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| The Usual Desire to Kill by Camilla BarnesHelping her retired British parents at their ramshackle French country house, 40-something Miranda reports back to her sister that she has the “usual desire to kill" as she deals with their idiosyncrasies and plans for her mom's upcoming surgery. This witty, moving debut by an actor and playwright spotlights adult child-parent relationships, sibling rivalry, and marriage. Try this next: The Birdcatcher by Gayl Jones.
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| Old School Indian by Aaron John CurtisDealing with a mysterious illness, middle-aged Miami bookseller Abe Jacobs returns home to New York's Mohawk reservation. Looking for relief, he sees family, a native healer, and doctors, while pondering his past mental health issues and troubled marriage. Meanwhile, his poet alter ego serves up poems and witty thoughts. Fans of Penobscot author Morgan Talty's Fire Exit should try this "electrifying debut" (Publishers Weekly). |
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| The Bright Years by Sarah DamoffRyan and Lillian fall for each other in 1979 Fort Worth, Texas. Though both have secrets (Ryan's dad was an abusive alcoholic; teenage Lillian gave a baby up for adoption), they marry and have daughter Jet. But Ryan's own struggles with alcoholism lead to a troubled marriage. Narrated by the three of them, this poignant first novel explores loss and family over four generations and several decades. |
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| The Correspondent by Virginia EvansIn 2012 Maryland, we meet 73-year-old Sybil Van Antwerp, a mother, grandmother, and retired lawyer, who spends time each week writing to family, friends, and authors she admires. Detailing her past, present, future, and favorite books, this moving epistolary tale and accomplished debut covers nearly a decade of an intriguing life. For fans of: Elizabeth Strout's Olive Kitteridge; Beth Morrey's The Love Story of Missy Carmichael. |
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| All That Life Can Afford by Emily EverettStudying for her master's degree, Anna—a broke American in London—finds herself enamored by the family of one of her wealthy test prep students. Swept into the world of the glamorous Wilders, she's torn between her ambition and identity, the allure of belonging, and two very different men. Already a Reese's Book Club pick, this lyrical coming-of-age story will please fans of Jane Green's novels and modern Jane Austen retellings. |
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| The Names by Florence KnappCora Atkin is off to register her baby's name when nine-year-old Maia suggests they call the baby Bear instead of Gordon, which her father has insisted upon. Cora's pick? Julian. Tracing the results of each choice over 35 years, this thought-provoking novel and "Read with Jenna" selection presents a complex story about fate, family, and abuse. Read-alike: The Nine Lives of Rose Napolitano by Donna Freitas. |
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| What Is Wrong with You? by Paul RudnickAs a former flight attendant prepares to marry a tech billionaire at his private Maine island, hijinks ensue with the arrival of the guests. They include a 60-something gay editor who just got fired, a sensitivity reader who might be after the groom, and the bride's bodybuilder ex-husband. Fans of eccentric characters and lighthearted stories will want to read this "hilarious farce" (Publishers Weekly). For fans of: Carl Hiaasen. |
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| Fun for the Whole Family by Jennifer E. SmithWith a workaholic father and a mother who only shows up for annual road trips, the four Endicott kids grow extraordinarily close. Now adults and estranged from each other, they reunite at the behest of their Academy Award nominee sister in a small North Dakota town, where they're soon snowed in. Covering numerous years and locations, this moving character-driven novel is full of heart. Read-alike: Long After We Are Gone by Terah Shelton Harris. |
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| The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean VuongIn a dying Connecticut town, 19-year-old Hai, who struggles with addiction, is on a bridge ready to end it all when Grazina, an elderly Lithuanian widow with dementia, yells at him. Becoming her caretaker in a rundown house by the river, Hai gets work at a fast food place and finds a home there too. Both heartwarming and heartbreaking, Ocean Vuong's lyrical second novel is an Oprah Book Club pick. Try these next: Joe Wilkins' The Entire Sky; Julie Otsuka's The Swimmers. |
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Mothers and Sons
by Adam Haslett
Covering several time periods, readers follow Peter Fisher, presently a lonely, gay 40-year-old New York City immigration lawyer who's estranged from his mother, Ann, a former Episcopal priest running a Vermont women's retreat with her girlfriend. This "thoughtful, psychologically acute, beautifully written examination of intersecting lives" (Booklist) will please fans of Andrew Sean Greer.
