real books, no cap

Don’t worry, a real human librarian vetted this list 😊 

Pack your pool bag and don’t forget the books!

These 25 new titles are on everyone's hotlist this summer.  The wait-times may be long, but I've offered plenty of companion reading suggestions to tide you over in the meantine!

Contact the O’Neal librarians at adult@oneallibrary.org if you need assistance meeting your summer reading goals!

Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall

Beth and Frank’s marriage is only long and happy because they work diligently to keep their pasts a secret. And they’ve managed to do just that, until one gunshot changes everything. Now Beth’s first love Gabriel is back in their small town and with him is his young son, who’s a startlingly reminder to Beth of the son she lost. As Beth gets more and more tangled in Gabriel’s life, the one she built with Frank comes unraveling, and she will be forced to choose between her past and her future. 

This title is experiencing significant wait times in Libby, but try The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield or Black Rabbit Hall by Eve Chase if you want to read about more dark family secrets while you wait. 

 The Boy from the Sea by Garrett Carr

In this moving debut novel set on the west coast of Ireland, a baby boy is discovered on the beach beside a small fishing town in 1973. A fisherman and his family take the baby, Brendan, in as one of their own, and the whole community becomes devoted to the boy. 

If you’re waiting on this title, try The Butcher’s Blessing by Ruth Gilligan (eaudio available in Hoopla) or What Strange Paradise by Omar El Akkad.

The Perfect Divorce by Jeneva Rose

Eleven years after defending her ex-husband, Adam, who was charged with murdering his mistress, Sarah has moved on. But when she files for divorce from her new cheating husband, Bob, DNA evidence emerges in Adam’s case, and police reopen the investigation. And then, the woman Bob had an affair with disappears… 

This title has a waitlist on Libby, but there are several of her backlist titles available in eaudio on Hoopla, no lines and no waiting!  

The Paris Express by Emma Donoghue

In 1895, a train headed to the Paris Montparnasse station is carrying passengers from all over the world when disaster strikes. From train porters to medical students, and from anarchists to Parliament officials, no one is immune from danger once the wheels of fate begin turning. Don’t miss this captivating read based on true events!

Other ebooks and eaudios by this author are available on Libby and Hoopla!  Other great books inspired by true events include Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano and Drood by Dan Simmons.

Parent's Weekend by Alex Finlay

Five college students mysteriously disappear during a festive gathering for their parents, sparking panic and a campus-wide search. As FBI Special Agent Sarah Keller investigates, she uncovers secrets from both the students’ close-knit friend group and their families’ troubled pasts. 

While you wait, try some other thrillers like The Dinner by Herman Koch or Bright and Tender Dark by Joanna Pearson.

Nothing Ever Happens Here by Seraphina Nova Glass

Fifteen months after surviving a brutal attack, Shelby Dawson is finally starting to feel safe again — until a threatening note reignites her worst fears. As strange accidents multiply and her best friend’s missing husband becomes a key piece of the puzzle, Shelby races to uncover the truth before someone else vanishes for good. 

Many of her backlist titles are available in ebook and eaudio in Hoopla, no lines and no waiting! You may also enjoy the suspense novels of Mary Kubica, Riley Sager, Lucy Foley, and Ruth Ware.

Adventures in the Louvre by Elaine Sciolino

Even if you’ve visited the Louvre in Paris before, you’ll fall in love with it anew through the eyes of Elaine Sciolino, who takes readers on a tour through the museum’s incredible works of art and the people who help create, maintain, and protect them. 

Journey to a variety of other museums through story in Metropolitan Stories by Christine Coulson (eaudio available in Hoopla), The Museum of Whales You Will Never See by A. Kendra Greene, or The Feather Thief by Kirk Johnson.

Where the Rivers Merge by Mary Alice Monroe

In 1908 South Carolina, young Eliza Rivers treasures her days growing up on her family’s estate, but war looms on the horizon in Europe, threatening to endanger even those in her sleepy Lowcountry town. Decades later, Eliza is an octogenarian attempting to preserve her family’s estate — and every decision she makes has consequences that will ripple through generations for years to come.

If family drama is your jam, you may also enjoy Wally Lamb, Helen Simonson, and Dorothea Benton Frank.

Liquid by Mariam Rahmani

When a witty young woman mired in academia comes to the conclusion that it’s more realistic to marry rich than to make it as a professor, she creates a plan to go on 100 dates over the upcoming summer. Her best friend, Adam, isn’t so thrilled by the idea. Yet the narrator’s quest comes to an abrupt halt when a family crisis pulls her to Tehran and causes her to rethink her strategy — and to finally realize what will make her truly happy.

Young women on the cusp of adulthood make a splash in other novels, like Holiday Country by Inci Atrek (ebook available in Hoopla), Anita de Monte Laughs Last by Xochitl Gonzalez, and Gabriele by Anne Berest (not yet available in ebook/eudio in the library system).

Kate & Frida by Kim Fay

In 1991, two young women strike up a correspondence that will last for years and change their lives. Frida Rodriguez is newly arrived in Paris, ready to make her way as a war correspondent. Kate Fair is a bookseller in Seattle. Their friendship will transform them, carrying them through romance, tragedy, and the changing world.

This is definitely a book about books and the top recommendation you’ll get from it is Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively (ebook & eaudio in Hoopla, no lines and no waiting) and M.F.K. Fisher (some also in Hoopla)! Other titles by Kim Fay are available on Libby.

See How They Fall by Rachel Paris (not yet available in the library system)

Skye’s not comfortable with her husband’s family billions, but she tries to make it work for their daughter. When her father-in-law dies, his luxury goods empire isn’t split among the three sons as expected — instead, an illegitimate heir appears to claim it. The family gathers at their seaside estate to meet the newcomer, but the weekend goes terribly wrong… As Sergeant Mei O’Connor works alongside Skye to unearth answers, they discover the dark secrets of the ultrarich.

If dark-secrets-of-the-ultrarich is your reading jam, definitely try The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins!  Also of note, Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan, Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty, The Nest by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney, and The Club by Ellery Lloyd.

The Gods Time Forgot by Kelsie Sheridan Gonzalez

In Gilded Age New York, Rua has no memory of her life, so when she’s mistaken for the wealthy, notorious Emma Harrington, she plays along. When she meets Irish lord Finn Donore at a society party, sparks fly — but Finn and Rua soon realize those sparks represent an old, magical connection. Slowly, Rua uncovers her lost memories, but every revelation deepens the mystery of their shared past… 

For mistaken identity minus the fantasy, try Allie Larkin’s Why Can’t I Be You.  A newer fantasy series launch may capture your imagination, The Knight and the Moth by Rachel Gillig!

