100 years of The Great Gatsby

 

"Misunderstanding has been a part of The Great Gatsby's story from the very start. Grumbling to his friend Edmund Wilson shortly after the novel was published in April 1925, Fitzgerald declared that "of all the reviews, even the most enthusiastic, not one had the slightest idea what the book was about". Fellow writers like Edith Wharton admired it plenty, but as the critic Maureen Corrigan relates in her book So We Read On: How The Great Gatsby Came to Be and Why It Endures, popular reviewers read it as crime fiction, and were decidedly underwhelmed by it at that. Fitzgerald's Latest A Dud, ran a headline in the New York World. The novel achieved only so-so sales, and by the time of the author's death in 1940, copies of a very modest second print run had long since been remaindered.

Gatsby's luck began to change when it was selected as a giveaway by the US military. With World War Two drawing to a close, almost 155,000 copies were distributed in a special Armed Services Edition, creating a new readership overnight. As the 1950s dawned, the flourishing of the American Dream quickened the novel's topicality, and by the 1960s, it was enshrined as a set text. It's since become such a potent force in pop culture that even those who've never read it feel as if they have, helped along, of course, by Hollywood."

Read the whole article here: https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20210209-the-worlds-most-misunderstood-novel

Interested in reading The Great Gatsby, or some of the books about or inspired by this great American novel and writer?  Try one of these!

young adult

Tell Me My Name by Amy Reed 

For fans of The Grace Year and We Were Liars comes a mesmerizing, can't-put-it-down psychological thriller—a gender-flipped YA Great Gatsby that will linger long after the final line.

adult nonfiction

On Reading Well: Finding the Good Life Through Great Books by Karen Prior

Prior takes readers on a guided tour through works of great literature both ancient and modern, exploring twelve virtues that philosophers and theologians throughout history have identified as most essential for good character and the good life.

Literary Yarns: Crochet Projects Inspired by Classic Books by Cindy Wang

Learn how to make adorable crochet dolls of your favorite literary characters, including Anne of Green Gables, Elizabeth Bennet, and Sherlock Holmes!

F. Scott Fitzgerald on Writing

A collection of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s remarks on his craft, taken from his works and letters to friends and colleagues—an essential trove of advice for aspiring writers.

Gatsby: The Cultural History of the Great American Novel by Bob Batchelor

A cultural historian, Batchelor explains why and how the novel has become part of the fiber of the American ethos and an important tool in helping readers to better comprehend their lives and the broader world around them.

So We Read On: How the Great Gatsby Came to Be and Why It Endures by Maureen Corrigan

Offering a fresh perspective on what makes Gatsby great - and utterly unusual - So We Read On takes us into archives, high school classrooms, and even out onto the Long Island Sound to explore the novel's hidden depths.

Dear Scott, Dearest Zelda: The Love Letters of F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald

Through his alcoholism and her mental illness, his career lows and her institutional confinement, F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald's devotion to each other endured for over 22 years. Now, for the first time, we have the story of their love in the couple's own letters.

The Gatsby Affair: Scott, Zelda, and the Betrayal that Shaped an American Classic by Kendall Taylor

Both a literary study and a probing look at an iconic couple's psychological makeup, The Gatsby Affair offers listeners a bold interpretation of how one of America's greatest novels was influenced.

Careless People: Murder, Mayhem, and the Invention of The Great Gatsby by Sarah Churchwell

Fitzgerald set his novel in 1922, and Careless People carefully reconstructs the crucial months during which Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald returned to New York in the autumn of 1922 - the parties, the drunken weekends at Great Neck, Long Island, the drives back into the city to the jazz clubs and speakeasies, the casual intersection of high society and organized crime, and the growth of celebrity culture of which the Fitzgeralds themselves were the epitome.

fiction

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Great Gatsby is considered F. Scott Fitzgerald’s magnum opus, exploring themes of decadence, idealism, social stigmas, patriarchal norms, and the deleterious effects of unencumbered wealth in capitalistic society, set against the backdrop of the Jazz Age and the Roaring Twenties.

Beautiful Little Fools by Jillian Cantor

Bestselling author Jillian Cantor reimagines and expands on the literary classic in this atmospheric historical novel told in three women’s alternating voices.

Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald by Therese Fowler

With brilliant insight and imagination, Fowler brings us Zelda's irresistible story as she herself might have told it.

Beautiful Fools by R. Clifton Spargo

Iin 1939, Scott is living in Hollywood, a virulent alcoholic and deeply in debt. Despite his relationship with gossip columnist Sheila Graham, he remains fiercely loyal to Zelda. In an attempt to fuse together their fractured marriage, Scott arranges a trip to Cuba.  After a disastrous first night in Havana, the couple runs off to a beach resort outside the city.

Montauk by Nicola Harrison

Montauk captures the glamour and extravagance of a summer by the sea with the story of a woman torn between the life she chose and the life she desires.

Another Side of Paradise by Sally Koslow

Working from diaries and other primary sources from the time, Sally Koslow revisits a scandalous love affair in this compelling historical novel saturated with the color, glitter, magic, and passion of 1930s Hollywood and London.

The Great Mann by Kyra Lurie

In this poignant retelling of The Great Gatsby, set amongst L.A.’s Black elite, a young veteran finds his way post-war, pulled into a new world of tantalizing possibilities—and explosive tensions.

The Paris Wife by Paula McLain

Following a whirlwind courtship and wedding, Ernest Hemingway and Hadley Richardson set sail for Paris, where they become the golden couple in a lively and volatile group—the fabled “Lost Generation”—that includes Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound, and F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald. Though deeply in love, the Hemingways are ill prepared for the hard-drinking and fast-living life of Jazz Age Paris.

Killing Commendatore by Haruki Murakami

A tour de force of love and loneliness, war and art - as well as a loving homage to The Great Gatsby - Killing Commendatore is a stunning work of imagination from one of our greatest writers.

Nick by Michael F. Smith

A critically acclaimed novelist pulls Nick Carraway out of the shadows and into the spotlight in this "masterful" look into his life before Gatsby (Richard Russo, Pulitzer Prize-winning author)

Daisy by Libby Sternberg

While simultaneously remaining true to the original and adding new information, Sternberg weaves Daisy's perspective and Nick Carraway's account together, correcting what Daisy knows is inaccurate from her cousin's novel.

Rules of Civility by Amor Towles

From the number one New York Times best-selling author, this is a “sharply stylish” (Boston Globe) book about a young woman in post-Depression era New York who suddenly finds herself thrust into high society.

A Certain Age by Beatriz Williams

Williams brings the Roaring '20s brilliantly to life in this enchanting and compulsively listenable tale of intrigue, romance, and scandal in New York society, brimming with lush atmosphere, striking characters, and irresistible charm.

The Gatsby Gambit by Claire Anderson-Wheeler

Deftly subverting romantic notions about money, power, and freedom that still stand today, The Gatsby Gambit is a sparkling homage to, and reinvention of, a world American readers have lionized for generations.

