(Virtual) Book Display: ft. Student Assistants!

Back in the good old days when we were still able to go inside the Undergraduate Library, you may have noticed some friendly faces sitting at the Circulation and Loanable Technology desks, ready to help you with your library needs. These student assistants (SAs) work hard to keep the library running; we couldn’t do it without them!(!!!!!!!) To celebrate the fabulous student assistants who work at the UGL, we’ve asked a few of them to share a bit about themselves and their favorite books. As the end of finals approach (!), the SAs have some great recommendations for things to read for fun. For some we’ve added links to free electronic versions online. Otherwise, check with your local library to see if they have e-book or audiobook copies of these great titles! 

Kerime 

  • Year: 4th year 
  • Major: Latina/Latino Studies
  • Hometown: Chicago 
  • Favorite book: I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sánchez 
  • When you first read this book: Summer 2019 
  • Why it’s your fave: It’s my favorite book at the moment because 1) it’s the most recent I’ve read, and 2) because it’s a great fictional story that I resonated with and enjoyed since the fiction held a lot of truth. 
  • Fun fact: I know ASL. 

    book cover of I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sanchezbook cover of Along For the Ride by Sarah Dessen

Selena

  • Year: Senior
  • Major: Business Marketing
  • Hometown: Chicago
  • Favorite Book: Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen
  • When you first read this book: 2012
  • Fun Fact: I’m born on Christmas.

Morad

  • Year: Senior
  • Major: Psychology
  • Hometown: Cicero, IL
  • Favorite book: Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
  • When you first read this book: I was 10
  • Why it’s your fave: Of Mice and Men is my favorite book because it is a simple yet well-developed story about love between friends. When reading it the first time, I felt as though the story was overhyped, but upon rereading and understanding the themes of the novel, I began to appreciate some of the acts committed within. Additionally, I enjoy novels centered in wartimes or slightly before them, and this one follows suit as it takes place during the Great Depression.
  • Fun fact: My celebrity crush is Zendaya.

book cover of Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

book cover of Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell

Sam

  • Year: Junior
  • Major: Advertising
  • Hometown: Cicero, IL
  • Favorite book: Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell
  • Why it’s your fave: I just fell in love with the characters and their stories. The main characters were so different but they fit each other so perfectly. It was definitely a hard book to put down. I have read it at least 5 times.
  • Fun fact: I have at least 15 pairs of Harry Potter themed socks.

Charley

  • Year: Senior
  • Major: Urban Studies and Planning
  • Hometown: Niles, IL
  • Favorite book: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
  • When you first read this book: 6th Grade
  • Why it’s your fave: It’s my favorite book because of Alexie’s masterful ability to meld the heartbreaking with the hilarious and present it in a format that even a 6th grader can understand.
  • Fun fact: I like backpacking in the wilderness.

book cover of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

book cover of Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins

Elysse

  • Year: Sophomore
  • Major: Speech and Hearing Science
  • Hometown: Naperville, IL
  • Favorite book: Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins
  • When you first read this book: Freshmen year of high school
  • Why it’s your fave: I love paranormal romance.
  • Fun fact: My eyes change color.

Thanks to the SA’s for contributing! Happy reading 🙂

Written by: Izzy

Edited by: Lauren

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Quarantine Diary 6: Parents & Zoom

Hello world!! My name is Lauren (also known as Coolest Graduate Assistant at the UGL, I respond to either) and I’m writing to you from warm, sunny, Dallas, Texas! Let me just take this moment to brag; please see the weather forecast for today below……..*chef’s kiss*Screenshot of weather forecast for Monday, April 27, reads a high of 82 and low of 69. The perfect day. As I’m sure many of you did, I ended up quarantining at home after Spring Break aaaanndd……never left. I am currently with my family (M56, F49, F17, F15), which has been /an experience/. There was definitely a period of adjustment and there were many times I wanted to pause my Zoom calls to enjoy food made by my mom;

Screenshot of tweet reads: sorry professor can we pause the zoom lecture my immigrant mother has cut me some fruitwe are finally starting to eat the 20lbs of bulk dried pinto beans that my dad bought when our local grocery store had a half price sale;

Screenshot of tweet reads: My mom was prescient when she bought 2 years worth of TP after a Walgreens closed. The best way to save money is to invest in commodities. Sometimes the survivalist immigrant mentality pays off in times of crisis. I am also constantly finding MY things in my sisters’ room that I have been looking for since the semester began.

