“A word after a word after a word is power.” – Margaret Atwood

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FICTION

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The Office of Historical Corrections: A Novella and Stories by  Danielle Evans ★

Danielle Evans is widely acclaimed for her blisteringly smart voice and x-ray insights into complex human relationships. With The Office of Historical Corrections, Evans zooms in on particular moments and relationships in her characters’ lives in a way that allows them to speak to larger issues of race, culture, and history. She introduces us to Black and multiracial characters who are experiencing the universal confusions of lust and love, and getting walloped by grief—all while exploring how history haunts us, personally and collectively. Ultimately, she provokes us to think about the truths of American history—about who gets to tell them, and the cost of setting the record straight. In “Boys Go to Jupiter,” a white college student tries to reinvent herself after a photo of her in a Confederate-flag bikini goes viral. In “Richard of York Gave Battle in Vain,” a photojournalist is forced to confront her own losses while attending an old friend’s unexpectedly dramatic wedding. And in the eye-opening title novella, a black scholar from Washington, DC, is drawn into a complex historical mystery that spans generations and puts her job, her love life, and her oldest friendship at risk. Description from Goodreads. “If the week of November 3 leaves you gasping for something a little more palatable than say, a media circus over the next leader of the free world, luckily Danielle Evans’s exceptionally wise new story collection will be on its way to your mailbox, ready to remind you that there are still some Good Things out there. Every story in The Office of Historical Collections is on point… but the ancestral thriller novella that spawned its title is completely transformative.” – Vulture “Evans’s storytelling shines… her characters are sharp, with terrific depth, and her prose is a pleasure to read. It’s a strong, acerbic follow-up to her prizewinning 2010 release.” – Washington Post “Really shows Evans’ capabilities… It’s the most astonishing thing I’ve read this fall.” – BuzzFeed “The eponymous novella that closes the book is a stunner… storytelling [is] gripping on every level. Necessary narratives, brilliantly crafted.” – Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW

Available Formats:

Print Book

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Cobble Hill by  Cecily von Ziegesar ★

Welcome to Cobble Hill. In this eclectic Brooklyn neighborhood, private storms brew amongst four married couples and their children. There’s ex-groupie Mandy, so underwhelmed by motherhood and her current physical state that she fakes a debilitating disease to get the attention of her skateboarding, ex-boyband member husband Stuart. There’s the unconventional new school nurse, Peaches, on whom Stuart has an unrequited crush, and her disappointing husband Greg, who wears noise-cancelling headphones—everywhere. A few blocks away, Roy, a well-known, newly transplanted British novelist, has lost the thread of his next novel and his marriage to capable, indefatigable Wendy. Around the corner, Tupper, the nervous, introverted industrial designer with a warehouse full of prosthetic limbs struggles to pin down his elusive artist wife Elizabeth. She remains… elusive. Throw in two hormonal teenagers, a 10-year-old pyromaniac, a drug dealer pretending to be a doctor, and a lot of hidden cameras, and you’ve got a combustible mix of egos, desires, and secrets bubbling in brownstone Brooklyn. Smart, sophisticated, yet surprisingly tender, Cobble Hill is highly entertaining portrait of contemporary family life and the colorful characters who call Brooklyn home. Description from Goodreads. “Surprisingly tender… breezy, witty and compulsively fun to read… full of laughable moments… [a] diverting escape that will make readers long for the human connection of a tight-knit neighborhood.” – Kirkus Reviews “Von Ziegesar’s quirky novel of lovable misfits will appeal to fans of Tom Perrotta.” – Publishers Weekly “Thoughtfully observed and frequently funny… Readers of ensemble fiction by Emma Straub and Amy Poeppel—as well as grown-up fans of Gossip Girl—will enjoy this inside look at the lifestyles of the creative class.” – Booklist “…a fast-paced, funny tale of the sometimes confusing but often entertaining ways neighbors relate to one another.” – BookPage

Available Formats:

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One Night Two Souls Went Walking by  Ellen Cooney

