New Releases: June 28th, 2016
NEW RELEASES IN HARDCOVER
A CERTAIN AGE by Beatriz Williams
As the freedom of the Jazz Age transforms New York City, the iridescent Mrs. Theresa Marshall has done the unthinkable: she’s fallen in love with her young paramour, Captain Octavian Rofrano, a handsome aviator and hero of the Great War. While times are changing and she does adore the Boy, divorce for a woman of Theresa’s wealth and social standing is out of the question, and there is no need; she has an understanding with Sylvo, her generous and well-respected philanderer husband. But their relationship subtly shifts when her bachelor brother, Ox, decides to tie the knot with the sweet younger daughter of a newly wealthy inventor. Historical Fiction
THE SWAN BOOK by Alexis Wright
Oblivia Ethelyne was given her name by an old woman who found her deep in the bowels of a gum tree, the victim of a brutal assault by wayward local youths. These are the years leading up to Australia’s third centenary, and the woman who finds her, Bella Donna of the Champions, is a refugee from climate change wars that devastated her country in the northern hemisphere. Bella Donna takes Oblivia to live with her on an old warship in a polluted dry swamp, and there she fills Oblivia’s head with story upon story of swans. When Warren Finch, the first Aboriginal president of Australia, invades the swamp with the promise of salvation, Oblivia agrees to marry him, becoming First Lady, a role that has her confined to a tower in a flooded and lawless southern city. Fiction
NEW RELEASES IN PAPERBACK
BENNINGTON GIRLS ARE EASY by Charlotte Silver
When Sylvie Furst and Cassandra Puffin meet at Bennington College, that Vermont haven for well-to-do young eccentrics and liberal-arts students, they firmly believe theirs will be a friendship for the ages. From the heyday of college through those first delirious post-college years, the two girls have nothing but each other and their charmingly decorated apartments to keep them afloat. Fiction
THE HUMMINGBIRD by Stephen P. Kiernan
Deborah Birch is a seasoned hospice nurse whose daily work requires courage and compassion. But her skills and experience are tested in new and dramatic ways when her easygoing husband, Michael, returns from his third deployment to Iraq haunted by nightmares, anxiety and rage. At the same time, Deborah’s primary patient is Barclay Reed, a retired history professor and expert in the Pacific Theater of World War II. He tells her stories from that long-ago war, which help her find a way to assist her husband in battling his demons. Fiction
THE INVASION OF THE TEARLING by Erika Johansen
With each passing day, Kelsea Glynn is growing into her new responsibilities as Queen of the Tearling. By stopping the shipments of slaves to the neighboring kingdom of Mortmesne, she crossed the Red Queen, who is sending her fearsome army into the Tearling to take what is hers. But as the Mort army draws ever closer, Kelsea develops a mysterious connection to a time before the Crossing, and she finds herself relying on a strange and possibly dangerous ally: a woman named Lily, fighting for her life in a world where being female can feel like a crime. Historical Fantasy
MUSE by Jonathan Galassi
Paul Dukach is heir apparent at Purcell & Stern, one of the last independent publishing houses in New York. Working with his boss, the flamboyant Homer Stern, he learns the ins and outs of the book trade. But Paul’s deepest admiration has always been reserved for one writer: poet Ida Perkins, whose longtime publisher (also her cousin and erstwhile lover) happens to be Homer’s biggest rival. When Paul at last has the chance to meet Ida, she entrusts him with her greatest secret --- one that will change all of their lives forever. Fiction
OUR SOULS AT NIGHT by Kent Haruf
Addie Moore pays an unexpected visit to a neighbor, Louis Waters. Her husband died years ago, as did his wife, and in such a small town they naturally have known of each other for decades; in fact, Addie was quite fond of Louis’ wife. His daughter lives hours away in Colorado Springs, her son even farther away in Grand Junction, and Addie and Louis have long been living alone in houses now empty of family, the nights so terribly lonely, especially with no one to talk with. Fiction
Peeking into the archives...today in:
2015: Quarterly's Book Riot Book Box #7: July 2015
2014:
2013: Rav Hisda's Daughter, Book I: Apprentice by Maggie Anton
2012: The Mummy Case (Amelia Peabody Mysteries #3) by Elizabeth Peters
2011: Fashionista Piranha will be on hiatus for a while…
2010: Discussion Question: How Big Is Your Library?