Matriarch by Tina Knowles

From her childhood in Galveston, Texas, to raising Beyoncé and Solange Knowles, Tina Knowles has impressed many with her tenacity, ambition, and wisdom. She grew up determined to live in a better world, one where a talented girl could thrive without the limitations placed on her due to her race or upbringing. Businesswoman, fashion designer, art collector, activist — Knowles has quite the list of titles, but, as she relates in this memoir, the role she values most is her place within her own family.

Other books about strong women and mothers include Dirtbag Queen by Andy Corren, Blood by Allison Moorer, Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt, and Sara and Eleanor by Jan Pottker (ebook available in Hoopla).

Insignificant Others by Sarah Jio

Lena’s expecting her boyfriend of two years to propose, so when she’s instead left heartbroken, she heads to her aunt’s house for comfort. To her surprise, she wakes in Paris — and finds herself married to a man from her past. Next, she’s in Ireland, then New York, each time with a former love interest. Could one of them be the one?

Exploring how different choices would create different lives is something that Rebecca Serle and Matt Haig do very well!

Just Our Luck by Denise Williams

Sybil Sweet is determined to change her life — and that means both buying a lottery ticket for $250 million and hooking up with Kieran Anderson, a med student running his family’s struggling bakery. But when Sybil leaves her lottery ticket behind with Kieran — and it turns out to have the winning number  — the two of them wind up in a fake relationship as they try to sort out their finances, baked goods, and hearts.

Poolside reading and romance go together like peanut butter and jam!  Try It’s Been a Pleasure, Noni Blake by Claire Christian (ebook/eaudio available in Hoopla), or any books by Lyla Sage, Christina Lauren, Tessa Bailey, or Piper Rayne.

Francine’s Spectacular Crash and Burn by Renee Swindle (not yet in the library system)

After Francine Stevenson rescues 10-year-old Davie from bullies, she’s surprised when he continues to show up on her doorstep. Soon, they strike up an unusual friendship, and Francine knows she must introduce herself to Davie’s foster mom — who turns out to be Jeanette, Francine’s high school crush. As Francine tries to navigate the sticky situation she’s found herself in, she learns to draw on her own inner strength in a way she never has before.

Until we can get this one on the shelf, try Delilah Green Doesn’t Care by Ashley Herring Blake, The Pairing by Casey McQuiston, or Trouble by Lex Croucher.

The Book of Records by Madeleine Thien

When Lina and her father flee their home, they arrive at The Sea — a strange place where time and space have folded in on themselves. Lina’s neighbors come from Tang Dynasty China, 17th-century Amsterdam, and 1930s Germany. When Lina’s father takes ill and begins telling Lina the truth about his past and their need to flee their home, her perception of everything changes.

Liminal spaces abound in these great reads: The Wandering Season by Aimie K. Runyan, The Unmaking of June Farrow by Adrienne Young, Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr, and Dark Matter by Blake Crouch. 

Summer Light on Nantucket by Nancy Thayer

Forty-five-year-old Blythe Benedict may be newly divorced, but she’s managing her four children and career just fine from their Boston home. The family’s annual summer trip to Nantucket is always a welcome escape, but this year it proves to be filled with drama in the form of everything from teenage outbursts to shocking secrets involving her ex — not to mention a couple of handsome suitors. This beach vacation won’t be like any other, but with the strength of her family and friends, it just might be Blythe’s best summer yet!

Families, warts and all, are on full display in full-hearted reads like We All Live Here by Jojo Moyes, Seating Arrangements by Maggie Shipstead, and the novels of Elizabeth Berg.

This Dog Will Change Your Life by Elias Weiss Friedman 

Elias Weiss Friedman, known as The Dogist, has spent a lifetime living with, documenting, and appreciating dogs. Here, he offers a deceptively simple suggestion: Dogs make our lives better. To support this, he offers a myriad of dog stories — about dogs he’s known intimately, dogs he’s met, and dogs in general — which underscore the fact that dogs have a strong tendency to help us strive for betterment, increase our empathy, and give us a reason to get up in the morning. This book will give you a greater appreciation for man’s best friend.

Meet some of the bestest boys in the novel The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein, and the memoirs Marley and Me by John Grogan and James Herriot's Dog Stories.

The Fourth Girl: A Novel by Wendy Corsi Staub

In 1997, teens Talia, Caroline, Kelly, and Midge are best friends in the peaceful town of Mulberry Bay, New York. They each have big plans for their future — but on prom night, Caroline disappears, and three years later the surviving friends are estranged and hiding a secret — a secret so dark it has poisoned their young lives. Decades later, when Caroline’s old boyfriend, Gordy, turns up dead, Midge — now a detective — launches an investigation. She soon has reason to believe that they didn’t bury the past’s secrets deep enough — and they may be coming back to haunt them all.

These may have a short wait, but also try Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera or God of the Woods by Liz Moore.

Lethal Prey by John Sandford

Sandford’s latest Lucas Davenport thriller focuses on a very cold case: Twenty years ago, accountant Doris Grandfelt was stabbed to death. Her body was found at a park near St. Paul, Minnesota, but the exact location of the murder was never determined. Despite her best efforts, Doris’s sister Lara couldn’t persuade the authorities to keep working on the case. After a terminal diagnosis, Lara decides to go all in: She uploads the entire case file to every true crime podcast or blogger she can find and offers a $5 million award. As clues and tips flood in, Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers are brought in — but soon realize the killer is watching everything.

Follow the clues and solve the cold case in these stellar novels as well: All Good People Here by Ashley Flowers, Red River Road by Anna Downes, and Head Cases by John McMahon.

The River Knows Your Name by Kelly Mustian

For decades, Nell has kept a secret buried in the pages of Jane Eyre — a birth record revealing that she does not share the same mother as her sister, Evie. As Nell digs into their past, hazy childhood memories lead to a shocking truth hidden in Depression-era Mississippi. Dual storylines converge as buried secrets come to light in this tale of betrayal and redemption.

Secret births, dark pasts, family secrets....find them all in these: The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods, The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb, and Chord of Evil by Sarah Rayne (ebook available in Hoopla).

The Stolen Life of Colette Marceau by Kristin Harmel

Colette Marceau learns everything she knows about being a thief from her Parisian mother, Annabel… including only stealing from the corrupt and giving the profits to the needy. But in 1942, Annabel is arrested by the Nazis and executed, and the body of Colette’s younger sister is found in the Seine. Years later, a bracelet that belonged to Colette’s sister is shown in a Boston museum exhibit — and it might lead Annabel to the answers she’s been seeking about her past…

I love a museum, any museum.  In addition to the suggestions listed earlier for Adventures in the Louvre, try The Stolen Queen by Fiona Barton, Relic by Douglas Preston, and The Museum Detective by Maha Khan Phillips.

