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Books in the National Media March 2018
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Bob Honey Who Just Do Stuff by Sean PennThe Academy Award-winning actor, director and activist presents the story of entrepreneur and part-time assassin Bob Honey, who despairs of a life of constant marketing and loneliness while taking secret CIA assignments to eliminate sick and elderly, until questions from a nosy journalist lead to possible exposure and friendship. Featured on CBS Sunday Morning, March 25
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Tomorrow : a novel by Damian DibbenA wise, old dog travels through the courts and battlefields of Europe and through the centuries in search of the master who granted him immortality. Featured on NPR Book Review, March 24
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The Gunners : a novel by Rebecca KauffmanReconnecting with a group of childhood friends after one of them committed suicide, Mikey needs to confront dark secrets from his past involving his father to assess how much of this is impacting his current emotional stupor. Featured on NPR Book Review, March 22
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Featured on Real Time with Bill Maher, March 23 and The Daily Show, March 19
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The Merry Spinster : Tales of Everyday Horror by Mallory OrtbergAdapted from the author's "Children Stories Made Horrific" series, a collection of darkly whimsical stories based on classic fairy tales updates familiar favorites with elements of psychological horror, emotional clarity and feminist mischief. By the best-selling author of Texts from Jane Eyre. Featured on NPR's Author Interviews, March 17
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The great alone by Kristin HannahWhen her volatile, former POW father impulsively moves the family to mid-1970s Alaska to live off the land, young Leni and her mother are forced to confront the dangers of their lack of preparedness in the wake of a dangerous winter season. By the best-selling author of The Nightingale. Featured in Entertainment Weekly, March 9
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I was Anastasia : a novel by Ariel LawhonAn evocative retelling of the Anastasia survival myth follows the appearance of a traumatized, badly scarred young woman who claims to be the youngest Romanov daughter, launching a half-century of questions, accusations and changing perspectives on identity as conveyed by her supporters and detractors. By the author of Flight of Dreams. Featured on NPR's Author Interviews, March 24
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Political tribes : group instinct and the fate of nations by Amy ChuaThe Yale Law School professor and best-selling author of Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother outlines bold recommendations for reversing America's foreign policy failures and overcoming destructive political tribalism at home. Featured on The View, March 21
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Let me lie by Clare MackintoshStruggling to come to terms with her parents' double suicide, new mother Anna commits herself to uncovering what really happened only to be confronted by a mysterious adversary who would keep the past hidden. By the award-winning author of I See You. Featured in Entertainment Weekly, March 16/23
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The woman's hour : the great fight to win the vote by Elaine F. WeissAn uplifting account of the 1920 ratification of the constitutional amendment that granted voting rights to women traces the culmination of seven decades of legal battles and cites the pivotal contributions of famous suffragists and political leaders. Featured on NPR Book Review, March 6
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Featured in Entertainment Weekly, March 16/23
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(((Semitism))) : being Jewish in America in the age of Trump by Jonathan WeismanA literary assessment of how Jewish people are regarded in America in the aftermath of Trump's election reveals the upsurge of threats to Jewish communities throughout the administration's first year, relating the author's direct experience with anti-Semitic attacks on social media while sharing recommendations for reversing hate trends. Featured on NPR's Fresh Air, March 19
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Faith : A Journey for All by Jimmy CarterAll his life, President Jimmy Carter has been a courageous exemplar of faith. Now he shares the lessons he learned. He writes, "The issue of faith arises in almost every area of human existence, so it is important to understand its multiple meanings. In this book, my primary goal is to explore the broader meaning of faith, its far-reaching effect on our lives, and its relationship to past, present, and future events in America and around the world. The religious aspects of faith are also covered, since this is how the word is most often used, and I have included a description of the ways my faith has guided and sustained me, as well as how it has challenged and driven me to seek a closer and better relationship with people and with God." As President Carter examines faith's many meanings, he describes how to accept it, live it, how to doubt and find faith again. A serious and moving reflection from one of America's most admired and respected citizens. Featured on CBS Sunday Morning, March 25
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Featured on The Late Show, March 5
