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News & Stories
On Saturday, July 4, more than 50 members of the Arlington Heights community joined the library in the Frontier Days Fourth of July Parade.
Arlington Heights readers strolled downtown while hearing from acclaimed bestselling authors Layne Fargo, Sandra Jackson-Opoku and Daniel Kraus.
Makerplace staff partnered with the Village of Arlington Heights Public Works to bring a unique community art project to the Arlington Heights Farmers Market.
Your Next Great Read

Keeper of lost children
Johnson, Sadeqa,
"Ethel Gathers, the proud wife of an American Officer, is living in Occupied Germany in the 1950s. After discovering a local orphanage filled with the abandoned mixed-race children of German women and Black American GIs feels compelled to help find these children homes. Philadelphia born Ozzie Phillips volunteers for the recently desegregated army in 1948, eager to make his mark in the world. While serving in Manheim, Germany, he meets a local woman, Jelka, and the two embark of a relationship that will impact their lives forever. In 1965 Maryland, Sophia Clark is given an opportunity to attend a prestigious all-white boarding school and escape her heartless parents. While at the school, she discovers a secret that upends her world and sends her on a quest to unravel her own identity."--Provided by publisher

The Found Object Society
Maryk, Michelle,
"For twenty years, Greta Davenport has lived with the guilt of surviving the accident that killed her parents. She's tested the limits of her own mortality ever since, but little gives her the dopamine rush she craves. Not until the night she almost drunkenly crashes her car into a tree, and a peculiar blank card slides under her front door--an invitation to the Found Object Society. What she discovers there is beyond comprehension: an opulent, subterranean playground filled with aisles of objects from different eras and regions of the world. Pick an object and go on a voyage to relive the final moments of the person who died holding it, along with an unparalleled, irreplicable high. Greta's hooked, but she can't quiet her questions about the society and its enigmatic creators, the answers to which have implications far beyond her growing dependence on the voyages. Death is addictive, and what she uncovers will put her entire life into question. A fever dream of a novel with episodic, time-traveling chapters told from multiple points of view, The Found Object Society examines the depraved whims of the ultrarich and the breadth of unresolved trauma--all while asking how grief and the choices we make in its aftermath can change the course of our lives. Michelle Maryk's wholly original and ambitious debut opens an impeccably wrought speculative world of greed, power, and destiny." --

George falls through time
Collett, Ryan,
"Less meets the year 1300 in this exhilarating and thoughtfully genre-defying literary novel about a man transported through time in a moment of extreme stress, whose modern anxieties are replaced by medieval brutalities. Newly laid off George's internet bill is in his ex-boyfriend's name. He's got a spider-infested apartment, and two of the six dogs he's walking in London have just escaped. It's pure undiluted stress that sends him into a spiral, all the way to the year 1300. When he comes to, George recognizes the same rolling hills of Greenwich Park. But the luxuries and phone service of modernity are nowhere. In their place are locals with a bizarre, slanted speech in awe of his foreign clothes, who swiftly toss him in a dungeon. Despite the barbarity of a medieval world, a servant named Simon helps George acclimate to a simpler, easier existence--until a summons from the King threatens to send his life up in flames. George Falls Through Time is as much an inward journey as an outward one: an immersive exploration of identity and dislocation that pits present-day sensibilities against a raw and alien backdrop, a strangely perfect canvas for the absurd anxieties of our modern lives. It's a profound meditation on the nature of desire, perfect for fans of Madeline Miller and The Ministry of Time"--

Saoirse
Hurtubise, Charleen,
"For fans of Colm Tóibín and Claire Keegan, Saoirse is a propulsive story set in the US and Ireland about one woman and the lies she has told in order to survive In the wilds of Donegal, Ireland, 1999, Saoirse is an artist living an idyllic life. Her handsome partner, Daithí, and two beautiful daughters are regular subjects for her work and are the continual source of her hope and inspiration. Each day, she pours her heart into her family, using her painting and sketching to express her love for them. But Saoirse is not entirely who she says she is. And when her Dublin exhibition wins a prestigious award, the unanticipated recognition that comes with it threatens to expose all she has had to do in order to escape her old life, bringing a decade's worth of buried memories to the surface. At the age of seventeen, Saoirse went on the run from her hometown in Michigan, booking a one-way ticket to Ireland and developing an entangled relationship with a young man along the way. As she leaned into her new identity, she hoped she'd made it to safety once and for all. But she can't outrun her past forever, and now that Saoirse's cherished world is put in peril, facing her painful childhood might prove to be her only salvation. Saoirse is an evocative, suspenseful, and inventive exploration of the intimate relationship between art and life and the lies we tell ourselves in the name of reinvention"-- Provided by publisher

Nonesuch
Spufford, Francis, 1964-
"A spellbinding tale about an ambitious young woman who must thwart an occult plot by time-traveling fascists during the chaos of the London Blitz--from "one of our most powerful writers of wayward historical fiction" (The Washington Post). It's the summer of 1939, and the air in London is thick with the tension of impending war. Iris Hawkins, a fiery young financial secretary, has a chance encounter with Geoff, a genius engineer from the new technology of television. What was supposed to be one night of abandon draws her instead into a nightmare of otherworldly pursuit--into a reality where time bends, spirits can be summoned, and history hangs by a thread. Soon there are Nazi planes droning overhead. In a time when death falls randomly from above each night, when the streets are darker than the wildest forest and all the men are away in uniform, the defense of the city is in the hands of its women. But Iris has more to contend with than just the terrors of the Blitz. Over the rooftops of burning London, in the twisted passages between past and present, through the vast night sky and across the tiny screens of early television, a fascist fanatic is traveling with a gun in her hand, and only Iris can stop her from altering the course of history forever. Both a thrilling page-turner and a profound exploration of ambition, love, and the fight against tyranny, Nonesuch is a story that is as enchanting as it is urgent. Packed with twists, tension, and wonder, it is a triumph of storytelling"--

Mass mothering
Bruni, Sarah,
A debt-ridden translator drifts through life, caring for a young boy by day and chasing escape on nightclub dance floors by night. At a dive bar, she meets a troubled man whose belongings include a strange, unfinished book about a foreign town where boys have disappeared and their mothers gather to mourn and dance with their memories. Captivated by the mothers' collective grief and strength, she sets out to find the book's author and learn how the story ends. Instead, her search leads her to the traces of a murdered poet and a hidden legacy of courage, forcing her to confront violence, exile, and the healing power of shared loss

The grump next door
Ryan, Kendall,
"Dean Whitaker has zero interest in weddings, fairy lights, or the perky woman currently turning his guest house into a scented-candle crime scene. He's a divorce attorney. He thrives on prenups, logic, and not getting glitter on his suits. Poppy Monroe is a wedding planner with a checklist for everything--except how to survive living next door to a hot, brooding, tightly wound lawyer--aka the groom's brother. They're opposites in every way--except for the undeniable chemistry neither of them wants to talk about. Their mission: survive one week of wedding chaos"--Page 4 of cover

Discipline
Pham, Larissa,
This novel follows Christine, a writer touring for her debut book, which draws on a past relationship with a former professor. While traveling, she reflects on questions of artistic creation, ethics, and personal responsibility through conversations with acquaintances, former partners, and strangers. Christine's reflections are disrupted when the professor who inspired her novel contacts her after a long period of silence, initiating a renewed exchange. When he invites her to visit him on a remote island off the coast of Maine, Christine is forced to confront issues of power, authorship, and control over personal narratives. The novel explores the complexities of intimacy, memory, and the boundaries between lived experience and artistic representation

The violin maker's secret
Woods, Evie,
"On any given day, there are thousands of items slowly gathering dust in the Lost and Found of Heathrow Airport. Unknown to anyone, hidden among the clutter, is a very special object that can change the fortunes of those who possess it--a violin of rare beauty and power. Now, as if by chance, it has fallen into the hands of three strangers...Baggage claim agent Devlin, retired teacher Walter, and appraiser Gabrielle have nothing in common, but can these three unlikely guardians unlock the secrets of the violin?"--

Chaos man : a thriller
Mayne, Andrew, 1973-
"A train derails in Idaho, nearly causing a nuclear disaster. An inferno at a battery facility in Florida disrupts the electrical grid for days. A potentially devastating failure is discovered at Virginia's Mud River Dam. To computational biologist Theo Cray, these aren't mere infrastructure accidents. They are virtually undetectable acts of sabotage. Theo sees a mathematical pattern to the madness that few others can comprehend--except for his associates: rogue FBI agent Jessica Blackwood, private security specialist Brad Trasker, and Florida underwater investigator Sloan McPherson. If Theo's intuition and calculations are correct, the disasters are just a warm-up. The worst is yet to come--a catastrophe that could trigger the deaths of millions across the country"--Page 4 of cover

A little buzzed
Murray, Alys,
"Scout Porter is screwed. Not literally, of course. Literally, she's a twenty-six year old virgin, thanks to a relationship so disastrous she swore off love and sex for good. Metaphorically, she's screwed because the entire office of BuzzCorp, the sex toy start-up where she's head engineer, just found out. The vibrators she designs for her customers may be perfect, but this little revelation calls her reputation into question - and ruins the vibes in the office - so Scout decides she needs to lose her V-card, and fast. Enter Hudson Bailey, the nerdy and charming software developer hired to build the app for Scout's latest creation. The only problem is, he's as virginal with sex toys as she is with sex. So, Scout proposes a bargain: she'll teach him everything he needs to know about toys, if he'll take her virginity. For research, obviously. Scout doesn't do feelings. But their little experiment yields unexpected results - chemistry so off the charts Scout starts to think she might actually want more than just a one-time fling. When their budding relationship is threatened by the return of Scout's notorious ex, both Scout and Hudson will have to decide if they've reached their climax as a couple, or if they're willing to risk everything for a chance at true love"-- Provided by publisher

Agnes Aubert's mystical cat shelter
Fawcett, Heather (Heather M.),
"Agnes Aubert leads a meticulously organized life, and she likes it that way. As the proudly type-A manager of a cat rescue charity, she has devoted her life to finding forever homes for stray cats. Now it's the shelter that needs a new home. And the only landlord who will rent a space to a cat rescue is a mysterious man called Havelock--who also happens to be the world's most infamous magician, running an illegal magic shop out of his basement. Havelock is cantankerous and eccentric, but not not handsome, and no, Agnes absolutely does not feel anything but disdain for him. After all, rumors swirl about his shadowy past--including whispers that his dark magic once almost brought about the apocalypse. Then one day a glamorous magician comes looking for Havelock, putting the magic shop--and the cat shelter--in jeopardy. To save the shelter, Agnes will have to team up with the magician who nearly ended the world . . . and may now be trying to steal her heart. Havelock is everything Agnes thinks she doesn't need in her life: chaos, mischief, and a little too much adventure. But as she gets to know him, she discovers that he's more than the dark magician of legend, and that she may be ready for a little intrigue--and romance--in her life. After all, second chances aren't just for rescue cats. . . ."--

White River crossing
McGuire, Ian,
"A ragged fur peddler arrives at a remote outpost of the Hudson Bay Company in the winter of 1766 with a lump of gold, claiming that there is plenty more like it further north at a place called Ox Lake. The outpost's chief factor, Magnus Norton, dreams of instant riches and launches a secret and perilous expedition to find the treasure and bring it back. Led by a family of native guides, the party of prospectors includes Norton's brutish deputy, John Shaw, and Thomas Hearn, the insular and intellectual first mate from the factory's whaling sloop. During their long journey north, Shaw's callousness and arrogance lead him to commit an act of sexual violence whose disastrous consequences will only fully emerge once they reach their final destination. There, amidst the bleak beauty of the Barren Grounds, as Norton's carefully crafted plans begin to fall apart and the brutal arctic winter starts to descend, Hearn is forced to make a choice that will define his character and determine his future forever. Utterly captivating, White River Crossing transports us back to the furthest edges of the eighteenth-century British empire where two radically different worlds-indigenous and European-collide with calamitous and deadly results"--

