“What would happen if we spoke the truth?” – Alison Bechdel, Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic
Aftertaste by Daria Levelle ★
fiction / fantasy / romance / horror.
Konstantin Duhovny is a haunted man. His father died when he was ten, and ghosts have been hovering around him ever since. Kostya can’t exactly see the ghosts, but he can taste their favorite foods. Flavors of meals he’s never eaten will flood his mouth,a sign that a spirit is present. Kostya has kept these aftertastes a secret for most of his life, but one night, he decides to act on what he’s tasting. And everything changes.
Kostya discovers that he can reunite people with their deceased loved ones—at least for the length of time it takes them to eat a dish that he’s prepared. He thinks his life’s purpose might be to offer closure to grieving strangers, and sets out to learn all he can by entering a particularly fiery ring of Hell: the New York culinary scene. But as his kitchen skills catch up with his ambitions, Kostya is too blind to see the catastrophe looming in the Afterlife. And the one person who knows Kostya must be stopped also happens to be falling in love with him.
Set in the bustling world of New York restaurants and teeming with mouthwatering food writing, Aftertaste is a whirlwind romance, a heart-wrenching look at love and loss, and a ghost story about all the ways we hunger—and how far we’d go to find satisfaction.
“Dark, decadent and delicious, Aftertaste is a haunting romance — in more ways than one.” – Isabelle McConville, B&N Reads
“Lavelle’s speculative approach is intriguing enough on its own, but it’s her skillful writing that ultimately makes Aftertaste such an evocative (and, yes, mouthwatering) read.” – Lauren Puckett-Pope, Elle
“…delectable… This inventive tale of food and family is likely to whet readers’ appetites.” – Publishers Weekly
“Aftertaste is an exceptional and unique journey into the world of gourmet cuisine and the memories and regrets we carry… a stunning debut; a magical, never-read-before experience from start to finish.” – Elloise Hopkins, The British Fantasy Society
Baking Across America: A Vintage Recipe Road Trip by B. Dylan Hollis
nonfiction / food / cookbook / travel / history.
Join B. Dylan Hollis, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Baking Yesteryear, on a cross-country culinary journey with 100 uniquely American recipes.
From the deserts of the Southwest to the shining Atlantic Coast, the USA is as sweet as it gets. In this tour de food, B. Dylan Hollis takes you on a delicious road trip to taste everything from the coffee-crazed creations of the Pacific Northwest to the larger-than-life sheet cakes of Texas.
You’ll be hitting the pavement in vintage style as you journey with Dylan through the culture capitals of America to savor the very best bakes the nation has to offer. His retro recipes span the decades from the 1900s to the 2000s and feature famous (and forgotten) desserts from every state.
With his signature wry humor, Dylan explores the US and uncovers the history of nostalgic local favorites, including Boston Cream Pie on the cobbled streets of Beantown, Beignets in the sultry heat of jazzy New Orleans, and Date Cream scooped up poolside in Palm Springs.
Baking Across America is the highly anticipated successor to Baking Yesteryear and delivers 100 wild, wacky, and wonderful recipes from every star-spangled corner of the good ol’ US of A.
“Fans of kitschy culinary nostalgia will happily go along for the ride.” – Publishers Weekly
“…Hollis has assembled a truly roadworthy collection of American foodstuffs from all 50 states… Complete instructions, ingredient tips, and great photographs entice… Let the coast-to-coast baking contests begin!” – Barbara Jacobs, Booklist
By the Second Spring: Seven Lives and One Year of the War in Ukraine by Danielle Leavitt
nonfiction / biography / history / current events.
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, many Americans have identified deeply with the Ukrainian cause, while others have cast doubt on its relevance to their concerns. Meanwhile, even as scores of Americans rally to the Ukrainian cause and adopt Volodymyr Zelensky as a hero, the lives of Ukrainians remain opaque and mostly anonymous. In By the Second Spring, the historian Danielle Leavitt goes beyond familiar portraits of wartime heroism and victimhood to reveal the human experience of the conflict.
