose, once and for all, whether she belongs with the gods she is born from, or the mortals she has come to love. Show less

In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. But Circe is a strange child—not powerful, like her father, nor vi...Show more In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. But Circe is a strange child—not powerful, like her father, nor viciously alluring like her mother. Turning to the world of mortals for companionship, she discovers that she does possess power—the power of witchcraft, which can transform rivals into monsters and menace the gods themselves. Threatened, Zeus banishes her to a deserted island, where she hones her occult craft, tames wild beasts and crosses paths with many of the most famous figures in all of mythology, including the Minotaur, Daedalus and his doomed son Icarus, the murderous Medea, and, of course, wily Odysseus. But there is danger, too, for a woman who stands alone, and Circe unwittingly draws the wrath of both men and gods, ultimately finding herself pitted against one of the most terrifying and vengeful of the Olympians. To protect what she loves most, Circe must summon all her strength and choose, once and for all, whether she belongs with the gods she is born from, or the mortals she has come to love. Show less

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Kill Creek

Kill Creek

A Novel

by Thomas, Scott

Book - 2017

At the end of a dark prairie road, nearly forgotten in the Kansas countryside, is the Finch House. For years it has remained empty, overgrown, abandone. S...Show more At the end of a dark prairie road, nearly forgotten in the Kansas countryside, is the Finch House. For years it has remained empty, overgrown, abandone. Soon the door will be opened for the first time in decades. But something is waiting, lurking in the shadows, anxious to meet its new guests... When best-selling horror author Sam McGarver is invited to spend Halloween in one of the world's most infamous haunted houses, he relunctantly agrees. At least he won't be alone; joining him are three other masters of the macabre, writers who have helped shape modern horror. But what begins as a simple publicity stunt will become a fight for survival. The entity they have awakened will follow them, torment them, threatening to make them a part of the bloody legacy of Kill Creek Show less

At the end of a dark prairie road, nearly forgotten in the Kansas countryside, is the Finch House. For years it has remained empty, overgrown, abandone. S...Show more At the end of a dark prairie road, nearly forgotten in the Kansas countryside, is the Finch House. For years it has remained empty, overgrown, abandone. Soon the door will be opened for the first time in decades. But something is waiting, lurking in the shadows, anxious to meet its new guests... When best-selling horror author Sam McGarver is invited to spend Halloween in one of the world's most infamous haunted houses, he relunctantly agrees. At least he won't be alone; joining him are three other masters of the macabre, writers who have helped shape modern horror. But what begins as a simple publicity stunt will become a fight for survival. The entity they have awakened will follow them, torment them, threatening to make them a part of the bloody legacy of Kill Creek Show less

All copies in use Availability details Holds: 11 on 2 copies

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The Invisible Library

The Invisible Library

by Cogman, Genevieve

Book - 2016

Collecting books can be a dangerous prospect in this fun, time-traveling, fantasy adventure from a spectacular debut author. One thing any Librarian will ...Show more Collecting books can be a dangerous prospect in this fun, time-traveling, fantasy adventure from a spectacular debut author. One thing any Librarian will tell you: the truth is much stranger than fiction... Irene is a professional spy for the mysterious Library, a shadowy organization that collects important works of fiction from all of the different realities. Most recently, she and her enigmatic assistant Kai have been sent to an alternative London. Their mission: Retrieve a particularly dangerous book. The problem: By the time they arrive, it's already been stolen. London's underground factions are prepared to fight to the death to find the tome before Irene and Kai do, a problem compounded by the fact that this world is chaos-infested--the laws of nature bent to allow supernatural creatures and unpredictable magic to run rampant. To make matters worse, Kai is hiding something--secrets that could be just as volatile as the chaos-filled world itself. Now Irene is caught in a puzzling web of deadly danger, conflicting clues, and sinister secret societies. And failure is not an option--because it isn't just Irene's reputation at stake, it's the nature of reality itself. Show less

Collecting books can be a dangerous prospect in this fun, time-traveling, fantasy adventure from a spectacular debut author. One thing any Librarian will ...Show more Collecting books can be a dangerous prospect in this fun, time-traveling, fantasy adventure from a spectacular debut author. One thing any Librarian will tell you: the truth is much stranger than fiction... Irene is a professional spy for the mysterious Library, a shadowy organization that collects important works of fiction from all of the different realities. Most recently, she and her enigmatic assistant Kai have been sent to an alternative London. Their mission: Retrieve a particularly dangerous book. The problem: By the time they arrive, it's already been stolen. London's underground factions are prepared to fight to the death to find the tome before Irene and Kai do, a problem compounded by the fact that this world is chaos-infested--the laws of nature bent to allow supernatural creatures and unpredictable magic to run rampant. To make matters worse, Kai is hiding something--secrets that could be just as volatile as the chaos-filled world itself. Now Irene is caught in a puzzling web of deadly danger, conflicting clues, and sinister secret societies. And failure is not an option--because it isn't just Irene's reputation at stake, it's the nature of reality itself. Show less

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Monstress

Monstress

Volume One, Awakening

by Liu, Marjorie M.