Screenshot of tweet reads: #GrowingUpWithSiblings going into their room to steal stuff and seeing stuff stolen from your roomAll in all, there are no other people that I’d rather be doing this with than them!! I have also been spending this time searching for the best Zoom backgrounds to use. My favorite so far is the This Is Fine meme (see image below), but you can decide for yourself and reference this Mary Sue list for more options.

Screenshot of cartoon room on fire, with a dark cloud covering the ceiling and a cup of coffee casually sitting on a tableI’ve also loved scrolling through the memes about Zoom meetings in general

 

Screenshot of a man in an office saying “if you could just mute yourself during the zoom meeting that’d be great” but he looks very sarcasticScreenshot of two dogs: one is captioned with “Audio only” with a dog with scraggly hair, and the other is captioned with “With video” and the dog is neatly groomed and wearing clothes

 

It hasn’t been too bad (yet)!!! I only have one last final research project (20 pages — excuse me while I cry) to do before GRADUATION!! If you’re finding yourself in the same position and have no idea what to do about your research assignment, feel free to ‘drop in’ or schedule a Research and Writing Consultation with me, or other Graduate Assistants at the UGL!! You can schedule an appointment though the UGL website, or ‘drop in’ by saying “I would like a research consultation” in the Ask a Librarian chat.

Still of Laurence Fishburne from The Matrix movie saying “What if I told you there are research methods besides your favorite one”

Finally, I wanted to take this opportunity to congratulate all of you who are graduating this semester. You are about to embark on a new journey – ready or not – and this final semester has not been an ideal end. Thank you for choosing to attend the University of Illinois; the UGL, at least, has been better for your interaction with our collections, staff, and faculty, in any capacity – large or small. Best of luck, now and always.

Screenshot of tweet reads: First-gen Latinx PhD candidtate here. Was chatting with Mom about possible cancellation of commencement ceremony. Me (in Spanish): I’m bummed cuz I wanted to share that moment with you. Mom: Mijo, I was with you every step of the way. One day doesn’t define the journey. Crying emoji.

Written and Edited by: Lauren

 

 

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Quarantine Diary 2: Pilates and Cake

Hey everyone! I’m writing to you from a small town in southern Illinois, just twenty minutes outside of St. Louis. Like many of you, when the governor issued the shelter in place order, I moved home with my parents to be with family during quarantine. I don’t know about the rest of you, but for me “moving out” consisted of packing bags as quickly as I could, shoving in clean comfortable clothes and whatever I thought I couldn’t live without for a week or two. I cleaned out my fridge, put my Cavalier spaniel Hattie in the car, and took off. It’s been four weeks now and our house is bustling with my parents, sister, brother, myself, Hattie, and two cats.

Cavalier spaniel, named Hattie, sitting on couch

One of my favorite things to do, especially with my mom and sister, is to bake and cook. However, not leaving the house + constant baked goods and carbo-loaded recipes + a small dose of stress/bored eating = a dangerous combination. To offset the calories we’ve been eating, we’ve been taking advantage of free yoga and Pilates on YouTube. My favorite Pilates channel on YouTube is Blogilates with Cassey Ho. She does a great job of walking you through each exercise at the beginning of the video and explaining which muscle groups you’ll be working. She has a huge library of past workouts available, and there is something for toning just about any part of your body! All I use when following along to her videos is my yoga mat, but even that is optional. The workouts are very home/apartment friendly and Cassey has even been posting workout calendars for the COVID-19 quarantine, so you can follow along with her recommended workouts, or create your own routine. Hattie is an overall great workout buddy and huge help…

Maybe some of you are experiencing the odd time warp we seem to be in where each day feels like a week and yet each day slides into the next and it’s easy to lose track. One of the best methods I’ve found to fight this is to spend some time in the sun or to break up the day by going outside. We’re lucky to be in a rural area, so we are still able to go for walks and enjoy our yard! In fact, the only one who might not be enjoying our walks is poor Hattie. She’s only two, but she is the biggest couch potato you can imagine! While I think she felt spoiled at first with everyone home, now she just wishes we would leave her alone to take her naps. I have also been going out to the trampoline to get some cardio in since I can’t go to the gym. Apparently, this is a highly entertaining part of the morning for Hattie and the cats. The cats typically spend the day bullying poor Hattie, but they call an armistice for the hour or so that I’m on the trampoline every day to sit and watch their human.

