Staff Picks for Adults
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I Can Fix This
From the author of Hold On, But Don’t Hold Still, the emotionally charged and eye-opening account of a mother who navigates the cacophony of best practices and urgent advice from parenting authorities in search of a way to support her teen as he maps his own path to mental health.
When Kristina Kuzmič started to see signs that her otherwise sunny, resilient teenage son was struggling, she was sure a few simple fixes could right the ship. But over the following months, the issues her family faced became more nuanced, complicated, and pervasive than she could've predicted—and what began as a clear to do list spiraled into an emotionally fraught and seemingly endless push and pull between signs of progress and overwhelming fear.
Despite her best efforts, Kuzmič had internalized a set of obligations, ideas, and unrealistic standards from parenting culture and social media that left her unprepared to guide her child when he needed her most. Featuring an urgent and affirming foreword by renowned and New York Times bestselling clinician Dr. Shefali Tsabary—Kuzmič's new book debunks ten "parenting truths” that kept her in crisis, and delves into her insecurities and the mistakes she made to reveal invaluable lessons and transformative approaches that worked.
While her family stands on the other side now stronger than ever, Kuzmič's journey calls to parents who have felt the instinct to say “I can fix this” in situations where good intentions far exceed our abilities to enact change. -
The Hidden Book
From bestselling author Kirsty Manning comes a stunning novel based on a true story of clandestine courage in World War II as prisoners of war risk their lives to secure evidence of Nazi atrocities--and how one man concealed it for decades before passing it on to his family who struggle to understand their inherited legacy of trauma.
Austria, 1940s: Yugoslavian Nico Antonov is just one of more than 200,000 people imprisoned in the Mauthausen concentration camp near the Danube River. Malnourished and forced into hard labor in a quarry, he still defies his captors any way he can. When fate brings him into contact with Lena Lang, a young woman living with her family in fear of their Nazi occupiers, he finds an ally.
SS officers have charged Spanish POW and photographer Mateo Baca with recording the events and prisoners of Mauthausen and to make five copies of the collected photo book for the Third Reich's leaders. But Mateo also creates a sixth book to be smuggled out of the camp--where Nico entrusts Lena to hide it and protect their secret.
Australia, 1980s to present day: When teenager Hannah Campbell discovers her grandfather Nico's mysterious photo album, filled with horrific visions of suffering and cruelty, the barbarities of World War II no longer feel like ancient history. Haunted by the images for years, as a university student and a married young mother, she pursues the truth behind her grandfather's incarceration. As Hannah experiences love and loss in her own life, she comes to understand how the photos not only capture history but reflect a shared humanity that must never be forgotten.
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Hello Tiny World
A friendly journey through the captivating world of terrariums--from the creator of one of the most famous terrariums ever.
Hello Tiny World will inspire a wide readership to discover the tiny wonder of a different kind of container gardening in their own homes--no outdoor space needed. How can terrariums teach us about the environment? Can working with plants improve our mental health and well-being? How do we learn to express ourselves and our creativity through these wondrous mini ecosystems?
Hello Tiny World is Ben Newell's exploration of these questions as he weaves in his own personal experiences, alongside practical projects with photographed step-by-steps allowing readers to delve into the detail of how to make various terrariums--from beginner terrariums and terrariums on a budget, to more creative and ambitious projects. Those curious to learn about ecology and living sustainably as well as those interested in how plants can help our well-being, mindfulness, and creativity will all be served by this book, alongside horticulturalists who have yet to discover terrariums. -
The Hollywood Assistant
Named a Most Anticipated Read of 2024 by Zibby Media ∙ Jordy’s Book Club ∙ Novel Suspects ∙ The Nerd Daily ∙ Pure Wow ∙ She Reads ∙ and more!
Offered a dream job in Hollywood with a famous director and his actress wife, an insecure woman becomes their personal assistant where their secrets and lies place her in the crosshairs of a murder investigation.
Cassidy Foster is heartbroken, stuck in life, and getting a little too obsessed with plants. Then when a well-connected friend becomes sick of Cassidy’s moping and gets her a gig with famous Hollywood couple, Marisol and Nate Sterling, Cassidy jumps at the chance to move to sunny LA.