Mansion Beach by Meg Moore

A sparkling, escapist novel following a young woman entwined in the opulent lives of her neighbors, set against a backdrop of scandal, secrets, and a not-so-subtle love triangle.

The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo

Nghi Vo’s debut novel reinvents a classic of the American canon as a coming-of-age story full of magic, mystery, and glittering excess, and introduces a major new literary voice.

film

There are two Great Gatsby films.  Robert Redford starred in the 1974 version and Leonardo DiCaprio headlined the 2013 adaptation.  

2025 Kirkus Prizes

 

Lucas Schaefer, Scott Anderson, and Thao Lam are the winners of this year’s Kirkus Prizes, given annually to works of exceptional merit in the categories of fiction, nonfiction, and young readers’ literature.

The winners of the awards were announced Wednesday night during a ceremony at the TriBeca Rooftop in New York. The event was also livestreamed on Kirkus’ YouTube channel.

Schaefer won the fiction prize for The Slip, his debut novel about the characters associated with an Austin, Texas, boxing gym and a 16-year-old boy who goes missing. In a citation, the prize jurors wrote, “This debut novel fearlessly explores issues of race, class, sex, and gender through a wildly inventive group of characters and events…Franzen/Roth/Irving comparisons are earned and deserved.”

The judges for the fiction award were Thérèse Purcell Nielsen, a Kirkus reviewer and former public librarian; Oscar Villalon, a journalist and editor of the literary journal ZYZZYVA; and Kirkus fiction editor Laurie Muchnick.

 

Anderson took home the nonfiction award for King of Kings: The Iranian Revolution: A Story of Hubris, Delusion and Catastrophic Miscalculation, a history of the 1979 revolution that forever changed the geopolitical landscape of the Middle East. “It’s a masterful and propulsive account that chronicles a devastatingly transformative series of events whose aftereffects reverberate to this day,” the judges said in a citation.

This year’s nonfiction jurors were Calvin Crosby, an owner of the King’s English Bookshop in Salt Lake City and executive director of the nonprofit Brain Food Books; Anita Felicelli, the books editor of Alta Journal and author of the books Chimerica, Love Songs for a Lost Continent, and How We Know Our Time Travelers; and Kirkus nonfiction editor John McMurtrie.

Lam won in the young readers’ literature category for Everybelly, her picture book about a young child who encounters neighbors of different shapes and sizes at the local swimming pool. In the prize citation, the judges said, “This joyful celebration of humanity springs to life through masterful, vibrant collages and text that’s both poignant and witty.”

 

Judging this year’s young readers’ literature award were Annette Y. Goldsmith, a librarian and co-founder of “Building a Global Youth Literature Collection 101”; Erika Long, a librarian, lecturer, and founder/consultant at Not Yo Mama’s Librarian, LLC; and Kirkus young readers’ editors Mahnaz Dar and Laura Simeon.

The winners of the prizes were chosen from books that received a starred review from Kirkus during the eligibility period of November 1, 2024 to October 31, 2025: 383 fiction titles, 290 nonfiction titles, and 497 young readers’ titles. The winning authors each received a trophy created by the London design team of Vezzini & Chen, along with a cash prize of $50,000. In a statement, Tom Beer, the editor-in-chief of Kirkus, said, “This year’s Kirkus Prize winners bring us vital messages for our time—messages about the joys of community, the power of self-transformation, and the mutability of historical events—all conveyed through exhilarating prose and pictures.” The Kirkus Prize was first awarded in 2014. Previous winners include Percival Everett for James, Brian Broome for Punch Me Up to the Gods, and Harmony Becker for Himawari House.

https://www.kirkusreviews.com/news-and-features/articles/winners-of-the-2025-kirkus-prize-revealed

Agatha Christie

 

UPCOMING O'NEAL LIBRARY PROGRAMS FOR ADULTS:

Every Tuesday morning 10-11am – Gentle Yoga with Marie Blair (drop in)

Tue, Oct 7 6-8pm – Sustainable Style: Clothing Swap 

Thu, Oct 9 5:30-7pm – Writing Workshop with Miriam Calleja  

Sat, Oct 11 10:30-noon – Medicare Made Clear  

Sun, Oct 12 3-4:30pm – Poetry as Prayer  

Mon, Oct 13 6:30-7:30pm – Great Short Stories discussing“Cyclists’ Raid” by Frank Rooney 

Tue, Oct 14 10-11:30am – The Bookies Bookclub discussing“The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong (drop in)

Tue, Oct 14 5:30-7pm – Writing Workshop with Miriam Calleja  

Sun, Oct 19 3-4:30pm – Poetry as Prayer 

Wed, Oct 22 10-11:30am – Medicare Made Clear 

Wed, Oct 22 10am @ Junior League of Birmingham (2212 20th Ave South) - O'Neal Library presents Technology Tips for Everyday Life in collaboration with ALL IN Mountain Brook's Silver Spartans

Wed, Oct 22 5:30-8pm – (ages 18+) Nightmare on Oak Street:DIY Sweater Pumpkins  

Thu, Oct 23 6-7pm – Neurodivergent Community Group  

Fri, Oct 24 6:30-8:30pm – Traditional Music of Scotland withmusician Jim Malcolm  

Fri, Oct 24 – Ticket vouchers available for Alabama SymphonyOrchestra Masterworks concert  

Sat, Oct 25 – Ticket vouchers available for Alabama SymphonyOrchestra Masterworks concert  

Sun, Oct 26 3-4:30pm – Poetry as Prayer 

Tue, Oct 28 6:30-8pm – Books & Beyond discussing horror (drop in)  

Every year, Books & Beyond (BAB) takes one month for an author study, where any work by or about an author is fair game. This week, BAB met to chat about all things Agatha Christie!

FILM & TELEVISION:

Miss Marple, starring Joan Hickson

Miss Marple, titled Agatha Christie's Miss Marple in the series, is a British television series based on the Miss Marple murder mystery novels by Agatha Christie, starring Joan Hickson in the title role. It aired from December 26, 1984 to December 27, 1992 on BBC One. All twelve original Miss Marple novels by Christie were dramatized.

Witness for the Prosecution (1957)

The affable Leonard Vole (Tyrone Power) is being tried for the murder of a wealthy woman, and legendary lawyer Sir Wilfrid Robarts (Charles Laughton) has chosen to represent him. Unfortunately, Leonard's alibi depends on the testimony of his callous wife, Christine (Marlene Dietrich) -- who, after the discovery of a legal loophole, makes the shocking decision to appear in court against him. To Sir Wilfrid's surprise, this is only the first in a series of puzzling revelations and reversals.

Agatha Christie: Lucy Worsley on the Mystery Queen (2022)

Historian Lucy Worsley explores the life of Agatha Christie through documents and interviews and tries to understand what inspires her to write her novels.

