July 2015 Staff PicksLike this list

12 items

• Girl at War

  a Novel

  Nović, Sara, 1987-

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  Sara Novic’s debut is an unsentimental but moving story of a childhood disrupted by war and the scars that endure. 10-year-old Ana Juric is living in Zagreb with her family when the Balkan Wars break out. She realizes something has changed when her…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• How to Start a Fire

  Lutz, Lisa

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  The three protagonists in Lisa Lutz's latest novel have superficial connections to the unrepentant silliness of her popular Spellmans series, but the losses and sadness experienced by these women make their transitions from young adulthood to middle…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• In the Country

  Stories

  Alvar, Mia, 1978-

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  Filipino history and culture comes alive in these nine stories, which portray the modern Filipino experience from an impressive range of perspectives: a pharmacist returning home from New York city to take care of an ailing and abusive father; a…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Life or Death

  Robotham, Michael, 1960-

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  Why would a man who has served a 10-year prison sentence for armed robbery escape the day before he’s due to be released? Audie Palmer is a most unusual prisoner. He survived 10 years of people trying to get him to tell them where the $7 million…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Making of Zombie Wars

  Hemon, Aleksandar, 1964-

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  In this departure from Chicago writer Hemon's previous novels, Josh is a wannabe screenwriter and ESL teacher living on Chicago’s North Side. His living conditions are turned upside down when he finds his army-vet landlord weeping in his bathroom…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Sellout

  Beatty, Paul,

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  In this wickedly playful and deliciously funny novel, African American author Paul Beatty shows off his seemingly endless wit and an ability to thwart expectations at every turn on the topics of race and identity. At the start of this outrageous…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Fun Home

  a New Broadway Musical

  Tesori, Jeanine

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  Composer Jeanine Tesori has written crowd pleasers for Broadway (Shrek the Musical, Thoroughly Modern Millie) and also critical hits (like Caroline, or Change), but her latest score may be her very best. Part of a youthful new generation of musicals…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Ratchet

  Shamir, 1994-

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  Shamir is young, but the 20 year-old North Las Vegas native already has an EP under his belt and recently released his first LP Ratchet. The precocious musician’s album is a confident and spirited mix of electro-pop, house and disco, mostly…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Calvary

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  What authority does a good priest have in a time when his church has been discredited in the eyes of his parish? This powerful Irish film is part dark satire, part mystery and part western, featuring a fantastic cast: the inimitable Brendan Gleeson…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Imitation Game

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  Benedict Cumberbatch brilliantly plays another complicated genius, putting aside Sherlock for British mathematician and WWII hero Alan Turing. This thrilling biopic, a story of both triumph and tragedy, is an engaging portrayal of Turing’s life.…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Still Alice

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  Some critics described this story of a professor diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's as tv movie-of-the-week material, but it's much better and subtler than that. Julianne Moore received her 5th Oscar nomination (and first win) for this…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Wild

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  Based on Cheryl Strayed bestselling memoir, Wild tells the story of Strayed’s Pacific Crest Trail hike and what led to take the grueling journey even though she had virtually no backpacking experience. It’s the story of being lost and found, of…Read moreRead more of this annotation