“What’s the Story?”
is a KRSH Radio podcast

Hosted by Joy Lanzendorfer and
co-sponsored by the Sonoma County Library

Listen to "What’s the Story"

(Print book, eAudiobook)

American Road Trip
by Patrick Flores-Scott

A road trip novel that explores the bonds of family, growing up, living through trauma and recovery.

(Print book, eBook, eAudiobook)

Everything Happens for a Reason: And Other Lies I've Loved
by Kate Bowler

A divinity professor at Duke University found her life turned upside down in her mid-30s with a diagnosis of stage 4 colon cancer. Here, she chronicles her journey from what seemed a death sentence to surviving as a result of the effects of a clinical trial and a stalwart community of friends and family.

(Print book, eBook, eAudiobook, book on CD)

From Scratch
by Tembi Locke

A memoir of grief, love, food and home, narrated by the author in lyrical English and Italian.

(Print book, large type book, book on CD)

No Time Like the Future: An Optimist Considers Mortality
by Michael J. Fox

In his fourth book, Fox expresses gratitude for the past and looks to the future with a firm grasp on how to be “both a realist and an optimist.” A moving account of resilience, hope, fear and mortality, and how these things resonate in our lives.

(Print book, eAudiobook)

Halfway Normal
by Barbara Dee

Twelve-year-old cancer survivor Norah struggles to fit in at middle school after two years of treatment, but she finds her voice with the help of new friend Griffin, who shares her love of mythology.

(Print book, eBook)

Finding Balance
by Kati Gardner

Teenage cancer survivors Mari and Jase have flirted for years at Camp Chemo, but when she transfers to his high school their different approaches to their history cause trouble.

(Print book)

All the Water in the World
by Karen Raney

Sixteen-year-old Maddy, who has cancer, grapples with her first romantic relationship, searches for the father she has never met, and tests the limits of her relationship with her mother, all while facing an uncertain future.

(Print book, eBook, eAudiobook)

We Own the Sky
by Luke Allnutt

When a devastating illness takes his beloved family from him, a man who once believed himself incredibly lucky takes solace in photographing the skyscrapers and cliff tops his son and he once visited before embarking on a powerful journey through forgiveness back to life.

(Print book, large type book, eBook, eAudiobook, book on CD)

Maya’s Notebook
by Isabel Allende

To escape a life of drugs, crime and prostitution, 19-year-old Maya Vidal flees California to a remote island off the west coast of Chile.

(DVD, hoopla movie)

Hunt for the Wilderpeople

Ricky is a kid in foster care who lands at a new home, only for tragedy to strike, causing him to head out on his own. But the friends he makes along the way have him discovering what family, identity and home really mean for the first time. A tender and often hilarious story with unforgettable characters.

Black Tudors: the untold story
by Miranda Kaufmann

From long forgotten records, Kaufmann has unearthed the remarkable stories of Africans who lived free in Tudor England.

(Print book, eAudiobook)

Twain and Stanley Enter Paradise
by Oscar Hijuelos

Another historical fiction title that examines real literary figures, this title chronicles the sojourn of journalist-explorer Henry Stanley; his wife, the painter Dorothy Tennant; and Mark Twain, Stanley's longtime friend, as they head for Cuba in search of Stanley's father.

(Print book, Book on CD)

Shakespeare's Wife
by Germaine Greer

Challenges popular beliefs about the estranged nature of Shakespeare's marriage to Ann Hathaway, placing their relationship in a social and historical context that poses alternative theories about her rural upbringing and role in the bard's professional life.

(Print book)

12 Days of Tudor Christmas

If you're just in the mood to immerse yourself in the Tudor world, and also want to get into the Christmas spirit, this BBC/PBS special might just be the thing. Lucy Worsley recreates how Christmas was celebrated during the age of Henry VIII.

(DVD)

The Hidden Lives of Tudor Women: A Social History
by Elizabeth Norton

A well-researched description of the lives of women in 16th-century Britain.

(Print book, eBook, eAudiobook)

A Cloud of Outrageous Blue
by Vesper Stamper

After her parents' deaths, Edyth is sent to live in a priory, where she begins to make a new life--a life that will be threatened by the approach of the Great Plague.

