January 2023 eBook Staff PicksLike this list

14 items

• The Birdcatcher

  Jones, Gayl

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  This playfully dark novel, a National Book Award finalist, was originally published in Germany in 1986. Travel writer Amanda Wordlaw is staying on the island of Ibiza with her friend Catherine, a renowned sculptor who repeatedly tries to kill her…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Bliss Montage

  Stories

  Ma, Ling, 1983-

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  Ma's smart new collection of stories contains elements of fantasy, commenting on the unique absurdities of our current moment. Failed relationships, disconnection and toxic masculinity feature prominently. In one story, the narrator lives in a…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Breathless

  The Scientific Race to Defeat a Deadly Virus

  Quammen, David, 1948-

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  Humanity’s latest battle against deadly viruses gets a page-turning and highly-informative treatment in science journalist Quammen’s page-turning account of COVID-19, which reads like an international medical thriller full of intrigue. Quammen…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Con/Artist

  The Life and Crimes of the World's Greatest Art Forger

  Tetro, Tony,

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  Ever wondered why someone becomes an art forger? Tony Tetro gives his account of how he spent decades forging art in Los Angeles in the 70s and 80s. This master craftsman is quick to acknowledge that most of his techniques wouldn’t work today due to…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Cursed Bunny

  정 보라, 1976-

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  It is very possible that most readers, even those who are avid readers of the strange and unusual, have never read anything quite like Cursed Bunny. This newly translated collection of ten short stories written by South Korean author Bora Chung…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Dr. No

  a Novel

  Everett, Percival,

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  Supervillain John Sill wants an unassuming math professor to break into Fort Knox and steal a box of nothing. How does one do this? Find out in Dr. No, the latest from Percival Everett, a hilarious look at pop culture from an author who has many…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Factory Girls

  a Novel

  Gallen, Michelle, 1975-

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  Maeve, along with her friends Aiofe and Caroline, takes a job at a shirt factory for the summer of 1994 while awaiting her exam results to see what university she can attend. It's small-town Northern Ireland, and the Troubles are never far away.…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Hero of This Book

  McCracken, Elizabeth

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  In this wry yet tender novel, which the narrator repeatedly--comically--insists isn’t a memoir, a fiftysomething writer visits London ten months after her beloved mother’s death. As she strolls the city, she ruminates on her unconventional parent…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The High Desert

  a Memoir

  Spooner, James,

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  This memoir presents an aspect of the Black experience that is not often discussed in contemporary media: Black punk rock. Readers are invited to consider what it means to be "Black," and Spooner gives flowers to the overlooked Black artists of punk…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Jackal

  a Novel

  Adams, Erin E.,

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  While visiting her rural Rust Belt town for her friend’s wedding, a girl’s disappearance causes Melissa to remember when the only other Black girl in her high school was found murdered. After some investigation, she unearths a pattern of Black girls…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Lessons

  McEwan, Ian,

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  McEwan returns to form with this epic-length coming-of-age novel that traces the life of his English protagonist Roland Baines from a childhood in the 1950s to the present. With notable events of history (the Cold War, Chernobyl, the fall of the…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Scattered All Over the Earth

  Tawada, Yōko, 1960-

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  Tawada's recently translated novel invites you to a dystopia where climate refugees are “scattered all over the world.” Tawada tackles themes of identity, globalization, and language in a story in which her native Japan sinks into the sea along with…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Shrines of Gaiety

  a Novel

  Atkinson, Kate,

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  Set in post-WWI London, Atkinson’s cinematic latest is anchored by Nellie Corker, a shrewd and powerful nightclub owner based on the real-life Kate Meyerick. After a short stint in prison, she is returning to her nightlife empire and her six…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Signal Fires

  Shapiro, Dani

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  Shapiro's latest novel focuses on a family secret that is almost too tragic for the Wilfs to utter out loud. While they deal with the tragedy in their own ways, another family across the street, the Shenkmans, grapple with the familial tragedy of a…Read moreRead more of this annotation