Evil Under the Sun (1982)

Agatha Christie's Belgian sleuth, Hercule Poirot (Peter Ustinov), solves the murder of an actress at a Balkan resort.

Ordeal by Innocence (1984)

A 1950s U.S. scientist (Donald Sutherland) probes the murder of a British friend's (Christopher Plummer) wife (Faye Dunaway).

4:50 from Paddington (1987)

Miss Marple (Joan Hickson) investigates her friend's (Mona Bruce) claim that she witnessed a murder on a train.

Murder She Said (1961)

When aging sleuth Miss Marple (Margaret Rutherford) witnesses a murder through the window of her passing train car, she alerts the authorities. Unfortunately, the police are hesitant to take the word of an old lady in lieu of an actual body. Taking matters into her own hands, Marple gets a job as a maid at Ackenthorpe Hall, where she believes the murder took place. There, she must match wits with blowhard Luther Ackenthorpe (James Robertson Justice) if she wants to solve the mystery.

BOOKS SIMILAR TO OR ABOUT AGATHA CHRISTIE:

Marple: Twelve New Stories

Bringing a fresh twist to the hallmarks of a classic Agatha Christie mystery, these twelve esteemed writers have captured the sharp wit, unique voice, and droll ingenuity of the deceptively demure detective. A triumphant celebration of Christie’s legacy and essential reading for crime lovers, Marple is a timely reminder why Jane Marple remains one of the most famous detectives of all time.

A is for Arsenic: The Poisons of Agatha Christie by Kathryn Harkup

Fourteen novels. Fourteen poisons. Just because it's fiction doesn’t mean it's all made-up ...Agatha Christie revelled in the use of poison to kill off unfortunate victims in her books; indeed, she employed it more than any other murder method, with the poison itself often being a central part of the novel. Christie's extensive chemical knowledge provides the backdrop for A is for Arsenic, in which Kathryn Harkup investigates the poisons used by the murderer in fourteen classic Agatha Christie mysteries.

The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujanta Massey

Mistry Law has been appointed to execute the will of Mr. Omar Farid, a wealthy Muslim mill owner who has left three widows behind. But as Perveen examines the paperwork, she notices something strange: all three of the wives have signed over their full inheritance to a charity. What will they live on? Perveen is suspicious, especially since one of the widows has signed her form with an X—meaning she probably couldn't even read the document. The Farid widows live in full purdah—in strict seclusion, never leaving the women's quarters or speaking to any men. Are they being taken advantage of by an unscrupulous guardian? Perveen tries to investigate, and realizes her instincts were correct when tensions escalate to murder. Inspired in part by the woman who made history as India's first female attorney, The Widows of Malabar Hill is a richly wrought story of multicultural 1920s Bombay as well as the debut of a sharp new sleuth.

Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz

When editor Susan Ryeland is given the manuscript of Alan Conway’s latest novel, she has no reason to think it will be much different from any of his others. After working with the bestselling crime writer for years, she’s intimately familiar with his detective, Atticus Pünd, who solves mysteries disturbing sleepy English villages. An homage to queens of classic British crime such as Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers, Alan’s traditional formula has proved hugely successful. So successful that Susan must continue to put up with his troubling behavior if she wants to keep her job.

Conway’s latest tale has Atticus Pünd investigating a murder at Pye Hall, a local manor house. Yes, there are dead bodies and a host of intriguing suspects, but the more Susan reads, the more she’s convinced that there is another story hidden in the pages of the manuscript: one of real-life jealousy, greed, ruthless ambition, and murder.

The Mystery of Mrs. Christie by Marie Benedict

In December 1926, Agatha Christie goes missing. Investigators find her empty car on the edge of a deep, gloomy pond, the only clues some tire tracks nearby and a fur coat left in the car―strange for a frigid night. Eleven days later, she reappears, just as mysteriously as she disappeared, claiming amnesia and providing no explanations for her time away. Agatha Christie novels have withstood the test of time, due in no small part to Christie's masterful storytelling and clever mind that may never be matched, but Agatha Christie's untold history offers perhaps her greatest mystery of all.

Queens of Crime by Marie Benedict

London, 1930. The five greatest women crime writers have banded together to form a secret society with a single goal: to show they are no longer willing to be treated as second class citizens by their male counterparts in the legendary Detection Club. Led by the formidable Dorothy L. Sayers, the group includes Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allingham and Baroness Emma Orczy. They call themselves the Queens of Crime. Their plan? Solve an actual murder, that of a young woman found strangled in a park in France who may have connections leading to the highest levels of the British establishment.

BOOKS BY AGATHA CHRISTIE:

There are a variety of Miss Marple ebooks and eaudiobooks available on the Libby and Hoopla apps!

And Then There Were None

Ten people, each with something to hide and something to fear, are invited to an isolated mansion on Indian Island by a host who, surprisingly, fails to appear. On the island they are cut off from everything but each other and the inescapable shadows of their own past lives. One by one, the guests share the darkest secrets of their wicked pasts. And one by one, they die…which among them is the killer and will any of them survive?

Endless Night

When penniless Michael Rogers discovers the beautiful house at Gypsy’s Acre and then meets the heiress Ellie, it seems that all his dreams have come true at once. But he ignores an old woman’s warning of an ancient curse, and evil begins to stir in paradise. As Michael soon learns: Gypsy’s Acre is the place where fatal “accidents” happen.

Witness for the Prosecution and Other Stories

Witness for the Prosecution and Other Stories is a collection of eleven tantalizing tales of murder and other criminal pursuits—including the classic title story, the basis for the 1957 Oscar-nominated Billy Wilder film starring Marlene Dietrich, Tyrone Power, and Charles Laughton.

Sparkling Cyanide (previously published as Remembered Death)

Six people sit down to a sumptuous meal at a table laid for seven. In front of the empty place is a sprig of rosemary - "rosemary for remembrance." A strange sentiment considering no one is likely to forget the night, exactly a year ago, that Rosemary Barton died at exactly the same table, her beautiful face unrecognizable, convulsed with pain and horror. But then Rosemary had always been memorable - she had the ability to arouse strong passions in most people she met. In one case, strong enough to kill....

Evil Under the Sun

It was not unusual to find the sun-loving Arlena Stuart stretched out on a beach, face down. Only, on this occasion, there was no sun…she had been strangled. Ever since her arrival, the air had been thick with sexual tension and each of the seaside guest had a motive to kill her, including Arelena’s new husband. But Hercule Poirot suspects that this apparent ‘crime of passion’ conceals something much more evil.

Item descriptions pulled from Rotten Tomatoes and Amazon.