Back in the saddle
Eckersley, Maggie,
"Caroline swears she's done with love. Fleeing her Scottish homeland with a broken heart for fresh start in Oklahoma is supposed to be smooth riding - until a whisky-soaked night at a local bar leads to a smouldering kiss with a devastatingly handsome cowboy. Hunter's charm stirs something wild in her, awakening desires she thought she'd buried for good after her divorce. Hunter has no time for distractions. With his family's ranch on the line, he has enough on his plate. But then he meets Caroline, a sultry, sharp-tongued, whip-smart doctor. Their chemistry is electric, their connection undeniable - and that kiss? Unforgettable. As their worlds collide, Caroline and Hunter find themselves drawn together in a whirlwind of passion and longing. But both are tied to the past and neither is ready to let go. Can they hold the reins steady, or will they call it quits before the dust settles?"--Provided by publisher

Sukcesja
Gajdziński, Piotr, 1964-
"Wszystko, co chcesz wiedzieć o władzy i jej namiętnościach... Rafał Terlecki, dziennikarz śledczy niezależnej stacji telewizyjnej, otrzymuje list wysłany z południa Włoch przez śmiertelnie chorego byłego agenta wojskowych służb specjalnych - to frapująca opowieść o Funduszu Obsługi Zadłużenia Zagranicznego, jednej z największych afer przełomu lat osiemdziesiątych i dziewięćdziesiątych. W kopercie są także zrobione współcześnie zdjęcia, na których - co wyjątkowo zaskakuje Terleckiego - autor listu spożywa posiłek w towarzystwie najbliższego współpracownika szefa obecnego rządu. Tymczasem młody i ambitny premier buduje swoje zaplecze polityczne, korzystając ze wsparcia Klubu Thor, tajemniczej międzynarodowej organizacji, która powstała jeszcze w czasach Michaiła Gorbaczowa. Teraz Klub Thor chce zacząć robić interesy w Polsce i kupuje największą krajową rafinerię. Premier Marcin Lassota ma w tym pomóc. Przy okazji, dzięki swojej kochance, podejmuje działania mające na celu przejęcie kontroli nad imperium jednego z najbogatszych Polaków, w którego skład wchodzi duża telewizja informacyjna. Rafał Terlecki wraz ze swoimi współpracownikami rozpoczyna śledztwo w Polsce i na Sycylii. Gdy sprawa wydaje się już rozwiązana, nieoczekiwanie pojawia się tajemnicza Natasza..."--Polonia.com

We are the World (Cup) : a personal history of the world's greatest sporting event
Bennett, Roger, 1970-
"Every four years, millions of viewers all over the globe are united in the drama of the world's biggest sporting event. Geopolitical turmoil, popular culture, clashes of custom and style all weave together on the pitch, making the World Cup about so much more than soccer. For fans, it is a series of triumphs, heartbreaks, and shocking twists of fate. For the players, single matches, single plays, single glorious moments can be life changing. In We are the World (Cup),Roger Bennett imbues his unmitigated love for and dedication to the game into a deeply researched and deeply personal distillation of every tournament he has experienced from the 1978 to 2022."--Providedby publisher

Carthage : a new history
MacDonald, Eve,
"For 600 years, the ancient kingdom of Carthage dominated the western Mediterranean, rising from a small city on the coast of North Africa, founded in the ninth century BCE, to the region's largest, richest empire in the third. The home of Hannibal and Dido, of war elephants and enormous wealth, beauty, and technological sophistication, at its height Carthage commanded one of the ancient world's great navies and territory spanning the coast of northwestern Africa, modern-day Spain, Sardinia, Sicily, and beyond. It was inevitable that the Carthaginians came to vie with Rome for ultimate supremacy over the Mediterranean; the epic conflict stretched over more than one century, three wars, and 43 years of active fighting. When at last Carthage fell and the city was destroyed, the history of the realm and the Carthaginians was subsumed by their conquerors, and the story of the real Carthage was lost. In this groundbreaking new history-the first in more than a decade-rising-star ancient historian Eve MacDonald tells the essential story of the lost culture of Carthage and of its forgotten people, using brand-new archaeological analysis to uncover the history behind the legend. Taking readers on a journey from the Phoenician Levant of the early Iron Age to the Atlantic and all along the coast of Africa, Carthage puts the city and the story of North Africa once again at the center of Mediterranean history. Reclaimed from the Romans, this is the Carthaginian version of the dramatic tale-revealing to us that, without Carthage, there would be no Rome"-- Provided by publisher

C# programming in easy steps
McGrath, Mike, 1956-
"Unlock the power of C# and start creating professional-grade applications -- the easy way! C# Programming in easy steps, 4th edition is your beginner-friendly guide to one of the world's most popular programming languages. In easy steps, and with crystal-clear, syntax-highlighted examples (free to download), you'll quickly gain the skills to code with confidence. Discover how to: build a solid founcation with C# essentials; grasp object-oriented programming (OOP), and debug with ease. No prior experience needed. Illustrated with C# 1 and .NET 9. However, the examples will work with versions C# 14 and .NET 10 when they are released."--

CISA : certified information systems auditor : practice tests, covers 2024-2029 exam objectives
Gregory, Peter H.,
Improve your understanding of every CISA exam domain and objectives to further your career in information security auditing CISA Certified Information Systems Auditor Practice Tests provides essential and practical exam prep for the popular CISA certification. Hundreds of domain-by-domain practice questions cover all the tested Certified Information Systems Auditor exam objectives, helping you prepare for the test and for the real-world demands of a career in systems audit, security, and control. Just like the real exams, the practice questions written by veteran information security experts Peter Gregory and Mike Chapple cover the information system auditing process, the governance and management of IT, information systems acquisition, development, and implementation, information systems operations and business resilience, and the protection of information assets. These rigorous and realistic practice questions will get you ready whether this is your first role in the industry or if you are experienced and ready to advance your career. By studying the domain-by-domain questions and well as taking the full chapter practice exams, you'll get help in identifying your subject-matter strengths and weaknesses and be ready to shift from topic to topic in an exam-like setting. In the book, you'll get: Challenging questions designed to advance your understanding and comprehension of all covered exam domains ; Questions as similar as possible to the real CISA exam questions ; Complimentary access to online version of the same questions to practice your online test-taking skills ; Perfect for everyone studying for the CISA Certified Information Systems Auditor certification exam, this book will also benefit IT security professionals seeking to test and improve their skillset

World Cup fever : a soccer journey in nine tournaments
Kuper, Simon,
"Simon Kuper is one of very few people to have attended every World Cup since 1990. In World Cup Fever, he looks back at each tournament he's experienced ... to reveal a captivating portrait of sport in a globalized world"--Flap page 1 of dust jacket

The ADHD field guide for adults
Osborn, Cate,
From the social media sensations and mental health advocates Cate Osborn and Erik Gude comes a modern and refreshingly honest guide to managing ADHD for adults. ADHD is one of the most common psychiatric disorders in adults. With roughly eight million adults living with ADHD and more people seeking and receiving diagnoses each year, there's a huge gap between lived experiences and straightforward information. Enter Cate Osborn and Erik Gude, ADHD advocates and educators and hosts of the wildly popular podcast Catie and Eric's Infinite Quest: An ADHD Adventure. They have witnessed this info gap firsthand in their own lives and in the flood of questions they regularly field from their millions of social media followers. Irreverent, indispensable, candid, and reassuring, Cate and Erik don't paper over the realities of neurodivergence. They give it to you straight. Featuring the most up-to-date foundational information, The ADHD Field Guide for Adults also explores issues that are rarely discussed, such as navigating sex and intimacy, and the healthcare system. Ingeniously structured and designed to be accessible for neurodivergent readers

The second estate : how the tax code made an American aristocracy
Madoff, Ray D.,
"A revelatory book that lifts the curtain on America's most consequential public deception: how the rich get richer using tools the government gave them. Amid conflicting narratives about the drivers of wealth and inequality in the United States, one constant hovers in the background: the US tax code. No political force has been more consequential--or more utterly opaque--than the 7,000-page document that details who pays what in American society and government. Most of us have a sense that it's an unfair system. But does anyone know exactly how it's unfair? Legal scholar Ray D. Madoff knows. In The Second Estate, she offers an unprecedented look behind the scenes of America's byzantine system of taxation, laying bare not only its capacity to consolidate wealth but also the mechanisms by which it has created two fundamentally separate American societies: the working Americans who pay and the ultra-rich who benefit. This is not a story of offshore accounts or secret tax havens. In The Second Estate, Madoff shows that the US system itself has, over time, been stripped and reconstituted such that it now offers a series of secret paths, hidden in plain sight, for wealthy people in the know to avoid taxation altogether. Through the strategic avoidance of traditional income, leveraging of investments and debt, and exploitation of rules designed to promote charitable giving, America's wealthy do more than just pay less than their share; they remove themselves from the tax system entirely. Wealth becomes its own sovereign state, and the living is surprisingly-and maddeningly-cheap"-- Provided by publisher

Once there was a town : the memory books of a lost Jewish world
Ziegelman, Jane,
"A powerful exploration of the books created by Jewish Holocaust survivors to honor their lost world By the close of World War II, six million Jews had been erased from the face of the earth. Those who eluded death had lost their homes, families, and entire way of life. Their response was quintessentially Jewish. From a people with a long-history of self-narration, survivors gathered in groups and wrote books, yizkor books, remembering all that had been destroyed. Jane Ziegelman's Once There Was a Town takes readers on a journey through this largely uncharted body of writing and the vanished world it depicts. Once There Was a Town resounds with the voices of rich and poor, shopkeepers and tradespeople, scholars and peddlers, Zionists and Communists, men and women telling stories of the towns that were their homes. Stops are made in the bustling market squares where Jewish merchants catered to local farmers; study houses where men recited Torah; kitchens where homemakers baked 20-pound loaves of bread; cemeteries where mourners conversed with departed loved ones and wooded groves where young couples met for the occasional moonlit tryst. Of the many towns on Ziegelman's itinerary, she always circles back to Luboml, her family's ancestral shtetl and the point of departure for her own journey of discovery. In conversation with classics by IB Singer and Roman Vishniac, Once There Was a Town is a landmark of rediscovery, and a love song to a vanished world"-- Provided by publisher

An elegant defense : the extraordinary new science of the immune system : a tale in four lives
Richtel, Matt,
A groundbreaking narrative exploration of the human immune system--the key to human health and longevity--from the journalist and acclaimed author of A Deadly Wandering

Playmakers : the Jewish entrepreneurs who created the toy industry in America
Kimmel, Michael S.,
Playmakers by Michael Kimmel explores the history of the American toy industry through the experiences of first-generation Jewish American toymakers. Beginning with Morris and Rose Michtom, inventors of the Teddy Bear, the book traces the contributions of pioneers such as the Hassenfeld brothers (Hasbro), Ruth Moskowicz and Elliot Handler (Mattel), and Joshua Lionel Cowan (Lionel Trains). Kimmel examines how these immigrant families and their descendants shaped American childhood by creating iconic toys, developing a culture of fantasy and imagination, and influencing the broader landscape of children's entertainment, literature, and psychology. The narrative situates the rise of the toy industry within the context of Jewish immigrant experiences, entrepreneurship, and twentieth-century American society

