Jessup Journal

After a winter that basically did its own thing from start to finish, it's springtime -- which, knowing Virginia, is probably going to do its own thing as well. But springtime means spring cleaning -- and if you're daunted by the task of introducing order to material chaos, it's time to check out a book on the life-changing magic of tidying up. Marie Kondo is a master of mindful decluttering, walking readers through the art of using introspection to help make decisions about what to keep and throw away. Check out both of her master-class-in-a-book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up and Spark Joy . And in Never Too Busy to Cure Clutter , Erin Rooney Doland takes readers from the entryway to the storage closet with a daily devotional of small tasks that can be completed in everything from fifteen minutes to thirty seconds. Find these books and more like them in our circulating collection.

Feeling a little stabby? The Ides of March is upon us. But the Roman Empire wasn't all assassinations and theatrical Latin phrases. Begin your foray into antiquity with The Roman Empire: A Very Short Introduction by Christopher Kelly. Follow it with SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome by Mary Beard, which explores the development of Rome from a small village to a civilization that still effects us today, and Dynasty: The Rise and Fall of the House of Caesar  by Tom Holland, which follows the exploits of the Julio-Claudian dynasty that includes autocrats, generals, schemers, and one fiddle-playing emperor. Find these books and more in the Jessup Library stacks.

One hundred and ten years and one week after the first International Women's Day (IWD) was held on February 28, 1909 in New York, we're celebrating IWD here at Jessup Library. Check out books that recognize the achievements of women worldwide. In Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History , historian Laurel Ulrich tells the stories of women who weren't trying to make history, but did. Herstory: Women who Changed the World by Ruth Ashby and Deborah Gore Ohrn explores the lives of 120 women whose achievements helped shape the world. The Feminist Revolution: The Struggle for Women's Liberation  by Bonnie J. Morris and D-M Withers examines the struggle of sisterhood in politics, civil rights, media and literature, the workplace, and other spaces. Be sure to browse our Women's History Month displays throughout the library as well!

Spring break is finally upon us! You've worked hard this semester, and it's time for a much needed respite from classes and coursework. Treat yo'self to some pleasure reading with the following suggestions: Memoirs are the intersection of life and literature, and we've got plenty of them. Kiese Laymon of How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America- fame returns with Heavy , in which he confronts the legacy of secrets and lies that shaped his upbringing. Heartland: A memoir of working hard and being broke in the richest country on Earth by Sarah Smarsh examines the harsh realities of the rural working poor in a tradition that echoes Educated and Hillbilly Elegy . Michelle Obama whisks readers from her Chicago girlhood to the halls of Princeton and, eventually, to the White House in her candid account, Becoming . Celebrate Women's History Month with books by and/or about women. Ninth Street Women: Lee Krasner, Elaine de Kooning, Grace Hartigan, Joan Mitchel

In the summer of 1936, when he was 22 years old, Ralph Ellison went to New York with a plan: to earn enough money to fund his senior year at Tuskegee Institute, where he was majoring in music and expected to become a professional musician. But then he met the writer Richard Wright and the plan, as they say, went bust. Sixteen years later, Ellison published Invisible Man , a tour de force that went on to become a hallmark of American literature. The rest is history. March 1 is Ellison's birthday -- and had a chance friendship not changed the trajectory of Ellison's career goals, who knows what we might have know him for? Check out Invisible Man , as well as Ellison's other long, ultimately unfinished work of fiction, Juneteenth , or his collected essays in our circulating collection.