The SMCM Library, Archive & Media Center Student Employee Class of 2019 had the opportunity to select an item that was meaningful to them during their time at St. Mary’s. They then posed for a portrait with that item and shared a bit about why it’s important to them.
Not pictured: Jacob Bartholow, Jeremiah Basler, Kathryn Herberger, Marisa McCormick, Cassandra Youshaw
Summer is here! The water is cool, the sun is shining, and the Library is open.
Throughout the summer session the Library building hours are:
Monday – Friday: 8:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Saturdays and Sundays: Closed
Memorial Day (May 27) and July 4th: Closed
So if you want to get a jump start on your SMP, work on a summer research project, or just need a break from the heat, stop in and say hello! We’ll be happy to see you.
The St. Mary’s College of Maryland community now has access to over 60 significant collections of digitized archival material.
Adam Matthew Digital is a UK-based publisher of unique primary source material from leading archives and libraries around the world. Content spans the humanities and social sciences, from medieval manuscripts to 20th century global politics.
Adam Matthew provides access to all of their collection through one search engine called “AM Explorer.” Alternatively, you can access individual collections directly through the library’s A-Z Databases list.
Read on to learn about just a few of the collections available, some of the primary source materials they contain, and ideas for use in research and classes.
This collection features manuscripts and other documents from the National Archives (UK) from the early 17th through early 19th centuries. Content focuses on the early settlement of the colonies, American Indians, the American Revolution, legislation, trade, and the frontier–perhaps of special interest to local historians of St. Mary’s.
Librarian Kent Randell, immediately upon finding out that the College has subscribed to AM Explorer, eagerly utilized this valuable resource and has already cited their Colonial History collections for his series of articles on the Susquehanna estate for the Maryland Genealogical Society Journal. Above is an excerpt of a memorandum regarding the case of Richard Smith, Jr., who was one of the most prominent Protestants to support the Catholic Third Lord Baltimore’s government until the “bitter end,” even after the Protestant Associators razed Lord Baltimore’s government in the Fall of 1689. Richard Smith, Jr. refused to recognize the provisional rebel government and was imprisoned by the Protestant Associators, and above is an excerpt of a memo regarding his case prepared for the English Lords of Trade. Smith’s wife, Barbara (Morgan) (Rousby) Smith, traveled to England and successfully appealed to the Lords of Trade to have her husband removed from “gaol” (jail).
Forty-five digitized titles are available here, spanning around 200 years of U.S. history. These newspapers include publications by tribal nations, students, and Christian missionaries in English and indigenous languages of the U.S. and Canada. All of these papers are fully searchable and may allow for research contrasting the coverage and interpretation of events in indigenous versus mainstream publications.
Indian School Journal was published by the Chilocco Indian Agricultural School from 1900-1980. The monthly edition’s contents are the work of the Office of Indian Affairs (OIA), while the weekly edition was written by students.
Some of the issues provide a look into the everyday life, thoughts, and activities of the students, while others give insight into the OIA’s agenda. Articles in the April 1906 issue, for example, seem to push assimilation as an imperative, bringing up negative stereotypes about the so-called blanket Indians, who remained committed to tribal traditions. However, at times the articles directly respond to racist ideas with tongue in cheek humor; a mention of Comanche Chief Quanah Parker praises him as one good Indian who isn’t dead.
Focusing on communities in Atlanta, New York, Chicago, and North Carolina, the collection includes primary sources from the 19th and 20th centuries. Researchers can find items including oral histories, newsletters, correspondence, family papers, and photographs. These materials may interest those studying race relations, housing problems, desegregation, the Civil Rights movement, and African-American culture and identity.
The collection contains many video and audio oral history interviews, along with their transcripts. Subjects include Quincy Jones, Koko Taylor Spike Lee, Gloria Naylor, and Cornel West. In this interview with visual artist Kara Walker, she describes the influence of artist Adrian Piper on her work, and the ways she uses silhouetted figures to interpret minstrelsy and romantic novels of the South. Interviews may give viewers context for the work of the individuals highlighted, and a greater appreciation for the experiences shaping their lives and responses to overt and institutionalized racism.