The chosen and the damned : Native Americans and the making of race in the United States
Silverman, David J., 1971-
A historical study examining the central role of race in Native American and United States history from the colonial era to the modern period. The book traces how Euro-American and Native American racial identities were formed and contested over four centuries, including colonial wars, the creation of reservations and boarding schools, and modern Native activism. Themes include the construction of White and Native identity, the effects of racial ideology on national policy, and the resilience and resistance of Native peoples. The work situates Native Americans as integral to understanding U.S. racial history

The laws of thought : the quest for a mathematical theory of the mind
Griffiths, Tom, 1978-
"From the coauthor of Algorithms to Live By, an exploration of the quest to use mathematics to describe the ways we think, from its origins three hundred years ago to the ideas behind modern AI systems and the ways in which they still differ from human minds. Everyone has a basic understanding of how the physical world works. We learn about physics and chemistry in school, letting us explain the world around us in terms of concepts like force, acceleration, and gravity--the Laws of Nature. But we don't have the same fluency with concepts needed to understand the world inside us--the Laws of Thought. While the story of how mathematics has been used to reveal the mysteries of the universe is familiar, the story of how it has been used to study the mind is not. There is no one better to tell that story than Tom Griffiths, the head of Princeton's AI Lab and a renowned expert in the field of cognitive science. In this groundbreaking book, he explains the three major approaches to formalizing thought--rules and symbols, neural networks, and probability and statistics--introducing each idea through the stories of the people behind it. As informed conversations about thought, language, and learning become ever more pressing in the age of AI, The Laws of Thought is an essential read for anyone interested in the future of technology." --

Embroidery on knits
Gummlich, Judit,
Transform your knits with a handful of simple embroidery stitches: a cosy cardigan embellished with bright flowers, a dragonfly on the front of a sweater and mittens with plants climbing up the back of the hand. This timeless embroidery book features 18 nature-inspired templates, generously complimented by insightful tips and ideas on how to use them. Embroidery on Knits is an in-depth guide to contemporary stitching with and on wool, explaining every step of the process from planning to finished project. It is a source of inspiration and knowledge for crafty beginners and savvy stitchers alike

The witch doesn't drown in this one
Lovelace, Amanda,
In this one, the witch doesn't burn or die or drown. In this one, she rages. In the witch doesn't drown in this one, celebrated poetess amanda lovelace revisits the titular voice behind her 2018 bestselling collection the witch doesn't burn in this one. With candor, honesty, and well-earned wisdom, lovelace expounds on the roller coaster of feelings brought on by simply trying to exist as a woman in the sociopolitical climate of 2025's America. Through poetry that encompasses a myriad of fem-centric themes, including queer love, trans rights, patriarchal oppression, and intersectional feminism, she demands that women of all backgrounds and lived experiences be seen, heard, defended, and loved. the witch doesn't drown in this one is a deeply felt and hard-won reminder that though some stories that start with bitch-fire end with tear stains, women are powerful, resilient beings who have always contained the strength to rise again, especially when we swim back to the surface together

Big bites : time to eat! : nourishing family recipes that cook in an hour or less
Ashmore, Kat,
"Kat Ashmore's mission is to empower hungry readers everywhere to feed themselves and their loved ones well and have fun doing it. Rather than focusing on restriction or deprivation, she asks: What can we add to our plates? After the success of Kat's first cookbook, Big Bites, which was an instant New York Times bestseller, Kat paid close attention to the recipes that home cooks were making most. Whether it was tagging her in photos of the chimichurri meatballs and orange ricotta company cake on social media or emailing about the hot chili oil noodles with kale chips it was clear that the recipes readers seemed to have the most use for all had one thing in common: they didn't take long to cook. We all want recipes that don't take hours of prep work or hours in the oven that you could make as easily on a hectic Tuesday night as you could on a lazy Sunday afternoon, and most importantly that tasted like more time and effort was put into it than actually was. Time to Eat is about simple, comforting recipes that feel familiar yet unique and that envision "healthy food" in a whole new way. Think Chicken Pepperoncini Piccata as a new Friday family dinner go-to, Roasted Mushroom Meatballs that will have your kids asking for second helpings of mushrooms, The Miso Sesame Kale Salad you meal prep on Sunday to feed you lunches all week, and The Snickerdoodle Company Cake you bake all winter long for friends and family. It's food that is abundant in colors, textures, nourishment and flavor. Big bites of big food that are salty, chewy, crunchy, sweet, creamy, and full of personality. And best of all? These meals are on the table in under an hour"-- Provided by publisher

Contrarian
Modesitt, L. E., Jr., 1943-
After his patron is assassinated, Counselor and Isolate Steffan Dekkard must handle political infighting and ongoing assassination attempts while uncovering who is supplying arms to insurrectionists

The endless song
Johnson, Joshua Phillip,
Kindred Greyreach, at odds with a faction below the Sea, must use every power to forestall disaster, while, above, a boy named Flitch finds himself caught in a dangerous political crisis, and they must work together to save themselves, their loved ones, and the Forever Sea itself

The Raven tower
Leckie, Ann,
"Following her record-breaking run in science fiction, Ann Leckie, winner of the Hugo, Nebula, Arthur C. Clarke and Locus Awards, brings her immense talent to an epic fantasy novel about the hidden forces that guide our fates. Having helped win a war at great cost in human lives and to its own power, the god known as the Raven of Iraden was forced to continue to fulfill its commitment to its followers and slowly regain its strength through the steady flow of prayers and sacrifices which are the source of all the gods' powers. Centuries into that toil, a usurper to the throne of Iraden has discovered the Raven's weakened state and sets in motion a plot to gain the favor of younger, stronger gods in a bid to consolidate his power. But the Raven of Iraden is more resilient than its enemies have accounted for, and with the help of some unlikely allies it may still return to glory" --

Bloodguard
Robson, Cecy
"One hundred years. Tens of thousands of gladiators. And today, only one will rise... Everything in the Kingdom of Arrow is a lie. Leith of Grey thought coming to this new land and volunteering to fight in the gladiator arena -- vicious, bloodthirsty tournaments where only the strongest survive -- would earn him enough gold to save his dying sister. He thought there was nothing left to lose. He was wrong -- and they took everything. His hope. His freedom. His very humanity. All Leith has left is his battle-scarred body, fueled by rage and hardened from years of fighting for the right to live another day. Then Leith meets Maeve, an elven royal who is everything he despises. Everything he should hate. Until the alluring princess offers him the one thing he needs most: a chance to win the coveted title of Bloodguard -- and his freedom. But in a kingdom built on secrets and lies, hope doesn't come cheap. Nor will his ultimate revenge..."--

Visions of flesh and blood : a Blood and Ash/Flesh and Fire compendium as told by Miss Willa
Armentrout, Jennifer L.,
"Visions of Flesh and Blood: a Blood and Ash/Flesh and Fire Compendium is a comprehensive companion guide for background, history, reader-favorite information, art, and reference materials. Combined with original short stories and scenes from some of the world's most beloved characters, as well as never-before-seen visual enticements, it's a treat for the senses. Told from the viewpoint of Miss Willa herself, the compendium acts like research material but reads like a journal and cache of personal notes, allowing the reader to revisit the characters and history they so love yet view things in a different way. Visions of Flesh and Blood by Jennifer L. Armentrout with Rayvn Salvador is a must-add additions to the series that any Blood and Ash/Flesh and Fire fan will enjoy!"--Back cover

The shuddering city
Shinn, Sharon,
"In the city of Corcannon, everyone has a secret. Madeleine is planning her wedding to Tivol, but she's really in love with Reese. Jayla has become the guardian of a child named Aussen, but she knows that Aussen possesses a mysterious and dangerous power. Brandon is a temple soldier keeping the enigmatic Villette a prisoner in her own home, but finds himself risking everything to keep her safe. Pietro is pretending he's surprised every time the city is wracked by tremors, but he'll do anything to stop the devastation. Even Corcannon itself has a secret. It's built on a lie, and that lie is about to come tumbling down." --publisher's website

The dollmakers : a novel from the Fallen Peaks
Buchanan, Lynn, 1996-
"In this dark and enchanting stand-alone fantasy from debut author Lynn Buchanan, fall into a world centered around art and creation as well as self-possession, self-discovery...and self-preservation in which it is only through magical constructs-and the people that make them-that humanity can be protected. A touch cozy fantasy and a touch horror, The Dollmakers is perfect for fans of Studio Ghibli films, the works of TJ Klune and Travis Baldree, and readers of Juniper & Thorn and The Goblin Emperor In the country called One, Dollmakers are vital members of the community. An artisan's doll is the height of society's accomplishments, while a guard's doll is the only thing standing between the people of One and the Shod: vicious, cobbled monstrosities that will tear apart any structure: living, dead, inanimate, or otherwise, to add to their horde Apprentice Shean of Pearl is a brilliant dollmaker, and she knows it. With her clever dolls, Shean intends to outsmart and destroy the Shod, once and for all. However, when the Licensor Guild proclaims her work to be that of an artisan, she loses her temper... punching the licensor in the face. But honestly, how is that her fault? Her dolls may be a work of beauty, but they're also powerful and able to defeat any enemy. Her creations are meant to be more than the frivolous companions of children. She is meant to be more. If other dollmakers can't see that, Shean will just have to prove them wrong. Under her mentor's order, she journeys to the remote village called Web to glean some wisdom from Ikiisa, the reclusive guard dollmaker. Frustrated, Shean starts brewing up a plan of her own. Surely her masterpieces are superior to the dolls of some country bumpkin, and if she can convince the village of Web of her talents, the Licensor Guild will have to reconsider and grant her a guard's license. She confronts Ikiisa to showcase her dolls, and in doing so may put Web-and the cities beyond-in grave danger. Because the Shod may not be what they seem, and Shean may not quite be ready for what she discovers"--

These deathless shores
Low, P. H.,
"Jordan was once a Lost Boy, convinced she would never grow up. Now, she's twenty-two and exiled to the real world, still suffering withdrawal from the addictive magic Dust of her childhood. With nothing left to lose, Jordan returns to the Island and its stories-of pirates and war and the heartlessness of youth-intent on facing Peter one last time, on her own terms. If that makes her the villain...so be it"--

Silvercloak
Steven, Laura,
Determined to avenge her parents' murder, a young woman infiltrates an elite academy to hunt the ruthless gang responsible, only to be sent undercover into their world, where deadly alliances, brutal betrayals, and a doomed prophecy threaten to unravel her mission -- and her heart

Closer to the chest
Lackey, Mercedes,
Herald Mags, the King of Valdemar's Herald Spy, has been developing a network of young informants who operate on the streets and also in the halls and kitchens of the wealthy and highborn. His wife Amily is King's Own Herald and finds it useful to be underestimated for there are dark things stirring in the shadows of Haven. Someone has discovered many secrets of the women of the Court and the Collegia and is using those secrets to terrorize and bully them. Mags and Amily will have to track down someone who leaves few clues behind

When they burned the butterfly
Lee, Wen-Yi,
"In this fierce, glamorous adult fantasy debut, Silvia Moreno-Garcia meets Fonda Lee, with the feverish intensity of R.F. Kuang's Poppy War trilogy. Singapore, 1972: Newly independent and grappling for power in a fast-modernizing world. Here, gangsters in Chinese secret societies are the last conduits of their ancestors' migrant gods, and the back alleys where they fight are the last place magic has not been assimilated and legislated away. Loner schoolgirl Adeline Siow has never needed more company than the flame she can summon at her fingertips. But when her mother dies in a house fire with a butterfly seared onto her skin and Adeline hunts down a girl she saw in a back-alley barfight--a girl with a butterfly tattoo--she discovers she's far from alone. Ang Tian is a Red Butterfly: one of a gang of girls who came from nothing, sworn to a fire goddess and empowered to wreak vengeance on the men that abuse and underestimate them. Adeline's mother led a double life as their elusive patron, Madam Butterfly. Now that she's dead, Adeline's bloodline is the sole thing sustaining the goddess. Between her search for her mother's killer and the gang's succession crisis, Adeline becomes quickly entangled with the girls' dangerous world, and even more so with the charismatic Tian. But no home lasts long around here. Ambitious and paranoid neighbor gangs hunt at the edges of Butterfly territory, and bodies are turning up in the red light district suffused with a strange new magic. Adeline may have found her place for once, but with the streets changing by the day, it may take everything she is to keep it"-- Provided by publisher