Graphic Novel - 2016

Set in an alternate world of art deco beauty and steampunk horror, Monstress tells the epic story of Maika Halfwolf, a teenage survivor of a cataclysmic w...Show more Set in an alternate world of art deco beauty and steampunk horror, Monstress tells the epic story of Maika Halfwolf, a teenage survivor of a cataclysmic war between humans and their hated enemies, the Arcanics. In the face of oppression and terrible danger, Maika is both hunter and hunted, searching for answers about her mysterious past as those who seek to use her remain just one step behind... and all the while, the monster within begins to awaken. Show less

Set in an alternate world of art deco beauty and steampunk horror, Monstress tells the epic story of Maika Halfwolf, a teenage survivor of a cataclysmic w...Show more Set in an alternate world of art deco beauty and steampunk horror, Monstress tells the epic story of Maika Halfwolf, a teenage survivor of a cataclysmic war between humans and their hated enemies, the Arcanics. In the face of oppression and terrible danger, Maika is both hunter and hunted, searching for answers about her mysterious past as those who seek to use her remain just one step behind... and all the while, the monster within begins to awaken. Show less

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The City of Brass

The City of Brass

by Chakraborty, S. A.

Book - 2017

The future of a magical Middle Eastern kingdom rests in the hands of a clever and defiant young con artist with miraculous healing gifts. Nahri has never ...Show more The future of a magical Middle Eastern kingdom rests in the hands of a clever and defiant young con artist with miraculous healing gifts. Nahri has never believed in magic. Certainly, she has power; on the streets of eighteenth-century Cairo, she's a con woman of unsurpassed talent. But she knows better than anyone that the trade she uses to get by--palm readings, zars, healings--are all tricks, sleights of hand, learned skills; a means to the delightful end of swindling Ottoman nobles and a reliable way to survive. But when Nahri accidentally summons an equally sly, darkly mysterious djinn warrior to her side during one of her cons, she's forced to question all she believes. Show less

The future of a magical Middle Eastern kingdom rests in the hands of a clever and defiant young con artist with miraculous healing gifts. Nahri has never ...Show more The future of a magical Middle Eastern kingdom rests in the hands of a clever and defiant young con artist with miraculous healing gifts. Nahri has never believed in magic. Certainly, she has power; on the streets of eighteenth-century Cairo, she's a con woman of unsurpassed talent. But she knows better than anyone that the trade she uses to get by--palm readings, zars, healings--are all tricks, sleights of hand, learned skills; a means to the delightful end of swindling Ottoman nobles and a reliable way to survive. But when Nahri accidentally summons an equally sly, darkly mysterious djinn warrior to her side during one of her cons, she's forced to question all she believes. Show less

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The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay

A Novel

by Chabon, Michael

Book - 2000

Joe Kavalier, a young Jewish artist who has also been trained in the art of Houdini-esque escape, has just smuggled himself out of Nazi-invaded Prague and...Show more Joe Kavalier, a young Jewish artist who has also been trained in the art of Houdini-esque escape, has just smuggled himself out of Nazi-invaded Prague and landed in New York City. His Brooklyn cousin Sammy Clay is looking for a partner to create heroes, stories, and art for the latest novelty to hit America - the comic book. Drawing on their own fears and dreams, Kavalier and Clay create the Escapist, the Monitor, and Luna Moth; this fictional story provides a vibrant newsprint-and-ink picture of the the Golden Age of comics and post-WWII America. Show less

Joe Kavalier, a young Jewish artist who has also been trained in the art of Houdini-esque escape, has just smuggled himself out of Nazi-invaded Prague and...Show more Joe Kavalier, a young Jewish artist who has also been trained in the art of Houdini-esque escape, has just smuggled himself out of Nazi-invaded Prague and landed in New York City. His Brooklyn cousin Sammy Clay is looking for a partner to create heroes, stories, and art for the latest novelty to hit America - the comic book. Drawing on their own fears and dreams, Kavalier and Clay create the Escapist, the Monitor, and Luna Moth; this fictional story provides a vibrant newsprint-and-ink picture of the the Golden Age of comics and post-WWII America. Show less

