June 2019 Staff PicksLike this list

16 items

• Biased

  Uncovering the Hidden Prejudice That Shapes What We See, Think, and Do

  Eberhardt, Jennifer L. (Jennifer Lynn),

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  Stanford psychology professor Eberhardt's book is a clear, approachable, interesting, useful and thought-provoking overview of bias in society that is rooted in research and history about the African American experience but includes some other…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Book of Dreams

  a Novel

  George, Nina, 1973-

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  On his way to see his son, Sam, for the first time in years, Henri Skinner steps into the road and collides with traffic. He is rushed to the hospital where he hovers between life and death, comatose, reliving the past and reimagining the future.…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Boy Swallows Universe

  Dalton, Trent,

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  Trent Dalton's Boy Swallows Universe is quite the story. In fact, even though the book is fictional, and it might seem too wacky and crazy to believe, it is actually largely based on the author's own boyhood in Australia. And what a boyhood Trent…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Diary of a Dead Man on Leave

  Downing, David, 1946-

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  In 1938, Josef Hofmann returns to his native Germany from Argentina and takes a job on the national railway. He rents a room owned from widow Anna Gersdorffin a house in Hamm, a stronghold of the German Communist Party after World War I. But Josef…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Disappearing Earth

  Phillips, Julia,

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  This innovative blend of literary and thriller fiction reads like a collection of linked short stories set in the fascinating far eastern Russian peninsula of Kamchatka. In the first chapter, two young sisters are abducted. Subsequently, rather than…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Furious Hours

  Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee

  Cep, Casey N.,

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  In some ways, Cep has written a story that Harper Lee may have set out to write but never finished. Furious Hours opens as a courtroom drama set in Alexander City, Alabama. Robert Lewis Burns, defended by Tom Radney, was standing trial for the…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• In the House in the Dark of the Woods

  Hunt, Laird,

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  While out collecting berries one day, Puritan Goody leaves her husband and son to venture into the woods, beginning a dark and bizarre journey. She meets Captain Jane out and about in the woods, who brings her to forest-dwelling Eliza’s house to…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Invisible Women

  Data Bias in a World Designed for Men

  Criado-Perez, Caroline,

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  Meticulously researched and masterfully written, this book about the lack of representation of women in everything from medical trials to economic policies to employment sectors like technology, government, product design, and beyond is…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Light From Other Stars

  a Novel

  Swyler, Erika,

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  Swyler's sophomore novel examines the life of Nedda, a 12-year-old girl who has always wanted to be an astronaut, and her scientist parents. The chapters alternate between the past of 1986 and a future time in space where Nedda is aboard a…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Lost and Wanted

  Freudenberger, Nell,

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  Freudenberger's extraordinary novel about love, time and physics is told through a realistic and moving story of friendship. Helen and Charlie's relationship is ordinary enough in some ways. Former roommates at Harvard now in their mid 30's, they…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Midnight in Chernobyl

  the Untold Story of the World's Greatest Nuclear Disaster

  Higginbotham, Adam,

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  Higginbotham’s history is an exhaustive and dramatic account of the disaster that began in the early morning hours of April 26, 1986 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. During a safety test, there was an explosion in nuclear reactor number four,…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous

  a Novel

  Vuong, Ocean, 1988-

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  In this impressive debut novel, poet Vuong weaves a lyrical coming-of-age story in the form of letters from a son to his mother. Looking back after a college education in writing in New York City, "Little Dog" writes about his family's experience of…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Save Me the Plums

  My Gourmet Memoir

  Reichl, Ruth,

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  In her newest memoir, celebrated chef and food writer Reichl wistfully recounts her time as the last editor of Gourmet Magazine. In fine detail, she describes her unlikely ascendance from food critic to magazine editor, and reveals the opulence of…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Southern Lady Code

  Essays

  Ellis, Helen,

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  Born in Alabama and based in New York City, Helen Ellis, bestselling author of American Housewife, returns with an uproarious and ribald collection of essays. For the uninitiated, “Southern Lady Code” is “a technique by which, if you don’t have…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Trust Exercise

  a Novel

  Choi, Susan, 1969-

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  The latest from Choi (My Education, A Person of Interest) is a love-it-or-hate-it literary breakout. Like 2018's Asymmetry by Lisa Halliday, it uses a three-part structure that requires (and rewards) close reading to piece the big picture together,…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Vita Nostra

  Di︠a︡chenko, Marina,

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  While on a vacation with her mother, Sasha Samokhina meets a strange man who forces her to perform a series of tasks that are rewarded with golden coins. The coins are unlike any she has seen before and become the payment to attend the Institute of…Read moreRead more of this annotation