 

Women in Translation

 

 

The next Books & Beyond (BAB) meeting will be Tuesday, September 30^th at 6:30pm https://www.oneallibrary.org/event/11282327 and it’s time for our annual author study!  This year, we’ll be chatting about all things Agatha Christie.  There is a display at the 2^nd floor service desk and on the Shelf Care page of our website: https://oneallibrary.org/adults---reading-recommendations

This week, BAB met to celebrate Women in Translation month.  This includes books written in other languages by women that have been translated into English and books translated into English by women.

The Night Guest by Hildur Knutsdottir, translated by Mary Robinette Kowal

Iðunn is in yet another doctor's office. She knows her constant fatigue is a sign that something's not right, but practitioners dismiss her symptoms and blood tests haven't revealed any cause. When she talks to friends and family about it, the refrain is the same ― have you tried eating better? exercising more? establishing a nighttime routine? She tries to follow their advice, buying everything from vitamins to sleeping pills to a step-counting watch. Nothing helps. Until one night Iðunn falls asleep with the watch on, and wakes up to find she’s walked over 40,000 steps in the night…What is happening when she’s asleep? Why is she waking up with increasingly disturbing injuries? And why won’t anyone believe her?

We’ll Prescribe You a Cat by Syou Ishida, translated by E. Madison Shimoda

Tucked away in an old building at the end of a narrow alley in Kyoto, the Kokoro Clinic for the Soul can only be found by people who are struggling in their lives and genuinely need help. The mysterious clinic offers a unique treatment to those who find their way there: it prescribes cats as medication. Patients are often puzzled by this unconventional prescription, but when they “take” their cat for the recommended duration, they witness profound transformations in their lives, guided by the playful, empathetic, occasionally challenging yet endearing cats.

Spark Joy: An Illustrated Master Class on the Art of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo, translated by Cathy Hirano

Japanese decluttering guru Marie Kondo has revolutionized homes—and lives—across the world. Now, Kondo presents an illustrated guide to using her acclaimed KonMari Method to create a joy-filled home that works the way you need it to. 

Jawbone by Monica Ojeda, translated by Sarah Booker

When Fernanda, Annelise, and their friends from the Delta Bilingual Academy convene after school, Annelise leads them in thrilling but increasingly dangerous rituals to a rhinestoned, Dior-scented, drag-queen god of her own invention. Even more perilous is the secret Annelise and Fernanda share, rooted in a dare in which violence meets love. Interweaving pop culture references and horror concepts drawn from from Herman Melville, H. P. Lovecraft, and anonymous “creepypastas,” Jawbone is an ominous, multivocal novel that explores the terror inherent in the pure potentiality of adolescence and the fine line between desire and fear.

Variations on Silence by Nadia Mifsud, translated by Miriam Calleja 

"Variations on Silence is Calleja first translated poetry book from the Maltese. The collection by Nadia Mifsud is the prize-winning Varjazzjonijiet tas-Skiet (EDE Books, 2021), handmade by Kotba Calleja (no relation). It is the collection that made Mifsud the Poet Laureate of Malta in 2022." Read more about the collection here.

Reeds in the Wind by Grazia Deledda, translated by Martha King (not available in JCLC, contact the library to request a copy from Interlibrary Loan)

The rugged landscape of Baronia on Sardinia sets the scene for this novel of crime, guilt and retribution. This novel presents the story of the Pintor sisters - from a family of noble landowners now in decline - their nephew Giacinto, and their servant Efix, who is trying to make up for a mysterious sin committed many years before. Around, below, and inside them the raging Mediterranean storms, the jagged mountains, the murmuring forests, and the gushing springs form a Greek chorus of witness to the tragic drama of this unforgiving land.

The Governesses by Anne Serre, translated by Mark Hutchinson

In a large country house shut off from the world by a gated garden, three young governesses responsible for the education of a group of little boys are preparing a party. The governesses, however, seem to spend more time running around in a state of frenzied desire than attending to the children’s education. One of their main activities is lying in wait for any passing stranger, and then throwing themselves on him like drunken Maenads. The rest of the time they drift about in a kind of sated, melancholy calm, spied upon by an old man in the house opposite, who watches their goings-on through a telescope. 

The Perfect Nanny by Leila Slimani, translated by Sam Taylor

When Myriam decides to return to work as a lawyer after having children, she and her husband look for the perfect nanny for their son and daughter. They never dreamed they would find Louise: a quiet, polite, devoted woman who sings to the children, cleans the family’s chic Paris apartment, stays late without complaint, and hosts enviable kiddie parties. But as the couple and the nanny become more dependent on one another, jealousy, resentment, and suspicions mount, shattering the idyllic tableau. Building tension with every page, The Perfect Nanny is a compulsive, riveting, bravely observed exploration of power, class, race, domesticity, motherhood, and madness—and the American debut of an immensely talented writer.

The Woman in the Purple Skirt by Natsuko Imamura, translated by Lucy North

Almost every afternoon, the Woman in the Purple Skirt sits on the same park bench, where she eats a cream bun while the local children make a game of trying to get her attention. Unbeknownst to her, she is being watched--by the Woman in the Yellow Cardigan, who is always perched just out of sight, monitoring which buses she takes, what she eats, whom she speaks to. Studiously deadpan and chillingly voyeuristic, and with the off-kilter appeal of the novels of Ottessa Moshfegh, The Woman in the Purple Skirt explores envy, loneliness, power dynamics, and the vulnerability of unmarried women in a taut, suspenseful narrative about the sometimes desperate desire to be seen.

Out by Natsuo Kirino, translated by Stephen Snyder

A young mother who works the night shift making boxed lunches strangles her abusive husband and then seeks the help of her coworkers to dispose of the body and cover up her crime. The coolly intelligent Masako emerges as the plot’s ringleader but quickly discovers that this killing is merely the beginning, as it leads to a terrifying foray into the violent underbelly of Japanese society.

The Vanishing by Tim Krabbe, translated by Claire Nicolas White

When Saskia Ehlvest, a young Dutch girl, disappears from a rest stop along a highway in rural France, her lover, Rex Hofmann, cannot accept her disappearance and embarks on an obsessive search for her that spans years.

The Vanishing (Dutch, 1990, 1h 46m)

Rex (Gene Bervoets) and Saskia (Johanna Ter Steege) are enjoying a biking holiday in France when, stopping at a gas station, Saskia disappears. Confounded, Rex searches everywhere, but to no avail. Three years later, he's still obsessed with finding her, pleading his case on television, putting up posters and ruining his new relationship in the process. Eventually an unassuming chemistry teacher, Raymond (Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu), approaches Rex, intimating that he knows what happened.

The Vanishing (Hollywood, 1993, 1h 50m)

Barney (Jeff Bridges) is a disturbed man intent on abducting a woman. After numerous failed attempts, he manages to kidnap young Diane (Sandra Bullock), who is on vacation with her boyfriend, Jeff (Kiefer Sutherland). As time passes, Jeff remains determined to find out what happened to Diane. When Barney unexpectedly confronts Jeff, it leads to a tense life-or-death situation. Meanwhile, Jeff's current girlfriend, Rita (Nancy Travis), manages to follow him in hopes of keeping him out of harm.

