Summer Reading 2016 Summer Readin g 2016

Re Jane by Patricia Park Jane Re--a half-Korean, half-American orphan--takes a position as an au pair for two Brooklyn academics and their daughter, but a brief sojourn in Seoul, where she recon- Summer Reading 2016 nects with family, causes her to wonder if the man she loves is really the man for her as she tries to find balance between two cultures. Find your new favorite book this summer!

Bel Canto by Ann Patchett When terrorists seize hostages at an embassy party, an unlikely assortment of people Suggestions from the Mt. Lebanon Public Library is thrown together, including American opera star Roxanne Coss, and Mr. Hosokawa- -a Japanese CEO and her biggest fan. Share with us what you’re reading on Twitter @MtLebLibrary #LeboReads Rules of Civility by Amor Towles A chance encounter with a handsome banker in a jazz bar on New Year's Eve 1938 catapults Wall Street secretary Katey Kontent into the upper echelons of New York society, where she befriends a shy multi-millionaire, an Upper East Side ne'er-do-well, Fiction: and a single-minded widow. You Will Know Me by Megan Abbott When a violent death rocks her close-knit gymnastics community weeks before an im- Waiting for Columbus by Thomas Trofimuk portant competition, the mother of an Olympic hopeful works frantically to hold her A delirious mental patient claiming to be the legendary explorer Christopher Colum- family together in spite of being irresistibly drawn to the crime. bus captures the attention of Nurse Consuela, who endeavors to make sense of his fantastical tales about how he really obtained three ships from Spanish royalty and the Invincible Summer by Alice Adams events that led to his disconnect from reality. Four close friends who graduate college together in 1998 and venture off to pursue their fortunes in the new Millennium find themselves drawn back together 20 years later Mayumi and the Sea of Happiness by Jennifer Tseng amidst broken dreams, lost jobs, and shattered relationships. Books may be Mayumi Saito's greatest love and her one source of true pleasure. Forty- one years old, disenchanted wife, and dutiful mother, Mayumi's work as a librarian on Rich and Pretty by Rumaan Alam a small island off the coast of New England feeds her passion for reading and provides Forging a deep bond throughout their shared childhood, college years, first jobs, and her with many occasions for wry observations on human nature, but it does little to first loves, Sarah and Lauren experience secret envy and horror over aspects of each remedy the mundanity of her days. That is, until the day she issues a library card to a other's lives, challenging them to retain their bond from increasingly distant perspec- shy seventeen-year-old boy and swiftly succumbs to a sexual obsession that subverts tives. the way she sees the library, her family, the island she lives on, and ultimately herself. Enchanted Islands by Allison Amend Stoner by John Edward Williams Inspired by the mid-century memoirs of Frances Conway, Enchanted Islands is the daz- Recounts the life of a Missouri farm boy-turned-English professor who deals with an zling story of an independent American woman whose path takes her far from her na- unstable wife, an affair, and his own emotions. tive Minnesota when she and her husband, an undercover intelligence officer, are sent to the Galápagos Islands on the brink of World War II. Book descriptions courtesy of Novelist and Goodreads. Sons and Daughters of Ease and Plenty by Ramona Ausubel A story of American wealth, class, family, and mobility, approached by award-winner Mt. Lebanon Public Library Ramona Ausubel with a breadth of imagination and understanding that is fresh, sur- 16 Castle Shannon Blvd. prising, and exciting. Pittsburgh, PA 15228 The Whale: A Love Story by Mark Beauregard (412) 531-1912 A literary tale set in mid-19th-century New England reimagines the emotionally vola- www.mtlebanonlibrary.org tile, intimate relationship between a debt-ridden Herman Melville and a passionate Nathaniel Hawthorne to explore how their connection shaped the writing of Moby- Updated June 2016 Dick.