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Out on the Wire

Out on the Wire

The Storytelling Secrets of the New Masters of Radio

by Abel, Jessica

Graphic Novel - 2015

Radio programs and podcasts are rich storytelling formats; cartoonist Jessica Abel (with the help of "This American Life"'s Ira Glass) explores ...Show more Radio programs and podcasts are rich storytelling formats; cartoonist Jessica Abel (with the help of "This American Life"'s Ira Glass) explores how radio producers construct a narrative and offers a window into this kind of storytelling by literally illustrating the making of an auditory medium. Show less

Radio programs and podcasts are rich storytelling formats; cartoonist Jessica Abel (with the help of "This American Life"'s Ira Glass) explores ...Show more Radio programs and podcasts are rich storytelling formats; cartoonist Jessica Abel (with the help of "This American Life"'s Ira Glass) explores how radio producers construct a narrative and offers a window into this kind of storytelling by literally illustrating the making of an auditory medium. Show less

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The City We Became

The City We Became

by Jemisin, N. K.

Book - 2020

Every city has a soul. Some are as ancient as myths, and others are as new and destructive as children. New York City? She's got five. But every city also...Show more Every city has a soul. Some are as ancient as myths, and others are as new and destructive as children. New York City? She's got five. But every city also has a dark side. A roiling, ancient evil stirs beneath the earth, threatening to destroy the city and her five protectors unless they can come together and stop it once and for all. Show less

Every city has a soul. Some are as ancient as myths, and others are as new and destructive as children. New York City? She's got five. But every city also...Show more Every city has a soul. Some are as ancient as myths, and others are as new and destructive as children. New York City? She's got five. But every city also has a dark side. A roiling, ancient evil stirs beneath the earth, threatening to destroy the city and her five protectors unless they can come together and stop it once and for all. Show less

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Saga

Saga

by Vaughan, Brian K

Graphic Novel - 2018

When two soldiers from opposite sides of a never-ending galactic war fall in love, they risk everything to bring a fragile new life into a dangerous old u...Show more When two soldiers from opposite sides of a never-ending galactic war fall in love, they risk everything to bring a fragile new life into a dangerous old universe. Saga is the sweeping tale of one young family fighting to find their place in the worlds. Fantasy and science fiction are wed like never before in this sexy, subversive graphic novel for adults. Show less

When two soldiers from opposite sides of a never-ending galactic war fall in love, they risk everything to bring a fragile new life into a dangerous old u...Show more When two soldiers from opposite sides of a never-ending galactic war fall in love, they risk everything to bring a fragile new life into a dangerous old universe. Saga is the sweeping tale of one young family fighting to find their place in the worlds. Fantasy and science fiction are wed like never before in this sexy, subversive graphic novel for adults. Show less

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Fun Home

Fun Home

A Family Tragicomic

by Bechdel, Alison

Graphic Novel - 2006

A darkly funny family tale illustrated with Bechdel's sweetly gothic drawings, this memoir is marked by gothic twists, a family funeral home, sexual angst...Show more A darkly funny family tale illustrated with Bechdel's sweetly gothic drawings, this memoir is marked by gothic twists, a family funeral home, sexual angst, and great books. Meet Alison's father, a historic preservation expert and obsessive restorer of the family's Victorian home, a third-generation funeral home director, a high school English teacher, an icily distant parent, and a closeted homosexual who, as it turns out, is involved with his male students and a family babysitter. Through narrative that is alternately heartbreaking and fiercely funny, we are drawn into a daughter's complex yearning for her father. And yet, apart from assigned stints dusting caskets at the family-owned "fun home," as Alison and her brothers call it, the relationship achieves its most intimate expression through the shared code of books. Show less

A darkly funny family tale illustrated with Bechdel's sweetly gothic drawings, this memoir is marked by gothic twists, a family funeral home, sexual angst...Show more A darkly funny family tale illustrated with Bechdel's sweetly gothic drawings, this memoir is marked by gothic twists, a family funeral home, sexual angst, and great books. Meet Alison's father, a historic preservation expert and obsessive restorer of the family's Victorian home, a third-generation funeral home director, a high school English teacher, an icily distant parent, and a closeted homosexual who, as it turns out, is involved with his male students and a family babysitter. Through narrative that is alternately heartbreaking and fiercely funny, we are drawn into a daughter's complex yearning for her father. And yet, apart from assigned stints dusting caskets at the family-owned "fun home," as Alison and her brothers call it, the relationship achieves its most intimate expression through the shared code of books. Show less

