Another Friday, and another round of five new books on our shelves for your weekend reading delight. As the official First Day of Summer draws ever nearer, various publishing institutions, literary magazines, and news outlets are releasing their lists of “must-reads” and favorites for the summer, a number of which are currently gracing our shelves. So come in soon, and see for yourself what all the fuss is about!
In The Country: Stories: Publisher’s Weekly listed this as one of their Best Summer Books for 2015, saying “Each story in Alvar’s debut collection feels as rich, as deep, and as crafted as a novel”. Mia Alvar takes readers around the world in this volume, setting stories from Tokyo to Milan, and covers a range of decades, while focusing on the fate of her largely Filipino characters. All reviews are marveling over the depth in these tales, and how much feeling that Alvar pours into her short stories, making each story into a fully-realized journey.
The Sunlit Night: A Novel: Rebecca Dinerstein’s novel is set in a very remote area of Norway, and while so many novels and films focus on the darkness of these areas, Dinerstein instead forms a tale around the summertime period, where the sun never sets. Bustle.com was blown away by this story of a long-lost mother and daughter who meet in the remote Arctic village, saying “The sites are picturesque, the love is real, and anything can happen. You’ll just have to read about it to find out what actually does.”
Daughter of Deep Silence: The new adult genre continues to grow, develop, and challenge all our preconceptions, and Carrie Ryan’s new release is a striking example of this trend. Only three people survived the destruction of the luxury yacht Persephone, but none of them will tell the same truth about what truly happened on board. Frances Mace will do anything to avenge the death of her parents, but will revenge set her free from her past, or make her into the kind of monsters she is trying to fight? RT Book Reviews rated this book one of their top picks for the month, saying it is “an intriguing blend of subterfuge and brutal possibilities” that will appeal to readers of any age.
The Truth According to Us: Annie Barrows is already beloved by fans for her co-authored book, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, and this independent work brings readers into the heart of a quirky, small town in 1938, when Layla Beck’s father, a wealthy senator, cuts off her allowance and demands that she seek an income from the newly-established Works Progress Administration. Forced to live in a boarding house in Macedonia, West Virginia, Layla becomes enmeshed in the lives–and secrets–of those around her. USA Today listed this book as one of the 25 Hot Books for Summer, and critics seem to be pretty universal in their praise for this little gem of a novel.
Being Nixon: A Man Divided: Having tried over the course of this past semester, I can say from experience that there is no easy way to teach people about Richard Nixon, or his complicated presidency. But rather than try and simplify this man, Evan Thomas embraces Nixon’s many complexities and odd habits. In an editorial in The Atlantic, Thomas said “His struggle is a compelling, dramatic story, and it made me want to learn more.” It seems like that desire translates very well into this new biography, bringing new insight to one of the most perennially controversial figures in the history of the American presidency.
Safe travels, and happy reading, beloved patrons!