Snowfall in Twin Falls City Park (early 1900s). Photo #PC2330, TFPL
The kids in this part of southern Idaho may be disappointed that they haven’t had a snow day, and I venture to say that there are a few adults who feel the same way. While I’m perfectly happy not to have to shovel any of it, I wish we had just a little bit more of the white stuff. Maybe if we all focus on it, we’ll convince the weather fairies to send some our way. Try one of these books to help:
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FICTION:
The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber
- Yearning to escape her life of prostitution in 1870s London, Sugar finds her fate entangled in the complicated family life of patron William, an egotistical perfume magnate.
Death Wore White by Jim Kelly
- At 5.15 p.m. Harvey Ellis was trapped–stranded in a line of eight cars by a blizzard on a Norfolk coast road. At 8.15 p.m. Harvey Ellis was dead; viciously stabbed at the wheel of his truck. His killer has achieved the impossible: striking without being seen, and without leaving a single footprint in the snow.
Girls in White Dresses by Jennifer Close
- Attending an endless series of bridal showers for their friend Kristi, three bridesmaids struggle with private challenges, including Isabella’s unhappiness at a job where she is nevertheless very successful, Mary’s relationship with a man who prioritizes his mother, and Lauren’s attraction to a man she despises.
To Dance with the White Dog by Terry Kay
- Struggling to deal with grief for his late wife, Sam Peck, an old man, is consoled by a mysterious white dog that appears after her death.
White Cargo by Stuart Woods
- Devastated by the killing of his family in a savage attack by Latin American pirates, “Cat” Catledge receives a late night call that convinces him that his daughter is alive and embarks on a perilous quest to rescue her.
White Crosses by Lawrence Watson
- When the married principal of the local elementary school and a recent high-school graduate turn up dead in a car crash, Sheriff Jack Nevelsen tries to protect the town of Bentrock from the truth about why the two had been in the car together.
White Fang by Jack London
- The adventures in the northern wilderness of a dog who is part wolf and how he comes to make his peace with man.
White Teeth by Zadie Smith
- Set in post-war London, this novel of the racial, political, and social upheaval of the last half-century follows two families–the Joneses and the Iqbals, both outsiders from within the former British empire–as they make their way in modern England.
White Tiger by Aravind Adiga
- When he relocates to New Delhi to take a new job, Balram Halwai is disillusioned by the city’s materialism and technology-spawned violence, a circumstance that forces him to question his loyalties, ambitions, and past.
The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
- The mysterious appearance of a woman dressed in all white leads to the discovery of a complicated plot involving a stolen inheritance.
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NONFICTION:
American Swastika: Inside the White Power Movement’s Hidden Spaces of Hate by Pete Simi
- Takes readers through hidden enclaves of hate in America, exploring how White Supremacy movements thrive nationwide, even in a nation that preaches equality and tolerance, and looks toward how we can work to prevent future violence.
Cocaine Nation: How the White Trade Took Over the World by Tom Feiling*
- The author investigates the global cocaine trade, explores how the cocaine business got so big, and argues that the U.S.’s anti-drugs crusade is actually increasing demand.
The Great White Bear: A Natural and Unnatural History of the Polar Bear by Kieran Mulvaney
- Presents an introduction to polar bears, describing the species’ contradictions and resiliency and the factors that threaten its survival, from hunting to environmental losses.
It’s Our Day: America’s Love Affair With the White Wedding, 1945-2005 by Katherine Jellison*
- Gives a comprehensive cultural history of American weddings since World War II, examining the development of precise and expensive standards for celebrating weddings and the staying power of this phenomenon in the face of enormous social, political, and economic upheaval.
Men of Salt: Crossing the Sahara on the Caravan of White Gold by Michael Benanav
- Provides a narrative of the Islamic culture’s centuries-old trek between Timbuktu and the notorious salt mines of Taoudenni, describing how camel drivers march for eighteen hours per day in sandstorms and searing heat.
My First Ladies: Thirty Years as the White House’s Chief Floral Designer by Nancy Clarke
- The author describes her life and her work as the chief floral designer at the White House.
Walter White: The Dilemma of Black America by Thomas Dyja
- A portrait of the influential secretary of the NAACP explores his dedication to advancing civil rights in America, tracing his role in ending lynching, creating the legal strategy that led to Brown v. Board of Education, and hosting a premier salon for the Harlem Renaissance.
The White Death: A History of Tuberculosis by Thomas Dormandy*
- An account of the search for a cure is complemented by a description of its complex natural history and by portraits of individual sufferers, including writers, artists, and musicians, whose lives and work were shaped (and often tragically curtailed) by the disease.
White Egrets: Poems by Derek Walcott
- In this work, the poet treats the characteristic subjects of his career, the Caribbean’s complex colonial legacy, his love of the Western literary tradition, the wisdom that comes through the passing of time, the always strange joys of new love, and the sometimes terrifying beauty of the natural world, with an intensity and drive that recall his greatest work
White Heat: The Friendship of Emily Dickinson and Thomas Wentworth Higginson by Brenda Wineapple
- The first book to portray one of the most remarkable friendships in American letters, that of Emily Dickinson–recluse, poet–and Thomas Wentworth Higginson, minister, literary figure, active abolitionist.
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Annotations are courtesy of NoveList Plus, except for entries with an *, which are adapted from the publisher. Find reviews, author information, and more on NoveList Plus via the EBSCOHost interface.
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