Determined mothers.

Tenacious activists.

Formidable women.

Powerful believers.

Those characteristics and the stories that tell readers how they were formed are available in the new history and biography books listed below.

Let us celebrate them.

Also available in: e-book

In her groundbreaking and essential debut The Three Mothers, scholar Anna Malaika Tubbs celebrates Black motherhood by telling the story of the three women who raised and shaped some of America's most pivotal heroes: Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and James Baldwin. Much has been written about Berdis Baldwin's son James, about Alberta King's son Martin Luther, and Louise Little's son Malcolm. But virtually nothing has been said about the extraordinary women who raised them, who were all born at the beginning of the 20th century and forced to contend with the prejudices of Jim Crow as Black women. Berdis, Alberta, and Louise passed their knowledge to their children with the hope of helping them to survive in a society that would deny their humanity from the very beginning-from Louise teaching her children about their activist roots, to Berdis encouraging James to express himself through writing, to Alberta basing all of her lessons in faith and social justice. These women used their strength and motherhood to push their children toward greatness, all with a conviction that every human being deserves dignity and respect despite the rampant discrimination they faced. These three mothers taught resistance and a fundamental belief in the worth of Black people to their sons, even when these beliefs flew in the face of America's racist practices and led to ramifications for all three families' safety. The fight for equal justice and dignity came above all else for the three mothers. These women, their similarities and differences, as individuals and as mothers, represent a piece of history left untold and a celebration of Black motherhood long overdue.

Dorothy Pitman Hughes was a transformative community organizer in New York City in the 1970s, who shared the stage with Gloria Steinem for five years, captivating audiences around the country. After leaving rural Georgia in the 1950s, she moved to New York, determined to fight for civil rights and equality. Lovett traces Pitman Hughes' transformation into a powerhouse activist determined to take on the needs of her community and build a platform for empowerment. She created lasting change by revitalizing her West Side neighborhood, a community subjected to racial discrimination, with nonexistent childcare and sub-standard housing, in which poverty, drug use, lack of job training, and the effects of the Vietnam War were evident She imagined and then created a high quality child care center which also offered job training, adult education classes, a Youth Action corps, housing assistance and food resources. Pitman Hughes' realization that the area could be revitalized by actively engaging and including the community was prescient and is startlingly relevant. As her stature and influence grew to a national level, Pitman Hughes went from the West Side to spending several years traversing the country with Steinem and educating people about feminism, childcare, and race. Pitman Hughes's community activism was transformed when she moved to Harlem in the 1970s to counter gentrification. She bought the franchise to the Miss Greater New York City pageant in order to demonstrate that black was beautiful. She also opened an office supply store and became a powerful voice for Black women entrepreneurs and Black-owned business only to be thwarted by plans for economic development that favored national chains over local businesses. Throughout every phase of her life, Pitman Hughes' understood the transformative power of activism with the Black community. 

Many of this month's new large print titles are simultaneous releases. A simultaneous release refers to when the original release of a book and the large print version occur on the same date. This can happen with highly anticipated titles and best selling authors. If a title isn't a simultaneous release, the large print version may be published at a later date.

Listed below are just a few of the new large print titles in the library...

The push [large print] : a novel by 1982- Ashley Audrain
Also available in: print | e-audiobook

Blythe Connor is determined that she will be the warm, comforting mother to her new baby Violet that she herself never had.

But in the thick of motherhood's exhausting early days, Blythe becomes convinced that something is wrong with her daughter--she doesn't behave like most children do.

Or is it all in Blythe's head? Her husband, Fox, says she's imagining things. The more Fox dismisses her fears, the more Blythe begins to question her own sanity, and the more we begin to question what Blythe is telling us about her life as well.

Then their son Sam is born--and with him, Blythe has the blissful connection she'd always imagined with her child. Even Violet seems to love her little brother. But when life as they know it is changed in an instant, the devastating fall-out forces Blythe to face the truth.

The Push is a tour de force you will read in a sitting, an utterly immersive novel that will challenge everything you think you know about motherhood, about what we owe our children, and what it feels like when women are not believed.

Spin [large print] by Patricia Daniels Cornwell
Also available in: print | audiobook

In the aftermath of a sabotaged NASA rocket launch gone, Captain Calli Chase comes face-to-face with her missing twin sister, as well as the startling truth of who they really are, and now with a top secret program put in motion years ago has spun out of control, Calli embarks on a frantic search for the missing link between the sabotaged rocket launch and her predetermined destiny--a search that someone else is very interested in stopping.

Not all broken hearts come from love triangles, shattered promises, or deep secrets from the past. In some books, the broken heart comes from it being stabbed. With a knife. Watch your back (and your front), ladies and gentlemen.