(Print book)

Alice I Have Been
by Melanie Benjamin

Now in her twilight years, Alice Liddell looks back on a remarkable life. From a pampered childhood in Oxford to difficult years as a widowed mother, Alice examines how she became who she is – and how she became immortalized as Alice in Wonderland.

(Print book)

The Mersault Investigation
by Kamel Daoud

A love story and a political manifesto. He was the brother of "the Arab" killed by the infamous Meursault, the antihero of Camus’ classic novel. Seventy years after that event, Harun, who has lived since childhood in the shadow of his sibling’s memory, refuses to let him remain anonymous.

(Print book, eBook)

Midsummer’s Mayhem
by Rajani LaRocca

A contemporary retelling of A Midsummer Night’s Dream follows an 11-year-old Indian-American girl's effort to prepare a winning entry for a local baking contest, a competition that is challenged when her father mysteriously loses his sense of taste.

(Childrens' book, Book on CD, eAudiobook)

The Orchardist
by Amanda Coplin

Although The Cold Millions is more dramatic and The Orchardist is more haunting, young siblings follow different paths in both of these literary novels set in the Pacific Northwest during the turn of the century.

(Print book, Book on CD, eBook, eAudiobook)

Music of the Mill
by Luis Rodriguez

In a story of three generations of an American family who built their lives around a decaying, late-twentieth-century steel industry, 30-year-old Azucena Salcido struggles with the cancer death of her father, the racial polarization of their community, and the corrupt power struggles among her neighbors, their employers, and their unions.

(Print book)

Make Trouble: Standing Up, Speaking Out, and Finding the Courage to Lead
by Cecile Richards

In her autobiographical book on leadership, Richards, the quintessential cheerleader for activists of all ages, champions those who publicly take a stand for what they believe.

(Print book, Book on CD)

An Impossible Distance to Fall
by Miriam McNamara

1930. Birdie William's life has crashed along with the stock market. Her father's bank has failed, and he's disappeared along with his Jenny biplane. When she sees a leaflet for a barnstorming circus with a picture of Dad's plane on it, she goes to Coney Island in search of answers.

(Print book, eBook)

Sabrina & Corina
by Kali Fajardo-Anstine

Kali Fajardo-Anstine's magnetic story collection breathes life into her Latina characters of indigenous ancestry and the land they inhabit in the American West.

(Print book, eBook, eAudiobook)

Deep River
by Karl Marlantes

In the early 1900s, as the oppression of Russia's imperial rule takes its toll on Finland, the three Koski siblings – Ilmari, Matti, and the politicized young Aino ¬– are forced to flee to the United States. The brothers face the excitement and danger of pioneering the frontier wilderness while Aino devotes herself to organizing the industry's first unions.

(Print book, Book on CD, eBook, eAudiobook)

How Much of These Hills is Gold
by Pam Zhang

Newly orphaned children of immigrants, Lucy and Sam are suddenly alone in a land that refutes their existence.

(Print book, Large print book, eBook, eAudiobook)

Las Aventuras de la China Iron
por Gabriela Cabezón Cámara

Este es un juego desenfrenado que lleva al lector desde la turbulenta cultura fronteriza de las pampas hasta los territorios indígenas. Traza las aventuras de la señora China Iron, la esposa abandonada de Martín Fierro, en sus viajes por la pampa en un carromato cubierto con su nueva amiga, que pronto se convertirá en su amante, una escocesa llamada Liz.

(Print book, eBook)

Daring Darleen, Queen of the Screen
by Anne Nesbet

It's 1914, and 12-year old Darleen Darling has the most exciting job in the world – she gets to dangle from cliffs and stop moving trains and soar through the sky in runaway balloons! Yes, that's right: Darleen is a hero and a star – in the make-believe world of the movies ... but Darleen's fictional adventures collide with reality when a fake kidnapping intended as a publicity stunt becomes all too real.

(Print book, eBook)

Yes, Chef
by Marcus Samuelsson

The Top Chef: Masters winner and proprietor of Harlem's Red Rooster traces his Ethiopian birth, upbringing by an adoptive family in Sweden, and rise to a famous New York chef, sharing personal insights into his challenges as a black man in a deeply prejudiced industry.