Endgames
Modesitt, L. E., Jr., 1943-
Solidar is in chaos. Charyn, the young and untested ruler of Solidar, has survived assassination, and he struggles to gain control of a realm in the grip of social upheaval, war, and rioting. Solidar cannot be allowed to slide into social and political turmoil that will leave the High Holders with their ancient power and privilege, and the common people with nothing. But the stakes are even higher than he realizes

For the throne
Whitten, Hannah,
"Red and the Wolf have finally contained the threat of the Old Kings but at a steep cost. Red's beloved sister Neve, the First Daughter is lost in the Shadowlands, an inverted kingdom where the vicious gods of legend have been trapped for centuries and the Old Kings have slowly been gaining control. But Neve has an ally--though it's one she'd rather never have to speak to again--the rogue king Solmir. Solmir wants to bring an end to the Shadowlands and he believes helping Neve may be the key to its destruction. But to do that, they will both have to journey across a dangerous landscape in order to find a mysterious Heart Tree, and finally to claim the gods' dark, twisted powers for themselves"--

A court of mist and fury
Maas, Sarah J.,
Though Feyre now has the powers of the High Fae, her heart remains human, but as she navigates the feared Night Court's dark web of politics, passion, and dazzling power, a greater evil looms--and she might be key to stopping it

The alloy of law
Sanderson, Brandon
"Three hundred years after the events of the Mistborn trilogy, Scadrial is on the verge of modernity, with railroads to supplement the canals, electric lighting in the streets and the homes of the wealthy, and the first steel-framed skyscrapers racing for the clouds. Kelsier, Vin, Elend, Sazed, Spook, and the rest are now part of history--or religion.Yet even as science and technology are reaching new heights, the old magics of Allomancy and Feruchemy continue to play a role in this reborn world. Out in thefrontier lands known as the Roughs, they are crucial tools for the brave men and women attempting to establish order and justice. One such is Waxillium Ladrian, a rare Twinborn who can Push on metals with hisAllomancy and use Feruchemy to become lighter or heavier at will. After twenty years in the Roughs, Wax has been forced by family tragedy to return to the metropolis of Elendel. Now he must reluctantly put away his guns and assume the duties and dignity incumbent upon the head of a noble house. Or so he thinks, until he learns the hard way that the mansions and elegant tree-lined streets of the city can be even more dangerous than the dusty plains of the Roughs. "--

The carb reset : store less fat, burn the rest, and harness the power of carbs to lose weight
Pasternak, Harley,
"In The Carb Reset, Harley guides readers through how and why your body stores or burns fat, expertly cutting through the noise of toxic diet culture. He details why bread, pasta, rice, and fruit should be part of every healthy meal, and he lays out the right combination and quantity of nutrients that speeds fat loss, reduces fat storage, and improves your hormonal balance. The secret is quite literally in our hands thanks to his ingenious PATH acronym (a Palm of carbohydrates, All the vegetables, Thumb of fat, and a Hand of protein). The Carb Reset includes: 50 recipes, most of which require as little as five minutes of preparation, and can be put together in 20 to 30 minutes; Two weeks of meal plans with vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free swaps and an "add a treat a week" strategy to work in your favorite dessert or snack; Handy line illustrations of "PATH plates" that show you how to put meals together at home. The Carb Reset puts readers in control of their health, resetting their relationship with the foods they love and thought they had to forego, while reshaping their approach to eating well for life"--

Preppy Kitchen super easy : 100 simple and versatile recipes
Kanell, John,
The cooking and baking expert and beloved social media star @PreppyKitchen offers recipes that are quick and easy to make any time of day regardless of your skill level or busy schedule, along with simple instructions, streamlined ingredient lists and dozens of ideas for riffs and make-aheads

Festive holiday recipes : 103 must-make dishes for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Eve everyone will love
Gundry, Addie,
From easy appetizers for holiday and New Years Eve entertaining, like Caramelized Onion Tartlets, to recipes for The Best Roast Turkey and all your favorite sides, pies, and even leftover ideas, this book serves up easy and elegant entertaining throughout the holiday season. Each recipe is paired with a four-color, full-bleed photo

Japan from the source : authentic recipes from the people that know them best
Ho, Tienlon,
Lonely Planet presents 60 of Japan's most authentic dishes - direct from the kitchens where they were perfected. From street-food vendors to Michelin-starred chefs, Japan's best local cooks share their passion for food and 60 of their region's classic recipes - from steaming soups and silky ramen noodles to fresh, hand-rolled sushi

I'll bring the apps : bites, bowls, boards & beverages
Mullen, Marissa,
"Appetizers are low lift, high reward, and always a crowd pleaser. So why not make them the whole party? In I'll Bring the Apps, Marissa Mullen does exactly that, proving she knows much more than just cheese. Each of these 75 recipes takes into consideration her next great entertaining mantra, the APPS method: Ambiance, Presentation, Pairing, and Space. You'll find recipes for Bites, such as Summer Shrimp Cups and Savory Jammy Onion Toasts; Bowls, like Tarragon Egg Salad and Sweet and Spicy Whipped Brie; Boards (obviously) that go well beyond Marissa's signature, including the Salumi Pinwheel Platter and Truffle Cheddar Breakfast Quesadillas; and, of course, Beverages to round it all out-- Dark Chocolate Tequila Espresso Martini, anybody? Marissa suggests pairings for every individual dish, as well as full menu spreads, making this book your new go-to guide for weekend brunches, lively game nights, al fresco happy hours, and the start to any great meal. Inspired by the casual way we gather today, I'll Bring the Apps empowers you to mix, match, and create stunning presentations with ease. Now, hors d'oeuvres hour never has to end!"--

Dessert can save the world : stories, secrets, and recipes for a stubbornly joyful existence
Tosi, Christina,
"Dessert connects us heart-to-heart like almost nothing else. It brings us together in good times and bad, celebration and solace. It marks big and small milestones and creates memories of comfort and joy. And Christina Tosi, the founder and CEO of Milk Bar, believes it can save the world. Does the combination of sugar, flour, and butter have some magical ability to fix all the craziness of our modern existence? Of course not. Tosi knows a cookie is just a cookie--but bringing the joy a cookie holds into every area of your life most definitely can. The spirit of dessert--the relentless, unflinching commitment to finding or creating joy even when joy feels hard to come by--is what can save us. And then we, in turn, can each save the world." --

Taste of home. Make it! take it

Ttattŭthan chip pap : yŏngyang kwa kŏn'gang ŭl han sang e ch'arida
Kim, Ŭn-a
This cookbook is strongly recommended for singles and kitchen-clueless newly weds. Author provides each meal recipe with perfect combinations of dishes to provide balance of flavors and nutrition--Publisher

Weeknights with Giada : quick and simple recipes to revamp dinner
De Laurentiis, Giada
Food Network star Giada De Laurentiis delivers soups, sandwiches, pizzas, pastas, and meat and fish dishes that come together quickly as stand-alone main courses--most in half an hour or less

Milk Street instant pot : bold, fast, fresh--a revolution of flavor in an instant
Kimball, Christopher,
Using fresh flavor combinations and innovative techniques from around the world, this cookbook shows home cooks how to make the most of their multicooker's unique capabilities with a vast array of one-pot recipes revealing how to prepare the same dish two ways

Bluey and Bingo's Christmas cookbook
"Learn how to make strawberry Veranda Santa hats, Bartlebee toast, roast pork with crackling, and more. This cookbook includes 13 yummy recipes that are perfect for making a deliciously fun Christmas with your friends and family, and the book can lay flat to make it easy to read while cooking"--

Simply Ming in your kitchen : 80 recipes to watch, learn, cook & enjoy
Tsai, Ming, 1964-
Chef Ming Tsai presents recipes for meals and accompanying dishes, all following his East-West approach and some with accompanying QR codes and online links to additional free information

Goodbye to inflammation : your all-natural plan to reclaim health, lose weight, and feel better than ever
Moñino, Sandra,
"What if you could resolve the root factor that exacerbates weight gain, bloat, stress, and aging? What if you could reduce and prevent the underlying condition at the base of every chronic health issue? With a plan to fight inflammation, you can. Many people suffer from the effects of chronic inflammation: weight gain, skin problems, headaches, and more serious conditions--diabetes, hypothyroidism, multiple sclerosis, cancer, and depression. In this life-changing guide, nutritionist and global sensation Sandra Moñino offers drug-free, evidence-based advice to help you feel your best again."--

Butter, flour, sugar, joy
Kartes, Danielle,
"The best baking starts with joy! Beloved celebrity cookbook author Danielle Kartes of the hit food blog Rustic Joyful Food tackles the baking world with Butter, Flour, Sugar, Joy, the ultimate baking book for everyone. A lot of people will tell you that baking is science-it requires precision and expertise and fancy kitchen gadgets. But in this book you will find easy-to-follow one-bowl wonders that set the stage for joy! At the heart of baking is the sweet sense of connection, of sharing a treat with someone you love. And that's something anyone can master. Every chapter of Butter, Flour, Sugar, Joy features simple, delicious dessert recipes-including Danielle's perfect dump-and-stir cake method, which allows you to create showstopper confections without all the fuss. Welcome to the world of Butter, Flour, Sugar, Joy-where messes are encouraged and the comfort of casual home baking is the main course."--

The cake bible
Beranbaum, Rose Levy
Providing countless solutions and tips for commonly encountered baking problems, this updated and expanded cake cookbook provides precise instructions for baking and decorating spectacular special-occasion cakes of any size

The greatest sentence ever written
Isaacson, Walter,
"To celebrate America's 250th anniversary, Walter Isaacson takes readers on a ... deep dive into the creation of one of history's most powerful sentences: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.' Drafted by Thomas Jefferson and edited by Benjamin Franklin and John Adams, this line lays the foundationfor the American Dream and defines the common ground we share as a nation. Isaacson unpacks its genius, word by word, illuminating thethen-radical concepts behind it"--

Veil. Vol. 1, Temperature of orange
Kotteri,
Like a classic film, he and she encountered each other by chance. He was an on-duty police officer in the city. She was a runaway heiress. When he learned that she is looking for work, he decided to welcome her as the police station's telephone operator... This was the beginning of the everyday lives of he and she, and the delicate distance between them. Enjoy witty dialogue and bold illustrations, in this in full-color manga collection by Kotteri!