Hattie and Lyla watching Jayde jump on the trampoline from the sunroom

Hattie after her second walk for the day

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After burning some calories, my mom, sister, and I love to head to the kitchen! For one of my quarantine projects I am transcribing and posting all of my grandma’s old handwritten recipes onto a blog for my aunts and cousins. We’re making as many of the recipes as we can so that I can add in little notes and pictures of the finished products. One recipe that will always hold a special place in my heart (especially around Easter) is my Grandma Ruth’s pineapple upsidedown cake. It’s sweet as can be and just makes you happy. It’s the kind of dessert where you can have just a little square and have to cut yourself a generous rectangle. My grandma makes her cake batter from scratch, but here’s a quick and simplified version using yellow cake mix. Now Grandma Ruth had a couple tricks to truly knock this recipe out of the park that you can still use with the easy cake mix version. First, toast some pecans in a small pan. You add these to the top of the cake at the same time as the cherries and pineapple. The crunch and texture that these add just takes the cake to another level. Also, if you don’t mind sacrificing some of the neat presentation, use crushed pineapple instead of the rounds. This makes the cake even more moist and ensures you get a bit of pineapple with every bite. If you have enough leftover, you should also consider using a full cup of pineapple juice rather than any water with the cake mix. Finally, use a little extra brown sugar than this recipe calls for. Don’t pat the sugar down, rather make sure it’s well blended with the butter, but leave the top “crumbly.” I hope some of you get the chance to try this and it spreads a little joy! Ours didn’t last long past Easter dinner.

pineapple upside down cake, made with pineapples, cherries, and toasted pecans

My family and I have really enjoyed exploring and preserving my grandma’s recipes, especially those that we know were passed down through generations. If you’ve ever been curious about exploring your own family’s history, consider checking out this guide from UIUC’s Main Library about how to research your genealogy. The guide includes an explanation of free resources available online as well as recommendations from UIUC’s own collections. This is an activity that the whole family can enjoy and get involved in.

That’s all for now! I’m going to get back to my 1000 piece puzzle and maybe sneak one of the last slices of pineapple upsidedown cake. Hattie says she can’t wait until she can get back to Champaign and all our friends–apparently, we’re a little too boring for her!

Hattie, exhausted, lounging on the couch

Written by: Jayde

Edited by: Lauren

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April is Poetry Month!

April is National Poetry Month, and since we are all stuck inside for now, there couldn’t be a better time to dive into some verse. If you don’t happen to have any poetry books wherever you’re at, or you’re just looking to read something new, check out these five e-books available through the library.  

  1. Ross Gay’s poems are exactly what we all need right now: thoughtful, playful, and full of moments that gracefully hold the joys and pains of life simultaneously. Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude is a collection on themes of loss. Cover art of poetry collection titled: Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude by Ross Gay
  2. bell hooks is an activist and writer from Kentucky whose work explores sexism and racism. Check out Appalachian Elegy, a collection of poems about her home state.cover art of Appalachian Elegy by bell hooks
  3. Jack Kerouac, best known for his novel On the Road, was also a successful poet, even inventing his own form of haiku. Readings by Jack Kerouac on the Beat Generation is a spoken word album recorded in 1959.cover art of Readings by Jack Kerouac on the Beat Generation by Jack Kerouac
  4. Sarah Blake infuses her poetry with pop culture references and insights into her own experiences in Mr. West, a portrait of Kanye West.cover art of Mr. West by Sarah Blake
  5. Nate Marshall is a poet from the South Side of Chicago. In Wild Hundreds, Marshall composes a love song to his city.cover art of Wild Hundreds by Nate Marshall

Bonus: Homopup: Queer Dog Poetry. Speaks for itself, really.cover art of Homopup by Gerry Pearlberg

To find more e-books available through the library, check out the Library Catalog. Be sure to narrow your search results by format and choose “electronic.” If you have questions about accessing these, or other, electronic resources, feel free to Ask a Librarian!

