Wednesday, December 28, 2022

season's readings

 

The next Books & Beyond (BAB) meeting will be on Tuesday, January 31st at 6:30pm and the topic up for discussion is trains & train travel.  If you’re stumped for a title, peruse the BAB section of the Shelf Care page: https://oneallibrary.org/adults---reading-recommendations

This week, BAB met for a reader’s choice meeting, where there is no assigned topic, so group members shared what they've really been enjoying this year and recently.

The Omega Factor by Steve Berry

The Ghent Altarpiece is the most violated work of art in the world. Thirteen times it has been vandalized, dismantled, or stolen. Why? What secrets does it hold? From the tranquil canals of Ghent, to the towering bastions of Carcassonne, and finally into an ancient abbey high in the French Pyrenees, Nick Lee must confront a modern-day religious crusade intent on eliminating a shocking truth from humanity’s past. Success or failure—life and death—all turn on the Omega Factor. 

I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy

A heartbreaking and hilarious memoir by iCarly and Sam & Cat star Jennette McCurdy about her struggles as a former child actor—including eating disorders, addiction, and a complicated relationship with her overbearing mother—and how she retook control of her life.

Reborn in the USA: An Englishman’s Love Letter to His Chosen Home by Roger Bennett

One-half of the celebrated Men in Blazers duo, longtime culture and soccer commentator Roger Bennett traces the origins of his love affair with America, and how he went from a depraved, pimply faced Jewish boy in 1980’s Liverpool to become the quintessential Englishman in New York. A memoir for fans of Jon Ronson and Chuck Klosterman, but with Roger Bennett’s signature pop culture flair and humor.

Genesis of Misery by Neon Yang

A reimagining of Joan of Arc’s story given a space opera, giant robot twist, the Nullvoid Chronicles is a story about the nature of truth, the power of belief, and the interplay of both in the stories we tell ourselves.

Cat Sebastian’s Seducing the Sedgwicks trilogy
The Sedgwick Series is about the sons of a radical, slightly unhinged poet. Each book is a standalone, but this is the chronological order:
It Takes Two to Tumble
A Gentleman Never Keeps Score
Two Rogues Make a Right

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

Many generations ago, Charles Dickens wrote David Copperfield from his experience as a survivor of institutional poverty and its damages to children in his society. Those problems have yet to be solved in ours. Dickens is not a prerequisite for readers of this novel, but he provided its inspiration. In transposing a Victorian epic novel to the contemporary American South, Barbara Kingsolver enlists Dickens’ anger and compassion, and above all, his faith in the transformative powers of a good story. Demon Copperhead speaks for a new generation of lost boys, and all those born into beautiful, cursed places they can’t imagine leaving behind.

Silenced No More: Surviving My Journey to Hell and Back by Sarah Ransome

For the first time ever, a survivor tells the shocking inside story of her time trapped in Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell’s sex trafficking ring.

Horse by Geraldine Brooks

A discarded painting in a junk pile, a skeleton in an attic, and the greatest racehorse in American history: from these strands, a Pulitzer Prize winner braids a sweeping story of spirit, obsession, and injustice across American history. Based on the remarkable true story of the record-breaking thoroughbred Lexington, Horse is a novel of art and science, love and obsession, and our unfinished reckoning with racism.

The Widow’s War by Sally Gunning

When Lyddie Berry’s husband is lost in a storm at sea, she finds that her status as a widow is vastly changed from that of respectable married woman. Now she is the “dependent” of her nearest male relative—her son-in-law. Refusing to bow to societal pressure that demands she cede everything that she and her husband worked for, Lyddie becomes an outcast from family, friends, and neighbors—yet ultimately discovers a deeper sense of self and, unexpectedly, love. Evocative and stunningly assured, The Widow’s War is an unforgettable work of literary magic, a spellbinding tale from a gifted talent.

Louise Penny’s Chief Inspector Gamache series

This 18 book (and counting!) series is set around the life of Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of Surete du Quebec, the provincial police force for Quebec, Canada.  The first in the series is Still Life. 

Janet Langhart Cohen's Anne & Emmett 

This play was recently produced at the Birmingham Museum of Art. Anne & Emmett is an imaginary conversation between Anne Frank and Emmett Till, both victims of racial intolerance and hatred. Frank is the 13-year-old Jewish girl whose Diary provided a gripping perspective of the Holocaust. Till is the 14-year old African-American boy whose brutal murder in Mississippi sparked the Modern American Civil Rights Movement.

Till (this DVD is on order in the library system)

In 1955, after Emmett Till is murdered in a brutal lynching, his mother vows to expose the racism behind the attack while working to have those involved brought to justice.

Babylon (this film is currently in theaters)

A tale of outsized ambition and outrageous excess, it traces the rise and fall of multiple characters during an era of unbridled decadence and depravity in early Hollywood.

