New Books for November 2024

Need a reward for raking those leaves?  Check out these books from our New section and settle in for a nice break after completing your autumn chores.

ADULT FICTION

 

Book Cover for Mistakes We Never Made by Hannah BrownMistakes We Never Made by Hannah Brown
Emma Townsend can sum up her situationship with hot-as-hell romantic red flag Finn Hughes in one word: almost. They almost dated in high school. They almost hooked up after college. They almost took things too far one magical night. Their whole story is one series of “almosts” and “nearlys,” and now they just kind of can’t stand each other. Like, at all. But this weekend, one of their mutuals is getting married…and Emma and Finn will have to pretend they don’t remember how disastrous it was the last time they were in a room together. Emma’s doing a stellar job of playing it cool–until the bride goes missing. Now, with two days before the wedding, Emma and Finn are hitting the road in a sweet vintage sports car in hopes of salvaging someone else’s happily-ever-after. Yet somewhere between Emma’s breakfast burrito throw down, a high-stakes kayak chase (it can happen), and an outrageous Vegas detour, these sworn enemies are crossing more than just state lines.  As old feelings spark once more, Emma begins to question whether risking your heart is ever really a mistake.

 

Book Cover for Vilest Things by Chloe GongVilest Things by Chloe Gong
Calla Tuoleimi has succeeded in the impossible. Despite the odds, she has won San-Er’s bloody games and eliminated King Kasa, her tyrant uncle and the former ruler of Talin. She now serves as royal advisor to Kasa’s adopted son, August Shenzhi, who has risen to the throne. Only Calla knows it isn’t really August. Anton Makusa is still furious about Calla’s betrayal in the final round of the games. In an impossible feat, he took over August’s body to survive and has no intention of giving up this newfound power. But when his first love, the beautiful, explosive Otta Avia, awakens from a years-long coma and reveals a secret that threatens the monarchy’s authority over Talin, chaos erupts. As tensions come to a boiling point, Calla and Anton must set their conflicts aside and head to the kingdom’s far reaches to prevent anarchy…even if their empire might be better off burning.

 

Book cover for The Bookshop Sisterhood by Michelle Lindo-RiceThe Bookshop Sisterhood by Michelle Lindo-Rice
When life rewrites the story, only friendship will see them through. After years of hard work, four best friends–Celeste, Yasmeen, Toni and Leslie–are finally on the verge of opening the bookstore of their dreams. A place where their community can find solace with an intriguing new read, a comforting beverage and book-loving friends. But before they can cut the ribbon, their worlds are upended. Toni receives devastating news just months before her wedding, while Celeste’s struggling marriage threatens to collapse completely. Leslie learns a shocking secret about her family, and a lotto ticket changes Yasmeen’s life–but not for the better. As the bookstore’s grand opening fast approaches, the four women must lean on each other now more than ever to navigate their grief and uncertainty. And together, they’ll learn that sometimes, even life’s most unexpected plot twists can lead to beautiful new beginnings.

 

Book Cover for the Unraveling by Vi KeelandThe Unraveling by Vi Keeland
After experiencing a terrible loss, New York City psychiatrist Meredith McCall feels painfully adrift. When she crosses paths with a man with whom she has a tragic connection, she follows him, sparking an unhealthy obsession with Gabriel Wright. How is he doing so well while her life is in shambles? But when Gabriel walks into her office as a patient, seemingly unaware of who she is, she knows it crosses all ethical and moral bounds to treat him. Yet, Meredith can’t bring herself to turn him away and becomes further entangled. With her life and career continuing to unravel, it appears that things could no get any worse, until they do.

 

Book Cover for People Will Talk by Kieran ScottPeople Will Talk by Kieran Scott
When the Frank family throws their annual clambake at their gorgeous beachside home in Cape May, the seafood is always delivered to white-clothed tables on fine bone china. And Peter Frank, the beloved son and perennial heartbreaker, will make the rounds, charming every woman on the guest list. Top of that list this year are Maya, his tennis star girlfriend just coming off the high of winning Wimbledon; Catherine, his high school sweetheart turned wildly successful wedding planner and influencer; and Leanne, the fiercely protective aunt and legal guardian of his only son. When Maya, Catherine, and Leanne arrive expecting an extravagant feast, they’re instead lured into a room together by a mysterious text to find Peter and…Tilly. Tilly, all golden blonde hair and perfectly tan skin, explains to the three women that she and Peter plan to get married that night, that Maya and Peter are through, that Peter will no longer be investing in Catherine’s company, and that Leanne must give up guardianship of her nephew. The enraged women attend the impromptu wedding, but when a chandelier falls and crushes the bride, suddenly they’re three likely suspects with three perfect motives. Now they’ll have to work together to figure out who really did kill Tilly, and fast – because maintaining a good reputation in this crowd can be murder.

