FFRPL, Central Library, and all City Branches will be *closed* Monday, October 13 for Indigenous Peoples’ Day
Everyone Who is Gone is Here: The United States, Central America, and the Making of a Crisis by Jonathan Blitzer
Fleeing persecution, crime, or hunger, hundreds of thousands of people arrive every year at the US-Mexico border: a high percentage come from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. Using forensic and unprecedented reporting, Blitzer braids personal stories of Central Americans attempting to navigate U.S. immigration policies with those trying to regulate them and those advocating for changing them.
Reviewers: Paige Hauser (pictured) and Rachel Saper, Attorneys at The Legal Aid Society of Rochester.
Bibliophobia: A Memoir by Sarah Chihaya
Utilizing titles such as Anne of Green Gables, Possession, A Tale for the Time Being, and The Last Samurai as her own personal manuals, Chihaya explores her childhood, racial and cultural identity, experiences with “harmful practices of survival” and depression, as well as the myriad ways books can influence readers who become obsessed with them.
Reviewer: Tyler Barton is a writer, teacher, literary advocate, and author of Eternal Night at the Nature Museum (Sarabande Books) and The Quiet Part Loud (Split/Lip Press).
Is a River Alive? by Robert Macfarlane
Focusing on three landscapes in Ecuador; south-east India; and Canada, Macfarlane explores the ancient idea that rivers should be recognized as living beings in imagination and law. “This book is a journey into an idea that changes the world – the idea that a river is alive. What does such a recognition mean for perception, law and politics?”
Reviewer: Semi-retired journalist Steven Orr was a reporter at the Democrat and Chronicle, specializing in the environment and conservation. He is a board member of Genesee RiverWatch, a non-profit that works to improve water quality and public access to the Genesee River.
Watch the March 18 live-streamed review of James.
Watch the April 1 live-streamed review of Framed: Astonishing True Stories of Wrongful Convictions
(BSI was canceled April 8)
Watch the April 15 live-streamed review of Hip Hop is History
View/download the pdf of notes from the April 15 review
View additional info. on Quincy Jones & Hip-Hop
Watch the April 22 live-streamed review of Briefly Perfectly Human
View/download the pdf of notes from the April 22 review.
(BSI was canceled April 29)
Watch the May 6 live-streamed review of The Backyard Bird Chronicles
Watch the September 10 live-streamed review of The Infernal Machine.
Watch the September 17 live-streamed review of Things That Go Bump in the Universe.
Watch the September 24 live-streamed review of Rebel Girl.
Watch the October 1 live-streamed review of BoyMom.
Watch the October 8 live-streamed review of Soil.
(there is no recording of The Briar Club)
Watch the October 22 live-streamed review of This Is Why You Dream.
Watch the October 29 live-streamed review of Pockets.
Watch the review of The Wingmen held March 5
See Jim Holleran’s PowerPoint presentation
Watch the review of All You Have to Do is Call held March 12
Watch the review of The Rediscovery of America held March 19
Watch the review of The Wager held March 26
Watch the review of The Leg held April 2
Watch the review of Crossings held April 9
Watch the review of Thicker Than Water held April 16
Watch the review of Shakespeare Was a Woman held Sept. 26.
No recording is available for the October 10 review of Poverty, By America
Watch the review of Look for Me There held on October 17.
Watch the review of The Diamond Eye held October 24.
Watch the review of Paul Newman: The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man held March 28
Watch the review of Visual Thinking held April 4
Watch the review of Before We Were Trans held April 11
Watch review of One Hundred Saturdays held April 18
There was no BSI review 4/25.
No recording is available for the May 2 review of An Immense World
Watch the review of Demon Copperhead held May 9
Watch the review of Who’s Raising the Kids held May 16
Watch the review of The Violence Project held Sept. 27
View/download the handout about mass shootings from The Violence Project review
Watch the review of Left on Tenth held Oct. 11
Watch the review of What the Ermine Saw held Oct. 18
Watch the review of Undelivered held Nov. 8
Watch the review of Under the Skin held Nov. 15
View/download Dr. Clark’s PowerPoint presentation here.
Watch the review of The Most Fun Thing held Nov. 22
