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Staff Picks September 2025 |
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Recommended by Alyssa, Community Engagement
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A Memory of Light
by Robert Jordan
The world of The Wheel of Time hangs in the balance as what was, what will be, and what is, may yet fall under the Shadow. After author Robert Jordan's death, Brandon Sanderson stepped in, working from Jordan's notes to complete the epic saga. Edited by Jordan's widow, the final book, A Memory of Light, will be the culmination of this monumental fantasy series.
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Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience
by Brenâe Brown
Atlas of the Heart by Brené Brown explores 87 emotions and experiences to help us better understand ourselves and connect with others. Based on her two decades of research, Brown provides a framework and the language to accurately name our feelings. This, in turn, gives us the power to make new choices and foster meaningful connections.
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An Ember in the Ashes
by Sabaa Tahir
In a brutal, Roman-inspired empire, a slave and a soldier fight for freedom. When her brother is arrested, Laia risks her life to spy on the Empire's military academy. There, she meets Elias, a soldier who secretly wants to escape the tyranny he's being trained to enforce. Their intertwined destinies could change the fate of the entire Empire.
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Recommended by Justin, Public Services
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One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This
by Omar El Akkad
In his book One Day Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This, Omar El Akkad explores the growing disillusionment among Black, brown, indigenous, and younger generations with Western ideals. Using his own journey as a journalist who once believed in the "western project," Akkad argues that the west's actions have exposed a deep hypocrisy, leading to a profound "breakup" with the values it claims to uphold. The book is presented as a reckoning for a generation that feels the west can no longer be trusted to guide the world, a sentiment now visible on college campuses and city streets across the U.S.
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Recommended by Kelli, Community Engagement
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The Perfect Marriage
by Jeneva Rose
Sarah Morgan, a brilliant and successful defense attorney, has it all: a thriving career in Washington D.C. and a seemingly perfect life. But when her struggling writer husband, Adam, is accused of murdering his mistress, her world is turned upside down. Found stabbed to death in their secluded second home, the mistress's murder thrusts Sarah into the most challenging case of her career. Forced to confront the man she thought she knew, Sarah must now defend her husband against a charge of murder. The question remains: is he guilty, or is he innocent? And will she be able to separate her personal life from her professional duty to find the truth?
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None Of This Is True: A Novel
by Lisa Jewell
When podcaster Alix Summers meets a woman who becomes the subject of her new series, she gets more than she bargained for. The woman, Josie Fair, has a complicated and dark past, and slowly begins to take over Alix's life. But when Josie disappears, Alix discovers a terrifying truth that puts her and her family in danger.
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Recommended by Kori, Marketing & Communications
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Atmosphere: A Love Story
by Taylor Jenkins Reid
As a reserved professor of physics and astronomy, Joan Goodwin has always been obsessed with the stars. In the summer of 1980, she leaves her quiet life behind to join NASA's Space Shuttle program, becoming one of the first women selected as a scientist-astronaut. During her training, Joan forms unlikely friendships with a diverse group of fellow candidates, discovering a passion and love she never imagined. But in December of 1984, on the mission STS-LR9, everything changes in an instant. Now, Joan must question everything she thinks she knows about her place in the universe.
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Housebroken: Admissions of an Untidy Life
by Laurie Notaro
Notaro’s new essay collection, Housebroken, is a rollicking chronicle of her domestic misadventures. Inspired by Victorian household manuals, she recounts her hilariously futile attempts at housekeeping, from cooking and cleaning to the Olympic-worthy feat of putting on Spanx while sweaty. With irreverent wit and a total lack of shame, Notaro details her best efforts—and funniest failures—in keeping a household from being condemned. Whether defying nature to make her own Twinkies, teaching her eight-year-old nephew about hobos, or begging her new neighbors not to become urban livestock keepers, she proves that home wasn’t built in a day.
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The Favorites: A Novel
by Layne Fargo
An ambitious figure skater finds a partner in a lonely foster kid, and together they become champion ice dancers. But after a shocking incident at the Olympic Games, their partnership ends. Ten years later, a documentary reopens old wounds and forces her to finally tell her side of the story.
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Rules For Ruin
by Mimi Matthews
To dismantle the patriarchy, a young woman is tasked with taking down a powerful politician. But her plans are complicated when she meets a charismatic betting shop owner who has his own reasons for protecting the politician. The two engage in a battle of wits and wills, but soon find themselves captivated by each other.
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Recommended by Kelly, Administrative Services
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The Correspondent: A Novel
by Virginia Evans
A distinguished lawyer, Sybil Van Antwerp, has spent her life writing letters to make sense of the world. But when an unread letter from her past resurfaces, she is forced to confront a painful period of her life. To find peace, she must find it in her heart to offer forgiveness.