16 Summer Reading 2016 Summer Readin g 2016 Under the Harrow by Flynn Berry Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf When Nora takes the train from London to visit her sister in the countryside, she ex- A spare yet eloquent, bittersweet yet inspiring story of a man and a woman who, in pects to find her waiting at the station, or at home cooking dinner. But when she walks advanced age, come together to wrestle with the events of their lives and their hopes for into Rachel’s familiar house, what she finds is entirely different: her sister has been the the imminent future. victim of a brutal murder. Here's to Us by Elin Hilderbrand The Muse by Jessie Burton Celebrity chef Deacon Rowe is struggling with addiction, depression and not one, but When Paul at last meets Ida at her Venetian palazzo, she entrusts him with her great- two scandals. As summer nears, he travels to the idyllic Eastern bluff of Nantucket, est secret—one that will change all their lives. Filled with juicy details only a quintes- where he takes his own life. In the shocking wake of Deacon's suicide, his first wife and sential insider could know, Muse is a salty valentine to the people who write, sell, and, childhood sweetheart, Laurel Rowe, sets out to gather Deacon's far-flung family-- above all, read the books that shape our lives. including Deacon and Laurel's son, and Deacon's other ex-wives and children--on the island. Everyone Brave is Forgiven by Chris Cleave Set in London during the years of 1939–1942, when citizens had slim hope of survival, Let Me Explain You by Annie Liontas much less victory; and on the strategic island of Malta, which was daily devastated by Sending a scathing email to his family members after becoming convinced he will die the Axis barrage, Everyone Brave is Forgiven features little-known history and a perfect within days, a proud Greek immigrant garners laughter and scorn from his recipients, wartime love story inspired by the real-life love letters between Chris Cleave’s grand- who are dismayed when he promptly disappears. parents. We Were Liars by E. Lockhart The Girls by Emma Cline This brilliant and heartbreaking novel tells the story of a prestigious family living on a Northern California, during the violent end of the 1960s. At the start of summer, a lone- private island off the coast of Massachusetts. Full of love, lies, secrets, no shortage of ly and thoughtful teenager, Evie Boyd, sees a group of girls in the park, and is immedi- family dysfunction, and a shocking twist that you won’t see coming. ately caught by their freedom, their careless dress, their dangerous aura of abandon. Soon, Evie is in thrall to Suzanne, a mesmerizing older girl, and is drawn into the circle Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann of a soon-to-be infamous cult and the man who is its charismatic leader. A rich vision of the pain, loveliness, mystery, and promise of New York City in the 1970s. A radical young Irish monk struggles with his own demons as he lives among the Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler prostitutes in the middle of the burning Bronx. A group of mothers gather in a Park A lush novel of the senses—of taste and hunger, seeing and understanding, love and Avenue apartment to mourn their sons who died in Vietnam, only to discover just how desire—Sweetbitter is ultimately about the power of what remains after disillusionment, much divides them even in grief. Weaving together these and other seemingly disparate and the transformation and wisdom that come from our experiences, sweet and bitter. lives, McCann's allegory comes alive in the voices of the city's people, unexpectedly drawn together by hope, beauty, and the "artistic crime of the century"--a mysterious tightrope walker dancing between the Twin Towers. The Sunlit Night by Rebecca Dinerstein In the beautiful, barren landscape of the Far North, under the ever-present midnight A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra sun, Frances and Yasha are surprised to find refuge in each other. Their lives have been This debut novel is set in rural Chechnya during the region's war with Russia. Though upended--Frances has fled heartbreak and claustrophobic Manhattan for an isolated events shift in time, the main focus is a five-day period in 2004, when an eight-year-old artist colony; Yasha, a Russian immigrant raised in a bakery, arrives from Brooklyn to girl witnesses her father's abduction by Russian soldiers. Swearing to protect the girl, fulfill his beloved father's last wish: to be buried "at the top of the world." local doctor Akhmed (whose true passion is portraiture), brings her to a crumbling hospital, run by a hardened but dedicated surgeon, for safety. The After Party by Anton DiSclafani A thrilling glimpse into the sphere of the rich and beautiful at a memorable moment in The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty history, The After Party unfurls a story of friendship as obsessive, euphoric, consuming, Discovering a tattered letter that says she is to open it only in the event of her hus- and complicated as any romance. band's death, Cecelia is unable to resist reading the letter and discovers a secret that shatters her life and the lives of two other women. Bucky F&ing Dent by David Duchovny The Rocks by Peter Nichols David Duchovny’s richly drawn Bucky F*cking Dent explores the bonds between fathers Two honeymooners, Gerald and Lulu, abruptly split in 1948, and despite residing on and sons and the age-old rivalry between Yankee fans and the Fenway faithful, and the same island for more than sixty years, they live separately, never interacting until grapples with our urgent need to persevere―and risk everything―in the name of love. children from their rivaling families fall in love. 2 15 Summer Reading 2016 Summer Readin g 2016 stay friends for life. Now Tony is in middle age. He's had a career and a single mar- Culminating in that fateful moment in October of ’78 when the mighty Bucky Dent hit riage, a calm divorce. He's certainly never tried to hurt anybody. Memory, though, is his way into baseball history with the unlikeliest of home runs, this tender, insightful, imperfect. It can always throw up surprises, as a lawyer's letter is about to prove. and hilarious novel demonstrates how life truly belongs to the losers, and that the long shots are the ones worth betting on. In Zanesville by Jo Ann Beard Along with her best friend, the fourteen-year-old narrator navigates a 1970s American Veins of the Ocean by Patricia Engel girlhood, including challenges from popular girls and the first hints of womanhood. Set in the vibrant coastal and Caribbean communities of Miami, the Florida Keys, Havana, Cuba, and Cartagena, Colombia, with The Veins of the Ocean Patricia Engel deliv- The Boys of My Youth by Jo Ann Beard ers a profound and riveting Pan-American story of fractured lives finding solace and Rarely does the debut of a new writer garner such attention & acclaim. The author redemption in the beauty and power of the natural world, and in one another. writes with perfect pitch as she takes us through one woman's life - from childhood to marriage & beyond - & memorably captures the collision of youthful longing & A Hero of France by Alan Furst the hard intransigences of time & fate. Shot through with the author’s trademark fine writing, breathtaking suspense, and intense scenes of seduction and passion, Alan Furst’s A Hero of France is at once one of Open City by Teju Cole the finest novels written about the French Resistance and the most gripping novel yet Feeling adrift after ending a relationship, Julius, a young Nigerian doctor living in by the living master of the spy thriller. New York, takes long walks through the city while listening to the stories of fellow immigrants until a shattering truth is revealed. Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