Revolutionary girl Utena. The student council saga. 1
Utena's sense of chivalry pits her against the student council members of Ohtori Academy, fighting a series of dangerous duels with its members

Revolutionary girl Utena. The student council saga. 1
Utena's sense of chivalry pits her against the student council members of Ohtori Academy, fighting a series of dangerous duels with its members

Becoming
Obama, Michelle, 1964-

Simply tomato : 100 recipes for enjoying your favorite ingredient all year long
Holmberg, Martha,
"Americans eat more tomatoes than any vegetable except for the potato. But what do we do with all those tomatoes? Acclaimed chef, cooking teacher, and author Martha Holmberg shares 75 recipes to turn the tomato into glorious dishes. Whether it's a fresh-off-the-vine tomato or a just-picked-from-the-supermarket-shelf tomato, Holmberg has ideas to make the best of our favorite summer fruit. There are three versions of gazpacho, five ways to top roasted tomato puff pastry, plus Tomato and Zucchini Gratin, Classic Panzanella, Tomato Risotto, and Stuffed Tomatoes with Spiced Beef Piccadillo. With more tomato varieties in existence than ever before, Holmberg explains which tomatoes work best with which recipes: choose a beefsteak to roast with fish or pick cherry tomatoes to toss with corn in a quick summer salad. Holmberg also reveals her secret, umami-packed ingredient-tomato water. She calls it a "magical elixir" that can add intense tomato flavor to most anything you make"--

Lollapalooza : the uncensored story of alternative rock's wildest festival
Bienstock, Richard,
"The definitive, no-holds-barred oral history of 1990s alt-rock festival Lollapalooza--told by the musicians, roadies, and industry insiders who lived it. From the New York Times bestselling authors of Nothin' But A Good Time. In Lollapalooza: The Uncensored Story of Alternative Rock's Wildest Festival, New York Times bestselling authors Richard Bienstock and Tom Beaujour tell the no-holds-barred history of the iconic music festival. Through hundreds of new interviews with artists, tour founders, festival organizers, promoters, publicists, sideshow freaks, stage crews, record label execs, reporters, roadies and more, Lollapalooza chronicles the tour's pioneering 1991-1997 run, and, in the process, alternative rock's rise--as well as the reverberations that led to a massive shift in the music industry and the culture at large. Lollapalooza features original interviews with some of the biggest names in music, including Perry Farrell and Jane's Addiction, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Nine Inch Nails, Sonic Youth, Tool, Smashing Pumpkins, Ice-T, Rage Against the Machine, Green Day, Patti Smith, Alice in Chains, Metallica and many more. Conceived by Farrell as a farewell tour for Jane's Addiction, Lollapalooza's inaugural outing across the U.S. in the summer of 1991 helped to coalesce an ideology and aesthetic that not only washed over popular music but seeped into fashion, film, television, literature, food, politics and more. Throughout the decade, Lollapalooza offered a vast and diverse ensemble of bands, breaking barriers of genre and uniting alternative rock, heavy metal, punk, hip-hop, industrial, goth, avant-garde, spoken word, electronic dance music and other styles under one big tent, and setting the template for the modern American music festival and the scores of other contemporary destination fests that are now an integral part of how audiences experience live music. Unorthodox not just in music, Lollapalooza also spotlighted visual arts, nonprofit organizations, political outfits and even the occasional freak show, offering a tantalizing cocktail of culture, art, and activism that, taken together, defined the alternative mindset that dominated the 1990s. Echoes of its impact reverberate strongly today - cemented by annual sell-outs at destination events all over the world, an estimation of 400,000 attendees at the flagship Chicago fest each summer, and a spot among the world's largest and longest-running music festivals. A nostalgic look back at 1990s music and culture, Lollapalooza traces the festival's groundbreaking origins, following the tour as it progresses through the decade, and documenting the action onstage, backstage, and behind-the-scenes in detailed and uncensored and sometimes shocking first-person accounts. This is the story of Lollapalooza and the 1990s alternative rock revolution"--

The killer next door
Marwood, Alex
"A taut new psychological thriller from the Edgar Award-nominated author of The Wicked Girls Alex Marwood's debut novel, The Wicked Girls, earned her lavish praise from the likes of Stephen King, Laura Lippman, and Erin Kelly, and was shortlisted for an Edgar Award. Now Marwood's back with a brilliant, tightly paced thriller that will keep you up at night and make you ask yourself: just how well do you know your neighbors? Everyone who lives at 23 Beulah Grove has a secret. If they didn't, they wouldn't be renting rooms in a dodgy old building for cash-no credit check, no lease. It's the kind of place you end up when you you've run out of other options. The six residents mostly keep to themselves, but one unbearably hot summer night, a terrible accident pushes them into an uneasy alliance. What they don't know is that one of them is a killer. He's already chosen his next victim, and he'll do anything to protect his secret"--

How to win friends and influence fungi : collected quirks of science, tech, engineering, and math from nerd nite
"In the vein of acclaimed popular-science bestsellers such as Atlas Obscura, Astrophysics for Young People in a Hurry, The Way Things Work, What If?, and Undeniable, the co-founders of the global science organization Nerd Nite bring readers a collection of wacky, yet fascinating STEM topics. For 20 years, Nerd Nite has delivered to live audiences around the world, the most interesting, fun, and informative presentations about science, history, the arts, pop culture, you name it. There hasn't been a rabbit hole that their army of presenters hasn't been afraid to explore. Finally, after countless requests to bring Nerd Nite to more fans across the globe, co-founders and college pals Matt Wasowski and Chris Balakrishnan are bringing readers the quirky and accessible science content that they crave in book form, focused on STEM and paired with detailed illustrations that make the content pop. The resulting range of topics is quirky and vast, from kinky, spring-loaded spiders to the Webb telescope's influence on movie special effects. Hilariously named after Dale Carnegie's iconic book, How to Win Friends and Influence Fungi features narratives, bursts, and infographics on all things STEM from scientists around the world. Chapters are sure to make you laugh-out-loud, with titles such as "The Science of the Hangover," "What Birds Can Teach Us About the Impending Zombie Apocalypse," and "Lessons from the Oregon Trail." With fascinating details, facts, and illustrations, combined with Chris and Matt's incredible connections to organizations such as the Discovery Network and the Smithsonian Institution, How to Win Friends and Influence Fungi is sure to reach joyful STEM enthusiasts of all ages around the world. About Nerd Nite: Started in 2003, Nerd Nite is a monthly event held in 100+ cities worldwide during which folks give 20-minute fun-yet-informative presentations across all disciplines, while the audience drinks along!"--

Replaceable you : adventures in human anatomy
Roach, Mary,
"The body is the most complex machine in the world, and the only one for which you cannot get a replacement part from the manufacturer. For centuries, medicine has reached for what's available--sculpting noses from brass, borrowing skin from frogs and hearts from pigs, crafting eye parts from jet canopies and breasts from petroleum by-products. Today we're attempting to grow body parts from scratch using stem cells and 3D printers. How are we doing? Are we there yet? In Replaceable You, Mary Roach explores the remarkable advances and difficult questions prompted by the human body's failings. When and how does a person decide they'd be better off with a prosthetic than their existing limb? Can a donated heart be made to beat forever? Can an intestine provide a workable substitute for a vagina? Roach dives in with her characteristic verve and infectious wit. Her travels take her to the OR at a legendary burn unit in Boston, a "superclean" xeno-pigsty in China, and a stem cell "hair nursery" in the San Diego tech hub. She talks with researchers and surgeons, amputees and ostomates, printers of kidneys and designers of wearable organs. She spends time in a working iron lung from the 1950s, stays up all night with recovery techs as they disassemble and reassemble a tissue donor, and travels across Mongolia with the cataract surgeons of Orbis International. Irrepressible and accessible, Replaceable You immerses readers in the wondrous, improbable, and surreal quest to build a new you."--Book jacket

Amity
Harris, Nathan,
In 1866 New Orleans, formerly enslaved siblings Coleman and June are separated, only to embark on perilous, individual journeys through the Mexican desert to reunite and seize the freedom they were promised

Annihilation
VanderMeer, Jeff
Area X has claimed the lives of members of eleven expeditions. The twelfth expedition consisting of four women hopes to map the terrain and collect specimens; to record all their observations, scientific and otherwise, of their surroundings and of one another; and, above all, to avoid being contaminated by Area X itself

The handmaid's tale
Atwood, Margaret, 1939-
"Margaret Atwood's best-loved novel has taken the world by storm again. Riding high on bestseller lists for months and the basis for Hulu's Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning smash hit series, The Handmaid's Tale is everywhere--and it's primed for a stunning new graphic novel adaptation. The story is iconic: In the Republic of Gilead, a Handmaid named Offred lives in the home of the Commander, to the purpose that she become pregnant with his child. Stripped of her most basic freedoms, (work, property, her own name), Offred remembers a different time, not so long ago, when she was valuable for more than her viable ovaries, when she was mother to a daughter she could keep, and when she and her husband lived and loved as equals. Darkly prescient, scathingly sarcastic, and eminently frightening, The Handmaid's Tale has only gained relevance since it was originally published, and remains one of the most powerful, widely read stories of our times. This illustrated edition is a must-have for Atwood's growing legions of fans"--

The 500 hidden secrets of Chicago

Milk without honey
Harms, Hanna, 1994-
"Bees are vital to securing our food supply. We could live in a paradise where insects, especially bees pollinate fragrant seas of flowers whose fruits we harvest. Instead, vast lawns are now replacing flower gardens, and agriculture is characterized by monocultures. Pesticides and climate change are also causing insect mortality, with dramatic consequences for the global ecosystem. As we destroy the insect populations, honey is just one of many foods that will no longer be available to us, unless we learn to honor our innate connection with nature before it's too late."--

Barely functional adult : it'll all make sense eventually
Ng, Meichi,
"...a hilarious and poignant [autobiographical] collection of beautifully illustrated short stories that perfectly captures the best and worst of adult life and the joy, terror, fun, and pain that comes with learning to navigate its complexities and conundrums"--Back cover

Heart the lover
King, Lily,
""You knew I'd write a book about you someday." Our narrator understands good love stories--their secrets and subtext, their highs and their free falls. But her greatest love story, the one she lived, never followed the simple rules. In the fall of her senior year of college, she meets two star students from her 17th-Century Lit class: Sam and Yash. Best friends living off campus in the elegant house of a professor on sabbatical, the boys invite her into their intoxicating world of academic fervor, rapid-fire banter and raucous card games. They nickname her Jordan, and she quickly discovers the pleasures of friendship, love and her own intellectual ambition. Youthful passion is unpredictable though, and she soon finds herself at the center of a charged and intricate triangle. As graduation comes and goes, choices made will alter these three lives forever. Decades later, Jordan is living the life she dreamed of, and the vulnerable days of her youth seem comfortably behind her. But when a surprise visit and unexpected news brings the past crashing into the present, she returns to a world she left behind and is forced to confront the decisions and deceptions of her younger self. Written with the superb wit and emotional sensitivity fans and critics of Lily King have come to adore, Heart the Lover is a deeply moving story that celebrates love, friendship, and the transformative nature of forgiveness. Wise, unforgettable, and with a delightful connective thread to Writers & Lovers, this is King at her very best, affirming her as a masterful chronicler of the human experience and one of the finest novelists at work today"-- Provided by publisher

Try not to breathe
Bell, David, 1969 November 17-
"An ex-cop sets out to find her missing sister and discovers the horrifying truth about her family... A traumatic experience in the line of duty forces thirty-year-old Avery Rogers to abandon both her relationship and her position as a Kentucky State Police officer. She retreats to a college town where she works an unfulfilling job as a security guard, breaking up fights between drunken frat boys. But a frantic phone call turns Avery's life upside down. Her father-a retired cop who never fails to convey his disappointment in Avery-says her half sister is missing and in danger. Avery is sure Anna's just crashing with friends, but her father strong-arms her into searching for the sister she barely knows. Anna Rogers is fed up with her family-a half sister who resents her existence and a domineering father who thinks it's okay for cops to shoot unarmed civilians. She hits the road to attend a protest against police brutality, unaware of the danger that awaits her there. Just after catching a glimpse of Avery at the protest, Anna receives a shocking text. Now she's no longer road-tripping; she's running, pursued by an older sister she doesn't trust and a violent stranger who has been stalking her for weeks. When Avery discovers Anna's hiding place near a remote cave system, she risks everything to save her. Little do the sisters know that the past is catching up with them-including the explosive secret at the very heart of the Rogers family"--

