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Winter Reading Recommendations

 

Fiction

Fates and Furies 

by Lauren Groff

The story of a marriage over the course of 24 years. Lotto and Mathilde are young, madly in love, destined for reatness. decade later, their marriage is still the envy of their friends, but even more complicated and remarkable than it has seemed.

The Trouble with Goats and Sheep

by Joanna Cannon

In 1976 England, 10-year-olds Grace and Tilly decide to take matters into their own hands after their neighbor goes issing, going door to door in search of clues and soon discovering that everyone on the Avenue has something to hide.

The Orchardist 

by Amanda Coplin

When two feral girls--one of them very pregnant--appear on his homestead, solitary orchardist Talmadge, who carefully ends the grove of fruit trees he has cultivated for nearly half a century, vows to save and protect them.

My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She is Sorry 

by Fredrik Backman

Seven-year-old Elsa’s grandmother dies and leaves behind a series of letters, sending the girl on a journey that brings to life the world of her grandmother’s fairy tales, destined to rule and destroy her enemies.

The Circle 

by Dave Eggers

When Mae is hired to work for the Circle, the world’s most powerful internet company, she feels like she’s lucked out, ut what begins as her story of ambition and idealism soon becomes a heart-racing novel raising questions about privacy, democracy, and the limits of human knowledge.

Razor Girl 

by Carl Hiaasen

Involved in a car accident with a scam artist, a man helplessly watches his life spiral out of control following
bsequent interactions with a sand-stealing company, a mafi a capo, a reality show accordionist, and other eccentric characters.

Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl 

by Mona Awad

Follows Lizzie, a young woman growing up in Mississauga, as she fi ghts her way from fat to thin, but who still, even as a married adult woman, sees herself as a fat girl.

The Golem and the Jinni 

by Helene Wecker

Chava, a golem brought to life by a disgraced rabbi, and Ahmad, a jinni made of fi re, form an unlikely friendship on the treets of New York until a fateful choice changes everything.

Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand 

by Helen Simonson

Forced to confront the realities of 21st century life when he falls in love with widowed Pakistani descendant Mrs. Ali, a etired Major Pettigrew fi nds the relationship challenged by local prejudices that view Mrs. Ali, a Cambridge native, as a perpetual foreigner.

Public Library and Other Stories 

by Ali Smith

A collection that celebrates the power of books and libraries. Includes stories about a woman who debates World War II oet Wilfred Owen with her deceased veteran father and a train passenger whose mind wanders to Greek etymology.

The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend 

by Katarina Bivald

Reminiscent of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, a warm, witty book about friendship, stories, and love.

Silent in the Sanctuary 

by Deanna Raybourn

Returning home to Sussex after a jaunt in Italy, Lady Julia is soon immersed in mystery when one of the guests at her father’s estate is murdered and a member of her family confesses to the crime.

House of Velvet and Glass

 by Katherine Howe

Her Boston family shattered by the deaths of her mother and sister on the Titanic, Sibyl attempts to contact her departed loved ones at a medium’s table before reconnecting with former fl ame Ben, with whom she tackles a harrowing mystery.

Hag-Seed: The Tempest Retold

by Margaret Atwood

A psychologically charged story inspired by Shakespeare’s The Tempest follows the retribution plot of a deposed artistic director who teaches prison inmates while consulting with a fantasy child who has taken the place of the daughter he lost years earlier.

The Crow Girl 

by Erik Axl Sund

A suspenseful psychological thriller in which two women--a police detective and a psychotherapist--are faced with the question: how much suffering can one human being infl ict upon another before he ceases to be human and becomes a monster?

Non-Fiction

Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg 

by Irin Carmon & Shana Knizhnik

In a lively illustrated biography of the feminist icon and legal pioneer, get to know the Supreme Court Justice and fierce Jewish grandmother, who has changed the world despite our struggle with the unfinished business of gender equality and civil rights.

Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption

by Bryan Stevenson

The executive director of a social advocacy group that helped relieve condemned prisoners explains why justice and mercy go hand-in-hand through the story of Walter McMillian, a man condemned to death row for a murder he didn’t commit.

The Art of Stillness: Adventures in Going Nowhere 

by Pico Iyer

Explores why modern-day technology is making people more likely to retreat into solitude and quiet, with growing numbers of people practicing yoga, meditation and tai chi and even taking an “Internet Sabbath” where online connections are shut down for a day.

American Revolutions: A Continental History
 

by Alan Taylor

A history of America’s founding period challenges views about the Revolution’s orderly conduct to illuminate the violence and corruption that prompted national leaders to ratify a frame of government that would consolidate power and restrain unruly state democracies.

The Lion in the Living Room: How House Cats Tamed Us and Took Over the World
 

by Abigail Tucker

Discusses the history of domesticated felines and how they achieved global domination, despite offering humans no practical benefi ts, through researchers who discovered feline bones in the fi rst human settlements and searching for house cats on the loose in Florida.

Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End

by Atul Gawande

A prominent surgeon argues against modern medical practices that extend life at the expense of quality of life while isolating the dying, outlining suggestions for freer, more fulfi lling approaches to death that enable more dignified and comfortable choices.

Milk and Honey 

by Rupi Kaur

A collection of poetry and prose about the experience of violence, abuse, love, loss, and femininity. Takes readers through a journey of life’s most bitter moments and fi nds sweetness in them because there is sweetness everywhere if you are just willing to look.

Emotional Intelligence 2.0 

by Travis Bradberry & Jean Greaves; foreword by Patrick Lencioni

Presents a step-by-step guide for increasing emotional intelligence through four core principles: selfawareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management.

Seven Brief Lessons on Physics 

by Carlo Rovelli

An introduction to modern physics by a founder of the loop quantum gravity theory shares seven succinct lessons on topics ranging from general relativity and quantum mechanics to elementary particles and black holes.

Love Warrior 

by Glennon Doyle Melton

Traces the author’s journey of self-discovery after the dissolution of her marriage, revealing how she found healing by rejecting gender standards and refusing to settle for a “good-enough” life.

Comfort and Joy: Cooking for Two 

by Christina Lane

A collection of small-batch recipes, for every meal of the day, scaled down in size to make only two servings, including pancakes, muffi ns, wraps, soups, pastas, casseroles, fi nger foods, and desserts.

The Five Elements: Understand Yourself and Enhance Your Relationships with the Wisdom of the World’s Oldest Personality Type System


by Dondi Dahlin

Ancient Chinese medical scholars theorized that the universe is composed of fi ve forces: water, wood, fire, earth, and metal. Understanding these elements helps us stay in balance physically, mentally, spiritually, and emotionally, and answer the age-old question
of why we do what we do.

 

 

Book Club in a Bag

If you’ve ever considered starting a book club, summer is the perfect time! Check out a WPL tote bag filled with eight copies of any of the titles below.  A binder with suggested discussion topics and paperwork to stay organized  is included. It’s never been easier!

The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen
Still Alice by Lisa Genova
Outliers the Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell
Life After Life by Kate Atkinson
The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
The Reader by Bernhard Schlink
Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery
The China Study by T. Colin Campbell

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