The Librarian Recommends - March 2024
by Rebecca Strauss, Library Director
March 11, 2024
Our Library Director curates great reads for our students every day. Now, she's sharing some recommendations for the rest of our community to enjoy. Stay tuned for new suggestions!
Let Us Descend by Jesmyn Ward
From the rice fields of South Carolina to the slave markets of New Orleans, we follow Annis on her journey to physical and mental freedom. The memories of her mother and stories of her warrior grandmother sustain and guide her in a landscape teeming with spirits of every kind. Both haunting and uplifting, Ward’s lyrical new novel is not to be missed.
Clytemnestra by Costanza Casati
Of the most misunderstood women of Greek mythology, Queen Clytemnestra is near the top. Is she the spiteful hag or the lustful jezebel who kills her husband in cold blood after his return from the Trojan War? Here, in dazzling prose, Casati presents her as a Spartan woman and a mother, betrayed by the men in her life, trying to hold on to her identity and strength both for herself and her children.
Thea Bowman: A Story of Triumph by Mary G. Verrill
Sister Thea Bowman has been an inspiration to countless souls including her mentee and former CDH parent, Mary Verrill. In this young adult biography, Verrill presents Bowman’s journey from childhood in Mississippi to joining the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration as a teenager, to her work with the civil rights movement and beyond. Sister Thea Bowman, who passed away in 1990 is in the first steps to sainthood and her story is sure to inspire readers of all ages.
The Backyard Bird Chronicles by Amy Tan
Amy Tan is best known for her novels of Chinese American women navigating family dynamics, immigration, and identity. In 2016, as a coping mechanism for the division and hatred that seemed to grow around her exponentially, Tan turned to the birds outside her window. This book is a mix of journaling and sketching, a memoir of one author’s relationship with the natural world.