Information from poetryfoundation.org.

Written by: Izzy

Edited by: Lauren

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Destress Fest Fall 2019

Fall break is arguably one of the best weeks of the year: you get absolutely stuffed with a delicious Thanksgiving meal, you finally get some sleep, and when you’re not eating or sleeping, there’s usually a chance to see hometown friends!

However, fall break is but a cruel tease. Just when you’ve gotten comfortable with waking up at noon, your dreams are shattered by the impending return to campus after a far too brief hiatus.

Screenshot of tweet that reads, "going to school in between thanksgiving and christmas break feels like the last lap in mario kart where the music is all fast and gets really stressfull"

Returning from fall break is worse than all other breaks because the end of the semester is so close. And we all know what that means… finals.

gif of Katniss Everdeen, played by Jennifer Lawrence, looking up from the ground somberly as she is chosen as tribute

Finals week comes with stress, long nights, gallons of coffee, and inevitable tears.screenshot of tweet that reads, "I've already cried 5 times in the past 14 hours and I haven't even had to say goodbye to anyone yet #FinalsWeek"

But never fear, the UGL is here to help relieve finals anxiety with Destress Fest! Our amazing reading day event!

Come to the UGL to study any time between 12:00 pm and 10:00 pm on Reading Day, Thursday, December 12th, and you’ll have the opportunity to take part in lots of fun and relaxing activities during your study breaks!gif of a scene from A Night at the Roxbury, where Doug (played Chris Kattan) comforts Steve (played by Will Farrell), and says,

Here’s the full schedule:

Schedule of Destress Fest 2019 hosted by the UGL

Looking forward to seeing you during Destress Fest 2019!!

Written by Annabel

Edited by Lauren

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Halloween Gaming Event

Have you caught the smell of pumpkin spice lattes in the air? That’s right, fall is back! This year the UGL is celebrating fall with a spooky, Halloween-themed Game Night Thursday, October 17th from 7pm -10pm. Come as you are or grab a costume to join in the Halloween fun. Here are some of the Horror-themed games we’ll be featuring:
 
Call of Cthulhu Roleplaying Game

Join us for this chilling roleplaying adventure! One of our experienced Game Masters will guide players through a quest in a world based on the writing of the master of horror himself, H.P. Lovecraft. Solve a mystery while struggling to maintain your sanity and survive despite the horror and danger that surrounds you.
Betrayal at House on the Hill

From aliens to ghosts, to voodoo dolls and beyond, you never know what you might find in this ever-changing haunted mansion. Come explore the House on the Hill, if you dare, and bring along 2-5 of your closest friends. Try to maintain your sanity as you encounter challenges and hauntings in each new room of the house. But beware…one of you is not who they claim to be and there will be a betrayal at the House on the Hill before the night ends!
One Night: Ultimate Werewolf

In this quick and easy game each player takes on the role of a villager…some innocent, some not so innocent. The villagers race to find the identity of the werewolves hiding among them, before they sink their teeth into the whole town. Each morning the villagers wake to find the werewolves may have claimed another victim. Will you survive the night?
Other games we’ll have available throughout the night include Ghost Stories, Castle Ravenloft, and Mysterium. Feel free to bring your own haunted horror games from home, or grab one of the games from the UGL’s collection. Will you be brave enough to join us for the fright? We hope to see you there!
Written by: Jayde
Edited by: Lauren
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50th Anniversary Student Art Gallery

New art exhibition alert! In honor of the Undergraduate Library’s 50th Anniversary, the UGL Art Gallery has two new displays to celebrate. Come check them out and celebrate with us!

For the first display, you’ll find the submissions to the Undergraduate Graphic Design Competition. Each of these unique designs captures the spirit and mission of the UGL. You won’t want to miss this impressive display of student artwork!

 

In the second display, you’ll explore the UGL Through the Decades. Learn about the history of the Undergraduate Library while browsing photographs of the UGL over the years. You’ll see the UGL transform from a space on the first floor of the Main Library into the thriving library we know today. The gallery takes viewers through the “Early Beginnings of the UGL,” to “1969: Undergraduate Library Established,” and concludes with the “UGL Today.” Come learn more about this unique building and how it came to be.

