“The best way to not feel hopeless is to get up and do something. Don’t wait for good things to happen to you. If you go out and make some good things happen, you will fill the world with hope, you will fill yourself with hope.” – Barack Obama

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FICTION

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The Star-Crossed Sisters of Tuscany by  Lori Nelson Spielman

Since the day Filomena Fontana cast a curse upon her sister more than two hundred years ago, not one second-born Fontana daughter has found lasting love. Some, like second-born Emilia, the happily-single baker at her grandfather’s Brooklyn deli, claim it’s an odd coincidence. Others, like her sexy, desperate-for-love cousin Lucy, insist it’s a true hex. But both are bewildered when their great-aunt calls with an astounding proposition: If they accompany her to her homeland of Italy, Aunt Poppy vows she’ll meet the love of her life on the steps of the Ravello Cathedral on her eightieth birthday, and break the Fontana Second-Daughter Curse once and for all. Against the backdrop of wandering Venetian canals, rolling Tuscan fields, and enchanting Amalfi Coast villages, romance blooms, destinies are found, and family secrets are unearthed—secrets that could threaten the family far more than a centuries-old curse. Description from Goodreads. “A poignant fairy tale rooted in reality that lifts the reader into a world with lush fields, jewel-box villages and picturesque canals.” – Augusta Chronicle “There’s magic within the pages of Lori Nelson Spielman’s charming The Star-Crossed Sisters of Tuscany.” – Popsugar “Long-simmering resentments and buried secrets permeate The Star-Crossed Sisters of Tuscany, a romantic, beautifully rendered, sweepingly complex family saga.” – Shelf Awareness

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Before the Coffee Gets Cold by  Toshikazu Kawaguchi

What would you change if you could go back in time? In a small back alley in Tokyo, there is a café which has been serving carefully brewed coffee for more than one hundred years. But this coffee shop offers its customers a unique experience: the chance to travel back in time. In Before the Coffee Gets Cold, we meet four visitors, each of whom is hoping to make use of the café’s time-travelling offer, in order to: confront the man who left them, receive a letter from their husband whose memory has been taken by early onset Alzheimer’s, to see their sister one last time, and to meet the daughter they never got the chance to know. But the journey into the past does not come without risks: customers must sit in a particular seat, they cannot leave the café, and finally, they must return to the present before the coffee gets cold… Toshikazu Kawaguchi’s beautiful, moving story explores the age-old question: what would you change if you could travel back in time? More importantly, who would you want to meet, maybe for one last time? Description from Goodreads. “A thought-provoking and at times tear-jerking realization about what we would say if we could go back in time.” – Palatinate “An affecting, deeply immersive journey into the desire to hold onto the past. This wondrous tale will move readers.” – Publishers Weekly “This is a sweet, fable-like tale about a magical seat in a cafe where you can, if you wish, go back in time… An odd read, but also a charming one.” – Sydney Morning Herald

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Here Is the Beehive by  Sarah Crossan

Ana Kelly can deal with death. As an estate lawyer, an unfortunate part of her day-to-day is phone calls from the next of kin informing her that one of her clients has died. But nothing could have prepared Ana for the call from Rebecca Taylor, explaining in a strangely calm tone that her husband Connor was killed in an accident. Ana had been having an affair with Connor for three years, keeping their love secret in hotel rooms, weekends away, and swiftly deleted text messages. Though consuming, they hide their love well, and nobody knows of their relationship except Mark, Connor’s best friend. Alone and undone, Ana seeks friendship with the person who she once thought of as her adversary and opposite, but who is now the only one who shares her pain — Rebecca. As Ana becomes closer to her lover’s widow, she is forced to reconcile painful truths about the affair, and the fickleness of love and desire. Funny, frank, and strange, Sarah Crossan’s moving novel is wholly original and deeply resonant. Description from Goodreads. “A fresh, affecting take on a tale as old as time.” – Kirkus Reviews “[A] highly original, vibrant tale of an affair… quite unlike anything I’ve read before.” – The Guardian “[A] cleverly conceived, fast-paced tale about the tragic end of an affair.” – Irish Times