An American who grew up in Ukraine, Leavitt draws on her deep familiarity with the country and a unique trove of online diaries to track a diverse group of Ukrainians through the first year of Russia’s full-scale invasion. Among others, we meet Vitaly, whose plans to open a coffee bar in a Kyiv suburb come to naught when the Russian army marches through his town and his apartment building is split in two by a rocket; Anna, who drops out of the police academy and begins a tumultuous relationship with a soldier she meets online; and Polina, a fashion-industry insider who returns home from Los Angeles with her American husband to organize relief. To illuminate the complex resurgence of Ukraine’s national spirit, Leavitt also tells the story of Volodymyr Shovkoshitniy—a nuclear engineer at Chernobyl who went on to lead a daring campaign in the late 1980s to return the bodies of three Ukrainian writers who’d died in a Soviet gulag. Writing with closeness and compassion, Leavitt has given us an interior history of Europe’s largest land war in seventy-five years.
“A vividly written, memorable series of profiles in courage and fierce resistance.” – Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW
“Movingly and realistically portrayed, this is an important work of contemporary witness.” – Marcia Welsh, Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW
“By the Second Spring presents invaluable testimony about the cost of war for civilians and is a great addition to the reportage on Ukraine’s fight to defend its very existence.” – James Pekoll, Booklist
Death at a Highland Wedding by Kelley Armstrong
fiction / mystery / historical fiction.
After slipping 150 years into the past, modern-day homicide detective Mallory Atkinson has embraced her new life in Victorian Scotland as housemaid Catriona Mitchel. Although it isn’t what she expected, she’s developed real, meaningful relationships with the people around her and has come to love her role as assistant to undertaker Dr. Duncan Gray and Detective Hugh McCreadie.
Mallory, Gray, and McCreadie are on their way to the Scottish Highlands for McCreadie’s younger sister’s wedding. The McCreadies and the groom’s family, the Cranstons, have a complicated history which has made the weekend quite uncomfortable. But the Cranston estate is beautiful so Gray and Mallory decide to escape the stifling company and set off to explore the castle and surrounding wilderness. They discover that the groom, Archie Cranston, a slightly pompous and prickly man, has set up deadly traps in the woods for the endangered Scottish wildcats, and they soon come across a cat who’s been caught and severely injured. Oddly, Mallory notices the cat’s injuries don’t match up with the intricacies of the trap. These strange irregularities, combined with the secretive and erratic behavior of the groom, put Mallory and Duncan on edge. And then when one of the guests is murdered, they must work fast to uncover the murderer before another life is lost.
“Time travel provides the framework for a captivating mystery and intriguing insights into life in 1870s Scotland.” – Kirkus Reviews
“[The] success of the book lies in the details: the vividly realized historical environment, the period-appropriate characters, and the thrill of watching a cop trying to adapt modern-day forensic techniques to an era in which they were utterly unknown. Series fans will be lining up for this one.” – David Pitt, Booklist
The Doorman by Chris Pavone
fiction / suspense / mystery.
Chicky Diaz is everyone’s favorite doorman at the Bohemia, the most famous apartment house in the world, home of celebrities, financiers, and New York’s cultural elite.
Up in the penthouse, Emily Longworth has the perfect-looking everything, all except her husband, whom she’d quietly loathed even before the recent revelations about where all the money comes from. But his wealth is immense, their prenup is iron-clad, and Emily can’t bring herself to leave him. Yet.
And downstairs in 2a, Julian Sonnenberg―who has carved himself a successful niche in the art world, and led a good half-century of a full and satisfying, cosmopolitan life―has just received a devastating phone call that does nothing at all to alleviate his sense that, probably for better and worse, he has aged out and he’s just not that useful to anyone any more.
Meanwhile, gathered in the Bohemia’s bowels, the building’s almost entirely Black and Hispanic, working-class staff is taking in the news that that just a few miles uptown, a Black man has been killed by the police, leading to a demonstration, a counterdemonstration, and a long night of violence across the tinderbox city.
As Chicky changes into his uniform for tonight’s shift, he finds himself breaking a cardinal rule of the job: tonight, he’ll be carrying a gun, bought only hours earlier, but before he knew of the pandemonium taking over the city. Chicky knows that there’s more going on in his patch of sidewalk in front of the Bohemia than anyone’s aware of. Tonight in the city, enemies will clash, loyalties will be tested, secrets will be revealed―and lives will be lost.