How Simi got her groom back
Dev, Sonali,
The Naik sisters escaped their traumatic past in Mumbai to come to the States, but their journeys have been vastly different. Simi is working toward a bright future as a pediatric nurse in a small town in Kentucky when Rupi shows up at her door in distress, on the run, and as always, dragging trouble in her wake. With Rupi's safety in jeopardy, the sisters hatch a desperate plan to keep her in the country: Rupi must get married and fast even if it means Simi recruiting the man she's been secretly dating as her sister's groom. A perfect plan? Not quite. But there aren't many alternatives. As the big day inches closer, Simi and Rupi face a storm of wedding shenanigans and romantic surprises, not to mention sisterly jealousies. As the stakes and tensions rise, will their secrets tear them apart or will they find a way to risk everything for love? --from Amazon

A walk in the park : the true story of a spectacular misadventure in the Grand Canyon
Fedarko, Kevin,
"From the New York Times bestselling and award-winning author of the epic adventure tale The Emerald Mile comes the most dramatic and deeply moving account ever of walking the Grand Canyon, a highly dangerous, life-changing 750-mile trek. The Grand Canyon is an American treasure, visited by more than 6 million people a year, many of whom are rendered speechless by its vast beauty, mystery, and complexity. Now, in A Walk in the Park, author Kevin Fedarko chronicles his year-long effort to find a 750-mile path along the length of the Grand Canyon, through a vertical wilderness suspended between the caprock along the rims of the abyss and the Colorado River, which flows along its bottom. Consisting of countless cliffs and steep drops, plus immense stretches with almost no access to water, and the fact that not a single trail links its eastern doorway to its western terminus, this jewel of national parks is so challenging that when Fedarko departed fewer people had completed the journey in one single hike than had walked on the moon. The intensity of the effort required him to break his trip into several legs, each of which held staggering dangers and unexpected discoveries. Accompanying Fedarko through this sublime yet perilous terrain is the award-winning photographer Peter McBride, who captures the stunning landscape in breathtaking photos. Together, they encounter long-lost Native American ruins, the remains of Old West prospectors' camps, present day tribal activists, and signs that commercial tourism is impinging on the park's remote wildness. An epic adventure, action-packed survival tale, and a deep spiritual journey, A Walk in the Park gives us an unprecedented glimpse of the crown jewel of America's National Parks: an iconic landscape framed by ancient rock whose contours are recognized by all, but whose secrets and treasures are known to almost no one, and whose topography encompasses some of the harshest, least explored, most awe-inspiring terrain in the world"--

A pair of aces
Benedict, Marie,
"A gripping novel about two trailblazing women on opposite sides of the law--a prosecutor and a madam--who team up to bring down notorious gangster Lucky Luciano, from the New York Times bestselling authors of the million-copy bestseller The Personal Librarian. Eunice Carter, assistant district attorney for the City of New York and Manhattan's first Black female prosecutor, has her sights set on the one and only Lucky Luciano, head of New York City's five largest organized crime families. Other prosecutors have tried to bring down Lucky, but they've all focused on the crime syndicate's traditional businesses-bootlegging, gambling, loan sharking, and drug dealing-or tax evasion. No one has thought to approach the mob through its hand in prostitution. Until Eunice. But she can't get Luciano alone. Polly Adler has worked long and hard to build up her high-class brothel business. Her client list is filled with well-known names, both the famous and the infamous, who all know her booze is top-notch, her music first-rate, her food exquisite, and her girls the best. But Lucky has gone too far, putting her girls in danger, and Polly finally sees the chance to end his reign once and for all. Together, Eunice and Polly fashion a case utilizing a network of women. Bridging the enormous divide between them and risking their own lives, they assemble evidence bit by bit, under the nose of the man they're trying to convict. It is this very alliance-of two women from vastly different worlds-that launches the most sensational trial New York City has ever seen"-- Provided by publisher

Laundry love : finding joy in a common chore
Richardson, Patric,
"Patric Richardson, aka the "Laundry Evangelist," reveals his revolutionary methods for cleaning clothes-and making laundry loads more fun. Doing laundry is rarely anyone's favorite task. But to Patric Richardson, laundry isn't just fun-it's a way of life. After years of running Laundry Camp at the Mall of America for thousands of eager learners, he's ready to share his tips, tricks, and hacks-bringing surprise and delight to this commonly dreaded chore. Sorting your laundry? It's not all about whites and darks. Pondering the wash cycles? Every load, even your delicates, should be washed using express or quick-wash on warm. Facing expensive dry cleaning bills? You'll learn how to wash everything-yes everything-at home. And those basically clean but smelly clothes? Richardson has a secret for freshening those too (hint: it involves vodka, not soap). Changing your relationship with laundry can also change your life. Richardson's handy advice shows us how to save time and money (and the planet!) with our laundry-and he intersperses it all with a healthy dose of humor, real-life laundry stories, and lessons from his Appalachian upbringing and career in fashion. Laundry Love will make you wonder why you ever stressed about ironing, dry cleaning, or (god forbid) red wine spills on your new couch. No matter the issue, Richardson is here to help you make laundry miracles happen-wrinkles and stains be damned"--

We begin at the end
Whitaker, Chris,
"Thirty years ago, a teenage Vincent King was sent to prison. But now, he's served his sentence and is returning to his hometown. The hometown where his childhood best friend, Walk, is now the chief of police. The town where his childhood sweetheart, Star Radley, still lives. The same Star Radley whose sister he killed. Duchess, Star's daughter, is a self-proclaimed outlaw. She needs to be. Who else is going to take care of her and her five-year-old brother? Star is still dazzling, still beautiful, but she hasn't shined as bright since Vincent was sent away. Too often it's Duchess and Walk who are the ones taking care of her. But when Duchess exacts her own vigilante revenge, she will set into motion a series of events that threatens not only her own family, but everyone she grows close to. A crime thriller that will break your heart and a literary novel with a mystery at its core, We Begin at the End unforgettably examines how the choices we make can nudge us into the dangerous ground between good and evil"--

A cyclist's guide to crime & croissants
Claire, Ann,
"Nine months ago, Sadie Greene shocked friends and family by ditching her sensible office job in the Chicago suburbs and buying a sight-unseen French bicycling tour company, Oui Cycle. Now she's living the unconventional life of her dreams in the gorgeous village of Sans-Souci-sur-Mer. Sans souci means carefree, but Sadie feels enough pressure to burst a tire when hometown friends arrive for a tour, including her former boss, Dom Appleton. Sadie is determined to show them the wonders of France and cycling--and to prove she made the right move. She hopes her meticulously planned nine-day itinerary will win them over, with its stunning seascapes, delicious wine tastings, hilltop villages, and, of course, frequent stops for croissants. When Dom drags his heels on fun, Sadie vows he'll enjoy if it kills her. That is, until Dom ends up dead. The tragedy was no accident. Someone went out of their way to bring a permanent end to Dom's vacation. As more crimes--and murder--roll in, suspicions hover over Oui Cycle. To save her dream business, help her friends, and bring justice, Sadie launches her own investigation. However, mysteries mount with every turn. On an uphill battle for clues, can Sadie come to terms with her painful past while spinning closer to the truth--or will a twisted killer put the brakes on her for good?"--Amazon

Killers of a certain age
Raybourn, Deanna,
"Older women often feel invisible, but sometimes that's their secret weapon. They've spent their lives as the deadliest assassins in a clandestine international organization, but now that they're sixty years old, four women friends can't just retire - it's kill or be killed in this action-packed thriller by New York Times bestselling and Edgar Award-nominated author Deanna Raybourn. Billie, Mary Alice, Helen, and Natalie have worked for the Museum, an elite network of assassins, for forty years. Now their talents are considered old-school and no one appreciates what they have to offer in an age that relies more on technology than people skills. When the foursome is sent on an all-expenses paid vacation to mark their retirement, they are targeted by one of their own. Only the Board, the top-level members of the Museum, can order the termination of field agents, and the women realize they've been marked for death. Now to get out alive they have to turn against their own organization, relying on experience and each other to get the job done, knowing that working together is the secret to their survival. They're about to teach the Board what it really means to be a woman-and a killer-of a certain age"--

If I ruled the world
Barnett, Amy DuBois,
"A fast-paced, juicy debut novel that peeks behind the curtain at the cutthroat world of hip-hop music and the glamorous magazine scene in the late 1990s, written by the ultimate insider. It's 1999, and Nikki Rose is the only Black editor on the staff of a prestigious fashion magazine she once thought would be her ticket to becoming a respected editor-in-chief. But after being told one too many times by her boss that "Black girls don't sell magazines," she walks away to take over Sugar, a struggling hip-hop music and lifestyle magazine with untapped potential. Thrown into an entirely new world of wealth, decadence, and debauchery, Nikki has just six months to save Sugar-and her own dreams. As she pulls all-nighters at the office and parties with the era's most influential bad boys, Nikki must prove she has what it takes to lead. Along the way, Nikki leans on a circle of loyal friends, and navigates unexpected romances that force her to reckon with what-and who-she truly wants. But her most dangerous challenge is evading Alonzo Griffin, her very married, very powerful ex-boyfriend and former boss, who's determined to destroy both her and Sugar. If I Ruled the World is a smart, utterly immersive romp through one of the most dynamic eras in pop culture history-a story of ambition, friendship, love, and the journey to finding your own voice."-- Provided by publisher

Poverty, by America
Desmond, Matthew,
"The Pulitzer Prize-winning, bestselling author of Evicted reimagines the debate on poverty, making a new and bracing argument about why it persists in America: because the rest of us benefit from it. The United States, the richest country on earth, has more poverty than any other advanced democracy. Why? Why does this land of plenty allow one in every eight of its children to go without basic necessities, permit scores of its citizens to live and die on the streets, and authorize its corporations to pay poverty wages? In this landmark book, acclaimed sociologist Matthew Desmond draws on history, research, and original reporting to show how affluent Americans knowingly and unknowingly keep poor people poor. Those of us who are financially secure exploit the poor, driving down their wages while forcing them to overpay for housing and access to cash and credit. We prioritize the subsidization of our wealth over the alleviation of poverty, designing a welfare state that gives the most to those who need the least. And we stockpile opportunity in exclusive communities, creating zones of concentrated riches alongside those of concentrated despair. Some lives are made small so that others may grow. Elegantly written and fiercely argued, this compassionate book gives us new ways of thinking about a morally urgent problem. It also helps us imagine solutions. Desmond builds a startlingly original and ambitious case for ending poverty. He calls on us all to become poverty abolitionists, engaged in a politics of collective belonging to usher in a new age of shared prosperity and, at last, true freedom"--

Mr. & Mrs. Witch
Bond, Gwenda,
"In Mr. & Mrs. Witch, the new novel from bestselling author Gwenda Bond, a couple discovers at the altar the surprising secret identities they've kept from each other. Savannah Wilde is a witch, a powerful one, and a member of C.R.O.N.E, an organization for hire that deals with supernatural threats using their magic. Following a whirlwind romance that surprised her friends and family, Savvy is all set to marry the love of her life when she notices her bridal party and her mom are freaking out minutes before the wedding. Griffin Carter is an agent for H.U.N.T.E.R., a clandestine organization that, well, used to primarily hunt witches, but now mainly tries to shut down supernatural threats their own way. He can't wait to lay his eyes on the woman he's about to spend the rest of his life with. As he's getting ready, Griffin overhears his father and friends discussing something in distressed whispers. What he finds out concerns him, but not enough to deal with before the ceremony. As Savvy walks down the aisle to Griffin, the wedding quickly goes from blessed day to shit show when their true identities are revealed. To say there's bad blood between their organizations is putting it mildly. Savvy and Griffin are tasked to take the other out. Unable to go through with their orders, they-and their friends -find themselves on the run. But when the two of them discover a secret about both of their organizations, Savvy and Griffin realize the only way to survive is to team up-and, even with assassins hot on their trail, they just might make it out alive and try again at 'I do'"--