William Kent Krueger’s Cork O’Connor series

This 19 book (and counting!) series features a former Chicago cop of mixed Irish and Ojibwe nation heritage living and working near an Ojibwe reservation in the north Minnesota woods. This first title in the series is Iron Lake.

The Hours

The story of how the novel "Mrs. Dalloway" affects three generations of women, all of whom, in one way or another, have had to deal with suicide in their lives.

The Hours by Michael Cunningham

In The Hours, Michael Cunningham, widely praised as one of the most gifted writers of his generation, draws inventively on the life and work of Virginia Woolf to tell the story of a group of contemporary characters struggling with the conflicting claims of love and inheritance, hope and despair. The narrative of Woolf's last days before her suicide early in World War II counterpoints the fictional stories of Samuel, a famous poet whose life has been shadowed by his talented and troubled mother, and his lifelong friend Clarissa, who strives to forge a balanced and rewarding life in spite of the demands of friends, lovers, and family. Passionate, profound, and deeply moving, this is Cunningham's most remarkable achievement to date.

Tuesday, December 13, 2022

must-reads for 2023

 

It’s the most wonderful time of the year….when we get started on building those TBR lists for Winter 2023! (For the unknowing, that’s “to be read" 😊)

Our friends over at Town & Country magazine have crafted this list of books they are looking forward to this winter, have a look! Keep in mind, most of these titles haven't been published yet, but you can click the "Place Hold" button to get on the waitlist!

Elizabeth Taylor: The Grit & Glamour of an Icon

In this first-ever authorized biography of Elizabeth Taylor, journalist and author Kate Andersen Brower (First WomenThe Residence) tells the story of one of Hollywood's greatest stars through extensive interviews as well as previously unpublished letters, personal writing, and rare interview transcripts. From Taylor's earliest roles through her work as an international superstar and philanthropist, her story is told with style and great detail, making this a must read for new fans and longtime admirers alike.

Young Bloomsbury: The Generation That Redefined Love, Freedom, and Self-Expression in 1920s England

Once, the members of the so-called Bloomsbury Group (like Virginia Woolf and E.M. Forster) were the enfants terribles of the literary world, but that wouldn't last forever. After them came another group, made up of the likes of Stephen Tomlin and Julia Strachey, whose bold and subversive ideas and ways of living would upend not only the establishment but also the older Bloomsbury set, setting a new course for the creative world that still resonates nearly 100 years later. In this sharp, thoughtful look at the group, their work, and its impact, Nino Strachey shines a light on cultural masterminds whose lives and work would change the world forever.

Finale: Late Conversations with Stephen Sondheim

Before he died in 2021, Stephen Sondheim sat for a series of interviews for a profile in The New Yorker. Then he walked away from the story. And then he changed his mind. In this collection of those interviews, D.T. Max shares an intimate look at the titan in his final years and discusses a wide range of subjects from the profound to the mundane that, when put together, paint a vivid picture and serve as a touching, thorough, and appropriately offbeat tribute to a man whose contributions to our culture are still impossible to comprehend.

Your Table Is Ready: Tales of a New York City Maître D'

Michael Cecchi-Azzolina has worked for decades as a maître d' at some of New York City's best loved and most exclusive restaurants, including The River Cafe, Raoul's, and Le Coucou. In this book, he pulls back the curtain on what really happens behind the scenes at high-end eateries—including memorable antics from volatile chefs and badly behaved patrons—and shows readers the funny, frantic side of hospitality that regular diners might never see.

Another Dimension of Us

 This new novel from T&C contributor Mike Albo is about young love, time travel, and what it means to be truly devoted to someone else. Following two sets of teenagers—originally based in 1986 and 2044, but that gets complicated—Albo's charming, big-hearted story will appeal to fans of John Hughes and the Duffer Brothers equally, and makes the case that true love is, in fact, timeless.

A Small Affair

Money, romance, and murder are always key ingredients for a delicious thriller. And in the latest from Flora Collins, they're used expertly. This novel follows Vera, whose social ambition and membership to an exclusive dating service, find her cavorting with an older and much richer man. But when her paramour and his (oops) wife turn up dead, Vera ends up at the center of a murder investigation and eventually something far more sinister. Collins's book is a skillful look at the high price of looking for love and the curse of getting exactly what it is we think we want.

Life on Delay: Making Peace with a Stutter

When John Hendrickson wrote for The Atlantic about the experience Joe Biden, then a candidate for President, had with stuttering, his story went viral. Now, Hendrickson tackles the topic of stuttering—his own experiences, those of others, the thoughts of experts and charlatans alike—in this book about what it's like to live with a stutter, and how the world reacts.