The Boxcar Librarian by Brianna Labuskes

In order to save her reputation in the backlash of a political scandal, editor Millie Lang is reassigned to work in Montana to produce travel guides. Millie is soon wrapped up in a local mystery involving the Boxcar Library, an organization created to circulate books amongst the wide-spread mining towns. A miner’s daughter, Collette Durand, has disappeared — and suspicious evidence points to the apparent involvement of librarian Alice Monroe. This novel, based on a true story, is the latest from the author of The Librarian of Burned Books. 

If you haven’t read The Librarian of Burned Books, the ebook and eaudio are available on Hoopla.  Also worth mentioning are The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Richardson and The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes.

Awake in the Floating City by Susanna Kwan

Years into the future, the formerly bustling city of San Francisco has been flooded, the majority of its inhabitants having either died or fled long ago. Bo, a struggling artist, finds unexpected purpose when she becomes the caregiver for Mia, a 130-year-old woman who refuses to leave their disappearing city. As their bond deepens, Bo rediscovers her artistic calling — and learns profound lessons about memory, loss, and what it truly means to put down roots. 

In the subgenre of Cli-Fi (climate fiction), All the Waterin the World by Eiren Caffall, Private Rites by Julia Armfield, and Wild DarkShore by Charlotte McConaghy are also excellent.  They are new as well and may also be a bit difficult to get hold of right now, so look for Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker or The Naming Song by Jedediah Berry.

The Bright Years by Sarah Damoff

Follow four generations of the Texas Bright family in this engaging saga. When Lillian and Ryan marry, they’re both keeping secrets from each other: Lillian has a son already, and Ryan is addicted to alcohol. Their daughter, Georgette, tries to separate from her parents, but when Lillian’s son reappears, Georgette must truly consider the meaning of forgiveness and family.

Other family sagas of note include The Son by Philipp Meyer and Pachinko by Min Jin Lee. More brutally beautiful (or beautifully brutal?) are Animalia and Son of Man, both by Jean-Baptiste del Amo, and Sacrificial Animals by Kailee Pedersen.

The Road to Tender Hearts by Annie Hartnett

A lottery winner with a failing heart, PJ Halliday sets off on a cross-country road trip to reunite with his high school crush — but his plans take an unexpected turn when he becomes the guardian of his estranged brother’s orphaned grandchildren. Joined by his adult daughter and a death-predicting cat, PJ sets out on a journey that could give him a second chance at love and family.

From road trips to journeys of growth, these other titles will also move you: How Does that Make You Feel, Magda Eklund? By Anna Montegue, How My Summer Went Up in Flames by Jennifer Doktorski (YA and oh so fun!), and The Guncle by Steven Rowley.

The Tenant by Freida McFadden

When Blake Porter’s boss at his advertising firm dies by suicide, Blake gets a big promotion. To celebrate, he and his fiancée, Krista, purchase an expensive brownstone. When Blake is laid off almost as soon as they close on the house, they’re plunged into financial crisis. Against their better judgment, they decide to rent out the spare bedroom to make ends meet, feeling lucky when bright, affable Whitney Cross signs a lease. But their relief soon curdles as Whitney becomes increasingly hostile and unpleasant, and Blake begins to wonder if she’s a sociopath — but is Blake himself all that he seems?

When rentals go horribly, terribly wrong!  For more thrilling and chilling stories of rogue housemates, try The Tenant by Roland Topor, The Quiet Tenant by Clemence Michallon, and Killer Potential by Hannah Deitch.

Swept Away by Beth O’Leary

When their one-night stand turns into a nautical nightmare, Zeke and Lexi wake up adrift on an untethered houseboat. With limited supplies and endless hours together, survival isn’t their only challenge… falling in love might just be the riskiest part of it all! Jodi Picoult raves: “Suffice to say I drowned — happily — in this book.”

Close quarters in a boat also bring Daisy and Theo together in the sweet romance, New Beginnings at Wildflower Lock by Hannah Lynn.  Hannah Lynn's complete catalog is availabe in ebook and eaudio on Hoopla.

The Book Club for Troublesome Women by Marie Bostwick (ebook and eaudio are available in Hoopla, no lines and no waiting!)

Margaret Ryan’s suburban life in 1960s Virginia seems picture-perfect, but she still feels an inexplicable sense of discontentment. When intriguing new neighbor Charlotte Gustafson moves to the area, Margaret engineers a book club to find reasons to bond with her, leading to a year that the women in their quiet neighborhood won’t likely forget.

Women banding together makes for compelling narratives in these titles as well: The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner, The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods (ebook and eaudio on Hoopla!), Annie Bot by Sierra Greer (ebook and eaudio on Hoopla!), The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon, and Lady Macbeth by Ava Reid.

What Is Wrong with You? By Paul Rudnick

A collection of quirky characters all head to a billionaire’s destination wedding on a private island. Each and every one of them just wants to celebrate with the lucky couple, have a good time — and maybe discover why they haven’t found love themselves. 

If a bad mood cure is what you’re after, also try The Schoolof Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister, I See You’ve Called in Dead by John Kenney (eaudio available in Hoopla, no lines and no waiting!), and My Italian Bulldozer by Alexander McCall Smith.

Maine Characters by Hannah Orenstein

Every summer, a charming lake house in Maine is visited in turn by Vivian Levy and Lucy Webster — half sisters who don’t know the other exists. After their father’s death, each woman is shocked to find the other grieving at the cabin. They both must face the betrayals of their parents’ pasts… and discover how to build a new kind of family for the future.

Catch up on some Orenstein's backlist titles in eaudio on Hoopla! Explore more of the Maine scenery or complicated family relationships in these: Maine by J. Courtney Sullivan, The Half Sister by Sandie Jones, Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen, and Fifty Words for Rain by Asha Lemmie.

Passion Project by London Sperry

Grieving and directionless, Bennet Taylor feels stuck after the death of her first love. When she drunkenly confesses to the man she stood up that she’s not ready to date, Henry Adams proposes a challenge: Every Saturday, they’ll try an activity to help her rediscover passion. As their adventures push Bennet out of her comfort zone, her connection with Henry grows deeper…

Relationship-forward and poignant, these are also very empathetic tales: Sipsworth by Simon van Booy (ebook and eaudio on Hoopla), Weekends with You by Alexandra Paige (ebook and eaudio on Hoopla), P.S. I Love You by Cecelia Ahern (ebook and eaudio on Hoopla), The Life List by Lori Spielman, and The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot by Marianne Cronin (ebook and eaudio on Hoopla).

https://www.bookbub.com/blog/new-books-to-read-by-the-pool-2025

reading the law

 

Upcoming O’Neal Library events for adults:

Saturday, May 10th 10am-noon: Crafterday, bring your own craft and visit with fellow crafters

Saturday, May 10th 3-5:30pm: Great Short Stories on Film presents Minority Report (PG13/2h25m)

Monday, May 12th 6:30-7:30pm: Great Short Stories discussing “Minority Report” by Philip K. Dick

Tuesday, May 27th 6:30-8pm: Books & Beyond discussing dystopian/apocalyptic/postapocalyptic books and films

This week, the Books & Beyond Discussion Club met to chat about books, films, and podcasts with legal themes.