This collection gathers materials related to the Crimean War, the American Civil War and the First World War. The emphasis is on medical developments and their relationship to these conflicts, examining treatment during war and the influence in turn of war on medical breakthroughs. Materials in this collection include clinical notes and medical records, correspondence, personal accounts, studies, military records, and the Florence Nightingale papers, containing handwritten letters that are searchable by keyword.
HMS Terrible: Medical and Surgical Journal, available in 3 volumes from 1853-1856
It may not surprise researchers to learn that life aboard the HMS Terrible was…difficult. The Royal Navy ship, which fought in the Crimean War, records the health problems of its crew in this journal. The ship’s surgeon tracked the name, age, role on the vessel, date, and outcome of the visit; i.e. sent back to duty, hospitalized, or occasionally, death. The last pages of the journal give a tally of the incidents of particular medical issues, as well as offer the surgeon’s additional notes. Major culprits for infirmary visits include contusions (bruises), wounds, ulcers, phlogosis (inflammation), and rheumatism, with the most common communicable disease as syphilis. Researchers may gain insight into the health of sailors aboard ships in the Crimean War, as well as sympathize with at least one soul sent to the hospital due to the severity of an ulcer on his foot.
Extended Library and Media Center hours begin Wednesday, May 1.
Looking for study spaces? Check out the betaLounge on the 1st floor for some comfy seating! Need privacy? You can also book one of the 2nd floor study rooms!
Need a laptop/phone charger, ethernet cord, and/or an extension cord? Ask at the first floor Circulation desk. And keep an eye out for the phone and tablet charging stations — there’s one on each floor!
Best of luck!
| SPRING 2019 EXAM HOURS |
LIBRARY |
MEDIA CENTER LAB |
| Wednesday, May 1 – Thursday, May 2 | 8:00 am – 1:00 am | 9:00 am – 12:00 am |
| Friday, May 3 | 8:00 am – 12:00 am | 9:00 am – 12:00 am |
| Saturday, May 4 | 10:00 am – 9:00 pm | 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm |
| Sunday, May 5 | 12:00 pm – 1:00 am | 6:00 pm – 12:00 am |
| Monday, May 6 | 8:00 am – 12:00 am | 9:00 am – 12:00 am |
| Tuesday, May 7 | 8:00 am – 9:00 pm | 9:00 am – 5:00 pm |
| Wednesday, May 8 – Friday, May 10 | 8:00 am – 9:00 pm | 9:00 am – 5:00 pm |
| Saturday, May 11 – Sunday May 12 | CLOSED | CLOSED |
Summer hours begin Monday, May 13: Monday – Friday 8:00 am – 6:00 pm; Closed Saturdays and Sundays.
Shanen Sherrer is an Assistant Professor of Biochemistry at SMCM. She joined the college faculty in August 2017. After earning a B.S. in Biochemistry at Miami University (Ohio) and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry at the Ohio State University, Shanen completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Duke University.
I sat down with Shanen for an interview to learn more about her research–and to get a crash course in the basics of biochemistry. For starters, an introduction to what exactly biochemistry is.
Biochemistry means describing what you see in nature (biology) in terms of chemistry. For example, a biologist may look at human nails and record things like their growth and appearance. A chemist would observe the structure of the nail, identifying the minerals and elements in nails. A biochemist will combine these concepts, conducting experiments that search for reasons why nails are growing, such as looking for the absence or presence of particular chemical elements.
As a postdoctoral research fellow at Duke, I worked with Paul Modrich on DNA mismatch repair and its relationship to preventative cancer treatment. While I was there, Modrich won the Nobel prize for his research and I had to dodge some persistent reporters!
