What to read this month

Finally we’re moving into the summer months!  If you’re like me, you’ve got some vacation plans and other lazy days that are just made for relaxing with a book.  If so, you might want to check out some of the great titles in our New and Noteworthy and Current Literature collections.

1. Uprooted by Naomi Novik.  This book recently received the 2015 Nebula award for best novel.  It’s rooted (pun intended) in  folk stories and legends and features a great female protagonist.  It’s been one of my favorite reads this year!
2. The Black Presidency: Barack Obama and the Politics of Race in America by Michael Eric Dyson, a professor of Sociology at Georgetown University and the author of many books.  This book explores the powerful, surprising way the politics of race have shaped Barack Obama’s identity and groundbreaking presidency. How has President Obama dealt publicly with race–as the national traumas of Tamir Rice, Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Freddie Gray, and Walter Scott have played out during his tenure? What can we learn from Obama’s major race speeches about his approach to racial conflict and the black criticism it provokes?
3. Half-earth: Our Planet’s Fight for Life by Edward O. Wilson.  In order to stave off the mass extinction of species, including our own, we must move swiftly to preserve the biodiversity of our planet, says Edward O. Wilson in his most impassioned book to date.  Half-Earth argues that the situation facing us is too large to be solved piecemeal and proposes a solution commensurate with the magnitude of the problem: dedicate fully half the surface of the Earth to nature.
4. The Life of Elves by Muriel Barbery is translated from the French by Alison Anderson and is an inspiring literary fantasy about two gifted girls from the bestselling author of The Elegance of the Hedgehog, The Life of Elves sings of the human spirit and conveys a message of hope and faith.  You can read reviews here, here, and here.
5. The Lonely City: Adventures in the Art of Being Alone by Olivia Laing. This book uses memoir, biography, and cultural criticism to examine the subject of loneliness.  She examines the lives of six iconic artists, such as Edward Hopper, Andy Warhol, and Henry Darger.  You can read a very thoughtful review in the NYT.