The Origins of Totalitarianism by Hannah Arendt

In 1951, a monumental book by a relatively unknown German-Jewish émigré addressed the terrifying new mode of political organization underlying the twin horrors of Stalinism and Nazism. Herself a refugee from Nazi persecution, Hannah Arendt sought, from her exile in New York City, to answer the unfathomable questions raised by the Soviet gulag and the Holocaust: How could there be such barbarism in the midst of civilization? How had governments exerted such absolute control over citizens, terrorizing them and enlisting them to commit atrocities on their behalf?

Conclave by Robert Harris

The best-selling author of Enigma and Fatherland turns to today's Vatican in a ripped-from-the-headlines novel and gives us his most ambitious, pause-resisting thriller yet - where the power of God is nearly equaled by the ambition of men.

Conclave (Rated PG, 2h0m)

CONCLAVE follows one of the world’s most secretive and ancient events -- selecting the new Pope. Cardinal Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes) is tasked with running this covert process after the unexpected death of the beloved Pope. Once the Catholic Church’s most powerful leaders have gathered from around the world and are locked together in the Vatican halls, Lawrence uncovers a trail of deep secrets left in the dead Pope’s wake, secrets which could shake the foundations of the Church.

Gulag: A History by Anne Applebaum

Pulitzer Prize, General Nonfiction, 2004
Applebaum intimately recreates what life was like in Soviet concentration camps and links them to the larger history of the Soviet Union. Immediately recognized as a landmark and long-overdue work of scholarship, Gulag is an essential book for anyone who wishes to understand the history of the 20th century.

The Iron Curtain: The Crushing of Eastern Europe, 1944-1956 by Anne Applebaum

In the long-awaited follow-up to her Pulitzer Prize-winning Gulag, acclaimed journalist Anne Applebaum delivers a groundbreaking history of how Communism took over Eastern Europe after World War II and transformed in frightening fashion the individuals who came under its sway.

The Grim Reaper’s Lawyer by Mea Monique

When having to decide between spending her afterlife in hell or as the Grim Reaper’s Lawyer, it's not even a hard choice for Joyce Parker. Of course she’d choose hell. Joyce thought her prayers were finally answered when her client killed her. Yes, she knows, it's morbid. But, so is being a lawyer. Now dead, Joyce thought it was blue skies, angel wings, mimosas and Jesus. Well, she was embarrassingly wrong. The insufferable, but good-looking Grim Reaper needs a favor. He needs her to represent him in the newly formed Reaper’s Court. That is, of course, if she wants to go to heaven rather than to hell, which is exactly where she was heading.

What starts off as a favor turns into a whirlwind of chaos with Joyce and the Grim Reaper being in the center of it all. Not only does Joyce have to help the grumpy Reaper, but she also has to save the whole Afterworld—a job she most definitely did not sign up for. Joyce’s life on earth was boring, but her afterlife ends up being the most alive she’s ever felt. Trials, secrets, evil reapers, missing souls, traitors, stolen mimosas and unexpected romance—all the elements for one hell (literally) of a life after death.

PODCASTS

-You’re Wrong About (The McDonald’s Hot Coffee Case)

Mike tells Sarah how a tragic story became a national punchline and a decades-long moral panic. Digressions include a sympathetic psychic, a paternalistic principal and a manure mishap. Mike appears to be unaware of the difference between a cousin and a nephew.

-70 Million (A Special Court Keeping Native Americans Out of Jail)

Kirsten made her way out of jail and addiction with the help of a special court on the Penobscot Nation reservation in Maine. There, culture and justice work together to bypass traditional punitive measures for more restorative ones. Reporter Lisa Bartfai visits the Healing to Wellness Court to see how it all works.

-Slow Burn (10 seasons available)

Slow Burn illuminates America’s most consequential moments, making sense of the past to better understand the present. Through archival tape and first-person interviews, the series uncovers the surprising events and little-known characters lurking within the biggest stories of our time.

-This Land (Season 2)

Host Rebecca Nagle reports on how the far right is using Native children to attack American Indian tribes and advance a conservative agenda.

-5-4 (190 episodes available)

5-4 is a progressive and occasionally profane take on the ideological battles at the heart of the Court’s most important landmark cases; an irreverent tour of all of the ways in which the law is shaped by politics.

The Emperor of Ocean Park by Stephen L. Carter

Talcott Garland is a successful law professor, devoted father, and husband of a beautiful and ambitious woman, whose future desires may threaten the family he holds so dear. When Talcott’s father, Judge Oliver Garland, a disgraced former Supreme Court nominee, is found dead under suspicioius circumstances, Talcott wonders if he may have been murdered. Guided by the elements of a mysterious puzzle that his father left, Talcott must risk his marriage, his career and even his life in his quest for justice. Superbly written and filled with memorable characters, The Emperor of Ocean Park is both a stunning literary achievement and a grand literary entertainment.

The Impeachment of Abraham Lincoln by Stephen L. Carter

Stephen L. Carter’s thrilling new novel takes as its starting point an alternate history: President Abraham Lincoln survives the assassination attempt at Ford’s Theatre on April 14, 1865. Two years later he is charged with overstepping his constitutional authority, both during and after the Civil War, and faces an impeachment trial.... Here is a vividly imagined work of historical fiction that captures the emotional tenor of post-Civil War America, a brilliantly realized courtroom drama that explores the always contentious question of the nature of presidential authority, and a galvanizing story of political suspense.

Civility: Manners, Morals, and the Etiquette of Democracy by Stephen L. Carter

Taking inspiration from the Abolitionist sermons of the nineteenth century, Carter proposes to rebuild our public and private lives around the fundamental rule that we must love our neighbors, a tenet of all the world's great religions. Drawing on such diverse disciplines as law, theology, and psychology, he investigates many of the fundamental institutions of society-including the family, churches, and schools-and illustrates how each one must do more to promote the virtue of civility.aThrough it all, Carter emphasizes that loving our neighbors has little to do with how we feel and everything to do with how we choose to act. The true test of civility is whether out of love and concern for others, we will discipline our individual desires and work for the common good.

The Stranger by Albert Camus

This 1942 novella is the first of Camus' novels published in his lifetime. The story follows Meursault, an indifferent settler in French Algeria, who, weeks after his mother's funeral, kills an unnamed Arab man in Algiers.