If you love a little bit of murder with a little bit of romance, then the titles below might just be for you.

Everyone says Lord Ian Mackenzie is crazy-and possibly a murderer-but a young widow longing for passion is determined to bare the truth about the dashing and darkly charming Scotsman.

Also available in: e-book | e-audiobook

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.

Korede's practicality is the sisters' saving grace. She knows the best solutions for cleaning blood, the trunk of her car is big enough for a body, and she keeps Ayoola from posting pictures of her dinner to Instagram when she should be mourning her "missing" boyfriend. Not that she gets any credit.

Korede has long been in love with a kind, handsome doctor at the hospital where she works. She dreams of the day when he will realize that she's exactly what he needs. But when he asks Korede for Ayoola's phone number, she must reckon with what her sister has become and how far she's willing to go to protect her.

Canton Seniors Book Discussion Group: April

Join us for a live virtual program on Thursday, April 22 at 2:00pm via Zoom video conference as the Canton Seniors Book Discussion Group discusses: 

His only wife : a novel by Peace A. Medie
Also available in: e-book | e-audiobook

Afi Tekple is a young seamstress in Ghana. She is smart; she is pretty; and she has been convinced by her mother to marry a man she does not know. Afi knows who he is, of course--Elikem is a wealthy businessman whose mother has chosen Afi in the hopes that she will distract him from his relationship with a woman his family claims is inappropriate. But Afi is not prepared for the shift her life takes when she is moved from her small hometown of Ho to live in Accra, Ghana's gleaming capital, a place of wealth and sophistication where she has days of nothing to do but cook meals for a man who may or may not show up to eat them. She has agreed to this marriage in order to give her mother the financial security she desperately needs, and so she must see it through. Or maybe not?

His Only Wife is a witty, smart, and moving debut novel about a brave young woman traversing the minefield of modern life with its taboos and injustices, living in a world of men who want their wives to be beautiful, to be good cooks and mothers, to be women who respect their husbands and grant them forbearance. And in Afi, Peace Medie has created a delightfully spunky and relatable heroine who just may break all the rules. 

This book is available immediately on Hoopla in e-book and e-audiobook formats. If you would like to reserve a print copy, you may stop in to pick one up or call 734-397-0999 and select option 4. Curbside pick up of materials is also available.

Registered participants will receive an email one day before the program with a link to attend the discussion. To help you make the most of your virtual program experience we have compiled some tips and resources.

Upcoming sessions

There are no upcoming sessions available.

Get a Jump on Spring: Grab-and-Go

"That is one good thing about this world...there are always sure to be more springs."

L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Avonlea

 

Spring is on its way and the library is here help you get a jump on digging into the earth and cultivating growth. In March, the library is happy to offer grab-and-go kits for creating a plant marker for your own indoor and outdoor plants. Instructions will be included.

Each kit will contain:

  1. One 8x10 Shrinky Dink sheet
  2. Sharpie permanent marker
  3. Plant marker template
  4. Compostable plant cup
  5. Packet of seeds
  6. Baggie of potting soil
  7. Bookmark with instructions + additional gardening resources

You will need to supply at home:

  1. Markers or colored pencils for decorating the plant marker
  2. Oven (for baking the Shrinky Dink)
  3. Cookie sheet (for baking the Shrinky Dink)
  4. Scissors
  • Registration for the grab-and-go kits will take place beginning February 18, while supplies last.
  • Shortly after registration closes on March 12, you will receive an email with instructions on how to pick up your kit. 
  • Kit pick-up will take place from March 15 to March 19.

Upcoming sessions

There are no upcoming sessions available.

New large print titles this month highlight a number of reader favorites: a hunky Duke, true crime, and coffee. Not necessarily all found in the same book, but still enjoyable. Check out a few of the new large print titles below.

The Duke and I by Julia Quinn
Also available in: print

From New York Times bestselling author Julia Quinn comes the first novel in the beloved Regency-set world of her charming, powerful Bridgerton family, now a series created by Shonda Rhimes for Netflix.

In the ballrooms and drawing rooms of Regency London, rules abound. From their earliest days, children of aristocrats learn how to address an earl and curtsey before a prince--while other dictates of the ton are unspoken yet universally understood. A proper duke should be imperious and aloof. A young, marriageable lady should be amiable...but not too amiable.

Daphne Bridgerton has always failed at the latter. The fourth of eight siblings in her close-knit family, she has formed friendships with the most eligible young men in London. Everyone likes Daphne for her kindness and wit. But no one truly desires her. 

She is simply too deuced honest for that, too unwilling to play the romantic games that captivate gentlemen.

