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Headquarters Staff Picks June 2019
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Our Houseby Louise CandlishFiona Lawson left her affluent London neighborhood for a long weekend vacation only to come home to find strangers moving into her house. She can't get hold of her soon-to-be-ex-husband, Bram, and she's not sure where her children are. Can you imagine? As Fiona and Bram's lives blow up in front of them, the story unfolds from Fiona's point of view via a crime podcast, whereas Bram's story is told through a Word document he's typing up. Part cautionary tale, part domestic thriller, I came away with the eerie theme running through the back of my mind that you never know the lengths someone will go to when they feel the pressure of their whole world crumbling in on them. Interesting formatting combined with a very interesting concept makes this a quick and captivating read. Crystal
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Every Breathby Nicholas SparksAre you looking for a great summer read? Every Breath by Nicolas Sparks is the perfect beach read. Hope is at her family’s cottage for the weekend to attend a friends wedding. While there, she meets a guy named Tru who is visiting from South Africa. Sparks fly and Hope and Tru have an instant connection but as the weekend comes to an end, they go their separate ways. Decades later, as fate would have it, their lives collide again. Is it too late to rebuild their connection? Every Breath is a fantastic book. Be sure to have tissues nearby!! Shannon
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Submergedby Dani Pettrey Bailey Craig has returned to the one place she swore she’d never return to: home, aka Yancey, Alaska. Returning to bury her beloved Aunt Agnes who died in a mysterious plane crash, Bailey vows to leave right after the funeral. The less time she is forced to spend in Yancey, the fewer demons she must face. Not to mention, the fewer chances she has of coming face to face with her high school sweetheart, Cole McKenna. However, when a string of crimes and murders that seem to relate to her Aunt’s death begin to happen, Bailey and Cole are forced to work together. Will they find the killer before it’s too late? Submerged launches Dani Pettrey’s Alaskan Courage series. The saying goes, ‘the beauty is in the details,’ and Submerged has plenty of them. Rich with Russian and Alaskan history, and scuba diving culture, Submerged had me hooked from the first scene involving a dramatic plane crash and attempted rescue and kept me enthralled to the end. Combining mystery, action, romance, suspense, and intrigue, Submerged is a richly detailed and entertaining read. This was my first Dani Pettrey book, but not my last! Brandi
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The Grandmaster: Magnus Carlsen and the Match That Made Chess Great Againby Brin-Jonathan Butler In this exciting exploration of chess, sports writer Brin-Jonathan Butler recounts his first hand exposure to the 2016 World Championship between Magnus Carlsen and Sergey Karjakin. Not only does he go into Carlsen and Karjakin’s respective Norwegian and Russian upbringings, but he also goes even farther back tracing the history of chess and the many eccentric figures that populate the game’s world conquering journey. Along the way he explores the nature of celebrity, the origins of obsession, and the destructive power of the game, all while using the events and characters of the 2016 championship to reflect on the changing world. Butler’s writing is engaging and tightly filled with interesting facts and life stories. Despite its broad scope, The Grandmaster will give you an easily accessible taste of the world of chess and the modern state of the game. Josiah
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Beginner Gardening: Step by Stepby Inc. Dorling KindersleyI am the kind of person who has managed to kill both delicate AND hearty plants. Have you ever seen a dead cactus? I have. Three times. But this year is going to be different, in part thanks to Beginner Gardening Step by Step, which gently explains how to do all sorts of gardening things. This instructional book, which is divided into sections based on type of plant (eg. Shrubs, Vegetables, Climbers, and so on), gives clear instructions to dolts like me who can’t figure out a trowel from a rake. But even if you’re pretty well-versed in gardening, Beginner Gardening Step by Step includes information on more advanced projects and maintenance, including moving a tree, growing potatoes in a trash can, and how to properly cut back ornamental grass. Tons of color photos bolster the process described on each page, and each process has key points to explain the most important things to remember when doing these things. I have Beginner Gardening Step by Step to thank for successfully keeping a tomato plant alive (at least up to now) and for my thriving herb garden. This is a great book for new gardeners and those who think they can’t garden at all. Maybe we’re all gardeners--we just need a little help to prove it. Jess
