The Poisonwood Bible is one of my favorite books, and when I finished it I wanted to learn more about Africa. Here are some good ones from that era.

Michela Wrong

This book traces the rise and fall of Mobutu Sese Seko, the president of Zaire for thirty-two years

Light Paperback (1 lb or less)

Virginia

Living on the Brink of Disaster in Mobutu's Congo

Known as "the Leopard," the president of Zaire for thirty-two years, Mobutu Sese Seko, showed all the cunning of his namesake -- seducing Western powers, buying up the opposition, and dominating his people with a devastating combination of brutality and charm. While the population was pauperized, he plundered the country's copper and diamond resources, downing pink champagne in his jungle palace like some modern-day reincarnation of Joseph Conrad's crazed station manager. Michela Wrong, a correspondent who witnessed Mobutu's last days, traces the rise and fall of the idealistic young journalist who became the stereotype of an African despot. Engrossing, highly readable, and as funny as it is tragic, In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz assesses the acts of the villains and the heroes in this fascinating story of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz

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Ishmael Beah

One of the most important war stories of our generation, this book tells the story of a 13 year old boy conscripted into the army in Sierra Leone

Light Hardcover (1 lb or less)

Memoirs of a Boy Soldier

In a heart-wrenching, candid autobiography, a human rights activist offers a firsthand account of war from the perspective of a former child soldier, detailing the violent civil war that wracked his native Sierra Leone and the government forces that transformed a gentle young boy into a killer as a member of the army. 75,000 first printing.

A Long Way Gone

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Julie Flint

Alcinda Honwana

Alex de Waal

Richard Dowden

Stephanie Kitchen

Sudan’s westernmost region, Darfur, sprang from oblivion into sudden notoriety early in 2004, when a war of hideous proportions unleashed what the United Nations called “the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.”

A Short History of a Long War

This book details the history of Darfur, its conflicts, and the designs on the region by the governments in Khartoum and Tripoli. It investigates the identity of the infamous "Janjawiid" militia and the nature of the insurrection, charts the unfolding crisis and the international response, and concludes by asking what the future holds in store.

Darfur

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African history

Ta-Nehisi Coates

A little curling at the corners

We were eight years in power” was the lament of Reconstruction-era black politicians as the American experiment in multiracial democracy ended with the return of white supremacist rule in the South. In this sweeping collection of new and selected essays, Ta-Nehisi Coates explores the tragic echoes of that history in our own time: the unprecedented election of a black president followed by a vicious backlash that fueled the election of the man Coates argues is America’s “first white president.”

An American Tragedy

In this “urgently relevant”* collection featuring the landmark essay “The Case for Reparations,” the National Book Award–winning author of Between the World and Me “reflects on race, Barack Obama’s presidency and its jarring aftermath”*—including the election of Donald Trump. New York Times Bestseller • Finalist for the PEN/Jean Stein Book Award, the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, and the Dayton Literary Peace Prize Named One of the Best Books of the Year by The New York Times • USA Today • Time • Los Angeles Times • San Francisco Chronicle • Essence • O: The Oprah Magazine • The Week • Kirkus Reviews *Kirkus Reviews (starred review) “We were eight years in power” was the lament of Reconstruction-era black politicians as the American experiment in multiracial democracy ended with the return of white supremacist rule in the South. In this sweeping collection of new and selected essays, Ta-Nehisi Coates explores the tragic echoes of that history in our own time: the unprecedented election of a black president followed by a vicious backlash that fueled the election of the man Coates argues is America’s “first white president.” But the story of these present-day eight years is not just about presidential politics. This book also examines the new voices, ideas, and movements for justice that emerged over this period—and the effects of the persistent, haunting shadow of our nation’s old and unreconciled history. Coates powerfully examines the events of the Obama era from his intimate and revealing perspective—the point of view of a young writer who begins the journey in an unemployment office in Harlem and ends it in the Oval Office, interviewing a president. We Were Eight Years in Power features Coates’s iconic essays first published in The Atlantic, including “Fear of a Black President,” “The Case for Reparations,” and “The Black Family in the Age of Mass Incarceration,” along with eight fresh essays that revisit each year of the Obama administration through Coates’s own experiences, observations, and intellectual development, capped by a bracingly original assessment of the election that fully illuminated the tragedy of the Obama era. We Were Eight Years in Power is a vital account of modern America, from one of the definitive voices of this historic moment.

