August 2023 Staff PicksLike this list

14 items

• Burn the Negative

  Winning, Josh

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  The specter of a supposed curse has haunted the legacy of many films including Poltergeist, Twilight Zone: The Movie, and Josh Winning's thrilling horror novel, Burn the Negative, deals with a curse around a fictional 90s cult classic called The…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Covenant of Water

  a Novel

  Verghese, Abraham, 1955-

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  Verghese's sophomore novel is a sweeping, multigenerational family epic centered on a mysterious "condition" that results in the drowning of one member of every generation of a Southern Indian Christian family. This richly layered story covers…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Dear Committee Members

  Schumacher, Julie, 1958-

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  A word-of-mouth hit when it was published almost a decade ago, this slim but droll epistolary novel is inspired by the unending (and unenviable) task professors face in having to write recommendation letters for students. Jason Fitger is a peevish…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• A Disappearance in Fiji

  Rao, Nilima,

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  Debut author Nilima Rao looks to her family history as inspiration for this historical mystery set in colonial Fiji. Akal Singh has been sent to Fiji in disgrace, after an embarrassing mistake in Hong Kong put his career as a police officer in…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Guest

  a Novel

  Cline, Emma,

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  Cline's latest follows 22-year-old Alex, an escort who has lucked into living rent-free with the rich, fiftyish Simon on a tony island accessible to New York City. As an escort, Alex has learned how to survive in the domain of the very wealthy,…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• How Can I Help You

  Sims, Laura, 1973-

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  Two women, one library. Margo is firmly entrenched in the now familiar routines of her local public library, a safe haven (and distance) from her former life and pastimes, pastimes that involved less than professional behavior. If only patrons…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Kairos

  Erpenbeck, Jenny, 1967-

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  A German novelist, Erpenbeck has been building quite the reputation in the US since at least the publication here of Go, Went, Gone. Her latest novel, beautifully translated by the excellent Michael Hofmann, portrays an affair between Katharina, who…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• On Earth as It Is on Television

  a Novel

  Jane, Emily,

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  In this absurd and witty sci-fi novel, spaceships arrive at cities around the world, hover briefly, and then leave abruptly, irrevocably altering the lives of everyone on Earth. The story is centered on three main human characters and one talking…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Quietly Hostile

  Essays

  Irby, Samantha,

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  Cynical blogger, essayist and television screenwriter Samantha Irby presents an introspectively humorous look at humanity with a hyper-focus on self. In a way that only self-deprecating humor can, Quietly Hostile shows that there is humor to be…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Silver Nitrate

  Moreno-Garcia, Silvia,

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  Montserrat and Tristan, her best friend since childhood and a former telenovela heartthrob with a sordid past, are both down on their luck. Struggling to make it as a sound editor, Montserrat has been seeing her work hours cut due to the old boys'…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Spectacular

  a Novel

  Davis, Fiona, 1966-

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  Let down by an unexpected discovery of her mother's missed opportunity at achieving her dreams, Marion finds enough inspiration to go after her own, despite the conservative constraints within her family. She decides to try-out for the famous and…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Talk

  Bell, Darrin,

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  From childhood memories of growing up in Los Angeles to his professional career and now parenthood, Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist Darrin Bell recounts experiences that shifted and shaped his worldview in his debut graphic novel. When…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Tom Lake

  a Novel

  Patchett, Ann,

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  It's the spring of 2020 and Lara and Joe's three grown daughters have come to stay with them on the family's idyllic but struggling farm. (You can easily guess why.) With none of their usual seasonal labor available to hire, it's up to every member…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Wager

  a Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny, and Murder

  Grann, David,

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  Nestled in the freezing, storm-tossed coves of western Patagonia – among places named "Desolation Island," "Last Hope Sound," and "Gulf of Distress" – sits an inhospitable, uninhabited island called Wager. It was here, in 1741, amidst epic sea…Read moreRead more of this annotation