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City of Girlsby Elizabeth Gilbert Vivian Morris recently flunked out of Vassar and is sent to live with her eccentric Aunt Peg, owner of the crumbling flamboyant Lily Playhouse in the summer of her nineteenth year. The people she encounters shape her young life in such a way that would make any protective parents question sending their wayward daughter to such a place. I am already a fan of Elizabeth Gilbert’s work so I didn’t need to be convinced to read; also this cover is fantastic--pink feathers and art deco font immediately put in New York during the 1940s in my mind. During the course of her young adulthood in New York City, Vivian finds community, a boyfriend and a group of friends to enjoy the adventures of life. Many years past its prime, The Lily Playhouse became a landing space for so many young people to live their spectacular lives. All was good until it was not, and Vivian was in the center of it all. No spoilers here, but this is your teaser for the big turning points of the book. Certainly in life there are challenges, but friendships are what makes it all worthwhile. In this book there are certainly some bawdy moments, as Vivian and her friends set out on adventure after adventure. There are beautiful moments too--platonic and lifelong non-romantic adorations. This is a perfect read for anyone who treasures moments and memories with friends through the most formative years of their lives or who is looking for a fun, bubbly summer read. Vanessa
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All Systems Redby Martha Wells The only thing Murderbot wants to do is watch TV, but unfortunately for him the research team he’s supposed to protect has run into a problem, a big problem. Someone wants them dead, and despite what he calls himself Murderbot is actually a security bot, so it wouldn’t look so great on his record if his humans ended up dead. However, to protect his humans he may have to reveal his greatest secret: his identity. Martha Wells’ All Systems Red is easily one of the funniest science fiction books I have ever read. It isn’t just funny either. It also has a compelling plot, an intriguing environment, and a fantastic tone of voice. Although the plot isn’t overly complex, by keeping the antagonists as an unknown entity for the majority of the book Wells creates a mystery that holds the reader in suspense throughout the entire novella. Not only that, but by having the events take place on a dangerous foreign planet Wells builds an environment that is just as treacherous and intriguing as the plot’s antagonists. Wells then brings everything together by telling the story from the perspective of a robot that hacked the system that controls him and gained a sarcastic and anti-social personality. By using a robot to narrate the story rather than one of the humans, the tone of the story becomes humorous and infinitely more entertaining than it would have been from one of the human’s points of view. If you like sci-fi books and are looking for a good laugh and a great story than this is the book for you. Seth
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Trust Exerciseby Susan Choi Susan Choi’s novel Trust Exercise filters our cultural moment of revealed networks of sexual abuse and #MeToo admissions of sexual assault and impropriety through a story structured like a nesting doll where art reveals a partial truth which conceals another equally partial truth. The story begins in the rarified world of a private performing arts high school, as freshmen Sarah and David fall in love under the watchful and calculating eye of their teacher Mr. Kingsley. Their relationship is tested as time passes and students as well as faculty from an outside school collaborate on a performance that ruptures the insular social bubble. At the book’s midsection, the novel is turned on its head with the arrival of a new narrator who picks up the thread of the story several years in the future in a surprising twist. The book closes with a final section and yet another twist that again revises what has come before it. I enjoyed this book because its twists and turns registered more than shock and made a deeper point about the constructive nature of memory. Choi’s narration in the three sections rendered their different moods clearly, soliciting trust while creating a sense of performance. Though the novel captures some qualities of our present discourse concerning gender, power, and responsibility, its concerns ultimately exceed the contemporary moment. Choi refocuses our attention to the technique of art to reveal the truth of our very conception of truth itself. Joseph
