June 2015 Staff PicksLike this list

12 items

• The Book of Aron

  Shepard, Jim,

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  National Book Award nominee Jim Shepard's brief but powerful novel of life in the Warsaw Ghetto during WWII tells the story of a Jewish boy named Aron and the real-life figure of Janusz Korczak, a children's rights activist and intellectual who ran…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Church of Marvels

  Parry, Leslie, 1979-

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  Local author Parry weaves an enthralling tale that will keep you guessing in her thrilling debut. Twin sisters Belle and Odile perform at the Coney Island sideshow, the Church of Marvels, until their mother dies in a tragic fire. Their lives are…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Folded Clock

  a Diary

  Julavits, Heidi,

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  Novelist Julavits has penned an engaging and intimate collection with The Folded Clock. These diary entries read like a compilation of short essays on everything from life as a writer, relationships, motherhood and the everyday things of life. This…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Jazz Palace

  a Novel

  Morris, Mary, 1947-

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  A personal tribute to the memory of her late father, The Jazz Palace is loosely yet lovingly based on his reminiscences of growing up in Chicago during the early years of the 20th Century. The book casts a jazz-infused spell over the reader while…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Missoula

  Rape and the Justice System in a College Town

  Krakauer, Jon,

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  Krakauer examines a series of sexual assaults that took place on the U of Montana campus between 2010 and 2012. Focusing in detail on just a handful of the 80 sexual assaults reported during that time, Krakauer demonstrates the perils of reporting…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Sympathizer

  Nguyen, Viet Thanh, 1971-

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  The unnamed narrator in Nguyen’s exceptional debut novel is working for the South Vietnamese Army, but he’s also an undercover agent for the Viet Cong. Written in the form of a confession, the novel opens with a vivid and harrowing depiction of the…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Magic Whip

  Blur (Musical group),

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  Blur recently reunited to produce their first album in 12 years (first in 16 as a full band), and fans will be intrigued. So will fans of modern art-pop. Rather than churn out an album that simply imitates their past work, Blur has created an album…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Waterfall

  My Morning Jacket (Musical group),

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  My Morning Jacket’s seventh album includes some outstanding new tracks, the highlight being the sweet/sad breakup ballad "Get the Point." Of course, the title song is not to be missed, with it's 70s vibe and Jim James's fantastic falsetto. A couple…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• What For?

  Toro y Moi (Musician),

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  Chaz Bundick, who goes by the moniker Toro Y Moi, is known as a stylistically ambitious, hard to categorize artist. He’s solidly affiliated with chillwave, but with each new album he seems to be doing something new without completely abandoning his…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Babadook

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  Australian filmmaker Jennifer Kent's debut film is a standout in psychological horror. Amelia is a widowed mother working at a nursing home and raising her son, Noah, in a dingy house. Her husband died in a car accident on their way to the hospital…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Big Hero 6

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  14-year-old Hiro is a wiz with robots. On the cusp of following in his brother Tadashi’s footsteps and joining an elite program at a university robotics lab, tragedy strikes: Tadashi is struck down. Hiro is distraught, but starts to come around when…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Pride

  Beresford, Stephen,

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  As a gesture of solidarity, a London-based LGBT organization reaches out to some striking Welsh miners in the mid-1980s. The miners are reluctant to be affiliated with the gay group, so the group travels to rural Wales to present their donation in…Read moreRead more of this annotation