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Sometimes I lie by Alice FeeneyA psychological thriller by a former BBC News producer depicts the harrowing experiences of a coma patient with shut-in syndrome who, while unable to move or speak, must listen to those around her to figure out what happened and who is responsible for her injuries. Featured in Entertainment Weekly, March 16/23
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Unmasked : a memoir by Andrew Lloyd WebberPublished to coincide with his 70th birthday, a memoir by the award-winning composer, producer and impresario of some of the most recognized musicals in theater history traces his half-century career, sharing insights into his eccentric, diverse family; his Oxford education; his creative process; and the events that shaped his characters and productions. Featured on NPR Books, March 4
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The Sparsholt affair by Alan HollinghurstA World War II-era Oxford engineering student who hides secret ambitions to join the Royal Air Force and the lonely son of a celebrated novelist forge a fateful bond that reverberates throughout seven decades of shared family life and friendship. By the award-winning author of The Line of Beauty. Featured in Entertainment Weekly, March 16/23
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The common good by Robert B ReichWith the warmth and lucidity that have made him one of our most important public voices, Robert B. Reich makes the case for a generous, inclusive understanding of the American project, centering on the moral obligations of citizenship. Rooting his argument in everyday reality and common sense, Reich demonstrates the existence of a common good, and argues that it is this that defines a society or a nation. Societies and nations undergo virtuous cycles that reinforce and build the common good, as well as vicious cycles that undermine it. Over the course of the past five decades, Reich contends, America has been in a slowly accelerating vicious cycle--one that can and must be reversed. But first we need to weigh what really matters, and how we as a country should relate to honor, shame, patriotism, truth, and the meaning of leadership. Powerful, urgent, and utterly vital, this is a heartfelt missive from one of our foremost political thinkers: a fundamental statement about the purpose of society and a cri de coeur to save America's soul. Featured on Conan, March 13
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Featured on The Today Show, March 6
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The Italian teacher by Tom RachmanAn Italian youth raised to revere the genius artist father who abandoned their family strives to become worthy of his father's attentions through a series of failed career pursuits before he hatches a scheme to secure his father's legacy. By the best-selling author of The Imperfectionists. Featured on NPR Book Review, March 25
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Featured on NPR's All Things Considered, March 7
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The house of broken angels by Luis Alberto UrreaAcross one bittersweet weekend in their San Diego neighborhood, revelers mingle among the palm trees and cacti, celebrating the lives of family patriarch Miguel "Big Angel" De La Cruz and his mother, and recounting the many tales that have passed into family lore. By the Pulitzer Prize-finalist author of The Hummingbird's Daughter. Featured on NPR's Fresh Air, March 5
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Featured on The Today Show, March 8
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A long way from home : a novel by Peter CareyThe award-winning author of Amnesia finds a speed-loving woman, her car salesman husband and a thrill-seeking quiz-show champion entering a dangerous race that circumnavigates the natural obstacles of 1954 Australia. Featured in Entertainment Weekly, March 9 and NPR's Author Interviews, March 10
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No turning back : life, loss, and hope in wartime Syria by Rania AbouzeidAn award-winning journalist chronicles the tragedy of the Syrian War through the dramatic stories of four young people, including a creator of online video protests, a father who hides his radical beliefs, an unlikely poet commander in a Free Syrian Army militia and a child who opened her family's door to a military raid that forced her father to flee. Featured on NPR's Fresh Air, March 12
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A colony in a nation by Christopher HayesAn exploration of policing and democracy in America examines how aggressive policing combined with racial inequality has created conditions resembling a police state, and argues for a more democratic and sympathetic justice system. Featured on The Late Show, March 8
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Tangerine : a novel by Christine ManganArriving in Tangier with her new husband only to encounter the estranged best friend she has not seen in more than a year, Alice allows her friend to introduce her to the rhythms and culture of Morocco only to be quickly stifled by the woman's controlling nature, a situation that turns sinister when her husband goes missing. A first novel. Featured on NPR Book Reviews, March 27
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Stealing the show : how women are revolutionizing television by Joy PressA leading cultural journalist traces the rise of the female showrunner and how women have become an integral part of today's television, sharing the stories of such boundary-breaking performers as Roseanne Barr, Diane English and Tina Fey. Featured in Entertainment Weekly, March 16/23