8 Rules of Love: How to Find It, Keep It, and Let It Go

Award-winning storyteller and podcaster Jay Shetty is set to deliver his second book 8 Rules of Love, and seeing as how his first landed in the number one slot on Amazon’s best seller list, we’re looking forward to this subsequent project. Shetty’s 8 Rules of Love combines ancient wisdom and modern science to offer tangible tools that will help you navigate relationships through every stage— and not just relationships with others, but also with ourselves and the world.

The New Life

In 1800s England, two men whose marriages aren't quite as traditional as they appear to be find themselves planning to publish a book taking a radical-for-the-time stance on same-sex relationships. But when public opinion becomes obviously swayed prior to the book's release, the question of whether they want their work out in the world becomes urgent. Tom Crewe's book is a beautiful, haunting portrait of love in a time that didn't understand it, and a reminder of how close we are to the past.

The Shards

A sort of prequel to the author's legendary debut novel, Less Than ZeroThe Shards follows a young man (named Bret Easton Ellis) through the smoggy world of early 1980s Los Angeles, where he attends private school, experiments with drugs and sex, and casually glides through life—until a string of murders gets too close for comfort. It's a thrilling page turner from Ellis, who revisits the world that made him a literary star with a stylish, scary new story that doesn't disappoint.

When Broadway Was Black: The Triumphant Story of the All-Black Musical that Changed the World 

In 1921, composers Noble Sissle and Eubie Blake shook up New York City’s musical theater scene by producing the first all-Black musical on Broadway. The production, called Shuffle Along, brought vibrant jazz tunes to the Broadway stage and gave Black performers an opportunity to shine in the process. Peruse the pages of When Broadway Was Black to explore the history of Shuffle Along and the creators behind this iconic work of art.

The Faraway World

Patricia Engel returns with 10 linked short stories, mainly centered on the experience of Colombians and Colombian Americans. In "Aida," 16-year-old Aida tries to understand the disappearance of her twin sister, Salma; in "Campoamor," a novelist in Havana juggles two girlfriends; in "The Book of Saints," a Colombian woman marries a New Yorker she meets online. Engel's in fine form in all the short stories, as she examines the intersections of class, immigration, and families.

Spare

Prince Harry's highly anticipated memoir is finally hitting bookshelves in January. First announced in summer 2021, Harry said at the time, "I’m writing this not as the prince I was born but as the man I have become. I’ve worn many hats over the years, both literally and figuratively, and my hope is that in telling my story—the highs and lows, the mistakes, the lessons learned—I can help show that no matter where we come from, we have more in common than we think."

Age of Vice

Deepti Kapoor's sprawling novel, Age of Vice, centers on the wealthy Wadia family. There's the playboy heir, Sunny; his servant, Ajay, who was born in poverty; and a journalist, Neda, who falls into Sunny's orbit. Kapoor takes the readers through each of their stories, and what results is a fast-paced, compelling novel that is part thriller, part family drama, and part look at modern Indian politics.

Blood, Fire & Gold

Historian Estelle Paranque looks at the relationship between Elizabeth I and Catherine de Medici, two of the most powerful women in Renaissance Europe. She draws on their private letters to craft portraits of these famous women. As Paranque writes in the start of Blood, Fire & Gold, "They might have been rivals, but they were also united in their power, each admiring the force of the other. Both of them brave and intelligent women, they were unlike any other rulers of the age, and while this might divide them, it would also bring them closer together. But ultimately Elizabeth and Catherine would never let themselves forget that they were, first and foremost, each other's true rival."A must-read for history lovers.

Maame: A Novel

Jessica George's Maame follows the story of Londoner Maddie, called "Maame" by her Ghanian family, as she cares for her father, who has advanced stage Parkinson’s. When her mother returns from Ghana, she tries to begin her life outside of the family home. Soon, however, tragedy strikes and Maddie loses her job at a publishing house. In this coming-of-age novel, Maddie navigates grief, familial duty, workplace racism, and being torn between two cultures. An unforgettable, funny debut.

The Survivalists

Aretha, a successful Black woman who works as a corporate attorney, begins dating a coffee entrepreneur named Aaron. When she moves in with him and his roommates in Brooklyn, Aretha learns the household are survivalists, and constantly prepping for the end times. Per the publisher, Kashana Cauley's The Survivalists centers on questions such as "Does it make sense to climb the corporate ladder? What exactly are the politics of gun ownership? And in a world where it’s nearly impossible for young people to earn enough money to afford stable housing, what does it take in order to survive?"

Hell Bent

Leigh Bardugo returns to the dark magic of Yale's secret societies in this sequel to the bestselling Ninth House. Protagonist Alex "Galaxy" Stern is set on breaking her mentor, Darlington, out of purgatory. The dark academia fantasy novel is rooted in the very real nature of wealth, power, and murder, and Hell Bent is just as twisty and good as Ninth House.

