New Books at the Library
March - April 2021

Ocean Prey
by John Sandford

Picking up a stalled FBI case involving three murdered Coast Guardsmen, Lucas Davenport teams up with detective Virgil Flowers to investigate the suspicious activities of a sophisticated boat and mysterious diver. By the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of the Prey series.
In praise of great compassion
by Bstan-®dzin-rgya-mtsho

"Volume 5 of the Library of Wisdom and Compassion, In Praise of Great Compassion, continues the Dalai Lama's teachings with the first of two volumes on compassion, said to be the essence of the Buddha's teachings. We begin with cultivating a positive attitude toward others by contemplating the four immeasurables, love, compassion, empathic joy, and equanimity-as taught in both the Pāli and Sanskrit traditions, and by developing the altruistic intention of bodhicitta." 
Uncomfortable conversations with a black man
by Emmanuel Acho

"With the same open-hearted generosity that has made his video series a phenomenon, Acho explains the vital core of such fraught concepts as white privilege, cultural appropriation, and 'reverse racism.' In his own words, he provides a space of compassion and understanding in a discussion that can lack both. He asks only for the reader's curiosity--but along the way, he will galvanize all of us to join the antiracist fight"
The hill we climb : an inaugural poem for the country
by Amanda Gorman

"On January 20, 2021, Amanda Gorman became the sixth and youngest poet to deliver a poetry reading at a presidential inauguration. Taking the stage after the 46th president of the United States, Joe Biden, Gorman captivated the nation and brought hope toviewers around the globe. Including an enduring foreword by Oprah Winfrey, this keepsake celebrates the promise of America and affirms the power of poetry"
The Nine Lives of Rose Napolitano
by Donna Freitas

A woman who never wanted to be a mother reconnects with her estranged husband in the wake of unexpected news and is challenged to reevaluate herself in an unanticipated role. A first adult novel by the author of Consent.
America's racial karma : an invitation to heal
by Larry Ward

A Zen Buddhist teacher, through short reflective essays, offers insights on the effects of racial constructs and answers the question: how do we free ourselves from our repeated cycles of anger, denial, bitterness, pain, fear and violence? 
Vegetarian Chinese soul food : deliciously doable ways to cook greens, tofu, and other plant-based ingredients
by Hsiao-Ching Chou

The cooking instructor and author of Chinese Soul Food offers a friendly and accessible collection of 75 plant-based, Chinese recipes for stir-fries, rice and noodle dishes, soups and braises including Cauliflower with Spiced Shallot Oil and Kung Pao Tofu Puffs. Illustrations.
Training in Compassion : Zen Teachings on the Practice of Lojong
by Norman Fischer

 Norman Fischer offers his unique, Zen-based commentary on the Lojong. Though traditionally a practice of Tibetan Buddhism, the power of the Lojong extends to other Buddhist traditions—and even to other spiritual traditions as well. As Fischer explores the 59 slogans through a Zen lens, he shows how people from a range of faiths and backgrounds can use Lojong to generate the insight, resilience, and compassion they seek.
The sum of us : what racism costs everyone and how we can prosper together
by Heather C. McGhee

"Heather C. McGhee's specialty is the American economy--and the mystery of why it so often fails the American public. As she dug into subject after subject, from the financial crisis to declining wages to collapsing public infrastructure, she found a common problem at the bottom of them all: racism--but not just in the obvious ways that hurt people of color."
The Code Breaker : Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race
by Walter Isaacson

A portrait of the Nobel Prize-winning scientist explores the impact of James Watson’s The Double Helix on her career and how her team’s invention of CRISPR technology enabled revolutionary DNA-editing approaches to fighting disease.
Think again : the power of knowing what you don't know
by Adam M. Grant

The Wharton organizational psychologist and best-selling author of Originals examines the critical art of rethinking, explaining how questioning one’s opinions and opening the minds of others can promote personal and professional excellence. Illustrations.
Klara and the sun
by Kazuo Ishiguro

Waiting to be chosen by a customer, an Artificial Friend programmed with high perception observes the activities of shoppers while exploring fundamental questions about what it means to love. By the Nobel Prize-winning author of Never Let Me Go.
What makes you not a Buddhist
by Jamyang Khyentse

 Moving away from conventional presentations of Buddhist teachings, Khyentse challenges readers to make sure they know what they're talking about before they claim to be Buddhist. With wit and irony, Khyentse urges readers to move beyond the superficial trappings of Buddhism--beyond a romance with beads, incense, and exotic people in robes--straight to the heart of what the Buddha taught.
Talking to strangers : anxieties of citizenship since Brown v. Board of Education
by Danielle S. Allen

The author of The World of Prometheus argues that the transition to political friendship offered by the Brown v. Board of Education decision has not been completed, and proposes practical techniques of bridging citizenship and trust through sacrifice.
The Collected Essays of Ralph Ellison
by Ralph Ellison

A complete collection of essays, reviews, interviews, and criticism by the acclaimed author of Invisible Man includes the collections Shadow and Act and Going to the Territory, along with newly discovered and previously uncollected works, covering such topics as literature, folklore, jazz, black culture, and the African-American experience.
Cowboy graves : three novellas
by Roberto Bolaño

