Staff Picks
LibraryReads for November 2020
- Sarah C.
- Tuesday, November 10, 2020
Collection
Each month, LibraryReads lists the top upcoming titles recommended by librarians across the country. All these books will be published in November 2020, so stay ahead of the curve and get on the holds list now!
The Office of Historical Corrections
A Novella and Stories
Published in 2020
"The award-winning author of Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self brings her signature voice and insight to the subjects of race, grief, apology, and American history. Danielle Evans is widely acclaimed for her blisteringly smart voice and x-ray insights into the complex human relationships. With The Office of Historical Corrections, Evans zooms in on particular moments and relationships in her characters' lives in a way that allows them to speak to larger issues of race, culture, and history. She introduces us to Black and multi-racial characters who are experiencing the universal confusions of lust and love, and getting walloped by grief--all while exploring how history haunts us, personally and collectively. Ultimately, she provokes us to think about the truths of American history - about who gets to tell them, and the cost of setting the record straight. In "Boys Go to Jupiter" a white college student tries to reinvent herself after a photo of her in a confederate flag bikini goes viral. In "Richard of York Gave Battle in Vain" a photojournalist is forced to confront her own losses while attending an old friend's unexpectedly dramatic wedding. And in the eye-opening title novella, a black scholar from Washington DC is drawn into a complex historical mystery that spans generations and puts her job, her love life, and her oldest friendship at risk"-- Provided by publisher.
Moonflower Murders
A Novel
Published in 2020
"Farlingaye Hall is a beautiful hotel in Suffolk on the east coast of England. Unfortunately, it is also the site of the brutal murder of Frank Parris, a retired advertising executive. Stefan Codrescu, a Romanian maintenance man, is arrested after police find blood spatter on his clothes and bed linen. He is found guilty and spends eight years in prison. It appears an open and shut case, but there is more than meets the eye. Alan Conway, the late author of the fictional Magpie Murders, knew Frank Parris and once visited Farlingaye Hall. Conway based Atticus Pund Takes the Cake, the third book in his detective series, on the hotel. Cecily Treherne, the daughter of the hotel owner, read the book and believes the truth of Stefan's innocence is found in its pages. But now...she has disappeared. Conway's former editor Susan Ryeland leaves her own hotel in Crete and travels to Suffolk to investigate the murder and Treherne's disappearance"-- Provided by publisher.
Miss Benson's Beetle
A Novel
Published in 2020
"It is 1950. London is still reeling from World War II, and Margery Benson--a sensible schoolmarm and lonely spinster--is just trying to get through life. But one day, she reaches her breaking point, abandoning her job and her tidy, circumscribed life, toset out on an expedition to the other side of the world in search of an insect that may or may not exist: the golden beetle of New Caledonia, Margery's childhood obsession ever since her father gave her a book on cryptozoology right before he killed himself. The assistant Margery hires to accompany her, Enid Pretty, in her pink hat and pompom sandals, is not the companion she had in mind. But together they will find themselves drawn into an adventure that exceeds all expectations: a cross-ocean voyage toa remote island covered with dense jungle--the last place two proper British ladies would expect to find themselves. They must risk everything and break all the rules, but at the top of a mountain deep in the South Pacific they will discover their best selves. This is a charming, uplifting story about the power of belief in all its forms; it is an intoxicating adventure that explores what it means to be a woman; and it is a tender exploration of the transformative power of friendship"-- Provided by publisher.
Before the Coffee Gets Cold
Published in 2020
In a small back alley in Tokyo at a century-old coffee shop rumored to offer patrons the chance to travel back in time, four customers reevaluate their formative life choices.
The Burning God
Published in 2020
Rin returns to her home village, where with the Southern Army and millions of dedicated supporters she prepares for the ultimate battle against the Dragon Republic and other anti-shamanic enemies.
Murder in Old Bombay
Published in 2020
"In 19th century Bombay, Captain Jim Agnihotri channels his idol, Sherlock Holmes, in Nev March's Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel Award-winning debut. In 1892, Bombay is the center of British India. Nearby, Captain Jim Agnihotri lays in Poona military hospital recovering from a skirmish on the wild northern frontier, with little to read but newspapers. The case that catches Jim's attention is being called the crime of the century: Two women fell from the busy university's clocktower in broad daylight. Moved by the widower of one of the victims - his certainty that his wife and sister did not commit suicide - Jim approaches the Framjis and is hired by the Parsee family to investigate what happened that terrible afternoon. But in a land of divided loyalties, asking questions is dangerous. Jim's investigation disturbs the shadows that seem to follow the Framji family and triggers an ominous chain of events. Based on real events, and set against the vibrant backdrop of colonial India, Nev March's lyrical debut Murder in Old Bombay brings this tumultuous historical age to life"-- Provided by publisher.