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The Tsar of Love and Techno

The Tsar of Love and Techno

Stories

by Marra, Anthony

Book - 2015

Poignant interwoven stories about family, sacrifice, the legacy of war, and the redemptive power of art, this collection of stories introduces a cast of c...Show more Poignant interwoven stories about family, sacrifice, the legacy of war, and the redemptive power of art, this collection of stories introduces a cast of characters whose lives intersect in ways both life-affirming and heartbreaking. A 1930s Soviet censor painstakingly corrects offending photographs, deep underneath Leningrad, bewitched by the image of a disgraced prima ballerina. A chorus of women recount their stories and those of their grandmothers, former gulag prisoners who settled their Siberian mining town. Two pairs of brothers share a fierce, protective love. Young men across the former USSR face violence at home and in the military. And great sacrifices are made in the name of an oil landscape unremarkable except for the almost incomprehensibly peaceful past it depicts. Show less

Poignant interwoven stories about family, sacrifice, the legacy of war, and the redemptive power of art, this collection of stories introduces a cast of c...Show more Poignant interwoven stories about family, sacrifice, the legacy of war, and the redemptive power of art, this collection of stories introduces a cast of characters whose lives intersect in ways both life-affirming and heartbreaking. A 1930s Soviet censor painstakingly corrects offending photographs, deep underneath Leningrad, bewitched by the image of a disgraced prima ballerina. A chorus of women recount their stories and those of their grandmothers, former gulag prisoners who settled their Siberian mining town. Two pairs of brothers share a fierce, protective love. Young men across the former USSR face violence at home and in the military. And great sacrifices are made in the name of an oil landscape unremarkable except for the almost incomprehensibly peaceful past it depicts. Show less

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In the Dream House

In the Dream House

A Memoir

by Machado, Carmen Maria

Book - 2019

For years Machado struggled to articulate her experiences in an abusive same-sex relationship. In this candid and inventive memoir, she tackles a dark and...Show more For years Machado struggled to articulate her experiences in an abusive same-sex relationship. In this candid and inventive memoir, she tackles a dark and difficult subject with wit, inventiveness and an inquiring spirit, using a series of narrative tropes—including classic horror themes, fairy tales, Star Trek , and Disney villains, as well as iconic works of film and fiction. The result is a wrenching, riveting book that challenges our ideas about what a memoir can do and be. Show less

For years Machado struggled to articulate her experiences in an abusive same-sex relationship. In this candid and inventive memoir, she tackles a dark and...Show more For years Machado struggled to articulate her experiences in an abusive same-sex relationship. In this candid and inventive memoir, she tackles a dark and difficult subject with wit, inventiveness and an inquiring spirit, using a series of narrative tropes—including classic horror themes, fairy tales, Star Trek , and Disney villains, as well as iconic works of film and fiction. The result is a wrenching, riveting book that challenges our ideas about what a memoir can do and be. Show less

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Norse Mythology

Norse Mythology

by Gaiman, Neil

Book - 2017

Gaiman has long been inspired by ancient mythology in creating the fantastical realms of his fiction. Now he presents his fashioning of the primeval Norse...Show more Gaiman has long been inspired by ancient mythology in creating the fantastical realms of his fiction. Now he presents his fashioning of the primeval Norse myths into a novel, which begins with the genesis of the legendary nine worlds, delves into the exploits of the deities, dwarves, and giants, and culminates in Ragnarok, the twilight of the gods and the rebirth of a new time and people. Gaiman stays true to the myths while vividly recreating the characters--the gods with their fiercely competitive natures, their susceptibility to being duped and to dupe others, and their tendency to let passion ignite their actions--and making these long-ago myths breathe pungent life again Show less

Gaiman has long been inspired by ancient mythology in creating the fantastical realms of his fiction. Now he presents his fashioning of the primeval Norse...Show more Gaiman has long been inspired by ancient mythology in creating the fantastical realms of his fiction. Now he presents his fashioning of the primeval Norse myths into a novel, which begins with the genesis of the legendary nine worlds, delves into the exploits of the deities, dwarves, and giants, and culminates in Ragnarok, the twilight of the gods and the rebirth of a new time and people. Gaiman stays true to the myths while vividly recreating the characters--the gods with their fiercely competitive natures, their susceptibility to being duped and to dupe others, and their tendency to let passion ignite their actions--and making these long-ago myths breathe pungent life again Show less

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If on A Winter's Night A Traveler

If on A Winter's Night A Traveler

by Calvino, Italo

Book - 1982

A book contains the wrong book between its covers. Printer's error? The reader returns to the bookstore where he purchased the book and meets a young woma...Show more A book contains the wrong book between its covers. Printer's error? The reader returns to the bookstore where he purchased the book and meets a young woman who experiences the same thing. Now the two of them join forces trying to determine where the missing story is. Show less

A book contains the wrong book between its covers. Printer's error? The reader returns to the bookstore where he purchased the book and meets a young woma...Show more A book contains the wrong book between its covers. Printer's error? The reader returns to the bookstore where he purchased the book and meets a young woman who experiences the same thing. Now the two of them join forces trying to determine where the missing story is. Show less

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