Amiability is not a characteristic shared by Simon Basset, Duke of Hastings. Recently returned to England from abroad, he intends to shun both marriage and society--just as his callous father shunned Simon throughout his painful childhood. Yet an encounter with his best friend's sister offers another option. If Daphne agrees to a fake courtship, Simon can deter the mamas who parade their daughters before him. Daphne, meanwhile, will see her prospects and her reputation soar.

The plan works like a charm--at first. But amid the glittering, gossipy, cut-throat world of London's elite, there is only one certainty: love ignores every rule...

This novel includes the 2nd epilogue, a peek at the story after the story. 

American traitor by 1965- Brad Taylor
Also available in: print | audiobook

Pike Logan and Jennifer Cahill are enjoying a sunny vacation down under when they get disturbing news: their friend and colleague Clifford Delmonty is in serious trouble. While working as a contractor at an Australian F-35 facility, the former Taskforce member--callsign Dunkin--saw something he shouldn't have, and now he's on the run from Chinese agents. 

Pike and Jennifer soon discover that Dunkin's attackers are a dangerous link to a much larger scheme that could launch a full-on conflict between China and Taiwan. In its quest for dominance, China is determined to reclaim Taiwan--a pivotal ally the United States has sworn to protect. Pike learns that the Chinese have a devious plan to bait the island nation into all-out war by destabilizing the government and manipulating an artificial intelligence defense system. 

As the threat reaches a boiling point, Pike alone realizes that what they're seeing isn't actually real. A soldier who has always been trained to fight and win, Pike must now track down and neutralize the missing man who holds the key. With the help of Jennifer, the Taskforce team, and a brave Taiwanese intelligence agent, he races to prevent a catastrophic conflict from consuming a whole region of the world.

This week saw the 46th President of the United States inaugurated into office--certainly a moment in history. For other moments highlighted, check out the new history and biography books below.

Also available in: e-book

Leader of the 1960s folk revival, Odetta is one of the most important singers of the last 100 years. Her music has influenced a huge number of artists over many decades, including Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Harry Belafonte, Judy Collins, Janis Joplin, the Kinks, Carly Simon, Jewel and, more recently, Rhiannon Giddens and Miley Cyrus.

But Odetta's importance extends far beyond music. Journalist Ian Zack follows Odetta from her beginnings in a deeply segregated Birmingham, Alabama to stardom in Los Angeles, where she helped the national heal after 9/11 through her music. It's hard to imagine the Civil Rights Movement without her opera-trained voice echoing at the March on Washington, the Selma to Montgomery march, and countless other rallies and protests, large and small. Odetta channeled her anger and shame into some the most powerful folk music the nation has ever heard. Through her lyrics and iconic persona, Odetta influenced lasting political, social, and cultural change.

Through interviews with Joan Baez, Harry Belafonte, Judy Collins, Carly Simon, and many more, Ian Zack brings Odetta back into the spotlight, reminding the world of the folk music that powered the Civil Rights Movement and continues to influence generations of musicians today.

From tales of pirate treasure to Jimmy Hoffa's mysterious disappearance, Michigan Myths and Legends makes history fun and pulls back the curtain on some of the state's most fascinating and compelling stories. Most people have heard about the Bermuda Triangle, where ships and people disappear without a trace--but few have heard about the equally deadly Great Lakes Triangle, where one-third of all unsolved sea and air disasters in America take place. -Night after night, curious onlookers congregate on a remote hill near the Michigan/Wisconsin border to watch for mysterious lights that rise out of the ground, hover, and then disappear. Are the orbs merely optical phenomena created by headlights of passing cars? Or are they spirits returning to haunt where their earthly bodies met their demise? -In the mid-1960s, the number of reports to the US Air Force of UFO sightings spiked across the country. Were people seeing unfamiliar technological innovations in aircraft? Had the rising popularity of the new-fangled television's sci-fi programs sparked Americans' imaginations? Or were extraterrestrial beings actually responding to signals from newly constructed deep-space radio transmitters?

Here are just a few of the new books on the history and biography shelves as 2020 comes to an end.

Arthur Briggs's life was Homeric in scope. Born on the tiny island of Grenada, he set sail for Harlem during the Renaissance, then to Europe in the aftermath of World War I, where he was among the first pioneers to introduce jazz music to the world. During the legendary Jazz Age in Paris, Briggs's trumpet provided the soundtrack while Hemingway, Fitzgerald, and the rest of the Lost Generation got drunk. By the 1930s, Briggs was considered "the Louis Armstrong of Paris," and was the peer of the greatest names of his time, from Josephine Baker to Django Reinhardt. Even during the Great Depression, he was secure as "the greatest trumpeter in Europe." He did not, however, heed warnings to leave Paris before it fell to the Nazis, and in 1940, he was arrested and sent to the prison camp at Saint Denis. What happened at that camp, and the role Briggs played in it, is truly unforgettable.