FURTHER READING:

Mariana Enriquez's books

1)      Our Share of Night, translated by Megan McDowell

A woman’s mysterious death puts her husband and son on a collision course with her demonic family in the author’s first novel to be translated into English.

2)      The Dangers of Smoking In Bed, translated by Megan McDowell

“The beautiful, horrible world of Mariana Enriquez, as glimpsed in The Dangers of Smoking in Bed, with its disturbed adolescents, ghosts, decaying ghouls, the sad and angry homeless of modern Argentina, is the most exciting discovery I’ve made in fiction for some time.”—Kazuo Ishiguro, The Guardian

3)      A Sunny Place for Shady People: Stories, translated by Megan McDowell

Lyrical and hypnotic, heart-stopping and deeply moving, Enriquez’s stories never fail to enthrall, entertain, and leave us shaken. Translated by the award-winning Megan McDowell, A Sunny Place for Shady People showcases Enriquez’s unique blend of the literary and the horrific.

The Way Spring Arrives and Other Stories

From an award-winning team of authors, editors, and translators comes a groundbreaking short story collection that explores the expanse of Chinese science fiction and fantasy.

The Lost Village by Camilla Sten, translated by Alexandra Fleming

Documentary filmmaker Alice Lindstedt has been obsessed with the vanishing residents of the old mining town, dubbed “The Lost Village,” since she was a little girl. In 1959, her grandmother’s entire family disappeared in this mysterious tragedy, and ever since, the unanswered questions surrounding the only two people who were left―a woman stoned to death in the town center and an abandoned newborn―have plagued her. She’s gathered a small crew of friends in the remote village to make a film about what really happened. But there will be no turning back. Not long after they’ve set up camp, mysterious things begin to happen. Equipment is destroyed. People go missing. As doubt breeds fear and their very minds begin to crack, one thing becomes startlingly clear to Alice: They are not alone.

Confrontations by Simone Atangana Bekono, translated by Suzanne Heukensfeldt Jansen

Raw and unsentimental yet lyrical, Confrontations captures the paradoxical demands society makes on Black women, the way communities, schools, and the prison system perpetuate racism, and the cost of Black female defiance.

PEN America Women in Translation Month Reading List 

Legends of Sardinia by Grazia Deledda, edited by Carlos Mulas (not available in JCLC, contact the library to request a copy from Interlibrary Loan)

Grazia Deledda (1871 - 1936) was the first Italian woman to win the Nobel Prize for Literature, “for her idealistically inspired writings which with plastic clarity picture the life on her native island and with depth and sympathy deal with human problems in general”. Sardinia is a land of legends and mysteries. Every country church, every castle or monastery ruin, every village, every cussorgia (region or area), every cave, every cliff, every mountain… every valley has its own legend.

Tristan and the Classics podcast

The podcast specializes in creating book reviews of classic books and literature with in depth analysis of themes and characters.  

Descriptions from Amazon and Rotten Tomatoes, unless otherwise noted.

travel the world

 

The Adult Summer Reading Finale is Wednesday, July 30^th at 6pm.  Register for the event and come on in to work on DIY reading journals, spin the prize wheel for those last minute goodies, and enjoy the company of other readers after an epic summer filled with fantastic books! We’ll be drawing for the grand prize the first week of August, so time is winding down to log your reading!

The next Books & Beyond (BAB) meeting is on Tuesday, August 26^th at 6:30pm and the topic up for discussion is Women in Translation Month, an annual celebration of women writers from around the world, writing in languages other than English.

Looking ahead to September, we’ll be exploring the work andlife of Agatha Christie!  Mark your calendars and plan to join us!

This week, BAB met to discuss travel writing, journeys, and really anything with a great sense of movement.  We chatted for well over an hour about a tremendous variety of titles and had a great time.  Peruse our discussion list and get ready for your TBR to explode!

On the Hippie Trail: Istanbul to Kathmandu and the Making ofa Travel Writer by Rick Steves

Stow away with Rick Steves for a glimpse into the unforgettable moments, misadventures, and memories of his 1978 journey on the legendary Hippie Trail.

Travels with George: In Search of Washington and His Legacy by Nathaniel Philbrick

Does George Washington still matter? Bestselling author Nathaniel Philbrick argues for Washington’s unique contribution to the forging of America by retracing his journey as a new president through all thirteen former colonies, which were now an unsure nation. Travels with George marks a new first-person voice for Philbrick, weaving history and personal reflection into a single narrative.

Following Caesar: From Rome to Constantinople, the PathwaysThat Planted the Seeds of Empire by John Keahey

A travel narrative following three ancient roads and looking at more than two thousand years of history of Ancient Rome through the modern eye.

Traveling Blind: Adventures in Vision with a Guide Dog by MySide by Susan Krieger

Although an intensely personal account, Traveling Blind is not simply memoir, for it extends beyond one person's experience to illuminate our understandings of vision informed by the academic fields of disability studies, feminist ethnography, and the study of human-animal bonds.

Grave Situation by Louisa Masters

With a ridiculously attractive healer (who may or may not hate him), his sister (who he miiiight have a forbidden telepathic link with), a sentient god-like rock (that can only communicate via yes/no vibes), a disdainful dragon, and a rude matchmaking horse by his side, Talon just might be able to save the world. He’s not the hero they deserve, but he’s the hero they’ve got.

Last Chance to See by Douglas Adams and Mark Carwardine

Join bestselling author Douglas Adams and zooligist Mark Carwardine as they take off around the world in search of exotic, endangered creatures. Hilarious and poignant--as only Douglas Adams can be—Last Chance to See is an entertaining and arresting odyssey through the Earth's magnificent wildlife galaxy.

The Museum of Whales You Will Never See: And OtherExcursions to Iceland’s Most Unusual Museums by A. Kendra Greene

Mythic creatures, natural wonders, and the mysterious human impulse to collect are on beguiling display in this poetic tribute to the museums of an otherworldly island nation, for readers of AtlasObscura and fans of the Mütter Museum, the Morbid Anatomy Museum, and the Museum of Jurassic Technology.

Ghostland: An American History in Haunted Places by Colin Dickey

With boundless curiosity, Dickey conjures the dead by focusing on questions of the living—how do we, the living, deal with stories about ghosts, and how do we inhabit and move through spaces that have been deemed, for whatever reason, haunted? Paying attention not only to the true facts behind a ghost story, but also to the ways in which changes to those facts are made—and why those changes are made—Dickey paints a version of American history left out of the textbooks, one of things left undone, crimes left unsolved.

Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino

In a garden sit the aged Kublai Khan and the young Marco Polo—Mongol emperor and Venetian traveler. Kublai Khan has sensed the end of his empire coming soon. Marco Polo diverts his host with stories of the cities he has seen in his travels around the empire: cities and memory, cities and desire, cities and designs, cities and the dead, cities and the sky, trading cities, hidden cities. As Marco Polo unspools his tales, the emperor detects these fantastic places are more than they appear.