A young interfaith chaplain is joined on her hospital rounds one night by an unusual companion: a rough-and-tumble dog who may or may not be a ghost. As she tends to the souls of her patients–young and old, living last moments or navigating fundamentally altered lives–their stories provide unexpected healing for her own heartbreak. Balancing wonder and mystery with pragmatism and humor, Ellen Cooney (A Mountaintop School for Dogs and Other Second Chances) returns to Coffee House Press with a generous, intelligent novel that grants the most challenging moments of the human experience a shimmer of light and magical possibility. “Cooney does a remarkable job structuring a novel of vignettes and stories within stories into a cohesive whole. Equally remarkable is her portrait of the chaplain as a personification of the potential for human goodness… The perfect novel to combat pandemic angst.” – Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW “In Ellen Cooney’s thoughtful, beautiful novel One Night Two Souls Went Walking, the traumas of a hospital’s patients become a way to think about the concept of souls… [T]heir experiences, coupled with the chaplain’s memories, result in a cohesive, thought-provoking story that reveals rare moments of light and connection, making One Night Two Souls Went Walking a meaningful novel that centers on hope and peace, even in the face of profound struggles.” – Foreword Reviews “Many novels aim for the soul or search for the meaning of life, but Ellen Cooney’s poetic 10th novel gets to the heart of the matter with more informal candor and wit than most… Cooney’s novel expands the concept of what’s possible, imagining hope where there is none and pointing always toward the light.” – BookPage, STARRED REVIEW

Available Formats:

Hoopla eBook

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Agatha Arch is Afraid of Everything by  Kristin Bair

Agatha Arch’s life shatters when she discovers her husband in their backyard shed, in flagrante delicto, giving the local dog walker some heavy petting. Suddenly, Agatha finds herself face to face with everything that frightens her… and that’s a loooooong list. Agatha keeps those she loves close. Everyone else, she keeps as far away as possible. So she’s a mystery to nearly everyone in her New England town. To her husband, she’s a saucy, no-B.S. writer. To her Facebook Moms group, she’s a provocateur. To her neighbor, she’s a standoffish pain in the butt. To her sons, she’s chocolate pudding with marshmallows. And to her shrink, she’s a bundle of nerves on the brink of a cataclysmic implosion. Defying her abundant assortment of anxieties, Agatha dons her “spy pants”–a pair of khakis whose many pockets she crams with binoculars, fishing line, scissors, flashlight, a Leatherman Super Tool 300 EOD, candy, and other espionage essentials–and sets out to spy on her husband and the dog walker. Along the way, she finds another intriguing target to follow: a mysterious young woman who’s panhandling on the busiest street in town. It’s all a bit much for timorous Agatha. But with the help of her Bear Grylls bobblehead, a trio of goats, and a dog named Balderdash, Agatha may just find the courage to build a better life. Description from Goodreads. “Fans of Where’d You Go, Bernadette and Elinor Oliphant Is Fine will love this clever romp.” – Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW “Readers of Laurie Gelman and Abbi Waxman who enjoy irreverent moms… will enjoy the ride.” – Booklist

Available Formats:

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MYSTERY

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Moonflower Murders by  Anthony Horowitz ★

Retired publisher Susan Ryeland is living the good life. She is running a small hotel on a Greek island with her long-term boyfriend Andreas. It should be everything she’s always wanted. But is it? She’s exhausted with the responsibilities of making everything work on an island where nothing ever does, and truth be told she’s beginning to miss London. And then the Trehearnes come to stay. The strange and mysterious story they tell, about an unfortunate murder that took place on the same day and in the same hotel in which their daughter was married—a picturesque inn on the Suffolk coast named Farlingaye Halle—fascinates Susan and piques her editor’s instincts. One of her former writers, the late Alan Conway, author of the fictional Magpie Murders, knew the murder victim—an advertising executive named Frank Parris—and once visited Farlingaye Hall. Conway based the third book in his detective series, Atticus Pund Takes the Cake, on that very crime. The Trehearne’s, daughter, Cecily, read Conway’s mystery and believed the book proves that the man convicted of Parris’s murder—a Romanian immigrant who was the hotel’s handyman—is innocent. When the Trehearnes reveal that Cecily is now missing, Susan knows that she must return to England and find out what really happened. Brilliantly clever, relentlessly suspenseful, full of twists that will keep readers guessing with each revelation and clue, Moonflower Murders is a deviously dark take on vintage English crime fiction from one of its greatest masterminds, Anthony Horowitz. Description from Goodreads. “A mind-bending mystery to tie readers in knots.” – BBC “Except for Jeffrey Deaver and Sophie Hannah, no one currently working the field has anywhere near this much ingenuity to burn.” – Kirkus Reviews “…masterly… Horowitz, who matches a baffling puzzle with a sympathetic, flawed lead, has never been better at surprising the reader and playing fair. This is a flawless update of classic golden age whodunits.” – Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW “Witty and consummately clever, like Magpie Murders, Moonflower Murders plays with allusions and references to murder-mystery masterpieces, especially from the likes of Agatha Christie, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Stephen King and Ian Fleming, not to mention Charles Dickens, his favorite author. Add a love of word games, especially anagrams and code, and knowledge of history as well as current events, and then watch Horowitz structure his signature achievement — the nested narrative, embedding one book inside another. A double Whodunnit, with solutions dependent on seeing the relationship between both works.” – NPR