During my doctoral studies, I worked with Zucai Suo conducting research on enzymes and the time scale of reactions. I also managed the work of undergraduates and other postdoctoral students because, according to Dr. Suo, I was one of the few people who told him no for some research requests! My research at this time led to 12 publications, and for 6 of these I was first author (meaning I was the primary researcher and writer for these). Despite never having touched a human heart in the lab, I had a fellowship with the American Heart Association–I learned from this that the worst thing to do is never apply.
Before this, I worked with Ann Hagerman, best known as the author of the Tannin Handbook. My research with her involved characterizing the tannins in Lipton iced tea as well as other plants and an exercise study of the oxidative stress in rats. Unfortunately, it was from this study that I learned I’m allergic to rats, so the research I pursued after this point doesn’t involve any interaction with them. I did also learn how to manage a lab and that I can do great research in a small setting, like at SMCM. It was at this time the teaching bug was planted too.
I have a continued interest in DNA mismatch repair and its relationship with particular metals; for example, why the presence of zinc may be effective in treatment against cadmium exposure only up to a certain point.
I’m working with several students as they conduct research and experiments for SMP projects. One student, Martin Yepes, is working on research related to DNA mismatch repair and the impact cadmium has on the development of cancerous appearances. Another student, Danielle Spaulding, is studying glyphosate, the main ingredient in weed killers like Round Up, and the ways it can cause health concerns by replacing the glycine in the body. Kelly Healy is mapping metal binding sites on proteins using protein modeling software, molecular biology and fluorescent spectroscopy. Julian Heller is working on applying Kelly’s methods to a DNA mismatch enzyme.
In the classroom, students complete a bio-informatics project that uses library tools to find substantive sources that explore a subject beyond the surface level. Students in this class learn about approaches like using InterLibrary Loan (ILL), completing subject searches, and other librarian secrets to success.
In my own research, I have used ILL countless times. I have my own library on Google Classroom that contains over 2,000 articles I’ve accumulated. When I work with students on research projects and SMPs, I usually direct them to pick a few articles of interest as they form hypotheses and find related information through searching library databases.
The use of the library is in your best interest to avoid wasted effort. It’s easier to read a paper than to spend a year in the lab only to realize your topic isn’t feasible or already solved.
I have a couple of articles sitting on my desk about oysters and exposure to metals (for example, through environmental pollution). Once the metals are absorbed by the oyster, they can reduce their resilience to changes in temperature, which is one reason climate change can be so devastating for certain oyster populations. When people ingest these oysters, the contaminant can affect us too.
Advanced Biochemistry. This is a lab without a lecture attached, which can be intimidating, but it gives students the chance to really feel like biochemists. Students conduct 3 experiments that are essential to biochemistry: a Western blot, protein purification, and enzyme experiments.
Baldomero Olivera. He’s known for his studies of poisonous snails and their chemical make-up, which has led to medical applications in the development of pain medication. He always shows up with a big bag of snail shells and probably has a lot of great stories to share about dives in the Caribbean.
I have several reputations (that I’m aware of). One is being known as “UV eyes” because I’m very sensitive to subtle color changes in solutions that others don’t always see. I’m also the person who has survived living in a haunted dorm with a ghost for 2 years at Miami University. People may also know me for bringing my bird into the office, where she gets to roam freely (don’t worry–she’s potty trained!). She’s not very talkative now, but you might hear some sound effects from her if you’re lucky!
Michael Punke’s 2002 novel, The Revenant tells the story of frontiersman Hugh Glass as he navigates the wilderness in order to hunt down the man who killed his son. The story follows Glass as he travels the wilderness of Montana and South Dakota, surviving multiple attacks on his life, by both humans and animals. The movie was adapted into a film of the same name directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu in 2015, which was actually the film that Leonardo DiCaprio won his first and only Oscar award for. Would you rather live in the wilderness or live in a major city?
Gillian Flynn’s 2012 novel Gone Girl is a mystery novel that tracks the tumultuous marriage of Nick and Amy Dunne. On their wedding anniversary Amy goes missing and all the signs point to Nick as the culprit. However, as the story continues it becomes very clear that not all things are as obvious as they seem, as the story is full of unpredictable surprises that leaves the reader hooked on every page. In 2014 director David Fincher directed the movie adaptation for the novel, with the screenplay being written by Flynn. The film visualizes the story into a physiological thriller, and like the novel, it deceives the audience up until the last moment. Would you rather live an unhappy, but safe life in your hometown with your family or would you rather move away to an unknown location and start your life over?