If on a Winter’s Night a Traveler by Italo Calvino

Originally published in 1979, Italo Calvino's singular novel crafted a postmodern narrative like never seen before—offering not one novel but ten, each with a different plot, style, ambience, and author, and each interrupted at a moment of suspense. Together, the stories form a labyrinth of literature known and unknown, alive and extinct, through which two readers pursue the story lines that intrigue them and try to read each other. Deeply profound and surprisingly romantic, this classic is a beautiful meditation on the transformative power of reading and the ways we make meaning in our lives.

A Marriage at Sea: A True Story of Love, Obsession, andShipwreck by Sophie Elmhirst

Maurice and Maralyn make an odd couple. He’s a loner, awkward and obsessive; she’s charismatic and ambitious. But they share a horror of wasting their lives. And they dream – as we all dream – of running away from it all. What if they quit their jobs, sold their house, bought a boat, and sailed away? Taut, propulsive, and dazzling, A Marriage at Sea pairs an adrenaline-fueled high seas adventure with a gutting love story that asks why we love difficult people, and who we become under the most extreme conditions imaginable.

The Poppy Fields by Nikki Erlick

Here, in a remote stretch of the California desert, lies an experimental and controversial treatment center that allows those suffering from the heartache of loss to sleep through their pain...and keep on sleeping.  A high-concept speculative novel about heartache, hope, and human resilience, The Poppy Fields explores the path of grief and healing, a journey at once profoundly universal and unique to every person, posing the questions: How do we heal in the wake of great loss? And how far are we willing to go in order to be healed?

Eastbound by Maylis de Kerangal

Racing toward Vladivostok, we meet the young Aliocha, packed onto a Trans-Siberian train with other Russian conscripts. Soon after boarding, he decides to desert and over a midnight smoke in a dark corridor of the train, he encounters an older French woman, Hélène, for whom he feels an uncanny trust. In mysterious, winding sentences gorgeously translated by Jessica Moore, De Kerangal gives us the story of two unlikely souls entwined in a quest for freedom with a striking sense of tenderness, sharply contrasting the brutality of the surrounding world.

The Ride of Her Life: The True Story of a Woman, Her Horse,and Their Last-Chance Journey Across America by Elizabeth Letts

In 1954, sixty-three-year-old Maine farmer Annie Wilkins embarked on an impossible journey. She had no money and no family, she had just lost her farm, and her doctor had given her only two years to live. But Annie wanted to see the Pacific Ocean before she died. She ignored her doctor’s advice to move into the county charity home. Instead, she bought a cast-off brown gelding named Tarzan, donned men’s dungarees, and headed south in mid-November, hoping to beat the snow. Annie, Tarzan, and her dog, Depeche Toi, rode straight into a world transformed by the rapid construction of modern highways. Between 1954 and 1956, the three travelers pushed through blizzards, forded rivers, climbed mountains, and clung to the narrow shoulder as cars whipped by them at terrifying speeds. Annie rode more than four thousand miles, through America’s big cities and small towns. Along the way, she met ordinary people and celebrities—from Andrew Wyeth (who sketched Tarzan) to Art Linkletter and Groucho Marx.

Annie appears on Groucho Marx's tv show, You Bet Your Life, in 1956.  In this clip, she comes out for her interview at around the 12:20 mark.

Tramps Like Us by Joe Westmoreland (Not available in the JCLC, but you may be able to request this title from Interlibrary Loan)

A treasured cult classic following a young gay man crisscrossing 1970s and ’80s America in search of salvation. Now reissued with an introduction from Eileen Myles and an afterword from the author. Told with openhearted frankness, Joe Westmoreland’s Tramps Like Us is an exuberantly soulful adventure of self-discovery and belonging, set across a consequential American decade. Back in print after two decades and with an introduction by Myles and an afterword by the author, Tramps Like Us is an ode to a nearly lost generation, an autofictional chronicle of America between gay liberation and the AIDS crisis, and an evergreen testament to the force of friendship.

Long Way documentary series staring Ewan McGregor & Charley Boorman (consists of the following seasons: Long Way Round, Long WayDown, Long Way Up, and Long Way Home)  Explore the complete series at https://www.longway.tv/

This collection of shows is a fascinating, frank and highly entertaining adventure about two friends riding round the world together and, against the odds, realizing their dreams. Riding motorcycles the entire way, exhaustion, injury and accidents tested their strength, while treacherous roads, unpredictable weather and turbulent politics challenged their stamina.

General discussion, not travel related:

A Nervous Splendor: Vienna 1888-1889 by Frederic Morton (Not available in the JCLC, but you may be able to request this title from Interlibrary Loan)

On January 30, 1889, at the champagne-splashed hight of the Viennese Carnival, the handsome and charming Crown Prince Rudolf fired a revolver at his teenaged mistress and then himself. The two shots that rang out at Mayerling in the Vienna Woods echo still. Frederic Morton deftly tells the haunting story of the Prince and his city, where, in the span of only ten months, "the Western dream started to go wrong." 

The Glass Castle: A Memoir by Jeannette Walls

The Glass Castle is a remarkable memoir of resilience and redemption, and a revelatory look into a family at once deeply dysfunctional and uniquely vibrant. When sober, Jeannette’s brilliant and charismatic father captured his children’s imagination, teaching them physics, geology, and how to embrace life fearlessly. But when he drank, he was dishonest and destructive. Her mother was a free spirit who abhorred the idea of domesticity and didn’t want the responsibility of raising a family. The Walls children learned to take care of themselves. They fed, clothed, and protected one another, and eventually found their way to New York. Their parents followed them, choosing to be homeless even as their children prospered. The Glass Castle is truly astonishing—a memoir permeated by the intense love of a peculiar but loyal family.

Turn Right at Machu Picchu: Rediscovering the Lost City One Step at a Time by Mark Adams

In 1911, Hiram Bingham III climbed into the Andes Mountains of Peru and “discovered” Machu Picchu. While history has recast Bingham as a villain who stole both priceless artifacts and credit for finding the great archeological site, Mark Adams set out to retrace the explorer’s perilous path in search of the truth—except he’d written about adventure far more than he’d actually lived it.

