2022 Book Chats

Arts & Music Frank the Voice by James Kaplan (13)

James Kaplan brings deeper insight than ever before to the complex psyche and turbulent life behind that incomparable voice, from Sinatra's humble beginning in Hoboken to his fall from grace and Oscar-winning return in "From Here to Eternity"

Arts & Music Girl in Hyacinth by Susan Vreeland (13)

A professor invites a colleague from the art Department to his home to see a painting that he has kept secret for decades. The professor swears it is a Vermeer--Why has he hidden this important work for so long? The reasons unfold in a series of stories

Arts & Music Just My Type: A Book About Fonts by Simon Garfield (13)

What’s your type? Suddenly everyone’s obsessed with fonts. Whether you’re enraged by Ikea’s Verdanagate, want to know what the Beach Boys have in common with easy Jet or why it’s okay to like Comic Sans, Just My Type will have the answer.

Arts & Music This is What I know About Art by Kimberly Drew (13)

"Pocket Change Collective was born out of a need for space. Space to think. Space to connect. Space to be yourself. And this is your invitation to join us.

Arts & Music The Dutch House by Ann Patchett (13)

Set over the course of five decades, The Dutch House is a dark fairy tale about two smart people who cannot overcome their past. Despite every outward sign of success, Danny and Maeve are only truly comfortable when they’re together.

Arts & Music The Joy of Music by Leonard Bernstein (13)

Lectures and writings by Leonard Bernstein based on his Omnibus TV series

Arts & Music The Musician's Way by Gerald Klickstein (13)

In The Musician's Way, veteran performer and educator Gerald Klickstein combines the latest research with his 30 years of professional experience to provide aspiring musicians with a roadmap to artistic excellence.

Business The Up Side of Down: Why Failing Well Is the Key to Success by Megan McArdle (13)

Most new products fail. So do most businesses. And most of us, if we are honest, have experienced a major setback in our personal or professional lives. So what determines who will bounce back and follow up with a home run?

Business Shoe Dog by Phil Knight (13)

In this instant and tenacious New York Times bestseller, Nike founder and board chairman Phil Knight “offers a rare and revealing look at the notoriously media-shy man behind the swoosh”, illuminating his company’s early days.

ELA 11th & 12th Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman (13)

No one’s ever told Eleanor that life should be better than fine. Meet Eleanor Oliphant: She struggles with appropriate social skills...

ELA 11th & 12th Pachinko by Min Jin Lee (13)

In the early 1900s, teenaged Sunja, the adored daughter of a crippled fisherman, falls for a wealthy stranger at the seashore near her home in Korea.

ELA 11th & 12th Trevor Noah: Born a Crime by Trevor Noah (13)

The memoir of one man’s coming-of-age, set during the twilight of apartheid and the tumultuous days of freedom that followed. Trevor Noah’s unlikely path from apartheid South Africa to the desk of The Daily Show...

ELA 9th & 10th Color Me In by Natasha Diaz (13)

Growing up in an affluent suburb of New York City, sixteen-year-old Nevaeh Levitz never thought much about her biracial roots. When her Black mom and Jewish dad split up, she relocates to her mom's family home in Harlem...

ELA 9th & 10th Felix Ever After by Kacen Callendar (13)

From Stonewall and Lambda Award–winning author Kacen Callender comes a revelatory YA novel about a transgender teen grappling with identity and self-discovery while falling in love for the first time. Felix Love has never been in love.

ELA 9th & 10th Take Me With You When You Go by David Levithan, Jennifer Niven (13)

Ezra Ahern wakes up one day to find his older sister, Bea, gone. No note, no sign, nothing but an email address hidden somewhere only he would find it. Ezra never expected to be left behind with their abusive stepfather and their neglectful mother—how is

ELA 9th & 10th Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman (13)

A captivating novel about mental illness that lingers long beyond the last page, Challenger Deep is a heartfelt tour de force by New York Times bestselling author Neal Shusterman.