Available Formats:

Print Book | Audiobook | Playaway | eBook | eAudiobook

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The Law of Innocence by  Michael Connelly

Defense attorney Mickey Haller is pulled over by police, who find the body of a client in the trunk of his Lincoln. Haller is charged with murder and can’t make the exorbitant $5 million bail slapped on him by a vindictive judge. Mickey elects to defend himself and must strategize and build his defense from his jail cell in the Twin Towers Correctional Center in downtown Los Angeles, all the while looking over his shoulder–as an officer of the court he is an instant target. Mickey knows he’s been framed. Now, with the help of his trusted team, he has to figure out who has plotted to destroy his life and why. Then he has to go before a judge and jury and prove his innocence. In his highest stakes case yet, Mickey Haller fights for his life and shows why he is “a worthy colleague of Atticus Finch… in the front of the pack in the legal thriller game” (Los Angeles Times). Description from Goodreads. “Michael Connelly brilliantly captures the desperation of a lawyer-turned-defendant… showing a canny legal mind working furiously to hit on the right legal play, calibrates the suspense to an unbearable, read-in-one-sitting level.” – Amazon Book Review “This is a supremely intelligent, well-paced courtroom thriller by a modern master.” – Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW “…stellar… Intelligently plotted, The Law of Innocence again proves Connelly is a master storyteller.” – South Florida Sun Sentinel

Available Formats:

Print Book | Audiobook | eBook | eAudiobook

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The Kingdom by  Jo Nesbø

Roy has never left the quiet mountain town he grew up in, unlike his little brother Carl who couldn’t wait to get out and escape his troubled past. Just like everyone else in town, Roy believed Carl was gone for good. But Carl has big plans for his hometown. And when he returns with a mysterious new wife and a business opportunity that seems too good to be true, simmering tensions begin to surface and unexplained deaths in the town’s past come under new scrutiny. Soon powerful players set their sights on taking the brothers down by exposing their role in the town’s sordid history. But Roy and Carl are survivors, and no strangers to violence. Roy has always protected his younger brother. As the body count rises, though, Roy’s loyalty to family is tested. And then Roy finds himself inextricably drawn to Carl’s wife, Shannon, an attraction that will have devastating consequences. Roy’s world is coming apart and soon there will be no turning back. He’ll be forced to choose between his own flesh and blood and a future he had never dared to believe possible. Description from Goodreads. “The Kingdom is a complex and simmering standalone novel from the author of the popular Harry Hole detective series, and it dives deeply into the psyches of its characters. Twisty, violent, gripping, and very disturbing.” – BuzzFeed “Captivating… Guaranteed to be in high demand. As the story unfolds, it builds in dread and depravity. The small-town atmosphere resembles a Peyton Place as envisioned in an unlikely collaboration between Raymond Chandler and Henrik Ibsen. The complex characters and twisting plot will keep readers turning the pages and eager to discuss.” – Library Journal “Nesbø peels away the secrets surrounding Carl’s project, his backstory, and his connections to his old neighbors so methodically that most readers, like frogs in a gradually warming pan of water, will take quite a while to realize just how extensive, wholesale, and disturbing those secrets really are. The illusions of a family and its close-knit town constructed and demolished on a truly epic scale.” – Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW

Available Formats:

Print Book | Playaway | eBook | eAudiobook

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Murder in Old Bombay by  Nev March

In 1892, Bombay is the center of British India. Nearby, Captain Jim Agnihotri lies in Poona military hospital recovering from a skirmish on the wild northern frontier, with little to do but re-read the tales of his idol, Sherlock Holmes, and browse the daily papers. The case that catches Captain Jim’s attention is being called the crime of the century: Two women fell from the busy university’s clock tower in broad daylight. Moved by Adi, the widower of one of the victims — his certainty that his wife and sister did not commit suicide — Captain Jim approaches the Parsee family and is hired to investigate what happened that terrible afternoon. But in a land of divided loyalties, asking questions is dangerous. Captain Jim’s investigation disturbs the shadows that seem to follow the Framji family and triggers an ominous chain of events. And when lively Lady Diana Framji joins the hunt for her sisters’ attackers, Captain Jim’s heart isn’t safe, either. Based on a true story, and set against the vibrant backdrop of colonial India, Nev March’s Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel Award-winning lyrical debut, Murder in Old Bombay, brings this tumultuous historical age to life. Description from Goodreads. “This award-winning lyrical narrative is a delightful multilayered treat.” – India Currents “An insightful account of life in India on the cusp of the 20th century. Highly recommended.” – Historical Novel Society “March has created a likable, honorable sleuth whose humble origins and instinctive kindness make spending time with him a pleasure.” – Shelf Awareness