Yann Martel’s 2002 novel, Life of Pi, is a book that explores the time that character Pi Patel spent shipwrecked with only a tiger named Richard Parker as company. The alternating narrative structure and undertones of spiritually make the novel a unique read. The movie adaptation directed by Ang Lee in 2012, brings the shipwreck to the big screen, giving viewers the visualization of Patel and Richard Parker’s adventure. Would you rather be stranded in the middle of an ocean or would you rather be stranded on a deserted island?
In the semi-biographical novel Catch Me If You Can by Frank Abagnale, the main character Frank Abagnale is a conman who cashed over $2 million dollars using fraudulent checks and multiple identities. Frank chooses a life of crime in order to live the lavish lifestyle he desired. The movie adaptation, directed by Steven Spielberg in 2002, follows the life of Abagnale, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, as he assumes various identities in order to conceal his crimes. Would you rather live lavishly but dishonestly, like Frank Abagnale, or would you rather live plainly but with integrity?
Interview with the Vampire, written by Annie Rice in 1976, details the life of vampire Louis de Pointe du Lac. His life is filled with stories of death, betrayal, and love as Louis travels from America to Europe and meets various other vampires, dealing with the issues that come along with immortality. The movie adaptation from 1994 directed by Neil Jordan, stars Brad Pitt as Louis and was nominated for multiple awards. Would you rather live life eternally as a vampire or would you rather live a mortal life as a human?
Crazy Rich Asians, written by Kevin Kwan in 2013, is the first book of a trilogy, with a main focus on introducing the Asian culture to the Western audiences. The book surrounds two main characters, Rachel Chu and Nicholas “Nick” Young’s romance relationships and the problems, both culturally and financially, that they have to face from their parents and grandparents. Those problems presented in both the book and movie corresponds to the family issues that happen in current Chinese families. Would you rather give up your wealth and reputation altogether for love or stay in the comfort zone and do what the family asked?
A Film and Media Studies major with a Religious Studies minor, Dirk Dupre has a passion for filmmaking and video production. Previously a double major in religious studies, he was inspired to declare the major after taking classes with Dr. Meckel focusing on Indian religion and modern India (but opted for graduating on time in May over the double major!).
Religious Studies brings another perspective to Dirk’s work with film, and Dr. von Kellenbach’s Religion and Ecology class had a direct influence on his film work. The class inspired an idea for an SMP related to religion, the environment, and surfing by framing environmentalism in a new way. Though Dirk would still like to pursue this idea, he ultimately decided to hold off on the project. “It would take years just to learn enough about surfing for the project,” Dirk says.
While he considered film schools, Dirk decided a liberal arts school would provide a broader education, along with the analytical and philosophical perspectives of classes in the humanities. SMCM happened to make the best offer, and the rest is history. Even though SMCM was chosen based on practical considerations, Dirk has enjoyed getting to know the people here and the beautiful campus. By necessity, he has learned to find things out for himself and seek film production opportunities beyond campus, experiences that challenged him to take initiative. Along with Media Center colleague Kevin Glotfelty, Dirk made a short film to practice filmmaking techniques and experience more of the technical elements of film production.
Dirk has worked with the Media Center for nearly 2 years, beginning during his sophomore year. After spending a lot of his time in the Media Center working on film projects, Justin Foreman mentioned an opportunity to work on a PFP project that Dirk was eager to participate in. Working with a team, Dirk has been producing, editing, and filming one minute videos to highlight the different majors at SMCM. He also helps students working with Photoshop or video production in the LAMC’s 3rd floor.
What has kept Dirk at the Media Center for so long? The staff has been supportive and invaluable in terms of providing creative feedback and professional advice. Justin has worked as both a supervisor and mentor, sharing practical advice about putting together demo reels, and giving student employees a sneak peek at his current projects.