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How to Sleep at Night
by Elizabeth Harris
When his husband, Ethan, says he's running for Congress as a Republican, progressive Gabe isn't sure their marriage will survive. Meanwhile, married mom Nicole begins an affair with her political reporter ex, who's Ethan's sister and Gabe's best friend. This debut novel by a New York Times reporter offers drama aplenty as it explores politics, identity, and ambition. Try this next: Mr. Texas by Lawrence Wright.
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The Three Lives of Cate Kay
by Kate Fagan
In this engaging fictionalized memoir, famous reclusive author Cate Kay shares her real name and describes life as an ambitious small-town teen, running away after an accident, changing her name (twice), her career, her relationships (including with a Hollywood actress), and more. Complete with chapters from the viewpoint of those who've known her, this Reese's Book Club Pick is great for fans of complex characters.
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Theft
by Abdulrazak Gurnah
This acclaimed latest from 2021 Nobel Prize winner Abdulrazak Gurnah follows three interlinked young people navigating uncertain futures in Tanzania: Karim, whose mother left his abusive father when he was three; beautiful Fauzia, who'd been sick as a child; and Badar, who was sent to work as a servant boy in his uncle's household. "Gurnah is at the top of his game," raves Publishers Weekly.
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Grown Women
by Sarai Johnson
Three generations of strong-willed Black women in rural Tennessee, bound by love and burdened by resentment and clashing personalities, find an unexpected chance for reconciliation when they reunite to raise a child. 50,000 first printing.
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The Catch
by Yrsa Daley-Ward
Long estranged after being adopted into different families, twin sisters Clara and Dempsey encounter a woman identical to their vanished mother who seems to have lived a childless life, and their opposing views on her true identity push them toward a confrontation.
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Come & Get It
by Kiley Reid
A senior resident assistant at the University of Arkansas accepts an easy yet unusual opportunity offered by a visiting professor and things get messy when her new side-hustle is jeopardized by strange new friends and illicit and vengeful dorm antics.
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Dream Count
by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
This long-awaited latest by the author of Americanah centers on four African women in America. Nigerian travel writer Chiamaka isolates alone in the Maryland suburbs during COVID, pondering her exes. Meanwhile her Washington, D.C. lawyer best friend longs for marriage, her practical cousin starts an MBA program, and her beloved housekeeper is sexually assaulted by a powerful man. Read-alikes: Nikki May's This Motherless Land; Omolola Ijeoma Ogunyemi's Jollof Rice and Other Revolutions.
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Our next discussion:
Tuesday, July 15, 6:30 pm
Library Meeting Room on Lower Level
If you're a regular reader of contemporary and historical fiction, consider joining our Fiction Book Club! The club usually meets on the third Tuesday of the month at 6:30, but we do recommend confirming details on our events calendar in case of changes. We hope to see you there!
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Our next meeting:
Tuesday, July 8, 6:30 pm
Library Conference Room on the Lower Level
If you're a fan of poetry, consider joining our Poetry Readers Discussion Group! The club usually meets on the second Tuesday of the month at 6:30, but we do recommend confirming details on our events calendar in case of changes. Copies of our next book are on reserve at the Circulation Desk. We hope to see you there!
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Collected sonnets of Edna St. Vincent Millay.
by Edna St. Vincent Millay
This text explores Millay's use of the sonnet, and gathers together her poems about beauty, grief, fairy tales, faithfulness, dreams, love, and women's rights.
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