We Were Eight Years in Power

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Percival Everett

Acclaimed author of James and Erasure, Percival Everett’s thought provoking murder mystery set in Mississippi. Shortlisted for the Man Booker prize in 2022.

Paperback (1 to 2 lbs)

A Novel

An uncanny literary thriller addressing the painful legacy of lynching in the US, by the author of Telephone Percival Everett’s The Trees is a page-turner that opens with a series of brutal murders in the rural town of Money, Mississippi. When a pair of detectives from the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation arrive, they meet expected resistance from the local sheriff, his deputy, the coroner, and a string of racist White townsfolk. The murders present a puzzle, for at each crime scene there is a second dead body: that of a man who resembles Emmett Till. The detectives suspect that these are killings of retribution, but soon discover that eerily similar murders are taking place all over the country. Something truly strange is afoot. As the bodies pile up, the MBI detectives seek answers from a local root doctor who has been documenting every lynching in the country for years, uncovering a history that refuses to be buried. In this bold, provocative book, Everett takes direct aim at racism and police violence, and does so in a fast-paced style that ensures the reader can’t look away. The Trees is an enormously powerful novel of lasting importance from an author with his finger on America’s pulse.

The Trees

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Gerard Prunier

The Rwandan genocide sparked a horrific bloodbath that swept across sub-Saharan Africa, ultimately leading to the deaths of some four million people. In this extraordinary history of the recent wars in Central Africa, Gerard Prunier offers a gripping account of how one grisly episode laid the groundwork for a sweeping and disastrous upheaval.

Heavy Hardcover (2 to 4 lbs)

Congo, the Rwandan Genocide, and the Making of a Continental Catastrophe

Examines the horrific wars and political changes that have taken place in sub-Saharan Africa upon the end of the Rwandan genocide in 1996 through a detailed guide of the events that have taken place in recent years, along with profiles of some its most important figures and leaders.

Africa's World War

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Black History

Jennifer Garvey Berger

Keith Johnston

When faced with complex challenges or uncertain outcomes, many leaders believe that if they are smart enough, work hard enough, or turn to the best management tools, they will be able to find the right answer, predict and plan for the future, and break down tasks to produce controllable results. But what are leaders to do when this isn't the case? Rather than offering one-size-fits-all tips and tricks drawn from the realm of business as usual, Simple Habits for Complex Times provides three integral practices that enable leaders to navigate the unknown. By taking multiple perspectives, asking different questions, and seeing more of their system, leaders can better understand themselves, their roles, and the world around them. They can become more nimble, respond with agility, and guide their organizations to thrive in an ever-shifting business landscape. The more leaders use these simple habits, the more they enhance their performance and solve increasingly common, sticky business issues with greater acumen. Whether in large or small organizations, in government or the private sector, in the U.S. or overseas, leaders will turn to this book as a companion that helps them grow into the best version of themselves.

Powerful Practices for Leaders

Simple Habits for Complex Times

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The Arbinger Institute

Getting Out of the Box

This phenomenal bestseller -- over 700,000 copies sold -- changes readers' lives and helps them transform their organizations. In this new edition, the text has been updated and revised throughout to make it even more readable and powerful, and a new section has been added that details the many different ways that people are using this book.

Leadership and Self-Deception

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David Zweig

Scuffing on dust jacket, book in perfect condition



Hardcover (1 to 2 lbs)

