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Books in the National Media February, 2020 Books People are Talking About!
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The gimmicks : a novel by Chris McCormickA novel set in the waning years of the Cold War follows a trio of young Armenians from the Soviet Union, across Europe, to Southern California, looking at the Armenian Genocide, whose traumatic reverberations will have unexpected consequences on all three lives. A first novel. Featured in Entertainment Weekly, February issue
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Wanderers : a novel by Chuck WendigWhen her little sister is afflicted by a bizarre sleepwalking disorder that begins to affect people all across the country, Shana is embroiled in an apocalyptic epidemic involving a decadent rock star, a religious radio host, and a disgraced scientist. Featured on NPR's All Things Considered, February 10
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Weather by Jenny OffillHired by her famous podcaster mentor to answer letters from increasingly polarized fans, a librarian who has acquired her education from a lifetime spent reading struggles between the limits of her knowledge and growing crises in the outside world. Featured in Entertainment Weekly, February issue
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The Lost Book of Adana Moreau by Michael ZapataDecades after a 1929 Dominican immigrant writer passes away believing her final manuscript was destroyed, a Chicago lawyer discovers the book and endeavors to learn the woman’s remarkable story against the backdrop of Hurricane Katrina. Featured on NPR Book Review, February 5
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The cactus league : a novel by Emily NemensBeginning spring training in the unforgiving Arizona desert, a star outfielder navigates the secrets of the coaches, writers, wives, girlfriends, criminals and fans who watch his every move, in a story told in the style of a sportscaster’s narrative. Featured in Entertainment Weekly, February issue
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The king at the edge of the world : novel by Arthur PhillipsA secret Muslim warrior from the height of England’s religious battles is sent to Scotland to uncover the true nature of James VI’s actual religious beliefs while an heirless Elizabeth I lies on her deathbed. By the award-winning author of Prague. Featured in The Wall Street Journal, February 14
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Get a life, Chloe Brown : a novel by Talia HibbertEmerging from a life-threatening illness, a fiercely organized but unfulfilled computer geek recruits a mysterious artist to help her establish meaning in her life, before finding herself engaged in reckless but thrilling activities. Featured on Today Show, February 10
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Apartment : a novel by Teddy WayneA man who offers a rent-free bedroom in his illegal sublet of a rent-stabilized NYC apartment and the working-class Midwestern Columbia student who takes it develop a friendship that eventually clashes over politics, socioeconomic identity and privilege in 1996. Featured in USA Today, February 22
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The Resisters by Gish JenEnduring life on the margins in a near-future world ruthlessly divided between the employed and unemployed, a once-professional couple give birth to an athletically gifted child, whose attention by the government compels her mother to challenge society’s foundations. Featured in Entertainment Weekly, February issue, NPR Book Review, February 5
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Riot baby by Tochi OnyebuchiThe author of the award-winning young-adult novel Beasts Made of Night tackles youth, race and the carceral state with magical flair, in his adult-science-fiction debut. Featured on Daily Show, February 10
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Verge : stories by Lidia YuknavitchIn her first collection of short fiction, the award-winning author, and one of the most galvanizing voices in American fiction, presents a powerfully empathetic group portrait of the marginalized and outcast in moments of crisis. Featured on NPR Book Review, February 6
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Interior Chinatown by Charles YuA stereotyped character actor stumbles into the spotlight before uncovering surprising links between his family and the secret history of Chinatown. By the award-winning author of How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe. Featured in Entertainment Weekly, February issue
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Under occupation : a novel by Alan FurstA historical novel based on the true stories of Polish prisoners in Nazi Germany finds a young member of the French resistance in occupied Paris navigating increasingly dangerous assignments and the machinations of an enigmatic spy. Maps. Featured in The Wall Street Journal, February 21
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Oona out of order by Margarita MontimoreA young woman destined to wake up on her birthday to a random year in her life struggles through an out-of-order existence to reconcile her inner youth with the realities of shifting external identities, appearances and period norms. Featured in USA Today, February 22
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Featured on Good Morning America, February 11