When not behind the camera, Dirk is often at the mic hosting a radio show with Kevin or climbing the rec center’s rock wall. In addition to resetting the college’s climbing wall every semester, Dirk helps with rock climbing competitions held in the fall and spring semesters.
After graduation, Dirk plans to relax and enjoy bicycling along the C&O Canal starting from the Washington, DC area. He would like to continue working in DC with the film production company where he completed his internship. Ultimately, Dirk has his sights set on a city with a bigger film scene, like New York, Los Angeles, or Atlanta. He’d later like to find his own crew and make documentaries.
Can Dirk be a true film major without recommending a film or two? Of course not! He suggests the documentary Free Solo, which follows the journey of a free soloer* attempting the first such climb of El Capitan in Yosemite. Dirk is also a fan of the highly stylized 1990s teen film Trust directed by Hal Hartley.
We’re sad Dirk is leaving the LAMC team soon, but we can’t wait to watch his documentaries!
*Free soloing: rock climbing by yourself without a harness
Jeff Eden is an Assistant Professor of History at SMCM, and a (friendly) rival with our librarians for number of hours clocked at the library. With a recently published book and strong opinions about suitable guest lecturers, Jeff answered some questions for us about his research and the role of the library in scholarship.
This is my second semester at SMCM. I love it here: the beauty of the place; my wonderful students and colleagues; the liberating atmosphere of “sanctioned weirdness”; the feeling of deep history all around; and the beet salad I had a while ago at our unusually good dining hall, which was the best beet salad I’ve had in my life. And I’ve lived a life rich with beet salads.
I got a Ph.D. at Harvard, an M.A. at Indiana U, a B.A. at the U of Chicago, and a Participation Trophy from the Owings Mills Little League Baseball “Minors Division” (1993).
Right now I’m working on two projects: one about the Soviet Union during the Second World War, and one about slaves’ lives in Central Asia. My research agenda also includes dabbling, false starts, acid reflux, and awkward hallway smalltalk.
My most recent book is called Slavery and Empire in Central Asia (Cambridge, 2018), and I’ll let the official blurb take it from here: “The Central Asian slave trade swept hundreds of thousands of Iranians, Russians, and others into slavery during the eighteenth–nineteenth centuries. Drawing on eyewitness accounts, autobiographies, and newly-uncovered interviews with slaves, this book offers an unprecedented window into slaves’ lives and a penetrating examination of human trafficking. Slavery strained Central Asia’s relations with Russia, England, and Iran, and would serve as a major justification for the Russian conquest of this region in the 1860s–70s. Challenging the consensus that the Russian Empire abolished slavery with these conquests, Eden uses these documents to reveal that it was the slaves themselves who brought about their own emancipation by fomenting the largest slave uprising in the region’s history.”
Every research project I do starts with a tower of library books. The SMCM library’s collection is discerning and terrific, and our broader USMAI library system is the research resource that dreams are made of. Millions of books can be delivered right to the SMCM library circulation desk–one at a time, ideally!–within 2-4 days. And then there are the millions of articles available through the library’s online databases. And then there is Interlibrary Loan (ILL), which expands our reach from millions of sources to tens of millions.
Students should definitely know the people. Librarians and archivists are experts in research methods and resources, and seeking their help is likely to yield great results. Their expertise extends to online research tech too: a couple weeks ago I learned some amazing Google search “hacks” from Kent Randell that I wish I’d learned years ago!
The best book I’ve read recently is The Foundation Pit by Andrei Platonov– a dark, surreal satire of the Soviet Union written by a committed socialist & proud Soviet citizen. It’s one of those books where you keep trying to laugh and it keeps coming out as a deathly wheezing sound. For more modern (and less weird) stuff, the best book I’ve read lately is Zadie Smith’s Swing Time. It goes off the rails at times, but stick with it (and ignore the critics!)– it is wonderful.