We hope to see you there! And be sure to follow us on social media to learn more about events celebrating the UGL’s 50th.

Thank you to the students who submitted to our graphic design competition, and to the University Archives for providing historical images of the Undergraduate Library.

Written by: Izzy

Edited by: Ryan & Lauren

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The UGL is Fifty!

The UGL is the big “5-0!” This fall, the UGL is celebrating its 50th anniversary and will host a series of events throughout the semester for all students to enjoy. In addition, we will showcase student work on merchandise for the UGL@50 celebration — thank you to Taylor Chism, whose design was selected as the first place winner of the UGL’s 50th Anniversary Design Competition, as well as the other competition winners, for their design contributions! To see all three winners’ artwork from this competition, please see our past blog post

Historic view of the UGL in 1970.

The UGL in 1970

The first Undergraduate Library was established on the first floor of the Main Library in 1949, as part of a one million dollar post-war expansion. This campus drive to expand services to undergraduates eventually led to the current Undergraduate Library building opened to campus in 1969 to better support a growing undergraduate population. Today, the UGL helps support more than 33,000 undergraduate students, in addition to the graduate students, staff, and faculty who utilize our resources and services. 

Please join us as we celebrate throughout the semester! Our full schedule of events is below: 

Photo Booth

Monday, September 9 from 3-7pm

50 Donuts an Hour

Monday, September 23 from 12-10pm

50th Anniversary Button Making Event

Monday, October 7 from 3-7pm

Birthday Cake!

Monday, October 21 from 2-4pm

Photo Booth

Monday, November 4 from 3-7pm

DIY Whiteboard Artwork (week-long event)

Begins: Monday November 11 

Ends: Friday November 15

 

Want to know more? Explore the UGL website to learn more about the history of the UGL — we hope to see you this semester!

 

Written and Edited by Lauren

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UGL’s 50th Anniversary Design Competition – Winners Announced!

In February, we posted a blog announcing an exciting opportunity for undergraduate students: the kickoff of a graphic design competition in celebration of the UGL’s 50th Anniversary! The competition guidelines asked undergraduate artists to create a unique design for the UGL@50 celebration which embodied an expression of the University of Illinois undergraduate student body.  After much time and deliberation, the results are in, the competition has come to a close, and winners have been chosen!

Judges looked for clarity, creative flare, and relevant representations of the UGL in the designs. Among many amazing entries, only three designers were awarded top rankings and prizes. Without further ado, we are excited to announce the winners of the UGL’s 50th Anniversary Design Competition:

 

In first place, Taylor Chism!

Taylor will win $100 and her design will be featured at the UGL@50 celebration this fall! Her design will also be printed on merchandise, so look for this design on t-shirts and mugs in the future. Great job, Taylor!

This is an image of the winning design, featuring corn, technology, and books.

1st place – “UGL”

Judges loved the incorporation of the past, present and future theme and multiple easter eggs, including the iconic corn from the Morrow plots, use of technology, and prevalence of books across all time periods.

 

In second place, Alexis Vasquez!

Alexis has won $50 and the honor of second place for her awesome design. Fantastic, Alexis!

This logo highlights the 50 years that the UGL has been opened.

2nd place – “50”

The clean lines and clear design of this entry made it a visually strong and appealing entry in the contest.

 

In third place, Sabas Padilla!

Sabas has won $25 for his third-place ranking. Congratulations, Sabas!

This image highlights the shape of the UGL

3rd place – “50 Years of UGL”

Corn made another appearance in this design, as well as excellent incorporation of the underground setting.

Thanks again to all of the applicants of the competition! Come and see all of the design submissions in the UGL Student Art Gallery this fall – all designs will be exhibited during the Fall 2019 semester.

For information about how to showcase your artwork at the UGL, contact undergrad@library.illinois.edu

 

Written by Annabel

Edited by Lauren

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UGL Book Madness Bracket

This is a book bracket that students are welcome to fill out in the spirit of 'March Madness' - it features all of the books listed below!

UGL Book Madness Bracket

The Undergraduate Library has taken inspiration from March Madness, and in the spirit of the tournament we’ve created a 2018-2019 Book Madness bracket of some of our favorites published this year.