Also available in: e-book | e-audiobook

In this revealing, funny, and inspiring memoir, seven-time New York Times bestselling author and former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright--among the world's most admired and tireless public servants--reflects on the challenge of continuing one's career far beyond the normal age of retirement.

In 2001, when Madeleine Albright was leaving office as America's first female secretary of state, interviewers asked her how she wished to be remembered. "I don't want to be remembered," she answered. "I am still here and have much more I intend to do. As difficult as it might seem, I want every stage of my life to be more exciting than the last."

In that time of transition, the former Secretary considered the possibilities: she could write, teach, travel, give speeches, start a business, fight for democracy, help to empower women, campaign for favored political candidates, spend more time with her grandchildren. Instead of choosing one or two, she decided to do it all. For nearly twenty years, Albright has been in constant motion, navigating half a dozen professions, clashing with presidents and prime ministers, learning every day. Since leaving the State Department, she has blazed her own trail--and given voice to millions who yearn for respect, regardless of gender, background, or age.

As the new year approaches, consider one of the new large print books featured below.

Also available in: print | e-book | audiobook | e-audiobook

Antiracism is a transformative concept that reorients and reenergizes the conversation about racism--and, even more fundamentally, points us toward liberating new ways of thinking about ourselves and each other. At its core, racism is a powerful system that creates false hierarchies of human value; its warped logic extends beyond race, from the way we regard people of different ethnicities or skin colors to the way we treat people of different sexes, gender identities, and body types. Racism intersects with class and culture and geography and even changes the way we see and value ourselves. In How to Be an Antiracist, Kendi takes readers through a widening circle of antiracist ideas--from the most basic concepts to visionary possibilities--that will help readers see all forms of racism clearly, understand their poisonous consequences, and work to oppose them in our systems and in ourselves.

Kendi weaves an electrifying combination of ethics, history, law, and science with his own personal story of awakening to antiracism. This is an essential work for anyone who wants to go beyond the awareness of racism to the next step: contributing to the formation of a just and equitable society.

Untamed [large print] by 1976- Glennon Doyle
Also available in: print | e-book | audiobook | e-audiobook

Soulful and uproarious, forceful and tender, Untamed is both an intimate memoir and a galvanizing wake-up call. It is the story of how one woman learned that a responsible mother is not one who slowly dies for her children, but one who shows them how to fully live. It is the story of navigating divorce, forming a new blended family, and discovering that the brokenness or wholeness of a family depends not on its structure but on each member's ability to bring her full self to the table. And it is the story of how each of us can begin to trust ourselves enough to set boundaries, make peace with our bodies, honor our anger and heartbreak, and unleash our truest, wildest instincts so that we become women who can finally look at ourselves and say: There She Is.

History is being made every day--for better and for worse. To take a look back in time, check out some of the new books gracing the library's history shelves.

Charismatic, brilliant, and courageous, Eldridge Cleaver built a base of power and influence that struck fear deep in the heart of White America. It was therefore shocking to many left-wing radicals when Cleaver turned his back on Black revolution, the Nation of Islam, and communism in 1975. 

How can we make sense of Cleaver's precipitous decline from a position as one of America's most vibrant Black writers and activists? And how do his contradictory identities as criminal, party leader, international diplomat, Christian conservative, and Republican politician reveal that he was more than just a traitor to the advancement of civil rights?  

Author Justin Gifford obtained exclusive access to declassified files from the French police, the American embassy, and the FBI, as well as Kathleen Cleaver's archive, to answer these questions about a man far more compelling and complex than anyone has given him credit for.  

Here is the many-faceted, world-historically significant story of Britain at war. In looking closely at the military and political dimensions of the conflict's first crucial years, Alan Allport tackles questions such as: Could the war have been avoided? Could it have been lost? Were the strategic decisions the rights ones? How well did the British organize and fight? How well did the British live up to their own values? What difference did the war make in the end to the fate of the nation?

In answering these and other essential questions he focuses on the human contingencies of the war, weighing directly at the roles of individuals and the outcomes determined by luck or chance. Moreover, he looks intimately at the changes in wartime British society and culture. Britain at Bay draws on a large cast of characters--from the leading statesmen and military commanders who made the decisions, to the ordinary men, women, and children who carried them out and lived through their consequences--in a comprehensible and compelling single history of forty-six million people. For better or worse, much of Britain today is ultimately the product of the experiences of 1938-1941.

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