Recommended Reads

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Dear George, Dear Mary

Mary Calvi

Description

This "affecting" novel "skillfully depicts the ill-fated love story of a promising 24-year-old colonel named George Washington and Mary Eliza Philipse" ( Publishers Weekly). 
Before Martha, there was Mary. . . . 
A never-before-told love story of George Washington and heiress Mary Philipse based on historical accounts, letters, and personal journals by nine-time New York Emmy Award–winning journalist Mary Calvi. 
"Love is said to be an involuntary passion, and it is, therefore, contended that it cannot be resisted." —George Washington 
Did unrequited love spark a flame that ignited a cause that became the American Revolution? Crafted from hundreds of letters, witness accounts, and journal entries, Dear George, Dear Mary explores George's relationship with his first love, New York heiress Mary Philipse, the richest woman in Colonial America. 
From elegant eighteenth-century society to bloody battlefields, the novel creates breathtaking scenes and riveting characters. Dramatic portraits of the two main characters unveil a Washington on the precipice of greatness, using the very words he spoke and wrote, and his ravishing love, Mary, whose outward beauty and refinement disguise a complex inner struggle. 
Dear George, Dear Mary reveals why George Washington had such bitter resentment toward the Brits, established nearly two decades before the American Revolution, and it unveils details of a deception long hidden from the world that led Mary Philipse to be named a traitor, condemned to death and left with nothing. While that may sound like the end, ultimately both Mary and George achieve what they always wanted. 
"Calvi's portrait of Washington as an earnest young man striving for success but beleaguered on every front is convincing and, in a way, endearing." — Booklist

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Benjamin Franklin's Bastard

Sally Cabot

Description

Benjamin Frankiln’s Bastard by Sally Cabot is an absorbing and compelling work of literary historical fiction that brings to life a little-known chapter of the American Revolution — the story of Benjamin Franklin and his bastard son, and the women who loved them both.

William Franklin, the son of Benjamin and his favorite mistress, Anne, is raised by Deborah, Benjamin’s wife. A steadfast loyalist, he and his father cannot reconcile their wildly disparate views, causing a rift in the bond both thought unbreakable.

Fascinating and heartbreaking, Benjamin Franklin’s Bastard is a gripping tale of family, love, and war, set against one of America’s most fascinating periods of history.

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The Bastard

John Jakes

Description

The first volume in the addictive saga of the American Revolution by the #1 New York Times–bestselling author of the North and South trilogy. 

Meet Phillipe Charboneau: the illegitimate son and unrecognized heir of the Duke of Kentland. Upon the Duke's death, Phillipe is denied his birthright and left to build a life of his own. Seeking all that the New World promises, he leaves London for America, shedding his past and preparing for the future by changing his name to Philip Kent. He arrives at the brink of the American Revolution, which tests his allegiances in ways he never imagined. The first volume of John Jakes's wildly successful and highly addictive Kent Family Chronicles, The Bastard is a triumph of historical fiction. 

This ebook features an illustrated biography of John Jakes including rare images from the author's personal collection.

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American Rebels

Nina Sankovitch

Description

A "hugely enjoyable" chronicle of the Adams, Quincy and Hancock families and how they helped spark the American Revolution ( Christian Science Monitor). 
Awarded the 2021 New England Society in the City of New York Book Award for Best Historical Nonfiction, American Rebels explores for the first time the intimate connections between three families in the lead up to the American Revolution. Author Nina Sankovitch examines the intertwined lives of John Hancock, John Adams, Josiah Quincy Jr, Abigail Smith Adams, and Dorothy Quincy Hancock, and argues for the distinct roles each played in fomenting revolution. Their trajectory from loyal British subjects to American rebels was forged in childhood; and their deeply held convictions, founded in community, fueled their collaborations during the fraught and violent years leading up to the signing of the Declaration of Independence in July of 1776. Sankovitch presents in vivid detail, backed up by extensive and new research, the ties that bound these men and women together (including faith, love, ambition, and envy) and drove them to rebel against England, while also demonstrating how the desire for independence cut across class lines, and how families could be divided, rebels versus loyalists, in pursuing commonly-held goals of opportunity, liberty, and stability. 
Praise for American Rebels 
" American Rebels reminds us that as momentous events unfolded, the stuff of daily life carried on—courtships, marriages, family gatherings; houses were constructed, careers furthered, gout and consumption endured by some." — Wall Street Journal 
"Sankovitch has woven a compelling, potent chronicle of members of three principal American families that will be valued by readers of American history at all levels." — Library Journal (starred review) 
"Historian Sankovitch . . . explores the family connections and revolutionary politics shared by John Hancock, John and Abigail Adams, and Josiah Quincy Jr., in this richly detailed and fluidly written account. . . . Sankovitch leavens her deeply researched account with wit, and presents a persuasive and entertaining portrait of life in colonial Boston. Revolutionary War buffs will savor this thoughtful addition to popular histories of the period." — Publishers Weekly

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George Washington's Secret Six

Brian Kilmeade

Description

*Now with a new afterword containing never-before-seen research on the identity of the spy ring’s most secret member, Agent 355

“This is my kind of history book. Get ready. Here’s the action.” —BRAD MELTZER, bestselling author of The Fifth Assassin and host of Decoded

When George Washington beat a hasty retreat from New York City in August 1776, many thought the American Revolution might soon be over. Instead, Washington rallied—thanks in large part to a little-known, top-secret group called the Culper Spy Ring. He realized that he couldn’t defeat the British with military might, so he recruited a sophisticated and deeply secretive intelligence network to infiltrate New York.

Drawing on extensive research, Brian Kilmeade and Don Yaeger have offered fascinating portraits of these spies: a reserved Quaker merchant, a tavern keeper, a brash young longshoreman, a curmudgeonly Long Island bachelor, a coffeehouse owner, and a mysterious woman. Long unrecognized, the secret six are finally receiving their due among the pantheon of American heroes.

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Valiant Ambition

Nathaniel Philbrick

Description

A New York Times Bestseller
Winner of the George Washington Prize

A surprising account of the middle years of the American Revolution and the tragic relationship between George Washington and Benedict Arnold, from the New York Times bestselling author of In The Heart of the Sea, Mayflower, and In the Hurricane's Eye.

"May be one of the greatest what-if books of the age—a volume that turns one of America’s best-known narratives on its head.”—Boston Globe

"Clear and insightful, [Valiant Ambition] consolidates Philbrick's reputation as one of America's foremost practitioners of narrative nonfiction."—Wall Street Journal

In the second book of his acclaimed American Revolution series, Nathaniel Philbrick turns to the tragic relationship between George Washington and Benedict Arnold. In September 1776, the vulnerable Continental army under an unsure George Washington evacuated New York after a devastating defeat by the British army. Three weeks later, one of his favorite generals, Benedict Arnold, miraculously succeeded in postponing the British naval advance down Lake Champlain that might have lost the war. As this book ends, four years later Washington has vanquished his demons, and Arnold has fled to the enemy. America was forced at last to realize that the real threat to its liberties might not come from without but from withinComplex, controversial, and dramatic, Valiant Ambition is a portrait of a people in crisis and the war that gave birth to a nation.

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Our First Civil War

H. W. Brands

Description

"A fast-paced, often riveting account of the military and political events leading up to the Declaration of Independence and those that followed during the war ... Brands does his readers a service by reminding them that division, as much as unity, is central to the founding of our nation."—The Washington Post

From best-selling historian and Pulitzer Prize finalist H. W. Brands comes a gripping, page-turning narrative of the American Revolution that shows it to be more than a fight against the British: it was also a violent battle among neighbors forced to choose sides, Loyalist or Patriot.
 
What causes people to forsake their country and take arms against it? What prompts their neighbors, hardly distinguishable in station or success, to defend that country against the rebels?  That is the question H. W. Brands answers in his powerful new history of the American Revolution.
 
George Washington and Benjamin Franklin were the unlikeliest of rebels. Washington in the 1770s stood at the apex of Virginia society. Franklin was more successful still, having risen from humble origins to world fame. John Adams might have seemed a more obvious candidate for rebellion, being of cantankerous temperament. Even so, he revered the law. Yet all three men became rebels against the British Empire that fostered their success.
 
Others in the same circle of family and friends chose differently. William Franklin might have been expected to join his father, Benjamin, in rebellion but remained loyal to the British. So did Thomas Hutchinson, a royal governor and friend of the Franklins, and Joseph Galloway, an early challenger to the Crown. They soon heard themselves denounced as traitors--for not having betrayed the country where they grew up. Native Americans and the enslaved were also forced to choose sides as civil war broke out around them.
 
After the Revolution, the Patriots were cast as heroes and founding fathers while the Loyalists were relegated to bit parts best forgotten. Our First Civil War reminds us that before America could win its revolution against Britain, the Patriots had to win a bitter civil war against family, neighbors, and friends.

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Killing England

Bill O'Reilly

Description

The Revolutionary War as never told before.

This breathtaking installment in Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard’s mega-bestselling Killing series transports readers to the most important era in our nation’s history: the Revolutionary War. Told through the eyes of George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and Great Britain’s King George III, Killing England chronicles the path to independence in gripping detail, taking the reader from the battlefields of America to the royal courts of Europe. 

What started as protest and unrest in the colonies soon escalated to a world war with devastating casualties. O’Reilly and Dugard recreate the war’s landmark battles, including Bunker Hill, Long Island, Saratoga, and Yorktown, revealing the savagery of hand-to-hand combat and the often brutal conditions under which these brave American soldiers lived and fought. Also here is the reckless treachery of Benedict Arnold and the daring guerrilla tactics of the “Swamp Fox” Frances Marion. 

A must read, Killing England reminds one and all how the course of history can be changed through the courage and determination of those intent on doing the impossible.

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Winning Independence

John Ferling

Description

Co-Winner of the 2022 Harry M. Ward Book Prize

From celebrated historian John Ferling, the underexplored history of the second half of the Revolutionary War, when, after years of fighting, American independence often seemed beyond reach.

It was 1778, and the recent American victory at Saratoga had netted the U.S a powerful ally in France. Many, including General George Washington, presumed France's entrance into the war meant independence was just around the corner.

Meanwhile, having lost an entire army at Saratoga, Great Britain pivoted to a “southern strategy.” The army would henceforth seek to regain its southern colonies, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia, a highly profitable segment of its pre-war American empire. Deep into 1780 Britain's new approach seemed headed for success as the U.S. economy collapsed and morale on the home front waned. By early 1781, Washington, and others, feared that France would drop out of the war if the Allies failed to score a decisive victory that year. Sir Henry Clinton, commander of Britain's army, thought “the rebellion is near its end.” Washington, who had been so optimistic in 1778, despaired: “I have almost ceased to hope.” 

Winning Independence is the dramatic story of how and why Great Britain-so close to regaining several southern colonies and rendering the postwar United States a fatally weak nation ultimately failed to win the war. The book explores the choices and decisions made by Clinton and Washington, and others, that ultimately led the French and American allies to clinch the pivotal victory at Yorktown that at long last secured American independence.

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1774

Mary Beth Norton

Description

From one of our most acclaimed and original colonial historians, a groundbreaking book tracing the critical "long year" of 1774 and the revolutionary change that took place from the Boston Tea Party and the First Continental Congress to the Battles of Lexington and Concord.

A WALL STREET JOURNAL BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR

In this masterly work of history, the culmination of more than four decades of research and thought, Mary Beth Norton looks at the sixteen months leading up to the clashes at Lexington and Concord in mid-April 1775. This was the critical, and often overlooked, period when colonists traditionally loyal to King George III began their discordant “discussions” that led them to their acceptance of the inevitability of war against the British Empire. Drawing extensively on pamphlets, newspapers, and personal correspondence, Norton reconstructs colonial political discourse as it took place throughout 1774. Late in the year, conservatives mounted a vigorous campaign criticizing the First Continental Congress. But by then it was too late. In early 1775, colonial governors informed officials in London that they were unable to thwart the increasing power of local committees and their allied provincial congresses. Although the Declaration of Independence would not be formally adopted until July 1776, Americans had in effect “declared independence ” even before the outbreak of war in April 1775 by obeying the decrees of the provincial governments they had elected rather than colonial officials appointed by the king. Norton captures the tension and drama of this pivotal year and foundational moment in American history and brings it to life as no other historian has done before.

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Seventeen Seventy-six

David McCullough

Description

America’s beloved and distinguished historian presents, in a book of breathtaking excitement, drama, and narrative force, the stirring story of the year of our nation’s birth, 1776, interweaving, on both sides of the Atlantic, the actions and decisions that led Great Britain to undertake a war against her rebellious colonial subjects and that placed America’s survival in the hands of George Washington.

In this masterful book, David McCullough tells the intensely human story of those who marched with General George Washington in the year of the Declaration of Independence—when the whole American cause was riding on their success, without which all hope for independence would have been dashed and the noble ideals of the Declaration would have amounted to little more than words on paper.

Based on extensive research in both American and British archives, 1776 is a powerful drama written with extraordinary narrative vitality. It is the story of Americans in the ranks, men of every shape, size, and color, farmers, schoolteachers, shoemakers, no-accounts, and mere boys turned soldiers. And it is the story of the King’s men, the British commander, William Howe, and his highly disciplined redcoats who looked on their rebel foes with contempt and fought with a valor too little known.

Written as a companion work to his celebrated biography of John Adams, David McCullough’s 1776 is another landmark in the literature of American history.