Meet the Books

 Fiction:

“An American Marriage” by Tayari Jones: “An American Marriage” is about family, love, and identity. It will captivate readers as it explores ideas about race and justice for an African American couple in the south.

“Girls Burn Brighter” by Shobha Rao: This novel spans from India to America, following the stories of two girls as they struggle against the expectations and circumstances of their lives. This book is a testament to the love found in true friendship as the girls-turned-women sacrifice and fight to find their way back to one another again.

Mystery:

“The Witch Elm” by Tana French: Tana French is one of the most well known current authors in the mystery/crime genre. With “The Witch Elm”, French delivers yet another chilling mystery for her readers to solve after a skull is found buried in a suitcase on an old family estate.

“The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle” by Stuart Turton: In this unique taste on a murder mystery, you are invited to a masquerade ball set at the country estate of the Hardcastle family. As guests arrive, one guest wakes up in a new body every day and must solve the murder of the daughter of the house, or be forced to live the same day over and over and over and…

Historical Fiction:

“The Great Alone” by Kristin Hannah: The newest novel by bestselling author Kristin Hannah, “The Great Alone” tells the story of one struggling family in 1970’s Alaska. This is a story of survival, as the family faces dwindling resources in the winter wilderness as well as mental crisis during the long eighteenth hour nights.

“The Tattooist of Auschwitz” by Heather Morris: What makes this novel especially compelling is that it’s based on the true story of the man who served as the tattooist of Auschwitz death camp for years during the Holocaust. While it is certainly a story about struggle and pain, the main message is one of love and human bravery.

Romance:

“The Kiss Quotient” by Helen Hoang: In this refreshing love story, successful business woman Stella Lane hires an escort to teach her all the ins and outs of dating. You see, Stella has Asperger’s and her business algorithms make more sense to her than french kissing. Can Stella let go of her no-nonsense logic long enough to learn about love?

“The Wedding Date” by Jasmine Guillory: Can you imagine agreeing to be a guy’s wedding date after getting stuck in an elevator together? That’s what happens in this fun and flirty debut novel where a fake date just may turn into something more.

Young Adult:

“Kingdom of Ash” by Sarah Maas: Sarah Maas’s “Throne of Glass” series has inspired and captivated readers with its epic fantasy setting and cast of beloved characters. “Kingdom of Ash” is the seventh installment full of faeries, witches, magic, and featuring a harrowing battle against an ancient evil.

“Children of Blood and Bone” by Tomi Adeyemi: In this new series by a debut author magic, danger, and revenge tangle together as one girl goes on an epic journey to avenge her people.

Fantasy:

“Circe” by Madeline Miller: You don’t need to be familiar with the original myth to enjoy this feminist retelling of the ancient Greek sorceress Circe. Miller breathes new life into a tragic character from Greek mythology by allowing Circe to take control of her own story and perhaps even change her destiny.

“Spinning SIlver” by Naomi Novik: In “Spinning Silver,” Naomi Novik has captured the essence of Eastern European folklore while taking inspiration from the tale of Rumpelstiltskin. In this retelling, three brave young women discover love and friendship as they battle forces out of their control with help from a little magic.

Horror:

“Dracul” by J.D. Barker: “Dracul” is the first in a new series, fashioned to be the prequel of “Dracula.” This new series was inspired by notes and texts written by Bram Stoker himself, and features the author as a protagonist in the story.

“Baby Teeth” by Zoje Stage: This is a novel about a family gone wrong. Hannah loves Daddy, but Mommy stands in her way and she wants to be rid of her for good. Suzette struggles with her daughter and fears that something may be seriously wrong with her little girl, though her husband seems blind to the problems and the tricks their little girl plays.

Nonfiction:

“I’ll Be Gone in the Dark” by Michelle McNamara: This incredible true crime account was published after the death of Michelle McNamara, a true crime journalist and detective who was determined to find and unmask the serial killer she called the Golden State Killer. Merely two months after its publication, police were able to finally make an arrest in the case after nearly thirty years.

“The Library Book” by Susan Orlean: “The Library Book” is one journalist’s investigation into the Los Angeles Public Library fire which occurred in 1986. The fire destroyed over 400,000 books and damaged 700,000 more. This is a story of libraries and librarians, and of what libraries and books can mean to the greater communities around them.

Written by Jayde

Edited by Lauren

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