(Print book, Book on CD, eBook, eAudiobook)

Eat a Peach
by David Chang

The chef behind Momofuku and star of Netflix’s Ugly Delicious traces his upbringing in a deeply religious Korean-American family, his search for identity, struggles with manic depression and unlikely rise as one of his generation’s most influential chefs.

(Print book, eBook, eAudiobook)

Hunger: A Memoir of (my) Body
by Roxane Gay

A heart-rending debut memoir from the outspoken feminist and essayist. The author exposes the personal demons haunting her life—namely weight and trauma—which she deems "the ugliest, weakest, barest parts of me."

(Print book, Book on CD, eBook, eAudiobook)

The Gourmands' Way
Six Americans in Paris and the Birth of a New Gastronomy
by Justin Spring

Six American writers introduced French cuisine to American restaurants and home kitchens and were responsible for the nation’s postwar love affair with French food and wine.

(Print book, eAudiobook)

Abe

Twelve-year-old Abe is an aspiring chef who wants his cooking to bring people together, but his half-Israeli, half-Palestinian family has never had a meal that didn't end in a fight. Ditching his traditional summer camp, Abe begins working with Chico, an adventurous street chef who encourages him to think outside his old cuisines. However, when Abe's deceit is uncovered, he must grapple with his family and his passions and whether even the most lovingly cooked family dinner can heal old wounds.

(DVD)

Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking
A memoir of food and longing
by Anya Von Bremzen

Born in a surreal Moscow communal apartment where 18 families shared one kitchen, the author grew up singing odes to Lenin, black-marketeering Juicy Fruit gum at school, and longing for a taste of the mythical West.

(Print book)

Alimentamos una Isla
by Jose Andres

Basándose en la perspectiva de Andrés, así como en reuniones, mensajes y conversaciones que tuvo durante su estadía en Puerto Rico, Alimentamos una isla describe de manera conmovedora cómo una red de cocinas comunitarias logró realizar un verdadero cambio, y cuenta una extraordinaria historia de esperanza ante los desastres, tanto los naturales y como aquellos causados por el ser humano.

(Print book)

Yasmin la chef
by Saadia Faruqi

La familia de Yasmin está organizando una gran fiesta, pero a Yasmin le preocupa que la comida tradicional que cocina su familia sea demasiado picante. Su familia sugiere que Yasmin invente su propio plato.

(Children's book)

Brave Chef Brianna
by Sam Sykes

Brianna Jakobsson has big cooking dreams, and when her ailing father, a world-renowned chef, poses a challenge to his only daughter and 15 sons, she seizes the opportunity. She's going to have the best restaurant around and earn the family empire.

(Children's book, eBook)

A people's future of the United States
Speculative Fiction from 25 Extraordinary Writers
by Victor LaValle and John Joseph Adams

25 speculative stories imagining the future of America, with the collection featuring tales of both dystopias and utopias.

(Print book, eBook, eAudiobook)

Refugees by Viet Thanh Nguyen

A collection of stories, written over a 20-year period, examines the Vietnamese experience in America as well as questions of home, family, and identity.

(Print book, eAudiobook)

Uncommon Type by Tom Hanks

Opt for the audiobook version, narrated by the author/actor himself.

(Print book, large print book, book on CD, eBook, eAudiobook)

Flash!: Writing the Very Short Story by John Dufresne

Flash fiction is like the Twitter of the literary world. Dufresne offers an insightful guide to writing this increasingly popular form of fiction.

(Print book)

A Phoenix First Must Burn
Sixteen Stories of Black Girl Magic, Resistance, and Hope
Edited by Patrice Caldwell

From folktales retold to futuristic societies, this collection of stories centers on Black women and gender nonconforming individuals dealing with love and betrayal, strength and resistance.

(Print book, eBook, eAudiobook)

A House is a Body Stories by Shruti Anna Swamy

Dreams collide with reality, modernity collides with antiquity, myth with true identity; women grapple with desire, with ego, with motherhood and mortality.

(Print book, eBook, eAudiobook)

The Moths and other stories/Las Palomillas de la Noche by Helena Maria Viramontes

Beautifully translated Spanish-English bilingual version. Prejudice and the social and economic status of Chicanos form the backdrop for these haunting stories.