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Run For The Hills: A Novel
by Kevin Wilson
When a woman living a solitary life on a Tennessee farm is approached by a man claiming to be her half-brother, she embarks on a road trip to find their father and a string of other half-siblings. As they share stories, they discover more about the man who created their lives and the family they've unexpectedly found.
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So Far Gone: A Novel
by Jess Walter
A reclusive journalist is forced back into the world he abandoned when his estranged grandchildren are kidnapped by a Christian Nationalist militia. With the help of a retired detective and his ex-girlfriend, he must confront his past to save them.
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Sunrise on the Reaping
by Suzanne Collins
In the 50th Hunger Games, the Quarter Quell, Haymitch Abernathy is forced to compete, leaving behind his loved ones. He faces impossible odds in the arena, but a rebellious spirit ignites within him, promising a fight that will shake Panem.
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Recommended by Amanda, Materials Collection
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When the Wolf Comes Home
by Nat Cassidy
One night, Jess, a struggling actress, finds a five-year-old runaway hiding in the bushes outside her apartment. After a violent, bloody encounter with the boy's father, she and the boy find themselves running for their lives. As they attempt to evade the boy's increasingly desperate father, horrifying incidents of butchery follow them. At first, Jess thinks she understands what they're up against, but she's about to learn there's more to these surreal and grisly events than she could've ever imagined. And that when the wolf finally comes home, none will be spared.
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Baking Across America: A Vintage Recipe Road Trip
by B. Dylan Hollis
Social media star B. Dylan Hollis takes readers on a culinary road trip across the U.S., sharing 100 retro dessert recipes from every state. With his signature humor, he explores the history behind nostalgic favorites like Whoopie Pies and Beignets.
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Recommended by Shannan, Marketing & Communications
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Resilient: Restoring Your Weary Soul In These Turbulent Times
by John Eldredge
To find strength in God and reclaim joy, author John Eldredge offers tools for unshakeable resilience. Resilient provides a path toward recovery from spiritual and emotional trauma through Jesus, helping readers find freedom and strength.
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Summer Fridays: A Novel
by Suzanne Rindell
During a lonely summer, an engaged woman finds an unexpected connection with the boyfriend of her fiancé's coworker. They begin to spend their "summer Fridays" together, exploring New York City and pushing each other out of their comfort zones. As their friendship deepens, she must decide what happens when the summer is over.
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Great Big Beautiful Life
by Emily Henry
Two competing writers are given the chance to write the biography of a reclusive, legendary heiress. During a one-month trial, they are both given different pieces of her life story and must decide if their own story will become a mystery, a tragedy, or a love ballad.
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Recommended by Paula, Community Engagement
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The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store
by James McBride
In 1972, the discovery of a human skeleton in a well unearths long-held secrets from a Pennsylvania neighborhood where Black and Jewish residents lived side-by-side. The novel flashes back to the 1930s, telling the story of a community that banded together to protect a deaf boy from being institutionalized. As the truth about the skeleton and the boy is revealed, the book shows how love and community can overcome bigotry and hypocrisy.
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Recommended by John, IT Services
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Model Home
by Rivers Solomon
After the death of their parents, three estranged siblings are forced to return to the haunted suburban home they fled years ago. As children, they were tormented by strange and inexplicable things in the house, but their parents refused to leave. Now, the siblings must return to confront their family's past and uncover what happened to their parents.
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In The woods
by Tana French
Two decades after two of his childhood friends vanished in the woods, a detective on the Dublin Murder Squad returns to investigate a chillingly similar case. Now, he must confront his own repressed memories to solve the murder of a 12-year-old girl and, finally, uncover the truth about his past.
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Listen For The Lie: A Novel
by Amy Tintera
Years after being found covered in her best friend's blood, a woman with no memory of that night is forced to return to her hometown when a true-crime podcast re-examines the unsolved murder. She must uncover what really happened, even if it means discovering she is the killer.
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Nuclear War: A Scenario
by Annie Jacobsen
Investigative journalist Annie Jacobsen explores the terrifying scenario of a nuclear war in her book, Nuclear War: A Scenario. Based on dozens of interviews with experts, the book examines the minutes following a nuclear missile launch and the high-stakes decisions that would follow.
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Recommended by Pat K, Library Volunteer
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The Busybody Book Club
by Freya Sampson
The five members of the St. Tredock Book Club can't agree on anything, but when one of them disappears and a body is found at his house, they must unite to solve the mystery. With a six-thousand-pound theft also linked to the case, they'll have to put their own secrets aside to find their friend and save their community center.
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That Last Carolina Summer: A Novel
by Karen White
Haunted by premonitions since she was a child, Phoebe Manigault flees her Charleston home and the shadow of her beautiful sister, Addie. Years later, she's called back to care for their mother, confronting old family tensions. As her nightmares intensify, a shocking truth about her family and a long-missing child comes to light, forcing her to face a past she's long tried to escape.