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Our Souls at Nightby Kent HarufKent Haruf died of lung disease just days after completing his final book, Our Souls at Night. The slender novel traces the lives of Addie and Louis, two Baby Boomer neighbors who have lost their spouses. Addie approaches Louis one day with a proposition: they sleep together (literally, not figuratively), sharing a bed each night while getting to know each other. Louis accepts, and begins walking down the street every evening to join Addie in a quest to combat loneliness, which invites a new layer of richness into both of their lives. Complicating what should be a simple matter are the townsfolk of Holt, Colorado, who are nosy in a way that we all know about: they hide their jealousy and discomfort with Addie and Louis’s happiness by appearing concerned for their well being instead. Addie’s grandson joins her over the summer, which helps to deepen and strengthen the relationship Addie & Louis share--but it also ultimately is what pulls them apart. Like all of Haruf’s novels, Our Souls at Night is written with sparse but descriptive language that reminds me in ways of Hemingway and Faulkner. Addie and Louis are characters that stayed with me after the novel ended, which is really the best way to know they’ve made an impact. Our Souls at Night is a fitting end to a long, strong career. Jess
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The year is 1856. Nannie, Louisa, Anne, and Jessie have left their lives in Britain behind and are about to begin their 1,300 mile journey from Iowa City to Salt Lake City, Utah as members of the Martin Company. Three of the four women are newly converted to Mormonism and were excited by the prospect of joining their LDS brothers and sisters in a land of plenty. Upon arrival in Iowa, the women begin to grasp the realities of their coming journey. Instead of oxen pulled wagons, hastily built handcarts, pushed by them and their husbands, will be taking their meager belongings to Zion. Dallas shifts perspective between the four women throughout the novel, giving the reader insight into the variety of experiences the real Martin Company members went through. The four narrators come from very different backgrounds but are now on this shared journey together. True Sisters gives the reader a glimpse into the long, painful, and at times unimaginable journey on foot across the western United States. Our heroines face catastrophes, battle against the elements, have crises of faith, experience betrayal, and cope with tremendous loss. Although there are some tender moments, the novel doesn’t pull any punches when depicting the harsh realities the Martin Company faced. Dallas presents an authentic and honest account of the trials of pioneer women with special attention to the particular challenges faced by LDS women making the journey. The novel is most appealing to fans of historical fiction and Christian fiction, however you don’t need to be a fan of both to enjoy this book! Alaina
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The Fifth Seasonby N. K Jemisin Winner of three consecutive Hugo Awards, N. K. Jemisin’s Broken Earth trilogy starts off with the excellent first volume, The Fifth Season, as the reader follows the journey of three women in separate stages of life. They each spend the novel trying to survive the tough world of “the Stillness” even as they are persecuted for their frightfully powerful magical abilities that allow them to quell and create earthquakes. As each character’s story unfolds, you gain a clearer picture of this world haunted by devastating natural disasters and ruled over by a shadowy government, all while journeying along with Essun in her search for her missing daughter as the very world comes to an end. While The Fifth Season has a little bit of a slow start, the conclusion of the novel beautifully ties together the various threads and presents a killer hook for the next volume. Throughout Jemisin presents distinct and flawed characters and a mysteriously enticing mythos to the world around them. Though perhaps not as action oriented as some fantasy novels, Jemisin’s prose and her thematic concerns with environmentalism and racial conflict make for a great read and an excellent entry into the fantasy canon.