Available Formats:

Print Book

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SUSPENSE

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Little Cruelties by  Liz Nugent ★

This story begins with a funeral. One of three brothers is dead, mourned by his siblings. But which one? And how? And, most importantly: why? William, Brian, and Luke are each born a year apart in a lower middle class Catholic family in 1960s Dublin. William, the eldest, rises to the top of the heap in the film industry as a successful movie producer. Luke, the baby of the family, surprises everyone by morphing into a worldwide pop star. Brian, the compliant middle son, is the eternal adult in the room: the helpful, steady one, the manager of finances and careers. But none of them is actually quite what he seems. Wounded by childhood, they have betrayed one another in myriad ways, hiding behind little lies that have developed into full blown treachery. With an unnerving eye for the complexities of families, Nugent delves into the secret life of a deeply troubled household and provides stunning insights into the many forces that shape us from childhood. Description from Goodreads. “Artfully constructed… the author’s skillful telling of this multigenerational tragedy has the riveting power of an imminent car crash.”-  Publishers Weekly “Liz Nugent’s books exist at that very particular crossroads of horror and psychological thriller where the horror exists in the cruelty of human relationships themselves. As with all of Liz Nugent’s works, the sociopathy of characters is as much rooted in the repressed culture of 1980s Ireland as in the figures themselves. No one is rotten to begin with, Nugent knows, but she won’t let us look away from how truly rotten some of us become.” – CrimeReads “Our Little Cruelties keeps you guessing throughout the entirety of the novel… Nugent cleverly creates characters which are all imbued with their own flaws, large and small, making it almost impossible for the reader to decipher who the killer is – or indeed which of the brothers are most deserving of vengeance wreaked.” – RTÉ

Available Formats:

Print Book

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After All I’ve Done by  Mina Hardy

She’s lost her best friend, her husband–and possibly, her mind. Five months ago, an accident left Diana Sparrow badly injured and missing a few months of her memory. As if that’s not enough, she’s started having recurring nightmares about the night of the accident. Dreams that feel so real, she’s left questioning: maybe she didn’t just slide off the road into a ditch. Maybe, just maybe, she hit something. Or someone. She can’t turn to her former best friend Val, who’s been sleeping with Diana’s husband Jonathan for months, but she might find some comfort in newcomer Cole Pelham. Yet the closer they become, the more Diana begins to wonder what really happened that night–and how Cole might be connected. Worse, it seems everyone else could be involved, too. Who was with her that night? What really happened? As her life unravels thread by thread and the dreams become too real to ignore, Diana will have to face the unthinkable–and do the unforgivable. Description from Goodreads. “[An] expert nightmare… One of those rare thrillers whose answers are even more scarifying than its mysteries.” – Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW “[A] twisty psychological thriller… Hardy does an expert job keeping the emotional heat high.” – Publishers Weekly “…stunning. I highly recommend After All I’ve Done to readers that enjoy domestic thrillers, family dramas, psychological thrillers, and amnesia-themed mysteries.” – Fresh Fiction

Available Formats:

Hoopla eBook | Hoopla eAudiobook

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HISTORICAL FICTION

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Tsarina by  Ellen Alpsten

St. Petersburg, 1725. Peter the Great lies dying in his magnificent Winter Palace. The weakness and treachery of his only son has driven his father to an appalling act of cruelty and left the empire without an heir. Russia risks falling into chaos. Into the void steps the woman who has been by his side for decades: his second wife, Catherine Alexeyevna, as ambitious, ruthless and passionate as Peter himself. Born into devastating poverty, Catherine used her extraordinary beauty and shrewd intelligence to ingratiate herself with Peter’s powerful generals, finally seducing the Tsar himself. But even amongst the splendor and opulence of her new life—the lavish feasts, glittering jewels, and candle-lit hours in Peter’s bedchamber—she knows the peril of her position. Peter’s attentions are fickle and his rages powerful; his first wife is condemned to a prison cell, her lover impaled alive in Red Square. And now Catherine faces the ultimate test: can she keep the Tsar’s death a secret as she plays a lethal game to destroy her enemies and take the Crown for herself? From the sensuous pleasures of a decadent aristocracy, to the incense-filled rites of the Orthodox Church and the terror of Peter’s torture chambers, the intoxicating and dangerous world of Imperial Russia is brought to vivid life. Tsarina is the story of one remarkable woman whose bid for power would transform the Russian Empire. Description from Goodreads. “Alpsten shines… Lovers of Russian history, strong women protagonists, and sweeping historicals will savor this vivid portrait.” – Publishers Weekly “A vivid page-turner of a debut.” – The Times “An entertaining romp through the endless intrigue, violence and debauchery of court life.” – Mail on Sunday

