August 2022 Staff PicksLike this list

18 items

• Blood and Ruins

  the Last Imperial War, 1931-1945

  Overy, Richard,

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  Eminent British military historian Overy provides a sprawling, comprehensive account of the Second World War as the last – and by far the deadliest and most destructive – war of colonial conquest and territorial expansion. Even by the horrific…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• City on Fire

  a Novel

  Winslow, Don, 1953-

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  A fast-moving novel, loosely based on the Trojan War and other Greek mythology, City on Fire is the story of two families, one Irish and one Italian, small town mobsters who have had a lasting peace in Providence, Rhode Island. When one of the Irish…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Cost of Living

  Essays

  Maloney, Emily,

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  In her debut essay collection, Chicagoland author Emily Maloney takes on the cost of healthcare in America. After a suicide attempt lands Maloney, a college student at the time, with a pile of bills and a recommendation for ongoing treatment, she…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Daughter of Doctor Moreau

  a Novel

  Moreno-Garcia, Silvia,

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  Silvia-Moreno's highly-anticipated new novel magnificently reimagines H.G. Wells's science fiction classic. Set in the lush Mexican South of the 1800s, this tale is centered on Moreau's daughter, Carlota. Growing up on an isolated estate in the…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Daughter of the Moon Goddess

  a Novel

  Tan, Sue Lynn,

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  Chang'e is the goddess of the moon. Her secret daughter, Xingyin, is raised in isolation on the moon. However, as she gets older, her magic becomes harder to conceal, until she is nearly discovered. Chang'e is imprisoned by the Celestial Emperor for…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Easy Beauty

  a Memoir

  Cooper Jones, Chloé, 1983-

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  In this thought-provoking memoir, a balm for anyone who has been othered by strangers, a young Brooklyn-based writer and philosophy professor grapples with her disability and the way she is seen by the outside world. Born with sacral agenesis, a…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Horse

  Brooks, Geraldine,

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  Brooks's latest historical novel is an engrossing tale based on a real-life racehorse, Lexington, and his fictional enslaved trainer, Jarret Lewis, in the 1850s and 60s. The novel starts out in 2019 as Theo, a young Nigerian-American art-history PhD…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Invisible Kingdom

  Reimagining Chronic Illness

  O'Rourke, Meghan,

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  O'Rourke approaches chronic health conditions and autoimmune diseases as the next great frontier of medicine in this deeply intelligent and nuanced exploration of the subject. It's understandable that patients, their loved ones and medical…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Lapvona

  Moshfegh, Ottessa,

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  Moshfegh (My Years of Rest and Relaxation) invites the reader to Lapvona, a fictional medieval village dominated by animalistic human nature and primitiveness. Marek, a delusional young man abused by his shepherd father, and Ina, a blind midwife who…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Love Marriage

  a Novel

  Ali, Monica, 1967-

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  In Ali's latest, an atmospheric and gripping family saga featuring a British Bengali family living in London, all is not as it first appears. We meet 26-year-old medical student Yasmin on the evening her first-generation parents are set to meet her…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Mika in Real Life

  a Novel

  Jean, Emiko,

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  Mika Suzuki is a hot mess. A 35-year-old college dropout still drifting from job to job and barely able to function, she feels like a disappointment to her traditional Japanese mother and even to herself. When she is suddenly contacted by the child…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Nettle & Bone

  Kingfisher, T.,

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  Kingfisher's new novel is a delightful mix of fairy-tale and classic fantasy with an added sprinkle of court intrigue. Marra is the youngest of three princesses born into a land where a noblewoman's only duty is to marry well. It seems the family…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Rabbit Hutch

  Gunty, Tess,

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  The Rabbit Hutch centers around a realistic post-industrial portrait of the American Midwest, polluted and flooding after a booming automobile industry goes bust. In the fictional town of Vacca Vale (Indiana), La Lapinière Affordable Housing…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Take My Hand

  Perkins-Valdez, Dolen,

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  Take My Hand is inspired by true events. In the summer of 1973 two underage girls were taken from their homes in Montgomery, Alabama to be sterilized against their will and without the informed consent of their parents. A lawsuit was filed on their…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Stardust Thief

  Abdullah, Chelsea,

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  This gripping fantasy will draw you into its rich and vibrant world, containing both incredible wonders and a grasping underbelly. In a land where the last of the magical Jinn race are persecuted for their magic, Loulie is a relic hunter - the…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Things to Come and Go

  Novellas

  Howland, Bette,

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  Three novellas by the criminally underrated Bette Howland explore the lives of three women. Birds of a Feather is a hilarious tale of Jewish immigrants figuring out the new world in Chicago. The Old Wheeze tells the story of a young woman and her…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow

  Zevin, Gabrielle,

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  Best-selling and award-winning author Gabrielle Zevin's new novel tells the epic and multi-layered story of the friendship between two gamers, taking readers on a journey through the games they play, the roles they inhabit, and the worlds they…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Yonder

  a Novel

  Asim, Jabari, 1962-

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  Part of a wave of recent novels about the lives of the enslaved in American history (for example The Prophets and The Water Dancer), Yonder is an impressive feat of storytelling. Alternating point of view in short, vividly-written chapters, the…Read moreRead more of this annotation