Togetha by Keith F. Miller Jr

In an amazing follow-up to his debut novel, "Pritty", Keith F. Miller Jr. gives us a continuation of Leroy and Jay's journeys, along with discovering the fate of Savannah's black neighborhoods. The threat of gentrification, political corruption, and even death, rips and tears at the community as they try to unify against what seems impossible.

The book builds off of "Pritty", utilizing many of the same components and characters, such as staying true to the split perspective between Leroy, Jay and Will. With prose tickling your imagination and making your tummy growl, the scenes invoke a beautiful immersion, even during the most intense. This makes it easy to feel and relate to the characters and their experiences.. especially those having to do with love. A few of them even brought me to tears.

Contrary to "Pritty", this book has a heavier emphasis on community along with the character's individual plots. This is because the book drives home the idea that love exists in many forms, and how these forms play a role in strengthening a community. Within community exists a mix of all of these different types. All of them have the capacity to change us, and the world around us, for the better. Whether it's learning to choose yourself, to shine brighter, or even to let go, we can accomplish anything when we choose love. 

Here is an excerpt from possibly my favorite chapter (18) between both books:

"Somewhere I once read that love isn't a one-word story... [that] there are so many types of love, all sacred in their own right... that love, like energy, is neither lost, nor destroyed, simply transferred or transformed."

I recommend reading "Pritty" first. If you read them, let me know your thoughts! Maybe this book will encourage you to take a look at the way love shows up in your life.

- Leo

The Wolf Man by Philip J. Reed

 

I am so excited about a small Missouri press called DieDie Books! Currently they offer four titles (with one upcoming) that are each a deep-dive into one horror movie by a single author. 

I love that concept. I love to hear or read someone who is passionate about something (especially books and movies!). And these books are very pretty white-and-black volumes with original cover artwork. The one that I was drawn to was The Wolf Man, the movie which strikes me as the sensitive boy's favorite of the Universal Studios monsters. 

The werewolf as a monster is rich with symbolism, but Reed helped me see that the appeal of this movie has a lot to do with Lon Chaney, Jr. as the awkward, doomed main character Larry Talbot. He has zero chemistry with the lead actress Evelyn Ankers and a complex relationship with his estranged father. They are bound by love but find each other impossible to understand. Larry can never match his father's hopes and expectations or integrate into his society. 

Reed absolutely loves the tension between the script and what the actors bring to life (for example, with any other cast Ankers would be playing his love interest), all centered around the tragic, doomed lead actor. Reed sees so much pathos in Lon Chaney, Jr. and this book is actually more of a deeply felt meditation on the man through the lens of The Wolf Man. 

It's so raw and emotional, in fact, I was sometimes taken aback, a little embarrassed. That feeling made so much sense when I got to the afterward and read that Reed died by suicide before finishing the final edits. Those gaps in polish -- a repeated phrase here, pages of obsessively repetitive sentence structure (like that bird that got into the Library the other weekend, bashing itself against the glass, sensing what it needed but unable to reach it), were evidence of a man becoming undone. And so this book is a portrait of existential despair through the prism of Lon Chaney, Jr, through the reflection of The Wolf Man. 

It's heavy, amazing, intense. 

-Michael G. 

Racism without Racists: Color-Blind Racism and the Persistence of Racial Inequality in America by Eduardo Bonilla-Silva

    After the events of the Civil Rights Movement, racism went through a shift from being accepted as overt and very "in your face", to being more accepted as subtle and covert. An "invisible" racism that is covered by many tactics that save face to give the offender ways to appear non-racial, or "colorblind". Originally published in 2003, "Racism Without Racists" explores this racism that exists in modern day America. It does this through analyzing interviews conducted with both an older generation of white respondents, and a younger generation of white college students. Each chapter covers a different strategy done in response to the questions. There is even a chapter with black respondents as well to explore the comparison in responses.

    What I find most interesting about this book is that many of the questions are ones still discussed today (4/2025 as of this writing). They range from what people think of affirmative action and interracial marriage, to whether they believe systematic discrimination still exists. There is even a segment asking whether they think self-segregation and reverse racism are real phenomenon. Their responses are ones we hear in our everyday lives, ones that might not seem racist from the jump, but diving a little deeper, reveals implicit racial biases that might exist. These implicit biases perpetuate systemic racism without the person even realizing it. 