Title descriptions pulled from Amazon.com and p
hoto by Julentto Photography on Unsplash

 

 

summer reading

 

Upcoming programs:

Monday, July 14 @ 6:30pm – Great Short Stories discussing “My Friend Flicka” by Mary O’Hara REGISTER HERE

Tuesday, July 15 @ 6pm – Adult Summer Reading: Carrie Rollwagen presents “Finding Your Genre”
REGISTER HERE 

Tuesday, July 22 @ 6:30pm – Books & Beyond discussing travel writing
REGISTER HERE 

Wednesday, July 30 @ 6pm – Adult Summer Reading Finale: DIY Reading Journal Meetup
REGISTER HERE 

At the June meeting we had no assigned topic, so participants chatted about anything they’d been listening to, reading, and watching 😊

Anita de Monte Laughs Last by Xochitl Gonzalez

New York Times bestselling author Xochitl Gonzalez delivers a mesmerizing novel about a first-generation Ivy League student who uncovers the genius work of a female artist decades after her suspicious death. Moving back and forth through time and told from the perspectives of both women, Anita de Monte Laughs Last is a propulsive, witty examination of power, love, and art, daring to ask who gets to be remembered and who is left behind in the rarefied world of the elite.

Vanessa Yu’s Magical Paris Tea Shop by Roselle Lim

Ever since she can remember, Vanessa has been able to see people's fortunes at the bottom of their teacups. To avoid blurting out their fortunes, she converts to coffee, but somehow fortunes escape and find a way to complicate her life and the ones of those around her. To add to this plight, her romance life is so nonexistent that her parents enlist the services of a matchmaking expert from Shanghai.
 
After her matchmaking appointment, Vanessa sees death for the first time. She decides that she can't truly live until she can find a way to get rid of her uncanny abilities. When her eccentric Aunt Evelyn shows up with a tempting offer to whisk her away, Vanessa says au revoir to California and bonjour to Paris. There, Vanessa learns more about herself and the root of her gifts and realizes one thing to be true: knowing one's destiny isn't a curse, but being unable to change it is.

The Tanglewood Tea Shop by Lilac Mills

Patisserie-Chef Stevie is stuck in a rut. Her beloved Great Aunt Peggy has passed away and she’s lost both her job and the love of her life. Then she gets the call from the solicitor's office about Peggy’s will, and everything changes. When Stevie sees a quirky tea shop up for sale in the beautiful village of Tanglewood, she decides to take Peggy’s advice and turn her life around. But the village isn't as idyllic as it may at first have seemed, and when the gorgeous but grouchy local stable-owner, Nick, shows up he seems like just another fly in the pastry batter…

A Pack for Winter by Emilia Emerson (not available within JCLC, request from Interlibrary Loan)

Ivy Noelle Winter is content with being a 31-year-old unbonded omega with no prospects of a pack. She adores teaching fifth grade, she has wonderful friends — and that baking show marathon isn’t going to watch itself. Until a snowstorm and power outage traps Ivy in her classroom after hours…with three men. Rome, the new alpha music teacher. James, the flirtatious beta vet he’s bonded to. And Logan, the town’s grumpy alpha electrician.

Their scents call to Ivy and her body answers, setting off her first-ever mini heat. When the pheromones settle, she gets a proposition beyond her wildest dreams — a chance to be a pack. But there’s no such thing as a perfect courtship, especially when the biggest roadblock to happiness might be Ivy herself.

A Pack for Autumn by Emilia Emerson (not available within JCLC, request from Interlibrary Loan)

Starlight Grove needs a new Lighthouse Keeper and Olive Autumn Harvest needs a fresh start. Preferably one with as much solitude as possible. So, her new job and isolated ocean cottage is perfect—except for the eccentric, meddling townspeople, and the cat who’s adopted her.

When the town wins a grant for lighthouse restoration, Olive is forced to let the contractors into her space…a company comprised of three hot alphas: Easton, her golden retriever  stalker. Lars, the steady, protective viking. And Finn, who’s hiding a pain that matches her own. Suddenly, these guys are everywhere—and they’re completely unfazed by Olive’s prickly personality as they try to care for her, protect her, and court her. But everyone in this relationship is holding on to secrets… and it might not just be the lighthouse that needs restoration.

Gold Rush by R. L. Randolph (not available within JCLC, request from Interlibrary Loan)

Juniper Walden has lived a life of quiet obscurity as a Beta and romance author. When one of her novels gains traction and she’s suddenly trapped in a broken elevator with two strangers the night before her UK book tour, she realizes her future might not be so clear-cut. Seth Harding is a happily bonded Beta, but he can’t get the pretty stranger’s honey-sweet scent out of his head. Imagine his and his Alpha’s surprise when they see her face on the news, because it’s unheard of for a designation to emerge late.

In a world where Omega rights are not their own, Omegas and their golden-hued blood are coveted and exchanged like property because of their rarity. June finds herself stranded in a foreign country, with no legal protection and an oncoming heat to navigate. Her only choice might just be the Beta she keeps meeting by happenstance— and his pack of three Alphas.

Lola and the Millionaires by Kathryn Moon (not available within JCLC, request from Interlibrary Loan)

Lola Barnes only wants one thing, to get her life under control. No more chasing alphas who abuse and toss away betas like her. No more hiding in her cousin’s apartment licking wounds that won’t heal. Armed with her dream job and her less than dreamy apartment, Lola is ready to start a new chapter of her life without alphas.

But that’s easier said than done when one stumbling incident after another leads Lola closer to an alluring pack of captivating men. These alphas are everything Lola dreamed of, but they already have an omega—a playful male model who won’t stop flirting with her. And Lola is only a beta, one who comes with deep scars and an unshakeable aversion to alphas and their powerful presences.

Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

In a profound work that pivots from the biggest questions about American history and ideals to the most intimate concerns of a father for his son, Ta-Nehisi Coates offers a powerful new framework for understanding our nation’s history and current crisis. Americans have built an empire on the idea of “race,” a falsehood that damages us all but falls most heavily on the bodies of black women and men—bodies exploited through slavery and segregation, and, today, threatened, locked up, and murdered out of all proportion. What is it like to inhabit a black body and find a way to live within it? And how can we all honestly reckon with this fraught history and free ourselves from its burden?

Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset

In her great historical epic Kristin Lavransdatter, set in fourteenth-century Norway, Nobel laureate Sigrid Undset tells the life story of one passionate and headstrong woman. Painting a richly detailed backdrop, Undset immerses readers in the day-to-day life, social conventions, and political and religious undercurrents of the period.

Allegro by Ariel Dorfman

In 1789 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart visits the grave of Johann Sebastian Bach in Leipzig, looking for a sign, a signal, an answer to an enigma that has haunted him since childhood: Was Bach murdered by a famous oculist? And years later, was Handel a victim of the same doctor? Allegro follows his investigation, from the salons of London to the streets of Paris, recreating an enthralling and turbulent time, full of rogues and brilliant composers, charlatans and presumptuous nobles.

Sgt. Reckless: America’s War Horse by Robin Hutton

She might not have been much to look at—a small "Mongolian mare," they called her—but she came from racing stock, and had the blood of a champion. Much more than that, Reckless became a war hero—in fact, she became a combat Marine, earning staff sergeant's stripes before her retirement to Camp Pendleton. This once famous horse, recognized as late as 1997 by Life Magazine as one of America's greatest heroes—the greatest war horse in American history, in fact—has unfortunately now been largely forgotten.

