Books for Black History Month February is Black History Month, and in honor of the contributions of black writers throughout history, stop by Bossard Library to check out a title by a celebrated black author. Below are just a few titles by award -winning authors available at Bossard Library: Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler Butler, the first science fiction writer to receive the MacArthur Foundation “Genius” Grant, was one of the few African-American women writing science fiction during her career. She won nearly every award for science fiction writing, including the Hugo, Locus, and Nebula awards. Parable of the Sower is one of her bestknown novels and is set in a post-apocalyptic world. It was first published in 1993. Between The World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates Coates, who also received a MacArthur “Genius” Grant, is an American journalist, writer, and activist. Between The World and Me is written as a letter to his son in an attempt to answer profound questions about race in America. It won the National Book Award for Nonfiction in 2015 and was a nominee for a Pulitzer Prize. While he is best known for his works of non-fiction, Coates has also written a Black Panther series and a Captain America series for Marvel Comics. Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston Hurston, born in 1891, was at the center of the Harlem Renaissance in 1920s New York City, along with writers Langston Hughes and Wallace Thurman. Their Eyes were Watching God was first published in 1937 and is considered one of the best novels of the 20th century as both a work of African-American literature and women’s literature. The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead Whitehead is an American award-winning novelist. His book The Underground Railroad won both the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize. The Nickel Boys, published in 2019, became his second Pulitzer Prize-winning work. He is one of only four writers in history to win the prize twice. The Nickel Boys was inspired by a Jim Crow-era reform school. Sign up for Pickleball 101 Bossard Library is once again offering Pickleball 101 classes with instructor Randy Christian in February. These free, two-hour sessions will teach beginners how to play Pickleball. The first class will be held at 1 p.m. on Saturday, February 1 for eight participants. If more than eight individuals wish to register for the February 1 class, a second class will be held at 1 p.m. on Saturday, February 8. Registration is required for Pickleball 101 and classes will be held at the First Church of God, 1723 State Route 141, Gallipolis. To register, please call 740.446.7323 x 229 or email lpauley@bossardlibrary.org. Only those who register are permitted to attend the class. Participants will be required to sign a waiver form for Bossard Library. Unable to attend our Pickleball 101 class? Please check out one of these books at the library to learn more about the growing sport of Pickleball: Pickleball for All: Everything But the “Kitchen” Sink by Rachel Simon Pickleball is Life: The Complete Guide to Feeding Your Obsession by Erin McHugh The Complete Book of Pickleball: The Ultimate Training Guide for Passionate Players of All Levels by Kurt Brungardt Pickleball for Beginners by Dennis Hall
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