Shannon Hale

Dean Hale

Light Paperback (1 lb or less)

California

Inconvenient monster alarms, a sparkly array of princess guests, and spot-on slapstick pacing make for a party readers will celebrate.

Today is Princess Magnolia's birthday party, and she wants everything to be perfect. But just as her guests are arriving . . . Brring! Brring! The monster alarm! Princess Magnolia runs to the broom closet, ditches her frilly clothes, and becomes the Princess in Black! She rushes to the goat pasture, defeats the monster, and returns to the castle before her guests discover her secret. But every time Princess Magnolia is about to open her presents, the monster alarm rings again. And every time she rushes back--an inside-out dress here, a missing shoe there--it gets harder to keep the other princesses from being suspicious. Don't those monsters understand that now is not a good time for an attack?

The Princess in Black and the Perfect Princess Party

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Peter Arenstam

After traveling across his home state of Massachusetts (Book One) and Maine (Book Two), Nicholas learns that his cousin Francis has taken the precious copy of his family journal to New Hampshire. Nicholas knows that he must continue his journey to search for Francis and the journal, but how will one little mouse find them in the vast mountains of New Hampshire? Book Three in a four-book series about Nicholas's adventures in the Northeast.

Nicholas, a New Hampshire Tale

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Kathi Appelt

Light Hardcover (1 lb or less)

In 1910, Zada the camel treks across the West Texas desert to save two baby kestrels from an approaching haboob, a mountain-sized storm. sharing adventures from her youth in Turkey to keep them calm.

Once upon a Camel

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Laura Vanderkam

Please note some wear and tear on the dust jacket.

How Successful Women Make the Most of Their Time

Everyone has an opinion, anecdote, or horror story about women and work. Now the acclaimed author of What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast shows how real working women with families are actually making the most of their time.

"Having it all" has become the subject of countless books, articles, debates, and social media commentary, with passions running high in all directions. Many now believe this to be gospel truth: Any woman who wants to advance in a challenging career has to make huge sacrifices. She's unlikely to have a happy marriage, quality time with her kids (assuming she can have kids at all), a social life, hobbies, or even a decent night's sleep.

But what if balancing work and family is actually not as hard as it's made out to be? What if all those tragic anecdotes ignore the women who quietly but consistently do just fine with the juggle?

Instead of relying on scattered stories, time management expert Laura Vanderkam set out to add hard data to the debate. She collected hour-by-hour time logs from 1,001 days in the lives of women who make at least $100,000 a year. And she found some surprising patterns in how these women spend the 168 hours that every one of us has each week.

Overall, these women worked less and slept more than they assumed they did before they started
tracking their time. They went jogging or to the gym, played with their children, scheduled date nights with their significant others, and had lunches with friends. They made time for the things that gave them pleasure and meaning, fitting the pieces together like tiles in a mosaic--without adhering to overly rigid schedules that would eliminate flexibility and spontaneity.

Vanderkam shares specific strategies that her subjects use to make time for the things that really matter to them. For instance, they . . .
* Work split shifts (such as seven hours at work, four off, then another two at night from home). This allows them to see their kids without falling behind professionally.
* Get creative about what counts as quality family time. Breakfasts together and morning story time count as much as daily family dinners, and they're often easier to manage.
* Take it easy on the housework. You can free up a lot of time by embracing the philosophy of "good enough" and getting help from other members of your household (or a cleaning service).
* Guard their leisure time. Full weekend getaways may be rare, but many satisfying hobbies can be done in small bursts of time. An hour of crafting feels better than an hour of reality TV.

With examples from hundreds of real women, Vanderkam proves that you don't have to give up on the things you really want. I Know How She Does It will inspire you to build a life that works, one hour at a time.


I Know How She Does It

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Gretchen Rubin

What I Learned about Making and Breaking Habits--To Sleep More, Quit Sugar, Procrastinate Less, and Generally Build a Happier Life

"Habits are the invisible architecture of our lives. Rubin provides an analytical and scientific framework from which to understand these habits--as well as change them for good. Infused with her compelling voice and funny stories, she illustrates the core principles of habit formation with dozens of strategies that she uses herself and tests out on others. Rubin provides tools to help readers better understand themselves, and presents a clear, practical menu of strategies so readers can take an individualized approach. She tackles each strategy herself and in doing so shows us the importance of knowing ourselves and our own habit tendencies. Armed with self-knowledge, we can pursue habits in ways that will truly work for us, not against us. Going to the gym can be as easy, effortless, and automatic as putting on a seatbelt. We can file expense reports, take time for fun, or pass up that piece of carrot cake without having to decide. With a foundation of good habits, we can build a life that reflects our values and goals"--

Better Than Before

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Ken Follett

Heavy Paperback (2 to 4 lbs)

A Novel

Two centuries after the building of the elaborate Gothic cathedral in Kingsbridge, its prior finds himself at the center of a web of ambition and revenge that places the city at a crossroad of commerce, medicine, and architecture.