The Boy Toy
Published in 2020
"A woman ready to give up on love discovers that age is truly just a number in this heartwarming and steamy new romantic comedy by USA Today bestselling author Nicola Marsh. For almost a decade, successful thirty-seven-year-old Samira Broderick has used her bustling Los Angeles practice as an excuse to avoid a trip home to Australia. She still resents her meddling Indian mother for arranging her marriage to a man who didn't stick around when the going got tough, but now with a new job Down Under, she's finally ready to reconnect with her. And while she's there, a hot international fling might be just what she needs to get out of her recent funk. Aussie stuntman Rory Radcliffe has been hiding his stutter for years by avoiding speaking roles. When a job he can't refuse comes up as a reality show host, he knows he'll need some help for the audition: a dialect coach. But he finds himself at a loss for words when he discovers it's the same sexy woman with whom he just had a mind-blowing one-night stand. . . . Samira can think of many reasons why Rory is completely wrong for her: he's ten years her junior, for one, and he's not Indian-something Samira's mother would never approve of. Even if things were to get serious, there's no reason to tell her mother . . . is there?"-- Provided by publisher.
Archangel's Sun
Published in 2020
Titus, the archangel of Africa, must stop the reborn, rotting creatures that have gained vicious intelligence, from spreading across the world and asks the Hummingbird, an old and powerful woman who is his only hope, to stand by his side.
The Star-crossed Sisters of Tuscany
Published in 2020
"The enduring bonds of sisterhood flourish in this heartwarming and dazzling Italian adventure, where a love that spans generations reveals the path to one woman's destiny, from the New York Times bestselling author of The Life List. When the fiercely independent and mysterious Paulina "Poppy" Fontana invites her great-nieces and fellow second-born daughters, Emilia and Lucy, to visit her birthplace of Italy, she makes a wild declaration. On her eightieth birthday, Poppy claims she'll meet the love of herlife on the steps of the Ravello Cathedral and put an end to the Fontana Family Second-Daughter Curse once and for all. The Fontana Second-Daughter Curse is probably nothing but a coincidence, a self-fulfilling prophecy, an old-world myth. Even so, nobody can deny that for centuries, not a single second-born daughter in the Fontana family has married. But twenty-nine year-old Emilia actually appreciates the curse--some may even say she hides behind it. What might happen if the supposed curse is actuallybroken, and she's expected to find love? Reluctantly, the trio of second-born daughters embark on a journey to fulfill Poppy's last wish. Against a backdrop of lush Italian countryside and rich landmarks, Poppy shares family secrets and tales of forbiddenlove that threaten to upend every belief her young nieces have held to be true"-- Provided by publisher.
This Time Next Year We'll Be Laughing
A Memoir
Published in 2020
"After sixteen novels, Jacqueline Winspear has taken the bold step of turning to memoir, revealing the hardships and joys of her family history. Both shockingly frank and deftly restrained, her memoir tackles such difficult, poignant, and fascinating family memories as her paternal grandfather's shellshock, her mother's evacuation from London during the Blitz; her soft-spoken animal-loving father's torturous assignment to an explosives team during WWII; her parents' years living with Romani Gypsies; and Jacqueline's own childhood working on farms in rural Kent, capturing her ties to the land and her dream of being a writer at its very inception. An eye-opening and heartfelt portrayal of a post-War England we rarely see, This Time Next Year We'll Be Laughing is the story of a childhood in the English countryside, of working class indomitability and family secrets, of artistic inspiration and the price of memory"-- Provided by publisher.
White Ivy
A Novel
Published in 2020
Ivy Lin is a thief and a liar—but you’d never know it by looking at her. Raised outside of Boston, she is taught how to pilfer items from yard sales and second-hand shops by her immigrant grandmother. Thieving allows Ivy to accumulate the trappings of a suburban teen—and, most importantly, to attract the attention of Gideon Speyer, the golden boy of a wealthy political family. But when Ivy’s mother discovers her trespasses, punishment is swift and Ivy is sent to China, where her dream instantly evaporates. Years later, Ivy has grown into a poised yet restless young woman, haunted by her conflicting feelings about her upbringing and her family. Back in Boston, when she bumps into Sylvia Speyer, Gideon’s sister, a reconnection with Gideon seems not only inevitable—it feels like fate.