    As a black person reading this, I found that most of this felt rather intuitive, yet still engaging, and sometimes even entertaining. I definitely recommend this book for anyone interested in exploring racial topics, specifically in the range of how people *talk* about them and the effect this type of speech has. This is especially useful for white people, as it helps you better navigate these conversations, giving you the ability to identify when something said is racist and why. So if you ever find yourself talking with someone who says something like "I just don't agree with affirmative action because it takes away from the other hard working applicants," you'll better understand how and why this take is problematic.

- Leo

Down to the Bone: A Leukemia Story by Catherine Pioli

 

I started this beautifully self-illustrated book thinking that if I had to be treated for cancer - and I have been, which is one reason I was drawn to the book - I wouldn't mind doing so in Paris, as if somehow the seductive ambiance of that city would make the illness and its poisonous treatments easier to bear and the clinical aspects all so much more interesting in that location and language. I shortly gave up that idea, as the author's experience (while featuring some of the same medicines and treatments prescribed to me) was altogether much more grueling than my own. That was not due to the French healthcare system, or the location, but because of the type of cancer she had. 

Catherine Pioli's active, idyllic childhood in Greece gave her a belief that she would always be blessed with good health. But after developing a debilitating, painful and puzzling constellation of symptoms at age 32 she had a series of medical consultations that went nowhere definitive. Feeling worse week by week, she endured torturous tests some of which required weeks as a hospital inpatient before the diagnosis of leukemia was made. The treatment for it was even more grueling than the miserable-sounding tests. 

As a young adult establishing herself as a professional illustrator in Paris with regular deadlines to meet, all of this was a huge, very inconvenient, anxiety-causing disruption. A personal life full of love from family, a devoted partner, and friends help her get through it, but we watch her life spiral downward while the beloved people in her life experience happy events in their own lives. Remarkably, she used her talent and skill to document her experience, fears and emotions as they unfolded despite treatment side effects including malnutrition, exhaustion and progressive loss of weight and stamina. The result is a record composed of exquisitely detailed drawings and explanations of the medical necessity of each test and treatment, with the love of others and the aforementioned Paris ambiance woven into her bittersweet tale. 

If you have read Jon Batiste's wife Suleika Jaouad's memoir of her own experience of leukemia, (Between Two Kingdoms) this is a similar story except for the respective authors' personal details. I loved Jaouad's book and found Catherine Pioli's graphic account of the same illness equally captivating and worth my reading time. Both writers tell their stories so compellingly. Pioli's format and comparatively more circumscribed telling make for a quicker reading experience and engage the reader in a completely different but equally unforgettable way. Moreover, it's an informative lesson in some of the ways of cancer - and medicine. 

One doesn't have to have experienced cancer to be drawn into the story of this artist whose life rapidly turned upside down and forced her down a different path than she expected in her thirties. This is an extremely moving and powerful account, the outcome of which you'll have to read the book to learn. 

-Marianne W.       

The Emerald City of Oz by L. Frank Baum

 

Last night, right before the tornado sirens went off, Leo and I were at the circulation desk joking about him being whisked off to Oz. 

"But would you come back?" I asked him, because that's the thing about The Wizard of Oz that always troubled me. Why, when Oz is so wonderful, would Dorothy choose to return to dusty old sepia-toned Kansas? 

Because of Aunt Em and Uncle Henry. But in The Emerald City of Oz, which Baum intended to be his final Oz book (it wasn't), their farm is in foreclosure and Aunt Em and Uncle Henry are about to be homeless. Things are looking dire. 

Thankfully, Dorothy's generosity, honesty, and courage has made her friends in high places, and the ruler of Oz relocates the trio to Oz. I loved this, and enjoyed Henry and Em's reactions to the weird and silly Oz (especially the mutual animosity between Aunt Em and the Yellow Hen Billina). Dorothy takes them on a tour of Oz, encountering many strange creatures, my favorite adventure being the visit to the edible village of Bunbury that ends in absolute disaster when Toto devours several citizens and Billina pecks the raisin eye out of another. Dorothy shows sauce but leaves meekly when threatened with "the ovens." 

Meanwhile, various frightening monster tribes amass outside of Oz with bloodthirsty plans to pillage and enslave. The Whimsies with their huge fake heads sound creepy, but somehow their illustration by John R. Neill is even scarier. His illustrations haunt the pages, often difficult to make out, crowded with maniacal figures that evoke the thrills and strangeness of Oz. 

It was funny, sweet, and even a little exciting. If you need a break from this reality, I recommend this escape to the utopia of Oz.