What's New

I have a lot of favorite things about teenagers, but one of my most favorite of all is your natural gravitation towards social justice.

Now I understand that “teenagers” are not a monolith. It would be a mistake to lump you into one category with identical interests/behaviors/gravitational pulls. But so many teenagers I’ve known have been masterful at sniffing out injustice and energetic about opposing it. Does this sound like you? Then read on—the following young adult titles may get you fired up.

First up is Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You: A Remix of the National Book Award-winning Stamped from the Beginning by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi. Authors make it clear that this is NOT a history book. Instead, they write, it’s “a book about the here and now. A book to help us better understand why we are where we are. A book about race.”

It’s blunt and fast-paced, delivered in a down-to-earth tone that will help you wrap your head around the long and tangled relationship between race and power in America—the one that most history books leave out.

In Just Mercy (Adapted for Young Adults): A True Story of the Fight for Justice, author, lawyer, and founder of the Equal Justice Initiative Bryan Stevenson gives readers an insider’s look into the criminal justice system, revealing how it sometimes fails society’s most vulnerable.

Through the story of Walter McMillan, a Black man falsely convicted of murder, Stevenson shines a light on the economic and racial factors that affect unequal justice in America. This story is powerful and intimate and exposes in grim detail the devastating effects mass incarceration has on the nation’s poorest people.

Bernie Sanders wrote a book for young people called Bernie Sanders Guide to Political Revolution and just as the title promises, it’s a practical handbook designed to help young people transform their “idealism and generosity of spirit” into meaningful and robust social action.

From understanding and navigating the political process to mobilization, the book calls on young readers to be bold, think big, stand up, and fight back to correct inequality and imbalance in the status quo.

Because They Marched: The People’s Campaign for Voting Rights that Changed America by Russell Freedman is especially relevant in this moment. The book describes the events surrounding the 1965 march for voting rights from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, using graphic images and first-person perspectives to illuminate the energy, tenacity, courage, and single-mindedness required for social change. It’s an energy that will probably look and feel familiar to you, as it reverberates around the world right now.

Teens, these books are just the tip of the iceberg. If this topic is up your alley, here are a few more titles into which you may wish to dip your protest sign:

Unpunished Murder: Massacre at Colfax and the Quest for Justice, by Lawrence Goldstone (I’m reading this right now—it’s riveting…I’ll try to read fast.)

An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States for Young People, by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

Stolen Justice, by Lawrence Goldstone

We are Everywhere: Protest, Power, and Pride in the History of Queer Liberation, by Matthew Riemer *Please note, this is an Adult Nonfiction title

Tomorrow Will Be Different: Love, Loss and the Fight for Trans Equality, by Sarah McBride *Please note, this is an Adult Nonfiction title

All of the titles mentioned above are available to borrow through A. K. Smiley Public Library’s Books-to-Go program. Stamped: Racism, Antiracism and You is also available to borrow as an eBook through Overdrive. So get to it! Your voices are a force and it’s inspiring to listen to you use them.

“What the world needs now is love sweet love- it’s the only thing that there’s just too little of” – Jackie DeShannon

Books are powerful. Books can bring people together. Diversity in books is important. Representation is important. Books give the voiceless a voice. Books can transport you. Books allow readers to experience situations they may not usually experience. Here at A. K. Smiley Public Library we understand the importance of providing books written by diverse authors to the community in hopes of building a more compassionate, empathic, loving, and understanding place to live. Books can educate the reader about other people’s struggles and experiences without taking them out of the comfort of their own home. I want to highlight a couple of the latest arrivals in our new book collection that are written by authors who may not usually have their stories heard. These titles are available to check out using our Books-To-Go service.

“How We Fight for Our Lives” by poet Saeed Jones is a brutal and poignant coming-of-age memoir. Jones tells the reader what it feels like growing up black and gay in the South as he tries to navigate a place for himself in his family and society. Told in a series of vignettes, ranging from his boyhood to manhood experiences, each chapter explores the struggles Jones endured and what it is like being black and gay in America. You will never forget this heart-wrenching memoir.

