Author: Stewart, Amy, author, illustrator. Published: 2024 Call Number: 580.9 Format: Books Summary: "The Japanese practice of forest bathing, shinrin-yoku, changes the levels of stress and pleasure hormones in the body, decreasing cortisol and increasing serotonin. Tree collectors know this. And if being around one tree feels good, their thinking goes, imagine how a hundred trees would feel. In her first botanical nonfiction in more than a decade, Amy Stewart brings us on a captivating tour of tree collectors around the world asking: what drives one to collect something as enormous, majestic, and deeply-rooted as a tree? In her gentle, intimate, slyly humorous way, Stewart brings these people to life, organizing their stories into categories. There are the community builders--like Shyam Sunder Paliwal who, after the death of his daughter, began a movement in his Rajasthan village to plant 111 trees whenever a girl was born--who do the remarkable work of knitting people together under an arboreal canopy. There are seekers who have taken their passion for trees around the world, or even into space. There are visionaries--the former poet laureate, W.S. Merwin, who planted a tree a day for over three decades, until he had turned a barren estate into a palm sanctuary. And there are healers--like Joe Hamilton, who plants trees on land passed down to him by his formerly enslaved great-grandfather--who have found a way to heal their own lives, the lives of others, or even wounds of the past, by planting trees"--
Author: Todd, Ruby, author. Published: 2024 Call Number: F TODD Format: Books Summary: "A young widow grapples with the arrival of a once-in-a-lifetime comet and its tumultuous consequences, in a debut novel that blends mystery, astronomy, and romance, perfect for fans of Emma Cline's The Girls and Ottessa Moshfegh's Death in Her Hands"-- Sylvia Knight is losing hope that the person who killed her husband will ever face justice. Since the night of the hit-and-run, her world has been shrouded in hazy darkness--until she meets Theo St. John, the discoverer of a rare comet soon to be visible to the naked eye. As the comet begins to brighten, Sylvia wonders what the apparition might signify. She is soon drawn into the orbit of local mystic Joseph Evans, who believes the comet's arrival is nothing short of a divine message. Finding herself caught between two conflicting perspectives of this celestial phenomenon, she struggles to define for herself where the reality lies. As the comet grows in the sky, her town slowly descends further and further into a fervor over its impending apex, and Sylvia's quest to uncover her husband's killer will push her and those around her to the furthest reaches of their very lives.
Author: Dillsworth, Lianne, author. Published: 2024 Call Number: F DILLSWOR Format: Books Summary: "Set amid the bustle of Victorian London, an irresistible story of an ambitious young Black actress, an orphan from the slums who has finally achieved a dubious stardom as "The Great Amazonia, a savage African queen"-but everything she has fought for depends on hiding the secret of her own identity"-- "After a year of covering dreary local stories for Manhattan Eye, Goldie is sure this will be her big break. Who better to find Echo Blue, and tell her story the right way, than her? And so, Goldie heads to L.A. to begin a wild search that takes her deep into Echo's complicated life in which parental strife, friend break ups, rehab stints, and bad romances abound. But the further into Echo's world Goldie gets, the more she questions her own complicity in the young star's demise . . . yet she cannot tear herself away from this story, which has now consumed her entirely..."--Amazon.
Author: Shook, Cat, 1993- author. Published: 2024 Call Number: F SHOOK Format: Books Summary: "Presley Fry is not amused. She's been an assistant at the Late Night Show for way too long, she's adopted a "business casual" approach to dating to save herself from the embarrassment of seeking genuine connection, and she's content to allow her gregarious roommate, Isabelle, to orchestrate her entire social life. And yet, Presley is absolutely enamored with her job and the world of stand-up comedy. The joy she finds in discovering up-and-coming comedians, the beauty and connection in their shared humor - it's enough for now. Enter Susan Clark, the childhood best friend of Presley's late mother, whose death still knocks the wind out of Presley whenever she reaches for the phone. Susan is married to the head of the network where Presley works, and she is determined to take Presley under her wing and ease her way through life in the big city. She's also determined to connect Presley with her son, the bright and affable Lawrence, who couldn't be further from Presley's type. As Presley grapples with the loss of her mother and finds her people among those who seek out comedy to make the world a bit brighter, Humor Me reminds us that friendship can emerge from where you least expect it, and shared laughter can ease some of the deepest pain"--
Author: Yi, Mi-ye, author. Lee, Joosun, translator. Published: 2024 2020 Call Number: F YI Format: Books Summary: In a mysterious town hidden in our collective subconscious there's a department store that sells dreams. Day and night, visitors both human and animal shuffle in to purchase their latest adventure. Each floor specializes in a specific type of dream: childhood memories, food dreams, ice skating, dreams of stardom. Flying dreams are almost always sold out. Some seek dreams of loved ones who have died.