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Valley Forge

Bob Drury

Description

The #1 New York Times bestselling authors of The Heart of Everything That Is return with “a thorough, nuanced, and enthralling account” (The Wall Street Journal) about one of the most inspiring—and underappreciated—chapters in American history: the Continental Army’s six-month transformation in Valley Forge.

In December 1777, some 12,000 members of America’s Continental Army stagger into a small Pennsylvania encampment near British-occupied Philadelphia. Their commander in chief, George Washington, is at the lowest ebb of his military career. Yet, somehow, Washington, with a dedicated coterie of advisers, sets out to breathe new life into his military force. Against all odds, they manage to turn a bobtail army of citizen soldiers into a professional fighting force that will change the world forever.

Valley Forge is the story of how that metamorphosis occurred. Bestselling authors Bob Drury and Tom Clavin show us how this miracle was accomplished despite thousands of American soldiers succumbing to disease, starvation, and the elements. At the center of it all is George Washington as he fends off pernicious political conspiracies. The Valley Forge winter is his—and the revolution’s—last chance at redemption. And after six months in the camp, Washington fulfills his destiny, leading the Continental Army to a stunning victory in the Battle of Monmouth Court House.

Valley Forge is the riveting true story of a nascent United States toppling an empire. Using new and rarely seen contemporaneous documents—and drawing on a cast of iconic characters and remarkable moments that capture the innovation and energy that led to the birth of our nation—Drury and Clavin provide a “gripping, panoramic account” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) of the definitive account of this seminal and previously undervalued moment in the battle for American independence.

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The British Are Coming: The War for America, Lexington to Princeton, 1775-1777

Rick Atkinson

Description

‘To say that Atkinson can tell a story is like saying Sinatra can sing ... A powerful new voice has been added to the dialogue about [America’s] origins as a people and a nation. It is difficult to imagine any reader putting this beguiling book down without a smile and a tear.’ New York Times

In June 1773, King George III attended a grand celebration of his reign over the greatest, richest empire since ancient Rome. Less than two years later, Britain’s bright future turned dark: after a series of provocations, the king’s soldiers took up arms against his rebellious colonies in America. The war would last eight years, and though at least one in ten of the Americans who fought for independence would die for that cause, the prize was valuable beyond measure: freedom from oppression and the creation of a new republic.

Rick Atkinson, author of the Pulitzer Prize–winning An Army at Dawn and two other superb books about the Second World War has long been admired for his unparalleled ability to write deeply researched, stunningly vivid narrative history. In this new book, he tells the story of the first twenty-one months of America’s violent effort to forge a new nation. From the battles at Lexington and Concord in spring 1775 to those at Trenton and Princeton in winter 1776–77, American militiamen and then the ragged Continental Army take on the world’s most formidable fighting force and struggle to avoid annihilation.

It is a gripping saga alive with astonishing characters: Henry Knox, the former bookseller with an uncanny understanding of artillery; Nathanael Greene, the blue-eyed bumpkin who becomes one of America’s greatest battle captains; Benjamin Franklin, the self-made man who proves himself the nation’s wiliest diplomat; George Washington, the commander in chief who learns the difficult art of leadership when the war seems all but lost.

Full of riveting details and untold stories, The British Are Coming is a tale of heroes and knaves, of sacrifice and blunder, of redemption and profound suffering. Rick Atkinson has given stirring new life to the first act of America’s creation drama.

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The Scorpion and the Night Blossom

Amélie Wen Zhao

Description

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The stunning first edition of The Scorpion and the Night Blossom will feature a beautiful flower design stenciled on the ombre sprayed edges, exclusive printed endpapers, and a foil-stamped case!

In a world at war with demons, one girl will face the ultimate test when she is forced to enter into an ancient, deadly competition for the chance to save her mother's soul… before she loses her forever. From the author of Song of Silver, Flame Like Night comes the beginning of a dark and opulent fantasy duology, perfect for fans of Throne of Glass.

Nine years ago, the war between the Kingdom of Night and the Kingdom of Rivers tore Àn’yīng’s family apart, leaving her mother barely alive and a baby sister to fend for. Now the mortal realm is falling into eternal night, and mó—beautiful, ravenous demons—roam the land, feasting on the flesh of humans and drinking their souls.

Àn’yīng is no longer a helpless child, though. Armed with her crescent blades and trained in the ancient art of practitioning, she has decided to enter the Immortality Trials, which are open to any mortal who can survive the journey to the immortal realm. Those who complete the Trials are granted a pill of eternal life—the one thing Àn’yīng knows can heal her dying mother. But to attain the prize, she must survive the competition.

Death is common in the Trials. Yet oddly, Àn’yīng finds that someone is helping her stay alive. A rival contestant. Powerful and handsome, Yù’chén is as secretive about his past as he is about his motives for protecting Àn’yīng.

The longer she survives the Trials, the clearer it becomes that all is not right in the immortal realm. To save her mother and herself, Àn’yīng will need to figure out whether she can truly trust the stranger she’s falling for or if he’s the most dangerous player of all . . . for herself and for all the realms.

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A Cruel Thirst

Angela Montoya

Description

“Vampires, ancient evil, and forbidden romance? Montoya brings it all!”—Tracy Wolff, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Crave series

A fledgling vampire and a headstrong vampire huntress must work together—against their better judgment—to rid the world of monsters in this irresistible young adult romantasy.

A KIRKUS REVIEWS BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR

Carolina Fuentes wants to join her family in hunting the bloodthirsty vampiros that plague her pueblo. Her father, however, wishes to marry her off to a husband of his choosing, someone who’ll take her away from danger.

Determined to prove she’d make a better slayer than wife, Carolina vows to take down a monster herself. But when she runs into un vampiro who is somehow extremely attractive and kind, her plan crumbles.

Lalo Villalobos was content leading a perfectly dull life until un vampiro turned him. Now forced to flee his city, he heads to the pueblo where he believes the first vampiro was made. Surely its residents must know how to reverse this dreadful curse. Instead of finding salvation, Lalo collides with a beautiful young woman who’d gladly drive a dagger through his heart.

Fortunately, Lalo and Carolina share a common enemy. They can wipe out this evil. Together. If his fangs and her fists can stay focused, they might just triumph and discover what it feels like to take a bite out of love.

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Wicked Fox

Kat Cho

Description

An addictive fantasy-romance set in modern-day Seoul.

Eighteen-year-old Gu Miyoung has a secret--she's a gumiho, a nine-tailed fox who must devour the energy of men in order to survive. Because so few believe in the old tales anymore, and with so many evil men no one will miss, the modern city of Seoul is the perfect place to hide and hunt.

But after feeding one full moon, Miyoung crosses paths with Jihoon, a human boy, being attacked by a goblin deep in the forest. Against her better judgment, she violates the rules of survival to rescue the boy, losing her fox bead--her gumiho soul--in the process.

Jihoon knows Miyoung is more than just a beautiful girl--he saw her nine tails the night she saved his life. His grandmother used to tell him stories of the gumiho, of their power and the danger they pose to men. He's drawn to her anyway. When he finds her fox bead, he does not realize he holds her life in his hands.

With murderous forces lurking in the background, Miyoung and Jihoon develop a tenuous friendship that blossoms into something more. But when a young shaman tries to reunite Miyoung with her bead, the consequences are disastrous and reignite a generations-old feud . . . forcing Miyoung to choose between her immortal life and Jihoon's.

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XOXO

Axie Oh

Description



 

Jenny's never had much time for boys, K-pop, or really anything besides her dream of being a professional cellist. But when she finds herself falling for a K-pop idol, she has to decide whether their love is worth the risk. A modern forbidden romance wrapped in the glamorous and exclusive world of K-pop, XOXO is perfect for fans of Jenny Han and Maurene Goo.

Jenny didn't get to be an award-winning, classically trained cellist without choosing practice over fun. That is, until the night she meets Jaewoo. Mysterious, handsome, and just a little bit tormented, Jaewoo is exactly the kind of distraction Jenny would normally avoid. And yet, she finds herself pulled into spending an unforgettable evening wandering Los Angeles with him on the night before his flight home to South Korea.

With Jaewoo an ocean away, there's no use in dreaming of what could have been. But when Jenny and her mother move to Seoul to take care of her ailing grandmother, who does she meet at the elite arts academy she's just been accepted to Jaewoo.

Finding the dreamy stranger who swept you off your feet in your homeroom is one thing, but Jaewoo isn't just any student. Turns out, Jaewoo is a member of one of the biggest K-pop bands in the world. And like most K-pop idols, Jaewoo is strictly forbidden from dating anyone.

When a relationship means not only jeopardizing her place at her dream music school but also endangering everything Jaewoo's worked for, Jenny has to decide once and for all just how much she's willing to risk for love. XOXO is a new romance that proves chasing your dreams doesn't have to mean sacrificing your heart, from acclaimed author Axie Oh.

Indigo Best Teen Books of 2021

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Seoulmates

Susan Lee

Description

"The perfect childhood friends-to-lovers story--full stop." --Christina Lauren, New York Times bestselling authors of The Unhoneymooners and The Soulmate Equation



Her ex-boyfriend wants her back. Her former best friend is in town. When did Hannah's life become a K-drama?



Hannah Cho had the next year all planned out--the perfect summer with her boyfriend, Nate, and then a fun senior year with their friends.



But then Nate does what everyone else in Hannah's life seems to do--he leaves her, claiming they have nothing in common. He and all her friends are newly obsessed with K-pop and K-dramas, and Hannah is not. After years of trying to embrace the American part and shunning the Korean side of her Korean American identity to fit in, Hannah finds that's exactly what now has her on the outs.



But someone who does know K-dramas--so well that he's actually starring in one--is Jacob Kim, Hannah's former best friend, whom she hasn't seen in years. He's desperate for a break from the fame, so a family trip back to San Diego might be just what he needs...that is, if he and Hannah can figure out what went wrong when they last parted and navigate the new feelings developing between them.



"A deliciously swoony romance." --Helen Hoang, New York Times bestselling author of The Heart Principle

"A smart, funny book not to be missed!" --Emiko Jean, New York Times bestselling author of Tokyo Ever After

"Pitch-perfect." --Rachel Lynn Solomon, author of Today Tonight Tomorrow

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Cover of Made in Korea by Sarah Suk, showing a teen boy and girl facing each other with a bright, colorful background.

Made in Korea

Sarah Suk

Description

Frankly in Love meets Shark Tank in this feel-good romantic comedy about two entrepreneurial Korean American teens who butt heads—and maybe fall in love—while running competing Korean beauty businesses at their high school.

There’s nothing Valerie Kwon loves more than making a good sale. Together with her cousin Charlie, they run V&C K-BEAUTY, their school’s most successful student-run enterprise. With each sale, Valerie gets closer to taking her beloved and adventurous halmeoni to her dream city, Paris.

Enter the new kid in class, Wes Jung, who is determined to pursue music after graduation despite his parents’ major disapproval. When his classmates clamor to buy the K-pop branded beauty products his mom gave him to “make new friends,” he sees an opportunity—one that may be the key to help him pay for the music school tuition he knows his parents won’t cover…

​What he doesn’t realize, though, is that he is now V&C K-BEAUTY’s biggest competitor.

Stakes are high as Valerie and Wes try to outsell each other, make the most money, and take the throne for the best business in school—all while trying to resist the undeniable spark that’s crackling between them. From hiring spies to all-or-nothing bets, the competition is much more than either of them bargained for.

But one thing is clear: only one Korean business can come out on top.

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Book cover of The Infinity Courts showing a woman with a braid, glowing orbs, and a red moon backdrop.

The Infinity Courts

Akemi Dawn Bowman

Description

“Masterful and left me on the edge of my seat…absolutely everything I could want in a sci-fi.” —Adalyn Grace, New York Times bestselling author of All the Stars and Teeth

Westworld meets Warcross in this high-stakes, dizzyingly smart sci-fi about a teen girl navigating an afterlife in which she must defeat an AI entity intent on destroying humanity, from award-winning author Akemi Dawn Bowman.

Eighteen-year-old Nami Miyamoto is certain her life is just beginning. She has a great family, just graduated high school, and is on her way to a party where her entire class is waiting for her—including, most importantly, the boy she’s been in love with for years.

The only problem? She’s murdered before she gets there.

When Nami wakes up, she learns she’s in a place called Infinity, where human consciousness goes when physical bodies die. She quickly discovers that Ophelia, a virtual assistant widely used by humans on Earth, has taken over the afterlife and is now posing as a queen, forcing humans into servitude the way she’d been forced to serve in the real world. Even worse, Ophelia is inching closer and closer to accomplishing her grand plans of eradicating human existence once and for all.

As Nami works with a team of rebels to bring down Ophelia and save the humans under her imprisonment, she is forced to reckon with her past, her future, and what it is that truly makes us human.

From award-winning author Akemi Dawn Bowman comes an incisive, action-packed tale that explores big questions about technology, grief, love, and humanity.

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Guardians of Dawn: Zhara

S. Jae-Jones

Description

Sailor Moon meets Cinder in Guardians of Dawn: Zhara, the start of a new, richly imagined fantasy series from S. Jae-Jones, the New York Times bestselling author of Wintersong.

Magic flickers.
Love flames.
Chaos reigns.

Magic is forbidden throughout the Morning Realms. Magicians are called an abomination, and blamed for the plague of monsters that razed the land twenty years before.

Jin Zhara already had enough to worry about—appeasing her stepmother’s cruel whims, looking after her blind younger sister, and keeping her own magical gifts under control—without having to deal with rumors of monsters re-emerging in the marsh. But when a chance encounter with an easily flustered young man named Han brings her into contact with a secret magical liberation organization called the Guardians of Dawn, Zhara realizes there may be more to these rumors than she thought. A mysterious plague is corrupting the magicians of Zanhei and transforming them into monsters, and the Guardians of Dawn believe a demon is responsible.