Two half-sisters, Effia and Esi, are born into different villages in eighteenth-century Geek Love by Katherine Dunn Ghana. Effia is married off to an Englishman and lives in comfort in the palatial rooms Aloysious and Lillian Binewski, proprietors of a traveling carnival, attempt to reduce of Cape Coast Castle. Unbeknownst to Effia, her sister, Esi, is imprisoned beneath her overhead by breeding their own freak show, with tragic results. in the castle’s dungeons, sold with thousands of others into the Gold Coast’s booming

slave trade, and shipped off to America, where her children and grandchildren will be My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante raised in slavery. Beginning in the 1950s Elena and Lila grow up in Naples, Italy, mirroring two differ- ent aspects of their nation. The Past by Tessa Hadley The Turner House by Angela Flournoy With subtle precision and deep compassion, Tessa Hadley brilliantly evokes a brewing Learning after a half-century of family life that their house on Detroit's East Side is storm of lust and envy, the indelible connections of memory and affection, the fierce, worth only a fraction of its mortgage, the members of the Turner family gather to nostalgic beauty of the natural world, and the shifting currents of history running be- reckon with their pasts and decide the house's fate. neath the surface of these seemingly steady lives.

The One and Only by Emily Giffin Heat and Light by Jennifer Haigh Centering her life on the successful Walker family, into which she plans to marry, Told through a cast of characters whose lives are increasingly bound by the opposing Shea struggles to end her affair with a less-than-stellar boyfriend only to have her interests that underpin the national debate, Heat and Light depicts a community blessed entire existence placed in question by the death of the family's mother. and cursed by its natural resources.

Summer Secrets by Jane Green Before the Fall by Noah Hawley Years after hard partying and the discovery of the father she never knew ends her On a foggy summer night, eleven people--ten privileged, one down-on-his-luck painter- only friendships, Cat Coombs achieves sobriety and resolves to make amends to those -depart Martha's Vineyard on a private jet headed for New York. Sixteen minutes later, she has hurt during a revelatory Nantucket summer. the unthinkable happens: the plane plunges into the ocean. The only survivors are Scott Burroughs--the painter--and a four-year-old boy, who is now the last remaining mem- 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff ber of an immensely wealthy and powerful media mogul's family. It all began with a letter inquiring about second-hand books, written by Helene Hanff in New York, and posted to a bookshop at 84, Charing Cross Road in London. As Helene's sarcastic & witty letters are responded to by Frank Doel, a relationship The Fireman of Joe Hill blossoms into a warm and charming long-distance friendship lasting many years. From the award-winning, New York Times bestselling author of NOS4A2 and Heart-Shaped Box comes a chilling novel about a worldwide pandemic of spontaneous combustion