Fathers and Sons (Turgenev). The older I get, the better it gets. Loving this book is a requirement for passing my Russian Civilization class.
I love all of my classes and all but one of my students.
(Yes, everyone but that mean guy back in 2013, when I was a TA. Why was he so mean? I hope he’s alright…)
The only right answer is Genghis Khan. Deduct points for any other answer.
There are some really great book recommendations on this library blog!
March is Women’s History Month, though we can celebrate women in STEM every month! As part of the library collection, we have a series of digital images, “Beyond Curie,” created by Amanda Phingbodhipakkiya. The images highlight women in the STEM fields and are licensed by Creative Commons, meaning anyone in the SMCM community can use these images for non-commercial purposes as long as they give credit. Be sure to give credit–it’s important in all fields but especially in STEM! (Looking at you, Watson and Crick!)
Check out a few highlights from the collection below to learn more about some of the accomplishments of women in STEM. The women featured in this post are pioneers who made discoveries both in and outside of Earth’s atmosphere, from the deep sea to outer space.
Image by Amanda Phingbodhipakkiya CC BY-NC-SA
In 1992, Dr. Jemison became the first African-American woman in space. While working as a general practitioner in California, Jemison took graduate classes in engineering and was accepted into NASA’s astronaut program. Let’s pause on that: she was a doctor who just happened to have the hobbies of engineering and being an astronaut (for reference, my hobby is making sticker collages that look like cats). Jemison was the science mission specialist on the space shuttle Endeavour, conducting experiments in the life and material sciences. After returning to Earth, she founded a private research company to implement technology in the developing world. She currently leads the 100 Year Starship project and has her own Lego minifigure.
In the early years of space exploration, Ross was a pioneer in a new field and as a Native American woman in mathematical and scientific pursuits. After teaching math and science in rural Oklahoma, Ross found work with the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Washington, D.C. She returned to school, earning her Master’s degree in mathematics, and soon after began working with Lockheed to develop fighter planes and missile systems. As the space race took off, Ross focused on hydrodynamics and the launch of the Agena rocket, a turning point for U.S. space endeavors. After retiring, Ross became an advocate for math and engineering education for Native Americans and women.
Image by Amanda Phingbodhipakkiya CC BY-NC-SA
Dr. Earle is an oceanographer and environmentalist who led the first aquanaut team composed of women. Initially blocked from participation in the diving expedition Tektite I because she was a woman, Earle went on to lead the Tektite II Project: part ecological study, and part data gathering on the effects of the deep sea environment on its human participants. In 1979, Earle walked untethered on the seafloor at the depth of 1,250 feet, a record that remains unbroken. Earle has written and published prolifically to share her research and raise awareness of ocean conservation issues, and continues to advocate for the preservation and protection of the marine world.
Sources for more information:
March 8 is here, and that means one thing only at SMCM: round 2 of the Tournament of Books! And spring break. Can the alignment of these important events be mere coincidence? We don’t think so–in fact, spring break offers the perfect opportunity to catch up on the books facing off in the competition.
Didn’t have time to check out your reads before break? No worries! The Library has your back with our Overdrive collection, where you can find eBooks and eAudiobooks, available whether you’re on campus or away. Prefer the experience of turning the pages of a print book? We’re open March 11-14 and have plenty of titles from the Tournament of Books available for check out!
Keep scrolling for suggested reads from the Tournament of Books in Overdrive and in print.
eBooks
Call Me Zebra by Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi
Zebra is the last in a line of anarchists, atheists, and autodidacts. Alone and in exile, she leaves New York for Barcelona, retracing the journey she and her father made from Iran to the United States years ago. Books are her only companions—until she meets Ludo. Their connection is magnetic, and fraught. They push and pull across the Mediterranean, wondering if their love—or lust—can free Zebra from her past.