“Witty, sharp and twisty, this is perfect for fans of Only Murders in the Building.” – Isabelle McConville, B&N Reads
“The climax [is] classic Pavone, masterfully igniting the parallel conflicts of social unrest and the Longworths’ escalating viciousness.” – Christine Tran, Booklist
“This adrenaline-pumping thriller from bestseller Pavone delivers a lacerating, Tom Wolfe–worthy dissection of Manhattan society in the post-Covid era… Page-turning from the opening paragraph to its killer finale, the narrative combines noirish atmosphere with a sharp attunement to the particular depravities of ultrawealthy urbanites. Pavone’s provocative look at the city that never sleeps will keep readers up well into the wee hours.” – Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW
Gingko Season by Naomi Xu Elegant
fiction / romance.
After suffering her first big heartbreak two years earlier, Penelope Lin has built a quiet life with no romantic entanglements. She spends her days cataloging a museum’s vast collection of Qing Dynasty bound-foot shoes and in the comfortable company of close friends. One day, she happens to meet Hoang, who confesses to releasing mice from the cancer research lab where he works. Hoang’s openness catches Penelope off guard; from then on, she finds her carefully constructed life slowly start to unravel. Told in Penelope’s witty, vulnerable, and thoroughly endearing voice, Gingko Season captures three seasons of reawakening, challenges, and transformation.
This wise and tenderhearted novel explores the nature of our deepest friendships as seriously as it does the dizzying terror and thrill of falling in love, and the complications of trying to live a life that matches your ideals.
“[A] charming tale of a young woman’s blossoming.” – Publishers Weekly
“Far from melodramatic, Gingko Season powerfully explores love’s different facets while retaining a type of vulnerability that inspires intellectual reflection… Xu Elegant’s story embraces diasporas and their shaping of identity with the same sophisticated, careful touch.” – Lillian Liao, Booklist
The Girls of Good Fortune by Kristina McMorris
fiction / historical fiction.
She came from a lineage known for good fortune… by those who don’t know the whole story.
Oregon, 1888. Amid the subterranean labyrinth of Portland’s notorious Shanghai Tunnels, a woman awakens in an underground cell, drugged and disguised. Celia soon realizes she’s a “shanghaied” victim on the verge of being shipped off as forced labor, leaving behind those she loves most. Although well accustomed to adapting for survival—being half-Chinese, passing as white during an era fraught with anti-Chinese sentiment—she fears that far more than her own fate hangs in the balance.
As she pieces together the twisting path that led to her abduction, from serving as a maid for the family of a dubious mayor to becoming entwined in the case of a goldminers’ massacre, revelations emerge of a child left in peril. Desperate, Celia must find a way to escape and return to a place where unearthed secrets could prove deadlier than the dark recesses of Chinatown.
“Celie’s search for love and justice illuminates the struggles in the immigrant experience and atrocities long buried.” – Sally Sue Lavigne, The Indie Next List
“This poignant story of courage and defiance will please fans of Kristin Hannah and Lisa Wingate.” – Beth Brentlinger, Library Journal
“Celia’s strength of character shines, as she seems to bring out the best in people she has no good reason to trust. McMorris’ latest brings fresh focus to real atrocities committed in the burgeoning American West.” – Maribeth Fisher, Booklist, STARRED REVIEW
Hollywood High: A Totally Epic, Way Opinionated History of Teen Movies by Bruce Handy
nonfiction / film / history.
What influence did Francis Ford Coppola have on George Lucas’s American Graffiti? And Lucas on John Singleton’s Boyz n the Hood? How does teenage sexuality in Fast Times at Ridgemont High compare to Twilight? Which teen movies pass the Bechdel test? Why is Mean Girls actually the last great teen film of the 20th century?
