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Lists

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  Holiday Cookbooks
  

  Our curated collection of holiday cookbooks offers a delightful array of culinary inspirations, allowing you to create mouthwatering dishes, sweet treats, and unforgettable feasts that will leave a lasting impression on your festive gatherings.

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  2023 Holiday
  

  Join us in celebrating this special time of year by exploring our library catalog's holiday collection. This list features books, DVDs, music, and more that capture the essence of the holidays for all ages.

Reviews

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  Ethnic renewal in Philadelphia's Chinatown :… by Wilson, Kathryn E.

  ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

  Kathryn Wilson's 2015 study is one of the only full length, academic studies of Philadelphia's Chinatown available in paperback. It is an essential companion to anyone seeking to understand the neighborhood's rich history and tradition of resistance. As Chinatown once again finds itself at the center of a debate over downtown development, Ethnic Renewal is likely to become an important and sought-after resource for those seeking to understand how one of Philadelphia's most iconic neighborhoods became what it is today, how its people managed to adapt to changing circumstances by mobilizing unique community institutions, and how in spite of the renewed threats Chinatown faces today, it continues to thrive, defying the expectations of those who doubt its worth and potential.

  Reviewed by Dan D on Nov 29, 2023

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  Coming to America by Eddie Murphy David Sheffield and Barry W Blaustein

  ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

  Hilarious film starring Eddy Murphy as "Prince Akeem"; a lost in new york wealthy man escaping an arranged marraige. Eddie Murphy is also is the creator of the story. Co-authored by Eddie Murphy David Sheffield and Barry W. Blaustein. Directed by John Landis. #comedy

  Reviewed by Ellen C on Nov 29, 2023

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  Big hero 6 by Roberts, Baird, and Gerson

  ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

  If you are looking for an all ages film based on a comic book the characters and robots of Big Hero Six will win your heart. Everything from the science, to the script, to the emotional scenes are well illustrated/animated. Part of the fictional cityscape seems to be based directly off SanFrancisco and Alcatraz Island. #superhero #juvenile #animation
   

  Reviewed by Ellen C on Nov 29, 2023

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  Stephen Girard : America's first tycoon by Wilson, George,

  ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

  George Wilson's Stephen Girard: The Life and Times of America's First Tycoon is probably the Free Library's best print resource for a comprehensive overview of the life and legacy of Stephen Girard. Girard's name is ubiquitous in Philadelphia, but despite his impact common knowledge of his role in history is surprisingly scarce, even locally. Of course, the institutions and locations which bear Girard's name would be in many ways unrecognizable to him today, so it makes sense that his legacy is not apparent in everyday city life.

  Wilson's account of Girard's life in Philadelphia more than 200 years ago provided me with the missing link that I needed to bridge my understanding between the City of Philadelphia's early past and some of its oldest still-standing institutions. Wilson does a good job situating Girard's life within the broader historical context of early America in a way which captures the dynamic mood among the propertied elite of the early republic - a milleu in which Girard was an influential force. Though times have changed and Girard is hardly a relatable figure to modern sensibilities, Wilson writes in a way that makes the reader appreciate Stephen Girard's exceptional talent and eccentric, reclusive, dynamic nature. As a man who came from relative obscurity and rose to hold many of the strings of Trans-Atlantic commerce and finance in his hands while bankrolling a republican turn in the Americas in the years before democratic pressure from the new propertied classes would rock the aristocracies of Europe, Girard embodies the dynamism and political influence of the late 18th and early 19th century bourgeiosie. He is worth learning about for that reason alone.

  Most interesting to me however was the way that Girard's legacy would go on to shape Philadelphia in ways he could not have imagined. Life and his own legacy have moved on without Stephen Girard the man, from the property still owned by his estate on 11th St from Market to Chestnut which turned out to be one of the best real estate investments of the 20th century, to Girard College, a boarding school which fought bitterly against racial integration in the name of Girard's will, but is now more or less a part of the fabric of North Philly, complete with a mural of its once-adversary Cecil B. Moore on its northern wall.

  For all its detail and fascinating prose, this is ultimately a favorable biography of someone who history has recognized as a classic Great Man, with a great deal of personal influence on Early America and Philadelphia up to the present day. It shys away from any controversy or speculation about the two most contested parts of his personal life: his direct and indirect ownership of enslaved people and his incarceration of his wife, Mary Lum Girard, in the asylum at Pennsylvania Hospital. Wilson takes a no-conjecture approach on these issues and refuses to lay out a range of possibilities for Girard's attitudes and behavior based on the historical context that surrounded him, instead preferring to assume that Girard did not do or think anything for which there is no direct historical evidence. This is not entirely Wilson's Fault: Girard's papers are held by his estate and by Girard College, who have long used their powers as private institutions to gatekeep access to Girard's legacy. Wilson would not have been able to write such a well sourced, thorough biography if he were hoping to write a scathing critique of Girard's life, and unwilling to play ball with the Girard Estate. Nonetheless, The presumption of innocence with which Wilson presents the more controversial aspects of Girard's legacy is the book's greatest weakness, and will strike a well-informed reader steeped in the historical context of the times Girard lived in as naive.

  Reviewed by Dan D on Nov 29, 2023

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  Saturnalia : a novel by Feldman, Stephanie,

  ☆☆☆☆☆

  A deep, dark Philadelphia with secret societies, alchemy and ghosts of the past. I wish it was longer - it felt a bit rushed and I wish I had been given more time to understand the world, what was happening, and Nina's relationship to it all. 

  Reviewed by Rosario S on Nov 8, 2023

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  A ph? love story by Le, Loan,

  ☆☆☆☆☆

  A sweet and savory Romeo and Juliet kind of love-story set in a Little Saigon in OC, California. This YA deals with parental expectation, the trauma that carries on generationally due to war, and how young people can reclaim their narratives despite it. 

  Reviewed by Rosario S on Nov 8, 2023

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