Books by Barnard Authors

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Nonfiction 

Learning in Public: Lessons for a Racially Divided America From My Daughter’s School by Courtney E. Martin ’02

Martin, who is white, documents what happens when she decides to enroll her daughter in a majority BIPOC neighborhood elementary school in a gentrifying community. In the process, her education choices for her daughter instigate necessary conversations and scrutiny of how disparities persist in racially integrated areas.

A Buddhist Sensibility: Aesthetic Education at Tibet’s Mindröling Monastery by Dominique Townsend ’99

Author and poet Townsend demonstrates the impact that 17th-century Buddhist monastery Mindröling had on Tibetan culture and tradition. Detailing the holistic and deliberate lifestyle adopted by those who lived and studied there, the book draws on a variety of sources to paint a picture of a thriving intellectual community. 

Firepower: How the NRA Turned Gun Owners Into a Political Force by Matthew J. Lacombe, Assistant Professor of Political Science

Tracking how and why stricter gun regulations have eluded American lawmakers for decades, Lacombe unpacks how the National Rifle Association has managed to galvanize its members into one of the nation’s most powerful lobbying organizations. He shows readers how the coalition between the NRA’s base of engaged supporters and the Republican Party built the organization into a political force that helped to usher in the Trump era.

No. 91/92 by Lauren Elkin ’00

Elkin’s latest book, No. 91/92: A Diary of a Year on the Bus, chronicles living and traveling in Paris amid a series of newsworthy events, like the Charlie Hebdo attacks, and personal crises. Elkin weaves together these experiences with her ruminations on Parisian history to present an insightful exploration of the everyday in a bustling city. 

Miami Cooks by Sara Liss ’02 

An accomplished food writer, Liss turns her passion and expertise toward the culinary world of Miami and the rich collection of stories behind some of the city’s favorite foods. Miami Cooks offers both recipes and a detailed handbook on the inventive, cultural history of the city’s cuisine. 

Pussypedia by Zoe Mendelson ’12

Pussypedia is Mendelson’s extensively researched and reviewed guidebook to understanding reproductive health and sexuality. Developed from the author’s popular website, Pussypedia.net, this carefully curated collection features personal stories and informative prose that empowers and encourages readers.

The Big Hurt by Erika Schickel ’87 

Exploring her explosive past to make sense of her present, Schickel catches everyone up on what has happened in her life since being expelled from high school for sleeping with a teacher. The memoir takes an observational and humorous look at how her adult life has unfolded in the wake of a tumultuous creative practice, dysfunctional family dynamics, and 1970s attitudes toward young women. 

The Pucci of Florence: Patronage and Politics in Renaissance Italy by Carla D’Arista ’78

D’Arista demonstrates how the Renaissance-era Pucci family secured their legacy as formidable political players and wealthy patrons of the arts through key alliances in Florence. The book examines how the family’s extensive art and architecture collections were impacted by larger strategic alliances and geopolitical fallout.

Children’s and Young Adult Books

Beep Beep Bubbie by Bonnie Sherr Klein ’61 

In Klein’s new illustrated book for children, Kate and little brother Nate adapt to the idea of their grandmother, Bubbie, using a scooter to get around during a shopping trip to Vancouver’s Granville Island. 

Almost Flying by Jake Maia Arlow ’19 

In this story of summer adventure and queer self-discovery, written for a middle grade audience, Dalia struggles to navigate relationships with a new stepsister, Alexa, and her girlfriend, as well as the burgeoning knowledge that she has feelings for Rani, the new girl on her swim team. These dynamics play out amid a summer vacation amusement park road trip.

Foretold by Violet Lumani ’02 

In the first installment of her young adult trilogy, Lumani tells the story of Cassandra, a student whose powerful and ominous visions of the future keep her constantly anxious in her everyday life. But when troubled with visions of her neighbor Colin, she involves herself in the underground practice of mystics and augury in order to thwart fate and save her friend’s life. 

We Love Fishing by Ariel Bernstein ’99

Bernstein’s new children’s book follows a group of lively animal friends as they go fishing out in the wild and run into all kinds of exciting adventures. Bear, Otter, Porcupine, and Squirrel embark on a fishing trip and deepen their bonds of friendship along the way.

Fiction

Mapping Eden by Carol Japha ’66 

As 6-year-old Julia’s mother slowly succumbs to a fatal illness, she must redefine and restructure her young life around a world without her beloved parent in it. Japha explores how deep a parent-child relationship runs and the painful consequences of its loss to the identity and security of a young child.

Poetry 

Haikus for New York City by Peter Goldmark Jr., with illustrations by Sandra Goldmark, Associate Professor of Professional Practice in Theatre

In this collection of poems and illustrations resulting from a father-daughter collaboration, longtime New Yorkers lyrically and visually reflect on the unexpected moments of oddities, turmoil, and peace in a city reckoning with its identity during the coronavirus pandemic.