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Book Recs 2022
BIOGRAPHY
Chuck Berry: An American Life by RJ Smith
The legendary Chuck Berry wove together blues, R&B, rock ‘n’ roll, country music, and even calypso into music never heard before. Examine his life and legacy in this new “definitive biography” from RJ Smith.
Agent Josephine: American Beauty, French Hero, British Spy by Damien Lewis
Lovers of glamor, history, and intrigue will love this biography of Josephine Baker. The St. Louis daughter and international star used theater to mask her espionage in occupied France during World War II, earning her place in the French Panthéon along the way.
CHILDREN’S
Marvelous Mabel: Figure Skating Superstar by Crystal Hubbard
Writer, sports historian, and mother Crystal Hubbard turns her attention on a key figure in ice skating history in Marvelous Mabel. Her book introduces children to Mabel Fairbanks, a groundbreaking Black female figure skater whose influence on the sport is still felt today.
Goodnight Racism by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi
Local artist Cbabi Bayoc lent his artistic skill to this children's story that "gives children the language to dream of a better world" from Antiracist Baby author Dr. Ibram X. Kendi.
Millie the Magical Stone Skipper by Olivia Polk
A friendly frog helps Millie learn about skipping stones—and the art of perserverance—in this charming story from Olivia Polk with illustrations by Vanya Liang.
COOKBOOK
What's for Dessert: Simple Recipes for Dessert People: A Baking Book by Claire Saffitz
Former St. Louisan, Clayton High School grad, and boulangére extraordinaire Claire Saffitz, is back with a follow-up to her beloved first cookbook, Dessert Person. Find 100 of Saffitz's decadent recipes inside, including molten lava cakes, chestnut brownies, caramel peanut popcorn bars.
FICTION
Sparring Partners: Novellas by John Grisham
The bestselling author of legal thrillers turns his attention to St. Louis in the title novella from this three-story collection. In it, a once-prosperous law firm hangs in the balance for two warring brothers and the one lawyer they both trust.
The former book editor of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch tells the story of love and redemption in the friendship among enslaved young men desperate to survive and thrive.
HISTORY
The first full account of the Truman presidency in nearly three decades, The Trials of Harry S. Truman takes an in-depth look at the only Missouri-born president's time in the White House and the lasting impacts of the decisions made there.
MEMOIR
Shmuel’s Bridge: Following the Tracks to Auschwitz with My Survivor Father by Jason Sommer
An award-winning poet tells of his complicated relationship with his father as they travel together to Eastern Europe, where his father escaped a Nazi labor camp and his father’s brother was murdered on a bridge after escaping the train to Auschwitz.
Brace for Impact by Gabe Montesanti
A St. Louis transplant finds home, acceptance, and joy in the local roller derby community in this much-celebrated memoir from WashU alum and Arch Rival Roller Derby skater Gabe Monstesanti.
Cori Bush, Missouri's first Black congresswoman and U.S. Representative for Missouri's 1st congressional district, tells the unvarnished story of her journey to Capitol Hill in her first memoir.
Get Up, Baby! My Seven Decades with the St. Louis Cardinals by Mike Shannon with Rick Hummel
A Cardinals legend both on the field and in the broadcast booth, Mike Shannon has been a mainstay for generations of local baseball fans. In this memoir, Shannon takes a look back at his stories career with some help from St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist Rick Hummel.
MYSTERY
The Piper Jewell Diaries by Laine Boyd
The Piper Jewell mysteries from local author Laine Boyd are for readers who love to curl up for a cozy mystery. The trifecta of novels—Diamond in the Rough, Emerald Green Envy, and Pearl Most Precious—following a scrappy female protagonist are full of suspense, romance, and humor.
NONFICTION
Little Brother: Love, Tragedy, and My Search for Truth by Ben Westhoff
Westhoff's investigation of the life and death of mentee Jorell Cleveland is at times both heartwarming and heartbreaking. The journalist unravels Cleveland's life in North St. Louis and who may have ended it in the summer of 2016 in this deeply personal true-crime story.
Bosnian St. Louis: Between Two Words by Patrick McCarthy and Akif Cogo
When Bosnia and Herzegovina were ravaged by war and genocide in the early 1990s, thousands of refugees made their way to the St. Louis area. Today, their community numbers more than 60,000, and our city is home to more Bosnians than anywhere else in the world outside of Bosnia. This book from the Missouri Historical Society press is an account of the past, present, and future of a community that has transformed St. Louis.
POETRY
All the Flowers Kneeling by Paul Tran
Tran earned their MFA in poetry from Washington University in St. Louis, where they were a chancellor's graduate fellow and senior poetry fellow. Their debut poetry collection, All the Flowers Kneeling, is a powerful, sensitive offering that has been named a "Best Book of 2022" by The New Yorker.
A Boy in the City by S. Yarberry
Trans poet and writer S. Yarberry, who also earned their MFA in poetry at WashU, released their debut collection, A Boy in the City, this past summer. Freedom and joy echo throughout the work, which pulls from literary traditions and myth as it winds its way through Yarberry's city.
YOUNG ADULT
Sir Callie and the Champions of Helston by Esme Symes-Smith
Symes-Smith's much buzzed-about new fantasy novel follows Callie, a nonbinary tween who longs to be a knight, and their friends as they learn how to be heroes among the rigid rules of a magical, medieval world.
St. Louis-born author Rachel Look wrote Eyes on Me in her limited free time while studying to be a teacher. The novel follows Maeve, who seems destined to live without love, as she navigates a journey of self-discovery.