14 3 Summer Reading 2016 Summer Readin g 2016 that threatens to reduce civilization to ashes and a band of improbable heroes who bat- tle to save it, led by one powerful and enigmatic man known as the Fireman. New York--Isabel has no idea that the man in the kitchen baking the sublime roast chicken and light-as-air apricot soufflé will end up changing her life. Maestra by L.S. Hilton A Good Month for Murder: The Inside Story of a Homicide Squad by Del Quin- Desperate to make something of herself, Judith knows she has to play the game. She’s tin Wilber transformed her accent and taught herself about wine and the correct use of a dessert Bestselling author Del Quentin Wilber tells the inside story of how a homicide fork, not to mention the art of discretion. She’s learned to be a good girl. But when Ju- squad does its almost impossible job. dith is fired for uncovering a dark secret at the heart of the art world—and her honest efforts at a better life are destroyed—she turns to a long-neglected friend. A friend who The Hour of Land: A Personal Topography of America’s National Parks by Terry kept her chin up and back straight through every slight: Rage. Tempest Williams America’s national parks are breathing spaces in a world in which such spaces are The Loney by Andrew Michael Hurley steadily disappearing, which is why more than 300 million people visit the parks When the remains of a young child are discovered during a winter storm on a stretch of each year. Now Terry Tempest Williams, the author of the beloved memoir When the bleak Lancashire coastline known as the Loney, a man named Smith is forced to confront the terrifying and mysterious events that occurred forty years earlier when he Women Were Birds, returns with The Hour of Land, a literary celebration of our national visited the place as a boy. parks, an exploration of what they mean to us and what we mean to them.

The Girls in the Garden by Lisa Jewell Everything is Teeth by Evie Wyld Imagine that you live on a picturesque communal garden square, an oasis in urban Lon- When she was a little girl, passing her summers in the heat of coastal Australia, Evie don where your children run free, in and out of other people’s houses. You’ve known Wyld was captivated by sharks—by their innate ruthlessness, stealth, and immeas- your neighbors for years and you trust them. Implicitly. You think your children are urable power—and they have never released their hold on her imagination. From safe. But are they really? the award-winning author of All the Birds, Singing, here is a deeply moving graphic memoir about family, love, loss, and the irresistible forces that, like sharks, course The Vegetarian by Han Kang through life unseen, ready to emerge at any moment.

Celebrated by critics around the world, The Vegetarian is a darkly allegorical, Kafka- Food and the City: New York's Professional Chefs, Restaurateurs, Line Cooks, esque tale of power, obsession, and one woman’s struggle to break free from the vio- Street Vendors, and Purveyors Talk About What They Do and Why They Do It lence both without and within her. by Ina Yalof

An unprecedented behind-the-scenes tour of New York City’s dynamic food cul- End of Watch by Stephen King ture, as told through the voices of the chefs, line cooks, restaurateurs, waiters, and In Room 217 of the Lakes Region Traumatic Brain Injury Clinic, something has awak- street vendors who have made this industry their lives. ened. Something evil. Brady Hartsfield, perpetrator of the Mercedes Massacre, where eight people were killed and many more were badly injured, has been in the clinic for What to Read While Waiting for Your Holds!: five years, in a vegetative state. According to his doctors, anything approaching a com- plete recovery is unlikely. But behind the drool and stare, Brady is awake, and in pos- In the Country: Stories by Mia Alvar session of deadly new powers that allow him to wreak unimaginable havoc without Exploring the universal experience of loss, displacement, and the longing to connect ever leaving his hospital room. across borders both real and imagined, In the Country speaks to the heart of everyone who has ever searched for a place to call home.

Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll Life After Life by Kate Atkinson As a teenager at the prestigious Bradley School, Ani FaNelli endured a shocking, public Ursula Todd is born on a cold snowy night in 1910 -- twice. As she grows up during humiliation that left her desperate to reinvent herself. Now, with a glamorous job, ex- the first half of the twentieth century in Britain, Ursula dies and is brought back to pensive wardrobe, and handsome blue blood fiancé, she’s this close to living the perfect life again and again. With a seemingly infinite number of lives it appears as though life she’s worked so hard to achieve. Ursula has the ability to alter the history of the world, should she so choose.

You Know Me Well by Nina Lacour and David Levithan The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes Mark and Kate sit next to each other in school but are barely acquainted until they Tony Webster and his clique first met Adrian Finn at school. Maybe Adrian was a meet at a San Francisco club during Pride Week and connect over each one's forbidden little more serious than the others, certainly more intelligent, but they all swore to love.

4 13 Summer Reading 2016 Summer Readin g 2016 of self-serving politicians fatally destroy his faith in the legitimacy of the rebellion. As a The Children by Anne Leary country wary of tyrants suddenly must figure out how it should be led, Washington’s A wealthy but unconventional New England family of four stepsiblings struggles to unmatched ability to rise above the petty politics of his time enables him to win the come to terms with their legacy and the myths they have built their lives upon during a war that really matters. lavish family wedding that exposes long-standing resentments and unfortunate truths.

