Alex von Tunzelmann’s “Fallen Idols” looks at the arguments surrounding 12 figures from history, and what they tell us about both the past and the present.
“The Writing of the Gods,” by Edward Dolnick, offers a fresh account of the discovery in Egypt of the giant slab, and of the competition to decipher its symbols.
Whether fueled by magic or advanced technology, imagination is the engine of speculative fiction. This newsletter brings you the best of fantasy, science fiction, and everything in between. Monthly.
Delivered: 10/19/2021 12:00:00 AM
All branches of the Atlantic County Library System will be closed for Election Day.
UnCovered review by Rachel Simmons, Librarian,
ACLS Hammonton Branch
The
main character Gerry Andersen is a famous author with many adoring fans and
aspiring authors at his heels. Just before he falls down his floating staircase
and ends up in the hospital, Gerry finds a letter with a familiar Baltimore
address. Confined to a hospital bed in his Baltimore apartment, he relies
on his assistant and night nurse for all his needs. In his drug induced
state, he receives calls from someone named Aubrey, who claims to be his “Dream
Girl”. He continues to have strange calls, visions, and dreams which blur
reality. Is he developing dementia like his mother or is something more
sinister going on?
I
just finished the audio version of Laura Lippman’s Dream Girl read by Jason Culp.
He does an excellent job and brings the characters to life. This novel
has a dark humor to it that I liked. It’s a good mystery suspense story
with hints of Misery by Stephen King. Told in first person by an
unreliable narrator, we learn a lot about Gerry through the years from his
point of view. It’s a very good read overall.
This
title is available in print, large print, CD, and digital formats Axis 360 and
Overdrive.
The protagonist of “Oh William!” is a famous author whose books have a lot in common with ones written by the creator of Lucy Barton.
Fan Fiction is part memoir, part noir pastiche and maybe a little bit true. Is it a great work? No. Is it a lot of fun? Yes. Is it a book that could only have been written by Brent Spiner? Absolutely.
(Image credit: St. Martin's Press)
Gus Moreno's new novel follows a man who flees the city where his wife's murder became a political and media sensation, but he can't escape either his grief or the thing that haunted their apartment.
(Image credit: MCD x FSG Originals)
Author: Robitel, Adam, 1978- film director. Moritz, Neal H., film producer. Honley, Will, screenwriter. Melnik, Maria, 1970- screenwriter. Tuch, Daniel, screenwriter.
Published: 2021
Call Number: ESCAPE
Format: Video disc
Summary: Six people unwittingly find themselves locked in another series of escape rooms, slowly uncovering what they have in common to survive, and discovering they've all played the game before.
Author: Prince-Bythewood, Gina, screenwriter, film director. Lee, Spike, producer. Lathan, Sanaa, actor. Epps, Omar, actor. Woodard, Alfre, 1953- actor.
Published: 2021 2000
Call Number: LOVE
Format: Video disc
Summary: "Sparks fly both on and off the court in this groundbreaking feature debut by writer-director Gina Prince-Bythewood, who elevated the coming-of-age romance by giving honest expression to the challenges female athletes face in a world that doesn't see them as equal. Sanaa Lathan and Omar Epps make for one of the most iconic screen couples of the 2000s as the basketball-obsessed next-door neighbors who find love over flirtatious pickup games, fall apart under the strain of high-pressure college hoops and families, and drift in and out of each other's lives as they pursue their twin aspirations of playing professionally. Aided by stellar supporting performances and an eclectic R&B soundtrack, Love & Basketball captures the intoxicating passions, heartbreaking setbacks, and sky-high ambitions that mark a young woman's journey to the top of her game and to lasting love"--Container.
Author: Robitel, Adam, 1978- film director. Moritz, Neal H., film producer. Honley, Will, screenwriter. Melnik, Maria, 1970- screenwriter. Tuch, Daniel, screenwriter.
Published: 2021
Call Number: ESCAPE
Format: Video disc
Summary: Six people unwittingly find themselves locked in another series of escape rooms, slowly uncovering what they have in common to survive, and discovering they've all played the game before.
Author: Prince-Bythewood, Gina, screenwriter, film director. Lee, Spike, producer. Lathan, Sanaa, actor. Epps, Omar, actor. Woodard, Alfre, 1953- actor.
