In Peoria, kids are back in school. Peoria Public Library manager of collection development Sarah Couri has some suggestions for parents looking to enjoy their newfound time.
"It's hard to believe, but that's where we are, and I figured I'd bring some books that maybe, now that you've got a little more time to yourself, you might be looking for some more reads," Couri said.
One of those suggestions is James, a critically-acclaimed novel from Percival Everett that retells the classic Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from Jim's perspective.
"It's like a whole new journey in a lot of ways. Yeah, he just, he's recast the whole story in a lot of ways. And it's really resonating with people," Couri said.
Couri also recommends Stardust Grail by Yume Kitasei, which she describes as "Indiana Jones in space."
"The stakes are life or death for the characters and for the in-book civilizations, because this is also a story about who owns things. You know, what happens when colonizing happens, who owns the technology, then? Who owns the resources? And what does it mean about that ownership? So it's just, it's a riveting read," she said.
Questlove's Hip Hop is History is also on the book list. The book takes a year-by-year approach to music that impacted not only Questlove, but the genre.
"He really makes everything so accessible. He's speaking about it as a fan and also as an artist," Couri said. "And so you can really kind of just get sucked into that, that perspective, without really needing to know so much. He's a professor, and he is here to teach."
Last but not least is Cue the Sun, a dissection of reality TV from critic Emily Nussbaum.
"They're all on the shelves. They've all come out in just the past few months. They are all available on the shelves at the library," Couri said.