Look at You Now by Liz Pryor Chance Developments: Stories by Alexander McCall Smith Shorn of context, unknown people look out to us from old and anonymous photo- For readers of Orange Is the New Black and The Glass Castle, a riveting memoir about a life- graphs, and each image has magical appeal. Alexander McCall Smith, one of the world’s long secret and a girl finding strength in the most unlikely place. best-loved writers, has reimagined the stories of these individuals in this charming,

humorous, unexpected and poignant collection. 32 Yolks by Eric Ripert Hailed by Anthony Bourdain as “heartbreaking, horrifying, poignant, and inspiring,” 32 All the Missing Girls by Megan Miranda Yolks is the brave and affecting coming-of-age story about the making of a French chef, A story in reverse traces the disappearances of two young women, a decade apart, from from the culinary icon behind the renowned New York City restaurant Le Bernardin. the perspective of a former best friend who returns to her rural hometown, where she is plunged into a shocking maelstrom that reawakens her friend's missing-persons case, Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans at War by Mary Roach implicating a group of friends and exes. Best-selling author Mary Roach explores the science of keeping human beings intact, awake, sane, uninfected, and uninfested in the bizarre and extreme circumstances of Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty war. A typical afternoon barbecue among friends becomes something much bigger when one pivotal moment of inattention leads to repercussions for all in attendance. In trademark Blood Brothers: The Fatal Friendship Between Muhammad Ali and Malcolm X Moriarty style, the story flashes back and forth between the day of the barbecue and by Randy Roberts two months later, slowly revealing the events of the day and its consequences, creating In 1962, boxing writers and fans considered Cassius Clay an obnoxious self-promoter, a delicious momentum for the reader as the tension builds and the pieces fall into place. and few believed that he would become the heavyweight champion of the world. But Moriarty has another sure-fire winner with this look at the complexities of friendship, Malcolm X, the most famous minister in the Nation of Islam, saw the potential in Clay, marriage, and familial relationships. not just for boxing greatness, but as a means of spreading the Nation’s message. The two became fast friends, but their friendship would soon sour, with disastrous and far- Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel reaching consequences. Years after waking up dozens of feet below the ground on the palm of what seems to be a mysterious giant metal hand, a top-level physicist leads a team of people to discover Terror in the City of Champions: Murder, Baseball, and the Secret Society that the nature of the hand, where it came from and what it portends for humanity. Shocked Depression-era Detroit by Tom Stanton Award-winning author Tom Stanton weaves a stunning tale of history, crime, and My Mrs. Brown by William Norwich sports. Richly portraying 1930s America, Terror in the City of Champions features a pageant Called upon to inventory the estate of a wealthy woman, Emilia Brown, a frugal and of colorful figures: iconic athletes, sanctimonious criminals, scheming industrial titans, unnoticed woman in small-town Rhode Island, discovers an exquisitely tailored Oscar a bigoted radio priest, a love-smitten celebrity couple, J. Edgar Hoover, and two future de la Renta dress in the woman's collection and changes her life to be able to purchase presidents, Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan. It is a rollicking true story set at the con- the dress. fluence of hard luck, hope, victory, and violence.

Ice Cream Social: 100 Artisanal Recipes for Ice Cream, Sherbet, Granita, and Other Allegheny Front: Stories by Matthew Neill Null Frozen Favorites by Anthony Tassinello PEN/O. Henry Prize-winning author Matthew Neill Null's lyrical and disquieting sto- Whether you’re new to ice cream making or looking for new takes on traditional favor- ries offer a panoramic portrait of his native West Virginia. ites, Ice Cream Social covers all you need for making luscious desserts that everyone will love. The Doll-Master and Other Tales of Terror by Joyce Carol Oates A collection of six psychologically daring stories by the National Book Award-winning Dinner with Edward: A Story of an Unexpected Friendship by Isabel Vincent author of them includes the tale of a boy's obsession with a doll in the aftermath of a When Isabel meets Edward, both are at a crossroads: he wants to follow his late wife to cousin's leukemia-related death and a teen's confrontation with an intruder while the grave, and she is ready to give up on love. Thinking she is merely helping Edward’s housesitting for her teacher. daughter--who lives far away and has asked her to check in on her nonagenarian dad in