The Law of Similars by Chris Bohjalian

When one of homeopath Carissa Lake's patients falls into an allergy-induced coma, possibly due to her prescribed remedy, Leland Fowler's office starts investigating the case. But Leland is also one of Carissa's patients, and he is begining to realize that he has fallen in love with her. As love and legal obligations collide, Leland comes face-to-face with an ethical dilemma of enormous proportions. Graceful, intelligent, and suspenseful, The Law of Similars is a powerful examination of the links between hope and hubris, love and deception.

The Anatomy of a Fall (Rated R, 2h 30m)

For the past year, Sandra, her husband Samuel, and their eleven-year-old son Daniel have lived a secluded life in a remote town in the French Alps. When Samuel is found dead in the snow below their chalet, the police question whether he was murdered or committed suicide. Samuel's suspicious death is presumed murder, and Sandra becomes the main suspect. What follows is not just an investigation into the circumstances of Samuel's death but an unsettling psychological journey into the depths of Sandra and Samuel's conflicted relationship.

Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson

Bryan Stevenson was a young lawyer when he founded the Equal Justice Initiative, a legal practice dedicated to defending those most desperate and in need: the poor, the wrongly condemned, and women and children trapped in the farthest reaches of our criminal justice system. One of his first cases was that of Walter McMillian, a young man who was sentenced to die for a notorious murder he insisted he didn’t commit. The case drew Bryan into a tangle of conspiracy, political machination, and legal brinksmanship—and transformed his understanding of mercy and justice forever.

Murder on Shades Mountain: The Legal Lynching of Willie Peterson and the Struggle for Justice in Jim Crow Birmingham by Melanie Morrison

One August night in 1931, on a secluded mountain ridge overlooking Birmingham, Alabama, three young white women were brutally attacked. The sole survivor, Nell Williams, age eighteen, said a black man had held the women captive for four hours before shooting them and disappearing into the woods. That same night, a reign of terror was unleashed on Birmingham's black community: black businesses were set ablaze, posses of armed white men roamed the streets, and dozens of black men were arrested in the largest manhunt in Jefferson County history. Weeks later, Nell identified Willie Peterson as the attacker who killed her sister Augusta and their friend Jennie Wood. With the exception of being black, Peterson bore little resemblance to the description Nell gave the police. An all-white jury convicted Peterson of murder and sentenced him to death.

Carry Me Home: Birmingham, Alabama: The Climactic Battle of the Civil Rights Revolution by Diane McWhorter

A Pulitzer Prize-winning, dramatic account of the Civil Rights Era’s climactic battle in Birmingham as the movement, led by Martin Luther King, Jr., brought down the institutions of segregation.

Children of Darkness and Light: Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell: A Story of Murderous Faith by Lori Hellis

A blonde beauty queen, missing children, six suspicious deaths, and the twisted Mormon doomsday writings of her fifth husband are only the beginning of a tragic crime saga that gripped Americans and instigated frantic searches all over the country. Clinging to and manipulating one another, Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell believed the return of Jesus Christ was imminent and that God had chosen them to lead the 144,000 and usher in the new millennium. When the people closest to them began dying, it became clear they would stop at nothing to be together and fulfill their mission. When the bodies of Lori’s missing children—J.J. and Tylee—were discovered in Chad’s backyard, the strange and complex story of their fundamentalist Mormon beliefs were revealed in all their true horror.

The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America by Richard Rothstein

Exploding the myth of de facto segregation arising from private prejudice or the unintended consequences of economic forces, Rothstein describes how the American government systematically imposed residential segregation: with undisguised racial zoning; public housing that purposefully segregated previously mixed communities; subsidies for builders to create whites-only suburbs; tax exemptions for institutions that enforced segregation; and support for violent resistance to African Americans in white neighborhoods. A groundbreaking, “virtually indispensable” study that has already transformed our understanding of twentieth-century urban history (Chicago Daily Observer), 
The Color of Law forces us to face the obligation to remedy our unconstitutional past.

Item descriptions pulled from Amazon, Rotten Tomatoes, and podcast aggregator sites.

art fact and fiction

The next Books & Beyond (BAB) meeting is on Tuesday, April 29^th at 6:30pm and the topic up for discussion will be law/legal books and films. 

If you’d rather attend online, register for a Zoom link: https://oneallibrary.org/event/11282322

If you’re looking for suggestions, visit the Shelf Care page of the Library’s website and scroll down to the Books & Beyond row: https://oneallibrary.org/adults---reading-recommendations

Last night, BAB met to discuss books and films about art topics!

Concerning the Spiritual in Art by Wassily Kandinsky

(The BAB participant noted that this was an incredibly academic title.)
Featuring an enlightening introduction by the book's translator, Michael T. H. Sadler, providing generational and cultural context for Kandinsky and his work, Concerning the Spiritual in Art gives testimony to the mind and creative expression of Kandinsky and other artists of his generation. This seminal and thought-provoking book exploring the heart of the artistic endeavor belongs in the library of every serious artist and student of modern art.

Understanding Art: The Hidden Lives of Masterpieces

Works are removed from their frames and set up for curators, historians, restorers and scientists to view and discuss freely. The five major artists whose pieces are examined include: Raphael, Rembrandt, Poussin, Watteau and Leonardo.

The Art Detective: Fakes, Frauds, and Finds and the Search for Lost Treasures by Philip Mould

What separates a masterpiece from a piece of junk? Thanks to the BBC's Antiques Roadshow and its American spin-off, everyone is searching garage sales and hunting online for hidden gems, wondering whether their attics contain trash or treasures. In The Art Detective, Philip Mould, one of the world's foremost authorities on British portraiture and an irreverent and delightful expert for the Roadshow, serves up his secrets and his best stories, blending the technical details of art detection and restoration with juicy tales peopled by a range of eccentric collectors, scholars, forgers, and opportunists.

Color: A Natural History of the Palette by Victoria Finlay

Roman emperors used to wear togas dyed with a purple color that was made from an odorous Lebanese shellfish–which probably meant their scent preceded them. In the eighteenth century, black dye was called logwood and grew along the Spanish Main. Some of the first indigo plantations were started in America, amazingly enough, by a seventeen-year-old girl named Eliza. And the popular van Gogh painting White Roses at Washington’s National Gallery had to be renamed after a researcher discovered that the flowers were originally done in a pink paint that had faded nearly a century ago. Color is full of extraordinary people, events, and anecdotes–painted all the more dazzling by Finlay’s engaging style.

Stealing the Mystic Lamb: The True Story of the World’s Most Coveted Masterpiece by Noah Charney

Jan van Eyck's Ghent Altarpiece is on any art historian's list of the ten most important paintings ever made. Often referred to by the subject of its central panel, The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, it represents the fulcrum between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. It is also the most frequently stolen artwork of all time. In this fast-paced, real-life thriller, art historian Noah Charney unravels the stories of each of these thefts. In the process, he illuminates the whole fascinating history of art crime, and the psychological, ideological, religious, political, and social motivations that have led many men to covet this one masterpiece above all others.