The Half Known Life

Prolific travel author Pico Iyer turns his attention to the question of paradise in his latest book, The Half Known Life. "I’d begun to wonder what kind of paradise can ever be found in a world of unceasing conflict—and whether the very search for it might not simply aggravate our differences," he writes. Iyer travels to Iran, Sri Lanka, Ethiopia, Israel, Tibet, and elsewhere to uncover what paradise looks like on earth.

The End of Drum-Time

This epic novel is set in 1851 in a remote village in the Arctic circle, where a Lutheran minister's daughter, Willa, falls for a native Sámi reindeer herder, Ivvar. It's a fascinating work of historical fiction, with romance at its heart, that dramatizes two real historical events: the growth of the teachings of minister Lars Levi Læstadius, and the Kautokeino Rebellion of 1852. "The book starts with a repentance and ends with a rebellion," Pylväinen says of the story.

The following titles will be ordered soon, but are not on the system yet.  If you're interested, pin a note to your fridge to ask about them later! They all publish in February.

All the Beauty in the World: The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Me

It’s customary to depend on a sanctuary when life gets overwhelming, and for Patrick Bringley, his personal oasis became the Metropolitan Museum of Art after learning that his brother had been diagnosed with fatal cancer. But Patrick did more than visit this art haven every once in a while— he quit his job at the New Yorker and decided to work as a full-time museum guard. In All The Beauty in the World, Patrick Bringley depicts the treasures of the Metropolitan Museum of Art through his own intimate and fascinating perspective.

Big Swiss

Jen Beagin's novel is, in the simplest terms, about the transcriptionist for a sex therapist who falls for one of his clients after transcribing her sessions. Really, though, the funny, offbeat story (which is already in the works to become an HBO series) asks questions about telling the truth, falling in love, and who we really are when no one else is looking—or so we think.

I Have Some Questions for You

This new novel from the author of The Great Believers follows a boarding school alum as she returns to her New England alma mater to teach a course and winds up opening old wounds—for herself as well as a number of figures from her past. When a decades-old murder, which has been mostly relegated to the dark world of internet sleuths, becomes a hot topic once again, everything Bodie Kane thinks she knows about the world she lives in and the memories she's made come into question—and the picturesque campus where she's living becomes perhaps the most dangerous place of all.

The Urgent Life: My Story of Love, Loss, and Survival

Grief is an inevitable part of life, and if there’s anyone who knows this firsthand, it's Bozoma Saint John. While in college, Bozoma’s boyfriend committed suicide. In her first moments of motherhood, Bozoma’s baby was born prematurely. And in the midst of a separation from her husband, Bozoma discovered that he had terminal cancer. Through unveiling her profound stories of love and loss, Bozoma encourages others to persevere through tumultuous times in the face of adversity.

Whatever Next?: Lessons from an Unexpected Life

Princess Margaret's close confidant, Anne Glenconner, is back with her second memoir. Glenconner was Margaret's lady-in-waiting for over three decades, and her first memoir, Lady in Waiting, was full of interesting revelations about the royal family. "While I was writing it, I realized I had led a very interesting life. The sort of life I led doesn't really exist anymore," she told Town & Country.

What Napoleon Could Not Do

DK Nnuro's newest book What Napoleon Could Not Do illustrates the story of two siblings, Jacob and Belinda Nti, all of whom share a common goal of moving from their hometown in Ghana to America. When Belinda realizes the American dream, or in her father’s words, achieves “what Napoleon couldn’t do,” Jacob grows bitter. Through their separate paths toward success, the siblings embark on journeys of promise and disappointment, each navigating in their own way.

My Last Innocent Year

"It's hard to say how I ended up in Zev Neman's dorm room the night before winter break..." our narrator, Isabel Rosen, begins My Last Innocent Year. Daisy Alpert Florin's debut novel is set during one young Jewish woman's senior year at a fictional New Hampshire college in 1998, as she grapples with the sexual politics of her campus, and embarks on a confusing affair with a married professor. Though it's set nearly 25 years ago, My Last Innocent Year is a deeply timely and relevant campus novel.

The Sun Walks Down

It's September 1883 in the South Australian outback, and six-year-old Denny has gone missing in a dust storm. Over the next seven days, the community begins searching for Denny. Fiona McFarlane populates her story with a wide range of characters—from Denny's sisters and parents, to Aboriginal tracker Jimmy—and expertly captures the tensions in colonial Australia between the European and Indigenous populations.

VenCo

Cherie Dimaline's second novel, VenCo, is the story of a Métis millennial, Lucky, who lives with her grandmother, Stella. When she discovers a silver spoon in their walls, Lucky is soon tapped into a network of witches across America (VenCo being an anagram for coven). "This is a book about how we all have a wardrobe leading to Narnia — we just need to find it," Dimaline says. A fun, feminist, witchy read.