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What is Not Yours is Not Yours: Stories by Helen Oyeyemi destined for extinction? Is it possible that the greatest artist of our era is currently un- known (or—weirder still—widely known, but entirely disrespected)? Is it possible that A collection of stories by the award-winning author of Boy, Snow, Bird features entries we “overrate” democracy? And perhaps most disturbing, is it possible that we’ve about literal and metaphorical keys that open or shut the fates of lovers, the heart of a reached the end of knowledge? puppeteering student, and the doors of a house of locks that holds unobservable devel- opments. The Lynching: The Epic Courtroom Battle That Brought Down the Klan by Lau- rence Learner Knitlandia by Clara Parkes The New York Times bestselling author of The Kennedy Women chronicles the powerful and Knitting aficionado and notable artisan Clara Parkes delves into her storied travels spellbinding true story of a brutal race-based killing in 1981 and subsequent trials that with this inspiring and witty memoir on a creative life enriched by her adventures undid one of the most pernicious organizations in American history—the Ku Klux Klan. around the world. Mistresses of Clivedon by Natalie Livingstone The Assistants by Camille Perri For fans of Downton Abbey comes an immersive historical epic about a lavish English When a technical error with her CEO boss’s travel-and-expenses report presents ad- manor and a dynasty of rich and powerful women who ruled the estate over three cen- ministrative assistant Tina with the opportunity to pay off the entire balance of her turies of misbehavior, scandal, intrigue, and passion. student loan debt with what would essentially be pocket change for her boss, she struggles with the decision: She’s always played by the rules. But it’s such a relatively Diane Arbus: Portrait of a Photographer by Arthur Lubow small amount of money for the Titan Corporation—and for her it would be a life- The definitive biography of the beguiling Diane Arbus, one of the most influential and changer. important photographers of the twentieth century, a brilliant and absorbing exposition

that links the extraordinary arc of her life to her iconic photographs. Heavenly Table by Donald Ray Pollock In 1917, dispossessed farmer Pearl Jewett, on the sliver of border land that divides Geor- Kill ’em and Leave: Searching for James Brown and the American Soul by James gia from Alabama, ekes out a hardscrabble existence with his three young sons until McBride their lives violently collide in dark and horrific ways with those of Ohio farmer Ells- National Book Award winner James McBride goes in search of the “real” James Brown worth Fiddler. after receiving a tip that promises to uncover the man behind the myth. His surprising journey illuminates not only our understanding of this immensely troubled, misunder- Barkskins by Annie Proulx stood, and complicated soul genius but the ways in which our cultural heritage has been Working as woodcutters under a feudal lord in 17th-century New France, two impov- shaped by Brown’s legacy. erished young Frenchmen follow separate journeys, one of extraordinary hardship, the other of wealth and craftiness, that shape their families throughout three centuries. Missing Man: The American Man Who Vanished in Iran by Barry Meier Missing Man is a fast-paced story that moves through exotic locales and is set against the I’m Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid backdrop of the twilight war between the United States and Iran, one in which hostag- In this deeply suspenseful and irresistibly unnerving debut novel, a man and his girl- es are used as political pawns. Filled with stunning revelations, it chronicles a family's friend are on their way to a secluded farm. What follows is a twisted unraveling and an ongoing search for answers and one man's desperate struggle to keep his hand in the unforgettable ending that will haunt you long after the last page is turned. game.

Lily and the Octopus by Steven Rowley The Gene: An Intimate History by Siddhartha Mukherjee Rowley has lovingly captured what it is like to be totally invested in caring for another From the Pulitzer Prize-winning, bestselling author of The Emperor of All Maladies—a life, another heart. This book is a true gift for anyone who has experienced the loss of a magnificent history of the gene and a response to the defining question of the future: dog, but especially for those of us who have nursed a beloved dog through an illness What becomes of being human when we learn to “read” and “write” our own genetic even though you both knew it was going to be a losing battle. A special bond is formed information? there, and the story of Lily and Ted illustrates it so perfectly. Valiant Ambition: George Washington, Benedict Arnold, and the Fate of the Amer- Let Me Die in His Footsteps by Lori Roy ican Revolution by Nathaniel Philbrick When a 15-year-old girl from a small mid-20th-century Kentucky town sneaks onto a Valiant Ambition is a complex, controversial, and dramatic portrait of a people in crisis rival family's property and discovers a dead body, she is forced to confront dangerous and the war that gave birth to a nation. The focus is on loyalty and personal integrity, events from the past in order to protect the town. evoking a Shakespearean tragedy that unfolds in the key relationship of Washington and Arnold, who is an impulsive but sympathetic hero whose misfortunes at the hands 6 11 Summer Reading 2016 Summer Readin g 2016