The Sterlings are warm and welcoming. A perfect couple. All Cassidy has to do is be available a few hours a week for errands. In return, she has access to luxury: Designer clothes. A sparkling pool. Great pay.
When Nate takes interest in her, asking her to read scripts he’s written, Cassidy thinks this could be the key to kickstarting her writing dreams. As their business relationship grows, so does their attraction. Nate is sexy and talented, and Cassidy can’t believe her luck. Clearly, Marisol doesn’t know what she has. Maybe that’s why the two are always fighting when they think Cassidy isn’t around.
But Cassidy learns she was hired for a different purpose. The Sterlings aren’t the perfect couple. Marisol isn’t the perfect wife. And when one of them is found dead, Cassidy becomes the perfect suspect. -
Out of the Darkness
Instant New York Times Bestseller
"A masterwork. ... O'Connor answers every question, deftly and deeply, that we've had about the most controversial person in America's biggest game." --Peter King
Four-time New York Times bestselling sport biographer Ian O'Connor pulls back the curtain on four-time NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers, delivering the definitive portrait of the legendary yet mysterious quarterback who has astonished, befuddled, yet always captivated fans of America's #1 sport.
Aaron Rodgers is among the two or three most talented players to ever hold the most important job in American team sports - quarterback. He also stands as the most mysterious and polarizing figure in the modern-day national pastime that is professional football.
From his controversial Covid stance to his methods of spiritual awakening to his estrangement from his family to his high-profile romances to his devastating Achilles injury a mere four plays into his New York Jets career, Rodgers has long dominated the NFL's news cycle.
At thirty-nine, in search of a challenge that would rejuvenate him, Rodgers divorced the iconic Green Bay Packers of Vince Lombardi fame for the Jets, who have not appeared in a Super Bowl since Neil Armstrong stepped on the moon. The trade made Rodgers the biggest story in the biggest league in the biggest market. By far.
That story only got bigger when Rodgers shockingly went down on the night of 9/11, in front of a packed house that roared for him when he took the field carrying an American flag, and in front of the biggest Monday Night Football audience in ESPN history, peaking at more than 25 million viewers across all platforms. Rodgers then shocked the world by pulling off the fastest recorded comeback from an Achilles tear, returning to practice eleven weeks after surgery. Remarkably enough, he would have played again in the 2023 season, at age 40, had the Jets remained in playoff contention.
Ian O'Connor uses hundreds of original interviews to pull back the curtain and answer the most penetrating questions about the league's most enigmatic player. Just like he did in his defining bios of Bill Belichick, Mike Krzyzewski, Derek Jeter, Jack Nicklaus, and Arnold Palmer, O'Connor reveals all sides of an all-time great and delivers a portrait of a complex man that will forever shape the way he is viewed.
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I Need You to Read This
This “super creepy” (The Washington Post) and “perfectly plotted whodunnit” (Katy Hays, New York Times bestselling author) follows an advice columnist searching for answers about her predecessor’s murder—from the bestselling author of The Golden Spoon.
Years ago, Alex Marks escaped to New York City for a fresh start. Now, aside from trips to her regular diner for coffee, she keeps to herself, gets her perfectly normal copywriting job done, and doesn’t date. Her quiet world is upended when her childhood hero, Francis Keen, is brutally murdered. Francis was the woman behind the famous advice column, Dear Constance, and her words helped Alex through some of her darkest times.
When Alex sees an advertisement searching for her replacement, she impulsively applies, never expecting to get the job. Against all odds, Alex is given the position but soon, she begins to receive strange, potentially threatening letters at the office. Francis’s murderer was never identified, turning everyone around her into a threat. Including her boss, editor-in-chief Howard Dimitri, who has a habit of staying late at the office and drinking too much.
As Alex is drawn into the details surrounding her predecessor’s murder, her own dark secrets begin to rise to the surface and she suddenly finds herself trapped in a dangerous game of cat and mouse that takes her all the way from the power centers of Manhattan to Francis Keen’s summer house, where her body was found and where the killer may just be waiting for her in this “fresh and fascinating” (Megan Collins, author of The Family Plot) page-turner. -
Gray Matters
“If you are at all curious about the brain or the surgeons who operate on it, Gray Matters is a must read and Dr. Theodore Schwartz is the perfect guide, a master brain surgeon and superbly talented writer. I have not read a better biography of our shared profession, and in Schwartz's talented hands, the most enigmatic 3 1/2 pounds of tissue in the known universe comes to light in remarkable and revelatory ways.”
—Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN Chief Medical Correspondent, and New York Times and #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author of Keep Sharp: Build a Better Brain at Any Age
A popular biography of brain surgery, by one of its preeminent practitioners
We’ve all heard the phrase “it’s not brain surgery.” But what exactly is brain surgery? It’s a profession that is barely a hundred years old and profoundly connects two human beings, but few know how it works, or its history. How did early neurosurgeons come to understand the human brain—an extraordinarily complex organ that controls everything we do, and yet at only three pounds is so fragile? And how did this incredibly challenging and lifesaving specialty emerge?
In this warm, rigorous, and deeply insightful book, Dr. Theodore H. Schwartz explores what it’s like to hold the scalpel, wield the drill, extract a tumor, fix a bullet hole, and remove a blood clot—when every second can mean life or death. Drawing from the author’s own cases, plus media, sports, and government archives, this seminal work delves into all the brain-related topics that have long-consumed public curiosity, like what really happened to JFK, President Biden’s brain surgery, and the NFL’s management of CTE. Dr. Schwartz also surveys the field’s latest incredible advances and discusses the philosophical questions of the unity of the self and the existence of free will.
A neurosurgeon as well as a professor of neurosurgery at Weill Cornell Medicine, one of the busiest and most highly ranked neurosurgery centers in the world, Dr. Schwartz tells this story like no one else could. Told through anecdote and clear explanation, this is the ultimate cultural and scientific history of a literally mind-blowing human endeavor, one that cuts to the core of who we are. -
All the Summers In Between
“Make room in your beach bag for this mesmerizing book” (Patti Callahan Henry, New York Times bestselling author) about two estranged friends whose unexpected reconnection in the Hamptons forces them to finally confront the terrible event that drove them apart.
When wealthy, impulsive Margot meets hardworking and steady Thea in the summer of 1967, the unlikely pair become fast friends, working alongside one another in a record store and spending every spare moment together. But after an unspeakable incident on one devastating August night, they don’t see one another for ten years…until Margot suddenly reappears in Thea’s life, begging for help and harboring more than one dangerous secret. Thea can’t bring herself to refuse her beloved friend—but she also knows she can’t fully trust her either.
Unfulfilled as a housewife, Thea enjoys the dazzling sense of adventure Margot brings to her life, but will the truth of what happened to them that fateful summer ruin everything? Testing the boundaries of how far she’ll go for a friend, Thea is forced to reckon with her uncertain future while trying to decide if some friends are meant to remain in the past.
Set in the dual timelines of 1967 and 1977, All the Summers In Between is at once “a taut, dynamic examination” (Lynda Cohen Loigman, author of The Wartime Sisters) of a complex friendship, a delicious glimpse into a bygone Hamptons, and a powerful coming-of-age story of two young women during a transformative era. -
Love & Whiskey
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
Embark on a captivating journey with Love & Whiskey. New York Times bestselling author Fawn Weaver unveils the hidden narrative behind one of America's most iconic whiskey brands. This book is a vibrant exploration set in the present day, delving into the life and legacy of Nearest Green, the African American distilling genius who played a pivotal role in the creation of the whiskey that bears Jack Daniel's name.
Set against the backdrop of Lynchburg, Tennessee, this narrative weaves together a thrilling blend of personal discovery, historical investigation, and the revelation of a story long overshadowed by time. Through extensive research, personal interviews, and the uncovering of long-buried documents, Weaver brings to light not only the remarkable bond between Nearest Green and Jack Daniel but also Daniel's concerted efforts during his lifetime to ensure Green's legacy would not be forgotten. This deep respect for his teacher, mentor, and friend was mirrored in Jack's dedication to ensuring that the stories and achievements of Nearest Green's descendants, who continued the tradition of working side by side with Jack and his descendants, would also not be forgotten.
Love & Whiskey is more than just a recounting of historical facts; it's a live journey into the heart of storytelling, where every discovery adds a layer to the rich tapestry of American history. Weaver's pursuit highlights the importance of acknowledging those who have shaped our cultural landscape; yet remained in the shadows.