What the Ermine Saw: The Extraordinary Journey of Leonardo da Vinci’s Most Mysterious Portrait by Eden Collinsworth

Five hundred and thirty years ago, a young woman sat before a Grecian-nosed artist known as Leonardo da Vinci. Her name was Cecilia Gallerani, and she was the young mistress of Ludovico Sforza, duke of Milan. Sforza was a brutal and clever man who was mindful that Leonardo’s genius would not only capture Cecilia’s beguiling beauty but also reflect the grandeur of his title. But when the portrait was finished, Leonardo’s brush strokes had conveyed something deeper by revealing the essence of Cecilia’s soul. Even today, The Woman with an Ermine manages to astonish.

Despite the work's importance in its own time, no records of it have been found for the two hundred and fifty years that followed Gallerani’s death. Readers of The Hare with the Amber Eyes will marvel at Eden Collinsworth’s dexterous story of illuminates the eventual history of this unique masterpiece, as it journeyed from one owner to the next–from the portrait’s next recorded owner, a Polish noblewoman, who counted Benjamin Franklin as an admirer, to its exile in Paris during the Polish Soviet War, to its return to WWII-era Poland where—in advance of Germany’s invasion—it remained hidden behind a bricked-up wall by a housekeeper who defied Hitler’s edict that it be confiscated as one of the Reich’s treasures.

My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk

At once a fiendishly devious mystery, a beguiling love story, and a brilliant symposium on the power of art, My Name Is Red is a transporting tale set amid the splendor and religious intrigue of 16th-century Istanbul, from one of the most prominent contemporary Turkish writers.

The Sultan has commissioned a cadre of the most acclaimed artists in the land to create a great book celebrating the glories of his realm. Their task: to illuminate the work in the European style. But because figurative art can be deemed an affront to Islam, this commission is a dangerous proposition indeed. The ruling elite therefore mustn't know the full scope or nature of the project, and panic erupts when one of the chosen miniaturists disappears. The only clue to the mystery - or crime? - lies in the half-finished illuminations themselves. Part fantasy and part philosophical puzzle, My Name is Red is a kaleidoscopic journey to the intersection of art, religion, love, sex, and power.

Anita De Monte Laughs Last by Xochitl Gonzalez

In 1985 Anita de Monte, a rising star in the art world, is found dead in New York City; her tragic death is the talk of the town. Until it isn’t. By 1998 Anita’s name has been all but forgotten—certainly by the time Raquel, a third-year art history student is preparing her final thesis. On College Hill, surrounded by privileged students whose futures are already paved out for them, Raquel feels like an outsider. Students of color, like her, are the minority there, and the pressure to work twice as hard for the same opportunities is no secret.

But when Raquel becomes romantically involved with a well-connected older art student, she finds herself unexpectedly rising up the social ranks. As she attempts to straddle both worlds, she stumbles upon Anita’s story, raising questions about the dynamics of her own relationship, which eerily mirrors that of the forgotten artist. Moving back and forth through time and told from the perspectives of both women, Anita de Monte Laughs Last is a propulsive, witty examination of power, love, and art, daring to ask who gets to be remembered and who is left behind in the rarefied world of the elite.

Gabriele by Anne Berest (this title will be published April 22, 2025)

The year is 1908, the height of the Belle Époque, and a brilliant, young French woman named Gabriële, newly graduated from the most elite music school in Europe, meets a volcanic Spanish artist named Francis. Following a whirlwind romance, they marry and fall headlong into a Paris that is experimenting with new forms of living, thinking, and creating. Soon after marrying Francis, Gabriële meets Marcel, another young artist, five years her junior. Soon, Francis, Marcel, and Gabriële are all involved in a fervent affair that will change the course of art history and redefine the avant-garde.

As the Belle Epoque gives way to rebellion and revolution, and the world descends into the devastation of World War I, Francis Picabia, Marcel Duchamp, and Gabriële Buffet revolutionize art and open up new ways of seeing and thinking, along the way posing a vital question for their age and ours: what is the connection between new ways loving and new ways of creating?

Moving between Paris, New York, Berlin, Zurich, Barcelona, London, and Saint-Tropez, Gabriële is as audacious, uninhibited, intimate, and unforgettable as its central character, the mercurial, pioneering Gabriële Buffet.

The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco

Italy, 1347. While Brother William of Baskerville is investigating accusations of heresy at a wealthy abbey, his inquiries are disrupted by a series of bizarre deaths. Turning his practiced detective skills to finding the killer, he relies on logic (Aristotle), theology (Thomas Aquinas), empirical insights (Roger Bacon), and his own wry humor and ferocious curiosity. With the aid of his young apprentice, William scours the abbey, from its stables to the labyrinthine library, piecing together evidence, and deciphering cryptic symbols and coded manuscripts to uncover the truth about this place where "the most interesting things happen at night."  Adapted to a famed film starring Sean Connery.

The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova

Psychiatrist Andrew Marlow, devoted to his profession and the painting hobby he loves, has a solitary but ordered life. When renowned painter Robert Oliver attacks a canvas in the National Gallery of Art and becomes his patient, Marlow finds that order destroyed. Desperate to understand the secret that torments the genius, he embarks on a journey that leads him into the lives of the women closest to Oliver and a tragedy at the heart of French Impressionism.

The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History by Robert Edsel

At the same time Adolf Hitler was attempting to take over the western world, his armies were methodically seeking and hoarding the finest art treasures in Europe. The Fuhrer had begun cataloguing the art he planned to collect as well as the art he would destroy: "degenerate" works he despised. In a race against time, behind enemy lines, often unarmed, a special force of American and British museum directors, curators, art historians, and others, called the Monuments Men, risked their lives scouring Europe to prevent the destruction of thousands of years of culture. Focusing on the eleven-month period between D-Day and V-E Day, this fascinating account follows six Monuments Men and their impossible mission to save the world's great art from the Nazis. Adapted to a famed film starring George Clooney.

Leviathan by Paul Auster (not available in the JCLC, request from Interlibrary Loan)

“Six days ago, a man blew himself up by the side of a road in northern Wisconsin.” So begins Peter Aaron’s story about his best friend, Benjamin Sachs. Sachs had a marriage Aaron envied, an intelligence he admired, a world he shared. And then suddenly, after a near-fatal fall that might or might not have been intentional, Sachs disappeared. Now Aaron must piece together the life that led to Sach’s death. His sole aim is to tell the truth and preserve it—before those who are investigating the case invent an account of their own.

