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Staff Picks - Marilyn
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For me, a day that I don’t read is a cryin’ shame of a day! It’s as necessary as breathing for me. And since I’m curious about nearly everything, the daily quest for the newest, next beauty is always dangling as a shiny promise just around the corner. Currently I’m excited about “big fiction” - grand, overarching novels; science books about virology and disease; biographies and kids books of all ages.
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$20.00
ISBN: 9780802128256
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Grove Press - June 12th, 2018
This Book is: funny, odd, strangely logical. This book isn't: boring, predictable, routine or conventionally logical. You just HAVE to read it! --Marilyn
$26.95
ISBN: 9780525521198
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Knopf - May 8th, 2018
This is 14-year-old Nathaniel’s narrative into a mysterious, exciting new world he shares with his sister and assorted adults when their parents abruptly leave for an overseas job. As only Ondaatje can, you get a front row seat into his well-crafted story full of accelerating questions and fluid situations Nathaniel and his sister navigate. Breathtakingly wonderful! --Marilyn
$17.99
ISBN: 9781250060266
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Flatiron Books - September 27th, 2016
The blurb says it all: “It’s Bloody Marvelous.” Rebanks takes takes you through a year of sheep farming on his ancestral land. An intensely physical land of work and beauty created by craft, skill and a close feel for the land. It’s a kind of brilliant intelligence Rebanks never found authenticated during his years at Oxford. An outstanding book! - Marilyn
$26.00
ISBN: 9780316432344
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Little, Brown and Company - March 20th, 2018
In delta country with its great expanse and extreme limitations Jack wrestles to do right by his foster mom and himself as he prepares for his fight - possibly his last fight. Jack's luck is down to the wire. A raw, real, gritty big novel placed in Mississippi. Michael Ferris Smith is a writer to be reckoned with. --Marilyn
$16.00
ISBN: 9780143129745
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Penguin Books - March 6th, 2018
Polish journalist, Witold Szablowski, tours post-communist countries talking with people as he goes. His conversations focus on life in their current free market lives and the surprising pros and cons of free markets affecting them all, even the iconic dancing bears. --Marilyn
$26.00
ISBN: 9780735217713
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Riverhead Books - February 6th, 2018
This is a "third rail" book about the US/Mexico border. Cantu's daily experience as an agent focuses on the dichotomy of the border.These words say it best for me: searing, brilliant, barbaric and ultimately human. --Marilyn
$24.95
ISBN: 9781616206154
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Algonquin Books - January 23rd, 2018
A surprising journey through the Indian culture of cows in everyday life - roaming freely on bustling Bangalore streets, pop-up milking stations for devoted consumer/connoisseurs of all things cow. Quite a good read. --Marilyn
$14.95
ISBN: 9781611804577
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Roost Books - June 6th, 2017
When I needed to find a FUNNY book - this practically jumped into my hands. It IS funny while being a deep meditation about life in the hard zones of a great desert in remote Nevada. From colorful humans to wily animals - it appealed to my sense of funny and wonder. --Marilyn
$27.00
ISBN: 9781455588220
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Twelve - March 21st, 2017
Have you ever wondered what working in the inner circle of the Obama White House is like from a woman’s perspective? Here’s your book. Alyssa M. shares her life before during and after her WH experience with humor and grace and refreshing honesty. A perfect book for women navigating high-powered career worlds. --Marilyn
$25.99
ISBN: 9781612196367
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Melville House - August 8th, 2017
Johnny Ribkins has exactly one week to track down money he stole. Johnny and his niece crisscross Florida hunting down buried money, family legend and legacy. The Ribkins are complicated people, as you'll see. A fine fine book. --Marilyn
$25.95
ISBN: 9781101875681
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Knopf - March 7th, 2017
Finally the mythic hermit of North Pond Maine has been arrested for breaking and entering, caught stealing food supplies.This biography is a kaleidoscope about being human; breathtaking in scope and dimension of one man's desire to shun people as long as he can, which stretches to nearly 30 years.This is like nothing you've read. --Marilyn
$22.00
ISBN: 9780805063745
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Holt Paperbacks - February 15th, 2000
This is one of my very favorite novels of all time. It’s simple, Joe Mondragon just wants to plant beans. To grow those beans Joe needs water in thirsty New Mexico. So he diverts water to his field and the war begins. Joe’s serious in ways no one quite believes. It’s the principle of the thing, watering his bean field. A story always relevant, always poignant, funny and awe inspiring characters. --Marilyn
$15.99
ISBN: 9780062277039
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Harper Perennial - April 11th, 2017
Every generation in this sprawling family has a member named LaRose.The name, LaRose carries weight, wisdom,responsibility. It’s a lightning rod for traditions and grudges too. LaRose endures. It's a story with great heart. --Marilyn
$26.00
ISBN: 9780316308113
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Little, Brown and Company - January 10th, 2017