Available Formats:

Print Book

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Comrade Koba by  Robert Littell

After the sudden death of his nuclear physicist father and the arrest of his mother during the Stalinist purge of Jewish doctors, young Leon Rozental—intellectually precocious and possessing a disarming candor—is hiding from the NKVD in the secret rooms of the House on the Embankment, a large building in Moscow where many Soviet officials and apparatchiks live and work. One day after following a passageway, Leon meets Koba, an old man whose apartment is protected by several guards. Koba is a high-ranking Soviet officer with troubling insight into the thoughts and machinations of Comrade Stalin. Through encounters between a naive boy and a paranoid tyrant, Robert Littell creates in Comrade Koba a nuanced portrayal of the Soviet dictator, showing his human side and his simultaneous total disregard for and ignorance of the suffering he inflicted on the Russian people. The charm and spontaneity of young Leon make him an irresistible character—and not unlike Holden Caulfield, whom he admits to identifying with—caught in the spider’s web of the story woven by this enigmatic old man. Description from Goodreads.

Available Formats:

Hoopla eBook

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ROMANCE

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A Lady’s Guide to Mischief and Mayhem by  Manda Collins

England, 1865: As one of England’s most notorious newspaper columnists, Lady Katherine Bascomb believes knowledge is power. And she’s determined to inform and educate the ladies of London on the nefarious-and deadly-criminals who are praying on the fairer sex. When her reporting leads to the arrest of a notorious killer, however, Katherine flees to a country house party to escape her newfound notoriety-only to witness a murder on her very first night. And when the lead detective accuses Katherine of inflaming-rather than informing-the public with her column, she vows to prove him wrong. Detective Inspector Andrew Eversham’s refusal to compromise his investigations nearly cost him his own career, and he blames Katherine. To avoid bad publicity, his superiors are pressuring him to solve cases quickly rather than correctly. When he discovers she’s the key witness in a new crime, he’s determined to prevent the beautiful widow from once again wreaking havoc on his case. Yet as Katherine proves surprisingly insightful and Andrew impresses Katherine with his lethal competency, both are forced to admit the fire between them is more flirtatious than furious. But to explore the passion between them, they’ll need to catch a killer. Description from Goodreads. “Smartly plotted, superbly executed, and splendidly witty.” – Booklist “Collins blends historical romance and mystery with characters who embody a modern sensibility… the protagonists and setting of this first in a promising new series are thoroughly enjoyable.” – Library Journal “Manda Collins smoothly blends romance and an English country-house whodunit… The twists and turns of the plot will keep readers guessing, but Kate’s independent attitude and the interesting friends she gathers around her bring the story to vivid life.” – Bookpage

Available Formats:

Print Book | eBook

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The Cul-de-Sac War by  Melissa Ferguson

All’s fair in love and prank wars. Bree Leake doesn’t want to be tied down. She’s had more jobs than she can count, and she plans to move as soon as the curtains fall on her less-than-minor stage role at The Barter—the oldest live performance theater in the US. But just when it’s time to move on again, Bree’s parents make her an offer: hold steady for a full year, and they will give her the one thing she’s always wanted—her grandmother’s house. Her dreams are coming true… until life at the theater throws her some curve balls. And then there’s Chip McBride—her handsome and infuriating next-door neighbor. Chip just might be the only person whose stubborn streak can match Bree’s. She would move heaven and earth to have him off her cul-de-sac and out of her life, but according to the bargain she’s struck, she can’t move out of her house and away from the man who’s making her life miserable. So begins Bree’s obsessive new mission: to drive Chip out of the neighborhood—and fast. Bree isn’t the only one who’s a tad competitive, and Chip is more than willing to fight fire with fire. But as their pranks escalate, the line between love and hate starts to blur—and their heated rivalry threatens to take a hilarious, heartwarming, and romantic new turn. Description from Goodreads. “Two neighboring houses, a big, slobbering dog without boundaries and one unwelcome attraction add up to a madcap romance in The Cul-de-Sac War… This kisses-only inspirational romance is a sweet treat with a soft center.” – BookPage “Playfulness and whimsy are the key ingredients in this lighthearted read that will successfully distract you momentarily from the more darker and serious aspects of life… this squeaky clean, easy to read romance will delight with devilish pranks and frisky disasters, leaving you with a strange desire to take a cup a sugar to your neighbour and check the fence line between your houses is firmly in place.” – Harlequin Junkie

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SCI-FI & FANTASY

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The Arrest by  Jonathan Lethem ★

