National Network for Equitable Library Service

This program includes an introduction read by Lady Gaga. For Lady Gaga, kindness is the driving force behind everything she says and does. The quiet power of kindness can change the way we view one another, our communities, and even ourselves. She embodies this mission, and through her work, brings more kindness into our world every single day. Lady Gaga has always believed in the importance of being yourself, being kind to yourself, and being kind to others, no matter who they are or where they come from.

This program is read by the author, and includes a bonus conversation. An urgent primer on race and racism, from the host of the viral hit video series "Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man." "You cannot fix a problem you do not know you have." So begins Emmanuel Acho in his essential guide to the truths Americans need to know to address the systemic racism that has recently electrified protests in all fifty states. "There is a fix," Acho says.

"This is a listen for anyone interested in small-town America, how it's changed, and why it matters...Though Arsenault may not be a professional narrator, her passion for these important stories comes through with just the right amount of sincerity." —AudioFile Magazine. This program is read by the author. A galvanizing and powerful debut, Mill Town is an American story, a human predicament, and a moral wake-up call that asks: what are we willing to tolerate and whose lives are we willing to sacrifice for our own survival?

Interrogating our ideas of race through the lens of her own multi-racial identity, critically acclaimed novelist Tessa McWatt turns her eye on herself, her body and this world in a powerful new work of non-fiction. Tessa McWatt has been called Susie Wong, Pocahontas and "black bitch," and has been judged not black enough by people who assume she straightens her hair.

A gripping portrait of modern Tibet told through the lives of its people, from the bestselling author of Nothing to Envy. “You simply cannot understand China without reading Barbara Demick on Tibet.”—Evan Osnos, author of Age of Ambition. Named one of the best books of the year by the New York Times Book Review and the Washington Post. Just as she did with North Korea, award-winning journalist Barbara Demick explores one of the most hidden corners of the world.

New York Times bestseller James Baldwin grew disillusioned by the failure of the civil rights movement to force America to confront its lies about race. In our own moment, when that confrontation feels more urgently needed than ever, what can we learn from his struggle? Named one of the Best Books of the Year by The Washington Post and Time. Shortlisted for the Goddard Riverside Stephan Russo Book Prize for Social Justice. “A powerful study of how to bear witness in a moment when America is being called to do the same.” —Time. We live, according to Eddie S.

"Absolutely perfect for the current moment." —Buzzfeed. America's favorite cultural historian and author of Ghostland takes a tour of the country's most persistent "unexplained" phenomena. In a world where rational, scientific explanations are more available than ever, belief in the unprovable and irrational—in fringe—is on the rise: From Atlantis to aliens, from Flat Earth to the Loch Ness monster, the list goes on. It seems the more our maps of the known world get filled in, the more we crave mysterious locations full of strange creatures.

"Simply brilliant, both in its granular storytelling and its enormous compassion" —The New York Times Book Review. The story of two refugee families and their hope and resilience as they fight to survive and belong in America. The welcoming and acceptance of immigrants and refugees has been central to America's identity for centuries—yet America has periodically turned its back at the times of greatest humanitarian need.

Strong Is the New Pretty meets All the Single Ladies in this heartfelt celebration and exploration of the tomboy phenomenon and the future of girlhood, based on the author's viral New York Times op-ed. Inspired by her thought-provoking op-ed for the New York Times, Lisa Selin Davis's Tomboy explores the history and imagines the future of girls who defy societal expectations based on their gender. Tomboy is a revealing dive into the forces that have shifted and narrowed our ideas of what's normal for boys and girls, and for kids who don't fall neatly into either category.

A son who grew up away from his Indigenous culture takes his Cree father on a trip to their family's trapline, and finds that revisiting the past not only heals old wounds but creates a new future. The son of a Cree father and a non-Indigenous mother, David A. Robertson was raised with virtually no knowledge or understanding of his family's Indigenous roots. His father, Don, spent his early childhood on a trapline in the bush northeast of Norway House, Manitoba, where his first teach was the land.