Title: The Way to Rainy Mountain
Author: N. Scott Momaday
Genres: memoir, biography, folklore
Read Great Things Challenge 2020 category: A book about the great outdoors (sort of).
This book was read by Stephen Brooks, Main Campus Reference Librarian.
Continue Reading →This week we’ll be showcasing some book reviews! Want to review something you’ve read or watched for the library blog? Let us know by filling out the Durham Tech Book or Media Review form.
Being in your late 20s and not knowing what you want to do is hard, so of course when your friend from your brief foray into boarding school asks you to come take care of her step-children who catch fire when upset or scared, you say yes. Right? Sure. You weren’t doing anything anyway.
Title: Nothing to See Here
Author: Kevin Wilson
Genre: Realistic fantasy/magical realism, early adulting, contemporary literary fiction
#ReadGreatThings2020 Category: A book recommended by a celebrity book club (#ReadWithJenna)
This book was read by Meredith Lewis, the [mostly] Orange County Campus Librarian.
Continue Reading →This audiobook was listened to by Courtney Bippley, a Reference Librarian at the Main Campus Library (currently working from home). It was received for free from through the Libro.fm ALC program.
Title: The City We Became: A Novel
Author: N.K. Jemisin
Narrator: Robin Miles
Genre: Fantasy
Summary: Three-time Hugo Award-winning and New York Times bestselling author N.K. Jemisin crafts her most incredible novel yet, a story of culture, identity, magic, and myths in contemporary New York City.
In Manhattan, a young grad student gets off the train and realizes he doesn’t remember who he is, where he’s from, or even his own name. But he can sense the beating heart of the city, see its history, and feel its power.
In the Bronx, a Lenape gallery director discovers strange graffiti scattered throughout the city, so beautiful and powerful it’s as if the paint is literally calling to her.
In Brooklyn, a politician and mother finds she can hear the songs of her city, pulsing to the beat of her Louboutin heels.
And they’re not the only ones.
Every great city has a soul. Some are ancient as myths, and others are as new and destructive as children. New York? She’s got six. –Hachette Book Group
Read Great Things 2020 Challenge Category: Recommended by a Durham Tech Librarian, A book that is part of a series (Great Cities #1)
Read courtney’s thoughts on this book
This book was read by Susan Baker, a Reference Librarian at the Main Campus Library.
Title and Author: Meg & Jo by Virginia Kantra
Genre: Contemporary romance, domestic fiction
Read Great Things Challenge 2020 category: Recommended by a Durham Tech librarian
Description: Meg March Brooke as a stay at home mom may not stretch the imagination too far, but Jo March as a prep cook and food blogger in New York City sure does! Louisa May Alcott’s classic Little Women is delightfully re-imagined by North Carolina RITA award winning author Virginia Kantra as a contemporary tale of adult sisters from a close knit family, following their very different paths, brought together again by a family crisis.This book is told through the eyes of the older sisters, Meg and Jo; a sequel, Beth & Amy, is scheduled to follow in December 2020.
Continue Reading →
Do you like coming-of-age stories [a.k.a. bildungsromans] and dragons, but in contemporary settings? Oh, and bad guys and mob guys and the swamp? Don’t mind a little drinking and swearing (well, more than just a little)? Want something that isn’t super depressing? Have I got the read for you!
This book was read by Meredith Lewis, the [mostly] Orange County Campus Librarian.
Title: Highfire
Author: Eoin Colfer (yes, the Artemis Fowl guy)
Genre: contemporary fantasy, dragon and boy stories, swamp capers
#ReadGreatThings2020 Category: A book with a one-word title; A bildungsroman; A book about nature or the great outdoors
Continue Reading →The spring Durham Tech Library newsletter is now available. Features include new staff, OER, Summon tips and tricks, current reading challenges, upcoming Crafternoons, TLC news, and more!
Are you participating in the Durham Tech Library’s Read Great Things 2020 Challenge? Desperately want to complete your “Someone else’s favorite book” category but don’t know where to start? Good news! We can help.
Continue Reading →Did you enjoy Delia Owens’s novel Where the Crawdads Sing about a young woman growing up isolated in the marshes of coastal North Carolina in the 1960’s? If you’re interested in reading similar books, consider some of these available in the library or through interlibrary loan (ILL). These would all count for the Read Great Things Challenge 2020 in the coming-of-age novel category.
Tell The Wolves I’m Home by Carol Rifka Brunt
Fifteen-year-old June must come to terms with the death of her beloved Uncle Finn, an artist, who dies from AIDS in 1980s New York. This is a strong character-driven and sentimental coming-of-age story.
Call number location: Main Campus, PS 3602 .R867 T45 2013
The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah
This book feature a strong sense of place, wilderness survival, and a young woman moving to and growing up in Alaska.
Call number location: Main Campus, PS 3558 .A4763 G74 2018
Into the Water by Paula Hawkins
After two local drowning tragedies, fifteen-year-old Lena is parentless and friendless. This British psychological thriller is mysterious and atmospheric.
Call number location: Main Campus,
PR 6108 .A963 I58 2017
To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Both novels offer a historical Southern setting and a trial that illuminates the closed-minded nature of the town’s residents. Both novels feature young female characters who come of age in challenging circumstances.
Call number location: Main and Orange County Campus, PS 3562 .E353 T6 [various years of publication]
My Absolute Darling by Gabriel Tallent
This brutal and violent novel is a coming-of- age story about a teenage girl living in isolation off-grid with her survivalist, paranoid father in the Pacific Northwest. Be warned though– this is much darker and more intense.
This book can be requested through ILL.
A new year, a new list of categories for the Durham Tech Read Great Things Challenge!