As Weaver intertwines her present-day quest with the historical threads of Green and Daniel's lives, she not only pays homage to their legacy but also spearheads the creation of Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey. This endeavor has not only brought Nearest Green's name to the forefront of the whiskey industry but has also set new records, symbolizing a step forward in recognizing and celebrating African American contributions to the spirit world.
Love & Whiskey invites readers to witness a story of enduring friendship, resilience, and the impact of giving credit where it's long overdue. It's an inspiring tale of how uncovering the past can forge new paths and how the spirit of whiskey has connected lives across generations. Join Fawn Weaver on this extraordinary adventure, as she navigates through the layers of history, friendship, and the unbreakable bonds formed by the legacy of America's native spirit, ensuring the stories of Nearest Green and his descendants live on in the heart of American culture. -
Just One Taste
“I love, love, love Lizzy Dent.”—Emily Henry, #1 New York Times bestselling author
Olive Stone is about to spend four weeks in Italy with the most beautiful man she’s ever hated.
When Olive Stone and her Italian pseudo-celebrity chef father fell out fourteen years ago, annoyingly handsome Leo Ricci slipped right in as his surrogate son and sous-chef. No one is more surprised than Olive when her father wills her his beloved (and now failing) restaurant. Or that his dying wish was for Olive and Leo to complete his cookbook…together.
She’s determined to sell the restaurant. Leo is determined to convince her not to. As they embark on four weeks in Italy, traveling from Sicily to Tuscany to Liguria, they’ll test each other as often as they test recipes. But the more time Olive and Leo spend together, the more undeniable their attraction grows. Olive finds herself wondering whether selling the restaurant might be running away, and what it might be like to try Just One Taste of Leo Ricci. Because he isn’t who she expected, and this trip might reveal more about who Olive is than she’s ready for. -
We Are Not Alone
“We Are Not Alone . . . manages to be highly entertaining and easy to read, yet fair, balanced and thorough.”—Christopher Mellon, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Intelligence
Do you want to believe? Explore our fascination with UFOs and extraterrestrial intelligence through exclusive interviews, archival photos, and strange but true stories from history.
After decades of cover-ups and denials, in a June 2021 report, the US government finally admitted what many people already knew: yes, UFOs are real, and no, we don’t know what (or who) they are. Weird historian Marc Hartzman separates fact from fiction and provides a comprehensive tour through the skies, including:
- UFO sightings, from the famous to the obscure
- Alien abductions, including the Betty and Barney Hill abduction and the Pascagoula abduction
- Ancient aliens, from Biblical astronauts to the alien architects behind the pyramids
- Scientific evidence, including the “Wow!” radio signal and the interstellar ‘Oumuamua object
- Cover-ups and conspiracies, including the Roswell Incident and Area 51
- Governmental and military findings, from Project Blue Book to reports of UFOs at nuclear weapons sites
Deeply researched and highly entertaining, We Are Not Alone will inform and entertain anyone who’s ever doubted that we are really alone in the universe. -
Beyond Summerland
The brand-new page-turning novel from the author of the breakout bestseller The Girl From the Channel Islands!
"From the explosive opening to the profound ending, Beyond Summerland is a wonder of storytelling. With a rich setting and secrets shimmering at the core of the narrative, Jenny Lecoat offers up everything we seek in historical fiction."--Patti Callahan Henry, New York Times bestselling author of The Secret Book of Flora Lea
In her spellbinding new novel, New York Times bestselling author Jenny Lecoat explores the secrets and lies in a small community recovering from war, and the two young women at the center of a volatile mystery.
The German occupation is over. The Channel Islands, the only captured territory within the British Isles, are finally liberated. But the people of Jersey are left as scarred as the landscape. No longer a "summerland" holiday paradise, the island now boils with tension as locals seek revenge on anyone suspected of collaborating with the enemy during the war.
Nineteen-year-old Jean Parris, still adjusting to this fractious peace, is shocked to learn that Hazel, a teacher who lives over her dad's shop, may be responsible for her father's wartime arrest. Hazel denies all accusations but has reasons to conceal what really happened.