The Power of Unseen Experts at Work in an Age of Relentless Self-Promotion

What do fact-checkers, anesthesiologists, U.N. interpreters, and structural engineers have in common? When they do their jobs poorly, the consequences can be catastrophic for their organizations. But when they do their jobs perfectly . . . they're invisible. For most of us, the better we perform the more attention we receive. Yet for many 'Invisibles' - skilled professionals whose role is critical to whatever enterprise they're a part of - it's the opposite- the better they do their jobs the more they disappear. In fact, often it's only when something goes wrong that they are noticed at all. Millions of these Invisibles are hidden in every industry. You may be one yourself. And despite our culture's increasing celebration of fame in our era of superstar CEOs and assorted varieties of 'genius' - they're fine with remaining anonymous. David Zweig takes us into the behind-the-scenes worlds that Invisibles inhabit. He interviews top experts in unusual fields to reveal the quiet workers behind public successes. Combining in-depth profiles with insights from psychology, sociology, and business, Zweig uncovers how these hidden professionals reap deep fulfilment by relishing the challenges their work presents. Zweig bypasses diplomats and joins and elite interpreter in a closed-door meeting at the U.N., where the media and public are never allowed. He ascends China's tallest skyscraper while it's still under construction, without the architect, guided instead by the project's lead structural engineer. He even brings us on stage during a Radiohead concert, escorted not by a member of the band, but by their chief guitar technician. Along the way, Zweig reveals that Invisibles have a lot to teach the rest of society about satisfaction and achievement. What has been lost amid the noise of self-promotion today is that not everyone can, or should, or even wants to be in the spotlight. This inspiring and illuminating book shows that recognition isn't all it's cracked up to be, and invisibility can be viewed as a mark of honor and a source of a truly rich life. 'A fascinating tour of the hidden landscapes on which human society actually operates. This will change the way you see the world and, hopefully, your place within it.' Douglas Rushkoff bestselling author of Present Shock 'Invisiblesis a one-book cultural revolution, fighting the current cultural tide toward narcissistic self-promotion with the truth that real satisfaction is often silent.' Jean Twenge bestselling co-author of The Narcissism Epidemic 'Invisibles explains why some of the world's most talented, accomplished people choose to fly under the radar . . . It's a clarion call for work as a craft- for generously sharing knowledge without hogging credit and prizing meaningful work above public recognition. An excellent book.' Adam Grant Wharton professor and bestselling author of Give and Take 'The genius at the top doesn't make their team look good. It's a great team that makes the guy at the top look like a genius . . . and Invisiblesproves it.' Simon Sinek optimist and bestselling author of Start with Whyand Leaders Eat Last

Invisibles

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Business and Leadership

William Pene du Bois

Professor William Waterman Sherman intends to fly across the Pacific Ocean. But through a twist of fate, he lands on Krakatoa, and discovers a world of unimaginable wealth, eccentric inhabitants, and incredible balloon inventions.Winner of the 1948 Newbery Medal, this classic fantasy-adventure is now available in a handsome new edition.

Relates the incredible adventures of Professor William Waterman Sherman who in 1883 sets off in a balloon across the Pacific, survives the volcanic eruption of Krakatoa, and is eventually picked up in the Atlantic. Reissue.

The Twenty-One Balloons (Puffin Modern Classics)

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Madeleine L'Engle

A quiet visit with her grandparents turns into a lesson in the fluidity of time for Polly O'Keefe when she meets several strangers from overlapping temporal planes and, with them, plays a key role in a prehistoric confrontation. Simultaneous.

An Acceptable Time

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Ellen Raskin

A bizarre chain of events begins when sixteen unlikely people gather for the reading of Samuel W Westing’s will. He won’t be stopped from playing one last game!

The mysterious death of an eccentric millionaire brings together an unlikely assortment of heirs who must uncover the circumstances of his death before they can claim their inheritance.

The Westing Game (Puffin Modern Classics)

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Children’s favorites

David Sedaris

For more than twenty-five years, David Sedaris has been carving out a unique literary space. A Sedaris story may seem confessional, but is also highly attuned to the world outside. It opens our eyes to what is at absurd and moving about our daily existence. And it is almost impossible to read without laughing.
 
Now, for the first time collected in one volume, the author brings us his funniest and most memorable work. In these stories, Sedaris shops for rare taxidermy, hitchhikes with a lady quadriplegic, and spits a lozenge into a fellow traveler's lap. He drowns a mouse in a bucket, struggles to say “give it to me” in five languages, and hand-feeds a carnivorous bird.