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Upright women wanted by Sarah Gailey"Esther is a stowaway. She's hidden herself away in the Librarian's book wagon in an attempt to escape the marriage her father has arranged for her-a marriage to the man who was previously engaged to her best friend. Her best friend who she was in love with. Her best friend who was just executed for possession of resistance propaganda. The future American Southwest is full of bandits, fascists, and queer librarian spies on horseback trying to do the right thing" Featured on NPR Book Review, February 4
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Saint X by Alexis SchaitkinWhen a brief but fateful encounter brings her together with one of the men originally suspected of killing her sister, Claire, hoping to gain his trust and learn the truth, forms an unlikely attachment with this man whose life is forever marked by the same tragedy. Illustrations. Featured in Entertainment Weekly, February issue
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Real life by Brandon TaylorKeeping his head down at a lakeside Midwestern university where the culture is in sharp contrast to his Alabama upbringing, an introverted African-American biochem student endures unexpected encounters that bring his orientation and defenses into question. Featured in Entertainment Weekly, February issue
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The only child : a novel by Mi-ae S¿When serial killer Yi Byeongdo asks to speak to her, and her husband’s 11-year-old daughter from a previous marriage shows up at their door, criminal psychologist Seonkyeong starts to unravel the pasts of the two new arrivals in her life and begins to see startling similarities. Featured on NPR Book Review, February 16
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The other people : a novel by C. J. TudorA man obsessed with tracking down the person responsible for his daughter’s abduction is forced to reckon with events from his distant past, while a mother on the run desperately protects her own daughter from dangerous adversaries. Featured on NPR Book Review, February 1
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Little Constructions by Anna BurnsIn the small town of Tiptoe Floorboard, the Doe clan, a close-knit family of criminals and victims, has the run of the place, until one violent act leads to a day that just may change everything. By the author of the Man Booker Prize-winning Milkman. Featured on NPR Book Review, February 22
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Actress : a novel by Anne EnrightWhen her Irish-theater-legend mother succumbs to alcohol and instability, Norah draws on her experiences of surviving a crime and growing up in the wings of her mother’s career to rediscover herself as a wife, mother and writer. Featured in The Washington Post, February 25
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The Regrets by Amy BonnaffonsIn order to “cross over” to the afterlife, Thomas must complete a 90-day stint on earth during which he is forbidden to get involved with a member of the living until he falls in love with Rachel, setting in motion a series of strange, troubling consequences. Featured in Entertainment Weekly, February issue, NPR Book Review, February 8
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Run me to earth : a novel by Paul YoonThree children orphaned in 1960s Laos meet a dedicated doctor who enlists them as motorcycle couriers in his effort to rescue civilians and find medical supplies in a novel from the award-winning author of Snow Hunters. Featured on Late Night, February 6
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The boatman's daughter : a novel by Andy Davidson"A swampy literary horror novel about a young woman facing down drug dealers, a crooked cop, and a mad preacher on the banks of an Arkansas river". Featured on NPR Book Review, February 15
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The other Mrs. by Mary KubicaUnnerved by her husband’s inheritance of a decrepit coastal property and the presence of a disturbed relative, community newcomer Sadie uncovers harrowing facts about her family’s possible role in a neighbor’s murder. Featured in Entertainment Weekly, February issue
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Real life by Brandon TaylorKeeping his head down at a lakeside Midwestern university where the culture is in sharp contrast to his Alabama upbringing, an introverted African-American biochem student endures unexpected encounters that bring his orientation and defenses into question. Featured in The Washington Post, February 24
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Apeirogon : a novel by Colum McCannTwo fathers, a Palestinian and an Israeli, navigate the physical and emotional checkpoints of their conflicted world before devastating losses compel them to work together to use their grief as a weapon for peace. By the best-selling author of TransAtlantic. Featured in The Wall Street Journal, February 21
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An impassioned plea for freedom and justice, set in a world uncomfortably like our own, by the Booker-winner Ben Okri. Featured on NPR Book Review, February 8
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Children of the Land : A Memoir by Marcelo Hernandez CastilloAn award-winning poet chronicles his experiences of growing up undocumented in the United States, describing how his family and his attempt to establish an adult life were heartbreakingly complicated by racist policies. Featured in Entertainment Weekly, February issue
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Featured on NPR's First Reads, February 20, USA Today, February 22
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A very stable genius : Donald J. Trump's testing of America by Philip RuckerA Washington Post national investigative reporter and the White House bureau chief share personal revelatory insights into Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation, its consequences and the underlying patterns beneath a deceptively chaotic Trump administration. Featured on Late Night, February 20