As rumors of Hazel's guilt swell to a fury, Jean discovers new clues that suggest there were other, more sinister factors at play. When Hazel learns of Jean's own ruinous secret, the women form an unexpected bond that sets them apart from the rest of Jean's family and the frenzied demands for retribution. But in the end, Jean's need to know the truth about her father may consume everything she once believed about her home, her family and herself.
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We the Poisoned
As the ongoing Flint water crisis marks its tenth anniversary, Chariton reveals shocking new evidence of the major government cover-up that resulted in the poisoning of Flint--and shatters what you think you know about what caused the water crisis. Kirkus Reviews calls it an "impassioned and enlightening work of current events" and Publishers Weekly praises it as "a vital report on a horrific scandal."
From crooked Wall Street financial schemes to political payoffs, destruction of evidence, witness tampering, falsified water data, threatened whistle blowers, and panicked phone calls, We the Poisoned: Exposing the Flint Water Crisis Cover Up and the Poisoning of 100,000 Americans reveals, for the first time, the real story behind how the government poisoned a major American city--and how they are still getting away with it.
As the cover-up continues a decade later, innocent residents have been arrested, surveilled, threatened, and gaslit to feel like they are crazy. With more and more sick residents slowly dying every year, Flint's lead levels again on the rise, and cancer rates surging across the city, it is time for the true, sinister story of the Flint water cover-up to be told. Based on eight years of reporting, thousands of confidential documents from the criminal investigation, and the former governor of Michigan's own words under oath, Jordan Chariton takes readers on the road to crisis before the Flint River switch--when government officials blew through all stop signs and orchestrated a financial scheme that allowed a nearly bankrupt Flint to borrow $100 million for a controversial new water system. As brown, smelly water flowed through Flint homes and residents grew sick, politicians intentionally and knowingly allowed Americans to drink poison as they prioritized their own political ambitions and survival. Just when you think the levels of callousness and disregard for the people can't drop any lower, Chariton digs even deeper to expose one of the biggest government cover-ups of the twenty-first century.
We the Poisoned is a cautionary tale about "run-government-like-a-business" leaders who champion privatization and economic development at the expense of the environment, public health, and vulnerable citizens. Perhaps even more important, with water and environmental contamination surging across the US, Chariton's revelations provide a road map for how to fight back and prevent similar tragedies from happening to other communities.
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The Woman Who Lied
"So cleverly plotted and brimming with tension."--Gillian McAllister
"First-rate suspense . . . hard to put down."--Shari Lapena
A bestselling detective novelist and her family are in danger when chilling events from her novels begin happening around her in this gripping thriller from the British sensation--the #1 internationally bestselling author of The Girls Who Disappeared and The Couple at Number 9.
Emilia has a dream life. But someone knows the truth . . .
Emilia Ward lives in suburban London with her husband, their young son, and a teenager from her first marriage. Emilia is an ordinary mom--and she's also the bestselling author of the Miranda Moody detective novels.
But when writing her tenth--and most difficult--book, life takes a disturbing turn: an incident mimicking the plot of one of her novels occurs in real life. Just an unsettling coincidence, right?
Until it happens again. And again.
Then someone she knows dies in the same way as a victim in the book she's currently writing.
Why is someone doing this?
What do they want?
How could they possibly know what she's thinking--and writing?
Is Emilia and her family next?
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When Skies Are Gray
Lindsey Henke is freshly married and a newly practicing psychotherapist when she finds out she is pregnant with her first child. Nine months later, on a cold Minnesota night in December 2012, after a perfect pregnancy, Lindsey goes into labor—only to be told upon arrival at the hospital that her baby has no heartbeat.
After the stillbirth of her daughter, Lindsey grapples with the unbearable agony of losing a child. Unprepared to cope with a sorrow this deep, she uses the only tools she has—her skills as a therapist—to plot her own path through grief. Over the next year and half, as Lindsey mourns the loss of one child while simultaneously trying to hold space for the joy of expecting another baby, she learns that grief can live side by side with joy.
When Skies Are Gray offers a poignant message to any mother who is grieving: Your pain is real. The sharp ache of the grief you feel will soften over time, though your love for the child you lost will always remain. And it’s okay to feel that love; it’s a mother’s love, and like lullabies, a mother’s love never dies.