New Releases to Bring into the New Year!
Happy New Year!
✨
Happy New Year! ✨
Written By: Shayne (Bookseller)
Butts: A Backstory by Heather Radke
Do you have booty on the brain? Are you deliberating the derriere? Thinking about tush? Considering cheeks? Got that money maker on the mind? Well, have I got a book for you, you weirdo.
Believe it or not, human butts are unique to us. Far from being just a bit of fat that might attract mates (depending, of course, on your preference), some researchers believe that the posterior was a critical element in human evolution. And no, I’m not making you the butt of a joke.
The gluteus maximus is, after all, the largest muscle in the human body. Scientists infer that this thick muscle allowed early humans to “climb, throw, lift, and squat.” Outrunning predators and moving quickly was imperative during this time, and our rumps assisted with this as well.
Heather Radke interviews scientists, examines popular culture and explains historical fashion in order to help us better understand our gluteus maximus(es. Maximi?).
Begin your new year at the end—the rear end. This book tracks the evolution of humanity’s perception of butts, from the Victorian bustle to Sir Mix-a-Lot’s “Baby Got Back.” Whether you’re interested in fitness trends or twerking, this read will certainly capture your interest.
Butts: A Backstory is available in-store!
Dragon Noodle Party: A Story of Chinese Zodiac Animals by Ying Chang Compestine; illustrated by Paula Pang
Dragon Noodle Party is a cute and informative book that features the twelve animals that make up the Chinese Zodiac. Each animal gathers one of the ingredients for Dragon Beard Noodles, a traditional dish that is used to celebrate birthdays, and make them together.
Indigo Bridge was founded in 2008, which means we were “born” in the year of the rat. According to the adorable Zodiac list in the back of the book, we’re quick, clever, charming and funny.
If you feel a burning desire to celebrate Chinese New Year with a delicious meal, then flip to the back pages of the book to find Pang’s own recipe for Dragon Beard Noodles. The recipe doesn’t require anything that you wouldn’t be able to find at a local grocery store and offers a few easy substitutions (for example, the option to use thin spaghetti noodles instead of Dragon Beards).
Dragon Noodle Party is also available in-store!
Beaverland: How One Weird Rodent Made America by Leila Philip
If you’re more inclined to read about natural history, then this novel is for you. Beavers were incredibly influential to the early colonists’ expansion and laid the foundation of the American economy. Several Native American peoples hunted beavers, eating their meat and using their fur. An Abenaki story about the Great Beaver, or Ktsi Amiskw, shows how influential the beaver was to Indigenous peoples during that time.
Through several conversations with both a Harvard scientist from the Blackfeet Reservation in Montana and so-called beaver whisperers, Leila Philip goes on to explain how the lucrative fur trade led to beavers’ being overhunted to the point of near-extinction—and how (primarily Native American) activists are bringing them back.
Beaverland is also available in-store!
Photo credit: Jon Hicks/Stone, via Bridgeman Images. Cover design by Ella Laytham