Loving Vincent (2017)

Mystery surrounds the death of famed painter Vincent van Gogh in 1890 France.

---

If, like me, you found yourself curious about Noah Charney and The Association for Research into Crimes Against Art, learn more here: https://www.artcrimeresearch.org/our-work/

Title descriptions pulled from Amazon and Rotten Tomatoes.

literary magical realism

 

The next Books & Beyond (BAB) social group will meet on Tuesday, March 25th at 6:30pm and the topic up for discussion is art.  Novels, nonfiction, biography, and film are all encouraged!  If you’d rather attend online, click here to register for a Zoom link.

This week, BAB met to discuss a literary style, magical realism!

Betrayed by Rita Hayworth by Manuel Puig (not available in the JCLC, request from Interlibrary Loan)

When it appeared in 1968, Manuel Puig’s debut—a portrait of the artist as a child in small-town Argentina—was hailed as revolutionary. Borrowing from the language of "true romance" and movie magazines, the techniques of American modernism, and Hollywood montage, Puig created an exuberant queer aesthetic while also celebrating the secret lives of women.

Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman: Stories by Haruki Murakami

Here are animated crows, a criminal monkey, and an ice man, as well as the dreams that shape us and the things we might wish for. From the surreal to the mundane, these stories exhibit Murakami’s ability to transform the full range of human experience in ways that are instructive, surprising, and entertaining.

The Charmed Wife by Olga Grushin

Cinderella wants her Prince Charming dead in this sophisticated fairy-tale for the twenty-first century.

Gold Diggers by Sanjena Sathian

A magical realist coming-of-age story, Gold Diggers skewers the model minority myth to tell a hilarious and moving story about immigrant identity, community, and the underside of ambition.

La Dalma del Elba (The Lady of Dawn) by Alejandro Casona (Download a California State University thesis translation from the original Spanish in PDF)

A Spanish play written by playwright Alejandro Casona, first performed in 1944. The play takes place in a small unnamed Spanish town (believed to be the author's) on the fourth anniversary of the day Angelica, the eldest daughter of the local Narces family, died by drowning in a river, just days after getting married. Since they never found the body, no proper burial could be performed and her death still haunts her loved ones. Then, a mysterious woman, known only as The Pilgrim, comes along. Since it is believed that hosting religious pilgrims brings blessings, they allow her to stay. Then the old man remembers who she is: Death herself, whom he met when several men died in a mining accident several years before. He pleads with her not to claim another member of the family, but she explains she has no choice in the matter. However, since she overslept, she now cannot claim her target- Martin, Angelica's widower. She leaves, but warns that she will return in 'seven moons'- on the Day of Saint John, a local holiday.

Ask Baba Yaga by Taisia Kitaiskala (not available in the JCLC, request from Interlibrary Loan)

With a strange, otherworldly style, poetic clarity, and striking honesty, Ask Baba Yaga contains beautifully skewed wisdom to be consulted in times of need.

Pony Confidential by Christina Lynch

In this one-of-a-kind mystery with heart and humor, a hilariously grumpy pony must save the only human he’s ever loved after discovering she stands accused of a murder he knows she didn’t commit.

The Swarm by Frank Schatzing

Whales begin sinking ships. Toxic eyeless crabs poison Long Island’s water supply. Around the world, countries are beginning to feel the effects of the ocean’s revenge. In this riveting novel, full of twists, turns, and cliffhangers, a team of scientists discovers a strange, intelligent life force called the Yrr that takes form in marine animals in order to wreak havoc on man for his abuses. The Day After Tomorrow meets The Abyss in his gripping, scientifically realist, utterly imaginative thriller. With the compellingly creepy and vivid skill of this author to evoke story, character, and place, Frank Schatzing’s book are certain to find a home with fans of Michael Crichton.

Sister Snake by Amanda Lee Koe

Sisterhood is difficult for Su and Emerald. Su leads a sheltered, moneyed life as the picture-perfect wife of a conservative politician in Singapore. Emerald is a nihilistic sugar baby in New York, living from whim to whim and using her charms to make ends meet. But they share a secret: once, they were snakes, basking under a full moon in Tang dynasty China. Razor-sharp, hilarious, and raw in emotion, Sister Snake explores chosen family, queerness, passing, and the struggle against conformity. Reimagining the Chinese folktale “The Legend of the White Snake,” this is a novel about being seen for who you are—and, ultimately, how to live free.

Smilla’s Sense of Snow by Peter Hoeg

First published in 1992, Smilla's Sense of Snow instantly became an international sensation. When caustic Smilla Jaspersen discovers that her neighbor--a neglected six-year-old boy, and possibly her only friend--has died in a tragic accident, a peculiar intuition tells her it was murder. Unpredictable to the last page, Smilla's Sense of Snow is one of the most beautifully written and original crime stories of our time, a new classic.

Our Share of Night by Mariana Enriquez

A woman’s mysterious death puts her husband and son on a collision course with her demonic family in the first novel to be translated into English by the International Booker Prize–shortlisted author of The Dangers of Smoking in Bed.

The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde

In Jasper Fforde's Great Britain, circa 1985, time travel is routine, cloning is a reality (dodos are the resurrected pet of choice), and literature is taken very, very seriously. England is a virtual police state where an aunt can get lost (literally) in a Wordsworth poem and forging Byronic verse is a punishable offense. All this is business as usual for Thursday Next, renowned Special Operative in literary detection. But when someone begins kidnapping characters from works of literature and plucks Jane Eyre from the pages of Brontë's novel, Thursday is faced with the challenge of her career.

Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen

The Waverleys have always been a curious family, endowed with peculiar gifts that make them outsiders even in their hometown of Bascom, North Carolina. Even their garden has a reputation, famous for its feisty apple tree that bears prophetic fruit, and its edible flowers, imbued with special powers. Generations of Waverleys tended this garden. Their history was in the soil. But so were their futures.

Photo by Johannes Plenio on Unsplash

heartwarming new fiction

 

Some of the Most Anticipated Heartwarming Fiction of This Year

If you’re looking for that cozy, feel-good vibe, add these to your hold lists and TBRs!  These new titles will tug at your heartstrings, bring a tear to your eye, or a smile to your face 😊

Already published:

Better Than Friends by Jill Shalvis

Old flames reignite in Sunrise Cove in this charming enemies-to-lovers, second-chance, small-town, forced-proximity love story about family, friendships, and true love.

The Vanishing of Josephine Reynolds by Jennifer Moorman

Infused with magical detail and heartfelt storytelling, The Vanishing of Josephine Reynolds is a tale of resilience in the face of loss and a testament to the timeless bond of family.

