— FALL 2022 NEW RELEASES — posted 10/2022

Musical Tables   -   Billy Collins

Followers of my most favorite American poet, Billy Collins, will be surprised and humored by this new collection of what he refers to as "small poems." His inspiration is quoted here: “Whenever I pick up a new book of poems, I flip through the pages looking for small ones. Just as I might have trust in an abstract painter more if I knew he or she could draw a credible chicken, I have faith in poets who can go short.” The subject matters in this collection run the gamut, as is his style. Some are laugh out loud funny, others not, but every one is a delight to discover. 

The Dictionary of Lost Words   -   Pip Williams

One of the more meaningful and compelling books I've read recently, this historical novel takes us into the life and mind of Esme, who is consumed within a world of words. Beginning as a very young child, she is a spectator to the work of her father and a team of lexicographers who collect words for the very first Oxford English Dictionary. Esme gathers the rejected words, written on slips of paper that drop to the floor as they work . . . as an adult, those words become Esme's own dictionary: the Dictionary of Lost Words. The story, set at the birth of the UK women's suffrage movement and of WWI, is a lovely homage to the human language. A most moving work of fiction — and a debut novel, at that — which will remain with you well past the very last page. Highly recommended!

The River You Touch   -   Chris Dombroski

This is a touching tribute to nature and fatherhood. A poet and fly-fishing guide in love with the wilds of Montana, Detroit transplant Chris Dombroski's sensitive treatise on the birth and raising of his three children and being a good citizen to the planet is a lesson on paying attention to the natural world in which we reside.

Demon Copperhead   -   Barbara Kingsolver

Kingsolver's jaw-dropping saga takes place in the midst of the opioid crisis in Appalachian Virginia, following the life of a boy born in a trailer to a teenaged single mom. Deadbeats, debauchery, and self-destruction are the general themes in this sad-but-true American slice-of-life. Inspired by Dickens' "David Copperfield," the Victorian novel about displaced boy/childhood, Kingsolver attests to the poverty and hardships of rural Southern America in what will surely be another award-winning novel for the author. 

Dinners with Ruth: A Memoir of Friendship   -   Nina Totenberg

An engaging memoir by NPR's Nina Totenberg about her 50-year friendship with Ruth Bader Ginsburg, recounting how the two larger-than-life women paved the way for the changes that brought about professional and legal rights for women in the male-dominated world in which they both struggled through in their rising careers. A sheer delight to hear Nina Totenberg's voice in your head as she unmasks her path to success and the charming shared stories between two dear friends: not only is Nina Totenberg an amazing journalist with an unforgettable voice, she's also a good storyteller! 

One Hundred Saturdays   -   Michael Franks

Writer Michael Franks spent 100 Saturdays interviewing Stella Levi, a 98-year old holocaust survivor who lived an idyllic life in the Jewish sector of Juderia, on the Island of Rhodes . . . until 1944 when nearly every Jew was deported to the German camps. This is Stella's captivating storytelling of her life before, during, and after her encampment. Maira Kalman's iconic illustrations provide colorful images of the quaint island life that Stella reverently remembers and mourns for. 

The Floating Girls   -   Lo Patrick

Ever since reading Kelly Mustian's haunting Southern debut "The Girls in the Stilt House" I've been longing for a strong new Southern book: The Floating Girls is that book. With its portrayal of the culture of poverty and the tiny slice of life of an ignored people in the deep southern Georgia inter coastal waterway and barrier islands, was the right read. Young Kay and her brothers (and a sister who may or may not really be their sister) come from a sad-sack of a family. Kay is constantly being berated for being a loud mouth and for acting against her father's wishes. Curiosity gets the best of her as she insists on getting to the bottom of a mysterious death, her odd sister's sudden disappearance, and her mother's abnormally strange behavior. But, curiosity does not get the cat in this debut in which Kay gets to the bottom of things. 

Our Little World   -   Karen Winn

Hard to believe this takes-your-breath-away novel is the author's debut. A heart-wrenching and impeccably written story of the push and pull of tween-age sisters who are entwined in the mysterious disappearance of sweet Sally, their 4-year old neighbor, and the love/hate relationship that builds between them following that tragedy. Add on the tension between them when the younger of the two sisters becomes ill with diabetes, and you find yourself utterly immersed in a story you hope is not told from a true life experience. A page-turner from an author worth following. 

Our Missing Hearts   -   Celeste Ng

An all-too-real story about how people are easily swayed into fear by a government in power and how that fear destroys families, friendships, and overall trust. In her newest novel, Ng's U.S. White House bans anything and everything Chinese, going so far as to condoning ostracizing, attacking, and killing Chinese-American citizens and making it legal to remove children from their homes. The underlying story is about a mother's love for her child and the task she takes on to find all the other aggrieved mothers who've lost their children to this horrific heart-wrenching government rule.