The Arrest isn’t post-apocalypse. It isn’t a dystopia. It isn’t a utopia. It’s just what happens when much of what we take for granted—cars, guns, computers, and airplanes, for starters—quits working… Before the Arrest, Sandy Duplessis had a reasonably good life as a screenwriter in L.A.  An old college friend and writing partner, the charismatic and malicious Peter Todbaum, had become one of the most powerful men in Hollywood. That didn’t hurt. Now, post-Arrest, nothing is what it was. Sandy, who calls himself Journeyman, has landed in rural Maine. There he assists the butcher and delivers the food grown by his sister, Maddy, at her organic farm. But then Todbaum shows up in an extraordinary vehicle: a retrofitted tunnel-digger powered by a nuclear reactor. Todbaum has spent the Arrest smashing his way across a fragmented and phantasmagorical United States, trailing enmities all the way. Plopping back into the siblings’ life with his usual odious panache, his motives are entirely unclear.  Can it be that Todbaum wants to produce one more extravaganza? Whatever he’s up to, it may fall to Journeyman to stop him. Written with unrepentant joy and shot through with just the right amount of contemporary dread, The Arrest is speculative fiction at its absolute finest. Description from Goodreads. “Lethem cleverly builds on and subverts the tropes of postapocalyptic dystopias, mixes in a metafictional element, and expertly mines the nature of storytelling and its power to enchant. An inventive and intelligent speculative tale.” – Booklist “A meditation on a dystopian future that maintains a careful balance between social satire and purposeful provocation.” – Kirkus Reviews “…crackles and hums with witty dialogue and engaging ideas.” – Publishers Weekly “…provides a quietly lyrical alternative to the uberviolence and cliché blustering of Hollywood plots… a pleasant and compelling vision.” – Boston Globe

Available Formats:

Print Book | Large Print Book

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NONFICTION

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Dearly: New Poems by  Margaret Atwood ★

In Dearly, Margaret Atwood’s first collection of poetry in over a decade, Atwood addresses themes such as love, loss, the passage of time, the nature of nature and – zombies. Her new poetry is introspective and personal in tone, but wide-ranging in topic. In poem after poem, she casts her unique imagination and unyielding, observant eye over the landscape of a life carefully and intuitively lived. While many are familiar with Margaret Atwood’s fiction—including her groundbreaking and bestselling novels The Handmaid’s Tale, The Testaments, Oryx and Crake, among others—she has, from the beginning of her career, been one of our most significant contemporary poets. And she is one of the very few writers equally accomplished in fiction and poetry. This collection is a stunning achievement that will be appreciated by fans of her novels and poetry readers alike. Description from Goodreads. “Atwood’s first books were poetry collections; decades later, she infuses her newest poems with the flinty wit and surefire lucidity readers cherish in her best-selling, influential fiction, including The Testaments. Spiked with surprising juxtapositions and wily delight in language, at times mordant, frequently hilarious, and always unflinching.” – Booklist “Atwood’s new book—her first collection of poems in over a decade—is a good reminder of her mastery of the craft. In Dearly, Atwood’s inspirations run the gamut from the intoxicating pleasures of nature to the fantastical goings-on of zombies, but the themes are grounded in the familiar: love, loss, desire and the inevitability of time passing. Atwood blurs the lines of what we know and asks us instead to give credence to what we feel.” – TIME “It is sometimes debated whether every great novelist must first be a great poet. If you look at the likes of poets-turned-novelists like Jesse Ball or Denis Johnson, you might be inclined to agree. Don’t forget Margaret Atwood, who began publishing poetry in the early-1960s, self-publishing her first collection, Double Persephone, in 1961. Her latest poems collected in Dearly include melancholy meditations on life and death and the gender of werewolves.” – Wall Street Journal “For the first time in more than a decade, Atwood — an accomplished poet, though best known for The Handmaid’s Tale, among other novels — is releasing a wide-ranging new collection of poetry. It’s hauntingly beautiful, with reflections on life and death, time and change, and nature and zombies. The strong imagery and atmosphere will probably hook even those who had only been familiar with Atwood’s fiction.” – Washington Post

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We Keep the Dead Close: A Murder at Harvard and a Half Century of Silence by  Becky Cooper ★

You have to remember, he reminded me, that Harvard is older than the U.S. government. You have to remember because Harvard doesn’t let you forget. 1969: the height of counterculture and the year universities would seek to curb the unruly spectacle of student protest; the winter that Harvard University would begin the tumultuous process of merging with Radcliffe, its all-female sister school; and the year that Jane Britton, an ambitious 23-year-old graduate student in Harvard’s Anthropology Department and daughter of Radcliffe Vice President J. Boyd Britton, would be found bludgeoned to death in her Cambridge, Massachusetts apartment. Forty years later, Becky Cooper, a curious undergrad, will hear the first whispers of the story. In the first telling the body was nameless. The story was this: a Harvard student had had an affair with her professor, and the professor had murdered her in the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology because she’d threatened to talk about the affair. Though the rumor proves false, the story that unfolds, one that Cooper will follow for ten years, is even more complex: a tale of gender inequality in academia, a “cowboy culture” among empowered male elites, the silencing effect of institutions, and our compulsion to rewrite the stories of female victims. We Keep the Dead Close is a memoir of mirrors, misogyny, and murder. It is at once a rumination on the violence and oppression that rules our revered institutions, a ghost story reflecting one young woman’s past onto another’s present, and a love story for a girl who was lost to history. Description from Goodreads.