In the same way that Peter Biskind’s Easy Riders, Raging Bulls connects the films of the 1970s to the period’s cultural upheaval, and David Hadju’s Positively 4th Street tells the story of the sixties through the emergence of folk music, Bruce Handy’s Hollywood High situates iconic teen movies within their times and reveals the intriguing stories, artists, and passions behind their creation. These films aren’t merely beloved stories; they reflect teens’ growing economic and cultural influence, societal panics, and shifting perceptions of youth in America.
Much more than a nostalgia trip, Hollywood High is a lively, provocative, and affectionate cultural history, spanning nearly one hundred years. Handy, an acclaimed journalist and critic who spent two decades at Vanity Fair, examines the defining films of each generation and builds connections between them. From the Andy Hardy classics (1937–1946) to the iconic Rebel Without a Cause (1955); Beach Party series (1963–1968); American Graffiti (1973); Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982); the John Hughes touchstones Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink, and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1984–1986); Boyz N the Hood (1991); Mean Girls (2004); the Twilight saga (2008–2012); and The Hunger Games series (2012–2015); this is a captivating deep dive into the world of teen movies that captures their sweeping history and influence. We’ll hear from icons James Dean, Annette Funicello, George Lucas, Amy Heckerling, John Hughes, Molly Ringwald, John Singleton, Tina Fey, and Kristen Stewart, and discover why the most timeless teen movies resonate across generations.
“…energetically traces the evolution of the teen movie…” – Emma Alpern, Vulture
“This insightful, informative, and witty guide will pique the interest of any aspiring cinephile.” – Joelle Egan, Booklist
“…well-informed and wonderfully subjective… A thoroughly entertaining and fascinating look at some of the United States’ favorite teen movies.” – Peter Thornell, Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW
Is a River Alive? by Robert Macfarlane ★
nonfiction / nature / science / environment / travel / natural history.
Hailed in the New York Times as “a naturalist who can unfurl a sentence with the breathless ease of a master angler,” Robert Macfarlane brings his glittering style to a profound work of travel writing, reportage, and natural history. Is a River Alive? is a joyful, mind-expanding exploration of an ancient, urgent idea: that rivers are living beings who should be recognized as such in imagination and law.
Macfarlane takes readers on three unforgettable journeys teeming with extraordinary people, stories, and places: to the miraculous cloud-forests and mountain streams of Ecuador, to the wounded creeks and lagoons of India, and to the spectacular wild rivers of Canada―imperiled respectively by mining, pollution, and dams. Braiding these journeys is the life story of the fragile chalk stream a mile from Macfarlane’s house, a stream who flows through his own years and days.
Powered by dazzling prose and lit throughout by other minds and voices, Is a River Alive? will open hearts, challenge perspectives, and remind us that our fate flows with that of rivers―and always has.
“[A] ravishing and enlightening inquiry shaped by hydropoetics and a deeply considered commitment to rejuvenating, cherishing, and protecting rivers and all of nature. ” – Donna Seaman, Booklist, STARRED REVIEW
“…moving and beautiful… If we’re lucky, we do not have to go far to find a stream or river to sit by. The revelations in this passionate book will make that quiet, common experience even more life-giving.” – Pamela Miller, Minnesota Star Tribune
“Macfarlane skillfully braids his immersive travel writing with illuminating historical background, all told in lithe prose. Nature lovers will be riveted.” – Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW
“From the second line of Robert Macfarlane’s new ode to nature, I was caught in the current… Macfarlane’s touch is deft, giving us exactly enough to consider the question while also showing us how this is not just about rivers but about us… [his] writing is as beautiful as the rivers and the hope he’s describing… The philosophical underpinning sees the most impressive transformation. He does his own unlearning of anthropocentrism on the page through his intense experiences with these three rivers, concluding only when the rivers are done with him: ‘I am rivered.’ He is showing us the way to do our own unlearning, too.” – Valorie Castellanos Clark, Los Angeles Times
The Knight and the Moth by Rachel Gillig ★
fiction / fantasy / romance.
Sybil Delling has spent nine years dreaming of having no dreams at all. Like the other foundling girls who traded a decade of service for a home in the great cathedral, Sybil is a Diviner. In her dreams she receives visions from six unearthly figures known as Omens. From them, she can predict terrible things before they occur, and lords and common folk alike travel across the kingdom of Traum’s windswept moors to learn their futures by her dreams.