In order to restore harmony and bring peace to the world, Zhara must discover the elemental warrior within, lest the balance between order and chaos is lost forever.

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Darker by Four

June CL Tan

Description

A UK #1 Sunday Times Bestseller!

The Shadowhunter Chronicles meets Chinese diaspora folklore in Darker by Four, the first in an epic contemporary fantasy duology from Jade Fire Gold author June Tan.

A vengeful girl. A hollow boy. A missing god.

Rui has one goal in mind--honing her magic to avenge her mother's death.

Yiran is the black sheep of an illustrious family. The world would be at his feet--had he been born with magic.

Nikai is a Reaper, serving the Fourth King of Hell. When his master disappears, the underworld begins to crumble...and the human world will be next if the King is not found.

When an accident causes Rui's power to transfer to Yiran, everything turns upside down. Without her magic, Rui has no tool for vengeance. With it, Yiran finally feels like he belongs. That is, until Rui discovers she might hold the key to the missing death god and strikes a dangerous bargain with another King.

As darkness takes over, three paths intersect in the shadows. And three lives bound by fate must rise against destiny before the barrier between worlds falls and all Hell breaks loose--literally.

Perfect for fans of This Savage Song and Only a Monster, Darker by Four will pull readers into a world of love, desperation, and revenge--a world where every deal has a catch, no secret stays buried, and no one is exactly who they say they are.

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K-pop Confidential

Stephan Lee

Description

"I'm still giddy over this electrifying, big-hearted, all-kill smash of a debut. I couldn't put it down." -- Becky Albertalli, bestselling author of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda

 

In this romantic coming-of-age novel about chasing big dreams, a Korean-American girl travels to Seoul in hopes of debuting in a girl group at the same K-pop company behind the most popular boy band on the planet. Perfect for fans of Mary H. K. Choi and Jenny Han.

 

Candace Park knows a lot about playing a role. For most of her life, she's been playing the role of the quiet Korean girl who takes all AP classes and plays a classical instrument, keeping her dreams of stardom-and her obsession with SLK, K-pop's top boyband-to herself. She doesn't see how a regular girl like her could possibly become one of those K-pop goddesses she sees on YouTube. Even though she can sing. Like, really sing.So when Candace secretly enters a global audition held by SLK's music label, the last thing she expects is to actually get a coveted spot in their trainee program. And convincing her strict parents to let her to go is all but impossible ... although it's nothing compared to what comes next. Under the strict supervision of her instructors at the label's headquarters in Seoul, Candace must perfect her performance skills to within an inch of her life, learn to speak Korean fluently, and navigate the complex hierarchies of her fellow trainees, all while following the strict rules of the industry. Rule number one? NO DATING, which becomes impossible to follow when she meets a dreamy boy trainee. And in the all-out battle to debut, Candace is in danger of planting herself in the middle of a scandal lighting up the K-pop fandom around the world.If she doesn't have what it takes to become a perfect, hair-flipping K-pop idol, what will that mean for her family, who have sacrificed everything to give her the chance? And is a spot in the most hyped K-pop girl group of all time really worth risking her friendships, her future, and everything she believes in?

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Gorgeous Gruesome Faces

Linda Cheng

Description

A cutthroat K-pop competition leads to a dark obsession in this twisty sapphic horror-romance. Perfect for fans of She Is a Haunting and Yellowjackets.

"A perfect blend of folk horror and dazzling showbiz that will grip you from page one." ―Trang Thanh Tran, New York Times-bestselling author of She is a Haunting

"The sweetest spot between horror and romance." ―Chloe Gong, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of These Violent Delights

You’ll love them to death . . .

Two years have passed since Sunny Lee lost her best friend Mina in a mysterious death. With their other BFF, Candie, the trio had been the hottest up-and-coming teen pop group, until it all suddenly ended. And Sunny can't help but wonder if Candie had something to do with it.

Now, Sunny is still seeking answers. When she discovers that Candie is attending a new K-pop workshop, Sunny follows, hoping to uncover the reason why Mina died... and why she died so violently. Sunny and Candie's reunion is haunted by more than Mina's death as the old spark between them returns, even stronger than before. But there's no time for romance when the lines between nightmare and reality start to blur, leaving their competitors' bodies bizarrely maimed and mutilated. To survive, Sunny must expose the dark secrets surrounding Candie and the workshop's twisted promise for fame. 

Stitched with cutting commentary on the ugly side of stardom and impossible beauty standards, Linda Cheng’s mind-bending, feminist thriller will have readers screaming and swooning for more.

*Don't miss the chilling companion novel, Beautiful Brutal Bodies, coming Fall 2025*

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Idol Gossip

Alexandra Leigh Young

Description

"K-pop and YA fans alike will find much to enjoy in this deep dive into fan culture and the music industry. . . . A fun glimpse into what happens when your dreams of fame come true." --School Library Journal

One Friday after school, seventeen-year-old Alice Choy and her little sister, Olivia, head to Myeongdong to sing karaoke. Back in San Francisco, when she still had friends, Alice took regular singing lessons. But since their diplomat mom moved them to Seoul, her only musical outlet is goofing around in a private karaoke booth to an audience of one: her loyal sister. Then a scout for Top10 Entertainment, one of the biggest K-pop companies, hears her and offers her a spot at their Star Academy. Can Alice navigate the culture clashes, egos, and extreme training practices of K-pop to lead her group onstage before a stadium of sixty thousand chanting fans--and just maybe strike K-pop gold? Not if a certain influential blogger and the anti-fans get their way. . . . A story about standing out and fitting in, dreaming big and staying true to yourself, Idol Gossip will speak to fans of K-pop and to anyone who is trying to take their talents to the next level.

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I'll Be the One

Lyla Lee

Description

Diverse book recommended by The Today Show * A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year * Bank Street Best Book of the Year * YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults * ALA's Rainbow Book List Top 10 for Teen Readers

The world of K-Pop has never met a star like this. Debut author Lyla Lee delivers a deliciously fun, thoughtful rom-com celebrating confidence and body positivity--perfect for fans of Jenny Han and Julie Murphy.

Skye Shin has heard it all. Fat girls shouldn't dance. Wear bright colors. Shouldn't call attention to themselves. But Skye dreams of joining the glittering world of K-Pop, and to do that, she's about to break all the rules that society, the media, and even her own mother, have set for girls like her.

She'll challenge thousands of other performers in an internationally televised competition looking for the next K-pop star, and she'll do it better than anyone else.

When Skye nails her audition, she's immediately swept into a whirlwind of countless practices, shocking performances, and the drama that comes with reality TV. What she doesn't count on are the highly fat-phobic beauty standards of the Korean pop entertainment industry, her sudden media fame and scrutiny, or the sparks that soon fly with her fellow competitor, Henry Cho.

But Skye has her sights on becoming the world's first plus-sized K-pop star, and that means winning the competition--without losing herself.

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I Guess I Live Here Now

Claire Ahn

Description

Seoul, Korea.

In this glittering city where the latest trends are born, Melody finds herself swept away by luxury, romance, and family drama... but is this a place she could ever call home?

Thanks to a tiny transgression after school one day, Melody is shocked to discover that her parents have decided to move her and her mom out of New York City to join her father in Seoul—immediately! Barely having had the chance to say goodbye to her best friend before she's on a plane, Melody is resentful and homesick.

But she soon finds herself settling into their super-luxe villa, meeting cool friends at school, and discovering the alluring aspects of living in Korea—trendsetting fashion, delectable food, her dad's black card, and a cute boy to explore the city with. Life in Seoul is amazing, until cracks begin to form on its glittering surface... 

Claire Ahn's charming debut lets you hear every beat of a K-pop bop, taste savory bites of Korean barbecue, bathe in the glow of Seoul's neon lights, and feel the highs and lows of Melody's emotional journey across the world and within her heart.

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The Noh Family

Grace K. Shim

Description

Now in paperback, this sparkling K-drama-inspired debut novel introduces irrepressibly charming teen Chloe Chang, who is reunited with her deceased father's estranged family via a DNA test, and is soon whisked off to Seoul to join them...

When her friends gift her a 23andMe test as a gag, high school senior Chloe Chang doesn’t think much of trying it out. She doesn’t believe anything will come of it—she’s an only child, her mother is an orphan, and her father died in Seoul before she was even born, and before her mother moved to Oklahoma. It’s been just Chloe and her mom her whole life. But the DNA test reveals something Chloe never expected—she’s got a whole extended family from her father’s side half a world away in Korea.

Turns out her father's family are amongst the richest families in Seoul and want to meet Chloe. So, despite her mother's reservations, Chloe travels to Seoul and is whisked into the lap of luxury . . . but something feels wrong. Soon Chloe will discover the reason why her mother never told her about her dad’s family, and why the Nohs wanted her in Seoul in the first place. Could joining the Noh family be worse than having no family at all?

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Not Here to be Liked

Michelle Quach

Description

"A smart romance with heart and guts and all the intoxicating feelings in between." --Maureen Johnson, New York Times bestselling author of 13 Little Blue Envelopes

Emergency Contact meets Moxie in this cheeky and searing novel that unpacks just how complicated new love can get...when you fall for your enemy.

Eliza Quan is the perfect candidate for editor in chief of her school paper. That is, until ex-jock Len DiMartile decides on a whim to run against her. Suddenly her vast qualifications mean squat because inexperienced Len--who is tall, handsome, and male--just seems more like a leader.

When Eliza's frustration spills out in a viral essay, she finds herself inspiring a feminist movement she never meant to start, caught between those who believe she's a gender equality champion and others who think she's simply crying misogyny.

Amid this growing tension, the school asks Eliza and Len to work side by side to demonstrate civility. But as they get to know one another, Eliza feels increasingly trapped by a horrifying realization--she just might be falling for the face of the patriarchy himself.

New York Times New and Upcoming Young Adult Book to Watch For * A Junior Library Guild Selection * Parents Magazine Best Books of the Year * NPR Best Books of the Year * Kirkus Best Books of the Year * Rise: A Feminist Book Project Book of the Year * A CCBC Choices Pick of the Year * Bank Street Best Children's Books of the Year *

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Gorgeous Gruesome Faces

Linda Cheng

Description

A cutthroat K-pop competition leads to a dark obsession in this twisty sapphic horror-romance. Perfect for fans of She Is a Haunting and Yellowjackets.

"A perfect blend of folk horror and dazzling showbiz that will grip you from page one." ―Trang Thanh Tran, New York Times-bestselling author of She is a Haunting

"The sweetest spot between horror and romance." ―Chloe Gong, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of These Violent Delights

You’ll love them to death . . .

Two years have passed since Sunny Lee lost her best friend Mina in a mysterious death. With their other BFF, Candie, the trio had been the hottest up-and-coming teen pop group, until it all suddenly ended. And Sunny can't help but wonder if Candie had something to do with it.

Now, Sunny is still seeking answers. When she discovers that Candie is attending a new K-pop workshop, Sunny follows, hoping to uncover the reason why Mina died... and why she died so violently. Sunny and Candie's reunion is haunted by more than Mina's death as the old spark between them returns, even stronger than before. But there's no time for romance when the lines between nightmare and reality start to blur, leaving their competitors' bodies bizarrely maimed and mutilated. To survive, Sunny must expose the dark secrets surrounding Candie and the workshop's twisted promise for fame. 

Stitched with cutting commentary on the ugly side of stardom and impossible beauty standards, Linda Cheng’s mind-bending, feminist thriller will have readers screaming and swooning for more.

*Don't miss the chilling companion novel, Beautiful Brutal Bodies, coming Fall 2025*

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The Covenant of Water

Abraham Verghese

Description

From the New York Times-bestselling author of Cutting for Stone comes a stunning and magisterial epic of love, faith, and medicine, set in Kerala, South India, following three generations of a family seeking the answers to a strange secret

Spanning the years 1900 to 1977, The Covenant of Water is set in Kerala, on South India's Malabar Coast, and follows three generations of a family that suffers a peculiar affliction: in every generation, at least one person dies by drowning--and in Kerala, water is everywhere. At the turn of the century, a twelve-year-old girl from Kerala's long-existing Christian community, grieving the death of her father, is sent by boat to her wedding, where she will meet her forty-year-old husband for the first time. From this unforgettable new beginning, the young girl--and future matriarch, known as Big Ammachi--will witness unthinkable changes over the span of her extraordinary life, full of joy and triumph as well as hardship and loss, her faith and love the only constants.

A shimmering evocation of a bygone India and of the passage of time itself, The Covenant of Water is a hymn to progress in medicine and to human understanding, and a humbling testament to the difficulties undergone by past generations for the sake of those alive today. It is one of the most masterful literary novels published in recent years.

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Please Look After Mom

Kyŏng-suk Sin

Description

A million-plus-copy best seller in Korea—a magnificent English-language debut poised to become an international sensation—this is the stunning, deeply moving story of a family’s search for their mother, who goes missing one afternoon amid the crowds of the Seoul Station subway.

Told through the piercing voices and urgent perspectives of a daughter, son, husband, and mother, Please Look After Mom is at once an authentic picture of contemporary life in Korea and a universal story of family love.

You will never think of your mother the same way again after you read this book.

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The magicians

Description

Follows grad student Quentin Coldwater and others after they are chosen to attend Brakebills University for Magical Pedagogy in upstate New York to hone their powers.  Based on the novel by Lev Grossman.