 

Book Cover for This Motherless Land by Nikki MayThis Motherless Land by Nikki May
When Funke’s mother dies in a tragic accident in Lagos, she’s sent to live with her maternal family in England. Traumatized by grief and against a backdrop of condescension and mild neglect, conformist Funke strives to fit in, determined to become one of them. Free-spirited Liv has always wanted to break free of her joyless family, resolved to be nothing like them. Fiercely protective of Funke, she at last has a purpose, and an ally. The two cousins give each other what they need most: love. But the past cast longs shadows and the choices made by their mothers haunt Funke and Liv, shaping the trajectory of their adult lives. Can they escape their legacy?

 

 

ADULT NON-FICTION

 

Book Cover for Just Add Water by Katie LedeckyJust Add Water by Katie Ledecky
Katie Ledecky is one of the best swimmers ever to compete. She has won more individual Olympic races than any female swimmer in history. A three-time Olympian, a seven-time gold medalist, a twenty-0ne-time world champion, eight-time NCAA Champion, and world record-holder in individual swimming events, Ledecky shares what it takes to compete at an elite level. Again and again, Katie Ledecky has broken records: Those of others and, increasingly, her own. She is both consistent and innovative–consistent at setting goals and shattering them, and innovative in the way she approaches her training. A true competitor, she sets her goals by choosing the ones that feel the scariest. But crucially, she never sacrifices the joy of competition, even in the face of adversity. Her positive mental outlook and a great support system provides the springboard to her success. This candid and inspiriting memoir charts Ledecky’s life in swimming. It details her start in Bethesda, Maryland, where she played sharks and minnows and first discovered the joy of the pool; her early foray into the Olympics at the tender age of fifteen where, as the youngest member of the American team, she stunned everyone by winning her first gold medal; her time balancing competition and her education at Standford University; how she developed a champion’s mindset that has allowed her to persevere through so many meets, even under intense pressure; and how she has maintained her dominance in a sport where success depends on milliseconds. You learn how every element of her life–from the support of her family to the tutelage of her coaches, from her childhood spent in summer league swimming to the bright lights of Olympic pools in London, Rio, and Tokyo–set her up to become the champion she is. In the end, Katie’s story is about testing yourself against the difficult, and seeing who you become on the other side.

 

Book Cover for Dangerous Fictions by Lyta GoldDangerous Fictions: the Fear of Fantasy and the Invention of Reality by Lyta Gold
Fictional stories have long been imagined to hold an uncanny power over hearts and minds. These days, everybody frets about fiction: according to the National Coalition Against Censorship, the current wave of book bans is the worst since the 1980’s, and our cultural debates are consumed by questions about the politics and moral responsibility of storytelling. Can readers and viewers, at any age, be harmed by what they read and see? In Dangerous Fictions, Lyta Gold traces arguments both historical and contemporary that have labeled fiction as dark, immoral, frightening, or poisonous; within each she asks, how “dangerous” is fiction, really? And what about it provokes waves of moral panic and even censorship?

 

Book Cover for Framed by John Grisham and Jim McCloskeyFramed: Astonishing True Stories of Wrongful Convictions by John Grisham
In his first work of nonfiction since the Innocent Man, #1 bestselling author John Grisham and Centurion Ministries Founder Jim McCloskey share ten harrowing true stroies of wrongful convictions. Impeccably researched and grippingly told, Framed offers an inside look at the victims of the United States criminal justice system.  A fundamental principle of our legal system is a presumption of innocence, but once someone has been found guilty there is very little room to prove doubt. Framed shares ten true stories of men who were innocent but found guilty and forced to sacrifice friends, families, wives, and decades of their lives to prison while the guilty parties remain free. In each of the stories, John Grisham and Jim McCloskey recount the dramatic hard-fought battles for exoneration. They take a close look at what leads to wrongful convictions in the first palce, and the racism, misconduct, flawed testimony, and the corrupt court system that can make them so hard to reverse. Told with page-turning suspense as only John Grisham can deliver, Framed is the story of overcoming adversity when the battle already seems lost, and the deck is stacked against you.

 

Book Cover for Roctogenarians by Mo RoccaRoctogenarians Late in Life Debuts, Comebacks, and Triumphs by Mo Rocca
Eighty has been the new sixty for about twenty years now. In fact, there have always been late-in-life achievers, those who declined to go into decline just because they were eligible for social security. Journalist, humorist, and history buff Mo Rocca and coaughtor Jonathan Greenberg introduce us to the people past and present who peaked when they could have been puttering–breaking out as writers, selling out concert halls, attempting to set land-speed records–and in the case of one ninety-year-old tortoise, becoming a first-time father… In the vein of Mobituaries, Roctogenarians is a collection of entertaining and unexpected profiles of these unretired titans–some long gone (a cancer-stricken Henri Matisse, who began work on his celebrated cut-outs when he could no longer paint), some [until recently] still living (the original EGOT, Rita Moreno). The amazing cast of characters also includes Mary Church Terrell, who at eighty-six helped lead sit-ins at segregated Washington, DC, lunch counters in the 1950s, and John Goodenough, who was more than good enough to score a Nobel Prize at ninety-seven for inventing the lithium-ion battery. Then there’s Peter Mark Roget, who begain working on his thesaurus in his twenties but completed it at ninety years old.