"Genius... It is miraculous to read these pieces... You must read The Best of Me." --Andrew Sean Greer, New York Times Book Review A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice A CNN and Christian Science Monitor Best Book of the Month For more than twenty-five years, David Sedaris has been carving out a unique literary space. A Sedaris story may seem confessional, but is also highly attuned to the world outside. It opens our eyes to what is at absurd and moving about our daily existence. And it is almost impossible to read without laughing. Now, for the first time collected in one volume, the author brings us his funniest and most memorable work. In these stories, Sedaris shops for rare taxidermy, hitchhikes with a lady quadriplegic, and spits a lozenge into a fellow traveler's lap. He drowns a mouse in a bucket, struggles to say "give it to me" in five languages, and hand-feeds a carnivorous bird. But if all you expect to find in Sedaris's work is the deft and sharply observed comedy for which he became renowned, you may be surprised to discover that his words bring more warmth than mockery. Nowhere is this clearer than in his writing about his loved ones. Here, Sedaris explores falling in love and staying together, recognizing his own aging not in the mirror but in the faces of his siblings, losing one parent and coming to terms--at long last--with the other. Full of joy, generosity, and the incisive humor that has led David Sedaris to be called "the funniest man alive" (Time Out New York), The Best of Me spans a career spent watching and learning and laughing--quite often at himself--and invites readers deep into the world of one of the most brilliant and original writers of our time.

The Best of Me

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Mindy Kaling

Hilarious book by The Office and The Mindy Project’s own Mindy Kaling. The book is a set of memoir-like essays that reads in Kaling’s endearingly neurotic voice. A perfect book for your next beach read!

The writer and actress from "The Office" shares observations on topics ranging from favorite male archetypes and her hatred of dieting to her relationship with her mother and the haphazard creative process on the show.

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (and Other Concerns)

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Jenny Lawson

When Jenny Lawson was little, all she ever wanted was to fit in. That dream was cut short by her fantastically unbalanced father and a morbidly eccentric childhood. It did, however, open up an opportunity for Lawson to find the humor in the strange shame-spiral that is her life, and we are all the better for it.

In the irreverent Let’s Pretend This Never Happened, Lawson’s long-suffering husband and sweet daughter help her uncover the surprising discovery that the most terribly human moments—the ones we want to pretend never happened—are the very same moments that make us the people we are today. For every intellectual misfit who thought they were the only ones to think the things that Lawson dares to say out loud, this is a poignant and hysterical look at the dark, disturbing, yet wonderful moments of our lives.

A Mostly True Memoir

In an illustrated memoir, the creator of the Bloggess web log shares humorous stories from her life, including her awkward upbringing in Texas and her relationship with her husband. Reprint. 250,000 first printing.

Let's Pretend This Never Happened

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Comedy

Julia Newberry

Steve Sando

More Everyday Cooking with Heirloom Beans, Vegetables, Greens, and Grains

The Rancho Gordo Vegetarian Kitchen

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Abigail Johnson Dodge

Kid's Baking teaches basic baking techniques through fun, delicious recipes that range from easy to challenging making this a cookbook they can use for many years. Kids are taught the importance of being organized, how to cream butter and sugar, how to whip egg whites, how to peel and core fruit, and how to tell when foods are done baking. Baking terms are defined in a glossary for easy reference.A visual glossary of basic baking equipment is also included. Kid's Baking encourages exploration in the kitchen and teaches kids skills they will never outgrow.

Williams-Sonoma Kids Baking

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America's Test America's Test Kitchen Kids

The Complete How-To Cookbook for Young Chefs, with 75 Kid-Tested, Kid-Approved Recipes

With the fifth book in the #1 New York Times Best Selling Young Chef Series, America's Test Kitchen is bringing its scientific know-how, rigorous testing, and hands-on learning to KIDS in the kitchen! Have you ever wondered about the best way to chop an onion or separate an egg? Or even how to make fancy-looking Chocolate Pastry Puffs for breakfast and Oven-Baked Chicken with Teriyaki Sauce for dinner? This book answers all those questions and more. Learn to cook like a pro—it's easier than you think, especially with all the video resources included in the book! Using kid-tested and kid-approved recipes, America's Test Kitchen Kids has created ANOTHER GREAT cookbook every kid chef needs on their shelf. Whether you're cooking for yourself, your friends, or your family, Kids Can Cook Anything! has delicious recipes that will wow. Recipes were thoroughly tested by America’s Test Kitchen test cooks AND more than 15k ATK kid testers to get them just right for cooks of all skill levels. Step-by-step photos of tips and techniques will help young chefs feel like pros in their own kitchen. QR codes throughout the book link to video examples of relevant techniques and skills to help kids visualize concepts. Testimonials from kid testers will empower young chefs to enter the kitchen.