World Without End

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Cynthia Kadohata

From Newbery Medalist and National Book Award–winning author Cynthia Kadohata comes an irrepressible and heartwarming story about a girl and her ever-growing pig, Saucy—perfect for fans of The One and Only Ivan and Flora & Ulysses! Being a quadruplet can make it hard to stand out from the crowd. Becca’s three brothers all have something that makes them...them. Jake has his music and dancing, Jammer plays hockey, and K.C. thinks they’re all living in a simulation and doesn’t see the point of doing much of anything. Becca is the only one with nothing to make her special. But when she finds a tiny, sick piglet on the side of the road, Becca knows this is it. This is her thing. She names the piglet Saucy and between her own pleading and Saucy’s sweet, pink face, Becca convinces her family to take her in. Soon, Saucy is as big a part of the family as anyone else—and getting bigger. With each pound Saucy gains, the more capable she becomes of destroying the house and landing Becca in trouble. Some tough decisions need to be made about Becca’s pet, and her search for solutions brings to light exactly where Saucy came from. Turns out, there are a lot more scared piglets out there, and saving them may take Becca and her brothers finally doing something together.

Saucy

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Tamara Davis

DESPITE THE BUZZ is a cautionary tale concerning tech's toll, an artfully designed human interest story about learning, relationships, and wellbeing. A motivated new teacher raises awareness about screen use inside her Reflective Writing class, but she doesn't realize there's danger lurking. Contemporary communication dramatically impacts the learning environment, identity formation, and charged emotions of high school students in the story. When an intimate act is shared over social media, an inciting incident demonstrates that the potential in our pockets could be lethal. Can Miss Gabby Oliver protect her students? Who survives the traumatic turn of events? Wait for the twist! Get to know the characters. Consider the possibilities. From Chicago and new to California, Gabby considers her life's timing unique-on the cusp of technology's cutting edge, yet reminiscent of a time before the Internet dominated. She dares to date a coworker, their schoolyard romance tested by today's cyber world. Meanwhile, Gabby manages to stay connected with her deceased mother by way of hopeful handwritten letters. Inside Miss Oliver's room, a research assignment looks at language, modes of persuasion, and topical issues from distinct teenage perspectives. Inspired by historic figures, students detail their pressing concerns to the president. This colorful novel, set pre-pandemic, depicts demands upon teachers due to class size, special needs, language barriers, gender sensitivity, gun threats, cell phones, and the challenge of holding students' attention. By providing understanding to those who grew up before and after current trends, this insightful book could build rapport among members from different schools of thought. A variety of people will relate to feelings of digital distraction and modern-day accountability. The story is suited for mature readers ages sixteen and up. Despite the Buzz is educational, existential, and exciting! A mix of narrative elements makes it an engaging read!

Despite the Buzz

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Kathi Wagner

The biggest, funniest, laugh-out-loudest joke book on the planet! Crack open this book to have everyone you know in stiches.

The Jokiest Joking Joke Book Ever Written... No Joke!

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Kate Pickert

The Science, Culture, and History of Breast Cancer in America

In this "powerful and unflinching page-turner" (New York Times), a healthcare journalist examines the science, history, and culture of breast cancer. As a health-care journalist, Kate Pickert knew the emotional highs and lows of medical treatment well -- but always from a distance, through the stories of her subjects. That is, until she was unexpectedly diagnosed with an aggressive type of breast cancer at the age of 35. As she underwent more than a year of treatment, Pickert realized that the popular understanding of breast care in America bears little resemblance to the experiences of today's patients and the rapidly changing science designed to save their lives. After using her journalistic skills to navigate her own care, Pickert embarked on a quest to understand the cultural, scientific and historical forces shaping the lives of breast-cancer patients in the modern age. Breast cancer is one of history's most prolific killers. Despite billions spent on research and treatments, it remains one of the deadliest diseases facing women today. From the forests of the Pacific Northwest to an operating suite in Los Angeles to the epicenter of pink-ribbon advocacy in Dallas, Pickert reports on the turning points and people responsible for the progress that has been made against breast cancer and documents the challenges of defeating a disease that strikes one in eight American women and has helped shape the country's medical culture. Drawing on interviews with doctors, economists, researchers, advocates and patients, as well as on journal entries and recordings collected over the author's treatment, Radical puts the story of breast cancer into context, and shows how modern treatments represent a long overdue shift in the way doctors approach cancer -- and disease -- itself.