 

Book Cover for Valley So Low by Jared SullivanValley So Low: One Lawyer’s Fight for Justice in the Wake of America’s Great Coral Catastrophe by Jared Sullivan
For more than 50 years, a power plant in the little town of Kingston that was operated by Tennessee Valley Authority burned some fourteen thousand tons of coal a day, creating a mountain of ashen waste 60 feet high and covering 84 acres, contained only by an earthen embankment.  On December 22, 2008, that embankment broke, unleashing a lethal wave of sludge that covered hundreds of acres, damaged nearly 30 homes, and precipitated a cleanup effort that would cost more than $1 billion–and the lives of more than 50 workers. Jim Scott, a local attorney, after meeting with workers who had developed respiratory problems, decided to take on TVA, a colossal, federally-owned utility and a cornerstone of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal. Scott and the team he hastily assembled gathered massive evidence of threats against workers; retaliatory firings; disregarded safety precautions; and test results, either hidden or altered, that would have revealed harmful levels of arsenic, lead, and radioactive materials at the clearup site. At every stage, Scott–outmanned and nearly broke–had to overcome legal hurdles constructed by TVA and the firm it hired to execute the cleanup, along with the EPA, which refused to aid the sickened workers. Scott grew especially close to one of the victims, whose swift decline only intensified his hunger for justice. As more information leaked out and as the worker’s day in court arrived, they seemed to have everything on their side, including the truth.

 

Book Cover for The Myth of American IdealismThe Myth of American Idealism: How U.S. Foreign Policy Endangers the World by Noam Chomsky
The Myth of American Idealism offers a timely and comprehensive introduction to the incisive critiques of U.S. power that have made Noam Chomsky a “global phenomenon,” one of the most widely known public intellectuals of all time. Surveying the history of U.S. military and economic activity around the world, Chomsky and his co-author Nathan J. Robinson vividly trace the way the American pursuit of global domination has wrought havoc in country after country – without, ironically, making Americans any safer. And they explore how dominant elites in the United States have pushed self-serving myth about this country’s commitment to “spreading democracy,” while pursuing a reckless foreign policy that served the interest of few and endangered all too many. Chomsky and Robinson range across the globe, offering penetrating accounts of Washington’s relationship with the Global South, its role in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan – all justified with noble stories about humanitarian missions and the benevolent intentions of American policy makers. The same kinds of myths that have led to repeated disastrous wars, they argue, are now driving us closer to wars with Russia and China that imperil humanity’s future. Examining nuclear proliferation and climate change, they show how U.S. policies are continuing to exacerbate global threats. For well over a century, Noam Chomsky has committed himself to exposing govering ideologies and criticizing his country’s unchecked use of military power. At once thorough and devastating, urgent and provocative, The Myth of American Idealism offers a highly readable entry to the conclusions he has come to after a lifetime of through and activism.

 

YOUNG ADULT

 

Book Cover for The Ancient's Game by Loni CrittendenThe Ancient’s Game by Loni Crittenden
Sixteen-year-old Kellan DuCuivre is the descendant of traitors. She never knew her family members or which one of them betrayed the isle of Nanseau. But like all Du orphaned after the war, Kellan is forbidden by law from practicing makecraft, the trade of carving magic into mteal that was perfected by the Guild of Engineers and their maker apprentices. No one can know that Kellan has been using makecraft in secret and that, in the wake of a tragic miscarve, she’s been helping her adoptive father, Edgar, run his celebrated makeshop. But Edgar’s condition is worsening, and his shop is on the brink of ruin. One the eve of the Eighty-Fourth Annual Makers’ Exposition in Nanseau’s sparkling city of Ris, Kellan is thrust into the Guild’s twisted web of political intrigue and ancient secrets when she strikes a dangerous deal with one of its members to save Edgar and his shop. Now Kellan must compete in a rigorous gauntlet against the nation’s elite for a coveted spot as a maker’s apprentice. But danger lurks at every turn. And as Kellan falls into a budding relationship with the illegitimate son of one of Nanseau’s most revered families, she’s put into the limelight when something sinister begins targeting the Gauntlet’s competitors and wreaking havoc on Riz. Amid a crumbling city and a ticking clock, winning the Gauntlet won’t just be a test of survival–it will mean pulling back the veil of secrets behind the Guild and uncovering the shrouded legacies of Nanseau itself.