(Print book)

Stories from Suffragette City
Stories of a Fine and Proper Nuisance
by M. J. Rose and Fiona Davis

An anthology set during the Fifth Avenue women’s suffrage march of October 1915 includes depictions of leading rights advocates, from Ava Vanderbilt to Ida B. Welles.

(Print book)

Flying Lessons and Other Stories by Ellen Oh

From family fiascos to first crushes, this anthology, written by award-winning children's authors, celebrates the uniqueness and universality in all of us.

(Print book, book on CD, eBook, eAudiobook)

Super Puzzletastic Mysteries
Short Stories for Young Sleuths from Mystery Writers of America
Edited by Chris Grabenstein

A group of interactive short stories that invite the reader to solve the mystery themselves.

(Print book, eBook)

Charlotte Brontë: A Fiery Heart by Claire Harman

An expert portrait of Charlotte’s life and writings, life at Haworth Parsonage and its eccentric inhabitants.

(Print book, eAudiobook)

Vanessa and Her Sister by Priya Parmar

A historical novel examining the lives of Vanessa Bell, her sister Virginia Woolf, and the controversial and popular circle of intellectuals known as the Bloomsbury Group.

(Print book, Large Type Book, eBook, eAudiobook)

Glass Town by Isabel Greenberg

The entrancing story of the Brontë siblings' childhood imaginary world in graphic novel format.

(Print book, eBook)

Square Haunting: Five Writers in London Between the Wars by Francesca Wade

A gripping account of the lives of five women who lived at various times in the same square in London’s Bloomsbury district between 1916 and 1940.

(Print book, eBook, eAudiobook)

Empress Orchid by Anchee Min

A fictional portrait of the last empress of China follows Orchid, a beautiful teenager from an aristocratic family, who is chosen to become a low-ranking concubine of the emperor and rises to a position of power in the Chinese court.

(Print book, book on CD, eBook, eAudiobook)

The Daring Ladies of Lowell by Kate Alcott

Moving to the mill city of Lowell in 1832 to escape farm life, young Alice is disillusioned by the local factory's harsh working conditions and struggles to advocate on their behalf while recklessly falling in love with the mill owner's son, a situation that is complicated by a murder and sensational trial.

(Print book, eBook)

Proust's Duchess by Caroline Weber

A brilliant look at the glittering world of turn-of-the-century Paris through the first in-depth study of the three women Proust used to create his supreme fictional character, the Duchesse de Guermantes.

(Print book, eBook, eAudiobook)

Retrato en Sepia por Isabel Allende

Una saga familiar situada a finales del siglo XIX en Chile, narrada por una joven mujer. La novela explora los temas del amor y su traición, privilegio, y secretos de familia.

(Print book, eBook, eAudiobook)

The Glass Town Game by Catherynne M. Valente

Inside a small Yorkshire parsonage, Charlotte, Branwell, Emily, and Anne Brontë have invented a game called Glass Town, where their toy soldiers fight Napoleon and no one dies. This make-believe land helps the four escape from a harsh reality.

(Print book)

Adulthood is a Myth by Sarah Andersen

Confronts head-on the horrors, anxiety, and awkwardness of modern adult life.

(Print book, eBook)

Killing and Dying by Adrian Tomine

Collects six graphic stories that create a portrait of contemporary life, exploring the pride and disappointment of family, the anxiety and hopefulness of being alive, and the weight of love and its absence.

(Print book)

Furiously Happy: a Funny Book About Horrible Things by Jenny Lawson

The popular blogger presents a humorous and candid memoir about her lifelong battle with severe depression and anxiety, discussing how embracing both the flawed and the beautiful parts of life have enabled her to find joy in outrageous ways.

(Print book, Book on CD, eBook, eAudiobook)

Why Grizzly Bears Should Wear Underpants by Matthew Inman

A collection of comics, facts, and instructional guides from the online cartoonist and #1 New York Times Best-Selling Author known as The Oatmeal.

(Print book, eBook)

Failure is an Option: An Attempted Memoir by Jon H. Benjamin

The lead voice behind Archer and Bob's Burgers helps us all feel a little better about our own failures by sharing his own in a hilarious memoir-ish chronicle of failure.

(Print book)

You Can Only Yell at Me for One Thing at a Time: Rules for Couples by Patricia Marx

An illustrated collection of love and relationship advice from New Yorker writer Patricia Marx, with illustrations from New Yorker cartoonist Roz Chast.