ELA Habit-Stacking: 127 Small Changes to Improve Your Health, Wealth, and Happiness by S. J. Scott (13)

Imagine what life would be like if you started every morning with small actions that created a chain reaction of positive benefits throughout your life.

ELA 9th & 10th The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston (13)

The Woman Warrior is a pungent, bitter, but beautifully written memoir of growing up Chinese American in Stockton, California. Maxine Hong Kingston distills the dire lessons of her mother's mesmerizing "talk-story" tales of a China...

Family & Consumer Science 32 Yolks: From My Mother’s Table to Working the Line by Eric Ripert t (13)

In an industry where celebrity chefs are known as much for their salty talk and quick tempers as their food, Eric Ripert stands out. The winner of four James Beard Awards and co-owner and chef of a world-renowned restaurant.

Family & Consumer Science Pizza, Love, and Other Stuff That Made Me Famous Pizza, Love, and Other Stuff That Made Me Famous by Kathryn Williams (13)

Although sixteen-year-old Sophie has grown up working in her family's Mediterranean restaurant in Washington, D.C., she is not prepared to compete on the new reality show, Teen Test Kitchen, when her best friend Alex convinces her to audition. Includes re

Math Humble Pi: When Math Goes Wrong in the Real World by Matt Parker (13)

Our whole world is built on math, from the code running a website to the equations enabling the design of skyscrapers and bridges. Most of the time this math works quietly behind the scenes . . . until it doesn’t.

Math Handprints on Hubble by Kathryn D. Sullivan (13)

The first American woman to walk in space recounts her experience as part of the team that launched, rescued, repaired, and maintained the Hubble Space Telescope. The Hubble Space Telescope has revolutionized our understanding of the universe.

Math In Pursuit of the Unknown: 17 Equations That Changed the World by Ian Stewart (13)

Most people are familiar with history's great equations: Newton's Law of Gravity, for instance, or Einstein's theory of relativity. But the way these mathematical breakthroughs have contributed to human progress is seldom appreciated.

Math Sandworm: A New Era of Cyberwar and the Hunt for the Kremlin's Most Dangerous by Andy Greenberg (13)

A chilling, globe-spanning detective story, tracking an elite group of Russian hackers and the future of global warfare In 2014, the world witnessed the start of an escalating series of cyberattacks.

Math Slay by Brittney Morris (13)

Everyone sees Kiera Johnson as a math tutor, an honor student, and one of the few black students attending a mostly white school. Kiera has another identity: She is the creator of an online game. Readers will turn the page to see how Kiera reacts.

Math The Unfinished Game: Pascal, Fermat, and the Seventeenth-Century Letter by Keith Devlin (13)

In the early seventeenth century, the outcome of something as simple as a dice roll was consigned to the realm of unknowable chance. Mathematicians largely agreed that it was impossible to predict the probability of an occurrence.

Math The Grapes of Math: How Life Reflects Numbers and Numbers Reflect Life by Alex Bellos (13)

A dazzling new book that turns even the most complex math into a brilliantly entertaining narrative. From triangles, rotations and power laws, to cones, curves and the dreaded calculus, Alex takes you on a journey of math discovery with his signal.

Math Algorithms to Live By: The Computer Science of Human Decisions by Brian Christian and Tom Griffiths (13)

In a dazzlingly interdisciplinary work, Brian Christian and Tom Griffiths show how algorithms developed for computers also untangle very human questions. They explain how to have better hunches and when to leave things to chance...

Math The Joy of x: A Guided Tour of Math, from One to Infinity to Infinity by Steven Strogatz (13)

A world-class mathematician and regular contributor to the New York Times hosts a delightful tour of the greatest ideas of math, revealing how it connects to literature, philosophy, law, medicine, art, business, even pop culture in ways we never imagined

Math Coincidences, Chaos, and All That Math Jazz: Making Light of Weighty Ideas By Edward Burger (13)

A book for the eternally curious, Coincidences fuses a professor’s understanding of the hidden mathematical skeleton of the universe with the sensibility of a stand-up comedian

PE/Health Chop Wood Carry Water by Joshua Medcalf (13)

Guided by “Akira-sensei,” John comes to realize the greatest adversity on his journey will be the challenge of defeating the man in the mirror.