The reef
Roberts, Nora
Underwater diver Matthew Lassiter and Tate Beaumont, a student of marine archeology, search shipwrecks for a 16th century necklace. Together they brave danger--the necklace was cursed by its owner, a witch burned at the stake--and danger leads to love

The Route 66 cookbook : the best recipes from every stop along the way
Ly, Linda, 1980-
"The Route 66 Cookbook shares recipes for the must-try breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and desserts from restaurants all along the Mother Road."-- Provided by publisher

Hemlock Island
Armstrong, Kelley,
"Laney Kilpatrick has been renting her vacation home to strangers. The invasion of privacy gives her panic attacks, but it's the only way she can keep her beloved Hemlock Island, the only thing she owns after a pandemic-fueled divorce. But broken belongings and campfires that nearly burn down the house have escalated to bloody bones, hex circles, and now, terrified renters who've fled after finding blood and nail marks all over the guest room closet, as though someone tried to claw their way out...and failed. When Laney shows up to investigate with her teenaged niece in tow, she discovers that her ex, Kit, has also been informed and is there with Jayla, his sister and her former best friend. Then Sadie, another old high school friend, charters over with her brother, who's now a cop. There are tensions and secrets, whispers in the woods, and before long, the discovery of a hand poking up from the earth. Then the body that goes with it... But by that time, someone has taken off with their one and only means off the island, and they're trapped with someone-or something-that doesn't want them leaving the island alive" --

A light in the dark : surviving more than Ted Bundy
Rubin, Kathy Kleiner,
"In January 1978, I slept in my bed at the Chi Omega sorority house at Florida State University as Ted Bundy stalked nearby. He grabbed an oak log from a stack of firewood, slipped through a back door with a broken padlock, and headed upstairs.He began twisting doorknobs. Room 9 was open, and he quietly and quickly killed one of my sleeping sorority sisters. Across the hall, he found another unlocked door and murdered again. Then, he turned the knob to my bedroom and found it was open. I remember the attack vividly. Bundy bashed me once in the head with the log and then attacked my roommate. He heard me moaning and came to finish me off. He never let his victims live. But he stopped suddenly when a bright light filled the room. He fled the sorority house and the light disappeared. Bundy wasn't my first brush with death, and he wasn't my last. I've long been a survivor."--Back cover

Fried green tomatoes at the Whistle-Stop Cafe
Flagg, Fannie

Laundry love : finding joy in a common chore
Richardson, Patric,
"Patric Richardson, aka the "Laundry Evangelist," reveals his revolutionary methods for cleaning clothes-and making laundry loads more fun. Doing laundry is rarely anyone's favorite task. But to Patric Richardson, laundry isn't just fun-it's a way of life. After years of running Laundry Camp at the Mall of America for thousands of eager learners, he's ready to share his tips, tricks, and hacks-bringing surprise and delight to this commonly dreaded chore. Sorting your laundry? It's not all about whites and darks. Pondering the wash cycles? Every load, even your delicates, should be washed using express or quick-wash on warm. Facing expensive dry cleaning bills? You'll learn how to wash everything-yes everything-at home. And those basically clean but smelly clothes? Richardson has a secret for freshening those too (hint: it involves vodka, not soap). Changing your relationship with laundry can also change your life. Richardson's handy advice shows us how to save time and money (and the planet!) with our laundry-and he intersperses it all with a healthy dose of humor, real-life laundry stories, and lessons from his Appalachian upbringing and career in fashion. Laundry Love will make you wonder why you ever stressed about ironing, dry cleaning, or (god forbid) red wine spills on your new couch. No matter the issue, Richardson is here to help you make laundry miracles happen-wrinkles and stains be damned"--

The nightmare before kissmas
Raasch, Sara
Nicholas "Coal" Claus used to love Christmas. Until his father, the reigning Santa, turned the holiday into a PR facade. Coal will do anything to escape the spectacle, including getting tangled in a drunken, supremely hot make-out session with a beautiful man behind a seedy bar one night. But the heir to Christmas is soon commanded to do his duty: he will marry his best friend, Iris, the Easter princess and his brother's not-so-secret crush. A situation that has diaster written all over it. Things go from bad to worse when a rival arrives to challenge Coal for the princess's hand ... and Coal comes face-to-face with his mysterious behind-the-bar hottie: Hex, the prince of Halloween. It's a fake competition between two holiday princes who can't keep their hands off each other over a marriage of convenience that no one wants. And it all leads to one of the sweetest, sexiest, messiest, most delightfully unfortgettable love stories of the year

Chinese heritage cooking from my American kitchen : discover authentic flavors with vibrant, modern recipes
Chung, Shirley (Chef),
From growing up in Beijing to attending culinary school in California, to making her name in the restaurant world and on Top Chef, today Shirley Chung is dishing out new and dazzlingly delicious takes on Chinese cuisine. These recipes are fresh and inspired, yet approachable for home cooks. Here are a few you won't want to miss: Sweet-and-Sour Baby Back Ribs, Five-Spice Seared Duck Breast with Kumquat Mustard, Scallion Pancakes with Hazelnut Pesto, Seared Scallops with Spicy Black Bean Sauce, Spinach Egg Drop Soup and Beijing-Style Hot Pot. These recipes use simple ingredients and techniques, but have the standout flavor and texture you expect from top-notch restaurants--no wok required! Plus you'll find fascinating history and chef's tips tucked away in the headnotes and instructions that will make you a better cook. Shirley brings the same lively energy to her book that made her a fan-favorite on Top Chef. She'll make you excited to cook, and her recipes--each with a gorgeous photograph--will have you drooling over the pages. With Shirley in your kitchen, every meal becomes a fun and delicious celebration. --from Amazon

Simple Thai cookery : step by step to everyone's favourite Thai recipes
Hom, Ken

The true true story of Raja the Gullible (and his mother)
Alameddine, Rabih,
In a tiny Beirut apartment, sixty-three-year-old Raja and his mother live side by side. A beloved high school philosophy teacher and "the neighborhood homosexual," Raja relishes books, meditative walks, order, and solitude. Zalfa, his octogenarian mother, views her son's desire for privacy as a personal affront. She demands to know every detail of Raja's work life and love life, boundaries be damned. When Raja receives an invite to an all-expenses-paid writing residency in America, the timing couldn't be better. It arrives on the heels of a series of personal and national disasters that have left Raja longing for peace and quiet away from his mother and the heartache of Lebanon. But what at first seems a stroke of good fortune soon leads Raja to recount and relive the very disasters and past betrayals he wishes to forget.--

Abyss
Binge, Nicholas,
"A FanFiAddict Most Anticipated Title! Severance meets Lovecraft in this surreal tale of corporate horror and existential dread. Joe always had potential, but he doesn't expect much, and he hopes that his new job as an admin assistant won't expect much of him. But when he enters the offices of Ponos-a company he's never heard of and knows nothing about-he discovers that potential is exactly what they want from him. A feverish dive into the inhumanity of both late-stage capitalism and the crippling anxieties of modern life, Abyss adds a new level of meaning to 'wage slave'"-- Provided by publisher

The mountains we call home : the Book Woman's legacy
Richardson, Kim Michele,
"In this standalone and companion novel to the The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek series, our heroine for the ages, legendary book woman, Cussy Lovett, returns home. A powerful testament of strength, survival, and the magic of the printed word, The Mountains We Call Home is wrapped into a vivid portrait of Kentucky life: examining incarceration and criminalization, exploring the effects on the poor and powerless, and tracing the societal consequences of fractured family bonds, along with nostalgic glimpses of a bustling, multifaceted Louisville, and heartwarming portraits of reading efforts in every facet of life. Meticulously researched and richly detailed with a new cast of absorbing and complex characters, this beautifully rendered, authentic Kentucky tale is gritty and heartbreaking and infused with hope, spirit, and courage known only to those with no way out"--

How to cheat your own death
Perrin, Kristen,
"1968: Frances Adams is loving her new London life, and she's stepped into a world of glamour thanks to her new friend, Vera Huntington--a magnetic socialite as mysterious as she is provocative. Vera dances around London like she owns it, taking Frances with her. Present day: When Annie Adams heads to London to visit her famous artist mother, Laura, the last thing she expects to find is a dead body. Least of all for it to be Laura's new protégée, left in an alley with her heart surgically removed from her chest. Annie is no stranger to murder--after all, she's solved a few already. And something about this case feels familiar. She's read about one just like it in the journals of her late great aunt Frances, whose friend Vera was killed in the 1960s in the exact same way. As Annie investigates, threats pile up on Laura's doorstep, and it soon becomes clear that she's next. With her mother's life on the line, can Annie find the killer before it's too late?"--

The unseen world
Moore, Liz, 1983-
"The moving story of a daughter's quest to discover the truth about her beloved father's hidden past. The moving story of a daughter's quest to discover the truth about her beloved father's hidden past Ada Sibelius is raised by David, her brilliant, eccentric, socially inept single father, who directs a computer science lab in 1980s-era Boston. Home-schooled, Ada accompanies David to work every day; by twelve, she is a painfully shy prodigy. The lab begins to gain acclaim at the same time that David's mysterious history comes into question. When his mind begins to falter, leaving Ada virtually an orphan, she is taken in by one of David's colleagues. Soon after she embarks on a mission to uncover her father's secrets: a process that carries her from childhood to adulthood. What Ada discovers on her journey into a virtual universe will keep the reader riveted until The Unseen World's heart-stopping, fascinating conclusion"--Provided by publisher

Saint Catherine
Meyer, Anna,
In her 20-something years of existence, Catherine never skipped mass once. As a recovering Irish American Catholic, she has mostly traded the world of communion and confessionals for the "city-girl" struggle of work-life balance, family, and her relationships. The only thing she has not been able to shake is her fear that something bad will happen if she misses Sunday mass. But her fears become a reality when she skips mass for the first time and discovers she is now being possessed by a demon claiming to be the prince of hell. As she takes matters into her own hands and attempts to exorcise these demons (both the paranormal and emotional kind), Catherine must face her buried guilt and what it truly means to be good

The making and breaking of the American constitution : a thousand-year history
Peterson, Mark A., 1960-
"A provocative new history of America's constitution and an urgent call to action for a nation confronted by challenges its founders could never have imagined. The American Revolution occurred at a time when Britain's constitutional order failed to adapt to the extraordinary growth of its colonies. The framers designed an American constitution to succeed where Britain's had faltered, planning for continuous population and territorial expansion that would eventually cross the continent. Yet by the end of the nineteenth century, it was already ill-suited for an increasingly urban, industrialized society, and the transformations of the twentieth century have pushed it to a breaking point. This book charts the history and aims of the American constitution from its origins in an agrarian past to the grave crisis we face today. Mark Peterson traces the American constitutional tradition to the control of land in medieval England, showing how the founders incorporated the aspirations of Magna Carta with the administrative principles of the Domesday Book, a meticulous survey and valuation of landed property commissioned by William the Conqueror. This framework encouraged the growth of democratic self-government in a young nation. It also institutionalized the colonization of territory and the expulsion of Indigenous peoples, establishing a legal blueprint for transforming tribal lands into revenue-yielding real estate for settlers. Peterson's riveting narrative paints an arresting picture of a dynamic republic whose frame of government has changed enormously to meet the challenges of the modern age but whose written constitution has changed very little. Marking the 250th anniversary of American independence, The Making and Breaking of the American Constitution reveals how this widening disconnect threatens the very existence of our democracy. It calls for a constitution that sustains the ideals developed over the past thousand years while meeting the challenges of the future."--