2009: An Edible History of Humanity by Tom Standage
2008: The White Mary by Kira Salak
A CERTAIN AGE by Beatriz Williams
As the freedom of the Jazz Age transforms New York City, the iridescent Mrs. Theresa Marshall has done the unthinkable: she’s fallen in love with her young paramour, Captain Octavian Rofrano, a handsome aviator and hero of the Great War. While times are changing and she does adore the Boy, divorce for a woman of Theresa’s wealth and social standing is out of the question, and there is no need; she has an understanding with Sylvo, her generous and well-respected philanderer husband. But their relationship subtly shifts when her bachelor brother, Ox, decides to tie the knot with the sweet younger daughter of a newly wealthy inventor. Historical Fiction
THE SWAN BOOK by Alexis Wright
Oblivia Ethelyne was given her name by an old woman who found her deep in the bowels of a gum tree, the victim of a brutal assault by wayward local youths. These are the years leading up to Australia’s third centenary, and the woman who finds her, Bella Donna of the Champions, is a refugee from climate change wars that devastated her country in the northern hemisphere. Bella Donna takes Oblivia to live with her on an old warship in a polluted dry swamp, and there she fills Oblivia’s head with story upon story of swans. When Warren Finch, the first Aboriginal president of Australia, invades the swamp with the promise of salvation, Oblivia agrees to marry him, becoming First Lady, a role that has her confined to a tower in a flooded and lawless southern city. Fiction
NEW RELEASES IN PAPERBACK
BENNINGTON GIRLS ARE EASY by Charlotte Silver
When Sylvie Furst and Cassandra Puffin meet at Bennington College, that Vermont haven for well-to-do young eccentrics and liberal-arts students, they firmly believe theirs will be a friendship for the ages. From the heyday of college through those first delirious post-college years, the two girls have nothing but each other and their charmingly decorated apartments to keep them afloat. Fiction
THE HUMMINGBIRD by Stephen P. Kiernan
Deborah Birch is a seasoned hospice nurse whose daily work requires courage and compassion. But her skills and experience are tested in new and dramatic ways when her easygoing husband, Michael, returns from his third deployment to Iraq haunted by nightmares, anxiety and rage. At the same time, Deborah’s primary patient is Barclay Reed, a retired history professor and expert in the Pacific Theater of World War II. He tells her stories from that long-ago war, which help her find a way to assist her husband in battling his demons. Fiction
THE INVASION OF THE TEARLING by Erika Johansen
With each passing day, Kelsea Glynn is growing into her new responsibilities as Queen of the Tearling. By stopping the shipments of slaves to the neighboring kingdom of Mortmesne, she crossed the Red Queen, who is sending her fearsome army into the Tearling to take what is hers. But as the Mort army draws ever closer, Kelsea develops a mysterious connection to a time before the Crossing, and she finds herself relying on a strange and possibly dangerous ally: a woman named Lily, fighting for her life in a world where being female can feel like a crime. Historical Fantasy
MUSE by Jonathan Galassi
Paul Dukach is heir apparent at Purcell & Stern, one of the last independent publishing houses in New York. Working with his boss, the flamboyant Homer Stern, he learns the ins and outs of the book trade. But Paul’s deepest admiration has always been reserved for one writer: poet Ida Perkins, whose longtime publisher (also her cousin and erstwhile lover) happens to be Homer’s biggest rival. When Paul at last has the chance to meet Ida, she entrusts him with her greatest secret --- one that will change all of their lives forever. Fiction
OUR SOULS AT NIGHT by Kent Haruf
Addie Moore pays an unexpected visit to a neighbor, Louis Waters. Her husband died years ago, as did his wife, and in such a small town they naturally have known of each other for decades; in fact, Addie was quite fond of Louis’ wife. His daughter lives hours away in Colorado Springs, her son even farther away in Grand Junction, and Addie and Louis have long been living alone in houses now empty of family, the nights so terribly lonely, especially with no one to talk with. Fiction
Peeking into the archives...today in:
2015: Quarterly's Book Riot Book Box #7: July 2015
2014:
2013: Rav Hisda's Daughter, Book I: Apprentice by Maggie Anton
2012: The Mummy Case (Amelia Peabody Mysteries #3) by Elizabeth Peters
2011: Fashionista Piranha will be on hiatus for a while…
2010: Discussion Question: How Big Is Your Library?
2009: An Edible History of Humanity by Tom Standage
2008: The White Mary by Kira Salak