(Print book, eBook)

The Odd 1s Out by James Rallison

Telling his own stories of growing up as the “odd one out,” the YouTube star, presenting his fan-favorite comics as well as some never-before-seen material, shares the life lessons he has learned on the road to adulthood.

(Print book, eBook)

The Bride Was a Boy by Chii

A diary comic with an upbeat, adorable flair that tells the charming tale of Chii, a woman assigned male at birth.

(Print book)

Be Prepared by Vera Brosgol

Her friends live in fancy houses and their parents can afford to send them to the best summer camps, but Vera’s single mother can’t afford that sort of luxury. There's only one summer camp in her price range—Russian summer camp. Nothing could prepare her for all the "cool girl" drama, endless Russian history lessons, and outhouses straight out of nightmares!

(Print book, eBook)

Little Gods by Meng Jin

Explores the complex web of grief, memory, time, physics, history and selfhood in the immigrant experience, and the complicated bond between daughters and mothers.

(Print book, audio CD, eBook, eAudiobook)

The Seasons of My Mother by Marcia Gay Harden

An uplifting memoir that traces the story of Harden’s childhood and career using the imagery of flowers to represent the unique bond she shares with her mother, who now suffers from Alzheimer's disease.

(Book, Large Print Book)

Los Falcón by Melissa Rivero

Una impresionante novela debut sobre la lucha de una joven madre peruana indocumentada que está dispuesta a darlo todo por su familia y su nueva vida en Nueva York.

(Book, eBook)

Homeland Elegies by Ayad Akhtar

A wrenching family drama about a Pakistani father and son making a home in the US in the aftermath of 9/11.

(Book, Audio CD, eBook, eAudiobook)

Almost American Girl by Robin Ha

A Korean teen struggles in a hostile blended home and a new school where she does not speak English before forging unexpected connections in a local comic drawing class.

(Book, eBook)

Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson

Two families from different social classes are joined together by an unexpected pregnancy and the child that it produces.

(Book, Large Print Book, Audio CD, eBook, eAudiobook)

The Namesake

A young Indian immigrant in America balancing the ties to where he came from and where he's living now.

(DVD)

Vitalina Varela

A Cape Verdean woman travels to Lisbon to reunite with her husband, after two decades of separation, only to arrive mere days after his funeral.

(DVD)

I Can Make This Promise by Christine Day

Twelve-year-old Edie finds letters and photographs in her attic that change everything she thought she knew about her Native American mother's adoption.

(Children's Book, Audio CD, eBook, eAudiobook, Playaway)

LumaCon 2021 is all virtual this year, but that doesn’t mean you’ll miss out on any of the fun we have in person. Take some time to explore our website www.lumacon.net for all the fun.

What we have planned:

Contests:

• Cosplay as your favorite character on video and enter the contest on our site.
• Write a short (100 word) fanfiction or story.
• Join our readathon for a chance to win some great prizes!

Crafts:

Our wonderful children’s librarians are providing you the materials to make all of the fun crafts from previous years, including masks, capes, magnets, and shields. Come by the Petaluma Regional Library to pick up a superhero crafting kit to have fun crafting at home! Check out our awesome, instructional videos at LumaCon!2021 Crafts.

Starting January 19, come by the Petaluma Regional Library to pick up a sword making kit to have fun crafting and LARPing at home! Watch Christopher Melville’s wonderful instructional video at LumaCon!2021 Crafts.

We’ve also partnered with Rima Makaryan from the Monarch Project on another take home craft to paint beautiful butterflies. The butterfly craft bags are available at the Petaluma Regional Library between January 19 and January 29. Watch the Rima Makaryan's instructional video at LumaCon!2021 Crafts Return your artistic butterfly by February 6 to the library to be included in a public art display.

All crafting supplies are limited, first come, first served during curbside hours.

Showcase your art on Facebook or Instagram with #lumacon2021 and/or tag us @LumaCon2021 on Facebook and peta_lumacon on Instagram.

Panels:

• 10-11 AM LARPing During Quarantine with Christopher Melville.
• 12-1 PM Comic Mini-Workshop with Gio Benedetti.
• 2-3 PM Literary Disco Live Show with Tod Goldberg, Julia Pistell, and Rider Strong!!