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Kill your darlings

Description

A story of friendship, love, and murder in the early 1940s. The story recounts the pivotal year that changed Allen Ginsberg's life forever and provided the spark for him to start his creative revolution. Based on true events and characters.  For fans of obsession, murder, and the Beat Generation.

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Catherine House

Elisabeth Thomas

Description

"[A] delicious literary Gothic debut." -THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW, EDITORS' CHOICE

"Moody and evocative as a fever dream, Catherine House is the sort of book that wraps itself around your brain, drawing you closer with each hypnotic step." - THE WASHINGTON POST

A Most Anticipated Novel by Entertainment Weekly * New York magazine * Cosmopolitan * The Atlantic * Forbes * Good Housekeeping * Parade * Better Homes and Gardens * HuffPost * Buzzfeed * Newsweek * Harper's Bazaar * Ms. Magazine * Woman's Day * PopSugar * and more!

A gothic-infused debut of literary suspense, set within a secluded, elite university and following a dangerously curious, rebellious undergraduate who uncovers a shocking secret about an exclusive circle of students . . . and the dark truth beneath her school's promise of prestige.

Trust us, you belong here.

Catherine House is a school of higher learning like no other. Hidden deep in the woods of rural Pennsylvania, this crucible of reformist liberal arts study with its experimental curriculum, wildly selective admissions policy, and formidable endowment, has produced some of the world's best minds: prize-winning authors, artists, inventors, Supreme Court justices, presidents. For those lucky few selected, tuition, room, and board are free. But acceptance comes with a price. Students are required to give the House three years--summers included--completely removed from the outside world. Family, friends, television, music, even their clothing must be left behind. In return, the school promises a future of sublime power and prestige, and that its graduates can become anything or anyone they desire.

Among this year's incoming class is Ines Murillo, who expects to trade blurry nights of parties, cruel friends, and dangerous men for rigorous intellectual discipline--only to discover an environment of sanctioned revelry. Even the school's enigmatic director, Viktória, encourages the students to explore, to expand their minds, to find themselves within the formidable iron gates of Catherine. For Ines, it is the closest thing to a home she's ever had. But the House's strange protocols soon make this refuge, with its worn velvet and weathered leather, feel increasingly like a gilded prison. And when tragedy strikes, Ines begins to suspect that the school--in all its shabby splendor, hallowed history, advanced theories, and controlled decadence--might be hiding a dangerous agenda within the secretive, tightly knit group of students selected to study its most promising and mysterious curriculum.

Combining the haunting sophistication and dusky, atmospheric style of Sarah Waters with the unsettling isolation of Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go, Catherine House is a devious, deliciously steamy, and suspenseful page-turner with shocking twists and sharp edges that is sure to leave readers breathless.

 

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Game of Thrones Season 1

Description

Set in a world where summers span decades and winters can last a lifetime. From the scheming south and the savage eastern lands, to the frozen north and ancient Wall that protects the realm from the mysterious darkness beyond, the powerful families of the Seven Kingdoms are locked in a battle for the Iron Throne. This is a story of duplicity and treachery, nobility and honor, conquest, and triumph. In the Game of Thrones, you either win or you die.

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Big Little Lies

Liane Moriarty

Description

From the author of Here One Moment and The Husband’s Secret comes the #1 New York Times bestselling novel about the dangerous little lies we tell ourselves just to survive.

THE INSPIRATION FOR THE AWARD-WINNING HBO® SERIES STARRING REESE WITHERSPOON, NICOLE KIDMAN, SHAILENE WOODLEY, LAURA DERN, ZOË KRAVITZ, AND MERYL STREEP—AVAILABLE TO STREAM ON MAX®

A murder...A tragic accident...Or just parents behaving badly? What’s indisputable is that someone is dead.

Madeline is a force to be reckoned with. She’s funny, biting, and passionate; she remembers everything and forgives no one. Celeste is the kind of beautiful woman who makes the world stop and stare but she is paying a price for the illusion of perfection. New to town, single mom Jane is so young that another mother mistakes her for a nanny. She comes with a mysterious past and a sadness beyond her years. These three women are at different crossroads, but they will all wind up in the same shocking place.

Big Little Lies is a brilliant take on ex-husbands and second wives, mothers and daughters, schoolyard scandal, and the little lies that can turn lethal.

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Wildlife

Description

The Criterion Collection at HPL

Actor Paul Dano made his debut as a director with this adaptation of Richard Ford's novel. In Wildlife (2018), an unemployed father takes a job fighting forest fires, leaving his wife and teenage son behind. Faced with financial hardship, both mother and son have to take on new responsibilities. The calm cinematography sets a contrast to the inner turmoil of the characters and evokes Edward Hopper paintings at times. Worth mentioning are the outstanding performances by Carey Mulligan, Ed Oxenbould and Jake Gyllenhaal.

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The Player

Description

The Criterion Collection at HPL

Robert Altman's The Player (1992) is a Hollywood satire about a producer (Tim Robbins) who loses his cool over a series of threatening letters from an anonymous writer. The film opens with an impressive eight-minute tracking shot and shows both technical and narrative skill throughout its length. The star-studded ensemble and cinematic prowess make The Player a great contribution to the "movies about filmmaking" subgenre. 

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Charmed

Description

Three daughters, firebrand social justice warrior Melanie 'Mel' Vera, fun-loving Maggie, and brilliant geneticist Macy find out they're actually powerful witches, as was their mother. It's a lot to take in, but ultimately the sisters accept their new destiny.

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Charmed

Description

An old classic, Charmed (1998) is your archetypal "monster of the week" show that follows three sisters who learned that they are a special coven of witches called the Charmed Ones. 

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Ted Lasso

Description

An idealistic all-American football coach, Theodore 'Ted' Lasso and his friend, assistant coach Beard, cross the pond to take up the management of a professional soccer team. Knowing nothing about “this football” - Lasso throws himself into a new city, new career, and new life with wit, wisdom, and an overwhelming dose of positivity.

Ted Lasso tackles topics ranging from divorce (the catalyst for Ted's move), parenting, teamwork, leadership, identity, revenge, LGBTQ, grief, mental health, and more. But it is all done the Ted Lasso way. Most of Ted’s lessons come in quippy quotes, obscure late ‘70s references, and famous role models. 

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Mayfair witches

Description

This new series in the Anne Rice universe is based on the series Lives of Mayfair Witches. It follows Rowan, a neurosurgeon, who suddenly finds she has magical powers and that she is a member of the powerful Mayfair Family of witches. With an absolutely perfect setting of New Orleans, this horror drama explores family dynamics and how power can corrupt a person. A perfect watch for Witch enthusiasts who enjoy stories where you can't tell who are the heroes and villains. 

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The Margaret Code

Richard Hooton

Description

In this bittersweet, hilarious, and suspenseful crime debut, a grandmother with a failing memory teams up with her grandson to solve the mysterious murder of her friend and neighbor.

Margaret Winterbottom, 89, has lived on Garnon Crescent her entire life--except for a few years she never talks about. She knows all the neighbors: their lives, their hopes, their heartbreaks. Only recently, Margaret's memory isn't what it used to be. She's sure Barbara, her best friend and neighbor, told her something very important . . . but what?

​When Barbara is found dead in an apparent homicide, Margaret is determined to recover the missing memory. Margaret and her grandson, James, begin investigating, but soon strange things begin happening in her home--objects moving and cropping up in odd places, the television turning on by itself. Some believe her memory is worsening, but Margaret knows somebody wants her out of the way because she holds the key to solving the case--if only she could recall where she put it . . .

Perfect for fans of Emma Healey's Elizabeth Is Missing, Helene Tursten's An Elderly Lady Is Up to No Good, Robert Thorogood's The Marlow Murder Club, and Hulu's Only Murders in the Building.

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The Talented Mr. Ripley

Damon, Matt. Paltrow, Gwyneth, 1972- Law, Jude, 1972-

Description

Adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's 1955 novel about a young American who, commissioned to fetch an old school chum from his carefree life as an expatriate in Italy, instead kills him and assumes his identity.

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Bad Badger

Maryrose Wood

Description

For fans of Odder and Skunk and Badger comes a heartwarming story of an unlikely friendship between a gull and a badger.



Septimus is not good at being a badger. He adores the sunset. He dreams of going to Venice. And he lives alone in a charming cottage by the sea. He's not unhappy with his tidy, solitary life, but there are times when being so bad at badgerdom makes him wonder if he's even a badger at all.



When a gull of very few words lands on the windowsill, Septimus leaps at the possibility of friendship. However, his new confidant soon goes missing and Septimus is bereft. Determined to find his best--and only--friend, he ventures into new territory and encounters a cast of surprising characters. Can Septimus be as brave and bighearted as he'll need to be to find Gully? Or is he really a bad badger after all?



Bad Badger is a young middle-grade novel about badgers, gulls, and learning that staying true to yourself means knowing who you are to begin with.

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Where it Rains in Color

Denise Crittendon

Description

Lileala has just been named the Rare Indigo – beauty among beauties – and is about to embrace her stardom, until something threatens to change her whole lifestyle and turn the planet of Swazembi upside down.


Colonized by the descendants of Earth’s West African Dogon Tribe, the planet of Swazembi is a blazing, color-rich utopia and famous vacation center of the galaxy. No one is used to serious trouble in this idyllic, peace-loving world, least of all the Rare Indigo.

But Lileala’s perfect, pampered lifestyle is about to be shattered. The unthinkable happens and her glorious midnight skin becomes infected with a mysterious disease. Where her skin should glisten like diamonds mixed with coal, instead it scabs and scars. On top of that, she starts to hear voices in her head, and everything around her becomes confusing and frightening.

Lileala’s destiny, however, goes far beyond her beauty. While searching for a cure, she stumbles upon something much more valuable. A new power awakens inside her, and she realizes her whole life, and the galaxy with it, is about to change…

File Under: Science Fiction [True Colors | Embrace the Change | What Will Be | Dancing in the Rain]

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Our Colors

Gengoroh Tagame

Description

A mesmerizing coming-of-age and coming-out graphic novel by the genius writer-artist of the Eisner Award–winning breakout hit My Brother’s Husband

Set in contemporary suburban Japan, Our Colors is the story of Sora Itoda: a sixteen-year-old aspiring painter who experiences his world in synesthetic hues of blues and reds, governed by the emotional turbulence of being a teenager. He wants to live honestly as a young gay man in high school, but that is still not acceptable in Japanese society. His best friend and childhood confidant is Nao, a young woman whom everyone thinks is (or should be) his girlfriend; and it would be the easiest thing to play along—she knows he is gay but knows, too, how hard it is to live one’s truth in their situation. 

Sora’s world changes forever when he meets Mr. Amamiya, a middle-aged gentleman who is the owner and proprietor of a local coffee shop, and who is completely, unapologetically out as a gay man. A mentorship and friendship ensues, as Sora comes out to him and agrees to paint a mural in the shop, and Mr. Amamiya counsels him (platonically) about how to deal with who he is. But it won’t be easy. Mr. Amamiya paid a high price for his freedom of identity, and when a figure from his past suddenly appears, it becomes a prime example of just how complicated life can be.

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The Future Was Color

Patrick Nathan

Description

A dazzling novel about the inextricable link between the personal and the political set against the decadence of Hollywood and postwar Los Angeles

As a Hungarian immigrant working as a studio hack writing monster movies in 1950s Hollywood, George Curtis must navigate the McCarthy-era studio system filled with possible communists and spies, the life of closeted men along Sunset Boulevard, and the inability of the era to cleave love from persecution and guilt. But when Madeline, a famous actress, offers George a writing residency at her estate in Malibu to work on the political writing he cares most deeply about, his world is blown open. Soon Madeline is carrying George like an ornament into a class of postwar L.A. society ordinarily hidden from men like him.

What this lifestyle hides behind, aside from the monsters on the screen, are the monsters dwelling closer to home: this bacchanalia covers a gnawing hole shelled wide by the horror of the war they thought they’d left behind and the glimpse of an atomic future. It’s here that George understands he can never escape his past as György, the queer Jew who fled Budapest before the war and landed in New York, all alone, a decade prior.

Spanning from sun-drenched Los Angeles to the hidden corners of working-class New York to a virtuosic climax in the Las Vegas desert, The Future Was Color is an immaculately written exploration of postwar American decadence, reinventing the self through art, and the psychosis that lingers in a world that’s seen the bomb.

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Love in Color

Bolu Babalola

Description

INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER

"Love stories by and about marginalized women . . . The heroines are strong and sure . . . Babalola's writing shines." -- New York Times Book Review

"Absolutely intoxicating." -- Casey McQuiston, New York Times bestselling author of Red, White, and Royal Blue and One Last Stop

A vibrant debut collection of love stories from the bestselling author of Honey and Spice, retelling myths, folktales, and histories from around the world.

A high-born Nigerian goddess, who has been beaten down and unappreciated by her gregarious lover, longs to be truly seen. A young businesswoman attempts a great leap in her company, and an even greater one in her love life. A powerful Ghanaian spokeswoman is forced to decide whether she should uphold her family's politics or be true to her heart.

In her debut collection, internationally acclaimed writer Bolu Babalola retells the most beautiful love stories from history and mythology with incredible new detail and vivacity. Focusing on the magical folktales of West Africa, Babalola also reimagines Greek myths, ancient legends from the Middle East, and stories from long-erased places.

With an eye towards decolonizing tropes inherent in our favorite tales of love, Babalola has created captivating stories that traverse across perspectives, continents, and genres. Love in Color is a celebration of romance in all its many splendid forms.