 

Book Cover for Just Until by Joseph MoldoverJust Until by Joseph Moldover
Hannah must choose the impossible–put her nephews into foster care so she can stay true to her dream, or take them on and lose everything she’s worked so hard to achieve. 17-year-old Hannah Lynn has just one goal: to get out of Evans Beach, Maine. It’s where she lost her mother to cancer. Where her estranged sister, Pauline, fell apart before moving out. Where her father, Larry, holds court as a local legend who once played twelve games for the Red Sox. Hannah has never fit in, but that doesn’t matter now that she is finally on the cusp of escape. All she needs is a little help from her chemistry tutor, Richard, a fellow junior who she finds equal parts compelling and infuriating. Then, one winter night, Hannah’s life is turned upside down. Pauline’s two sons are taken by the state, leaving Hannah and Larry the only people standing between the boys and the child welfare system. Her father promises that it will only be for a little while, just until Pauline gets back on her feet, but Hannah knows nothing is that simple when it comes to her troubled older sister.

 

Book Cover for The Fate of Magic by Sara RaaschThe Fate of Magic by Sara Raasch
Fritzi is a champion. After escaping the clutches of Dieter Kirch, the sadistic leader of the witch hunters, Fritzi and Otto have taken refuge among the witches of the Black Forest. Fritzi is finally ready to assume her place on the council as the coven’s goddess-chosen champion. Plagued by distrust and self-doubt, Fritzi throws herself into her duty to serve the goddesses… until she uncovers a powerful secret that could mean the very undoing of magic itself. Otto is a warrior. He swears himself to Fritzi as her bonded protector, certain the peaceful unity of a witch and hunter will heal the wounds he helped make. But as the horrifying plot that threatens the Black Forest’s magic comes to light, Otto will have to face both his past and what it means to bind himself to a magic he does not fully understand. Shadows loom. Truths are revealed. And as dangers new and old arise, Fritzi and Otto must stand together against everything that threatens magic – even if the biggest threat might be the very bond they share.

 

Book Cover for Nightbane by Alex AsterNightbane by Alex Aster
Isla Crown has secured the love of two powerful rulers and broken the curses that plagued the six realms for centuries, but few know the true origins of her powers. Now, in the wake of a crushing betrayal, Isla finds herself hungry for distraction, preferring to frequent Lightlark’s seductive haunts instead of embracing her duties as the newly crowned leader of two spearate realms. Worse, her fellow rulers haven’t ceded victory quietly, and there are others in Isla’s midst who don’t believe her ascent to power was earned. As certain death races toward Lightlark and secrets from the past begin to unravel, Isla must weigh her responsibility to her people against the whims of the most dangerous traitor of all: her heart.

 

Book Cover for Giddy Barber Explodes in 11 by Dina HavranekGiddy Barber Explodes in 11 by Dana Havranek
Giddy Barber knows with certainty she’s going to become a mechanical engineer. What she doesn’t know is the last time she smiled. With her parents overworked and unavailable, it falls to Giddy to make sure her siblings stay on track. But she’s exhausted. When you’re the person everyone else turns to, what do you do when you hit a wall? Giddy finds an answer online–if you can’t handle how things are going, shake them up. Is it sound advice? Unclear. But is Giddy willing to try anything? Absolutely. Putting eleven days on the clock, she’ll change her routine. But soon it becomes clear that some problems are bigger than what an online column can fix–her family is fracturing, her anxiety is mounting, and all she knows is this: Something. Has. To. Give.

 

 

Book Cover for Twenty-Four Seconds From Now... by Jason ReynoldsTwenty-Four Seconds From Now, A Love Story by Jason Reynolds
Twenty-Four Months Neon gets chased by a dog all around the parking lot of a church. Not his finest moment. And definitely one he would have loved to forget if it weren’t for the dog’s Aria. Dressed in sweats, a t-shirt, hair in a ponytail. Aria. Way more than fine. Twenty-four weeks Neon’s dad insist on talking to him about tenderness and intimacy. Neon and Aria are definitely in love, and while they haven’t taken that next big step…yet, they’ve starting talking about…that. Twenty-four days Neon’s mom finds her–gulp–bra in his room. Hey! No judging! Those hook thingies are complicated! So he’d figured he’d better practice, what with the big day only a month away. Twenty-four minutes Neon leaves his shift at work at his dad’s bingo hall, making sure to bring some chicken tenders for Aria. They’re not candlight and they definitely aren’t caviar, but they are her favorite. And right this second? Neon is locked in Aria’s bathroom, completely freaking out because twenty-four seconds from now he and Aria are about to…about to… Well, they won’t do anything if he can’t get out of his own head (all the advice, insecurities, and what ifs) and out of this bathroom!

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Fluffy Tummy Penguin

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Name Hot Cocoa Mug

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Thanksgiving Books

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