Gaming:

• Dungeons and Dragons One Shot Campaign.
• Among Us Gaming.

Drawing:

Petaluma’s Towel Man will be spinning a wheel of prompts every hour on the hour of drawing prompts. Submit your artwork or lego creation to go with the prompt by tagging our Instagram (@peta_lumacon) in your own Instagram post for a ticket in our prize raffle.

Thank you to our Friends of the Library as well as many other local businesses who have supported ourLumaCon 2021!

LumaCon 2021 es virtual este año, pero eso no significa que te perderás nada de la diversión que tendríamos en persona. Visita nuestro sitio web lumacon.net para explorar toda la diversión.

¿Qué hemos planeado?

Concursos:

• Cosplay como tu personaje favorito en vídeo y participa en el concurso en Cosplay para LumaCon! 2021.
• Escribe una historia breve o un fanfiction de 100 palabras y participa en el concurso en Drabble Contest for LumaCon! 2021.
• Únate a nuestra LumaCon Readathon para tener la oportunidad de ganar premios.

Arte:

Nuestras maravillosas bibliotecarias para niños te están proporcionando los materiales para hacer todas las divertidas manualidades de años anteriores, incluidas máscaras, capas, imanes y escudos.

¡Ven a la Biblioteca Regional de Petaluma para recoger un kit de superhéroes para divertirte haciendo manualidades en casa! Mira nuestros increíbles videos instructivo en LumaCon!2021 Crafts.

También nos hemos asociado con Rima Makaryan del Proyecto Monarca en una manualidad para pintar hermosas mariposas. Las bolsas de manualidades de mariposas están disponibles en la Biblioteca Regional de Petaluma entre el 19 y el 29 de enero. Ve el video instructivo de Rima Makaryan en LumaCon!2021 Crafts Entrega tu mariposa artística en la biblioteca antes del 6 de febrero para que esté incluido en una exhibición de arte público.

Todos los materiales de arte son limitado, por orden de llegada, durante las horas del servicio desde la acera.

Muestra tu arte en Facebook o Instagram con #lumacon2021 y etiquetanos @LumaCon2021 en Facebook y peta_lumacon en Instagram.

Paneles:

Ve mensajes especiales durante todo el día de Endor Base y Rebel Alliance.

• 10-11 AM LARPing durante la cuarentena con Christopher Melville.
• 12-1 PM Taller de cómics con Gio Benedetti.
• 2-3 PM Literary Disco: Show en vivo a través de Zoom con Tod Goldberg, Julia Pistell y Rider Strong!!

Juegos:

• Campaña de Dungeons and Dragon.
• Among Us Gaming.

Arte:

Towel Man de Petaluma hará girar una rueda de indicaciones de dibujo cada hora en punto. Envíe su obra de arte o creación de lego para acompañar el mensaje etiquetando nuestro Instagram (@peta_lumacon) en su propia publicación de Instagram para obtener un boleto para la rifa de premios.

Gracias a los Amigos de la Biblioteca de Petaluma y a los muchos negocios locales que han apoyado nuestro evento con premios.

2020 has been a wild ride…and what better way to close it out than with the talented young adults of Sonoma County? Community members are invited to SLAM 2020: A Virtual Poetry Slam on Saturday, December 12, from 3 to 5 p.m. This virtual event is open to performers between the ages of 13 to 19; teens will also serve as emcees and judges. All ages are welcome to attend to cheer on Sonoma County’s talented teens.

Sonoma County Youth Poet Laureate Zoya Ahmed is the slam’s featured poet. Ahmed was not only a 2019 California Poetry Out Loud finalist, she won the 2019 California’s Poetry Ourselves competition with her original poem “A Concerto of Spice.” With her passion for social justice, she also directed and performed in the 2020 Martin Luther King Jr. Assembly at Maria Carrillo High School. Ahmed said that she attempts to embrace her rich South Asian ancestorhood, and confront the minutiae of privilege and power, microaggressions and the facade of the American Dream. She hopes that her poems give a voice to all those who are silenced.

“What’s the Story?”
is a KRSH Radio podcast

Hosted by Joy Lanzendorfer and
co-sponsored by the Sonoma County Library

Listen to "What’s the Story"