PE/Health Little Girls in Pretty Boxes by Joan Ryan (13)

Welcome to the world of women's gymnastics and figure skating—the real world that happens away from the cameras, at the training camps and in the private lives of these talented teenage competitors. From starvation diets and debilitating injuries to the b

PE/Health Find Your Why by Simon Sinek (13)

Start With Why is Simon Sinek's mission to help others do work, which inspires them, and uses real-world examples of great leaders to show you how they communicate and how you can adapt their mindset to inspire others yourself.

PE/Health The 5 Second Rule by Mel Robbins (13)

Throughout your life, you've had parents, coaches, teachers, friends, and mentors who have pushed you to be better than your excuses and bigger than your fears.

PE/Health What Made Maddy Run: The Secret Struggle by Kate Fagan (13)

The heartbreaking story of college athlete Madison Holleran, whose life and death by suicide reveal the struggle of young people suffering from mental illness today in this #1 New York Times Sports and Fitness bestseller.

Science Better by Atul Gawande (13)

The struggle to perform well is universal: each one of us faces fatigue, limited resources, and imperfect abilities in whatever we do. But nowhere is this drive to do better more important than in medicine, where lives are on the line with each decision

Science Storm in a Teacup: The Physics of Everyday Life by Helen Czerski (13)

This book is a lively, entertaining, and richly informed introduction to physics. The author links ordinary objects and occurrences, like popcorn popping, coffee stains, and fridge magnets, to big ideas like climate change, the energy crisis, and innovat

Science How We Got to Now: Six Innovations That Made the Modern World by Steven Johnson (13)

In this illustrated history, Steven Johnson explores the history of innovation over centuries, tracing facets of modern life (refrigeration, clocks, and eyeglass lenses, to name a few)...

Science Ender's Shadow by Orson Scott Card (13)

Growing up is never easy. But try living on the mean streets as a child begging for food and fighting like a dog with ruthless gangs of starving kids who wouldn't hesitate to pound your skull into pulp for a scrap of apple. If Bean has learned anything on

Science Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future by Ashlee Vance (13)

Musk has always been my hero and this book sure did justice. One quality that I really admire in him is his ability to set clear vision. Once he sets the vision, Elon gives his blood, sweat and tears to make it a reality. People laughed at him when he fir

Science 9th & 10th Atomic Habits by James Clear (13)

The author uses ideas from biology, psychology, and neuroscience to create an easy-to-understand guide for making good habits inevitable and bad habits impossible. In this book you can learn to make time for new habits (even when life gets crazy); overco

Science The evolution of the useful things by Henry Petrovski (13)

Petroski takes a microscopic look at artifacts that most of us count on but rarely contemplate, including such icons of the everyday as pins, Post-its, and fast-food "clamshell" containers. At the same time...

Science I Contain Multitudes by Ed Tong (13)

The microbes in our bodies are part of our immune systems and protect us from disease. In the deep oceans, mysterious creatures without mouths or guts...

Science The Three Body Problem by Liu Cixin (13)

The Three-Body Problem is the first chance for English-speaking readers to experience the Hugo Award-winning phenomenon from China's most beloved science fiction author, Liu Cixin. Set against the backdrop of China's Cultural Revolution...

Social Studies 11 & 12 Passionate Sage; The Character and Legacy of John Adams by Joseph Ellis (13)

The most lovable and most laughable, the warmest and possibly the wisest of the founding fathers, John Adams knew himself as few men do and preserved his knowledge in a voluminous correspondence that still vibrates.