Kids Can Cook Anything!

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Cook books

Roger Horowitz

A little crinkle at the bottom corner. 

Engagingly written and richly illustrated, Putting Meat on the American Table explains how America became a meat-eating nation―from the colonial period to the present. It examines the relationships between consumer preference and meat processing―looking closely at the production of beef, pork, chicken, and hot dogs.

Roger Horowitz argues that a series of new technologies have transformed American meat. He draws on detailed consumption surveys that shed new light on America's eating preferences―especially differences associated with income, rural versus urban areas, and race and ethnicity.


Taste, Technology, Transformation

This book explains how America became a meat-eating nation - from the colonial period to the present. It examines the relationships between consumer preference and meat processing - looking closely at the production of beef, pork, chicken, and hot dogs. The author argues that a series of new technologies have transformed American meat. He draws on detailed consumption surveys that shed new light on America's eating preferences - especially differences associated with income, rural versus urban areas, and race and ethnicity.

Putting Meat on the American Table

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Susan Schrepfer

cientists have developed a featherless chicken designed to make industrial chicken production more efficient, while specially trained Pacific bottlenose dolphins are being deployed in the Persian Gulf to disarm mines and protect our Navy. Everyone knows Darwin's theory of natural selection, but what about his idea of artificial selection--how humans, not nature, rework natural organisms to meet our needs? Industrializing Organisms brings us to the threshold of the new field of evolutionary history--from the mobilization of war horses in the 19th century to today's engineered plants and manipulated animals.

Heavy Paperback (2 to 4 lbs)

Introducing Evolutionary History

Maurice Ravel: A Research and Information Guide is an annotated bibliography concerning both the nature of primary sources related to the composer and the scope and significance of the secondary sources which deal with him, his compositions, and his influence as a composer and theorist.

Industrializing Organisms

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Robert A. Wood

Joe Kraynak

Reference book for food allergies. A must read for parents with children with food allergies or for adults with new found allergies. Robert Wood is the pre-eminent voice on pediatric food allergies. 

Are you constantly worrying about what you or your loved ones eat? Is every dining experience an episode of anxiety for you? Being allergic to different types of food not only ruins the experience of eating, it can lead to dangerous, sometimes lethal, consequences. With Food Allergies for Dummies, you can feel safer about what you eat. This concise guide shows you how to identify and avoid food that triggers reactions. This guide covers how to care for a child with food allergies, such as getting involved with his/her school’s allergy policies, packing safe lunches, and empowering him/her to take responsibility for his allergy. You will also discover: The signs and symptoms of food allergies How to determine the severity of your allergy Ways to eat out and travel with allergies How to create your own avoidance diet Ways to enjoy your meal without allergic symptoms How to prevent food allergies from affecting your child The latest research being done to treat food allergies Food Allergies for Dummies also provides an in-depth chapter on peanut allergy and how to spot traces of peanut in your food. With this book, you will feel safer and more comfortable while you eat. And, with plenty of helpful resources such as Web sites and allergy-friendly recipes, you’ll hardly have to worry about your diet!

Food Allergies for Dummies

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Nutrition studies

Jim Bouton

New York Public Library Book of the Century Selection
Time Magazine “100 Greatest Non-Fiction Books” Selection
New Foreword from Jim Bouton’s Wife, Paula 
When Ball Four was first published in 1970, it hit the sports world like a lightning bolt. Commissioners, executives, and players were shocked. Sportswriters called author Jim Bouton a traitor and "social leper." Commissioner Bowie Kuhn tried to force him to declare the book untrue. Fans, however, loved the book. And serious critics called it an important social document. Following his death, Bouton’s landmark book has remained popular, and his legacy lives on through its many readers, including those who don't ordinarily follow baseball.

Twentieth Anniversary Edition

Twentieth-anniversary edition of a baseball classic, with a new epilogue by Jim Bouton.