But author Robin Hutton is set to change all that. Not only has she been the force behind recognizing Reckless with a monument at the National Museum of the Marine Corps and at Camp Pendleton, but she has now recorded the full story of this four-legged war hero who hauled ammunition to embattled Marines and inspired them with her relentless, and reckless, courage.

We All Live Here by Jojo Moyes

Lila Kennedy has a lot on her plate. A broken marriage, two wayward daughters, a house that is falling apart, and an elderly stepfather who seems to have quietly moved in. Her career is in freefall and her love life is . . . complicated. So when her real dad—a man she has barely seen since he ran off to Hollywood thirty-five years ago—suddenly appears on her doorstep, it feels like the final straw. But it turns out even the family you thought you could never forgive might have something to teach you: about love, and what it actually means to be family.

The Sicilian Avengers by Luigi Natoli (Not available within JCLC, request from Interlibrary Loan)

Reminiscent of a Dumas novel, Sicilian Avengers is a vibrant, atmospheric fresco of early eighteenth-century Palermo. Onto the stage of the ancient city, Blasco da Castiglione, a bold, brash, orphan adventurer, arrives on a quest to discover his origins and seek his destiny. But this fearless, swashbuckling D’Artagnan-esque hero unwittingly gets caught up in a devious and murderous succession plot involving a powerful noble family. 

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

After receiving a frantic letter from her newly-wed cousin begging for someone to save her from a mysterious doom, Noemí Taboada heads to High Place, a distant house in the Mexican countryside. She’s not sure what she will find—her cousin’s husband, a handsome Englishman, is a stranger, and Noemí knows little about the region.   Her only ally in this inhospitable abode is the family’s youngest son. Shy and gentle, he seems to want to help Noemí, but might also be hiding dark knowledge of his family’s past. For there are many secrets behind the walls of High Place. The family’s once colossal wealth and faded mining empire kept them from prying eyes, but as Noemí digs deeper she unearths stories of violence and madness. 

Black River by Nilanjana Roy (eaudio available on Hoopla; book not available within JCLC, request from Interlibrary Loan)

Offering readers a gripping mystery and a sweeping state-of-the-nation saga, Black River stands as a searing critique of modern India, weaving an intricate narrative that captures the essence of a nation grappling with its own complexities and contradictions.

Alone in Berlin by Hans Fallada (Not available within JCLC, request from Interlibrary Loan)

Berlin, 1940, and the city is filled with fear. At the house on 55 Jablonski Strasse, its various occupants try to live under Nazi rule in their different ways: the bullying Hitler loyalists the Persickes, the retired judge Fromm and the unassuming couple Otto and Anna Quangel. Then the Quangels receive the news that their beloved son has been killed fighting in France. Shocked out of their quiet existence, they begin a silent campaign of defiance, and a deadly game of cat and mouse develops between the Quangels and the ambitious Gestapo inspector Escherich. When petty criminals Kluge and Borkhausen also become involved, deception, betrayal and murder ensue, tightening the noose around the Quangels' necks ...

James by Percival Everett

A brilliant, action-packed reimagining of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, both harrowing and darkly humorous, told from the enslaved Jim's point of view.

My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier

Philip Ashley's older cousin Ambrose, who raised the orphaned Philip as his own son, has died in Rome. Philip, the heir to Ambrose's beautiful English estate, is crushed that the man he loved died far from home. He is also suspicious. While in Italy, Ambrose fell in love with Rachel, a beautiful English and Italian woman. But the final, brief letters Ambrose wrote hint that his love had turned to paranoia and fear.

Now Rachel has arrived at Philip's newly inherited estate. Could this exquisite woman, who seems to genuinely share Philip's grief at Ambrose's death, really be as cruel as Philip imagined? Or is she the kind, passionate woman with whom Ambrose fell in love? Philip struggles to understand Rachel's intentions, knowing Ambrose's estate, his future, and his sanity, hang in the balance.

Tramps Like Us by Joe Westmoreland (eaudio available on Hoopla; book not available within JCLC, request from Interlibrary Loan)

Told with openhearted frankness, Joe Westmoreland’s Tramps Like Us is an exuberantly soulful adventure of self-discovery and belonging, set across a consequential American decade. In New Orleans and San Francisco, and on the roads in between, Joe and Ali find communities of misfits to call their own. The days and nights blur, a blend of LSD and heroin, new wave and disco, orgies and friends, and the thrilling spontaneity of youth―all of which is threatened the moment Joe, Ali, and seemingly everyone around them are diagnosed with HIV. But miraculously, the stories survive.

Back in print after two decades and with an introduction by Myles and an afterword by the author, Tramps Like Us is an ode to a nearly lost generation, an autofictional chronicle of America between gay liberation and the AIDS crisis, and an evergreen testament to the force of friendship.

The Son of Man by Jean-Baptiste del Amo (eaudio & ebook available on Hoopla)

From the author of the “extraordinary” Animalia (Sunday Times, ebook available on Hoopla), winner of the Republic of Consciousness Prize and finalist for the Lambda Literary Award and Best Translated Book Award, a blazing new novel exploring nature, family, and violence, set on a hostile and glorious mountainside haunted by transgressions of the past.

Slewfoot by Brom

Connecticut, 1666: An ancient spirit awakens in a dark wood. The wildfolk call him Father, slayer, protector. The colonists call him Slewfoot, demon, devil. To Abitha, a recently widowed outcast, alone and vulnerable in her pious village, he is the only one she can turn to for help.

Together, they ignite a battle between pagan and Puritan – one that threatens to destroy the entire village, leaving nothing but ashes and bloodshed in their wake. This terrifying tale of bewitchery features more than two dozen of Brom’s haunting full-color paintings and brilliant endpapers, fully immersing readers in this wild and unforgiving world.

I See You’ve Called in Dead by John Kenney (eaudio available in Hoopla)

Obituary writer Bud Stanley isn’t really living his best life. He’s fallen into a funk after a divorce. (She left him for another man, who, in fairness, was far more interesting.) He’s not doing his job well. He’s given up on dating. And he’s about to be fired for accidentally publishing his own obituary one mildly drunken night (though technically the company can’t legally fire a dead person). As Bud awaits his fate at work, he does the only logical thing: He goes to the wakes and funerals of total strangers to learn how to live again.

The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post by Allison Pataki

Marjorie’s journey began gluing cereal boxes in her father’s barn as a young girl. No one could have predicted that C. W. Post’s Cereal Company would grow into the General Foods empire and reshape the American way of life, with Marjorie as its heiress and leading lady. Not content to stay in her prescribed roles of high-society wife, mother, and hostess, Marjorie dared to demand more, making history in the process. Before turning thirty she amassed millions, becoming the wealthiest woman in the United States. But it was her life-force, advocacy, passion, and adventurous spirit that led to her stunning legacy.