"Roberto Bolaño's boundless imagination and seemingly inexhaustible gift for shaping the chaos of his reality into enduring fiction is unmistakable in these three exhilarating novellas. 
The midnight library
by Matt Haig

Nora Seed finds herself faced with the possibility of changing her life for a new one, following a different career, undoing old breakups, or realizing her dreams of becoming a glaciologist, she must search within herself as she travels through the Midnight Library to decide what is truly fulfilling in life, and what makes it worth living in the first place
Garden Portraits : Experiences of Natural Beauty
by Larry Lederman

 For his third book of landscape photographs with Monacelli, following Magnificent Trees of the New York Botanical Garden and The Rockefeller Family Gardens, Larry Lederman has selected 16 private gardens in New York State and Connecticut and studied them in depth, presenting views through the seasons and weathers to capture their essential spirit.
How beautiful we were : a novel
by Imbolo Mbue

A young revolutionary risks everything to secure her people’s freedom when her small African village is decimated by an American oil company that reneges on promises of reparation. By the award-winning author of Behold the Dreamers.
The nature of fragile things
by Susan Meissner

Moving to early 20th-century San Francisco to escape New York tenement life, an Irish mail-order bride uncovers transformative secrets involving a silent child and two other women before her precarious existence is upended by the great earthquake of 1906.
The seed garden : the art and practice of seed saving
by Micaela Colley

Reveals the practice of seed saving, offering instructions on saving healthy seeds, explaining how plants produce seeds, and exploring the processes at work in cultivating plants for seed production
The best of me
by David Sedaris

The American humorist, author and radio contributor presents shares his most memorable work in a collection of stories and essays that feature him shopping for rare taxidermy, hitchhiking with a quadriplegic and hand-feeding a carnivorous bird.
Animal, vegetable, junk : a history of food, from sustainable to suicidal
by Mark Bittman

The award-winning author of Food Matters explains how the historical pursuit of new food sources to meet the demands of humanity’s rapidly growing populations significantly impacted exploration, colonialism, slavery and capitalism.
Keep sharp : build a better brain at any age
by Sanjay Gupta

The Emmy Award-winning CNN chief medical correspondent and best-selling author of Chasing Life draws on cutting-edge scientific research to outline strategies for protecting brain function and maintaining cognitive health at any age.
Braiding sweetgrass : indigenous wisdom, scientific knowledge, and the teachings of plants
by Robin Wall Kimmerer

"As a botanist, Robin Wall Kimmerer has been trained to ask questions of nature with the tools of science. As a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, she embraces the notion that plants and animals are our oldest teachers. In Braiding Sweetgrass, Kimmerer brings these two lenses of knowledge together to take us on "a journey that is every bit as mythic as it is scientific, as sacred as it is historical, as clever as it is wise.""
How to avoid a climate disaster : the solutions we have and the breakthroughs we need
by Bill Gates

Provides a wide-ranging and practical plan for how the world can get to zero greenhouse gas emissions in time to avoid a climate catastrophe
Kindred : Neanderthal life, love, death and art
by Rebecca Wragg Sykes

Casting aside the cliché of the shivering ragged figure in an icy wasteland, this fascinating volume sheds new light on the Neanderthal and where they lived, what they ate and the increasingly complex Neanderthal culture that researchers have discover. 30,000 first printing. Illustrations.
Nose dive : a field guide to the world's smells
by Harold McGee

The James Beard Award-winning author of On Food and Cooking presents a sensory tour of the universe’s smells from the ambrosial to the malodorous that reveals the science behind scent and how humans perceive it in nature, products and food. Illustrations.
Wintering : the power of rest and retreat in difficult times
by Katherine May

"An intimate, revelatory book exploring the ways we can care for and repair ourselves when life knocks us down. Sometimes you slip through the cracks: unforeseen circumstances like an abrupt illness, the death of a loved one, a break up, or a job loss can derail a life. These periods of dislocation can be lonely and unexpected. For May, her husband fell ill, her son stopped attending school, and her own medical issues led her to leave a demanding job. Wintering explores how she not only endured this painful time, but embraced the singular opportunities it offered. 
Chatter : the voice in our head, why it matters, and how to harness it
by Ethan Kross

An award-winning psychologist and White House policy advisor explains how to distinguish between one’s inner critic and the more rational, positive self, offering counsel on how to avoid giving in to negative mental chatter to establish healthier self-advocacy.
A swim in a pond in the rain : in which four Russians give a master class on writing, reading, and life
by George Saunders

The award-winning author of Tenth of December pairs scholarly essays based on his Syracuse University graduate MFA creative writing program with seven classic Russian stories to explain the essential literary processes of narrative, story immersion and perspective. Illustrations.
Four hundred souls : a community history of African America, 1619-2019
by Ibram X. Kendi

Co-edited by the National Book Award-winning author of How to Be an Antiracist, a 400-year chronicle of African-American history is written in five-year segments as documented by 80 multidisciplinary historians, artists and writers. Illustrations.
Black buck
by Mateo Askaripour