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Where Coyotes Howl
by Sandra Dallas
In 1916, schoolteacher Ellen Webster moves to the remote town of Wallace, Wyoming, where she falls in love with both the High Plains and a rancher named Charlie Bacon. Together, they endure the unforgiving weather and constant hardships of life on the prairie. As Ellen forms bonds with the other women of the town, she and Charlie face every challenge, finding that their love for each other is all that matters.
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Recommended by Emily, Materials Collection
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Alchemy and a Cup of Tea: A Cozy Fantasy Brewed With Magic and Romance
by Rebecca Thorne
Dragon-rescuing queens Reyna and Kianthe have no problem handling evil alchemists, but can they handle a new enemy: tourists? After a botched kidnapping, they return to their hometown to find it overrun. As their friends struggle with the sudden influx, Reyna and Kianthe must solve the mystery of who wants to kidnap their Queen while also deciding if they should close their beloved bookshop to save their town.
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King of Ashes: A Novel
by S. A. Cosby
After returning to Jefferson Run, Virginia, and family business Carruthers Crematorium—with brother Dante in debt to criminals and sister Neveah exhausted from holding everything together—Roman discovers that his father's crash was no accident and Dante has placed them all in real danger.
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Blood Jade
by Julia Vee
Newly-minted Sentinel Emiko Soong must investigate a murder in San Francisco that shares a haunting connection to her mother. The trail leads her back to Tokyo, where she uncovers dark family secrets. All the while, she must battle a rising enemy known as the General, whose army is fueled by a dangerous substance called Blood Jade, forcing Emiko to choose between her duty and her past.
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Recommended by Caitlin, Materials Collection
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The Nice House on the Lake
by James Tynion
A group of acquaintances accepts an invitation from a peculiar man named Walter to a beautiful house on a lake. After the hardest year of their lives, they're happy to trade a week of Walter's weird quirks for a luxurious escape. But this perfect vacation is not what it seems, and they soon discover their host's true intentions are more terrifying than they ever imagined.
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Apple: Skin to the Core: A Memoir in Words and Pictures
by Eric Gansworth
Apple: Skin to the Core, is a YA memoir-in-verse. Eric Gansworth tells the story of his life, of an Onondaga family living among Tuscaroras, and of Native people in America, including the damaging legacy of government boarding schools—and in doing so grapples with the slur common in Native communities, for someone “red on the outside, white on the inside,” and reclaims it.
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The Girl I Am, Was, and Never Will Be: A Speculative Memoir of Transracial Adoption
by Shannon Gibney
In this story inspired by true events, author Shannon Gibney weaves her own experience as a mixed-Black transracial adoptee into the fictional tale of Erin Powers, a girl raised by a white lesbian. Through a mysterious portal, their two timelines connect as they search for the truth about their origins. The story is accompanied by Gibney's personal documents, photos, and essays, creating a powerful look into an American experience rarely seen.
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Recommended by Kristine, Community Engagement
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The Compound: A Novel
by Aisling Rawle
Lily, a bored twentysomething, is one of twenty contestants on a reality TV show set in a remote desert compound. As the world outside falls apart, she must outlast her competitors to win. But as the challenges become more dangerous, the line between playing the game and surviving it blurs, forcing Lily to question what she's willing to do to win.
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Recommended by Julia, Public Services
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Confessions: A Novel
by Kanae Minato
After a tragic revelation ends her engagement, middle school teacher Yuko Moriguchi loses her only child in what she believes was a murder committed by two of her students. In her last lecture before resigning, she reveals a shocking truth about the "accident" and sets a chilling plan for revenge in motion.
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Incognegro: A Graphic Mystery
by Mat Johnson
In the early 20th century, when lynchings were commonplace in the American South, a few brave reporters - light-skinned African-Americans - risked their lives to expose the truth. This undercover work was known as 'going incognegro'. Zane Pinchback's latest case hits close to home: his brother has been arrested for murder.
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Sea Legs
by Jules Bakes
When Janey's family sets sail for a trip around the world, she must leave her friends behind. Life on the water is exciting, but also lonely. When she meets Astrid, another boat kid, Janey thinks she's found a kindred spirit. But as hurricane season approaches, she learns that navigating this new friendship might be even more challenging than life at sea.
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Conservation Canines: How Dogs Work for the Environment
by Isabelle Groc
In Conservation How Dogs Work for the Environment, author Isabelle Groc shares inspiring stories of dogs working to save wildlife. From protecting livestock against cheetahs to sniffing out orca scat in the ocean, these canines are celebrated for their ability to help people coexist with wildlife.
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