Hampton Library’s Adult Services Department provides for the educational, recreational, and informational needs of adults of all ages. This is accomplished through our workshops, events and activities, as well as individual assistance and group instruction which assist library patrons in becoming literate users of information. Hampton Library strives to foster an atmosphere of free inquiry and provide information without bias or discrimination.

Non-fiction

Notes from a Young Black Chef, by Kwame Onwuachi

Chef Kwame Onwuachi has seen more and accomplished more than others twice his age. It makes perfect sense, then, that he has published his first memoir at age twenty-nine. His memoir, however, is more than a garden-variety recollection of dates, places, and names. What he really shares is a clear and unrestrained picture of his initiation into adulthood, using the culinary world as his canvas. While we learn about Onwuachi’s successes and celebrate with him in the retelling of them (Culinary Institute of America graduate; Top Chef contestant) his trials are the true teachable moments that lead us to reflection (the enticement of street life during his adolescence; the closing of his first restaurant three months after opening; dealing with the invisibility of people of color in the upscale world of haute cuisine). He holds nothing back, and, in doing so, reminds us – as we so often forget – to transform the disagreeable segments of our lives into experiences that enhance, not weaken, our existence.

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Literary Fiction

Where All Light Tends to Go, by David Joy

David Joy has written two additional novels since the publication of this, his first, in 2015, but if you intend to become a reader of his work – and you will (because he is that good) – you must begin with the title that first brought him literary recognition. Jacob McNeely, like any discontented young man, is looking to escape the hollow life his family has firmly established for him. Being the son of a violent, drug-dealing father makes the effort somewhat difficult. When his father involves Jacob in the murder of one of his suppliers, elements of noir and Southern landscape come together to drag Jacob further into the abyss and create a moving, mournful piece of literature. In a world where most novels are driven either by plot or character, Joy is a writer who lets neither suffer. Read this first, then get started on The Weight of This World.

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Fiction

Fall, by Neal Stephenson

What would happen if, upon your death, all the data your brain contained was uploaded and stored until a time when technology could reboot your consciousness? Dodge Forthrast lives in such a time – or rather, he “lives” in such a time. The place for his digital afterlife has a name, Bitworld, and it’s one where the genres of science fiction and fantasy merge to tell a tale unlike any you’ve read before. Stephenson has fashioned a story suited for our epoch, raising questions concerning technological innovation, digital consciousness, and life after death. The work is quite voluminous, so it’s best read over a period of time in quiet, small spurts – right before bedtime, for example – but travelling to Bitword will be worth every epic paragraph.

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