If you prefer to read fiction over non-fiction try “Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982” by Cho Nam-Joo. This novel was originally released in 2016 in South Korea during the #Metoo movement. It is an international bestseller and has been translated into eighteen languages. “Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982” is a social commentary on the struggles women face in South Korea. The main character, Jiyoung, becomes suddenly ill and starts to impersonate different women. Women who are dead, alive, known, and unknown. Her distraught husband takes her to a male doctor to ‘cure’ her. Can Jiyoung’s illness really be ‘cured,’ living in a male dominated society? This is a timely and powerful novel that will stay with you for days.

Aside from these two new titles that we have available for check-out, here is a list of books in our new book collection that are also written by authors whose stories need to be heard.

Fiction: “The Beauty of Your Face” by Sahar Mustafah; “The City We Became” by N. K. Jemisin; “A Long Petal of the Sea” by Isabel Allende; “Real Life” by Brandon Taylor; “Little Gods” by Meng Jin; “Afterlife” by Julia Alvarez; “Hitting a Straight Lick with a Crooked Stick” by Zora Neale Hurston; “Under the Rainbow” by Celia Laskey; And “Riot Baby” by Tochi Onyebuchi.

Non-Fiction: “Wow, No Thank You” by Samantha Irby; “It’s Not About the Burqa” edited by Mariam Khan;  “Hood Feminism” by Mikki Kendall;  “Beautiful on the Outside” by Adam Rippon; “Me and White Supremacy” by Layla Saad; “How to be an AntiRacist” by Ibram Kendi; And “What Doesn’t Kill you Makes you Blacker” by Damon Young.

Call, email, or go online to reserve one these powerful books.  Information on how to reserve an item can be found on our website, www.akspl.org or call us at 909-798-7565.

“Love is all you need” – The Beatles

I’ve heard that adventure awaits in the out-of-doors and I believe it to be true. While hiking a mountain trail, I about scared myself half to death because I looked up to see a bear just yards away from me, with a look that said “Oh good, my lunch has arrived.” It thankfully turned out to be a charred old tree stump, but definitely made me feel like I had just slammed three energy drinks. Funny thing is that on the way back the same trail later that evening, I scared “the other half of me that was still alive” when I saw that “bear” again, this time ready for his dinner appetizer. I guess I don’t quite rank as fearless, but I sure enjoy reading about the true daredevils that venture into the wild.

The Amazon River, runs from its source in the Peruvian Andes to the Atlantic Ocean in Brazil, more than 4000 miles. Darcy Gaechter, at thirty-five, set out to kayak its entire length, the first woman ever, to accomplish that. “Amazon Woman: Facing Fears, Chasing Dreams, and a Quest to Kayak the World’s Largest River from Source to Sea” by Darcy Gaechter details her amazing story. With 16 years of kayaking experience to her credit, she was certainly prepared to be fatigued and hungry, getting trapped and pummeled by the water and jagged rocks, enduring all the inevitable hardships that would be constant companions during her journey. Awaiting her and her fellow kayakers, Don and Midge, was a month of traversing the most difficult whitewater in the world, followed by three to four months of flatwater paddling for over 3000 miles. What would come as a surprise, though, would be the unforeseen dangers of traveling through the Red Zone, an area of the river known for violence, danger, drug cartels and even murder. This is one exciting read, sure to be a wild ride.

Best-selling author and mountaineer, Jon Krakauer is well-known for his nonfiction works, “Into the Wild” and “Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster.” In “Classic Krakauer: Essays on Wilderness and Risk” a collection of ten previously published articles from magazines like Outsider and Smithsonian, are presented featuring an assortment of dangerous endeavors. Follow Krakauer on a roped descent into Lechugilla Cave, Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico. He accompanies scientists who are hoping to better understand Mars through inspecting a mud-like substance called corrosion residue. Witness the last ride of professional surfer, Mark Foo at Mavericks, Half Moon Bay, Northern California. Speculate on alpinist Fred Beckey’s legendary “Little Black Book” with its secret notes on unclimbed peaks. Enjoy this collection of short reads from an always impressive outdoor enthusiast and journalist.