Author: Brazier, Eliza Jane, author. Published: 2024 Call Number: F BRAZIER Format: Books Summary: "Two contract killers, each with a hit out on the other, must fight their growing attraction as they face off in an epic game of love and murder across Western Europe. When Eva and Jonathan hook up on the sleeper train from Florence to Paris, they think they'll never see each other again. Which is too bad, because neither has ever felt a spark like this for another person. But love isn't on the agenda in their line of work. Six months later, they run into each other in the Hall of Mirrors in Versailles. This meeting is not by chance, because Eva has been hired to kill Jonathan. She's a contract killer, but what she doesn't know is that he is too. Their meeting kicks off a high-stakes cross-continent adventure across Western Europe. There will be tourism. People will die. Eva and Jonathan might even fall in love. As the two get closer to completing their assignments, it becomes clear that they are also being hunted--by something even more dangerous than their feelings for each other. . . "--
Author: Jones, Stephen Graham, 1972- author. Published: 2024 Call Number: F JONES Format: Books Summary: "1989, Lamesa, Texas. A small west Texas town driven by oil and cotton-and a place where everyone knows everyone else's business. So it goes for Tolly Driver, a good kid with more potential than application, seventeen, and about to be cursed to kill for revenge. Here Stephen Graham Jones explores the Texas he grew up in, the unfairness of being on the outside, through the slasher horror he lives but from the perspective of the killer, Tolly, writing his own autobiography. Find yourself rooting for a killer in this summer teen movie of a novel gone full blood-curdling tragic"--
Author: Graham, Jasmin, author. Rasin, Makeba, author. Published: 2024 Call Number: B GRAHAM Format: Books Summary: "From a marine biologist and co-founder of Minorities in Shark Sciences, a powerful debut memoir: the uplifting story of a young Black scientist's challenging journey to flourish outside the traditional confines of academia, inspired by her innate connection to nature's most misunderstood animal-the shark. You never forget your first shark. For Jasmin Graham, it was a little bonnethead, a type of hammerhead shark: three feet long, gray with a white underbelly, rough-skinned, strongly muscled, and beautiful. Jasmin fell in love: with sharks, and with science. Though she tried to follow the traditional path to becoming a marine biologist, she soon found that, in a field where it was harder to find other young women of color than the elusive elasmobranchii (sharks, rays, skates, and sawfish) she sought, navigating the choppy waters of traditional academic study was no longer worth it. So Jasmin quit. But that didn't mean abandoning her passion: rather, Jasmin sought to pursue it in another way, joining with three other Black women to form Minorities in Shark Sciences (MISS), an organization dedicated to providing support and opportunities for other young women of color pursuing the fascinating and environmentally essential work of marine studies. Jasmin became an independent researcher: a rogue shark scientist, learning how to keep those endangered but precious sharks swimming free-just like her. Sharks Don't Sink is a riveting, moving, and ultimately triumphant memoir at the intersection of science and social justice: a guidebook to how we can all learn to respect and protect some of nature's most misunderstood and vulnerable creatures-and grant the same grace to ourselves"--
Author: Norman, Howard A., author. Published: 2024 Call Number: F NORMAN Format: Books Summary: In 1918, amid war and pandemic, a Nova Scotia murder ignites a reporter's pursuit of the truth as his wife, a war surgeon, becomes unexpectedly entangled. "It's 1918. The war in Europe grinds on, and the Spanish flu seems to be on an insatiable killing spree. But in the small fishing village of Parrsboro, Nova Scotia, a more confined drama--harrowing and provocative--slowly unfolds. It begins when Elizabeth Frame murders her husband hours after their wedding and thrusts the revolver into the blowhole of a beached whale..." --Amazon.
