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Booklists Recommendations

Banned Books Week

by Public Service Associate Nichole

ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom tracks attempts to ban or restrict access to books. More than 273 titles were challenged or banned in 2020, with increasing demands to remove books that address racism and racial justice or those that shared the stories of Black, Indigenous, or people of color. As with previous years, LGBTQ+ content also dominated the list.

bannedbooksweek.org/ala-unveils-top-10-most-challenged-books-of-2020/
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Bexley History Programs

From Retail to Public Service The Madison’s

by Local History Librarian David

For over a century downtown Columbus was home to numerous clothing retail stores with a common story, they were founded by Jewish immigrants escaping the anti-Semitism of Europe. Simon Lazarus established the Lazarus Department Store in 1851, The Union was opened in 1891 by S. M. Levy, and The Fashion in 1924 by Allen Gundersheimer Sr. Then in 1930 Louis Madison, born in Russia in 1893 and immigrating to Albany, New York in 1903, opened Madison’s.

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Booklists Recommendations

Hispanic Heritage Month

A Celebration of Gabriel García Márquez

by Public Service Associate Owen

September is Hispanic Heritage Month! In celebration, I would like to use this space to highlight and honor one of the most prolific Latin American authors, whose innovative style, elegant prose, and rich, emotive themes have enlivened bookshelves continents over. The Colombian novelist Gabriel García Márquez who lived from 1927-2014. He was one of the most prolific writers of the last century, and, together with authors such as Julio Cortázar of Argentina, Carlos Fuentes of Mexico, and Mario Vargas Llosa of Peru, was a key figure in the Latin American literary boom of the 1960s and 1970s. His novels, especially One Hundred Years of Solitude and Love in the Time of Cholera, are pioneering works that provide a window into the condition of Latin American life. These works helped establish Latin America as a bastion of innovative literary styles, as García Márquez’s signature style, magical realism, was pioneered in these novels.

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Booklists Online Resources Recommendations

Adaptations of Shakespeare

By Public Service Associate Luke

Recently I watched The King, starring Timothee Chalamet and Joel Edgerton, a movie based on the Henriad group of plays written by William Shakespeare. These plays are the retellings of the historical events surrounding the English Kings Henry VI and his son Henry V, and the movie was a fantastic success in adapting those plays for a modern audience. 

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Booklists Online Resources Recommendations

Sold!

by Public Service Associate Hannah

This housing market is CRAZY! According to the online real estate marketplace company Zillow, homes for sale in Columbus are moving more quickly than any other major city. So if you too are wading into the world of buying or selling and want to have a stronger standing, remember there are helpful materials available on the library’s physical and digital shelves!

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Online Resources Youth Services

Back to School Resources

by Youth Service Associate Michelle

Welcome back to school, Bexley! It’s that time of year again. Students and teachers are back in the classroom, homeschooling, or attending school online. Whatever form school takes for your family this year, BPL is invested in making sure you have access to resources that will help you along the way.

BPL’s Education Station is an online collection of links to resources for students, educators, and families. Find information on BPL services such as library cards and digital downloads, curated collections of educational websites, access to online research databases, and additional services for teachers.

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Recommendations Staff Book Reviews Virtual Book Club

Bride of the Sea

by Public Service Associate Nichole

During a snowy Cleveland February, newlywed university students Muneer and Saeedah are expecting their first child, and he is harboring a secret: the word divorce is whispering in his ear. Soon, their marriage will end, and Muneer will return to Saudi Arabia, while Saeedah remains in Cleveland with their daughter, Hanadi. Consumed by a growing fear of losing her daughter, Saeedah disappears with the little girl, leaving Muneer to desperately search for his daughter for years. The repercussions of the abduction ripple outward, not only changing the lives of Hanadi and her parents, but also their interwoven family and friends—those who must choose sides and hide their own deeply guarded secrets.

And when Hanadi comes of age, she finds herself at the center of this conflict, torn between the world she grew up in and a family across the ocean. How can she exist between parents, between countries?

penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/671244/bride-of-the-sea-by-eman-quotah/9781951142452
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Booklists Programs Recommendations

The Experience of Diaspora

by Public Service Associate Beth

On Monday, August 16 at 12 pm, in partnership with the Clio Society of The Ohio State University and Bexley Public Library, Professor Ori Yehudai will present Leaving Zion: Jewish Emigration from Palestine and Israel after WWII. While most scholarship surrounding the creation of the nation of Israel is from the perspective of Jewish immigration into Israel, Professor Yehudai flips the narrative and focuses on Jewish migration out of Israel and Palestine. He will discuss why, for various reasons, Jewish migrants decided to leave Israel for other countries between the years of 1945 and the late 1950s.  

Register for Professor Yehudai’s presentation here. The virtual event will be recorded, so even if you can’t attend the event live, you will receive a link to the recording about a week later. Professor Yehudai’s book Leaving Zion is also available to reserve at Bexley Public Library. 

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Booklists Recommendations

Gold Medal Reads for the Olympics

by Public Service Associate Owen

The Olympic Games are upon us once again! On July 23rd, the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics will have commenced… only a year after they were supposed to have taken place! The COVID-19 Pandemic, along with postponing the Olympic Games for the first time in history, has also prevented spectators from attending the Games in-person. But don’t worry – if your summer trip to see the Games in Tokyo was quashed by COVID, there are plenty of books that are available here at BPL to make sure you’re well-versed in all things Olympics.

Categories
Booklists Recommendations

Armchair Travel

by Public Service Associate Juliana

Ernest Hemingway’s ubiquitous influence is felt by all who visit Key West. The Pulitzer Prize winning author lived and wrote on the island during the 1930s and experienced the most prolific decade of his career there. Now every July Key West celebrates Hemingway Days in commemoration of the author’s July 21 birthday. Events include a look-alike contest, short story contest, deep-sea fishing tournaments, and literary readings. In the spirit of Hemingway Days, BPL would like to invite you to armchair travel to Key West!