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As always, if the library does not own one of the books on this list, please feel free to place a request. We will contact you when your book is available.
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New and Recently Released!
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| On Immunity: An Inoculation by Eula BissNonfiction. When author Eula Biss became a mother, she found herself overwhelmed by the amount of (mis)information she encountered regarding immunizations. Feeling caught in the crossfire between staunch advocates and zealous opponents of vaccination, Biss launched her own investigation into the subject. As it turns out, fears about disease and inoculation are as old as medicine itself and have less to do with science than with human nature. A fascinating blend of science, history, politics, art, and literature, On Immunity may appeal to fans of Diane Ackerman's work. |
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| Belzhar by Meg WolitzerYA Fiction. Traumatized by her boyfriend's death, 15-year-old Jam Gallahue allows her parents to enroll her at the Wooden Barn, a Vermont boarding school that specializes in "emotionally fragile" teens. A journal-writing assignment for her English class offers Jam an opportunity to travel into the past and relive the happy days leading up to her loss, in the process coming to terms with her grief and learning to move on. Belzhar's mystical elements are grounded in psychological realism and an acute understanding of the inner lives of teenagers. |
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| Neil Patrick Harris: Choose Your Own Autobiography by Neil Patrick HarrisMemoir. "WARNING!!! This self-serving celebrity autobiography is different from other self-serving celebrity autobiographies." Why? Because YOU will be responsible for living the life of television, film, and Broadway star Neil Patrick Harris, and YOUR decisions will determine his fate, for better or worse. But this is an audiobook, you may think to yourself. How does that even work? You'll just have to listen to find out! |
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| Yes Please by Amy PoehlerMemoir. "I know enough now to know I know nothing," confesses comedic actor and writer Amy Poehler in her introduction to this witty, warm, and wise memoir. Of course, that's not quite true, as listeners will soon discover. While describing her life, past and present, as well as her career (which includes co-founding the improv group Upright Citizens Brigade, a successful stint on Saturday Night Live, and a starring role on TV's Parks and Recreation), Poehler also offers friendly advice in sections titled, "Say Whatever You Want," "Do Whatever You Like," and "Be Whoever You Are." |
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| Nora Webster: A Novel by Colm TóibínFiction. Only 40 years old when she loses her beloved husband Maurice, widow Nora Webster struggles to raise their four children alone in 1960s County Wexford, Ireland. As Nora rebuilds her life, coping with grief and loneliness while fending off pity from well-meaning but intrusive family members, friends, and neighbors, listeners gain insight into her rich inner life. Fans of Colm Tóibín's Brooklyn will recognize some of Nora Webster's supporting characters in this quiet but moving character study. |
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| Radiance of Tomorrow: A Novel by Ishmael BeahFiction. Best known for his acclaimed memoir A Long Way Gone, about his experiences as a child soldier, author and UNICEF ambassador Ishmael Beah sets his fiction debut in a village in Sierra Leone reeling from the aftermath of the country's decade-long civil war. Returning to Imperi after its destruction, a group of survivors seek some semblance of a normal life. However, events -- including an influx of refugees and the arrival of a corrupt mining company -- demonstrate the difficulty of rebuilding lives torn apart by violence. |
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| All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony DoerrFiction. Fleeing Paris on the eve of the German occupation, blind Marie-Laure LeBlanc and her father seek sanctuary in St. Malo, at the home of Marie-Laure's eccentric great-uncle and his housekeeper, both members of the French Resistance. As Marie-Laure contributes to their efforts by broadcasting information over the wireless, her path crosses that of German soldier Werner Pfennig, whose intellect and technical aptitude are responsible for his current assignment: monitoring and reporting illicit radio transmissions. If you enjoy dramatic stories set during World War II, don't miss this lyrical story of love, loyalty, and betrayal. |
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| The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard FlanaganFiction. Reflecting on his nearly eight decades on Earth, Tasmanian surgeon Dorrigo Jones returns repeatedly to two life-changing events: the illicit affair he had with his uncle's wife and his time as an Allied POW during World War II, when he and others labored on the infamous Thai-Burma "Death Railway." Skillfully evoking both the transcendent heights of young love and the agonizing depths of human suffering, Narrow Road to the Deep North, winner of the 2014 Man Booker Prize, will linger in listeners' memories. |
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| If I Die in a Combat Zone, Box Me Up and Ship Me Home by Tim O'BrienMemoir. Originally published in 1973, Tim O'Brien's memoir of his tour of duty as a U.S. Army infantryman has since become a classic account of the Vietnam War. In spare, evocative style, O'Brien describes everyday life as a soldier by introducing himself and his fellow "grunts" before tracing their trajectory from basic training to battleground and back to civilian life (or not). For a contemporary perspective on military life that, while fictional, draws heavily on the author's personal experiences, check out Phil Klay's Redeployment. |
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| Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth WeinYA Fiction. This haunting companion to Elizabeth Wein's much-lauded Code Name Verity introduces Rose Justice, an American pilot volunteering with the Air Transport Auxiliary. Captured by the Nazis while ferrying a plane across the English Channel, Rose is sent to Ravensbrück, the infamous all-female concentration camp, where she meets a group of Polish women known as "the Rabbits" upon whom the camp's doctors perform medical experiments. Struck by her fellow prisoners' courage in the face of horror and human depravity, Rose is determined to survive, if for no other reason than to bear witness to the atrocities of the Holocaust. |
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