The American Revolution : an intimate history
Ward, Geoffrey C.,
From the award-winning historian and filmmakers of The Civil War, Baseball, Jazz, The Roosevelts, and others: a richly illustrated, human-centered history of America's founding struggle-expanding on the landmark, six-part PBS series to be aired in November 2025. "From a small spark kindled in America, a flame has arisen not to be extinguished." -Thomas Paine. In defeating the British Empire and giving birth to a new nation, the American Revolution turned the world upside down. Thirteen colonies on the Atlantic coast rose in rebellion, won their independence, and established a new form of government that radically reshaped the continent and inspired independence movements and democratic reforms around the globe. The American Revolution was at once a war for independence, a civil war, and a world war, fought by neighbors on American farms and between global powers an ocean or more away. In this sumptuous volume, historian Geoffrey C. Ward ably steers us through the international forces at play, telling the story not from the top down but from the bottom up-and through the eyes of not only our "Founding Fathers" but also those of ordinary soldiers, as well as underrepresented populations such as women, African Americans, Native Americans, and American Loyalists, asking who exactly was entitled to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Enriched by guest essays from lauded historians such as Vincent Brown, Maya Jasanoff, and Alan Taylor, and by an astonishing array of prints, drawings, paintings, texts, and pamphlets from the time period, as well as newly commissioned art and maps-and woven together with the words of Thomas Paine- The American Revolution reveals a nation still grappling with the questions that fueled its remarkable founding

American struggle : democracy, dissent, and the pursuit of a more perfect union : an anthology
Meacham, Jon,
This "collection covers a wide spectrum of history, from 1619 to the twenty-first century, with primary-source documents that take us back to critical moments in which Americans fought over the meaning and the direction of the national experiment. From the founders to Lincoln to Obama, from Andrew Jackson to Theodore Roosevelt to Ronald Reagan, from Seneca Falls to the March on Washington, this chorus ... tells the story of the country and of its people. As clashes over liberty and slavery, inclusion and exclusion, play out, these voices, ... framed by Meacham's singular commentary, remind us that contentious citizenship and fair-minded observations are essential to bringing about the more perfect union envisioned in the Preamble to the Constitution, which Frederick Douglass called a 'glorious liberty document'"--

Last branch standing : a potentially surprising, occasionally witty journey inside today's Supreme Court
Isgur, Sarah, 1982-
"A myth-busting glimpse into the inner workings of the Supreme Court in the "Roberts era," revealing what we get wrong about the nine justices (and what they eat for lunch) and the right way to fix a Court in crisis-from the popular ABC news pundit and witty co-host of the top legal podcast in the US"-- Provided by publisher

Declaring independence : why 1776 matters
Larson, Edward J. (Edward John),
On the 250th anniversary of American independence, with the history of our founding a political battleground, this study of the ideas and battlefield sacrifices of 1776 by a Pulitzer Prize-winning scholar could not be more timely

The unfinished business of 1776 : why the American Revolution never ended
Richards, Thomas, Jr., 1983-
A clarion call for taking back the American Revolution from the far right, published for the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Who gets to claim the legacy of the American Revolution and the mantle of patriotism that goes along with it? In a sharp, irreverent, deeply informed account of the nation's founding moment and its enduring legacies, historian Thomas Richards Jr. invites us to see the Revolution not just as a one-time fight for political freedom from Britain but as an ongoing struggle for equality, justice, and social and political independence for all Americans

This land is your land : a road trip through U.S. history
Gage, Beverly,
"Ride along with Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Beverly Gage as she travels the country to see the museums, historic sites, roadside attractions, reenactments, and souvenir shops where Americans learn--and fight--about our history. From the birth of the nation in Philadelphia to Disneyland and the California dream, This Land Is Your Land offers a guided tour of thirteen places and thirteen key moments that define America's greatest successes and challenges"--

Boston, 1776 : a rogue tour of Revolution City
Dickey, Jeff,
"Relive the chaos, courage, and color of the American Revolution's capital city while meeting those who led the fight in the nation's War of Independence."--Amazon

The westerners : mythmaking and belonging on the American frontier
Nelson, Megan Kate, 1972-
"The Westerners tells two richly detailed and interwoven stories. The first reveals the captivating lives of women and men moving through the American West -- Indigenous peoples, Black Americans, Mexican Americans, and Canadian and Asian immigrants -- in the 19th century. The second tracks the attempts of many Americans to erase these westerners from history, through a frontier myth that lionized individualism and conquest and celebrated white settlers traveling west in search of prosperity. Nelson's vivid, eye-opening account centers on seven extraordinary individuals whose lives capture the true history of the frontier: Sacajawea, not just Lewis and Clark's guide but an explorer who forged her own path; Jim Beckwourth, a biracial fur trader whose sharp cultural insight made him indispensable; María Gertrudis Barceló, a Hispana gambling saloon owner who broke every stereotype to become the wealthiest woman in Santa Fe; Ovando Hollister, a gold miner, soldier, and newspaper man who championed Western expansion; Little Wolf, a Northern Cheyenne chief whose courageous leadership secured his people's future; Canadian immigrant Ella Watson, who strove to become a ranch woman in a male-dominated world; and the defiant Polly Bemis, a Chinese immigrant who carved out a life in Idaho despite federal expulsion efforts." --

Freedom lost, freedom won : a personal history of America
Robinson, Eugene, 1954-
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Eugene Robinson traces his family's 200-year journey from slavery through civil rights, examining cycles of progress and setbacks in America's racial history

This vast enterprise : a new history of Lewis & Clark
Fehrman, Craig,
"In 1806, when Meriwether Lewis and William Clark return from their yearslong journey -- having led the Corps of Discovery across eight thousand miles of rapids, mountains, forests, and ravines -- they bring an incredible tale starring themselves as courageous explorers, skilled survivalists, underrated scientists, and peaceful ambassadors. While there is truth in those descriptions, there is also distortion. From one of the most exciting new historians to emerge in the past decade, This Vast Enterprise offers a bold and novel take on the expedition: a gripping narrative that draws on lost documents, stunning analysis, and Native perspectives. Craig Fehrman spent five years visiting more than thirty archives, interviewing more than a hundred sources, and collecting oral history passed down over centuries. He came to see that the success of Lewis and Clark depended on much more than just Lewis and Clark. We all know Sacajawea, and some of us know York, the Black man Clark enslaved. But This Vast Enterprise introduces us to John Ordway, a working-class soldier who fought fearsome grizzlies and towed the captains' hulking barge. It introduces us to Wolf Calf, a Blackfoot teenager who watched his friend die in a tense battle with Lewis and his men. To capture this cast of characters, each chapter in This Vast Enterprise moves to a different person's point of view, describing their desires and contradictions with an unprecedented level of care. One chapter shows Thomas Jefferson operating in an age of bitter partisan unrest -- his secret political maneuvers to fund the expedition, revealed here for the first time, are a case study in presidential power. Another chapter shows the strategy and strength of Black Buffalo, completely upending our understanding of Lakota-American diplomacy. York, in his chapters, finds ways to wield power and make choices in an era that didn't allow him much of either. Clark is not a folksy Kentuckian but a student of the Enlightenment. (Fehrman discovered his college notebook; no previous biographer even realized that he went to college.) Lewis is someone willing to sacrifice everything for his country, his mission, and his mentor, Jefferson; in Fehrman's subtle yet heartbreaking analysis, Lewis's legendary strengths are inseparable from his lifelong weaknesses. In the end, the captains are men who needed help -- from Sacajawea, from the Corps, and from each other. Mile after mile, the expedition pushes on through dramatic hailstorms and flash floods, life-threatening frostbite and infections, rattlesnakes and rabid wolves, with the Spanish cavalry in fierce pursuit. Fehrman balances the story's inherent adventure with the humanity of its protagonists." --

The greatest sentence ever written
Isaacson, Walter,
"To celebrate America's 250th anniversary, Walter Isaacson takes readers on a ... deep dive into the creation of one of history's most powerful sentences: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.' Drafted by Thomas Jefferson and edited by Benjamin Franklin and John Adams, this line lays the foundationfor the American Dream and defines the common ground we share as a nation. Isaacson unpacks its genius, word by word, illuminating thethen-radical concepts behind it"--

Angelica : for love and country in a time of revolution
Beer, Molly,
Through the extraordinary life of Angelica Schuyler Church, a politically astute and socially influential figure, this story reveals how women shaped early American history through diplomacy, personal networks and a strategic presence in key revolutionary moments

We the people : a history of the U.S. Constitution
Lepore, Jill, 1966-
From the best-selling author of "These Truths" comes "We the People," a stunning new history of the U.S. Constitution, for a troubling new era

The ride : Paul Revere and the night that saved America
Kennedy, Kostya,
"Timed for the 250th anniversary of one of America's most famous founding events: Paul Revere's legendary ride, newly told with fresh research into little-known aspects of the myth that every American learns in school On April 18, 1775, a Boston-based silversmith, engraver, and anti-British political operative named Paul Revere set out on a borrowed horse to fulfill a dangerous but crucial mission: to alert American colonists of advancing British troops, which would seek to crush their nascent revolt. Revere was not the only rider that night, and indeed, he had completed at least 18 previous rides throughout New England, disseminating intelligence about British movements. But this ride was like no other, and its consequences in the months and years to come-as the American Revolution morphed from isolated skirmishes to a full-fledged war-became one of our founding legends. In The Ride, Kostya Kennedy presents a dramatic new narrative of the events of April 18 and 19, 1775, informed by fresh primary and secondary source research into archives, family letters and diaries, contemporary accounts, and more. Kennedy reveals Revere's ride to be more complex than it is usually portrayed-a coordinated series of rides by numerous men, near-disaster, capture by British forces, and finally success. While Revere was central to the ride and its plotting, Kennedy reveals the other men (and, perhaps, a woman with information about the movement of British forces) who helped to set in motion the events that would lead to America's independence. Thrillingly written in a dramatic, unstoppable narrative, The Ride re-tells an essential American story for a new generation of readers"--

1776
McCullough, David G
Based on extensive research in both American and British archives, 1776 is the story of Americans in the ranks, men of every shape, size, and color, farmers, schoolteachers, shoemakers, no-accounts, and mere boys turned soldiers. And it is the story of the British commander, William Howe, and his highly disciplined redcoats who looked on their rebel foes with contempt and fought with a valor too little known. But it is the American commander-in-chief who stands foremost -- Washington, who had never before led an army in battle

We the women : the hidden heroes who shaped America
O'Donnell, Norah,
"Over a decades-long, distinguished career ... journalist Norah O'Donnell has made it her mission to shed light on untold women's stories. Now, in honor of America's 250th birthday, O'Donnell focuses that passion on the American heroines who helped change the course of history. ... Through extensive research and interviews, as well as historical documents and old photos, O'Donnell curates a ... portrait of these fierce fighters for freedom. From Mary Katherine Goddard, who printed the first signed Declaration of Independence, to the Forten family women, who were active in the abolition and suffrage movements and were considered the 'Black Founders' of Philadelphia, to the first women who served in the armed forces even before they had the right to vote, O'Donnell brings these extraordinary women together for the first time, and in doing so writes the American story anew"--

The promise of a nation : commemorating 250 years of patriotism, resilience, and aspirations from the national collection
"Celebrate 250 years of American history-and witness the nation's decade-by-decade evolution-in this gorgeously illustrated volume featuring 700 Smithsonian objects"-- Provided by publisher
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