An unambitious college graduate accepts a job at Sumwun, the hottest NYC startup, and reimagines himself as “Buck” a ruthless salesman and begins to hatch a plan to help young people of color infiltrate America’s sales force.
A children's bible : a novel
by Lydia Millet

Contemptuous of the equally neglectful and suffocating parents who would pass the summer in a stupor of drugs and sex, one dozen eerily mature children run away as a dangerous storm descends and subjects them to apocalyptic chaos.
Shuggie Bain
by Douglas Stuart

"Shuggie Bain is the unforgettable story of young Hugh "Shuggie" Bain, a sweet and lonely boy who spends his 1980s childhood in public housing in Glasgow, Scotland. Shuggie's mother Agnes walks a wayward path. Agnes's older children find their own ways to get a safe distance from their mother, abandoning Shuggie to look after her as she swings between alcoholic binges and sobriety. He is meanwhile doing all he can to somehow become the normal boy he desperately longs to be"
Collected stories
by Shirley Hazzard

Complemented by previously uncollected or unpublished pieces, an anthology of the National Book Award-winning author’s short stories includes the complete volumes of both Cliffs of Fall and People in Glass Houses.
A promised land
by Barack Obama

A deeply personal account of history in the making—from the president who inspired us to believe in the power of democracy.
Leave the world behind : a novel
by Rumaan Alam

Sheltering in a New York beach house with a couple that has taken refuge during a massive blackout, a family struggles for information about the power failure while wondering if the cut-off property is actually safe.
The vanishing half
by Brit Bennett

Separated by their embrace of different racial identities, two mixed-race identical twins reevaluate their choices as one raises a black daughter in their southern hometown while the other passes for white with a husband who is unaware of her heritage.
That Can Be Arranged : A Muslim Love Story
by Huda Fahmy

Chaperones, suitors, and arranged marriages aren't only reserved for the heroines of a Jane Austen novel. They're just another walk in the park for this leading lady, who is on a mission to find her leading lad. From the brilliant comics Yes, I'm Hot in This, Huda Fahmy tells the hilarious story of how she met and married her husband. Navigating mismatched suitors, gossiping aunties, and societal expectations for Muslim women, That Can Be Arranged deftly and hilariously reveals to readers what it can be like to find a husband as an observant Muslim woman in the twenty-first century.
Transcendent kingdom
by Yaa Gyasi

A follow-up to the best-selling Homegoing finds a sixth-year PhD candidate grappling with the childhood faith of the evangelical church in which she was raised while researching the science behind the suffering that has devastated her Ghanaian immigrant family.
The glass hotel
by Emily St. John Mandel

The award-winning author of Station Eleven presents a tale of crisis and survival in the hidden landscapes of homeless campgrounds, luxury hotels, private clubs and federal prisons, where a massive Ponzi scheme is tied to a woman’s disappearance at sea.
Hamnet : a novel of the plague
by Maggie O'Farrell

The award-winning author of I Am, I Am, I Am presents the evocative story of a young Shakespeare’s marriage to a talented herbalist before the ravaging death of their 11-year-old son shapes the production of his greatest play.
The answer is... : reflections on my life
by Alex Trebek

Longtime Jeopardy! host and television icon Alex Trebek reflects on his life and career.
The truths we hold : an American journey
by Kamala D Harris

"From one of America's most inspiring political leaders, a book about the core truths that unite us, and the long struggle to discern what those truths are and how best to act upon them, in her own life and across the life of our country. By reckoning with the big challenges we face together, drawing on the hard-won wisdom and insight from her own career and the work of those who have most inspired her, Kamala Harris offers in The Truths We Hold a master class in problem solving, in crisis management, and leadership in challenging times."
Troubled blood
by Robert Galbraith

Written pseudonymously by the acclaimed author of the Harry Potter novels, a latest entry in the best-selling series that began with The Cuckoo’s Calling continues the high-stakes adventures of Cormoran Strike and his partner, Robin Ellacott.
Homeland Elegies
by Ayad Akhtar

A deeply personal work about identity and belonging in a nation coming apart at the seams, Homeland Elegies blends fact and fiction to tell an epic story of longing and dispossession in the world that 9/11 made. Part family drama, part social essay, part picaresque novel, at its heart it is the story of a father, a son, and the country they both call home. Written by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Disgraced and American Dervish.
The violence inside us : a brief history of an ongoing American tragedy
by Chris Murphy

The youngest-elected U.S. Senator presents a sweeping history of the origins of humanity’s violent impulses and obsession with firearms while exposing the national mythologies that block action against violence in today’s America.
Jack
by Marilynne Robinson

A conclusion to the story that began with the Pulitzer Prize-winning Gilead traces the story of prodigal son John Ames Boughton, who pursues a star-crossed, interracial romance with a high school teacher who is also the son of a preacher.
Squeeze me
by Carl Hiaasen

When a high-society dowager murdered at the height of Palm Beach’s charity gala season is declared a political martyr by the colorful President she supported, a talented wildlife wrangler uncovers the truth amid the discovery of a controversial affair.