The Rainfall Market by You Yeong-Gwang

On the outskirts of Rainbow Town, there is an old, abandoned house. They say that if you send a letter detailing your misfortunes there, you could receive a ticket. If you bring this ticket to the house on the first day of the rainy season, you'll be granted entrance into the mysterious Rainfall Market—where you can choose to completely change your life.

The Snowbirds by Christina Clancy

Is it ever too late to become the person we wanted to be—and is there still time to change into someone better? The exhilarating, but often confusing transitions of midlife are pitched against the promise and glamour of Palm Springs in this tender, honest story of what it takes to commit to someone for a lifetime.

This Is a Love Story by Jessica Soffer

An homage to New York City, to romance, and even to loss, This Is a Love Story tenderly and suspensefully captures deep truths about life and marriage in radiant prose. It is about love that endures despite what life throws at us, or perhaps even because of it.

We All Live Here by Jojo Moyes

Lila Kennedy has a lot on her plate. A broken marriage, two wayward daughters, a house that is falling apart, and an elderly stepfather who seems to have quietly moved in. Her career is in freefall and her love life is . . . complicated. So when her real dad—a man she has barely seen since he ran off to Hollywood thirty-five years ago—suddenly appears on her doorstep, it feels like the final straw. But it turns out even the family you thought you could never forgive might have something to teach you: about love, and what it actually means to be family.

Three Days in June by Anne Tyler

Told with deep sensitivity and a tart sense of humor, full of the joys and heartbreaks of love and marriage and family life, this is the story of a socially awkward mother of the bride navigating the days before and after her daughter's wedding.

Forthcoming:

Promise Me Sunshine by Cara Bastone

Grieving the loss of her best friend, a young woman’s life is turned upside down when she meets a grumpy stranger who swears he can help her live again. Release date: March 5

One Good Thing by Georgia Hunter

A remarkable tale of friendship, motherhood, and survival, One Good Thing is a tender reminder that love for another person, even amidst darkness and uncertainty, can be reason to keep going. Release date: March 4

The Story She Left Behind by Patti Callahan Henry

Inspired by a true literary mystery, Henry returns with the sweeping story of a legendary book, a lost mother, and a daughter’s search for them both. Release date: March 18

Beach Vibes by Susan Mallery

An unforgettable beach read about love, secrets, betrayal and the family we’re born into—and the one we choose for ourselves. Release date: March 18

All Our Beautiful Goodbyes by Julianne MacLean

A shining thread of hope illuminates this epic tale of lost love and fallen dreams, set in the remote splendor of Nova Scotia and spanning decades. Release date: March 25

The World’s Fair Quilt by Jennifer Chiaverini

A timely celebration of quilting, family, community, and history. Release date: April 1

Spilling the Tea by Brenda Jackson

Ninetysomething Mama Laverne is determined to find all of her great-grandchildren their perfect match before going home to glory. So far, her success rate is 100 percent—and she intends to keep it that way. Release date: April 1

Say You’ll Remember Me by Abby Jimenez

There might be no such a thing as a perfect guy, but Xavier Rush comes disastrously close. A gorgeous veterinarian giving Greek god vibes—all while cuddling a tiny kitten? Immediately yes. That is until Xavier opens his mouth and proves that even sculpted gods can say the absolute wrong thing. But after one incredible and seemingly endless date—possibly the best in living history—Samantha is forced to admit the truth, that her family is in crisis and any kind of relationship would be impossible. Samantha begs Xavier to forget her. Only no amount of distance or time is nearly enough to forget  that something between them. And the only thing better than one single perfect memory is to make a life—and even a love—worth remembering. Release date: April 1

Flirting Lessons by Jasmine Guillory

Avery Jensen is almost thirty, fresh off a breakup, and she’s tired of always being so uptight and well-behaved. She wants to get a hobby, date around (especially women), flirt with everyone she sees, wear something not from the business casual section of her closet—all the fun stuff normal people do in their twenties. One problem: Avery doesn't know where to start. Enter Taylor Cameron, Napa Valley's biggest flirt and champion heartbreaker. Taylor just broke up with her most recent girlfriend, and her best friend bet her that she can't make it until Labor Day without sleeping with someone. (Two whole months? Without sex? Taylor?!?!) So, she offers to give Avery flirting lessons. Release date: April 8

The Griffin Sisters’ Greatest Hits by Jennifer Weiner

A glimmering novel set in the world of pop music about sisters, motherhood, young love, and the dreams we chase. Release date: April 8

The Book Club for Troublesome Women by Marie Bostwick

The Book Club for Troublesome Women is a humorous, thought provoking, and nostalgic romp through one pivotal and tumultuous American year--as well as an ode to self-discovery, persistence, and the power of sisterhood. Release date: April 22

Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry

Two writers compete for the chance to tell the larger-than-life story of a woman with more than a couple of plot twists up her sleeve. Release date: April 22

Summer Light on Nantucket by Nancy Thayer

A touching novel about parenthood, first love, family bonds, and rekindled relationships. Release date: April 22

Gold Coast Dilemma by Nana Malone

A romance about a Ghanaian American heiress faced with the dilemma of choosing between culture and a love connection. Release date: April 29

My Friends by Fredrik Backman

An unforgettably funny, deeply moving tale of four teenagers whose friendship creates a bond so powerful that it changes a complete stranger’s life twenty-five years later. This tale is proof that happy endings don’t always take the form we expect in this stunning testament to the transformative, timeless power of friendship and art. Release date: May 20

The Martha’s Vineyard Beach and Book Club by Martha Hall Kelly

Two sisters living on Martha’s Vineyard during World War II find hope in the power of storytelling when they start a wartime book club for women in this spectacular novel inspired by true events. Release date: May 27

The Guest Cottage by Lori Foster

Love, forgiveness, and renewal take center stage in the haven of a quiet lakeside town when two very different women bond over one man’s betrayals. Release date: May 27

These Summer Storms by Sarah MacLean

A razor-sharp, wildly sexy novel about a wealthy New England family's long-overdue reckoning…and one week that threatens to tear them apart. Release date: July 8

The Academy by Elin Hilderbrand and Shelby Cunningham

Elin Hilderbrand teams up with her daughter, Shelby Cunningham, to deliver a dishy, page-turning novel following an intertwined cast of characters over the course of one drama-filled year at a New England boarding school. Release date: September 16

Calling All Blessings by Beverly Jenkins

Tamar July, town matriarch of Henry Adams, KS, is being haunted by dreams of her humiliating wedding day, sixty years ago, when she discovered her intended, Joel Newton, was already married. The truth left her furious, heartbroken, and carrying a child, her son Malachi “Mal” July. Why are these dreams coming to her now? And is the great horned owl perched on her backyard shed somehow connected? When Joel’s legitimate son comes to Henry Adams wanting to meet his half-brother, Mal, Tamar must deal with her past, her anger, and explore what it means to truly forgive. Release date: October 28

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