The Silk Roads: A New History of the World by Peter Frankopan Everybody's Fool by Richard Russo The epic history of the crossroads of the world—the meeting place of East and West Returns to the setting of Nobody's Fool to find Sully confronting a daunting health prog- and the birthplace of civilization. nosis, which he hides from his loved ones, including his longtime mistress, an increas- ingly distant best friend, and an obsessive chief of police. The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu by Joshua Hammer To save precious centuries-old Arabic texts from Al Qaeda, a band of librarians in Tim- The Year of the Runaways by Sunjeev Sahota buktu pulls off a brazen heist worthy of Ocean’s Eleven. Tarlochan, Avtar, Randeep, and Narinder are four immigrants from India move to Shef- field, England. The story then focuses on their lives during the course of one year. Never a Dull Moment: 1971 The Year that Rock Exploded by David Hepworth A rollicking look at 1971 - the busiest, most innovative and resonant year of the 70s, de- The Mandibles: A Family, 2029-2047 by Lionel Shriver fined by the musical arrival of such stars as David Bowie, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, and A near-future family saga spanning eighteen tumultuous years that redefine the nature Joni Mitchell. of the United States explores the aftershocks of an economically devastating debt de- fault and its impact on a once-prosperous American family. The Midnight Assassin: Panic, Scandal, and the Hunt for America's First Serial Killer by Skip Hollandsworth The Summer Before the War by Helene Simonson A sweeping narrative history of a terrifying serial killer--America's first--who stalked Fans of Simonson’s Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand have reason to rejoice. She has created Austin, Texas in 1885. another engaging novel full of winsome characters, this time set during the summer before the outbreak of World War I. Follow the story of headstrong, independent Be- The United States of Beer: A Freewheeling History of the All-American Drink by atrice Nash and kind but stuffy surgeon-in-training Hugh Grange along with his formi- Dan Huckelbridge dable Aunt Agatha. Make a cup of tea and prepare to savor every page! From the author of "the definitive history of bourbon" (Sacramento Bee) comes the epic true tale of how beer conquered America, from B.C. to Budweiser and beyond. Leaving Lucy Pear by Anna Solomon

Inadvertently reunited with the daughter she secretly abandoned and the girl's Irish- The Apache Wars: The Hunt for Geronimo, the Apache Kid, and the Captive Boy Catholic adoptive mother during the height of America's xenophobic Prohibition era, Who Started the Longest War in American History by Paul Andrew Hutton the adult daughter of a Jewish industrialist finds her life turned upside down by her In the tradition of Empire of the Summer Moon, a stunningly vivid historical account of the daughter's bold and unconventional personality. manhunt for Geronimo and the 25-year Apache struggle for their homeland.

Lab Girl by Hope Jahren Modern Lovers by Emma Straub An illuminating debut memoir of a woman in science; a moving portrait of a longtime From the New York Times‒bestselling author of The Vacationers, a smart, highly enter- friendship; and a stunningly fresh look at plants that will forever change how you see taining novel about a tight-knit group of friends from college— and what it means to the natural world. finally grow up, well after adulthood has set in.

When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi The Book of Speculation by Erika Swyler For readers of Atul Gawande, Andrew Solomon, and Anne Lamott, this inspiring, ex- A roller coaster of a read! This is the story of a librarian from a splintered family with a quisitely observed memoir finds hope and beauty in the face of insurmountable odds as tragic past who is gifted a mysterious book that leads him to dive deep into his family’s an idealistic young neurosurgeon attempts to answer the question What makes a life worth history, all while his present life seems to be falling to pieces around him. If you loved living? Morgenstern’s The Night Circus or Kostova’s The Historian, this is a book for you.

But What If We're Wrong?: Thinking About the Present As If It Were the Past by The Gilded Years by Karin Tanabe Chuck Klosterman Since childhood, Anita Hemmings has longed to attend the country’s most exclusive But What If We’re Wrong? visualizes the contemporary world as it will appear to those school for women, Vassar College. Now, a bright, beautiful senior in the class of 1897, who'll perceive it as the distant past. Chuck Klosterman asks questions that are pro- she is hiding a secret that should have banned her from admission: Anita is the only found in their simplicity: How certain are we about our understanding of gravity? How African-American student ever to attend Vassar. With her olive complexion and dark certain are we about our understanding of time? What will be the defining memory of hair, the daughter of a janitor and descendant of slaves has successfully passed as white, rock music, five hundred years from today? How seriously should we view the content but now finds herself rooming with Louise “Lottie” Taylor, the scion of one of New of our dreams? How seriously should we view the content of television? Are all sports York’s most prominent families.