The Dictionary of Animal Languages by Heidi Sopinka 
Born into a wealthy family in northern England and sent to boarding school to be educated by nuns, Ivory Frame rebels. She escapes to inter-war Paris, where she finds herself through art, and falls in with the most brilliantly bohemian set: the surrealists. Torn between an intense love affair with a married Russian painter and her soaring ambition to create, Ivory’s life is violently interrupted by the Second World War. She flees from Europe, leaving behind her friends, her art, and her love.
eAudiobooks
Census by Jesse Ball
When a widower receives notice from a doctor that he doesn’t have long left to live, he is struck by the question of who will care for his adult son—a son whom he fiercely loves, a boy with Down syndrome. With no recourse in mind, and with a desire to see the country on one last trip, the man signs up as a census taker for a mysterious governmental bureau and leaves town with his son.
My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
Korede is bitter. How could she not be? Her sister, Ayoola, is many things: the favorite child, the beautiful one, possibly sociopathic. And now Ayoola’s third boyfriend in a row is dead. Sharp as nails and full of deadpan wit, Oyinkan Braithwaite’s deliciously deadly debut is as fun as it is frightening.
So Lucky by Nicola Griffith
So Lucky is the sharp, surprising new audiobook by Nicola Griffith—the profoundly personal and emphatically political story of a confident woman forced to confront an unnerving new reality when in the space of a single week her wife leaves her and she is diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.
The Golden State by Lydia Kiesling 
In Lydia Kiesling’s razor-sharp debut novel, The Golden State, we accompany Daphne, a young mother on the edge of a breakdown, as she flees her sensible but strained life in San Francisco for the high desert of Altavista with her toddler, Honey. Bucking under the weight of being a single parent-her Turkish husband is unable to return to the United States because of a “processing error”-Daphne takes refuge in a mobile home left to her by her grandparents in hopes that the quiet will bring clarity.
The Parking Lot Attendant by Nafkote Tamirat
A haunting story of fatherhood, national identity, and what it means to be an immigrant in America today, Nafkote Tamirat’s The Parking Lot Attendant explores how who we love, the choices we make, and the places we’re from combine to make us who we are.
Milkman by Anna Burns
In Northern Ireland during the Troubles of the 1970s, an unnamed narrator finds herself targeted by a high-ranking dissident known as Milkman.
America Is Not the Heart by Elaine Castillo
An increasingly relevant story told with startling lucidity, humor, and an uncanny ear for the intimacies and shorthand of family ritual, America Is Not the Heart is a sprawling, soulful debut about three generations of women in one family struggling to balance the promise of theAmerican dream and the unshakeable grip of history. With exuberance, grit, and sly tenderness, here is a family saga; an origin story; a romance; a narrative of two nations and the people who leave one home to grasp at another.
Washington Black by Esi Edugyan 
Washington Black is an eleven-year-old field slave who knows no other life than the Barbados sugar plantation where he was born. When his master’s eccentric brother chooses him to be his manservant, Wash is terrified of the cruelties he is certain await him. But Christopher Wilde, or “Titch,” is a naturalist, explorer, scientist, inventor, and abolitionist. He initiates Wash into a world where a flying machine can carry a man across the sky; where two people, separated by an impossible divide, might begin to see each other as human; and where a boy born in chains can embrace a life of dignity and meaning.
There There by Tommy Orange
Twelve Native Americans came to the Big Oakland Powwow for different reasons. Jacquie Red Feather is newly sober and trying to make it back to the family she left behind in shame. Bobby Big Medicine has come to drum the Grand Entry. Opal Viola Victoria Bear Shield has come to watch her nephew Orvil Red Feather. Orvil has taught himself Indian dance through YouTube videos, and he has come to the powwow to dance in public for the very first time. Tony Loneman is a young Native American boy whose future seems destined to be as bleak as his past, and he has come to the Powwow with darker intentions — intentions that will destroy the lives of everyone in his path.
The Overstory by Richard Powers
A novel of activism and natural-world power presents interlocking fables about nine remarkable strangers who are summoned in different ways by trees for an ultimate, brutal stand to save the continent’s few remaining acres of virgin forest.
Featured photo of person using an eReader by Perfecto Capucine on Unsplash
