The Dwelling by Susie Moloney
The cover of this book is what initially interested me, then I read the synopsis. It sounded perfectly creepy.
The house had history. Perhaps too much history.
362 Belisle Street is a homeowner's dream. A nice
neighborhood, close to schools, new hardwood floors, unique original detail. So
why then, wonders real estate agent Glenn Darnley, won't this charming property
stay off the market? Perhaps the clawed feet of the antique bathtub look a
little too threatening. Or maybe it's the faint hospital-like smell of the room
off the top of the stairs. It's possible that the haunting music that pours out
from under the steps keeps the residents awake at night.
In the three parts of Susie Moloney's hair-raising novel The
Dwelling, ownership of 362 Belisle changes four times -- with Glenn Darnley
brokering each deal. The first occupants are a young couple, Rebecca and Daniel
Mason, who have big dreams of wealth and success. It doesn't take long for them
to realize that they're not welcome in their new house. After a ghostly
seduction and a violent confrontation, the property is once again for sale.
Next comes Barbara Parkins, a divorcée, and her unhappy young son, Petey.
Lonely and looking for companionship, the two find comfort in some new, playful
young friends. When the Parkins family leaves, the house is sold again. Last,
ownership goes to Richie Bramley, a drunken writer and lost soul. But like the
others, he can't settle down in this house -- which has a mind, and a heart, of
its own.
For Glenn, however, the house is a dream, always warm and
welcoming. The floors gleam, and sun pours in through the windows. Owners come
-- and 362 Belisle makes sure owners go. It's waiting patiently for its beloved
to realize how much it loves her. It's waiting for Glenn, the very special
person who can finally turn this house into a home. - Amazon Description
Enrique's Journey by Sonia Nazario
I had recently seen an episode of Vice that covered people riding the tops of trains to try and enter the US so this book stood out to me. I look forward to reading Enrique's Journey.
An astonishing story that puts a human face on the ongoing
debate about immigration reform in the United States, now updated with a new
Epilogue and Afterword, photos of Enrique and his family, an author interview,
and more—the definitive edition of a classic of contemporary America
Based on the Los Angeles Times newspaper series that won two
Pulitzer Prizes, one for feature writing and another for feature photography,
this page-turner about the power of family is a popular text in classrooms and
a touchstone for communities across the country to engage in meaningful
discussions about this essential American subject.
Enrique’s Journey recounts the unforgettable quest of a
Honduran boy looking for his mother, eleven years after she is forced to leave
her starving family to find work in the United States. Braving unimaginable
peril, often clinging to the sides and tops of freight trains, Enrique travels
through hostile worlds full of thugs, bandits, and corrupt cops. But he pushes
forward, relying on his wit, courage, hope, and the kindness of strangers. As
Isabel Allende writes: “This is a twenty-first-century Odyssey. If you are
going to read only one nonfiction book this year, it has to be this one.”-Amazon Description
Swindled: The Dark History of Food Fraud, from Poisoned
Candy to Counterfeit Coffee
by Bee Wilson
I almost passed this book on, then the title caught my eye. Food Fraud! Poisoned Candy! Counterfeit Coffee! Oh My! Should be an interesting read.
Bad food has a history. Swindled tells it. Through a
fascinating mixture of cultural and scientific history, food politics, and
culinary detective work, Bee Wilson uncovers the many ways swindlers have
cheapened, falsified, and even poisoned our food throughout history. In the hands
of people and corporations who have prized profits above the health of
consumers, food and drink have been tampered with in often horrifying
ways--padded, diluted, contaminated, substituted, mislabeled, misnamed, or
otherwise faked. Swindled gives a panoramic view of this history, from the
leaded wine of the ancient Romans to today's food frauds--such as fake organics
and the scandal of Chinese babies being fed bogus milk powder.
Wilson pays special attention to nineteenth- and
twentieth-century America and England and their roles in developing both
industrial-scale food adulteration and the scientific ability to combat it. As
Swindled reveals, modern science has both helped and hindered food
fraudsters--increasing the sophistication of scams but also the means to detect
them. The big breakthrough came in Victorian England when a scientist first put
food under the microscope and found that much of what was sold as "genuine
coffee" was anything but--and that you couldn't buy pure mustard in all of
London.
Arguing that industrialization, laissez-faire politics, and
globalization have all hurt the quality of food, but also that food swindlers
have always been helped by consumer ignorance, Swindled ultimately calls for
both governments and individuals to be more vigilant. In fact, Wilson suggests,
one of our best protections is simply to reeducate ourselves about the joys of
food and cooking. -Amazon Description
All three books are available to be place on hold on http://mylakelibrary.org/.