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Vinegar Girl by Anne Tyler Picnic in Provence by Elizabeth Bard The newest entry in the Hogarth Shakespeare series brings The Taming of the Shrew into Ten years ago, New Yorker Elizabeth Bard followed a handsome Frenchman up a spiral the modern world. Kate is stuck in a life taking care of her absent minded professor staircase to a love nest in the heart of Paris. Now, with a baby on the way, Elizabeth father and her sister, Bunny. When her father suggests a marriage of convenience in takes another leap of faith with her husband when they move to Provence and open an order to secure a green card for his lab assistant Pyotr, Kate is shocked. This is a sweet artisanal ice cream shop. Filled with enticing recipes such as stuffed zucchini flowers, and humorous story about two people, who don’t quite fit in, finding each other. Tyler’s fig tart, and honey-and-thyme ice cream, Picnic in Provence is the story of everything that wonderful writing updates and improves on the original. happens after the happily ever after.

Smoke: A Novel by Dan Vyleta The Winter Fortress: The Epic Mission to Sabotage Hitler's Atomic by Neal Bas- Taking place a century ago in England, people who have wicked thoughts or commit comb wicked deeds are marked by the smoke that emanates from their bodies. At an elite It’s 1942 and the Nazis are racing to be the first to build a weapon unlike any known boarding school three students learn everything they have been taught is a lie, and this before. They have the physicists, they have the uranium, and now all their plans depend forbidden knowledge could cost them their lives. on amassing a single ingredient: heavy water, which is produced in Norway’s Vemork, the lone plant in all the world that makes this rare substance. Under threat of death, Girls on Fire by Robin Wasserman Vemork’s engineers push production into overdrive. When a popular high school athlete commits suicide amid rumors of local satanic wor- ship in a 1990s Pennsylvania community, an unlikely friendship between a lonely misfit The Maximum Security Book Club: Reading Literature in a Men’s Prison by Mikita and a pop-culture rebel leads both to a feverish downward spiral of high risk and dan- Brottman gerous secrets. A riveting account of the two years literary scholar Mikita Brottman spent reading lit- erature with criminals in a maximum-security men’s prison outside Baltimore, and The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead (Release date: Sept. 13, 2016) what she learned from them. From prize-winning, bestselling author Colson Whitehead, a magnificent tour de force chronicling a young slave's adventures as she makes a desperate bid for freedom in the The Road to Little Dribbling: Adventures of an American in Britain by Bill Bryson antebellum South. A loving and hilarious—if occasionally spiky—valentine to Bill Bryson’s adopted coun- try, Great Britain. Prepare for total joy and multiple episodes of unseemly laughter. Another Brooklyn by Jacqueline Woodson (Release date: August 9, 2016) Running into a long-ago friend sets memory from the 1970s in motion for August, trans- Code Warriors: NSA's Codebreakers and the Secret Intelligence War Against the porting her to a time and a place where friendship was everything—until it wasn’t. For Soviet Union by Stephen Budiansky August and her girls, sharing confidences as they ambled through neighborhood streets, In Code Warriors, Stephen Budiansky—a longtime expert in cryptology—tells the fasci- Brooklyn was a place where they believed that they were beautiful, talented, brilliant— nating story of how NSA came to be, from its roots in World War II through the fall of a part of a future that belonged to them. the Berlin Wall. Along the way, he guides us through the fascinating challenges faced by cryptanalysts.

Non-Fiction: Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond Ice Time: A Tale of Fathers, Sons, and Hometown Heroes by Jay Atkinson From Harvard sociologist and MacArthur "Genius" Matthew Desmond, a landmark Twenty-five years after he played for the Rangers, Atkinson returns to his high school work of scholarship and reportage that will forever change the way we look at poverty team as a volunteer assistant. Ice Time tells the team's story as he follows the tempera- in America. mental star, the fiery but troubled winger, the lovesick goalie, the rookie whose father is battling cancer, and the "old school" coach as the Rangers make a desperate charge into Brilliant Beacons: A History of the American Lighthouse by Eric Jay Dolin the state tournament. In emotionally vivid detail, Ice Time travels into the rinks, schools, In a work rich in maritime lore and brimming with original historical detail, Eric Jay and living rooms of small-town America. Dolin, the best-selling author of Leviathan, presents an epic history of American light- houses, telling the story of America through the prism of its beloved coastal sentinels. Voyager: Travel Writings by Russel Banks The acclaimed, award-winning novelist takes us on some of his most memorable jour- The View from the Cheap Seats by Neil Gaiman neys in this revelatory collection of travel essays that spans the globe, from the Caribbe- An enthralling collection of nonfiction essays on a myriad of topics—from art and art- an to Scotland to the Himalayas...Pensive, frank, beautiful, and engaing, Voyager brings ists to dreams, myths, and memories—observed in #1 New York Times bestselling author together the social, the personal, and the historical, opening a path into the heart and Neil Gaiman’s probing, amusing, and distinctive style. soul of this revered writer. 8 9