Just as she and her sister Diviners near the end of their service, a mysterious knight arrives at the cathedral. Rude, heretical, and devilishly handsome, the knight Rodrick has no respect for Sybil’s visions. But when Sybil’s fellow Diviners begin to vanish one by one, she has no choice but to seek his help in finding them. For the world outside the cathedral’s cloister is wrought with peril. Only the gods have the answers she is seeking, and as much as she’d rather avoid Rodrick’s dark eyes and sharp tongue, only a heretic can defeat a god.
“Full of haunting, Gothic-tinged prose and boasting what is likely the most gorgeous cover of anything hitting shelves this year, Gillig’s latest is stunning in every way.” – Lacy Baugher Milas, Paste
“Gillig excels at creating an eerie world, rife with creepy legends and macabre creatures, sure to please any fan of gothic fantasy; it’s a perfect setting for the love-to-hate-you romance between Six and Myndacious.” – Eve Stano, Library Journal
“Gillig’s creative world building and riveting plot will have readers eagerly anticipating the next book in the Stonewater Kingdom series.” – Frances Moritz, Booklist
“Rachel Gillig weaves together romance, magic and folklore into an intoxicating fairytale. This is perfect for fans of Naomi Novik and Ava Reid.” – Isabelle McConville, B&N Reads
The Last Ferry Out by Andrea Bartz
fiction / suspense / mystery.
When Abby steps foot on Isla Colel, she isn’t sure what—if anything—she’ll find. She only knows that she needs to see the place where her fiancée, Eszter, died to try and make sense of the tragic accident.
The island is nothing like Abby expected: Though it was once a bustling tourist hub, a hurricane has left it a shell of its former self, with only a handful of residents remaining. Even the once-daily ferry to the mainland now runs every week or so.
There, Abby befriends an alluring group of expats, but her sense of unease surges when one of them says he knows the truth about Eszter’s final days. Before he can tell her more, though, he vanishes from the island. Hours turn to days with no sign of him, and the others are chillingly cavalier about his disappearance.
As her quest for the truth unearths dark secrets, shady pasts, and a web of lies, Abby grows more determined than ever to find out what happened to the love of her life. And the deeper she gets in the close-knit expat community, the more she suspects that one of them is Eszter’s killer—and will do anything to keep the truth buried. But will Abby discover who it is before she becomes the island’s next victim?
“[Bartz] leave[s] our heart pumping and ready for more.” – Tamara Fuentes, Cosmopolitan
“[A] stylish, serpentine thriller… The results aren’t for the squeamish, but those willing to follow Bartz’s lead are in for a memorable ride.” – Publishers Weekly
“…Bartz demonstrate[s] a gift for telling the kind of story that grabs the reader with a killer premise and keeps the reader flipping the pages with a combination of intricately rendered characters and impossible-to-predict twists and turns… A first-rate thriller.” – David Pitt, Booklist
Lloyd McNeil’s Last Ride by Will Leitch
fiction / suspense / comedy.
Lloyd McNeil has just learned he has months to live. He also learns that his twenty years as a beat cop in Atlanta haven’t earned him enough money to take care of his teenage son, Bishop, after he’s gone. But when Lloyd discovers his police benefits will increase exponentially if he dies in the line of duty, he comes up with a plan.
Lloyd begins to throw himself into one life-threatening situation after another to try to get himself killed and to provide for his son… but he keeps failing—and surviving. To his shock, his accidental heroics make him an inspirational icon in the community. But time is still running out for Lloyd to get his affairs in order, to teach Bishop the lessons he needs to be a good person, and to say goodbye.
Lloyd McNeil’s Last Ride is a surprising, unforgettable blend of suspense, humor, and compassion. It is a novel about what we leave behind and what we learn along the way, a bighearted and stirring story about the depths of a father’s love for his son.
“…amusing and affecting… Leitch balances the zany and high-stakes set pieces with tender depictions of Lloyd’s bond with Bishop… This adventure is sweet and thrilling in equal measure.” – Publishers Weekly
The Love Haters by Katherine Center ★
fiction / romance / comedy.