Published: 2021 2000
Call Number: LOVE
Format: Video disc
Summary: "Sparks fly both on and off the court in this groundbreaking feature debut by writer-director Gina Prince-Bythewood, who elevated the coming-of-age romance by giving honest expression to the challenges female athletes face in a world that doesn't see them as equal. Sanaa Lathan and Omar Epps make for one of the most iconic screen couples of the 2000s as the basketball-obsessed next-door neighbors who find love over flirtatious pickup games, fall apart under the strain of high-pressure college hoops and families, and drift in and out of each other's lives as they pursue their twin aspirations of playing professionally. Aided by stellar supporting performances and an eclectic R&B soundtrack, Love & Basketball captures the intoxicating passions, heartbreaking setbacks, and sky-high ambitions that mark a young woman's journey to the top of her game and to lasting love"--Container.
Author: Pride, Christine, author. Piazza, Jo, author.
Published: 2021
Call Number: F PRIDE
Format: Books
Summary: "Told from alternating perspectives, an evocative and riveting novel about the lifelong bond between two women, one Black and one white, whose friendship is indelibly altered by a tragic event--a powerful and poignant exploration of race in America today and its devastating impact on ordinary lives. Jen and Riley have been best friends since kindergarten. As adults, they remain as close as sisters, though their lives have taken different directions. Jen married young, and after years of trying, is finally pregnant. Riley pursued her childhood dream of becoming a television journalist and is poised to become one of the first Black female anchors of the top news channel in their hometown of Philadelphia. But the deep bond they share is severely tested when Jen's husband, a city police officer, is involved in the shooting of an unarmed Black teenager. Six months pregnant, Jen is in freefall as her future, her husband's freedom, and her friendship with Riley are thrown into uncertainty. Covering this career-making story, Riley wrestles with the implications of this tragic incident for her Black community, her ambitions, and her relationship with her lifelong friend. Like Tayari Jones's An American Marriage and Jodi Picoult's Small Great Things, We Are Not Like Them explores complex questions of race and how they pervade and shape our most intimate spaces in a deeply divided world. But at its heart, it's a story of enduring friendship--a love that defies the odds even as it faces its most difficult challenges"--
Author: Lonely Planet Publications (Firm)
Published: 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017
Call Number: 914.11 11TH ED.
Format: Continuing Resources
Summary: Lonely Planet's Scotland is your passport to the most relevant, up-to-date advice on what to see and skip, and what hidden discoveries await you. Taste local varieties of whisky as you explore the whisky-making regions, marvel at the wild, dramatic scenery as you walk the West Highland Way, and explore the excellent museums of Edinburgh Castle; all with your trusted travel companion. Get to the heart of Scotland and begin your journey now!
Author: Cash, Wiley, author.
Published: 2021
Call Number: F CASH
Format: Books
Summary: "The eagerly awaited novel from the New York Times bestselling author of A Land More Kind Than Home, a tender and haunting story of a father and daughter, crime and forgiveness, race and memory"-- "When the roar of a low-flying plane awakens him in the middle of the night, Sheriff Winston Barnes knows something strange is happening at the nearby airfield on the coast of North Carolina. But nothing can prepare him for what he finds: a large airplane has crash-landed and is now sitting sideways on the runway, and there are no signs of a pilot or cargo. When the body of a local man is discovered--shot dead and lying on the grass near the crash site--Winston begins a murder investigation that will change the course of his life and the fate of the community that he has sworn to protect." --Front jacket flap
Author: Patterson, James, 1947- author. Allen, Nancy (Lawyer), author. Patterson, James, 1947- Power of attorney.
Published: 2021
Call Number: LP F PATTERSO
Format: Large print
Summary: The jailhouse lawyer: A young lawyer takes on the judge who is destroying her hometown--and ends up in jail herself. In picture-perfect Erva, Alabama, the most serious crimes are misdemeanors. Speeding tickets. Shoplifting. Contempt of court. Then why is the jail so crowded? And why are so few prisoners released? There's only one place to learn the truth behind these incriminating secrets. Sometimes the best education a lawyer can get is a short stretch of hard time. Power of attorney: When she learns her father has Alzheimer's, Leah Randall leaves the law firm of Garrison, Danforth, and Shook in Chicago to return to Bassville, Arkansas. Everyone in Bassville thought Amber Lynn Travis was dead; when she returns someone is chasing her, but she doesn't know who. When Amber asks Leah to help her settle an estate, Leah is caught up in a case of abuse and sexual slavery. -- adapted from perusal of book
Author: Patterson, James, 1947- author. Fox, Candice, author.