"I am in love with every single word Bolu Babalola has written. So rarely is love expressed this richly, this vividly, or this artfully." --Candice Carty-Williams, international bestselling author of Queenie

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The Color of Home

Kit Tosello

Description

Audrey Needham, Bay Area interior designer to the rich and pretentious, is down to her last nerve. Her boss is impossible to please, her future is in jeopardy, and her great-aunt Daisy needs support as her husband descends into Alzheimer's. 

When Daisy enlists Audrey's help preparing for a move to assisted living, Audrey risks her career to return to the idyllic small town of Charity Falls, Oregon, the summer stomping grounds of her childhood. But Charity Falls was also the place that broke her heart when her father was killed in a tragic fire at the Sugar Pine Inn thirteen years ago. 

Despite Audrey's intent to avoid emotional entanglement, the pull of home is hard to resist. Something should be done about the deteriorating inn. A local girl with an incarcerated father needs a friend. And handsome local do-gooder Cade Carter is coloring Audrey all shades of uncertain.

Join award-winning writer and debut novelist Kit Tosello in this lyrical and often humorous exploration of how God redeems brokenness and draws us to the life we're meant to find.

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Colorful Living

Rachel Mae Smith

Description

Learn how to use color to create a vibrant living space, a wardrobe you love, and a life filled with wonder in this practical guide from the color expert and DIY maven behind The Crafted Life.

Color can influence your feelings, affect your moods, control how you interact with your home, and even change how you feel about yourself. In Colorful Living, writer, photographer, and professional color consultant Rachel Mae Smith explains why color is so powerful and how you can use it to brighten up your world.

After a fascinating (and painless!) introduction to color theory, Rachel takes you step by step through your home (walls, furniture, decor, art), your closet (clothing, jewelry, shoes, accessories), and other aspects of your lifestyle, sharing simple, creative, and fun ways to add pops of your desired colors everywhere. Identify your favorite shades and create a calming reading nook, a power outfit, or an entryway that makes guests feel welcome.

Easy-to-follow exercises help you define your personal color palette and inspire you to harness the power of color in your life. Rachel's ideas are accessible, affordable, and designed for longevity—because when you mindfully choose items based on colors and styles that make you happy (versus those that social media says you should buy), you're more likely to love what you have.

This one-of-a-kind, vividly illustrated guide to color will help you liven up your life, whether you love chartreuse, light gray, hot pink, haint blue—or all four at the same time.

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Harvesting Color

Rebecca Burgess

Description

Selection of the Crafters' Choice Book Club

Beautiful natural dyes from plants found in the wild or grown in your own backyard. 

As more and more crafters are discovering, dyeing your own fabric can yield gorgeous colors. Now master dyer Rebecca Burgess identifies 36 plants that will yield beautiful natural shades and shows how easy it is to make the dyes. Pokeweed creates a vibrant magenta, while a range of soft lavender shades is created from elderberries; indigo yields a bright blue, and coyote brush creates stunning sunny yellows.

Gathering Color explains where to find these plants in the wild (and for those that can be grown in your backyard, how to nurture them) and the best time and way to harvest them; maps show the range of each plant in the United States and Canada. For the dyeing itself, Burgess describes the simple equipment needed and provides a master dye recipe. The book is organized seasonally; as an added bonus, each section contains a knitting project using wools colored with dyes from plants harvested during that time of the year. With breathtaking color photographs by Paige Green throughout, Gathering Color is an essential guide to this growing field, for crafters and DIYers; for ecologists and botanists; and for artists, textile designers, and art students.
 

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Blue

Kai Kupferschmidt

Description

A globe-trotting quest to find blue in the natural world—and to understand our collective obsession with this captivating color

Search human history and you’ll quickly conclude that we’ve been enamored of blue at least since the pharaohs. So, it’s startling to turn to the realms of nature and discover that “true” blue is truly rare. From the rain forest’s morpho butterfly to the blue jay flitting past your window, few living things are blue—and most that appear so are performing sleight of hand with physics or chemistry. Cornflowers use the pigment found in red roses to achieve their blue hue. Even the blue sky above us is a trick of the light.

Science journalist Kai Kupferschmidt has been fascinated by blue since childhood. In Blue, his quest to understand the science and nature of his favorite color takes him from a biotech laboratory in Japan and a volcanic lake in Oregon to Brandenburg, Germany— home of the last surviving blue-feathered Spix’s macaws. Whether it’s deep underground where blue crystals grow or miles overhead where astronauts gaze down at our “blue marble” planet, wherever we do find Earth’s rarest color, it always has a story to tell.
 

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Secret Language of Color

Joann Eckstut

Description

In this beautiful and thorough investigation, The Secret Language of Color celebrates and illuminates the countless ways in which color colors our world.

Why is the sky blue, the grass green, a rose red? Most of us have no idea how to answer these questions, nor are we aware that color pervades nearly all aspects of life, from the subatomic realm and the natural world to human culture and psychology.

Organized into chapters that begin with a fascinating explanation of the physics and chemistry of color, The Secret Language of Color travels from outer space to Earth, from plants to animals to humans. In these chapters we learn about how and why we see color, the nature of rainbows, animals with color vision far superior and far inferior to our own, how our language influences the colors we see, and much more. Between these chapters, authors Joann Eckstut and Ariele Eckstut turn their attention to the individual hues of the visible spectrum?red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet?presenting each in fascinating, in-depth detail.

Including hundreds of stunning photographs and dozens of informative, often entertaining graphics, every page is a breathtaking demonstration of color and its role in the world around us. Whether you see red, are a shrinking violet, or talk a blue streak, this is the perfect book for anyone interested in the history, science, culture, and beatuty of color in the natural and man-made world.





 

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Green cover

Green

Michel Pastoureau

Description

In this beautiful and richly illustrated book, the acclaimed author of Blue and Black presents a fascinating and revealing history of the color green in European societies from prehistoric times to today. Examining the evolving place of green in art, clothes, literature, religion, science, and everyday life, Michel Pastoureau traces how culture has profoundly changed the perception and meaning of the color over millennia—and how we misread cultural, social, and art history when we assume that colors have always signified what they do today.

Filled with entertaining and enlightening anecdotes, Green shows that the color has been ambivalent: a symbol of life, luck, and hope, but also disorder, greed, poison, and the devil. Chemically unstable, green pigments were long difficult to produce and even harder to fix. Not surprisingly, the color has been associated with all that is changeable and fleeting: childhood, love, and money. Only in the Romantic period did green definitively become the color of nature.

Pastoureau also explains why the color was connected with the Roman emperor Nero, how it became the color of Islam, why Goethe believed it was the color of the middle class, why some nineteenth-century scholars speculated that the ancient Greeks couldn’t see green, and how the color was denigrated by Kandinsky and the Bauhaus.

More broadly, Green demonstrates that the history of the color is, to a large degree, one of dramatic reversal: long absent, ignored, or rejected, green today has become a ubiquitous and soothing presence as the symbol of environmental causes and the mission to save the planet.

With its striking design and compelling text, Green will delight anyone who is interested in history, culture, art, fashion, or media.

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The Color of Air

Gail Tsukiyama

Description



 

PARADE's Best Books to Read this Summer

"A rich historical novel that illustrates why connection is more important and more vital than ever." -New York Times bestselling author Lisa See

 

Daniel Abe, a young doctor in Chicago, is finally coming back to Hawai'i. He has his own reason for returning to his childhood home, but it is not to revisit the past, unlike his Uncle Koji. Koji lives with the memories of Daniel's mother, Mariko, the love of his life, and the scars of a life hard-lived. He can't wait to see Daniel, who he's always thought of as a son, but he knows the time has come to tell him the truth about his mother, and his father. But Daniel's arrival coincides with the awakening of the Mauna Loa volcano, and its dangerous path toward their village stirs both new and long ago passions in their community.

Alternating between past and present--from the day of the volcano eruption in 1935 to decades prior--The Color of Air interweaves the stories of Daniel, Koji, and Mariko to create a rich, vibrant, bittersweet chorus that celebrates their lifelong bond to one other and to their immigrant community. As Mauna Loa threatens their lives and livelihoods, it also unearths long held secrets simmering below the surface that meld past and present, revealing a path forward for them all.



 

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Quilling Flowers

Sena Runa

Description

For centuries crafters have enjoyed the relaxing hobby of quilling - assembling rolled or shaped strips of paper to create vibrant, colourful artworks. Quilling is an inexpensive, absorbing pastime that can be readily picked up and put down, slotting effortlessly into busy lives and offering moments of calm, meditative enjoyment. In this inspiring, easy-to-follow book, the traditional papercraft is given a fun and refreshing update with 20 modern, vibrant projects to make. 
 

Following the successesof her previous books, Quilling and Quilling Art, paper artist Sena Runa shares the secrets of how to make the most amazing flower designs. Catering for all levels of ability, novices will discover all the information they need to get started, plus a range of simple yet effective projects, while experienced papercrafters will enjoy the challenge of more intricate designs.
 

Using Sena's signature subtle gradations of colour and pops of bright, sunny tones, once framed they create gorgeous artwork for the home. They can also be used to decorate greetings cards, making unique and thoughtful gifts.

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Rock Art!

Denise Scicluna

Description

Great uses for rocks: throwing, skipping, kicking...how about painting? Rock painting is one of the oldest forms of artistic expression known to man. The varied surfaces, shapes, and sizes of rocks also make them perfect for crafts. From brooches to bookends, paperweights to place cards, miniature owls to patterned pebbles, you can create just about anything with the right rock and a bit of imagination. In Rock Art!, visual artist Denise Scicluna provides inspiration and advice for rocking our artsy side with:

  • Tips for finding and identifying rocks and preparing them for paint
  • Techniques for creating the perfect rock from polymer clay
  • A guide to gathering tools, from paint, pencils, and brushes to wood filler and varnish
  • Dozens of projects for bringing pebbles to life with personality and style
    Simple, step-by-step instructions, and more than 250 full-color illustrations that practically pop off the page make this fun and unusual book perfect for crafters of all ages.
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Woman of Light

Kali Fajardo-Anstine

Description

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A “dazzling, cinematic, intimate, lyrical” (Roxane Gay) epic of betrayal, love, and fate that spans five generations of an Indigenous Chicano family in the American West, from the author of the National Book Award finalist Sabrina & Corina
 
“Sometimes you just step into a book and let it wash over you, like you’re swimming under a big, sparkling night sky.”—Celeste Ng, author of Little Fires Everywhere and Everything I Never Told You
 
A PHENOMENAL BOOK CLUB PICK AND AN AUDACIOUS BOOK CLUB PICK • ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: Book Riot

There is one every generation, a seer who keeps the stories.

Luz “Little Light” Lopez, a tea leaf reader and laundress, is left to fend for herself after her older brother, Diego, a snake charmer and factory worker, is run out of town by a violent white mob. As Luz navigates 1930s Denver, she begins to have visions that transport her to her Indigenous homeland in the nearby Lost Territory. Luz recollects her ancestors’ origins, how her family flourished, and how they were threatened. She bears witness to the sinister forces that have devastated her people and their homelands for generations. In the end, it is up to Luz to save her family stories from disappearing into oblivion.

Written in Kali Fajardo-Anstine’s singular voice, the wildly entertaining and complex lives of the Lopez family fill the pages of this multigenerational western saga. Woman of Light is a transfixing novel about survival, family secrets, and love—filled with an unforgettable cast of characters, all of whom are just as special, memorable, and complicated as our beloved heroine, Luz.

LONGLISTED FOR THE JOYCE CAROL OATES PRIZE • LONGLISTED FOR THE CAROL SHIELDS PRIZE FOR FICTION

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Black Buck

Mateo Askaripour

Description

A New York Times Bestseller 

A Read with Jenna Today Show Book Club Pick!

Longlisted for the Center for Fiction's First Novel Prize



"Askaripour closes the deal on the first page of this mesmerizing novel, executing a high wire act full of verve and dark, comic energy."

--Colson Whitehead, author of The Nickel Boys



"A hilarious, gleaming satire as radiant as its author. Askaripour has announced himself as a major talent of the school of Ralph Ellison, Paul Beatty, Fran Ross, and Ishmael Reed. Full of quick pacing, frenetic energy, absurd--yet spot on--twists and turns, and some of the funniest similes I've ever read, this novel is both balm and bomb."

--Nafissa Thompson-Spires, author of Heads of the Colored People



For fans of Sorry to Bother You and The Wolf of Wall Street--a crackling, satirical debut novel about a young man given a shot at stardom as the lone Black salesman at a mysterious, cult-like, and wildly successful startup where nothing is as it seems.



There's nothing like a Black salesman on a mission.



An unambitious twenty-two-year-old, Darren lives in a Bed-Stuy brownstone with his mother, who wants nothing more than to see him live up to his potential as the valedictorian of Bronx Science. But Darren is content working at Starbucks in the lobby of a Midtown office building, hanging out with his girlfriend, Soraya, and eating his mother's home-cooked meals. All that changes when a chance encounter with Rhett Daniels, the silver-tongued CEO of Sumwun, NYC's hottest tech startup, results in an exclusive invitation for Darren to join an elite sales team on the thirty-sixth floor.



After enduring a "hell week" of training, Darren, the only Black person in the company, reimagines himself as "Buck," a ruthless salesman unrecognizable to his friends and family. But when things turn tragic at home and Buck feels he's hit rock bottom, he begins to hatch a plan to help young people of color infiltrate America's sales force, setting off a chain of events that forever changes the game.