Katie Vaughn has been burned by love in the past—now she may be lighting her career on fire. She has two choices: wait to get laid off from her job as a video producer or, at her coworker Cole’s request, take a career-making gig profiling Tom “Hutch” Hutcheson, a Coast Guard rescue swimmer in Key West. The catch? Katie’s not exactly qualified. She can’t swim—but pretends that she can.
Plus, Cole and Hutch are brothers. And they don’t get along. Next stop: paradise! But paradise is messier than it seems. As Katie gets entangled with Hutch (the most scientifically good-looking man she has ever seen… but maybe a bit of a love hater), along with his colorful aunt Rue and his rescue Great Dane, she gets trapped in a lie. Or two. Swim lessons, helicopter flights, conga lines, drinking contests, hurricanes, and stolen kisses ensue—along with chances to tell the truth, to face old fears, and to be truly brave at last.
“Fantastic!” – Karen Piacentini, The Indie Next List
“Striking a perfect balance of comedic moments and emotional authenticity, this may be Center’s best yet.” – Publishers Weekly
“Center’s latest is a charming romp full of all the elements readers have come to expect from her: endearingly guarded characters thrust into a situation that opens up their worlds in the best way.” – Kristine Huntley, Booklist
“With laugh out loud moments, heart felt scenes that leave you aching and torn, plus one scene that left my jaw on the floor, Katherine Center creates an unforgettable story about self-love, friendship and family…” – Cece Beckman, Sheaf & Ink
The Memory Collectors by Dete Meserve
fiction / science fiction / mystery / fantasy / suspense.
What would you do if you could spend an hour in your past? Four strangers in the beach town of Ventura, California are about to find out.
Elizabeth aches for one more precious hour with her son who died in a senseless accident. Andy is desperate to find his first love who vanished after a whirlwind romance. Logan craves the rush of surfing and mountain climbing, yearning to reclaim the freedom he lost after a misstep landed him in a wheelchair. Brooke is looking for an hour of relief from the guilt of an unforgivable mistake.
Enter Aeon Expeditions, the groundbreaking time travel invention of Mark Saunders—which allows some lucky clients the chance to spend an hour in their past. Even though Aeon’s technology ensures time travel can’t alter the future, all four clients, including Mark’s ex-wife Elizabeth, yearn to revisit the hour that changed their lives forever.
But when their “hour” extends beyond sixty minutes, they find themselves stranded in the past. As their paths intertwine unexpectedly, they unearth shocking secrets hidden in the shadows of their shared history: All their lives were shattered the same night on a secluded highway by the beach. As they delve into the hidden truths of that pivotal hour, a startling revelation emerges. They were not alone. Someone else was present, harboring deadly intentions.
“Those who love time travel stories will enjoy the way Meserve’s novel dives deeply into the human factors behind grief, guilt, loss, and starting over.” – Marlene Harris, Library Journal
“[A] time-twisting thriller that explores life’s pivotal moments…” – Heather Rose Arthushin, Psychology Today
“…The Memory Collectors will stick in your memory long after you turn the final page.” – Marlene Harris, Reading Reality
Nightshade by Michael Connelly
fiction / mystery / suspense.
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Detective Stilwell has been “exiled” to a low-key post policing rustic Catalina Island, after department politics drove him off a homicide desk on the mainland. But while following up the usual drunk-and-disorderlies and petty thefts that come with his new territory, Detective Stilwell gets a report of a body found weighed down at the bottom of the harbor—a Jane Doe identifiable at first only by a streak of purple dye in her hair. At the same time, a report of poaching on a protected reserve turns into a case fraught with violence and danger as Stilwell digs into the shady past of an island bigwig.
Crossing all lines of protocol and jurisdiction, Stilwell doggedly works both cases. Though hampered by an old beef with an ex-colleague determined to thwart him at every turn, he is convinced he is the only one who can bring justice to the woman known as “Nightshade.” Soon, his investigation uncovers closely guarded secrets and a dark heart to the serene island that was meant to be his escape from the evils of the big city.
Propulsive and atmospheric, Nightshade launches a brand new character into the Connelly universe, and proves without question that Michael Connelly is “the undisputed master of the modern crime novel” (Real Book Spy).