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The triumph of Christianity : How a Forbidden Religion Swept the World by Bart D EhrmanThe best-selling author of Misquoting Jesus traces the history of how Christianity evolved from the faith of a handful of peasants in rural Galilee to a dominant Western religion in less than four centuries, exploring how it was nearly fated to become an obscure sect of Judaism and how it has revolutionized culture, economics and law. Featured on NPR's Fresh Air, March 20
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Red sparrow : a novel by Jason MatthewsDrafted against her will to serve the regime of Vladimir Putin as an intelligence seductress, Dominika Egorova is assigned to operate against first-tour CIA officer Nathaniel Nash, with whom she engages in a charged effort of deception and tradecraft before a forbidden attraction threatens their careers and the security of America's most valuable mole in Moscow. Featured on NPR's All Things Considered, March 5
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Brazen : Rebel Ladies Who Rocked the World by Pénélope BagieuThrough characteristic wit and dazzling drawings, a celebrated graphic novelist profiles the lives of formidable female role models—some world famous, some little known—including Nellie Bly, Mae Jemison, Josephine Baker, Naziq al-Abid and many others, in an entertaining, comic-style biography that is sure to inspire the next generation of rebel ladies. Featured on NPR Book Review, March 8
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Need to know : a novel by Karen ClevelandA dedicated CIA counterintelligence analyst assigned to uncover the leaders of Russian sleeper cells in the United States stumbles on a secret dossier of deep-cover agents before facing an impossible choice that tests her loyalties to the agency and her own family. A first novel. Featured in Entertainment Weekly, March 9
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Census by Jesse BallLearning that he does not have long to live and will need to figure out how to provide for his developmentally disabled adult son, a widower signs up as a census taker for a mysterious government bureau and leaves town with his son on a cross-country journey of memories and revelations. Featured in Entertainment Weekly, March 9
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Dear Madam President : An Open Letter to the Women Who Will Run the World by Jennifer PalmieriA former Hillary Clinton Communications Director presents an open letter to the future first woman president—and by extension, to all women working to succeed in any field—creating a forward-thinking framework of inspirational and practical advice for all women everywhere who are determined to seize control of their lives, their workplaces and their country. Featured on NPR's Book Review, March 20
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I'll be gone in the dark : one woman's obsessive search for the Golden State Killer by Michelle McNamaraAn account of the unsolved Golden State Killer case, written by the late author of the TrueCrimeDiary.com website and featuring an afterword by her husband, comedian Patton Oswalt, traces the rapes and murders of dozens of victims and the author's determined efforts to help identify the killer and bring him to justice. Featured in Entertainment Weekly, March 9
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The long hangover : Putin's new Russia and the ghosts of the past by Shaun Walkern his first book, Walker, the Guardian's Moscow correspondent, explores the way Vladimir Putin exploits a sanitized version of Russia's history, especially its role in WWII, to unite its populace behind the goal of returning to major-power status. The book mixes historical analysis with original reporting, using the modern- day Russia-Ukraine conflict as its central example. Walker proves an able historian and clearly guides the reader through the context necessary to support his thesis. For instance, as a counterexample to the Kremlin's straightforwardly heroic account of the Soviet WWII record, he recounts Stalin's relocation of an entire ethnic group, the Kalmyks, accused of backing Hitler. Walker's original reporting is exemplary and differentiates the book from equally well-informed but more scholarly analyses with its eye for the idiosyncratic and telling detail. While interviewing a prominent Crimean supporter of Putin, he observes that the man "seemed defensive, almost angry, as he answered my questions while doodling stick trees in his notebook." Walker proves an empathetic interviewer throughout, willing to hear both pro- and anti-Putin viewpoints but also willing to hold his subjects accountable. Intelligent and ambitious, Walker's book succeeds in providing insight into the recent history of a nation at the center of world attention. (Jan. 2018) Review from Publishers Weekly Featured on NPR's Book Review, March 16
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Let's no one get hurt by Jon PinedaA teenage girl squatting in an abandoned boathouse with her disgraced college professor father in the swamps of the American South begins an unbalanced relationship with the rich, bratty son of a developer who has bought the property. Featured on NPR's Book Review, March 21
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Sunburn by Laura LippmanA pair of travelers, one of whom may be playing a dangerous psychological game with the other, embark on a steamy summertime affair that is thrown into chaos by dark secrets and a suspicious death, in a story inspired by the classics of James M. Cain. By the New York Times best-selling author of And When She Was Good. Featured in Entertainment Weekly, March 9
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Harford County Public Library
1221-A Brass Mill Rd Belcamp, Maryland 21017 410-273-5600 hcplonline.org
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