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Book Lists

Book Lists for Adults

Book Lists for Adults

George Takei

Buck, Pearl S. (Pearl Sydenstricker), 1892-1973, author.
FICTION BUC
"Travel to 1920s China, a time when the last emperor still ruled and the sweeping changes of the twentieth century were distant rumblings, with this timeless, evocative classic tale of the honest farmer Wang Lung and his family as they struggle to survive in the midst of vast political and social upheavals" -- https://www.amazon.com/Good-Earth-Pearl-S-Buck/dp/1982147172

Baldwin, James, 1924-1987.
FICTION BAL
"Set in the 1950s, Paris of American expatriates, liaisons, and violence, a young man finds himself caught between desire and conventional morality"--Page 4 of cover.

Michener, James A. (James Albert), 1907-1997, author.
FICTION MIC
A novel of a U.S. army man who falls for a fascinating Japanese woman against all odds. Major Lloyd Gruver considers himself lucky. The son of an army general, dating the daughter of another powerful military family, his future looks impossibly bright. Stationed in beautiful, exotic Japan, he just can t understand guys like Private Joe Kelly, who throws away his life in the States by marrying one of the local girls. Then Lloyd meets Hana-ogi. After that, nothing matters anymore . . . nothing but her.

Golden, Arthur, 1957-
FICTION GOL
Overview: A literary sensation and runaway bestseller, this brilliant debut novel tells with seamless authenticity and exquisite lyricism the true confessions of one of Japan's most celebrated geisha. Speaking to us with the wisdom of age and in a voice at once haunting and startlingly immediate, Nitta Sayuri tells the story of her life as a geisha. It begins in a poor fishing village in 1929, when, as a nine-year-old girl with unusual blue-gray eyes, she is taken from her home and sold into slavery to a renowned geisha house. We witness her transformation as she learns the rigorous arts of the geisha: dance and music; wearing kimono, elaborate makeup, and hair; pouring sake to reveal just a touch of inner wrist; competing with a jealous rival for men's solicitude and the money that goes with it. In Memoirs of a Geisha, we enter a world where appearances are paramount; where a girl's virginity is auctioned to the highest bidder; where women are trained to beguile the most powerful men; and where love is scorned as illusion. It is a unique and triumphant work of fiction - at once romantic, erotic, suspenseful - and completely unforgettable.

Mosley, Walter.
MYSTERY MOS
In a Los Angeles bar, "Easy" Rawlins, a black war veteran just fired from his job, wonders how he'll pay his mortgage. DeWitt Albright, a quietly vicious white man, walks in and offers Easy good money if he'll find Daphne Monet.

Mosley, Walter.
MYSTERY MOS
LA's black investigator Easy Rawlins, financially in the hole, must accept $2,000 from the oily white private eye Saul Lynx to track down one Elizabeth Eady, aka Black Betty. From her native Houston to her position as a housekeeper for a wealthy Beverly Hills family Betty's beauty and sensuality have left a trail of chaos. By the author of White Butterfly.

Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616.
822.33 SHA
"Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare, is one of our first two plays in the new Signature Shakespeare series. This unique series features a sleek design with custom-made paper-cut illustrations throughout. Contextualizing essays and timelines by scholar Mario DiGangi, in collaboration with one of the world's foremost Shakespeare authorities, David Scott Kastan of Columbia University, accompany the play"-- Provided by publisher.