“Nightshade marks another bright turning point for Connelly.” – Oline H. Cogdill, South Florida Sun Sentinal
“…compulsively readable… With an intriguingly low-key but skilled and principled hero, his significant other, a pesky if useful reporter, a conniving mayor, and a crime boss known as Baby Head, Nightshade is a gripping and promising start to crime virtuoso Connelly’s new series.” – Donna Seaman, Booklist, STARRED REVIEW
“The author’s fans will be thrilled to find him working in a new register.” – Publishers Weekly
Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again by Jake Tapper & Alex Thompson
nonfiction / politics / history.
In Greek tragedy, the protagonist’s effort to avoid his fate is what seals his fate. In 2024, American politics became a Greek tragedy.
Joe Biden launched his successful 2020 bid for the White House with the stated goal of saving the nation from a second Trump presidential term. He, his family, and his senior aides were so convinced that only he could beat Trump again, they lied to themselves, allies, and the public about his condition and limitations. At his debate with Trump on June 27, 2024, the consequences of that deception were exposed to the world. It was shocking and upsetting.
Now the full, unsettling truth is being told for the first time. Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson take us behind closed doors and into private conversations between the heaviest of hitters, revealing how big the problem was and how many people knew about it. From White House staffers at the highest to lowest levels, to leaders of Congress and the Cabinet, from governors to donors and Hollywood players, the truth is finally being told. What you will learn makes President Biden’s decision to run for reelection seem shockingly narcissistic, self-delusional, and reckless—a desperate bet that went bust—and part of a larger act of extended public deception that has few precedents. The story the authors tell raises fundamental issues of accountability and responsibility that will continue for decades.
The irony is biting: In the name of defeating what they called an existential threat to democracy, Biden and his inner circle ensured it, tossing aside his implicit promise to serve for only one term, denying the existence of health issues the nation had been watching for years, dooming the Democrats to defeat. The decision to run again, the Original Sin of this president, led to a campaign of denial and gaslighting, leading directly to Donald Trump’s return to power and all that has happened as a consequence. Rarely does hubris meet nemesis more explosively. Wherever you stand on the political spectrum, Original Sin is essential reading.
“…the story in this new book is about the danger of willful ignorance… a damning, step-by-step account of how the people closest to a stubborn, aging president enabled his quixotic resolve to run for a second term.” – Jennifer Szalai, New York Times
“Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson’s superbly reported Original Sin reads like a Shakespearean drama on steroids… a painful, if necessary, piece of journalism.” – Leigh Haber, Los Angeles Times
“Original Sin is not really a ‘campaign book’—its account of the 2024 election largely ends after Biden drops out—but its simple assessment of the race is more compelling than anything else I’ve read about it… Original Sin is rarely better than when Tapper and Thompson are writing—with extensive reporting and clear-eyed prose—about the disaster that Biden caused… Over the next year, dozens of books will appear that attempt to explain this election. It’s hard to imagine any doing better than that.” – Alex Shephard, Washington Post
The Sailing of the Intrepid: The Incredible Wartime Voyage of the Navy’s Most Iconic Aircraft Carrier by Montel Williams & David Fisher
nonfiction / history.
From twenty-two-year naval and marine veteran Montel Williams comes a page-turning history of how one World War II aircraft carrier’s crew defied all odds, redefining the very meaning of what it means to struggle, persevere and survive.
1944. The USS Intrepid set sail on its first combat voyage, only to be struck by a Japanese torpedo plane, jamming its rudder at a forty-five-degree angle. It could only sail in circles amid treacherous waters.
The task force abandoned ship as it tried to make the 3,300-mile voyage to Pearl Harbor. For a day, the captain was able to slalom, alternating use of the ship’s engines, but the seas became too perilous. Until one resilient crewman came up with the ingenious idea of rigging a 3,000 square-foot high sail on the second deck to steer the ship home safe. Incredibly, the makeshift sail proved to be their ticket to the shorelines.
With grit and determination, this spellbinding story details a remarkable survival story against all odds, for readers of Tom Clavin and Bob Drury.