Black Buck is a hilarious, razor-sharp skewering of America's workforce; it is a propulsive, crackling debut that explores ambition and race, and makes way for a necessary new vision of the American dream.

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Murray the Knight

Adam Stower

Description

Escape through the magic cat flap and join your favorite cat and bunny duo on their newest quest where the encounter knights, a jousting competition, and one VERY twisty, turny, confusing maze! Readers will giggle their was through this cat-in-shining armor story that's perfect for readers of Dog Man.

ADVENTURE LIES THROUGH THE MAGIC CAT FLAP

Murray the cat likes the quiet life. Too bad for him, he lives with Bun, a rabbit who is bound to end up in trouble, and Fumblethumb, a wizard who accidentally enchanted the cap flap. Which means sometimes the cat flap leads to the garden, but sometimes it leads to...ADVENTURE!

Which is how Murray and Bun find themselves as KNIGHTS! But things are not calm in this world of kings, castles, and chaos. Sir Nasty is less than noble and has stolen Princess Rubytoes. Murray and Bun must master a jousting competition and navigate one SUPER complicated maze if they have any hope of bringing the princess home in time for a cat nap.

Award-winning illustrator Adam Stower makes his middle grade debut in a purr-fectly pitched illustrated series. And don't miss the bonus content that includes a postcard from Murray, Murray's Family Album, and much more!

“Hilarious … A joy to read whatever your age” – David Walliams

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The Alchemist

Paulo Coelho

Description

Every few decades a book is published that changes the lives of its readers forever. This is such a book - a beautiful parable about learning to listen to your heart, read the omens strewn along life's path and, above all, follow your dreams.

Santiago, a young shepherd living in the hills of Andalucia, feels that there is more to life than his humble home and his flock. One day he finds the courage to follow his dreams into distant lands, each step galvanised by the knowledge that he is following the right path: his own. The people he meets along the way, the things he sees and the wisdom he learns are life-changing.

With Paulo Coelho's visionary blend of spirituality, magical realism and folklore, The Alchemist is a story with the power to inspire nations and change people's lives.

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Happy Place

Emily Henry

Description

“The beach-read master hooks us again."—People

Harriet and Wyn have been the perfect couple since they met in college—they go together like salt and pepper, honey and tea, lobster and rolls. Except, now—for reasons they’re still not discussing—they don’t.

They broke up five months ago. And still haven’t told their best friends.

Which is how they find themselves sharing a bedroom at the Maine cottage that has been their friend group’s yearly getaway for the last decade. Their annual respite from the world, where for one vibrant, blissful week they leave behind their daily lives; have copious amounts of cheese, wine, and seafood; and soak up the salty coastal air with the people who understand them most.

Only this year, Harriet and Wyn are lying through their teeth while trying not to notice how desperately they still want each other. Because the cottage is for sale and this is the last week they’ll all have together in this place. They can’t stand to break their friends’ hearts, and so they’ll play their parts. Harriet will be the driven surgical resident who never starts a fight, and Wyn will be the laid-back charmer who never lets the cracks show. It’s a flawless plan (if you look at it from a great distance and through a pair of sunscreen-smeared sunglasses). After years of being in love, how hard can it be to fake it for one week…in front of those who know you best?

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Legends & Lattes

Travis Baldree

Description

The much-beloved BookTok sensation, Travis Baldree's novel of high fantasy and low stakes.

After a lifetime of bounties and bloodshed, Viv is hanging up her sword for the last time.

The battle-weary orc aims to start fresh, opening the first ever coffee shop in the city of Thune. But old and new rivals stand in the way of success — not to mention the fact that no one has the faintest idea what coffee actually is. 

If Viv wants to put the blade behind her and make her plans a reality, she won't be able to go it alone.

But the true rewards of the uncharted path are the travelers you meet along the way. And whether drawn together by ancient magic, flaky pastry, or a freshly brewed cup, they may become partners, family, and something deeper than she ever could have dreamed.

“Take a break from epic battles and saving the world. Legends & Lattes is a low-stakes fantasy that delivers exactly what's advertised: a wholesome, cozy novel that feels like a warm hug. This is my new comfort read.”Genevieve Gornichec, author of The Witch's Heart

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Kitchen Confidential

Anthony Bourdain

Description

New York Chef Tony Bourdain gives away secrets of the trade in his wickedly funny, inspiring memoir/expose. Kitchen Confidential reveals what Bourdain calls "twenty-five years of sex, drugs, bad behavior and haute cuisine." 

Last summer, The New Yorker published Chef Bourdain's shocking, "Don't Eat Before Reading This." Bourdain spared no one's appetite when he told all about what happens behind the kitchen door. Bourdain uses the same "take-no-prisoners" attitude in his deliciously funny and shockingly delectable book, sure to delight gourmands and philistines alike. From Bourdain's first oyster in the Gironde, to his lowly position as dishwasher in a honky tonk fish restaurant in Provincetown (where he witnesses for the first time the real delights of being a chef); from the kitchen of the Rainbow Room atop Rockefeller Center, to drug dealers in the east village, from Tokyo to Paris and back to New York again, Bourdain's tales of the kitchen are as passionate as they are unpredictable. Kitchen Confidential will make your mouth water while your belly aches with laughter. You'll beg the chef for more, please.

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We Solve Murders

Richard Osman

Description

“Madcap fun, with an entertaining new cast of characters and Osman’s trademark wit. Delightful!” Shari Lapena

An iconic new detective duo. And a thrilling new murder to solve . . .

Steve Wheeler is enjoying retired life. He still does the odd bit of investigation work, but he prefers his familiar routines: the pub quiz, his favorite bench, his cat waiting for him at home. His days of adventure are over. Adrenaline is daughter-in-law Amy’s job now.

Amy Wheeler thinks adrenaline is good for the soul. Working in private security, every day is dangerous. She’s currently on a remote island protecting mega-bestselling author Rosie D’Antonio, until a dead body and a bag of money mean trouble in paradise. So she sends an SOS to the only person she trusts . . .

As a thrilling race around the world begins, can Amy and Steve outrun and outsmart a killer?

Solving murders. It’s a family business.

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Gmorning, Gnight!

Lin-Manuel Miranda

Description

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the creator and star of Hamilton and In the Heights, with beautiful illustrations by Jonny Sun, comes a book of affirmations to inspire readers at the beginning and end of each day.

“When the world is bringing you down, Gmorning, Gnight! will remind you that you are awesome.”—Booklist

Good morning. Do NOT get stuck in the comments section of life today. Make, do, create the things. Let others tussle it out. Vamos!

Before he inspired the world with Hamilton and was catapulted to international fame, Lin-Manuel Miranda was inspiring his Twitter followers with words of encouragement at the beginning and end of each day. He wrote these original sayings, aphorisms, and poetry for himself as much as for others. But as Miranda’s audience grew, these messages took on a life on their own. Now Miranda has gathered the best of his daily greetings into a beautiful collection illustrated by acclaimed artist (and fellow Twitter favorite) Jonny Sun. Full of comfort and motivation, Gmorning, Gnight! is a touchstone for anyone who needs a quick lift.

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The Durrells in Corfu

Description

Based on author and naturalist Gerald Durrell's much-loved Corfu trilogy of novels, The Durrells sees impoverished but sparky widow Louisa Durrell make the radical decision to leave 1930s England in hopes of a better life for her children. As Louisa relocates her reluctant brood to a dilapidated house in the Greek sun, the Durrells face a whole new set of challenges as they meet new friends, rivals, lovers, and animals. 

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From Asparagus to Zucchini

Fairshare CSA Coalition (Madison, Wis.)

Description

Ever wonder how you'll ever be able to use all your vegetables? From Asparagus to Zucchini answers the question of what to do with your armloads of greens, exotic herbs (and the never-before-seen vegetables), with recipes that are as concise and doable as they are appealing. Created for and by Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) members, the book is an indispensable tool for anyone who wants to eat seasonally and locally.

Organized by vegetable--fifty-three in all--each section includes nutritional, historical, and storage information, as well as cooking tips. With more than 420 original recipes created, tested, and enjoyed by chefs, CSA members, and farmers, you'll never be without a delicious recipe to make the most of the season's bounty. The best part is that lesser-known vegetables like burdock and kohlrabi have more recipes, not fewer!

From Asparagus to Zucchini is more than just a cookbook. Also included are essays that address the larger picture of sustainable agriculture, how our food choices fit into our economy, environment, and community, and more information on home food preservation and how to help kids appreciate--and even eat--their vegetables. Readers will find an extensive resource section and recipe index to round out this unique resource. With this book, prepare to awaken and reaffirm your dedication to enjoying the unique flavors of local foods while nourishing the life of sustainable family farms.

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Malibu Rising: A Read with Jenna Pick

Taylor Jenkins Reid

Description

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Read with Jenna Book Club Pick as Featured on Today • From the author of Daisy Jones & The Six and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo . . . 

ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The Washington Post, Time, Marie Claire, PopSugar, Parade, Teen Vogue, Self • “Irresistible . . . High drama at the beach, starring four sexy, surfing siblings and their deadbeat, famous-crooner dad.”—People

Four famous siblings throw an epic party to celebrate the end of the summer. But over the course of twenty-four hours, the family drama that ensues will change their lives will change forever.

Malibu: August 1983. It’s the day of Nina Riva’s annual end-of-summer party, and anticipation is at a fever pitch. Everyone wants to be around the famous Rivas: Nina, the talented surfer and supermodel; brothers Jay and Hud, one a championship surfer, the other a renowned photographer; and their adored baby sister, Kit. Together the siblings are a source of fascination in Malibu and the world over—especially as the offspring of the legendary singer Mick Riva.

The only person not looking forward to the party of the year is Nina herself, who never wanted to be the center of attention, and who has also just been very publicly abandoned by her pro tennis player husband. Oh, and maybe Hud—because it is long past time for him to confess something to the brother from whom he’s been inseparable since birth.

Jay, on the other hand, is counting the minutes until nightfall, when the girl he can’t stop thinking about promised she’ll be there.

And Kit has a couple secrets of her own—including a guest she invited without consulting anyone.

By midnight the party will be completely out of control. By morning, the Riva mansion will have gone up in flames. But before that first spark in the early hours before dawn, the alcohol will flow, the music will play, and the loves and secrets that shaped this family’s generations will all come rising to the surface.

Malibu Rising is a story about one unforgettable night in the life of a family: the night they each have to choose what they will keep from the people who made them . . . and what they will leave behind.

This edition includes an interview with the author, book club discussion questions, and more!

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Pretty little liars. Original sin. Season 1

Description

Takes viewers to Millwood, a blue-collar town still healing from tragic events that took place 20 years ago. An unknown assailant has begun tormenting a disparate group of teen girls, a new generation of 'Little Liars,' to make them pay for their parents' secret sin...as well as their own.

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Being John Malkovich

Cusack, John, 1966-

Description

The Criterion Collection at HPL

A hapless puppeteer (John Cusack) starts working as a file clerk on the 7½ floor of an office building. The ceilings are low and everyone has to walk around hunched over. As if that wasn't strange enough, one day he finds a portal that temporarily sends him into the mind of actor John Malkovich. Once he lets his coworker Maxine (Catherine Keener) and his wife Lotte (Cameron Diaz) in on his discovery, a battle over the newfound vessel ensues. With its commitment to absurdity and exploration of human desire, Being John Malkovich plunges the viewer into a truly unique viewing experience. Written by Charlie Kaufman, directed by Spike Jonze.

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Arsenic and old lace

Grant, Cary, 1904-1986.

Description

A young man is shocked when he learns his aunts like to serve men elderberry wine with arsenic, and then bury their bodies in the cellar.  Originally released as a motion picture in 1944.  From the stage play by Joseph Kesselring.

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Sandwich

Catherine Newman

Description

Look for Wreck, the new novel by Catherine Newman--a deeply moving story of laughter and heart, about marriage, family, and what happens when life doesn't go as planned--Coming October 2025.

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

"Sandwich is joy in book form. I laughed continuously, except for the parts that made me cry. Catherine Newman does a miraculous job reminding us of all the wonder there is to be found in life."--Ann Patchett, New York Times bestselling author of Tom Lake

"If you like my novels, you will love love love this . . . . I stand in awe, it's just perfect."--Elin Hilderbrand, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Swan Song

"A total delight."--Kate Christensen

From the beloved author of We All Want Impossible Things, a moving, hilarious story of a family summer vacation full of secrets, lunch, and learning to let go.

For the past two decades, Rocky has looked forward to her family's yearly escape to Cape Cod. Their humble beach-town rental has been the site of sweet memories, sunny days, great meals, and messes of all kinds: emotional, marital, and--thanks to the cottage's ancient plumbing--septic too.

This year's vacation, with Rocky sandwiched between her half-grown kids and fully aging parents, promises to be just as delightful as summers past--except, perhaps, for Rocky's hormonal bouts of rage and melancholy. (Hello, menopause!) Her body is changing--her life is, too. And then a chain of events sends Rocky into the past, reliving both the tenderness and sorrow of a handful of long-ago summers.

It's one precious week: everything is in balance; everything is in flux. And when Rocky comes face to face with her family's history and future, she is forced to accept that she can no longer hide her secrets from the people she loves.

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When the Sea Came Alive

Garrett M. Graff

Description

2025 AUDIE AWARD: MULTI-VOICED PERFORMANCE WINNER

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “Absolutely gripping.” —The Washington Post • “A masterpiece of oral history…stirring, surprising, grim, joyous, moving, and always riveting.” —Evan Thomas

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Only Plane in the Sky and Pulitzer Prize finalist for Watergate comes the most complete and up-to-date account of D-Day—the largest seaborne invasion in history and the moment that secured the Allied victory in World War II—featuring hundreds of eyewitness accounts.

