February 2015 Staff PicksLike this list

14 items

• Empire of Sin

  a Story of Sex, Jazz, Murder, and the Battle for Modern New Orleans

  Krist, Gary,

  Add Empire of Sin to your for later shelf

  It’s 1918 in Storyville, New Orleans’ red light district, and the police have just made a gruesome discovery. The bodies of a married couple have been found slain in their bedroom, their throats cut by a sharp instrument. This is a story filled with…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Ghettoside

  a True Story of Murder in America

  Leovy, Jill,

  Add Ghettoside to your for later shelf

  Los Angeles Times columnist Jill Levoy dissects what she calls the plague of murders in South Los Angeles, where black men are murdered at an astounding rate, a microcosm of a larger problem across the country. The issues in communities like Watts…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Life in Motion

  An Unlikely Ballerina

  Copeland, Misty,

  Add Life in Motion to your for later shelf

  In this bestselling memoir, Misty Copeland, the first African American soloist at the American Ballet Theatre, shares her gripping and inspiring story. She was raised in poor and unstable conditions, but with a natural love of movement, Misty taght…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Lives in Ruins

  Archaeologists and the Seductive Lure of Human Rubble

  Johnson, Marilyn, 1954-

  Add Lives in Ruins to your for later shelf

  In This Book Is Overdue, Marilyn Johnson sang the praises of librarians. This time around she celebrates archeologists. Johnson explores what drives people to a profession that is often not as glamorous as Indiana Jones movies might lead you to…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Uncle Janice

  a Novel

  Burgess, Matt, 1982-

  Add Uncle Janice to your for later shelf

  In New York City police-speak, an “uncle” is an undercover narcotics officer, hence the title. Janice Itwaru is young with only seventeen months on the job as an uncle. Once she hits eighteen months she will get her detective shield. Those are the…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Yes Please

  Poehler, Amy, 1971-

  Add Yes Please to your for later shelf

  Amy Poehler has become a household name thanks to her stint on Saturday Night Live, her long-running show Parks and Recreation and her gigs hosting awards ceremonies. Reading about her start in comedy and the time she put into getting her career off…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Everyday Robots

  Albarn, Damon,

  Add Everyday Robots to your for later shelf

  Blur frontman and Gorillaz collaborator Albarn is back with his first solo album. In Everyday Robots Albarn produces some of his most personal songs to date. There is an overall quiet and subdued feeling to the album. With the exception of the…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Everyday Robots

  Albarn, Damon,

  Add Everyday Robots to your for later shelf

  Downloadable edition

• In the Lonely Hour

  Smith, Sam, 1992-

  Add In the Lonely Hour to your for later shelf

  Sam Smith says he grew up listening to R&B and it’s clear that influenced the music on his debut album. Although there’s not a lot of variance, Smith’s unrequited love ballads are spectacular. His commanding and emotive falsetto voice is the star of…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• In the Lonely Hour

  Smith, Sam, 1992-

  Add In the Lonely Hour to your for later shelf

  Downloadable edition

• Reality Show

  Sullivan, Jazmine, 1987-

  Add Reality Show to your for later shelf

  Philly R&B singer Jazmine Sullivan has been a rising star for a decade now, with key support from Missy Elliott early in her career and with a sound influenced by Beyonce (who’s a big fan) among other contemporary R&B artists. Her latest continues…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• 12 Years a Slave

  Add 12 Years a Slave to your for later shelf

  This harrowing motion picture, which took the top prize at the 2014 Oscars, follows the ordeals of Solomon Northup who, though born free in New York, is kidnapped and sold into slavery in 1841. Based on Northup’s memoir which recounted the true…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Boyhood

  Add Boyhood to your for later shelf

  Twelve years in the making, Richard Linklater’s latest is a thoughtful coming-of-age story without a lot of action - just the everyday drama of growing up. Still the movie is wholly engaging in part because of the way it was filmed. Linklater…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• We are the best!

  Add We are the best! to your for later shelf

  Set in 1982, three young Swedish girls form a punk band in this charming and defiant film. Middle school friends Bobo and Klara are disaffected misfits. They decide to form a band, but they have a problem: they cannot play a note of music. They…Read moreRead more of this annotation