Josiah
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Eighth Grade Kayla Day is selected most quiet for eighth grade superlatives as she prepares to move on to high school. She is mortified, and the rest of this film details why. Kayla also lives alone with her single father and spends a large part of her home life sullen and engrossed in social media. She also has a crush on a guy who doesn’t notice her, which is a pretty typical middle school experience these days. Subtract social media and make the single parent a mom and you have my experience in a nutshell. I truly enjoy coming of age stories and Eighth Grade was especially a delight because the awkwardness was something I could identify with. There are so many adolescent dramas from the 1980s and 1990s that include characters with many of these same issues. This movie, though, elevated those struggles because of the presence of social media. One of the most intriguing things about Kayla was her behavior: she recorded videos online to help others "put themselves out there" and "be courageous", but she simply did not take her own advice. You can appreciate it if you are interested in coming of age stories updated to the technology fixated world we live in today; or, if you are just looking for a new awkward and adolescent perspective on life. There is no happy ending to this movie, but there are resolutions through growth and best of all Kayla finds some common ground with her father and peace within herself. This film is available to watch on Kanopy. Vanessa
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The Upside is a fantastic film based on a true story of the unlikely friendship of an ex-convict and a quadriplegic man. Dell (Hart) is hired to be Philip’s(Cranston) care giver and they form an incredible bond. In the process they learn so much about each other. It has an amazing cast starring Kevin Hart, Bryan Cranston, and Nicole Kidman. This humorous, feel good movie is definitely a must see! I’m looking forward to watching the French version, called The Intouchables and comparing the two. Shannon
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Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story When you hear the name Hedy Lamarr, you may think of the glamour of the Golden Age of Hollywood, or even her earlier work in the scandalous German film, Ecstasy, however, I would be surprised if your first thought was of her tinkering with radios, developing frequency hopping, and aiding the Allies in World War II. I certainly did not! Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story, available through Kanopy, documents the extraordinary life of Hedy Lamarr, from her life in Austria to her fleeing her oppressive Austrofascist husband and starting her acting career in Hollywood, to her incredible inventions we still use today (ahem, Bluetooth anyone?). Like many women of history, Lamarr was not recognized for her intellect and was told the greatest contribution she could make to society was for her to be an object of beauty to be gazed upon. One of the greatest lessons I took from this film is that you don’t have to be one thing, and in fact, no one is only one thing. Lamarr experienced great success and great failure, she had beauty and brains, she was Austrian and American, an actress and an inventor, remembered and forgotten. This film is available to watch on Kanopy. Alaina
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Sometimes the hardest things to review are the ones we love the most. Columbus has been exceptionally hard for me. The basic gist is this: when his famous architect father unexpectedly collapses, Jin (John Cho) travels from Korea to the small architecturally important town of Columbus, Indiana, to be by his side, primarily out of a sense of duty. Casey (Haley Lu Richardson), a couple of years out of high school, shelves books at the local library during the day while she runs the household for herself and her mom, a recovering meth addict. The two find themselves in the same place at the same time, and they strike up a friendship, discussing everything from architecture and passion to family and ambition. If I could make a movie myself--if I had that kind of skill and talent--it would probably look, sound and act a lot like Columbus. There are so many striking features about this film: the architecture, of course, but the framing of that architecture, the naturalistic acting, even Richardson's costume design, all works so smoothly together that it allows the viewer to sharply feel. Jin and Casey both struggle, tethered by relationships to parents who drag them like anchors, never fully releasing them into the world. In their friendship, the odd pairs find solace and perhaps a little hope. Director Kogonada knows how to perfectly capture irresistible scenes that linger in their quietness and beauty. It isn't a big film, or funny or even particularly sad, but Columbus is the type of film that leaves viewers contemplating long after the credits roll. I adore it. Columbus is available to view on Kanopy. Jess
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Carnegie's Maidby Marie BenedictThis story starts with the beginning of the Carnegie’s success in the industrial 1860s and is told through a love story between the oldest Carnegie son, Andrew, and his mother's lady’s maid, Clara, who is credited for inspiring Andrew to be the first ever philanthropist. Clara, an Irish immigrant providing for her family back home, just wants to serve Mrs. Carnegie in order to keep her family going with her earned wages. But, try as she might, she cannot fight her feelings for the open-minded and giving Andrew Carnegie, even though she fears a relationship with him could put her family at great risk. And Clara’s humble and giving nature along with her natural business savvy, captures Andrew’s heart. But before they can even broach the idea of marriage, Clara is forced to flee, leaving Andrew heart-broken and searching.
I found this book put a fresh spin a much-discussed family in history. I loved the detail of the time period that the author gives. For those who are looking for a historical romance, this is a fine choice.
