September 2023 Staff PicksLike this list

18 items

• Camp Damascus

  Tingle, Chuck,

  Add Camp Damascus to your for later shelf

  Camp Damascus, the world's "most effective" gay conversion camp run by an incredibly strict Christian church, Kingdom of the Pine, is nestled in the small and deeply religious town of Neverton, Nevada. As a devout follower of the Kingdom of the…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Crook Manifesto

  a Novel

  Whitehead, Colson, 1969-

  Add Crook Manifesto to your for later shelf

  Ray Carney has put an end to his crooked ways - or so he thought. After a successful enterprise selling stolen goods he now sees himself as an upstanding businessman and property owner in Harlem. But when his daughter needs tickets to see the…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Dearborn

  Stories

  Zeineddine, Ghassan,

  Add Dearborn to your for later shelf

  Zeineddine's notable short story collection set in Dearborn, Michigan (home to the largest Muslim population in the United States) joins the rich tradition of American literature about immigrant experience. His characters are mostly…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Great Transition

  a Novel

  Fuller Googins, Nick,

  Add The Great Transition to your for later shelf

  It has been nearly two decades since the world accomplished net zero carbon emissions. After suffering the worst of The Crisis (floods, fire, famine), a people's revolution brought the world back from the brink of total collapse. Now a generation of…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Hemlock Island

  Armstrong, Kelley,

  Add Hemlock Island to your for later shelf

  Laney has had a lot of change in her life in the last couple of years. Her sister lost a battle with cancer, her marriage didn't make it through COVID and now she is the guardian of her teenage niece. One of the only things Laney holds on to after…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• I Am Homeless If This Is Not My Home

  Moore, Lorrie,

  Add I Am Homeless If This Is Not My Home to your for later shelf

  Moore's latest is a humor-infused meditation on grief and loss which intertwines two timelines, one consisting of Civil War era letters written by a Southern innkeeper to her sister. The other follows the hapless Finn, a high school history teacher…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• A Living Remedy

  a Memoir

  Chung, Nicole,

  Add A Living Remedy to your for later shelf

  In the second memoir from Nicole Chung - after All You Can Ever Know, which explored her search for her birth parents - the author here explores her relationship with her adoptive parents. In admirably clear, unpretentious prose, Chung's…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Looking Glass Sound

  Ward, Catriona,

  Add Looking Glass Sound to your for later shelf

  At first glance, Looking Glass Sound is a typical coming-of-age story set in the 1980s, along the Maine coastline. Wilder, a lonely adolescent, is staying at Whistler Bay with his parents for the summer. He soon becomes friends with Nathaniel and…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Militia House

  a Novel

  Milas, John,

  Add The Militia House to your for later shelf

  Set in 2010 Afghanistan, The Militia House follows a group of American and British marines as they adjust to daily life in Kajaki. The isolation and loneliness of being stationed overseas is captured through mundane interactions between marines and…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Mister Magic

  a Novel

  White, Kiersten,

  Add Mister Magic to your for later shelf

  An old kids' TV show called Mister Magic ended suddenly after a mysterious accident on set. Thirty years later, the former child stars agree to reunite for a podcast, but there's something sinister about the house where the show was filmed and the…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• New Adult

  a Novel

  Janovsky, Timothy,

  Add New Adult to your for later shelf

  23-year-old best friends and roommates Nolan and Drew are trying to make a life for themselves in New York City. Nolan, a struggling comedian who is determined to become rich and famous, makes selfish decisions that negatively impact his…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Quiet Tenant

  Michallon, Clémence,

  Add The Quiet Tenant to your for later shelf

  This deftly crafted look at a serial killer hiding in plain sight is told from the intimate point of view of the people closest in his life. Aiden Thomas, widower and single dad, is a model citizen by all appearances. No one knows the truth except…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Rachel Incident

  O'Donoghue, Caroline,

  Add The Rachel Incident to your for later shelf

  Looking back on life in her early 20s in Cork, Ireland, Rachel recounts her relationship with her bookstore coworker and best friend James, who insists, at first, that he isn't gay. When Rachel develops a crush on her professor, Dr. Fred Byrne,…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Rooster House

  a Ukrainian Family Story

  Belim, Victoria,

  Add The Rooster House to your for later shelf

  Writer and blogger Victoria Belim, born in Ukraine to a Russian father and Ukrainian mother, grew up during the end of the Soviet era before moving to the US as a teenager. When Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, she decided to go back to Ukraine to…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The September House

  Orlando, Carissa,

  Add The September House to your for later shelf

  This absolute gem of a debut flawlessly blends multiple genres including horror, supernatural thriller, dark humor, and psychological suspense. The story begins with Margaret and Hal finally finding their dream home. So what if the house has a…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Terrace Story

  a Novel

  Leichter, Hilary,

  Add Terrace Story to your for later shelf

  In Leichter's dreamy, strange fable, a young family of three discovers a seemingly magical terrace that appears out of thin air from behind a closet door. Edward and Annie are bewildered and delighted by the sudden expansion of their cramped city…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Thornhedge

  Kingfisher, T.,

  Add Thornhedge to your for later shelf

  Deep in the forest, surrounded by thorn bushes, there is a hidden tower with a strange creature inside. Toadling has been alone for a very long time. She has watched from afar for hundreds of years as humanity has changed, roads have been built,…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Vampires of El Norte

  Cañas, Isabel,

  Add Vampires of El Norte to your for later shelf

  Nena and Nestor are child sweethearts, but Nena is the ranch owner's daughter and Nestor is just a common vaquero. Connected by an intense bond of love they are already planning how they can bridge the social divide that separates their stations.…Read moreRead more of this annotation