A stunning novel exposing the Beck family legacy and secrets as they flee Hungary during the 1956 revolution. This is a crucible journey; lyric and philosophic as sons Robert and Attila ask the hard questions their parents refuse to confront and own. A profoundly human story. --Marilyn
$19.90
ISBN: 9781845409210
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Societas - November 1st, 2016
If (ObamaCare)=(ACA) and (ACA)=(ObamaCare) are the values the same? Maybe, maybe not. Depending on your brain’s wiring response to words and phrasing. Lakoff's book is about how and why we react to what we hear and feel. --Marilyn
$27.95
ISBN: 9781620972250
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: New Press - September 6th, 2016
It’s surprisingly easy to feel our own California view of the world is the logical, rational view. So WHY can’t people in other areas of the country see what we see? And why can’t we understand what they feel? Hochschild, a sociologist from Berkeley. goes to Louisiana to learn how and WHY people feel about politics, candidates and America in the 21st century. An important book for us all. --Marilyn
$16.00
ISBN: 9781451697728
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Atria Books - April 5th, 2016
Really the subtitle says it all - A Surprising Exploration Into The Wonder Of Conciousness.You can't help but feel awe in this amazing world. --Marilyn
$15.00
ISBN: 9781101903131
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Broadway Books - September 5th, 2017
Tara Clancy's the girl you want at every party becasue she IS the party.Like any great bar tender, Tara can spin the simplest family adventure into high drama and you want more, more, more. --Marilyn
$16.00
ISBN: 9781250098993
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Picador - September 13th, 2016
A view of now, of future: these stories bring gravity and attention to our future of now and future where technology is a curse or a blessing or a trap or freedom. Spin the wheel, read the stories and devide for yourself. --Marilyn
$15.99
ISBN: 9781250145932
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: St. Martin's Griffin - November 28th, 2017
The Bells hunker down during the first waves of dust storms. As well as they deal with this overwhelming disaster, collectively and individually, the dust steadily wears them down. You bear witness to their test of faith in a battle with nature where God seems absent. I just didn't want this story to end; this brilliant beautiful writing. --Marilyn
$15.99
ISBN: 9780316261258
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Mulholland Books - July 18th, 2017
This book is many things: a mystery set in modern U.S.where slavery is still legally active in four states. An economic oddity among world trade partners.A brave or suicidal mission for Victor, a bounty hunter of escaped slaves; A sociological glimpse of faceless corporate greed that operates on the country’s careful ignorance. An excellent read. --Marilyn
$20.00
ISBN: 9780743288798
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Scribner - April 11th, 2017
A multigenerational story of a family’s long thread of history driven to conquer the wilderness of Eastern U.S and Canada at all costs; consequences be damned. Annie Proulx writes profoundly about wilderness as only she can. A stellar story of character, baring the baseness of greed. --Marilyn
$15.99
ISBN: 9780062296054
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Harper Perennial - April 19th, 2016
Life brings together biological sciences of today: Evolutionary Biology, Genetics, Anthropology, Environmental Sciences which all touch the core of biology. Through conversations, you get a glimpse into leading scientists' thinking and discoveries. Interesting for everyone who questions anything about life. And don’t we all have questions? --Marilyn
$15.95
ISBN: 9780393353778
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: W. W. Norton & Company - April 4th, 2017
I’ve read Diana Abu-Jaber’s writing for years and she’s wowed me again with her memoir! She melds extended family history with her day-to-day family adventures, giving readers a rare view into little moments of daily discovery in her life. This book is a treasure, not to be missed. --Marilyn
$16.00
ISBN: 9780143110972
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Penguin Books - January 31st, 2017
Simply, this novel is about Johnny Appleseed but really it’s the Goodenough family's wild gamble to establish an apple orchard in the swampy wilds of Ohio. A story where nothing is simple; where brutal conditions and toil rules all, save Robert, youngest son, who sets out west with nothing to lose and everything to gain. Stunningly good. --Marilyn
$18.69
ISBN: 9781250087935
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Flatiron Books - April 5th, 2016
Cloistered girls whose world is skewed by two women who care for them. But some girls venture beyond high walls to outside. Their eyes are opened to the modern world as their careful world unravels in disturbing
and mesmerizing events. Psychologically stunning, bewitching words. --Marilyn
$15.99
ISBN: 9780062407580
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Harper Perennial - February 14th, 2017
Free Men is a haunting, absorbing novel about three men grappling with their lives. As they evade capture for alleged murder, you feel their deep life histories in ways they can’t put into words. I Love it. -- Marilyn
$17.60
ISBN: 9781594485879
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Riverhead Books - February 3rd, 2015
If you’re intrigued with animals and their seemingly mysterious ways, read this book. Kurlansky writes of animals living in modernurban life with all its density, noise and humanity.It seem an unlikely environment for wildlife to thrive but that’s the wonder and surpriseof this book. It’s wonderful.