When first published in 1970, Ball Four stunned the sports world. The commissioner, executives, and players were shocked. Sportswriters called author Jim Bouton a traitor and "social leper." Baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn tried to force him to declare the book untrue. Fans, however, loved the book. And serious critics called it an important social document. Today, Jim Bouton is still not invited to Oldtimer's Days at Yankee Stadium. But his landmark book is still being read by people who don't ordinarily follow baseball.

Ball Four

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Bill Simmons

ESPN's beloved Sports Guy replays the years leading up to the Boston Red Sox historic championship season and says goodbye to a lifetime of suffering. At least for now.
"The Red Sox won the World Series." To Citizen No. 1 of Red Sox Nation, those seven words meant "No more 1918 chants. No more smug glances from Yankee fans. No more worrying about living an entire life -- that's 80 years, followed by death without seeing the Red Sox win a Series."

But once he was able to type those life-changing words, Bill Simmons decided to look back at his Sports Guy columns for the last five years to find out how the miracle came to pass. And that's where the trouble began. Why didnt he see it coming? Why didn't it happen sooner? What was the key deal, the lucky move, the funny bounce, the sign from above that he failed to spot?

How ESPN's Sports Guy Found Salvation, with a Little Help from Nomar, Pedro, Shawshank, and the 2004 Red Sox

ESPN's beloved Sports Guy replays the years leading up to the Boston Red Sox historic championship season and says goodbye to a lifetime of suffering. At least for now. "The Red Sox won the World Series." To Citizen No. 1 of Red Sox Nation, those seven words meant "No more 1918 chants. No more smug glances from Yankee fans. No more worrying about living an entire life -- that's 80 years, followed by death without seeing the Red Sox win a Series." But once he was able to type those life-changing words, Bill Simmons decided to look back at his Sports Guy columns for the last five years to find out how the miracle came to pass. And that's where the trouble began. Why didnt he see it coming? Why didn't it happen sooner? What was the key deal, the lucky move, the funny bounce, the sign from above that he failed to spot? Pretty soon, The Sports Guy was second-guessing himself, rewriting history, sniping at his own past predictions, pounding the table -- that's what sports guys do, right And doing so, he let himself get sidetracked by the suffering of the Boston Bruins, frustrated by the false promise of the Celtics -- and driven into a state of ecstasy by the dynastic New England Patriots. The result is Now I Can Die in Peace, a hilarious and fresh new look at some of the best sportswriting in America, with sharp critical commentary (and fresh insights) from the guy who wrote it in the first place.

Now I Can Die in Peace

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Sports favorites

Matthew Quick

Texas

From Matthew Quick, the New York Times bestselling author of The Silver Linings Playbook--made into the Academy Award-winning movie starring Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper--comes a poignant and hopeful novel about a widower who takes in a grieving teenager and inspires a magical revival in their small town.

Lucas Goodgame lives in Majestic, Pennsylvania, a quaint suburb that has been torn apart by a recent tragedy. Everyone in Majestic sees Lucas as a hero--everyone, that is, except Lucas himself. Insisting that his deceased wife, Darcy, visits him every night in the form of an angel, Lucas spends his time writing letters to his former Jungian analyst, Karl. It is only when Eli, an eighteen-year-old young man whom the community has ostracized, begins camping out in Lucas's backyard that an unlikely alliance takes shape and the two embark on a journey to heal their neighbors and, most importantly, themselves.

From Matthew Quick, whose work has been described by the Boston Herald as "like going to your favorite restaurant. You just know it is going to be good," We Are the Light is an unforgettable novel about the quicksand of grief and the daily miracle of love. The humorous, soul-baring story of Lucas Goodgame offers an antidote to toxic masculinity and celebrates the healing power of art. In this tale that will stay with you long after the final page is turned, Quick reminds us that life is full of guardian angels.