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V2 by  Robert Harris

It’s November 1944–Willi Graf, a German rocket engineer, is launching Nazi Germany’s V2 rockets at London from Occupied Holland. Kay Connolly, once an actress, now a young English Intelligence officer, ships out for Belgium to locate the launch sites and neutralize the threat. But when rumors of a defector circulate through the German ranks, Graf becomes a suspect. Unknown to each other, Graf and Connolly find themselves on opposite sides of the hunt for the saboteur. Their twin stories play out against the background of the German missile campaign, one of the most epic and modern but least explored episodes of the Second World War. Their destinies are on a collision course. Description from Goodreads. “You know you’re in safe hands when you pick up a Robert Harris novel, and V2 is no exception. The descriptions of rocket production and painstaking photographic interpretation are fascinating in their own right, but Harris takes both historical fact and technical detail to new heights through the daily lives and emotions of the central characters.” – Irish News “An immersive thriller set against a tense historical backdrop… Once again Harris has placed the reader at the heart of a huge historic event, using a small story to tell a great one.” – Financial Times “…relentless… Written mostly during lockdown at a time of international political turmoil, Harris is delivering a warning about toxic futility and the ferocious propaganda needed to fuel it. His timing is, unlike the workings of the rockets he writes about, impeccable.” – Evening Standard

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SUSPENSE

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Daylight by  David Baldacci

For many long years, Atlee Pine was tormented by uncertainty after her twin sister, Mercy, was abducted at the age of six and never seen again. Now, just as Atlee is pressured to end her investigation into Mercy’s disappearance, she finally gets her most promising breakthrough yet: the identity of her sister’s kidnapper, Ito Vincenzo. With time running out, Atlee and her assistant Carol Blum race to Vincenzo’s last known location in Trenton, New Jersey — and unknowingly stumble straight into John Puller’s case, blowing his arrest during a drug ring investigation involving a military installation. Stunningly, Pine and Puller’s joint investigation uncovers a connection between Vincenzo’s family and a breathtaking scheme that strikes at the very heart of global democracy. Peeling back the layers of deceit, lies and cover-ups, Atlee finally discovers the truth about what happened to Mercy. And that truth will shock Pine to her very core. Description from Goodreads. “…starts off strong and never lets up.” – Red Carpet Crash “[A] complex, multi-layered adventure that pulls Pine’s kidnapping case into the same web of conspiracy that permeates state and federal government officials, CEO’s, judges, bureaucrats, cops, and intel agents. And beginning with Chapter 70, the revelations regarding Mercy’s kidnapping will have readers’ hearts pounding. A consummate thriller master, Baldacci writes an unforgettable story.” – Fresh Fiction “[A] thriller that improves as it advances, becoming a riveting brain teaser as well as serving up vivid action scenes.” – Sunday Times

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Do Not Disturb by  Claire Douglas

Following a traumatic event in London, Kirsty Woodhouse packs up her family and moves back to her native Wales. There she sets up her new home with her husband and two young daughters, and goes into business with her difficult mother managing a guesthouse in the Brecon Beacons. But when the guesthouse is ready to be occupied, Kirsty encounters the last person she ever expected to see: her estranged cousin Selena. It has been seventeen years since they last talked—when Selena tore everything apart between them. Why has she chosen now to walk back into Kirsty’s life? Is Selena running from something too? Or is there an even darker reason for her visit? As Kirsty becomes increasingly concerned for the safety of her daughters, her dream home begins to feel like her worst nightmare. Kirsty knows that once you invite trouble into your home, it can be murder getting rid of it… Description from Goodreads. “[A] compelling read that is more than just a thriller or murder mystery.” – The Belgian Reviewer “[A] thoroughly enjoyable story that kept me guessing all the way along…” – A Crime Readers Blog “Truly touching… and well-observed.” – Daily Mail

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MYSTERY

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Piece of My Heart by  Mary Higgins Clark &  Alafair Burke

Television producer Laurie Moran and her fiancée, Alex Buckley, the former host of her investigative television show, are just days away from their mid-summer wedding, when things take a dark turn. Alex’s seven-year-old nephew, Johnny, vanishes from the beach. A search party begins and witnesses recall Johnny playing in the water and collecting shells behind the beach shack, but no one remembers seeing him after the morning. As the sun sets, Johnny’s skim board washes up to shore, and everyone realizes that he could be anywhere, even under water. A ticking clock, a sinister stalker, and fresh romance combine in this exhilarating follow up to the bestselling You Don’t Own Me—another riveting page-turner from the “Queen of Suspense” Mary Higgins Clark and her dazzling partner-in-crime Alafair Burke. Description from Goodreads. “A fast-paced read that will surely be snapped up by fans of both authors.” – Booklist “Plenty of motives and suspects keep the reader guessing as the action builds to a dramatic finale… The authors show once again how a mother can turn into a courageous warrior when her child’s life is at stake.” – Publishers Weekly

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ROMANCE

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Little Wishes by  Michelle Adams