Social Studies Uncounted: The Crisis of Voter Suppression in America by Gilda Daniels (13)

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is considered one of the most effective pieces of legislation the United States has ever passed. It enfranchised hundreds of thousands of voters, particularly in the American South, and drew attention to the problem of voter

Social Studies 11th & 12th The Fall of Richard Nixon; A Reporter Remembers Watergate by Tom Brokaw (13)

Bestselling author Tom Brokaw brings readers inside the White House press corps in this up-close and personal account of the fall of an American president.

Social Studies 11th & 12th The Ugly Renaissance: Sex, Greed, Violence and Depravity in an Age of Beauty by Alexander Lee. (13)

In The Bomber Mafia, Malcolm Gladwell weaves together the stories of a Dutch genius and his homemade computer, a band of brothers in central Alabama, a British psychopath, and pyromaniacal chemists at Harvard...

Social Studies 11th & 12th The Bomber Mafia by Malcolm Gladwell (13)

In The Bomber Mafia, Malcolm Gladwell weaves together the stories of a Dutch genius and his homemade computer, a band of brothers in central Alabama, a British psychopath, and pyromaniacal chemists at Harvard to examine one of the greatest moral challenge

Social Studies Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness by Richard Thaler (13)

Every day we make choices—about what to buy or eat, about financial investments or our children’s health and education, even about the causes we champion or the planet itself. Unfortunately, we often choose poorly. Nudge is about how we make these choices

Social Studies 9th & 10th The Founding Brothers by Joseph Ellis (13)

In this landmark work of history, the National Book Award—winning author of American Sphinx explores how a group of greatly gifted but deeply flawed individuals–Hamilton, Burr, Jefferson, Franklin, Washington, Adams, and Madison–confronted...

Social Studies 9th & 10th The Girl Who Smiled Beads: A Story of War and What Comes After by Clemantine Wamariya & Elizabeth Weil (13)

Clemantine Wamariya was six years old when her mother and father began to speak in whispers, when neighbors began to disappear, and when she heard the loud, ugly sounds her brother said were thunder. In 1994, she and her fifteen-year-old sister, Claire, f

Social Studies 9th & 10th American Dialogue The Founders and Us by Joseph Ellis (13)

The story of history is a ceaseless conversation between past and present, and in American Dialogue Joseph J. Ellis focuses the conversation on the often-asked question "What would the Founding Fathers think?"

Social Studies The Personality Brokers: The Strange History of Myers-Briggs and the Birth of Personality Testing by Merve Emre (13)

An unprecedented history of the personality test conceived a century ago by a mother and her daughter--fiction writers with no formal training in psychology--and how it insinuated itself into our boardrooms, classrooms, beyond.

World Language Breaking Through by Francisco Jiménez (13)

At 14, Jimenez and his family are caught by immigration officers and forced to leave their California home, but soon find their way back. Explores prejudice and challenges while also relaying universal experiences of school, dances, and romances.

World Language Imperium by Robert Harris (13)

Robert Harris lures readers back in time to the compelling life of Roman Senator Marcus Cicero. The re-creation of a vanished biography written by his household slave and right-hand man.

World Language "A Year in Provence" by Peter Mayle (13)

In this witty and warm-hearted account, Peter Mayle tells what it is like to realize a long-cherished dream and actually move into a 200-year-old stone farmhouse in the remote country of the Lubéron with his wife and two large dogs.

World Language My Beloved World by Sonia Sotomayor (13)

The first Hispanic and third woman appointed to the US Supreme Court, Sonia Sotomayor has become an instant American icon (Memoir)

World Language Waiting by Ha Jin (13)

In Waiting, Ha Jin portrays the life of Lin Kong, a dedicated doctor torn by his love for two women: one who belongs to the New China of the Cultural Revolution, the other to the ancient traditions of his family's village.

World Language Warrior Girl by Pauline Chandlerline Chandler (13)

A war-torn country waiting for a hero. An ebony box holding the key to a young orphan's life. A determined young woman who hears voices promising that she will save her beloved France. And another with no voice to say that her future is in peril.

Fin Lit 1 &2 - Scam Me If You Can by Frank Abagnale (13)

Maybe you're wondering how to make the scam phone calls stop.