June 6, 1944—known to us all as D-Day—is one of history’s greatest and most unbelievable military triumphs. The surprise sunrise landing of more than 150,000 Allied troops on the beaches of occupied northern France is one of the most consequential days of the 20th century. Now, Pulitzer Prize finalist Garrett M. Graff, historian and author of The Only Plane in the Sky and Watergate, brings them all together in a one-of-a-kind, bestselling oral history that explores this seminal event in vivid, heart-pounding detail.

The story begins in the opening months of the 1940s, as the Germany army tightens its grip across Europe, seizing control of entire nations. The United States, who has resolved to remain neutral, is forced to enter the conflict after an unexpected attack by the Japanese at Pearl Harbor. For the second time in fifty years, the world is at war, with the stakes higher than they’ve ever been before. Then in 1943, Allied leaders Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill meet in Casablanca to discuss a new plan for victory: a coordinated invasion of occupied France, led by General Dwight D. Eisenhower. Failure is not an option. Over the next eighteen months, the large-scale action is organized, mobilizing soldiers across Europe by land, sea, and sky. And when the day comes, it is unlike anything the world has ever seen.

These moments and more are seen in real time. A visceral, page-turning drama told through the eyes of those who experienced them—from soldiers, nurses, pilots, children, neighbors, sailors, politicians, volunteers, photographers, reporters and so many more, When the Sea Came Alive “is the sort of book that is smart, inspiring, and powerful—and adds so much to our knowledge of what that day was like and its historic importance forever” (Chris Bohjalian)—an unforgettable, fitting tribute to the men and women of the Greatest Generation.

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All the Sinners Bleed

S. A. Cosby

Description

2024 AUDIE AWARD: THRILLER/SUSPENSE WINNER

“Fresh and exhilarating. . . Cosby keeps his eye on the story and the pedal to the metal.” —Stephen King, The New York Times Book Review

“An atmospheric pressure cooker.” —People

Titus Crown is the first Black sheriff in the history of Charon County, Virginia. In recent decades, quiet Charon has had only two murders. But after years of working as an FBI agent, Titus knows better than anyone that while his hometown might seem like a land of moonshine, cornbread, and honeysuckle, secrets always fester under the surface.

Then a year to the day after Titus’s election, a school teacher is killed by a former student and the student is fatally shot by Titus’s deputies. As Titus investigates the shootings, he unearths terrible crimes and a serial killer who has been hiding in plain sight, haunting the dirt lanes and woodland clearings of Charon. 

With the killer’s possible connections to a local church and the town’s harrowing history weighing on him, Titus projects confidence about closing the case while concealing a painful secret from his own past. At the same time, he also has to contend with a far-right group that wants to hold a parade in celebration of the town’s Confederate history.

Charon is Titus’s home and his heart. But where faith and violence meet, there will be a reckoning. 

Powerful and unforgettable, All the Sinners Bleed confirms S. A. Cosby as “one of the most muscular, distinctive, grab-you-by-both-ears voices in American crime fiction” (The Washington Post).

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No Two Persons

Erica Bauermeister

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2024 AUDIE AWARD: MULTI-VOICED PERFORMANCE WINNER

One book. Nine readers. Ten changed lives. New York Times bestselling author Erica Bauermeister’s No Two Persons is “a gloriously original celebration of fiction, and the ways it deepens our lives.”*

That was the beauty of books, wasn’t it? They took you places you didn’t know you needed to go...

Alice has always wanted to be a writer. Her talent is innate, but her stories remain safe and detached, until a devastating event breaks her heart open, and she creates a stunning debut novel. Her words, in turn, find their way to readers, from a teenager hiding her homelessness, to a free diver pushing himself beyond endurance, an artist furious at the world around her, a bookseller in search of love, a widower rent by grief. Each one is drawn into Alice’s novel; each one discovers something different that alters their perspective, and presents new pathways forward for their lives.

Together, their stories reveal how books can affect us in the most beautiful and unexpected of ways—and how we are all more closely connected to one another than we might think.

“With its beautiful parts that add up to a brilliant whole, No Two Persons made my reader’s heart sing.”—*Nina de Gramont, New York Times bestselling author of The Christie Affair

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Bits and Pieces

Whoopi Goldberg

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2025 AUDIE AWARD: NARRATION BY THE AUTHOR WINNER

From multi-award winner Whoopi Goldberg comes a new and unique memoir of her family and their influence on her early life.

If it weren't for Emma Johnson, Caryn Johnson would have never become Whoopi Goldberg. Emma gave her children the loving care and wisdom they needed to succeed in life, always encouraging them to be true to themselves. When Whoopi lost her mother in 2010--and then her older brother, Clyde, five years later--she felt deeply alone; the only people who truly knew her were gone.

Emma raised her children not just to survive, but to thrive. In this intimate and heartfelt memoir, Whoopi shares many of the deeply personal stories of their lives together for the first time. Growing up in the projects in New York City, there were trips to Coney Island, the Ice Capades, and museums, and every Christmas was a magical experience. To this day, she doesn't know how her mother was able to give them such an enriching childhood, despite the struggles they faced--and it wasn't until she was well into adulthood that Whoopi learned just how traumatic some of those struggles were.

Fans of personal memoirs such as Finding Me by Viola Davis and In Pieces by Sally Field will be touched by Bits and Pieces: a moving tribute from a daughter to her mother, and a beautiful portrait of three people who loved each other deeply. Whoopi writes, "Not everybody gets to walk this earth with folks who let you be exactly who you are and who give you the confidence to become exactly who you want to be. So, I thought I'd share mine with you."

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When No One Is Watching

Alyssa Cole

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2021 AUDIE AWARD: THRILLER/SUSPENSE WINNER

"If Rear Window and Get Out got married and had a baby that was a book, it would indeed be When No One Is Watching, which takes place in contemporary Brooklyn and combines a page-turning thriller with shrewd social commentary on race, gentrification and greed." -- Seattle Times

Sydney Green is Brooklyn born and raised, but her beloved neighborhood seems to change every time she blinks. Condos are sprouting like weeds, FOR SALE signs are popping up overnight, and the neighbors she's known all her life are disappearing. To hold onto her community's past and present, Sydney channels her frustration into a walking tour and finds an unlikely and unwanted assistant in one of the new arrivals to the block--her neighbor Theo.

But Sydney and Theo's deep dive into history quickly becomes a dizzying descent into paranoia and fear. Their neighbors may not have moved to the suburbs after all, and the push to revitalize the community may be more deadly than advertised.

When does coincidence become conspiracy? Where do people go when gentrification pushes them out? Can Sydney and Theo trust each other--or themselves--long enough to find out before they too disappear?



 

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The Chestnut Man

Soren Sveistrup

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2020 AUDIE AWARD: MYSTERY WINNER

“A full-throttle thriller in the tradition of classic Stieg Larsson, drenched in atmosphere and charged with adrenaline. Buckle up. You’ll gulp down every word. I loved this book.”—A. J. Finn, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Woman in the Window

If you find one, he’s already found you.

A psychopath is terrorizing Copenhagen.

His calling card is a “chestnut man”—a handmade doll made of matchsticks and two chestnuts—which he leaves at each bloody crime scene.

Examining the dolls, forensics makes a shocking discovery—a fingerprint belonging to a young girl, a government minister’s daughter who had been kidnapped and murdered a year ago.

A tragic coincidence—or something more twisted?

To save innocent lives, a pair of detectives must put aside their differences to piece together the Chestnut Man’s gruesome clues.

Because it’s clear that the madman is on a mission that is far from over.

And no one is safe.

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Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers

Jesse Q. Sutanto

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2024 AUDIE AWARD: MYSTERY WINNER

A lonely shopkeeper takes it upon herself to solve a murder in the most peculiar way in this captivating mystery by Jesse Q. Sutanto, bestselling author of Dial A for Aunties.

Vera Wong is a lonely little old lady—ah, lady of a certain age—who lives above her forgotten tea shop in the middle of San Francisco’s Chinatown. Despite living alone, Vera is not needy, oh no. She likes nothing more than sipping on a good cup of Wulong and doing some healthy detective work on the Internet about what her Gen-Z son is up to. 

Then one morning, Vera trudges downstairs to find a curious thing—a dead man in the middle of her tea shop. In his outstretched hand, a flash drive. Vera doesn’t know what comes over her, but after calling the cops like any good citizen would, she sort of . . . swipes the flash drive from the body and tucks it safely into the pocket of her apron. Why? Because Vera is sure she would do a better job than the police possibly could, because nobody sniffs out a wrongdoing quite like a suspicious Chinese mother with time on her hands. Vera knows the killer will be back for the flash drive; all she has to do is watch the increasing number of customers at her shop and figure out which one among them is the killer. 

What Vera does not expect is to form friendships with her customers and start to care for each and every one of them. As a protective mother hen, will she end up having to give one of her newfound chicks to the police?

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The True Love Experiment

Christina Lauren

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2024 AUDIE AWARD: ROMANCE WINNER

Sparks fly when a romance writer and a documentary filmmaker join forces to craft the ultimate Hollywood love story—but only if they can keep the chemistry between them from taking the whole thing off script—from the “divine” (Jodi Picoult) New York Times bestselling authors of Love and Other Words and The Unhoneymooners.

Felicity “Fizzy” Chen is lost. Sure, she’s got an incredible career as a beloved romance novelist with a slew of bestsellers under her belt, but when she’s asked to give a commencement address, it hits her: she hasn’t been practicing what she’s preached.

Fizzy hasn’t ever really been in love. Lust? Definitely. But that swoon-worthy, can’t-stop-thinking-about-him, all-encompassing feeling? Nope. Nothing. What happens when the optimism she’s spent her career encouraging in readers starts to feel like a lie?

Connor Prince, documentary filmmaker and single father, loves his work but when his profit-minded boss orders him to create a reality TV show, putting his job on the line, Connor is out of his element. Desperate to find his romantic lead, a chance run-in with an exasperated Fizzy offers Connor the perfect solution. What if he could show the queen of romance herself falling head-over-heels for all the world to see? Fizzy gives him a hard pass—unless he agrees to her list of demands. When he says yes, and production on The True Love Experiment begins, Connor wonders if that perfect match will ever be in the cue cards for him, too.

“Full of big laughs, a few tears, and some seriously steamy scenes” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review), The True Love Experiment is the book fans have been waiting for ever since Fizzy’s debut in the New York Times bestselling The Soulmate Equation.

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Fairy Tale

Stephen King

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2023 AUDIE AWARD: BEST MALE NARRATOR WINNER

Legendary storyteller Stephen King goes into the deepest well of his imagination in this spellbinding novel about a seventeen-year-old boy who inherits the keys to a parallel world where good and evil are at war, and the stakes could not be higher—for that world or ours.

Charlie Reade looks like a regular high school kid, great at baseball and football, a decent student. But he carries a heavy load. His mom was killed in a hit-and-run accident when he was seven, and grief drove his dad to drink. Charlie learned how to take care of himself—and his dad. When Charlie is seventeen, he meets a dog named Radar and her aging master, Howard Bowditch, a recluse in a big house at the top of a big hill, with a locked shed in the backyard. Sometimes strange sounds emerge from it.

Charlie starts doing jobs for Mr. Bowditch and loses his heart to Radar. Then, when Bowditch dies, he leaves Charlie a cassette tape telling a story no one would believe. What Bowditch knows, and has kept secret all his long life, is that inside the shed is a portal to another world.

King’s storytelling in Fairy Tale soars. This is a magnificent and terrifying tale in which good is pitted against overwhelming evil, and a heroic boy—and his dog—must lead the battle.

Early in the Pandemic, King asked himself: “What could you write that would make you happy?”

“As if my imagination had been waiting for the question to be asked, I saw a vast deserted city—deserted but alive. I saw the empty streets, the haunted buildings, a gargoyle head lying overturned in the street. I saw smashed statues (of what I didn’t know, but I eventually found out). I saw a huge, sprawling palace with glass towers so high their tips pierced the clouds. Those images released the story I wanted to tell.”

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Fire in Paradise

Alastair Gee

Description

2021 AUDIE AWARD: NON-FICTION WINNER 

The harrowing story of the most destructive American wildfire in a century.
 

There is no precedent in postwar American history for the destruction of the town of Paradise, California. On November 8, 2018, the community of 27,000 people was swallowed by the ferocious Camp Fire, which razed virtually every home and killed at least 85 people. The catastrophe seared the American imagination, taking the front page of every major national newspaper and top billing on the news networks. It displaced tens of thousands of people, yielding a refugee crisis that continues to unfold.

Fire in Paradise is a dramatic and moving narrative of the disaster based on hundreds of in-depth interviews with residents, firefighters and police, and scientific experts. Alastair Gee and Dani Anguiano are California-based journalists who have reported on Paradise since the day the fire began. Together they reveal the heroics of the first responders, the miraculous escapes of those who got out of Paradise, and the horrors experienced by those who were trapped. Their accounts are intimate and unforgettable, including the local who left her home on foot as fire approached while her 82-year-old father stayed to battle it; the firefighter who drove into the heart of the inferno in his bulldozer; the police officer who switched on his body camera to record what he thought would be his final moments as the flames closed in; and the mother who, less than 12 hours after giving birth in the local hospital, thought she would die in the chaotic evacuation with her baby in her lap. Gee and Anguiano also explain the science of wildfires, write powerfully about the role of the power company PG&E in the blaze, and describe the poignant efforts to raise Paradise from the ruins.

