One Book, One Coast is Happening Now!
California, Washington, and Oregon libraries have come together for One Book, One Coast. The goal is to celebrate literacy, learning, community, and civil discourse. This year's title is They Called Us Enemy by George Takei. Physical copies are available to borrow while supplies last, and there will be unlimited eBook copies in English and Spanish available from April 1st through June 6th on Libby! This will culminate with a special live author talk with George Takei livestreamed on YouTube on May 31st.
They Called Us Enemy is a graphic memoir recounting Japanese American George Takei’s childhood imprisonment in a WW2 American Concentration camp. Takei shares the joys and challenges of living in one of the ten concentration camps where he lived with his parents. The memoir explores themes of loyalty, identity, resilience, and the meaning of being an American.
Check out a copy of They Called Us Enemy today!
Other Graphic Biographies/Memoirs
It Rhymes with Takei offers a sweeping portrait of one iconic American navigating the tides of LGBTQ+ history. Combining historical context with intimate subjectivity, It Rhymes with Takei shows how the personal and the political have always been intertwined. Its richly emotional words and images depict the terror of entrapment even in gay community spaces, the anguish of speaking up for so many issues while remaining silent on his most personal issue, the grief of losing friends to AIDS, the joy of finding true love with Brad Altman, and the determination to declare that love openly—and legally—before the whole world.
Everyone has their own Audrey, for some she is always twenty years old, for others she is in black and white and for others in color. Sometimes she is a European princess, a tipsy New Yorker or a UNICEF ambassador. Here you will discover her differently, made of ink and paper in a much more intimate and unvarnished dimension, without a soundtrack and with the voice you prefer. I sincerely hope that you will discover her as yours.
In Number One Is Walking, he shares anecdotes from the sets of his beloved films-Father of the Bride, Roxanne, The Jerk, Three Amigos, and many more-bringing readers directly into his world. He shares charming tales of antics, moments of inspiration, and exploits with the likes of Paul McCartney, Diane Keaton, Harrison Ford, and Chevy Chase. Martin details his forty years in the movie biz, as well as his stand-up comedy, banjo playing, writing, and cartooning, all with his unparalleled wit.
Lugosi, the tragic life story of one of horror's most iconic film stars, tells of a young Hungarian activist forced to flee his homeland after the failed Communist revolution in 1919. Reinventing himself in the U.S., first on stage and then in movies, he landed the unforgettable role of Count Dracula in what would become a series of classic feature films. From that point forward, Lugosi's stardom would be assured...but with international fame came setbacks and addictions that gradually whittled his reputation from icon to has-been. Lugosi details the actor's fall from grace and an enduring legacy that continues to this day.
Elon Musk was born in South Africa, where his father and mother, Errol and Maye, had a relationship marked by Errol's physical and verbal abuse. Brilliant and entrepreneurial, Musk attended college, but left academic studies for the business world. An early venture with his brother yielded a lucrative sale, and he received an additional $250 million payout after being kicked out of PayPal. Ever ambitious, Musk rolled his fortune into investments in electric cars (Tesla) and rockets and space exploration (SpaceX). He also became more involved in politics, resulting in a prominent role under the second Trump administration. The book draws from a bevy of published books, reports, and interviews about Musk and other featured characters. It renders Musk as an enigmatic figure, his motivations unclear and his statements contradictory. Through his past actions and quotations, a compelling, cohesive, and often critical narrative is formed, illuminating the personal life, business ventures, and politics of a person with an outsized influence on the contemporary world.
Banksy is arguably the most well-known street artist of all time. But we don't actually know who he is. This is just one of many contradictions that are addressed in this enormously compelling graphic biography. When two young Londoners are caught spray-painting graffiti on a city wall, they get to know each other while detained by the police. After they are released, they decide to make a film of Banksy's life, tracing the arc of his career as they travel through the streets of London. Readers will learn not only of Banksy's politically charged art and the causes he championed, but also of its worldwide dissemination, museum exhibitions, and record-breaking auctions. While readers may not learn Banksy's true identity, this uniquely graphic form of storytelling communicates the artist's belief that art is for everyone, speaks to everyone, and is owned by everyone.
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