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Beverly Sills

I've always tried to go a step past wherever people expected me to end up.

Attribution

Beverly Sills

January 15, 2021

And just like that, we are halfway through the month of January!

We watched Alex Trebek’s final episode of "Jeopardy!" last Friday night, and it got me thinking about tsundoku, which was one of the clues/answers. Its definition is “acquiring reading materials, but letting them pile up in one’s home without reading them.” It also refers to books for reading later when they are on a bookshelf. Alex mentioned that he was guilty of this, made all the more sad as he passed away shortly after taping this final episode. I found kinship with him. While I am a very quick reader, there are hundreds of books here at the house that I still want to read. Last night, I did recycle a huge pile of newspapers that I finally admitted I will never get to. While I do not read books online, I do read newspapers online. My husband reads them in print. I also get no magazines here at the house. I know I will not read them. I also read them online, because no, even for $5 a year, I do not want to get Vanity Fair here.

Editorial Content for The Prophets

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Maya Gittelman

Isaiah was Samuel’s and Samuel was Isaiah’s. That was the way it was since the beginning, and the way it was to be until the end. Read More

Teaser

Isaiah was Samuel's and Samuel was Isaiah's. That was the way it was since the beginning, and the way it was to be until the end. In the barn they tended to the animals, but also to each other, transforming the hollowed-out shed into a place of human refuge, a source of intimacy and hope in a world ruled by vicious masters. But when an older man --- a fellow slave --- seeks to gain favor by preaching the master's gospel on the plantation, the enslaved begin to turn on their own. Isaiah and Samuel's love, which was once so simple, is seen as sinful and a clear danger to the plantation's harmony.

Promo

Isaiah was Samuel's and Samuel was Isaiah's. That was the way it was since the beginning, and the way it was to be until the end. In the barn they tended to the animals, but also to each other, transforming the hollowed-out shed into a place of human refuge, a source of intimacy and hope in a world ruled by vicious masters. But when an older man --- a fellow slave --- seeks to gain favor by preaching the master's gospel on the plantation, the enslaved begin to turn on their own. Isaiah and Samuel's love, which was once so simple, is seen as sinful and a clear danger to the plantation's harmony.

About the Book

A singular and stunning debut novel about the forbidden union between two enslaved young men on a Deep South plantation, the refuge they find in each other and a betrayal that threatens their existence.

Isaiah was Samuel's and Samuel was Isaiah's. That was the way it was since the beginning, and the way it was to be until the end. In the barn they tended to the animals, but also to each other, transforming the hollowed-out shed into a place of human refuge, a source of intimacy and hope in a world ruled by vicious masters. But when an older man --- a fellow slave --- seeks to gain favor by preaching the master's gospel on the plantation, the enslaved begin to turn on their own. Isaiah and Samuel's love, which was once so simple, is seen as sinful and a clear danger to the plantation's harmony.

With a lyricism reminiscent of Toni Morrison, Robert Jones, Jr., fiercely summons the voices of slaver and enslaved alike, from Isaiah and Samuel to the calculating slave master to the long line of women that surround them, women who have carried the soul of the plantation on their shoulders. As tensions build and the weight of centuries --- of ancestors and future generations to come --- culminates in a climactic reckoning, THE PROPHETS masterfully reveals the pain and suffering of inheritance, but is also shot through with hope, beauty and truth, portraying the enormous, heroic power of love.

Audiobook available, read by Karen Chilton

Editorial Content for The Breaker: A Peter Ash Novel

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Joe Hartlaub

Nick Petrie certainly has established his bona fides as a thriller author. THE BREAKER is the sixth installment in his Peter Ash series, which follows a troubled and somewhat damaged war veteran who continues to be drawn back into the life, as it were, despite his wish to simply live quietly and be left alone. While this latest entry has a couple of weaknesses, it also contains some of Petrie’s best plotting, characterization and writing to date. It is more than worth your while if you are seeking some unusual edge-of-the-seat thrills. Read More

Teaser

When Peter Ash --- a man wanted by two governments --- spots a suspicious armed man walking into a crowded market, he knows he can't stand by and do nothing. The young gunman appeared to have one target and one mission, but when he escapes, it seems there is more to the encounter than meets the eye. Peter's hunch is proven correct when a powerful associate from his past appears with an interest in the crime, and an irresistible offer: if he and his girlfriend June solve this mystery, Peter's record will be scrubbed clean. While Peter and his friend Lewis trace the gunman, reporter June digs into the victim of the incident, a man whose face rings a bell in her memory.

Promo

When Peter Ash --- a man wanted by two governments --- spots a suspicious armed man walking into a crowded market, he knows he can't stand by and do nothing. The young gunman appeared to have one target and one mission, but when he escapes, it seems there is more to the encounter than meets the eye. Peter's hunch is proven correct when a powerful associate from his past appears with an interest in the crime, and an irresistible offer: if he and his girlfriend June solve this mystery, Peter's record will be scrubbed clean. While Peter and his friend Lewis trace the gunman, reporter June digs into the victim of the incident, a man whose face rings a bell in her memory.

About the Book

Peter Ash tangles with dangerous enemies and terrifying technology in the newest thriller from bestselling author Nick Petrie.

