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Check out our reviews and recommendations:
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Misty recommends: Codename Villanelle by Luke Jennings What it’s about: This book takes you on an extraordinary journey around the world to the finest places, as if you are really there. It's exciting to imagine being a chic fashionable assassin like Villanelle, until Eve brings you back to reality with her persuasive opinions for pursuing Villanelle with a righteous vengeance. As the storyline unfolds and Eve gets closer to discovering who is and who isn't in the "12," the story becomes a mystery that you can’t decipher half-way through. Highly recommended. Is it for you? It's a fun book, well written by an experienced author who knows how to create a captivating story.
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Kristin recommends: Finlay Donovan Is Killing It by Elle Cosimano What it's about: Stressed-out single mom Finlay is at the local Panera trying to explain to her literary agent why she doesn’t have her next romantic suspense novel ready, when another woman overhears and thinks Finlay is a contract killer. How Finlay ends up with the dead body of a man she didn’t kill and how she tries to solve the mystery of who did the killing is a wild, twisting, and above all funny ride. Why you might like it: Finlay’s balancing act is a suspenseful, laugh-out-loud mystery. Reviewers say: “Cosimano makes her adult debut with this off-the-wall series starter, which is part comedy of errors, part genuine thriller” (Booklist); “Cosimano cuts dexterously between Finn's adventures as a hit woman, her deeply iffy romance with Fairfax County Detective Nicholas Anthony, and the domestic crises that keep on piling up as if nothing had ever happened to disturb them” (Kirkus Reviews).
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Aimee recommends: You Exist Too Much: A Novel by Zaina Arafat What it is: Are you looking for a novel about a bisexual love addict who has mommy issues? Then this book is for you. The main character, a Palestinian-American woman who remains unnamed for the entire book, tells her story through vignettes that flash between the United States and the Middle East. She details her ever-changing love life and her maternal traumas, which leads her to a treatment center for her love addiction. Why you might like it: The reader goes on a journey with the main character, falling in and out of infatuation with people. You are rooting for her to mend her relationship with her mother, then get trampled when she receives a back-handed compliment. It’s a roller coaster. About the author: Zaina Arafat is a queer Arab-American writer. You Exist Too Much won a 2021 Lambda Literary Award for bisexual fiction and was named Roxane Gay’s favorite book of 2020. Zaina teaches creative writing at Barnard College in New York.
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Laura recommends: The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw What it is: A collection of literary short stories that examines the lives of contemporary African American women, focusing on spirituality, secularity, relationships, sexuality, body image, and self-determination. The stories are deeply moving, and characters are portrayed with scorching honesty. If you don’t like short stories, give this collection a try anyway—the writing is so good it might convert you. “Snowfall” is filled with gorgeous bittersweet memories of life in the South, and “How to Make Love to a Physicist” is perfect storytelling. Of special interest: The story “Peach Cobbler” was inspired by a prompt to write about food, and to kick off with a fantastic first line, as well as Philyaw’s childhood confusion while growing up in the Church—she thought the preachers were God. That first line—“My mother made a peach cobbler so good, it made God himself cheat on his wife.” Book buzz: The Secret Lives of Church Ladies was a finalist for The National Book Awards and is a Los Angeles Times Book Awards finalist for first fiction. It is also the first book to win both The Story Prize and the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction.
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Roseanne recommends: 31 Days to Better Genealogy by Amy Johnson CrowWhy you should read it: If you’re stressed out and overwhelmed by your genealogy research journey. The book follows a day-by-day structure that will relieve that stress with helpful tips and valuable resources to better manage your genealogy without having to devote a lot of time.
Further reading: Research Like a Pro by Diana Elder or Organize Your Genealogy: Strategies and Solutions for Every Researcher by Drew Smith.
About the author: Amy Johnson Crow is a nationally recognized genealogy educator, a Certified Genealogist, and she holds a master’s degree in Library and Information Science. Amy has been doing genealogy since the early 1990s.
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Stacey recommends: How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America by Clint Smith What it’s about: Clint Smith, a poet and journalist, visits slavery-related historical sites across America and analyzes the ways different sites and tour guides discuss slavery. Smith invites us to walk alongside him as he tours historic sites, interviews staff and visitors, and describes the experience of visiting places of great suffering. Why you might like it: If you like books that blend sociology and history, this compelling book is a thought-provoking and moving look at both the present and the past. Reviewers say: Publishers Weekly says, “this is an essential consideration of how America's past informs its present.”
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Astrid recommends: Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer What it's about: Kimmerer is a trained scientist and uses her knowledge of botany and the stories of her ancestors to skillfully point out how we need to listen to the natural world. She covers the indigenous concepts of gift giving and gratitude and how plants and animals have much to teach us, if only we listened. Reviewers say: “Anyone who enjoys reading about natural history, botany, protecting nature, or Native American culture will love this book” (Library Journal); “A smart, subtle overlay of different systems of thought that together teach us to be better citizens of Earth" (Kirkus Reviews). Good to know: This is wonderful on audio. The author has a melodic and soothing voice and does an excellent job narrating. This also makes a good choice for nonfiction book groups.
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