Crystal
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The Second Sisterby Claire Kendal It has been ten years since Ella Brooke’s older sister, Miranda, dropped off her baby boy, Luke, at their parent’s house, drove away in her car, and vanished without a trace. Ella is now thirty, the same age Miranda was when she mysteriously disappeared. A man named Jason Thorne, currently serving time in a mental institute for murdering several women, was initially considered as a person of interest in Miranda’s disappearance but it was just speculation. However, he is now officially being linked to Miranda’s disappearance through new evidence. Did Miranda know Jason? Could he have had something to do with Miranda’s disappearance? Driven by her nephew’s longing to know about his mother, and her own fears and unanswered questions, Ella decides to do whatever it takes to uncover the truth – no matter how dangerous the path to the truth may lead her. The Second Sister is a genuinely creepy novel, with unpredictable and terrifying twists, along with some truly unsettling imagery that will stay with me for quite some time (a bracelet made of dead bugs, to name one). The Second Sister is an intricately plotted story with well developed characters. I was particularly intrigued by Ella Brooke: determined, fierce, and driven, she is the perfect balance between tough and vulnerable. I enjoyed how Miranda is always present because her voice came through so clearly due to Ella “hearing” her… keeping her sister alive with her memories and imagined conversations as if Miranda is right beside her. Through it all, her sister was still guiding her like any big sister would. The Second Sister highlights the bond between siblings and shows the lengths people will go to for the ones they love. The Second Sister is an excellent psychological thriller with memorable characters and lots of heart. Brandi
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Grass Kingsby Matt Kindt Robert hasn’t been the same since the day his only daughter disappeared. Robert lost more than just a daughter that day too. Rose’s disappearance drove a wedge between Robert and his wife, and it was not long before she disappeared from Robert’s life as well. Robert turned to alcohol to fill the void his wife and child left, which quickly made everything worse, not only for Robert, but for everyone in his town, and Robert’s town was not like any other community in the world so that was a big problem. Robert was considered the leader of the Grass Kingdom, a small community in the United States that lived outside of governmental laws. However, with their leader spending more time drunk than sober and the neighboring town of Cargill’s sheriff convinced that a killer lives in the Grass Kingdom, the community has never been in more danger of collapsing. When that same sheriff’s wife shows up at Robert’s doorstep seeking refuge from her abusive husband, tensions reach their breaking point. Robert will have to lead the Grass Kingdom in a fight against Cargill to keep the sheriff’s wife and the people of the Grass Kingdom safe, but first he’ll have to sober up. Grass Kings has everything I want out of a graphic novel. It has beautiful and unique art, a compelling story, an intriguing cast of characters, and a phenomenal environment. Tyler Jenkins' water color style artwork makes Matt Kindt’s story come alive in ways that other art styles could not. When Jenkins brings his brush to the page the Grass Kingdom feels like it is an actual place you could visit, which results in a story that feels truly immersive. The strength of Kindt’s story resides primarily in its characters and unique environment. Each character has different backstories and motivations that all revolve around the same place, which brings a unique environment to the Grass Kingdom and creates characters and a narrative that begs to be read and delved into. If you’re looking for a good graphic novel that you can really lose yourself in look no further than Grass Kings. Seth
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In League With Dragonsby The Mountain Goats The Mountain Goats excel at a form of lyrical empathy that few other artists attempt. With songs written from a variety of narrative perspectives, singer and songwriter John Darnielle works on the band’s fantastic new album In League with Dragons to discover emotional truths through a narrative attention to detail and textured musical arrangements which draw from folk, new wave, country, and ambient influences. Standout songs on the album’s latter half “Going Invisible 2,” “Cadaver Sniffing Dog,” and “Antidote for Strychnine” focus on the tension between the past and the present, telling stories of people and situations gone past the point of change. In a crucial set of songs which play together as a sequence about aging wizards both real on “Younger,” “Clemency for the Wizard King,” and “In League with Dragons” and metaphorical on “Passaic 1975,” “Waylon Jennings Live!,” and “Doc Gooden,” Darnielle displays a narrative interest in fading or threatened powers. While I enjoy the album as a whole, two songs from the first half show Darnielle’s attention to the vulnerable without being confessional or moralizing. The opening track “Done Bleeding” is a semi-autobiographical song about recovery with a performance both delicate and balanced, as if handling that fragile past self in the song with care. Another standout track, “Possum by Night” is sung from the perspective of a possum during a nightly scavenging run. The composition builds carefully but ends swiftly after the following lines, suggesting a short life of reverence and risk: “Once more into the breach!/Safe in the spots that the light can’t reach.” There’s no lesson here, only a grasp at recognition and the will to live. If art can’t make you feel alive, what good is it? Joseph
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