Radical

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Olivia Hawker

Tome Terrace

For fans of All the Light We Cannot See, Beneath a Scarlet Sky, and The Nightingale comes an emotionally gripping, beautifully written historical novel about extraordinary hope, redemption, and one man's search for light during the darkest times of World War II. Germany, 1942. Franciscan friar Anton Starzmann is stripped of his place in the world when his school is seized by the Nazis. He relocates to a small German hamlet to wed Elisabeth Herter, a widow who seeks a marriage--in name only--to a man who can help raise her three children. Anton seeks something too--atonement for failing to protect his young students from the wrath of the Nazis. But neither he nor Elisabeth expects their lives to be shaken once again by the inescapable rumble of war. As Anton struggles to adapt to the roles of husband and father, he learns of the Red Orchestra, an underground network of resisters plotting to assassinate Hitler. Despite Elisabeth's reservations, Anton joins this army of shadows. But when the SS discovers his schemes, Anton will embark on a final act of defiance that may cost him his life--even if it means saying goodbye to the family he has come to love more than he ever believed possible.

The Ragged Edge of Night

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Zadie Smith

An ambitious, exuberant new novel moving from North-West London to West Africa, from the multi-award-winning author of White Teeth and On Beauty Two brown girls dream of being dancers but only one, Tracey, has talent. The other has ideas: about rhythm and time, about black bodies and black music, what constitutes a tribe, or makes a person truly free. It's a close but complicated childhood friendship that ends abruptly in their early twenties, never to be revisited, but never quite forgotten, either. Tracey makes it to the chorus line but struggles with adult life, while her friend leaves the old neighborhood behind, traveling the world as an assistant to a famous singer, Aimee, observing close up how the one percent live. But when Aimee develops grand philanthropic ambitions, the story moves from London to West Africa, where diaspora tourists travel back in time to find their roots, young men risk their lives to escape into a different future, the women dance just like Tracey the same twists, the same shakes and the origins of a profound inequality are not a matter of distant history, but a present dance to the music of time."

Swing Time

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Bonnie Kistler

Combining the propulsive narrative drive of The Firm with the psychological complexity of The Silent Patient, a gripping and original thriller about two professional women--colleagues at an international fashion conglomerate--who enter an elevator together . . . but only one is alive when they reach the ground floor. On a cold, misty Sunday night, two women are alone in the offices of fashion conglomerate Claudine de Martineau International. One is the company's human resources director. Impeccably dressed and perfectly coiffed, she sits at her desk and stares somberly out the window. Down the hall, her colleague, one of the company's lawyers, is buried under a pile of paperwork, frantically rushing to finish. Leaving at the same time, the two women, each preoccupied by her own thoughts, enter the elevator that will take them down from the 30th floor. When they arrive at the lobby, one of the women is dead. Was it murder or suicide? An incredibly original novel that turns the office thriller on its head, The Cage is a wild ride that begins with a bang and picks up speed as it races to its dramatic end.

Tome Terrace

@tome-terrace

Books Listed

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Shannon Hale; Dean Hale

The Princess in Black and the Perfect Princess Party

Peter Arenstam

Nicholas, a New Hampshire Tale

Kathi Appelt

Once upon a Camel

Laura Vanderkam

I Know How She Does It

Gretchen Rubin

Better Than Before

Ken Follett

World Without End

Cynthia Kadohata

Saucy

Tamara Davis

Despite the Buzz

Kathi Wagner

The Jokiest Joking Joke Book Ever Written... No Joke!

Kate Pickert

Radical

Olivia Hawker

The Ragged Edge of Night

Zadie Smith

Swing Time

Bonnie Kistler

The Cage

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Shannon Hale; Dean Hale

The Princess in Black and the Perfect Princess Party

Peter Arenstam

Nicholas, a New Hampshire Tale

Kathi Appelt

Once upon a Camel

Laura Vanderkam

I Know How She Does It

Gretchen Rubin

Better Than Before

Ken Follett

World Without End

Cynthia Kadohata

Saucy

Tamara Davis

Despite the Buzz

Kathi Wagner

The Jokiest Joking Joke Book Ever Written... No Joke!

Kate Pickert

Radical

Olivia Hawker

The Ragged Edge of Night

Zadie Smith

Swing Time

Bonnie Kistler

The Cage

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