This is the story of a town at the forefront of a devastating global shift—of a remarkable landscape sucked ever drier of moisture and becoming inhospitable even to trees, now dying in their tens of millions and turning to kindling. It is also the story of a lost community, one that epitomized a provincial, affordable kind of Californian existence that is increasingly unattainable. It is, finally, a story of a new kind of fire behavior that firefighters have never witnessed before and barely know how to handle. What happened in Paradise was unprecedented in America. Yet according to climate scientists and fire experts, it will surely happen again.

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Project Hail Mary

Andy Weir

Description

2022 AUDIE AWARD: AUDIOBOOK OF THE YEAR WINNER; SCIENCE FICTION WINNER

HUGO AWARD FINALIST • ONE OF THE YEAR’S BEST BOOKS: Bill Gates, GatesNotes, New York Public Library, Parade, Newsweek, Polygon, Shelf Awareness, She Reads, Kirkus Reviews, Library JournalNew York Times Readers Pick: 100 Best Books of the 21st Century 

“An epic story of redemption, discovery and cool speculative sci-fi.”—USA Today

Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission—and if he fails, humanity and the earth itself will perish.

Except that right now, he doesn’t know that. He can’t even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it.

All he knows is that he’s been asleep for a very, very long time. And he’s just been awakened to find himself millions of miles from home, with nothing but two corpses for company.

His crewmates dead, his memories fuzzily returning, Ryland realizes that an impossible task now confronts him. Hurtling through space on this tiny ship, it’s up to him to puzzle out an impossible scientific mystery—and conquer an extinction-level threat to our species.

And with the clock ticking down and the nearest human being light-years away, he’s got to do it all alone.

Or does he?

An irresistible interstellar adventure as only Andy Weir could deliver, Project Hail Mary is a tale of discovery, speculation, and survival to rival The Martian—while taking us to places it never dreamed of going.

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Unprotected

Billy Porter

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2023 AUDIE AWARD: AUTOBIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR WINNER

From Billy Porter, the incomparable Emmy, Grammy, and Tony Award winner, Unprotected is a powerful and revealing autobiography about race, sexuality, art, and healing.

"Bold, hilarious, honest, and singular. Unprotected is a record of survival, commitment to authenticity, and healing; a road map out of hell." --Leslie Odom Jr.

Billy Porter is a multitalented, multifaceted treasure at the top of his game, and Unprotected is a resonant, inspirational story of trauma and healing, shot through with his singular voice.

It's easy to be yourself when who and what you are is in vogue. But growing up Black and gay in America has never been easy.

Before Billy Porter was slaying red carpets and giving an iconic Emmy-winning performance in the celebrated TV show Pose; before he was the groundbreaking Tony and Grammy award-winning star of Broadway's Kinky Boots; and before he was an acclaimed recording artist, actor, playwright, director, and all-around legend, Porter was a young boy in Pittsburgh who was seen as different, who didn't fit in.

At five years old, Porter was sent to therapy to "fix" his effeminacy. He was endlessly bullied at school, sexually abused by his stepfather, and criticized at his church. Porter came of age in a world where simply being himself was a constant struggle.

Unprotected is the story of a boy whose talent and courage opened doors for him, but only a crack. It is the story of a teenager discovering himself, learning his voice and his craft amid deep trauma. And it is the story of a young man whose unbreakable determination led him through countless hard times to where he is now; a proud icon who refuses to back down or hide.

Billy Porter's Unprotected is the life story of a singular artist and survivor in his own words.

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The City We Became

N. K. Jemisin

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2021 AUDIE AWARD: FANTASY WINNER; BEST FEMALE NARRATOR WINNER 

Three-time Hugo Award-winning and New York Times bestselling author N.K. Jemisin crafts her most incredible novel yet, a "glorious" story of culture, identity, magic, and myths in contemporary New York City. In Manhattan, a young grad student gets off the train and realizes he doesn't remember who he is, where he's from, or even his own name. But he can sense the beating heart of the city, see its history, and feel its power. In the Bronx, a Lenape gallery director discovers strange graffiti scattered throughout the city, so beautiful and powerful it's as if the paint is literally calling to her. In Brooklyn, a politician and mother finds she can hear the songs of her city, pulsing to the beat of her Louboutin heels. And they're not the only ones. Every great city has a soul. Some are ancient as myths, and others are as new and destructive as children. New York? She's got six. 

"A glorious fantasy." --Neil Gaiman

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Such a Fun Age

Kiley Reid

Description

2021AUDIE AWARD: FICTION WINNER 

A striking and surprising debut novel from an exhilarating new voice, Such a Fun Age is a page-turning and big-hearted story about race and privilege, set around a young black babysitter, her well-intentioned employer, and a surprising connection that threatens to undo them both.

Alix Chamberlain is a woman who gets what she wants and has made a living, with her confidence-driven brand, showing other women how to do the same. So she is shocked when her babysitter, Emira Tucker, is confronted while watching the Chamberlains' toddler one night, walking the aisles of their local high-end supermarket. The store's security guard, seeing a young black woman out late with a white child, accuses Emira of kidnapping two-year-old Briar. A small crowd gathers, a bystander films everything, and Emira is furious and humiliated. Alix resolves to make things right. 

But Emira herself is aimless, broke, and wary of Alix's desire to help. At twenty-five, she is about to lose her health insurance and has no idea what to do with her life. When the video of Emira unearths someone from Alix's past, both women find themselves on a crash course that will upend everything they think they know about themselves, and each other. 

With empathy and piercing social commentary, Such a Fun Age explores the stickiness of transactional relationships, what it means to make someone "family," and the complicated reality of being a grown up. It is a searing debut for our times.

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Tom Lake

Ann Patchett

Description

2024 AUDIE AWARD: FICTION WINNER 

In this beautiful and moving novel about family, love, and growing up, Ann Patchett once again proves herself one of America's finest writers.

"Patchett leads us to a truth that feels like life rather than literature." --The Guardian

In the spring of 2020, Lara's three daughters return to the family's orchard in Northern Michigan. While picking cherries, they beg their mother to tell them the story of Peter Duke, a famous actor with whom she shared both a stage and a romance years before at a theater company called Tom Lake. As Lara recalls the past, her daughters examine their own lives and relationship with their mother, and are forced to reconsider the world and everything they thought they knew.

Tom Lake is a meditation on youthful love, married love, and the lives parents have led before their children were born. Both hopeful and elegiac, it explores what it means to be happy even when the world is falling apart. As in all of her novels, Ann Patchett combines compelling narrative artistry with piercing insights into family dynamics. The result is a rich and luminous story, told with profound intelligence and emotional subtlety, that demonstrates once again why she is one of the most revered and acclaimed literary talents working today.

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Still True

Maggie Ginsberg

Description

One summer evening, Lib Hanson is confronted by her painful past when Matt Marlow, the forty-year-old son she abandoned as an infant, shows up on her porch. Fiercely independent, Lib has never revealed her son's existence--or her previous marriage--to her husband, Jack. Married nearly three decades but living in separate houses (to the confusion but acceptance of their neighbors), they enjoy an ease and comfort together in small-town Anthem, Wisconsin. But Jack is a stickler for honesty, and Lib's long-dormant secret threatens to unravel their lives.



When ten-year-old Charlie Taylor arrives at Jack's workshop shortly thereafter, he's not the first kid in town to need help with a flat tire, and Jack gladly makes the repair to his bike. The Taylors are new to Anthem, and Jack soon discovers that Charlie and his mom, Claire, are struggling to fit in, even as Charlie's dad, Dan, is thriving in his new job. Extending friendship and kindness, as well as introductions around the local café, Jack assumes a grandfatherly role. What he doesn't see is the drinking that Claire hides from everyone, or the secret son that Lib has allowed to move into her house and the growing attraction between Claire and Matt. When the terrible events of a fateful evening threaten everyone's carefully crafted lives, Jack, Lib, and their new friends must each determine the value of truth for the ones they love.

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I Like You Just Fine When You're Not Around

Ann Garvin

Description

In Ann Garvin's "eccentric and endearing" (Publishers Weekly) novel, Tig Monahan, a radio therapist, finds out the hard way that nothing is fair in love and war...or family.

Everything is falling apart in psychologist Tig Monahan's life. Her mother's dementia is wearing her out; her boyfriend takes off for Hawaii without her; and her sister inexplicably disappears, leaving her newborn behind.

When a therapy session goes horribly wrong, Tig finds herself unemployed and part of the sandwich generation trying to take care of everyone—and failing miserably. Just when she thinks she can redefine herself on the radio as an arbiter of fairness, she discovers a family secret that nobody saw coming.

It will take everything plus a sense of humor to see her way clear to a better life...but only if she can let go of her past.

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The Ascent

Allison Buccola

Description

What would you do if the past showed up on your doorstep?

A woman who grew up in a cult must decide if she can trust the stranger claiming to have answers to the dark mysteries of her childhood in “a standout thriller with something deeper on its mind: how the past doesn’t just haunt you, it reshapes you” (The Seattle Times).

“I tore through this book and was genuinely shocked by its ending!”—Ana Reyes, New York Times bestselling author of The House in the Pines

For decades, the whereabouts of The Fifteen has been an unsolved mystery. All the members of this reclusive commune outside Philadelphia vanished twenty years ago, except for one: a twelve-year-old girl found wandering alone on the side of the road.

In the years since that morning, Lee Burton has tried to put the pain of her past behind her, building a new identity for herself with a doting husband and seven-month-old daughter, Lucy. But motherhood is proving a bigger challenge than she anticipated. She doesn’t want to let Lucy out of her sight even for a moment. She can’t return to work. She’s not sleeping, and she has started spiraling into paranoia.

Then a stranger shows up on her doorstep, offering answers to all of Lee’s questions about her past—if Lee could only trust that this woman is who she says she is. Can Lee keep her safe, stable life? Or will new revelations about “the cult that went missing” shatter everything? In The Ascent, Allison Buccola has crafted a nerve-rattling thriller about motherhood, identity, and the truths we think we know about our families.

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The Quiet Librarian

Allen Eskens

Description

After the murder of her best friend, a librarian's search for answers leads back to her own dark secrets in this "searing and timely" novel about a woman transformed by war, family, vengeance, and love, from the author of the beloved bestseller The Life We Bury (Kristin Harmel, author of The Paris Daughter).



"Fans of Kristin Hannah's The Nightingale or Kate Quinn's books will be caught up in this story of a courageous woman."―Library Journal (starred review)



"Exquisitely written, profoundly affecting, and undoubtedly one of the best books I will read this year."―Louise Fein, author of The London Bookshop Affair



Hana Babic is a quiet, middle-aged librarian in Minnesota who wants nothing more than to be left alone. But when a detective arrives with the news that her best friend has been murdered, Hana knows that something evil has come for her, a dark remnant of the past she and her friend had shared.



Thirty years before, Hana was someone else: Nura Divjak, a teenager growing up in the mountains of war-torn Bosnia--until Serbian soldiers arrived to slaughter her entire family before her eyes. The events of that day thrust Nura into the war, leading her to join a band of militia fighters, where she became not only a fierce warrior but a legend--the deadly Night Mora. But a shattering final act forced Nura to flee to the United States with a bounty on her head.



Now, someone is hunting Hana, and her friend has paid the price, leaving her eight-year-old grandson in Hana's care. To protect the child without revealing her secret, Hana must again become the Night Mora--and hope she can find the killer before the past comes for them, too.

 

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The peanut butter falcon

Description

An adventure story set in the world of a modern Mark Twain that begins when Zak, a young man with Down syndrome, runs away from a nursing home where he lives to chase his dream of becoming a professional wrestler and attending the wrestling school of the Salt Water Redneck. Through circumstances beyond their control, Tyler, a small-time outlaw on the run, becomes Zak's unlikely coach and ally.

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Life in pieces. Season 1

Description

Life in pieces follows one big happy family and their sometimes awkward, often hilarious, and ultimately beautiful milestone moments as told by the family's various members. Adoring matriarch, Joan (Dianne Wiest), would do anything for her kids - as long as she agrees with them. Gregarious patriarch, John (James Brolin), is searching for ways to soften the blow of turning 70. Together with their three adult children, Greg (Colin Hanks), Matt (Thomas Sadoski) and Heather (Betsy Brandt), they try to savor the little pieces of life that go by in a flash but are treasured forever.

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Justified. Season 1

Description

After a shooting raises questions about his style of law enforcement, U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens is transferred to his hometown in Kentucky and unexpectedly encounters people from his past.

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A beautiful day in the neighborhood

Description

Tom Hanks portrays Mister Rogers in a timely story of kindness triumphing over cynicism, based on the true story of a real-life friendship between Fred Rogers and journalist Tom Junod. After a jaded magazine writer is assigned a profile of Fred Rogers, he overcomes his skepticism, learning about kindness, love, and forgiveness from America's most beloved neighbor.

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Falling skies. Season 1

Description

Chronicles the chaotic aftermath of an alien attack that leaves most of the world completely incapacitated. In the six months since the initial invasion, survivors band together to begin the difficult task of fighting back against the aggressive aliens. Outside of Boston, history professor Tom Mason helps lead a small army named 2nd Massachusetts in the battle of their lives to preserve their families and what's left of mankind.

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Pulling strings

Description

After his daughter's Visa request to visit her grandparents in America is rejected, a single father and his loyal best friend do everything it takes to win over the Embassy worker who turned her down.

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