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"The mouth is a weird place." ~ from Joshua Ferris' To Rise Again at a Decent Hour
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New and Recently Released!
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| The Snow Queen by Michael CunninghamFiction. At the heart of this lyrical, descriptive story are Brooklyn-based brothers Barrett and Tyler Meeks. Barrett, a retail sales associate recently dumped by his boyfriend, experiences a "celestial light" while walking through Central Park and interprets it as a sign. Meanwhile, struggling musician Tyler reflects on his "difficult but interesting life," in which his increasing dependence on drugs becomes a means of coping with his girlfriend Beth's cancer. Moving and heartfelt, The Snow Queen presents an intimate character study of three individuals seeking redemption and second chances by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Hours. |
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| To Rise Again at a Decent Hour: A Novel by Joshua FerrisFiction. Why would anyone steal the identity of Dr. Paul C. O'Rourke, DDS? Especially the Ulms, a sect claiming to be descended from the Amalekites, a tribe briefly mentioned in the Bible as the defeated enemy of the ancient Israelites. Although Paul is a staunch atheist whose devotion to the Red Sox is the closest thing he's got to a religion, he can't help but seek answers from the mysterious strangers who have hijacked his online presence in order to proselytize via their holy book, the possibly ersatz Cantaveticles. Is this a cult? An elaborate hoax? Or something even stranger? Don't miss this humorous, thought-provoking story by the author of And Then We Came to the End and The Unnamed. |
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| The Farm by Tom Rob SmithPsychological Suspense. Three long-distance phone calls in 24 hours change Daniel's life forever. His father calls twice, first to inform Daniel that his mother has been committed to a mental hospital, and then later to explain that she has discharged herself and gone missing. While Daniel is reeling from this revelation, his mother contacts him with the news that she's coming to visit him in London, where she'll tell Daniel the truth about everything -- including his father. Daniel, caught between his parents' conflicting versions of events (and concealing some secrets of his own), must decide who and what to believe in this compelling, intricately plotted psychological suspense story. |
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| That Summer by Lauren WilligFiction. Having just inherited a house in London, former stock broker Julia, still reeling from the loss of her job, travels from New York to England to examine the property and discovers a hidden painting depicting legendary doomed lovers Tristan and Isolde. In a parallel narrative, set in the 1840s, beautiful and intelligent heiress Imogene Hadley is imprisoned in an unhappy marriage to aristocratic Arthur Grantham, who treats his wife more like a possession than a partner. As Julia works with antiques dealer Nick to discover the origins of the painting, she unearths the secret history of Imogene and Gavin Thorne, the portrait painter commissioned to capture Imogene's likeness but destined to steal her heart. An artful combination of mystery, multi-generational family drama, star-crossed romance, and tragedy make That Summer a compelling listening experience. |
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| My Life in Middlemarch by Rebecca MeadMemoir. New Yorker staff writer Rebecca Mead first read George Eliot's Middlemarch as a bookish 17-year-old in England. Since that fateful first encounter, Mead has reread the novel every five years, finding new meaning and relevance in its pages as she herself has grown and matured. For example, Mead's youthful yearning to trade her provincial upbringing for the sophistication of city life mirrors the aspirations of Middlemarch's Dorothea, while her subsequent identities as scholar, journalist, spouse, and parent parallel the experiences of the book's diverse cast of characters -- providing Mead with an evolving understanding of herself and the ways in which books resonate with and influence their readers. |
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| The Wilder Life: My Adventures in the Lost World of Little House on the Prairie by Wendy McClureMemoir. "I was born in a log cabin in Wisconsin in 1867 and maybe you were, too," declares Wendy McClure at the outset of this irreverent yet movingly introspective tour of the literary life and landscape of Laura Ingalls Wilder, whose autobiographical novels -- beginning with 1932's Little House in the Big Woods -- fired the imaginations of generations of readers. Between visiting Laura's birthplace in Pepin, Wisconsin, and paying her respects at Wilder's final resting place at Rocky Ridge Farm in Missouri, McClure also dips her toes in the actual Plum Creek and even takes a side trip to the boyhood home of Almanzo "Farmer Boy" Wilder. In the process, she reflects on the perennial appeal of the Little House books and their enduring legacy. |
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| The Lineup: The World's Greatest Crime Writers Tell the Inside Story of Their Greatest Detectives by Otto Penzler (editor)Anthology. How did Jack Reacher get his name? What is the connection between James Joyce's Ulysses and Carol O'Connell's enigmatic NYPD detective Mallory? What does a typical day look like for Baltimore's "accidental detective" Tess Monaghan? These are just a few of the surprising discoveries to be made in this wide-ranging anthology, in which acclaimed mystery writers create profiles of their famous fictional creations. Whether you're interested in Michael Connelly's origin story for Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch, Alexander McCall Smith's description of the real-life inspiration for Botswana's sole female private investigator Mma Ramotswe, or Ken Bruen's thoughts on Jack Taylor's alcoholism (and the strange ways in which life imitates art), armchair detectives will appreciate these glimpses into some of contemporary crime fiction's most intriguing characters. |
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| Why Read Moby-Dick? by Nathaniel PhilbrickNonfiction. For some, reading Moby-Dick means setting sail on a thrilling literary journey; for others, being keel-hauled seems preferable to wading through such a massive tome. Still, no matter where you stand on the merits of Moby-Dick, you couldn't ask for a more enthusiastic guide to Herman Melville's 1851 masterpiece than author Nathaniel Philbrick, who combines "a critical eye and a reader’s adoration" (Publishers Weekly) to make a compelling case for Moby-Dick's ongoing relevance and the rich rewards that lie in store for readers who persevere in this whale of a tale. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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