On her favorite day of the year, Elizabeth Davenport awakens in her cottage on the wild and windy Cornish coast, opens her front door, and discovers a precious gift: the small blue crocus and a note that begins I Wish… They are not signed, but she knows they’ve been left by her first and truest love, Tom Hale. Each of these precious missives convey a simple wish for something they had missed, and the life they might have shared. She has kept them all. But on this day, what should have been the fiftieth anniversary of their falling in love, the gift fails to arrive. Could something have happened to Tom? Elizabeth has always been plagued by thoughts of “what if?”. Propelled by worry and decades of pent up longing, Elizabeth packs a little suitcase, leaves Porthsennenon, and journeys to London… to find the love of her life once again, years after circumstances forced them apart. Finding him, Elizabeth is faced with the desperate knowledge that any time they might have now is running out.  Never before had she thought that she might truly lose time—forever. And now, knowing that life is too short, Elizabeth vows to fulfill as many of Tom’s wishes as she can. Yet she fears that her efforts may expose the shameful secret that, until now, has kept them apart. Can she continue to hide the truth, or will she have the courage to reveal herself completely and finally make their dreams come true—before it’s too late? Description from Goodreads. “Prepare to cry your heart out (in a good way), because Little Wishes by Michelle Adams is right up there with The Notebook in terms of being a five hankie read.” – Popsugar “This is a book that is for anyone who’s looking for a sweet missed/second chance romance contemporary, but just be sure to have tissues with you when you read this one!” – The NERD Daily “Adams is sure to win fans with this poignant… love story.” – Publishers Weekly

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NONFICTION

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A Promised Land by  Barack Obama ★

A riveting, deeply personal account of history in the making—from the president who inspired us to believe in the power of democracy. In the stirring, highly anticipated first volume of his presidential memoirs, Barack Obama tells the story of his improbable odyssey from young man searching for his identity to leader of the free world, describing in strikingly personal detail both his political education and the landmark moments of the first term of his historic presidency—a time of dramatic transformation and turmoil. Obama takes readers on a compelling journey from his earliest political aspirations to the pivotal Iowa caucus victory that demonstrated the power of grassroots activism to the watershed night of November 4, 2008, when he was elected 44th president of the United States, becoming the first African American to hold the nation’s highest office. Reflecting on the presidency, he offers a unique and thoughtful exploration of both the awesome reach and the limits of presidential power, as well as singular insights into the dynamics of U.S. partisan politics and international diplomacy. Obama brings readers inside the Oval Office and the White House Situation Room, and to Moscow, Cairo, Beijing, and points beyond. We are privy to his thoughts as he assembles his cabinet, wrestles with a global financial crisis, takes the measure of Vladimir Putin, overcomes seemingly insurmountable odds to secure passage of the Affordable Care Act, clashes with generals about U.S. strategy in Afghanistan, tackles Wall Street reform, responds to the devastating Deepwater Horizon blowout, and authorizes Operation Neptune’s Spear, which leads to the death of Osama bin Laden. A Promised Land is extraordinarily intimate and introspective—the story of one man’s bet with history, the faith of a community organizer tested on the world stage. Obama is candid about the balancing act of running for office as a Black American, bearing the expectations of a generation buoyed by messages of “hope and change,” and meeting the moral challenges of high-stakes decision-making. He is frank about the forces that opposed him at home and abroad, open about how living in the White House affected his wife and daughters, and unafraid to reveal self-doubt and disappointment. Yet he never wavers from his belief that inside the great, ongoing American experiment, progress is always possible. This beautifully written and powerful book captures Barack Obama’s conviction that democracy is not a gift from on high but something founded on empathy and common understanding and built together, day by day. Description from Goodreads. “Barack Obama is as fine a writer as they come. It is not merely that this book avoids being ponderous, as might be expected, even forgiven, of a hefty memoir, but that it is nearly always pleasurable to read, sentence by sentence, the prose gorgeous in places, the detail granular and vivid.” – New York Times Book Review “To a remarkable degree, the style of this latest retelling reflects the man we have seen over these years: Orderly, cautious, self-examining — yet eloquent in flashes so vivid that the world was immediately able to share something of his vision… Whatever one’s feelings about this man, they are likely to be brought to the surface by this book. We hear his voice in every sentence, almost as if he were physically present and reading the book aloud… for those who felt the magnetism and power of the first African American president, at any point in his career, this book should rekindle some of that feeling of discovery. For the truly faithful, some of these pages may have to be read through tears… it is an invaluable piece of the puzzle historians will struggle to put together from here forward. If it takes time and effort to take it all in, it’s worth it.” – NPR “It’s like the old adage about growing up, when you suddenly come to see your parents as human, not superhuman. Barack Obama is, really, just a guy. But he’s a guy we’re all better for knowing, and A Promised Land is a book we’ll all be better for reading.” – Entertainment Weekly “701 pages of elegantly written narrative, contemplation and introspection, in which he frequently burrows down into his own motivations.” – The Guardian  

