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Fiction A to Z November 2018
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The friend by Sigrid NunezNational Book Award Winner for Fiction. After her best friend and mentor commits suicide, a grieving woman inherits his Great Dane, risks being evicted from her rent controlled no-pets apartment and forges a deep bond with the equally distraught animal in ways that initially disturb her friends. The Friend is a book on love, grief, friendship and the bond between woman and dog. By the award-winning author of Salvation City.
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Whiskey when we're dry by John LarisonFacing starvation and worse when she is orphaned on her family's 1885 homestead, 17-year-old sharpshooter Jess cuts off her hair and disguises herself as a boy to journey across the mountains in search of her outlaw brother. Recommended for readers who like a cinematic western, gender-bending, and bravado.
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The lake on fire : a novel by Rosellen BrownAn epic narrative in which two young immigrants, Chaya and her brother Asher, discover that the Gilded Age and the beautiful Columbian Exposition are the façade of a desperately impoverished Chicago. The question they must answer – as relevant now as it was then – is how one can live an honest and useful life. Kirkus calls it "a transporting drama of class and love."
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| The Shape of the Ruins by Juan Gabriel VásquezVásquez's fifth novel is an absorbing, immersive, and complex tale of political conspiracy and obsession (in which the narrator shares a name with the author).
Ostensibly about conspiracy theories, this book is also an introduction to 20th-century Colombian history, a host of photographs and other artifacts, and an array of stories within stories.
The Washington Post calls it "sweeping and magisterial". |
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Eat, Drink, and Be Merry (Or Not)
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| The Last Days of Café Leila by Donia BijanReeling from a broken marriage, expat Noor returns to her native Iran for the first time in decades, with her rebellious teenage daughter in tow. There, she finds a changed Tehran and a father in ill health.
Read it for strong family ties, mouthwatering Persian cuisine, and multiple perspectives on Iran's recent history. Donia Bijan is also a successful chef whose memoir is called Maman's Homesick Pie. |
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| Women in Sunlight by Frances MayesFor Camille, Susan, and Julia, traditional retirement communities hold no appeal; on a bit of a whim the four near-strangers decide to rent a Tuscan home for a year, where they meet a younger American expat and become fast friends.
An upbeat, engaging novel, Women in Sunlight features lushly described settings and meals -- bringing Tuscany's best to your living room.If you can't get enough idyllic countryside, pick up her earlier work, Under the Tuscan Sun. |
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| Sourdough by Robin SloanSolitary software engineer Lois, whose primary social contact is with her food delivery service, is gifted a strange and seemingly semi-sentient sourdough starter, her life changes in unexpected ways.
Both a parody of and a paean to food-centric novels (and Silicon Valley start-ups), Sourdough teems with humor and quirky characters. |
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| Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan StradalA collection of chronological short stories told from different perspectives, illuminating the influences on young Midwesterner Eva Thorvald, whose path to culinary stardom is crooked.
This charming debut novel is a bit like Elizabeth Strout's Olive Kitteridge, but with a lot more quirky humor. |
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Read Along with Us! Book Clubs @ HPL
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Carnegie Book Club Carnegie Neighborhood Library & Center for Learning Monday, November 19 & December 31 | 5 PM - 6 PM Discuss books with others. We will be discussing The Book Thief by Markus Zusak on November 19 and December 31st.
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Classic Literature Book Club Central Library Tuesday, December 11 | 12 PM - 1 PM Do your reading tendencies lean towards the classics? If you enjoy reading and discussing classic literature, please join us for The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery.
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Eleven Blowout Books Central Library Thursday, December 13 | 12 PM - 1 PM Join us to learn more about green themes including the environmental, social and economic approaches to sustainability. Held the second Thursday of the month at noon; led by Steve Stelzer, Program Director, Houston Green Building Resource Center.
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Heights Great Books Heights Neighborhood Library Saturday, December 8 | 2 PM - 4 PM Join in a lively book discussion on Persuasion by Jane Austen.
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Heights Library Readers Group Heights Neighborhood Library Monday, December 3 | 6:15 - 7:45 PM
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Murder at MiddayHPL Express Discovery Green Tuesday, November 27 | 12 PM - 1 PM Are you a fan of mysteries? Whether you like cozy, thriller or historical we have something for your tastes. Join us at Discovery Green for Murder at Midday, if you want to find out whodunit! This month, we will be discussing Still Life by Louise Penny.
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Morris Frank Express Book Club Morris Frank Library, an HPL Express Location Wednesday, December 5 | 10:30 - 12 PM Do you enjoy reading and discussing books? Join us for a lively discussion on Texas Ranger by James Patterson.
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Meyer Mystery Book Club Morris Frank Library, an HPL Express Location Thursday, December 20 | 1 PM - 2 PM Do you enjoy reading and discussing books? Join us for a lively discussion with the Meyer Mystery Book Club (hosted by Frank). Please call the library to get the details on the book being discussed this month. This month, we will be discussing How the Light Gets In by Louise Penny.
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Mystery Book Club Ring Neighborhood Library Thursday, December 13 | 1 PM - 2:30 PM Do you enjoy reading and discussing books? Join us for a lively discussion with the Ring Mystery Book Club. Contact your library for more details. This month we will be discussing Midnight Fugue by Reginald Hill.
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Young Book Club Young Neighborhood Library Monday, December 17 | 6 PM - 7 PM Join us for a lively book discussion on John Woman by Walter Mosely.
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