One Life by  Megan Rapinoe ★

Megan Rapinoe is one of the world’s most talented athletes. But beyond her massive professional success on the soccer field, Rapinoe has become an icon and ally to millions, boldly speaking out on the issues that matter most. In recent years, she’s become one of the faces of the equal pay movement and her tireless activism for LGBTQ rights has earned her global support. In One Life, Rapinoe embarks on a thoughtful and unapologetic discussion of social justice and politics. Raised in a conservative small town in northern California, the youngest of six, Rapinoe was four years old when she kicked her first soccer ball. Her parents encouraged her love for the game, but also urged her to volunteer at homeless shelters and food banks. Her passion for community engagement never wavered through high school or college, all the way up to 2016, when she took a knee during the national anthem in solidarity with former NFL player Colin Kaepernick, to protest racial injustice and police brutality – the first high-profile white athlete to do so. The backlash was immediate, but it couldn’t compare to the overwhelming support. Rapinoe became a force of social change, both on and off the field. Using anecdotes from her own life and career, from suing the United States Soccer Federation alongside her teammates over gender discrimination to her widely publicized refusal to visit the White House, Rapinoe discusses the obligation we all have to speak up, and reveals the impact each of us can have on our communities. As she declared during the soccer team’s victory parade in New York in 2019, “[T]his is everybody’s responsibility, every single person here, every single person who is not here, every single person who doesn’t want to be here, every single person who agrees and doesn’t agree… It takes everybody. This is my charge to everybody. Do what you can. Do what you have to do. Step outside yourself. Be more. Be better. Be bigger than you’ve ever been before.” Description from Goodreads. “Uplifting… A compelling testimony for equality in sports with a resounding message of hope.” – Booklist, STARRED REVIEW   “Rapinoe’s passion for inclusion and equality shines throughout this appealing book, and her hard-won take on the intersection of sports and activism isn’t to be missed.” – Publishers Weekly   “An inspiring memoir that will thrill soccer fans as well as social justice activists.” – Kirkus Reviews “…an uplifting memoir… As much as sports fans will enjoy career anecdotes, it’s her refreshingly frank details of self-discovery as a lesbian that will prove equally inspirational and sure to help break down stereotypes.” – The Booklist Reader

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This Time Next Year We’ll Be Laughing: A Memoir by  Jacqueline Winspear

After sixteen novels, Jacqueline Winspear has taken the bold step of turning to memoir, revealing the hardships and joys of her family history. Both shockingly frank and deftly restrained, her memoir tackles such difficult, poignant, and fascinating family memories as her paternal grandfather’s shellshock, her mother’s evacuation from London during the Blitz; her soft-spoken animal-loving father’s torturous assignment to an explosives team during WWII; her parents’ years living with Romani Gypsies; and Jacqueline’s own childhood working on farms in rural Kent, capturing her ties to the land and her dream of being a writer at its very inception. An eye-opening and heartfelt portrayal of a post-War England we rarely see, This Time Next Year We’ll Be Laughing is the story of a childhood in the English countryside, of working class indomitability and family secrets, of artistic inspiration and the price of memory. Description from Goodreads. “[Winspear’s] words are hopeful and bright, and imbued with a resilience that will resonate with readers… The book will appeal well beyond Winspear’s fan base as a literary memoir deeply linked to history and as a meditation on place and family.” – Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW “[Winspear] draws distinctive portraits of postwar England, altogether different from the U.S., where she has since settled, and her unsettling struggles within the rigid British class system. An engaging childhood memoir and a deeply affectionate tribute to the author’s parents.” – Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW “Though she was born in 1955, [Winspear] provides a visceral portrait of London during WWII and the hardships and cultural changes that shaped England in the decades that followed… [An] elegantly executed memoir.” – Publishers Weekly

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Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man by  Emmanuel Acho