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I Want to Be Where The Normal People Are by  Rachel Bloom ★

Rachel Bloom has felt abnormal and out of place her whole life. In this exploration of what she thinks makes her “different,” she’s come to realize that a lot of people also feel this way; even people who she otherwise thought were “normal.” In a collection of laugh-out-loud funny essays, all told in the unique voice (sometimes singing voice) that made her a star; Rachel writes about everything from her love of Disney, OCD and depression, weirdness, and female friendships to the story of how she didn’t poop in the toilet until she was four years old; Rachel’s pieces are hilarious, smart, and infinitely relatable (except for the pooping thing). Description from Goodreads. “Whipsmart candor and disarming energy… Fans of her show and former and current nerds of all stripes will see themselves in Bloom’s story. The end of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend has not dulled its fans’ enthusiasm, and, really, anyone who made it out of adolescence alive will appreciate Bloom’s insights.” – Booklist “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend co-creator Rachel Bloom’s first collection of essays, I Want to Be Where the Normal People Are, is both hilarious and endlessly relatable. Whether she’s writing about her lifelong desire to be ‘normal’ or revealing her Disney obsession, reading Bloom’s essays is like chatting with your wittiest friend.” – Popsugar

The Age of Skin: Essays by  Dubravka Ugrešić

These essays are written on the skin of the times. Dubravka Ugrešić, winner of the Neustadt International Prize and one of Europe’s most influential writers, with biting humor and a multitude of cultural references—from La La Land and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, to tattoos and body modification, World Cup chants, and the preservation of Lenin’s corpse—takes on the dreams, hopes, and fears of modern life. The collapse of Yugoslavia, and the author’s subsequent exile from Croatia, leads to reflections on nationalism and the intertwining of crime and politics. Ugrešić writes at eye level, from a human perspective, in portraits of people from the former Eastern Bloc, who work as cleaners in the Netherlands or start underground shops with products from their country of origin. A rare and welcome combination of irony, compassion, and a sharp polemic gaze characterizes these beautiful and highly relevant essays. Description from Goodreads. “In The Age of Skin, Ugrešić ruthlessly deconstructs modern life, exposing its basest self, and it’s this vision, her insistence on tearing down façades, on seeing through the innocuous, the outwardly innocent, that has made Ugrešić a formidable cultural critic. She demands that we see deeper, even where we refuse to look.” – Ploughshares “A major literary voice in Europe, Ugrešić brings deep personal insight into the grinding despair and destructive nationalism of post-communist societies, often writing with lively, ironic flair keenly translated by Elias-Bursac. Do Lenin’s mummy, Adele and Croatian unemployment have any business being in the same essay together? In this book, yes. Gladly.” – New York Times Book Review “Ugrešić writes about time, slowness, fiction, labor, cinema, social contracts, the global grind of criminality, and daily life in the post-Soviet Balkans. At the surface of her observations, on their skin, is the pallor of the misogyny uniting the mafioso autocrats of so many post-democratic states.” – Mousse

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Waste: One Woman’s Fight Against America’s Dirty Secret by  Catherine Coleman Flowers

MacArthur “genius” Catherine Coleman Flowers grew up in Lowndes County, Alabama, a place that’s been called “Bloody Lowndes” because of its violent, racist history. Once the epicenter of the voting rights struggle, today it’s Ground Zero for a new movement that is Flowers’s life’s work. It’s a fight to ensure human dignity through a right most Americans take for granted: basic sanitation. Too many people, especially the rural poor, lack an affordable means of disposing cleanly of the waste from their toilets, and, as a consequence, live amid filth. Flowers calls this America’s dirty secret. In this powerful book she tells the story of systemic class, racial, and geographic prejudice that foster Third World conditions, not just in Alabama, but across America, in Appalachia, Central California, coastal Florida, Alaska, the urban Midwest, and on Native American reservations in the West. Flowers’s book is the inspiring story of the evolution of an activist, from country girl to student civil rights organizer to environmental justice champion at Bryan Stevenson’s Equal Justice Initiative. It shows how sanitation is becoming too big a problem to ignore as climate change brings sewage to more backyards, and not only those of poor minorities. Description from Amazon. “A useful primer on why America’s treatment of raw sewage doesn’t pass the smell test.” – Kirkus Reviews “Flowers exposes the true injustice of the situation and how it can be remedied, from both sides of the political spectrum. This is a powerful and moving book that deserves wide readership.” – Booklist “Mixing memoir, civil rights history, and polemic, this blunt litany by Flowers delivers a call to action for all concerned about sustainable solutions to the shamefully inadequate environmental infrastructure, policies, and practices in the United States.” – Library Journal

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