We Are the Light

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Fredrik Backman

New Jersey

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY: LibraryReads • BookBrowse • Goodreads “You’ll love this engrossing novel.” —People The bestselling author of A Man Called Ove returns with a dazzling, profound novel about a small town with a big dream—and the price required to make it come true. People say Beartown is finished. A tiny community nestled deep in the forest, it is slowly losing ground to the ever-encroaching trees. But down by the lake stands an old ice rink, built generations ago by the working men who founded this town. And in that ice rink is the reason people in Beartown believe tomorrow will be better than today. Their junior ice hockey team is about to compete in the national semi-finals, and they actually have a shot at winning. All the hopes and dreams of this place now rest on the shoulders of a handful of teenage boys. Being responsible for the hopes of an entire town is a heavy burden, and the semi-final match is the catalyst for a violent act that will leave a young girl traumatized and a town in turmoil. Accusations are made and, like ripples on a pond, they travel through all of Beartown, leaving no resident unaffected. Beartown explores the hopes that bring a small community together, the secrets that tear it apart, and the courage it takes for an individual to go against the grain. In this story of a small forest town, Fredrik Backman has found the entire world.

Beartown

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Emma Straub

Florida

#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER

"The pages brim with tenderness and an appreciation for what we had and who we were. I could not have loved it more."--Ann Patchett

"One of the most moving and intelligent time travel novels I have ever read. Nostalgic, wise, funny, and filled with love."--Gabrielle Zevin

"The kind of book that will make you laugh, make you cry, and make you call the people you love. Exceptional."--Emily Henry

What if you could take a vacation to your past?

        With her celebrated humor, insight, and heart, beloved New York Times bestseller Emma Straub offers her own twist on traditional time travel tropes and a different kind of love story.

On the eve of her fortieth birthday, Alice's life isn't terrible. She likes her job, even if it isn't exactly the one she expected. She's happy with her apartment, her romantic status, and her independence, and she adores her lifelong best friend. But her father is ailing, and it feels to her as if something is missing. When she wakes up the next morning, she finds herself back in 1996, reliving her sixteenth birthday. But it isn't just her adolescent body that shocks her, or seeing her high school crush--it's her dad, the vital, charming, forty-something version of her father with whom she is reunited. Now armed with a new perspective on her own life and his, some past events take on new meaning. Is there anything that she would change if she could?

This Time Tomorrow

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Unique Favorites

Markus Zusak

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • ONE OF TIME MAGAZINE’S 100 BEST YA BOOKS OF ALL TIME • A NEW YORK TIMES READER TOP 100 PICK FOR BEST BOOKS OF THE 21ST CENTURY • A KIRKUS REVIEWS BEST YOUNG ADULT BOOK OF THE CENTURY

The extraordinary, beloved novel about the ability of books to feed the soul even in the darkest of times.

When Death has a story to tell, you listen.

It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will become busier still.

Liesel Meminger is a foster girl living outside of Munich, who scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement.

Trying to make sense of the horrors of World War II, Death relates the story of Liesel--a young German girl whose book-stealing and story-telling talents help sustain her family and the Jewish man they are hiding, as well as their neighbors.

The Book Thief

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James Dashner

Thomas was sure that escape from the Maze would mean freedom for him and the Gladers. But WICKED isn’t done yet. Phase Two has just begun. The Scorch.
   The Gladers have two weeks to cross through the Scorch—the most burned-out section of the world. And WICKED has made sure to adjust the variables and stack the odds against them.
   There are others now. Their survival depends on the Gladers’ destruction—and they’re determined to survive.
   Friendships will be tested. Loyalties will be broken. All bets are off.

After surviving horrific conditions in the Maze, Thomas is entrapped, along with nineteen other boys, in an experiment designed to observe their responses and gather data believed to be essential for the survival of the human race.

The Scorch Trials (Maze Runner, Book Two)

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Jenny Han

Some summers are just destined to be pretty.

Belly measures her life in summers. Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August. Winters are simply a time to count the weeks until the next summer, a place away from the beach house, away from Susannah, and most importantly, away from Jeremiah and Conrad. They are the boys that Belly has known since her very first summer—they have been her brother figures, her crushes, and everything in between. But one summer, one wonderful and terrible summer, the more everything changes, the more it all ends up just the way it should have been all along.

Belly spends the summer she turns sixteen at the beach just like every other summer of her life, but this time things are very different.

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Shelves by 5 Star Reads

5 Star Reads

African history

Black History

Business and Leadership

Children’s favorites

Comedy

Cook books

Nutrition studies

Sports favorites

Unique Favorites

Young Adult