Author: Shah, Raj M., author. Kirchhoff, Christopher, author. Published: 2024 Call Number: 355.07 Format: Books Summary: "A vast and largely unseen transformation of how war is fought as profound as the invention of gunpowder or advent of the nuclear age is occurring. Flying cars that can land like helicopters, artificial intelligence-powered drones that can fly into buildings and map their interiors, microsatellites that can see through clouds and monitor rogue missile sites--all these and more are becoming part of America?s DIU-fast-tracked arsenal. Until recently, the Pentagon was known for its uncomfortable relationship with Silicon Valley and for slow-moving processes that acted as a brake on innovation. Unit X was specifically designed as a bridge to Valley technologists that would accelerate bringing state of the art software and hardware to the battle space. Given authority to cut through red tape and function almost as a venture capital firm, Shah, Kirchhoff, and others in the Unit who came after were tasked particularly with meeting immediate military needs with technology from Valley startups rather than from so-called "primes"--behemoth companies like Lockheed, Raytheon, and Boeing." --Amazon.com
Author: Gratton, Tessa, author. Ireland, Justina, author. Published: 2024 Call Number: Y GRATTON Format: Books Summary: The Galactic Republic is in chaos following the Nihil's shocking destruction of the gleaming space station Starlight Beacon. Capitalizing on their victory, the Nihil have erected a barrier called the Stormwall around a section of Republic space and claimed it for themselves. Within this Occlusion Zone, people live at the mercy of the Nihil-and the Nihil are not known for mercy.
Author: Singh, Nalini, 1977- author. Published: 2024 Call Number: F SINGH Format: Books Summary: "Daughter of two ruthless high-Gradient telepaths, Auden Scott is not the child her Psy parents wanted or expected, even before her brain injury. The only thing she knows for certain is that she must protect her unborn baby...a baby she has no recollection of conceiving and who draws an unnerving depth of interest from Auden's dead mother's closest associates. Leopard alpha Remi Denier is a man driven by the primal instinct to protect - even to protect the mysterious woman who is his neighbor. With eerie eyes that see too much and a scent that alters in ways disturbing and impossible, Auden Scott is the enemy...but nothing about this strange Psy is as it seems, and Remi's feline heart is as fascinated by her as his human half is. Then Auden asks Remi to help her shatter the wall of secrets that is the Scott bloodline. What they unearth will reveal a nightmare beyond imagination. This time, the battle is to the death..."