Here’s a quick look at one more gripping story from our new books section. “The Impossible First: from Fire to Ice-Crossing Antarctica Alone” follows Colin O’Brady from an unfortunate accident to a solo crossing of Antarctica, all 932 miles of it, in subzero temperatures for 2 months, pulling a sled that initially weighed a whopping 375 lbs. An incredible adventure that will transport you to a frozen world.

All of these books may be checked out by library cardholders using our Books to Go service. This can be done online, by email, or by phone. We’ll then check out the books on your card, bag them and call to set up a pick-up time to meet outside of the library. You’ll find the details on our website at akspl.org on the Books to Go link or call us at (909) 798-7565. See you soon.

So many things are happening in the library since we’ve been closed. We are still receiving wonderful, new books for you to check-out!

The Young Readers’ Room staff has been busy getting the Juvenile and Young Adult areas cleaned and tidied up for you when we are able to allow you to come back inside. In the meantime, please feel free to utilize our Books-to-Go program. You can reserve books three different ways:  online through our on-line catalog found at akspl.org; or you can email the library at:  circ@akspl.org; or you can call either the Main number (909) 798-7565 or the Young Readers’ Room @ (909) 798-7674. Please make sure your library card number and your contact information is up to date as well (address, phone number & email address). Once we have your books gathered up for you, we will give you a call to set up an appointment so you can come and pick up your books from the front of the library near the main entrance.

For this month’s article, you will find all of these books in our New Book area under the author’s last name. Please consider the following picture books for check-out:

“What Matters Most” by Emma Dodd is a lovely story made up of questions to make a little one think about things. The illustrations were created digitally and there is some sparkle sprinkled throughout the pages!  Emma Dodd has created yet another fabulous book for our young readers’ to enjoy.

Dianne White has written another lyrical picture book filled with color and wonder. “Green on Green” celebrates each season with spectacular colors and amazement while discovering something new that has sprouted, grown or was born.  The illustrations by Felicita Sala captures each season and expression. Enjoy this book today!

A lovely book written and illustrated by Zosienka can be found in “The Moon Keeper”. In my first reading of this story, I was hooked and had to read it again! Very artistic illustrations fill each page as the little bear is on a mission to be the new moon keeper. Emile, the bear is very excited and takes his job quite seriously. As the moon cycles through its phases, Emile is concerned that he has seemed to have lost the moon! Check this book out today to find out exactly what happened to the moon and Emile!

My fourth recommendation for you all is “The Bear Must Go On” written by Dev Petty and illustrated by Brandon Todd. What could be better than writing a play for you and your friends to be on stage together and recite the words you all have written? Except, for these four woodland friends, one does not want to be on stage! Being the writer for the script is actually a lot of work, especially when all three friends have a lot of words for you to write down! The show must go on, but what if the show hadn’t been written and it’s time to raise the curtain? Find out when you check out this book soon!

“Windows” by Julia Denos and illustrated by E.B. Goodale is a discovery book. Walk around you neighborhood and search for the windows that are dark, lighted, decorated or plain. There are lots of things to discover in and around windows. Is that a family reading together? Can you see the family cooking together through the kitchen window? Do you spy the kitty cat sleeping on the windowsill? This is an Ezra Jack Keats Honor Book, which honors outstanding new writers and illustrators.  Check out this great book today.

We often hear people say that libraries are magical places. It seems that, as if just by osmosis, some sense of beauty, of history, of curiosity, of warm childhood memories, of potential for access to infinite knowledge, or of a calming peace invades our being when we enter the special ones, when we enter our library. So today, let’s celebrate libraries, the community gathering sites with a soul, which all of us are especially missing right now. How do we celebrate, you ask? How else, but with a good book, or nine, on… libraries.