Published: 2021
Call Number: LP F PATTERSO
Format: Large print
Summary: From the world's #1 bestselling author comes a thrilling new standalone novel where a detective duo of sisters finds themselves in the crosshairs of a dangerous and lawless group. "Attorney Rhonda Bird returns home after a long estrangement when she learns her father has died. There she makes two important discoveries: her father stopped being an accountant and had opened up a private detective agency, and she has a teenage half sister named Baby. Baby brings in a client to the detective agency, a young man who claims he was abducted. During the course of the investigation, Rhonda and Baby become entangled in a dangerous case involving a group of overprivileged young adults who break laws for fun, their psychopath ringleader, and an ex-assassin victim who decides to hunt them down for revenge"--
Author: Steel, Danielle, author.
Published: 2021
Call Number: F STEEL
Format: Books
Summary: When Joachim von Hartmann moved from Buenos Aires to Paris with his mother in his late teens, his twin stayed behind... and entered a dark world. Fascinated by the precision and intense demands of training to be a butler, Joachim went on to work in some of the grandest homes in England. His brother never reappeared. Olivia White has given ten years of her life to her failed magazine, and has come to Paris to reinvent herself. Joachim takes a job working for Olivia as a lark and enjoys the whimsy of a different life. Then he learns the family history he never knew: a criminal grandfather who died in prison, the wealthy father who abandoned him, and the dangerous criminal his twin has become. Stripped of their old roles, Olivia and Joachim are first employer and employee, then friends... then a man and woman who reach a place where the past doesn't matter and only what they are living now is true. -- adapted from jacket
Author: Toews, Miriam, 1964- author.
Published: 2021
Call Number: F TOEWS
Format: Books
Summary: Fight Night is told in the unforgettable voice of Swiv, a nine-year-old living in Toronto with her pregnant mother, who is raising Swiv while caring for her own elderly, frail, yet extraordinarily lively mother. When Swiv is expelled from school, Grandma takes on the role of teacher and gives her the task of writing to Swiv's absent father about life in the household during the last trimester of the pregnancy. In turn, Swiv gives Grandma an assignment: to write a letter to "Gord," her unborn grandchild (and Swiv's soon-to-be brother or sister). "You're a small thing," Grandma writes to Gord, "and you must learn to fight."
Author: Gupta, Sanjay, 1969- author. Loberg, Kristin, author.
Published: 2021
Call Number: 614.592
Format: Books
Summary: As America's favorite frontline Covid-19 health journalist, Dr. Sanjay Gupta has barely left his primetime seat in his makeshift studio basement since the pandemic began (other than to perform brain surgery). He's had the insider of insider access to the drama's unfolding, including exclusive conversations with the world's top public health experts and behind-the-scenes scientists racing to find treatments and cures. And now he's sharing what he's learned in a book that will answer not only all our questions about what happened, but also about how our world will change in the years ahead, even once we're back to "normal." Gupta argues that we need to prepare for a new era where pandemics will be more frequent, and possibly even more deadly. As the doctor who's been holding America's hand through the crisis with compassion, clarity, and well-earned wisdom, he gives you the unvarnished story behind the pandemic, including insights about the novel virus's behavior, and offers practical tools to ready ourselves for what lies ahead. He answers critical questions: Can we stamp out the virus for good (and if not, how do we live with it)? Should we put our parents in a nursing home? Where should we live? What should we stockpile? What should we know before taking a trip? Does it make sense to spend more on health insurance to deal with any long-term effects? How do you decide when it's safe to go to a public pool or schedule elective surgery? What should Covid survivors know about protecting their future health? What if you become a long-hauler with chronic health challenges stemming? World War C will give you hope for the future along with real information that leaves you more resilient and secure. --adapted from front and back jacket flaps
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