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Counterpoint : a memoir of Bach and mourning by Philip KennicottThe Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post critic and pianist describes how he navigated loss and a complicated childhood through the masterpieces of Bach, sharing insights into how Bach’s genius compositions combine unique counterpoints to evoke transcendent emotion. Featured on NPR Book Review, February 19
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Open book by Jessica SimpsonAn unstinting memoir by the pop artist and fashion icon traces the story of her life before and after fame, the role of faith in her achievements and her difficult decision to step out of the limelight. 500,000 first printing. Illustrations. Featured on Fox News Books, February 17, NPR Author Interviews, February 23
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Featured on Today Show, February 17
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Featured in The Washington Post, February 14, The Wall Street Journal, February 19
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The man in the red coat by Julian BarnesFrom the Man Booker Prize-winning author of The Sense of an Ending comes a witty, revelatory tour of Belle Époque Paris, via the remarkable life story of the pioneering surgeon, Samuel Pozzi. Featured in The Wall Street Journal, February 14, NPR Book Review, February 18
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Featured on NPR Book Review, February 4
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Why we're polarized by Ezra KleinA journalist, political commentator and cofounder of Vox explains how today’s rigidly partisan politics came to be, why we all participate in it and what it means for America’s future. Featured on Real Time with Bill Maher, February 7
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Whistleblower : my journey to Silicon Valley and fight for justice at Uber by Susan J. Fowler"The unbelievable true story of the young woman who faced down one of the most valuable startups in Silicon Valley history--and what came after In 2017, twenty-five-year-old Susan Fowler published a blog post detailing the sexual harassment and retaliation she'd experienced as an entry-level engineer at Uber. The post went viral, leading not only to the ouster of Uber's CEO and twenty other employees, but 'starting a bonfire on creepy sexual behavior in Silicon Valley that . . . spread to Hollywood and engulfed Harvey Weinstein' (Maureen Dowd, The New York Times). When Susan decided to share her story, she was fully aware of the consequences most women faced for speaking out about harassment prior to the #MeToo era. But, as her inspiring memoir, Whistleblower, reveals, this courageous act was entirely consistent with Susan's young life so far: a life characterized by extraordinary determination, a refusal to accept things as they are, and the desire to do what is good and right. Growing up in poverty in rural Arizona, she was denied a formal education--yet went on to obtain an Ivy League degree. When she was told, after discovering the pervasive culture of sexism, harassment, racism, and abuse at Uber, that she was the problem, she banded together with other women to try to make change. When that didn't work, she went public. She could never have anticipated the lengths to which Uber would go in its efforts to intimidate and discredit her, the impact her words would have on Silicon Valley--and the world--or how they would set her on a course toward finally achieving her dreams. The moving story of a woman's lifelong fight to do what she loves--despite repeatedly being told no or treated as less-than--Whistleblower is both a riveting read and a source of inspiration for anyone seeking to stand up against inequality in their own workplace". Featured on CBS This Morning, February 18, NPR Book Review, February 18
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Featured on Late Night, February 3
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Featured on NPR Book Reviews, February 24
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Featured in The Washington Post, February 24
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1774 : the long year of Revolution by Mary Beth Norton"A book on the American Revolution that looks at the critical "long year" of 1774, and the revolutionary change that took place from December 1773 to mid-April 1775, from the Boston Tea Party and the first Continental Congress to the Battle of Lexington and Concord." Featured in The Wall Street Journal, February 21
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Featured on NPR's Fresh Air, February 4
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When time stopped : a memoir of my father's war and what remains by Ariana NeumannA first book by a Venezuelan foreign correspondent describes the harrowing early experiences of her father, an only survivor of their Jewish-Czechoslovakian family, who hid from the Gestapo in plain sight before starting over in South America. Featured on Today Show, February 4
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Featured on NPR Book Reviews, February 12
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Featured on NPR Book Review, February 18
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Featured on NPR's Morning Edition, February 11
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Harford County Public Library
1221-A Brass Mill Rd Belcamp, Maryland 21017 410-273-5600 hcplonline.org
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