“The Most Beautiful Libraries in the World” by Guillaume de Laubier is just one of dozens of books on the theme of libraries which Smiley Library houses. It’s not located in our New Book area, but do you think you could pass up looking through gorgeous photographs of magnificent library buildings full of that bewitching allure if you had the chance?! People have been creating some exquisite shrines to the written word for centuries… Do you think our beautiful library could be included?

By the way, you do have the chance to check out library items: though we are physically closed for the moment, our Books to Go program is in full swing, allowing you to select library materials through our extensive online catalog to be picked up at a contactless outdoor appointment. Find our catalog at www.akspl.org (where you can also access eBooks, etc.), or call us at 909-798-7565 for more information.

The newest non-fiction work on libraries in our collection, out this year, is “Information Hunters: When Librarians, Soldiers, and Spies Banded Together in World War II Europe” by Kathy Lee Peiss. This is an absorbing and expertly investigated account of American librarians, archivists, and scholars who traveled Europe to gather books and documents to assist the military in the war effort, ensuring the preservation of the items, as well as providing critical information for intelligence purposes. Their missions also encouraged the postwar development of American research libraries, some becoming great international repositories of scientific reports, literature, and historical sources.

You knew your librarians and archivists were everyday superheroes, but this is next-level dedication! They are not an anomaly either; I’m reminded of another non-fiction book of a few years ago in our collection, “The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu: and their Race to Save the World’s Most Precious Manuscripts” by Joshua Hammer, also available as an e-book.

I might also give a shout-out here to the enormously popular 2018 documentary, “The Library Book” by Susan Orlean, readily available here in book, e-book, audio book, and e-audio book formats. Orlean draws a detailed portrait of the history of the 150-year-old Los Angeles Public Library revolving around the tragic losses of a fire which befell it. Her admiration for this institution, not unlike our own, spills out to become a love letter to all libraries.

On the lighter side, Smiley carries fun fiction publications for all ages. From the Young Readers’ Room, “Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library” by Chris Grabenstein, (the sequel being “Mr. Lemoncello’s Library Olympics”) is so popular it is provided in three formats: book, e-book, and e-audio book. Twelve-year-old Kyle gets to spend the night in a new library which, come morning, by some kind of alchemy, requires that he and his friends work puzzles in order to escape! Then there is “Evil Librarian” by Michelle Knudsen found in the Young Adult section, in book and e-book formats. High-school student Annie falls for the new, young school librarian who is, well… it’s in the title. If he thinks you’re not looking, you might see his horns–yikes!

Always attempting equal representation, as librarians do, Smiley also offers a publication for cats. (Dogs, I hear ya; you’ll get your turn.)  The featured feline of this book is Dewey Readmore Books, his name covertly buried here as a subliminal message. Vicki Myron’s “Dewey the Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World” is an older offering available as an e-audio book. This fact is fortuitous because I do not believe cats can read. They can listen to the audio book, well, you know, if they feel like it, and, only if you do not look at them… But I digress. Dewey’s tail, uh, tale is actually remarkably enchanting: this small creature shared of himself and became a friend to all who came into his library. His fame grew until it became international, and through Dewey, an honorary librarian, we see his effect in the healing of his adoptive librarian and of his struggling town.

Let’s look finally at a more recent pick, last year’s “Syria’s Secret Library: Reading and Redemption in a Town under Siege,” located in the New Books section. Journalist Mike Thompson expounds here on his reporting for the BBC covering the Syrian town of Darayya which saw some of the heaviest fighting of the Syrian civil war. The few brave refugees who remained there after the war took on a dynamic enterprise: to construct a library underground, reclaiming thousands of books from the rubble. According to the author, these awe-inspiring survivors did so in order to construct, “a portal to another world: one of learning, one of peace, and one of hope.”

From this dogged pursuit to move forward we can take a lesson, especially in this dark hour in which we live. Like the refugees, let’s look toward rebuilding, and start with the library, that centering place which is constructed on the tenets of lifelong learning and education, preservation, intellectual freedom, democratic and diverse access for all with privacy, and social responsibility and service to the public good. You know, it just may be the concept of the library, upheld by these ideals, where that magic actually lives.

And so ends my love letter to our library.