Author: Janetti, Gary, author. Published: 2024 Call Number: 910.4092 Format: Books Summary: "In this hilarious and often touching collection, the New York Times bestselling author, television writer, and producer takes us with him on travels across the globe"--
Author: Abriel, Anita, author. Published: 2024 Call Number: LP F ABRIEL Format: Large print Summary: "In pursuit of happiness, a young woman's dreams extend beyond money and marriage in this aspirational historical novel by the international bestselling author of The Light After the War. It's 1927, and Helen Montgomery is coming of age on Philadelphia's Main Line, where privileged young women are set for life. But Helen has desires of her own. Debutante balls, eligible bachelors, and marriage aren't among them . . . until her father is embroiled in a devastating scandal that jeopardizes the family's financial future and social standing, that is. Then it becomes up to Helen to repair both by marrying a man of wealth and connection. Edgar Scott is as independent as Helen. The black-sheep scion of a railroad magnate, Edgar's aspirations of becoming an author go against the grain of his own family's expectations. For a time, Helen and Edgar's marriage grows from attraction and convenience to genuine loyalty and respect. But as Edgar's frustrations and rejections mount and Helen's personal dreams recede, the cracks in the perfect life Helen wants are beginning to show..."--
Author: Fairbanks, Brian, 1981- author. Published: 2024 Call Number: 781.642 Format: Books Summary: "On February 2, 1959, Waylon Jennings, bassist for his best friend, rock star Buddy Holly, gave up his seat on a charter flight. Jennings joked that he hoped the plane would crash. When it did, killing all aboard, on 'the Day the Music Died,' he was devastated and never fully recovered. Jennings switched to playing country, creating the Outlaw movement and later forming the genre's first supergroup, the Highwaymen, with Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, and Kris Kristofferson. The foursome battled addiction, record companies, ex-wives, violent fans, and the IRS and DEA, en route to unprecedented mainstream success. Today their acolytes Kacey Musgraves, Ryan Bingham, Sturgill Simpson, and Taylor Swift have helped make country the number one genre in America. In this fascinating, hilarious saga, Brian Fairbanks connects Buddy Holly, the anti-authoritarian stars of the '60s and '70s, and the current crop of up-and-coming Nashville rebels, bringing the reader deep into the worlds of not only Cash, Nelson, Kristofferson, and Jennings, but also artists like Chris Stapleton and Jason Isbell--stadium-filling masters whose stories have not been told in book form--as well as new, diverse artists like the High-women, Brittany Spencer, and Allison Russell." --
Author: Averbuck, Alexis, 1972- author. Fong Yan, Fabienne, author. Rothery, Madeleine, author. Stewart, Nicola Leigh, author. Carillet, Jean-Bernard, author. Published: 2024 Call Number: 914.4361 Format: Books Summary: "Lonely Planet's Paris is our most comprehensive guide that extensively covers all the city has to offer, with recommendations for both popular and lesser-known experiences. Admire masterpieces in the Louvre, sample French cuisine and window shop down boulevards; all with your trusted travel companion"--
Author: Thomas, Joseph Earl, author. Published: 2024 Call Number: F THOMAS Format: Books Summary: "After a deployment in the Iraq War dually defined by threat and interminable mundanity, Joseph Thomas is fighting to find his footing. Now a doctoral student at The University, and an EMS worker at the hospital in North Philly, he encounters round the clock friends and family from his past life and would-be future at his job, including contemporaries of his estranged father, a man he knows little about, serving time at Holmesburg prison for the statutory rape of his then-teenage mother. Meanwhile, he and his best friend Ray, a fellow vet, are alternatingly bonding over and struggling with their shared experience and return to civilian life, locked in their own rhythms of lust, heartbreak, and responsibility. Balancing the joys and frustrations of single fatherhood, his studies, and ceaseless shifts at the hospital as he becomes closer than he ever imagined to his father, Joseph tries to articulate vernacular understandings of the sociopolitical struggles he recounts as participant-observer at home, against the assumptions of his friends and colleagues. GOD BLESS YOU, OTIS SPUNKMEYER is a powerful examination of every day Black life--of health and sex, race and punishment, and the gaps between our desires and our politics"--
Author: Loskutoff, Maxim, author. Published: 2024 Call Number: F LOSKUTOF Format: Books Summary: In this haunting novel about the end of the frontier dream, a man tries to reinvent himself in one of America's last wild territories, while his neighbor begins a crime spree that will tremble the nation. In the summer of 1976, Duane Oshun finds himself stranded in a remote Montana town beset by a series of strange and menacing events. He takes a job as a logger and builds a cabin on an isolated road near a reclusive neighbor--a hermit named Ted Kaczynski. The two men are captivated by the valley's endangered old-growth forest, but Kaczynski's violent grievances against modern society soon threaten the lives of all those around him. As Kaczynski's bombs crescendo to the book's devastating conclusion, Old King wrestles with the birth of the modern environmental movement, the accelerating dominion of technology in American life, and a new kind of violence that lives next door. Told in four parts sweeping across two decades, Old King establishes Maxim Loskutoff as one of the most thrilling and inventive authors of the American west, a writer "endowed with fearless audacity, stunning grace, and gutsy heart" (Nickolas Butler).