“You cannot fix a problem you do not know you have.” So begins Emmanuel Acho in his essential guide to the truths Americans need to know to address the systemic racism that has recently electrified protests in all fifty states. “There is a fix,” Acho says. “But in order to access it, we’re going to have to have some uncomfortable conversations.” In Uncomfortable Conversations With a Black Man, Acho takes on all the questions, large and small, insensitive and taboo, many white Americans are afraid to ask—yet which all Americans need the answers to, now more than ever. With the same open-hearted generosity that has made his video series a phenomenon, Acho explains the vital core of such fraught concepts as white privilege, cultural appropriation, and “reverse racism.” In his own words, he provides a space of compassion and understanding in a discussion that can lack both. He asks only for the reader’s curiosity—but along the way, he will galvanize all of us to join the antiracist fight. Description from Goodreads. “With an easy warmth, Acho serves up the perfect read for those who might be intimidated by weightier books like How to Be an Antiracist. Listening to this former NFL player talk about race is like listening to the insights of a trusted friend, so that even the uncomfortable bits sink in without sparking defensiveness.” – Amazon Book Review “Acho has a deft touch and a historian’s knack for marshaling facts. He packs a lot into his concise narrative, from an incisive historical breakdown of American racial unrest and violence to the ways of cultural appropriation… The author delivers exactly what he promises in the title, tackling difficult topics with the depth of an engaged cultural thinker and the style of an experienced wordsmith. Throughout, Acho is a friendly guide, seeking to sow understanding even if it means risking just a little discord. This guide to Black culture for White people is accessible but rarely easy.” – Kirkus Reviews “[T]his incredibly important book tackles all the race-related questions people have but are afraid to ask.” – Good Morning America

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A Cat’s Tale: A Journey Through Feline History by  Baba the Cat as dictated to  Paul Koudounaris

For thousands of years, mankind has developed as a civilization built on the mythos that we are the most powerful beings on earth, domesticating other animals as household pets for mere entertainment. Yet this absurd fantasy could not be further from the truth, as your own cat would say if you gave him or her a chance. But no bother. Baba the Cat is here to finally set the record straight and expose the reality of feline greatness. The true story of cats today spans tens of thousands of miles, and many thousands of years. From the prehistoric Felis (a large mammal from which all domestic cats have descended) to the ancient Egyptian cat goddess, key cats of the Enlightenment period, and infamous American tabbies, their complex history is compiled here in its totality for the first time. Along the way, Baba introduces us to some of history’s most famous feline figures, with helpful (not to mention inspiring) photos of herself in period costume, which offer a startling new portrait of the ways in which the history of cats parallels that of our own. Featuring an unforgettable narrative voice and in-depth research that carries readers across the globe, A Cat’s Tale is a one-of-a-kind history that urges readers to reexamine the furry yet cunning creatures in our lives, forever altering how we understand the storied relationship between mankind and its feline counterparts. Description from Goodreads. “[A] charming, funny, and informative history of cats… full of fascinating historical anecdotes [and] hilarious color photos of Baba in various costumes and wigs… Even cat aficionados will learn something new―and have fun doing it.” – Publishers Weekly “A Cat’s Tale chronicles the powerful and ancient influence of cats throughout (and upon) history. This is already a standout premise―but what elevates this book into the stratosphere of literary greatness are the dozens of portraits of Baba in elaborate historic regalia.” – BookPage

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The Book on Pie: Everything You Need to Know to Bake Perfect Pies by  Erin Jeanne McDowell

Look no further than The Book on Pie for the only book on pie you’ll ever want or need. Erin Jeanne McDowell, New York Times contributing baker extraordinaire and top food stylist, wrote the book on pie, a comprehensive handbook that distills all you’ll ever need to know for making perfect pies. The Book on Pie starts with the basics, including ways to mix pie dough for extra flaky crusts, storage and freezing, recipe size conversions, and expert tips for decorating and styling, before diving into the recipes for all the different kinds of pies: fruit, custard, cream, chiffon, cold set, savory, and mini. Find everything from classics like Apple Pie and Pumpkin Pie, to more inspired recipes like Birthday-Cake Pie and Caramel Pork Pie with Chile and Scallions. Erin also suggests recommended pie doughs and toppings with each recipe for infinitely customizable pies: Mix and match Pumpkin Spice Pie Dough and Dark Chocolate Drippy Glaze with the Pumpkin Pie, or sub in the Chive Compound-Butter Crust for the Croque Madame Pielets… the possibilities are endless. With helpful tips, photographic guides, and inspirations—pie-deas—it’s almost like having Erin in the kitchen baking pies with you. Description from Goodreads. “McDowell, baking columnist for Food52, hits the mark in this expert guide to pie making, both sweet and savory… The author’s informative yet laid-back spirit permeates the work, and her love of teaching pie baking comes through the pages… This is a top-notch go-to for all things pie.” – Publishers Weekly

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