$24.00
ISBN: 9781501115141
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Touchstone Books - November 10th, 2015
For the player of odd, interesting and bizarre games and sports - THIS is your book. These are so weird that I can only imagine they were thought up dutring immeassurably long winter months, to be played when days turned summery. Truly original and, well, odd! --Marilyn
$16.00
ISBN: 9781101872574
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Vintage - September 6th, 2016
Oh, to be the proverbial fly on the wall when a newly discovered painting of great importance goes to auction in London amidst a firestorm of interest from international buyers. This little painting has tales to tell of its A-list owners through the ages and does so with razor wit and dripping disdain. In the center of this storm is hapless Annie McMorow who bought it in a junk store. A hilarious romp through adventures and misadventures to obtain the rarest at any cost. Such an excellent book. --Marilyn
$15.95
ISBN: 9781590171332
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: NYRB Classics - December 31st, 2004
Baker’s long study of peregrines is elegant and far deeper than a field study. It reads to me as a beautiful kaleidoscope of Baker’s heightened awareness of life in its subtleties, focused around these regal birds. His writing is superb. - Marilyn
$15.00
ISBN: 9780804173193
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Vintage - July 26th, 2016
This book is a sweet treat when you want a lovely story. Set on the Rivieria amongst the rich and fabulous, it's a mystery (missing jewels) and romance, light and fun. --Marilyn
$16.00
ISBN: 9780770436452
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Hogarth - July 19th, 2016
Anthony Marra is THE author who can craft a tale both awful and awesome. When a censor adds his own artistic license to Soviet pictures the following events spin into their own weird universe. This is excellent. --Marilyn
$15.99
ISBN: 9780062349323
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Ecco - July 5th, 2016
This novel goes straight into the marrow of place and character. Les is ready for retirement as Sheriff of his small Appalachian town. He won’t miss the area’s increasing meth busts but his last case tests him personally from his early years. This last case is his hardest case, reaching into the crevices of this character. --Marilyn
$17.00
ISBN: 9781476789095
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Scribner Book Company - June 21st, 2016
Stavros Stavros has announced his impending death to family and friends, even inviting them all via Facebook to his “final Dinner”. His identity of a benevolent saintly person doesn’t quite match his real behavior as a hypercritical father, nagging ex-husband. Is he really dying or simply seeking his family's’ blessing? You decide! A funny, tender book. -- Marilyn
$16.99
ISBN: 9780062120403
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Ecco - January 28th, 2014
In the wild southwest of Texas, this story unspools the generational saga of a family embedded in Texas land. A rich story, Meyer portrays their brutal and total love for this vast dry land. It’s wonderful. -- Marilyn
$17.00
ISBN: 9781476755748
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Simon & Schuster - October 20th, 2015
SO how does Russia work? This wild ride through post-communist Russia’s opening financial markets to the west reads like a business thriller and it is though NOT fiction. It has high tension, audacious moves, sudden market fluctuations, threatening characters and murder. Browder writes a compelling book.
--Marilyn
$15.99
ISBN: 9780316334327
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Back Bay Books - January 12th, 2016
I confess to being late seeing the work of Kate Mulgrew and only know her acting as the formidably kitchen boss in Orange As The New Black. Suffice to say, the second I could get my hands on her memoir, I devoured it. Kate is strong and brave - uncommonly so, from her tiniest tot years to the present. Wonderful read.
$16.00
ISBN: 9781594633959
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Riverhead Books - January 19th, 2016
Krysta, a precocious little girl, is unruly and troubled as she processes her mother's suicide. Schooled in Grimm's fairy tales, her life becomes a fairy tale filled with elusive beauty and deadly trials. A Holocaust tale that unerringly bites into the edges of darkness and peril. Sometimes I read a book that shimmers in a special way. This is that book for me.
$13.95
ISBN: 9780761174417
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Workman Publishing - October 7th, 2014
Heroes give meaning to life in unspoken ways through magnificent actions. Here is collection of animal heroes that broaden the idea of heroes that brightens all our lives.
$8.95
ISBN: 9781930238473
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Yosemite Conservancy - June 10th, 2014
Yosemite In Pictures is stunning; a great gift; siren's muse; a motivating quest and so much more. Sublime.
