Library News

It’s time for another look at the new books that people are talking about. Settle in for some good winter reads! All titles are available from the Akron-Summit County Public Library.

Matt Taibbi: I Can’t Breathe – A Killing on Bay Street

The new book by the Rolling Stone political correspondent has been described as “a work of riveting literary journalism that explores the roots and repercussions ofthe infamous killing of Eric Garner by the New York City police, and its inspiration for the Black Lives Matter movement.”

David Giffels: Furnishing Eternity – A Father, a Son, a Coffin, and a Measure of Life

The latest memoir by the popular Akron writer, journalist and educator, is a poignant and funny meditation on family, friendship, mortality – and how to build a good coffin!

Celeste Ng: Little Fires Everywhere – A Novel

The second book by the author of the highly acclaimed Everything I Never Told You, this well-received novel deals with simmering racial tensions in a quiet and affluent town outside of Cleveland in the 1990’s. Someone has set a fatal house fire – who, and why? Both the mystery and the underlying themes in this book prove compelling.

Ron Chernow: Grant

A massive new biography of the Union General of the Civil War, and two-term US President. Chernow, the acclaimed biographer of Alexander Hamilton (the inspiration for the mega-hit musical) returns with a fascinating study of a very complex man who became an unlikely American hero.

Walter Isaacson: Leonardo Da Vinci

Speaking of massive new biographies! The equally acclaimed biographer Isaacson (Einstein, Steve Jobs, Benjamin Franklin) here takes an in-depth look at the unsurpassed genius of the Italian Renaissance. As an account of human ingenuity and artistic brilliance, this book is already a huge bestseller.

Gabrielle Union: We’re Going to Need More Wine – Stories That Are Funny, Complicated, and True

This collection of autobiographical essays by the popular actress and activist deals with parenting, love, and overcoming personal tragedy.

Sam Shepard: Spy of the First Person – A Novel

In our last Hot Topics, we cited Shepard’s The One Inside as being his last published book. But it turns out that the recently deceased American writer had in fact nished one last novel – an autobiographical account of an author suering from Lou Gehrig’s Disease, struggling to make sense of his life, his family, his work, and ultimately what it all means. This unexpected coda to the career of the great playwright and Academy Award-winning actor promises to a fitting epitaph.

Hot Topics was prepared by Bob Ethington, Manager, Culture & AV Division

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