Our Holi-Date with a Book program was a success! Repeating the success of our Blind Date with a Book program from February 2021, we paired students, faculty, and staff with something fun to read over the holiday break. Like in February, we gave participants a choice of whether or not they wanted a say in the book we set them up with; the one change we made to the initial request form was to adding a holiday theme question.
Here are all the books we sent out on holi-dates:
Physical Books
Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi - YA fantasy with West African influences.
The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin - Urban fantasy set in New York, where several citizens begin to form magical connections to the soul of the city.
Exhalation by Ted Chiang - A collection of sci-fi short stories that focus on the humanity of technology; it's highly recommended by one of our librarians.
Feast of Ice and Fire - Eat like royalty with this companion cookbook to the Game of Thrones series.
The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin - The first in a trilogy from a three time Hugo-award winning author and one of the finest pieces of speculative fiction to be published recently.
Gmorning, gnight! Little Pep Talks for Me & You by Lin Manuel Miranda - An illustrated collection of uplifting and inspiring tweets from Miranda.
The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate, Discoveries from a Secret World by Peter Wohlleben - A nonfiction book about the relationships that trees develop. It's one of our librarian's favorite books. (also have ebook version)
His Favorites by Kate Walbert - A novel that explores how one mistake can change you life forever.
A Literary Christmas edited by Lilly Golden - A collection of genre-crossing short stories set around Christmas.
Michigan's Best Emerging Poets - Over 108 contemporary poets are featured in this collection and some are from Flint.
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss - The first book in an epic fantasy series by a modern master.
A Winter's Promise by Christelle Dabos - This fantasy book was getting a lot of buzz on Bookstagram when it initially came out in 2018.
Urbantasm by Connor Coyne - The first book in a dystopian series by a local author.
Ebooks
American Food : A Not-So-Serious History by Rachel Wharton and Kimberly Ellen Hall - "A clever and whimsical illustrated history of 26 iconic American foods, from Ambrosia to Zucchini Bread."
Barbecue: The History of an American Institution by Robert Moss - "...the evolution of barbecue from its origins among Native Americans to its present status as an icon of American culture. This is the story not just of a dish but of a social institution that helped shape the many regional cultures of the United States."
Beheld by TaraShea Nesbit - A historical mystery set in the Plymouth colony.
The Best American Mystery and Suspense 2021 edited by Alafair Burke - "Spanning from a mediocre spa in Florida, to New York's gritty East Village, to death row in Alabama, this collection reveals boundless suspense in small, quiet moments, offering startling twists in the least likely of places. From a powerful response to hateful bullying, to a fight for health care, to a gripping desperation to vote, these stories are equal parts shocking, devastating, and enthralling, revealing the tension pulsing through our everyday lives..."
The Christmas Murders by Jonathan Goodman and Albert Borowitz - "Here are ten murder cases of “the old-fashioned sort”—evoking a nostalgia more obviously associated with fiction—that all took place during the festive period from mid-December to Twelfth Night between 1811 and 1933."
The Christmas Truce: Myth, Memory, and the First World War by Terri Blom Crocker, Peter Grant, and Peter Grant - "In late December 1914, German and British soldiers on the western front initiated a series of impromptu, unofficial ceasefires... this new examination shows how a variety of works have both explored and enshrined this outbreak of peace amid overwhelming violence... [and] analyzes official accounts as well as private letters that reveal widespread support among officers for the détentes.... [The author] finds that truce participants describe the temporary ceasefires not as rebellions by disaffected troops but as acts of humanity and survival by professional soldiers deeply committed to their respective causes."
Falling in Love with Hominids by Nalo Hopkinson - The author's "Afro-Caribbean, Canadian, and American influences shine in truly unique stories that are filled with striking imagery, unlikely beauty, and delightful strangeness. In this long-awaited collection, Hopkinson continues to expand the boundaries of culture and imagination."
Indigo Christmas by Jeanna Dams - A historical, cozy mystery set in 1904 South Bend, Indiana.
Innovation Is a State of Mind: Simple Strategies to Be More Innovative in What You Do by James O'Loghlin - "... a step-by-step guide to creating innovative ideas and putting them into action."
Lorine Niedecker: Collected Works - "...poetry of wit and emotion, cosmopolitan experimentation and down-home American speech."
Magic Under the Mistletoe by Lucy Coleman - A Christmas-themes romance, perfect for fans of Hallmark movies.
Medicating Modern America: Prescription Drugs in History by Andrea Tone and Elizabeth Siegel Watkins - "...examines the meanings behind this pharmaceutical revolution through the interconnected histories of eight of the most influential and important drugs: antibiotics, mood stabilizers, hormone replacement therapy, oral contraceptives, tranquilizers, stimulants, statins, and Viagra."
Musical Mysteries: From Mozart to John Lennon by Albert Borowitz - The author explores a mixture of true crimes related to musicians and composers as well as crimes that are portrayed in songs and musical theater.
Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler - "...A "gripping" dystopian novel about a woman fleeing Los Angeles as America spirals into chaos."
Pedagogies of With-Ness: Students, Teachers, Voice and Agency by Hogg, et al. - "Across the globe, students are speaking up, walking out, and marching for social and ecological justice. Despite deficit discourses about students, youth are using their voice and agency to call forth a better world. Will educators respond to this call to stand with students in relational solidarity as co-constructors of a new tomorrow?"
Race for the South Pole: The Expedition Diaries of Scott and Amundsen edited by Roland Huntford - "In 1910 Robert Falcon Scott and Roald Amundsen set sail for Antarctica, each from his own starting point, and the epic race for the South Pole was on. For the first time Scott's unedited diaries run alongside those of both Amundsen and Olav Bjaaland, never before translated into English."
The Red Menace: How Lipstick Changed the Face of American History by Ilise Carter - "This engaging and entertaining history of lipstick from the colonies to the present will give readers a new view of the little tube’s big place in modern America from defining the middle class to building Fortune 500 businesses to being present at Stonewall and being engineered for space travel."
The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw - This book has been getting all the buzz! "...explores the raw and tender places where Black women and girls dare to follow their desires and pursue a momentary reprieve from being good. The nine stories in this collection feature four generations of characters grappling with who they want to be in the world, caught as they are between the church's double standards and their own needs and passions."
Sweet Invention: A History of Dessert by Michael Krondl - "From the sacred fudge served to India's gods to the ephemeral baklava of Istanbul's harems, the towering sugar creations of Renaissance Italy, and the exotically scented macarons of twenty-first century Paris, the world's confectionary arts have not only mirrored social, technological, and political revolutions, they have also, in many ways, been in their vanguard."
Transformations: Poems by Anne Sexton - "Anne Sexton breathes new life into sixteen age-old Brothers Grimm fairy tales, reimagining them as poems infused with contemporary references, feminist ideals, and morbid humor."
Wormwood Forest: A Natural History of Chernobyl by Mary Mycio - "A vivid blend of reportage, popular science, and illuminating encounters that explode the myths of Chernobyl with facts that are at once beautiful and horrible, Wormwood Forest brings a remarkable land - and its people and animals - to life to tell a unique story of science, surprise and suspense."
If you missed out on December's event, look out for our Blind Date with a Book in February!
For help accessing our ebooks, see our user guide for the Ebook Central database and video tutorial for the EBSCOhost Ebook database.
University of Michigan-Flint
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