“With vivid detail, Williams — a Marine veteran — and Fisher recount a little-known episode in the carrier’s history…” – Hailey Eber, New York Post
Spent by Alison Bechdel ★
fiction / graphic novel / comedy.
In Alison Bechdel’s hilariously skewering and gloriously cast new comic novel confection, a cartoonist named Alison Bechdel, running a pygmy goat sanctuary in Vermont, is existentially irked by a climate-challenged world and a citizenry on the brink of civil war. She wonders: Can she pull humanity out of its death spiral by writing a scathingly self-critical memoir about her own greed and privilege?
Meanwhile, Alison’s first graphic memoir about growing up with her father, a taxidermist who specialized in replicas of Victorian animal displays, has been adapted into a highly successful TV series. It’s a phenomenon that makes Alison, formerly on the cultural margins, the envy of her friend group (recognizable as characters, now middle-aged and living communally in Vermont, from Bechdel’s beloved comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For).
As the TV show Death and Taxidermy racks up Emmy after Emmy—and when Alison’s Pauline Bunyanesque partner Holly posts an instructional wood-chopping video that goes viral—Alison’s own envy spirals. Why couldn’t she be the writer for a critically lauded and wildly popular reality TV show… like Queer Eye… showing people how to free themselves from consumer capitalism and live a more ethical life?!!
Spent’s rollicking and masterful denouement—making the case for seizing what’s true about life in the world at this moment, before it’s too late—once again proves that “nobody does it better” (New York Times) than the real Alison Bechdel.
“Bechdel is incisive, tender, and funny—often at the same time.” – Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW
“A great practitioner of graphic memoir, Bechdel turns her gimlet eye selfward in this hilarious account of a slightly autobiographical ‘Alison Bechdel’… Truthful, rueful and delightful.” – Bethanne Patrick, Los Angeles Times
“Bechdel keeps the jokes coming at the pace of a good Simpsons episode, and with the same self-referential reflexes, unnecessary erudition and jokey signage in the background.” – Sam Thielman, New York Times
“[A] sharp, hilarious and humane look at social and cultural politics… Bechdel’s signature wry humor, keen observational skills and masterful storytelling take center stage in Spent… Grounded, witty and tender, Spent captures what it means to be flawed yet striving to live by your values, while navigating the joys and absurdities of life.” – Maya Fleischmann, BookPage, STARRED REVIEW
That’s All I Know by Elisa Levi; translated by Christina MacSweeney
fiction.
Nineteen-year-old Little Lea lives in a rural town where life ends at the edge of the forest.
When a stranger loses his dog on the first day after the end of the world, Little Lea warns him not to follow it into the forest, that people who enter never come out. Over a shared joint, she tells him about the burning in her gut, winding a tale of loss, desire, and conspiracies.
Little Lea sees the world through backcountry eyes that distrust the outsiders who come but who also get to leave. When she isn’t working at her mother’s grocery store, she cares for her empty-headed younger sister, Nora, who only cries when she’s in pain. Meanwhile, her friend Catalina does nothing but cry. Little Lea wants Javier to love her, and she doesn’t want Marco, who leaves weed and his best potatoes on her doorstep. As the town prepares for their end-of-the-world festival, she faces her intensifying desire to leave, that burning that unsettles her life—she wants to be useful somewhere else, even if it means being unloved, unwanted, unable to return. That’s all she knows.
In a formally ambitious sustained monologue meant to distract the man as the forest does its work, Elisa Levi’s That’s All I Know explores the toll of caring for those who cannot care for themselves, the fear of the unknown that anchors people to unfulfilling lives, and the bravery it takes to stop deceiving oneself, to give in to longing.
“Much like the forest that surrounds the setting here, this is a novel capable of lethal shocks and bold transfigurations. An unconventional and memorable coming-of-age story.” – Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW
“…arresting… Levi’s frank and acerbic prose works to the book’s advantage, highlighting the story’s absurd nature and brutal action. This eerie tale is worth a look.” – Publishers Weekly
“Lyrical and alarming… a complicated mix of violence, cruelty, mercy, and love.” – Michelle Anne Schingler, Foreword Reviews
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