A man wanted by two governments, Peter Ash has found a simple, low-profile life in Milwaukee, living with his girlfriend June and renovating old buildings with his friend Lewis. Staying out of trouble is the key to preserving this fragile peace, but when Peter spots a suspicious armed man walking into a crowded market, he knows he can’t stand by and do nothing.

Peter does interrupt a crime, but it wasn’t at all what he’d expected. The young gunman appeared to have one target and one mission --- but when he escapes, and his victim vanishes before police arrive, it seems there is more to the encounter than meets the eye. Peter’s hunch is proven correct when a powerful associate from his past appears with an interest in the crime, and an irresistible offer: if he and June solve this mystery, Peter’s record will be scrubbed clean.

While Peter and Lewis trace the gunman, reporter June digs into the victim of the incident, a man whose face rings a bell in her memory. As their parallel investigations draw together, they’re thrust into the path of a ruthless tech thief, an eerily cheerful assassin, a brilliant and troubled inventor, and a revolutionary technology that could wreak devastation in the wrong hands. But for Peter, even more is at stake: this investigation is his only path to a life free from the threat of prosecution or prison. Before the end, he’ll have to fight harder than ever before to ensure that freedom doesn’t come at too high a cost.

Audiobook available, read by Stephen Mendel

Editorial Content for Nick

Book

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Stuart Shiffman

New Year’s Eve celebrations were severely limited by the pandemic. There were no huge crowds in Times Square or large gatherings in venues around the world. But in the literary world, 2021 marked a great celebration. On the first day of each year, a new collection of published works will enter the US public domain, which means that anyone can use, adapt or build upon them without having to pay royalty fees. Copyright protection was originally 75 years, but as the 20th century came to a close, Congress extended it to 95 years for works published between 1923 and 1977. Read More

Teaser

Before Nick Carraway moved to West Egg and into Gatsby's periphery, he was at the center of a very different story --- one taking place along the trenches and deep within the tunnels of World War I. Floundering in the wake of the destruction he witnessed firsthand, Nick delays his return home, hoping to escape the questions he cannot answer about the horrors of war. Instead, he embarks on a transcontinental redemptive journey that takes him from a whirlwind Paris romance --- doomed from the very beginning --- to the dizzying frenzy of New Orleans, rife with its own flavor of debauchery and violence.

Promo

Before Nick Carraway moved to West Egg and into Gatsby's periphery, he was at the center of a very different story --- one taking place along the trenches and deep within the tunnels of World War I. Floundering in the wake of the destruction he witnessed firsthand, Nick delays his return home, hoping to escape the questions he cannot answer about the horrors of war. Instead, he embarks on a transcontinental redemptive journey that takes him from a whirlwind Paris romance --- doomed from the very beginning --- to the dizzying frenzy of New Orleans, rife with its own flavor of debauchery and violence.

About the Book

A critically acclaimed novelist pulls Nick Carraway out of the shadows and into the spotlight in this "masterful" look into his life before Gatsby (Richard Russo, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of EMPIRE FALLS and CHANCES ARE…).

Before Nick Carraway moved to West Egg and into Gatsby's periphery, he was at the center of a very different story-one taking place along the trenches and deep within the tunnels of World War I.

Floundering in the wake of the destruction he witnessed firsthand, Nick delays his return home, hoping to escape the questions he cannot answer about the horrors of war. Instead, he embarks on a transcontinental redemptive journey that takes him from a whirlwind Paris romance --- doomed from the very beginning --- to the dizzying frenzy of New Orleans, rife with its own flavor of debauchery and violence.

An epic portrait of a truly singular era and a sweeping, romantic story of self-discovery, this rich and imaginative novel breathes new life into a character that many know but few have pondered deeply. Charged with enough alcohol, heartbreak and profound yearning to paralyze even the heartiest of golden age scribes, NICK reveals the man behind the narrator who has captivated readers for decades.

Audiobook available, read by Robert Petkoff

Editorial Content for The House on Vesper Sands

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Kate Ayers

Cambridge student Gideon Bliss is summoned to London at the behest of his uncle and guardian. Arriving late at the address, and weary from the long train ride, Gideon finds no one at home. It is 1893, and strangers don’t look kindly on the penniless roaming the streets at night. Gideon’s uncle has not been generous, so his pockets are empty. He believes himself fortunate when he finds an open door at a church, where he can take shelter until morning. Groping in the dark, Gideon discovers a girl lying at the altar, drugged and fading fast. Read More

Teaser

London, 1893: High up in a house on a dark, snowy night, a lone seamstress stands by a window. So begins the swirling, serpentine world of Paraic O’Donnell’s Victorian-inspired mystery, the story of a city cloaked in shadow, but burning with questions: Why does the seamstress jump from the window? Why is a cryptic message stitched into her skin? And how is she connected to a rash of missing girls, all of whom seem to have disappeared under similar circumstances? On the case is Inspector Cutter, a detective as sharp and committed to his work as he is wryly hilarious. Gideon Bliss, a Cambridge dropout in love with one of the missing girls, stumbles into a role as Cutter’s sidekick. And clever young journalist Octavia Hillingdon sees the case as a chance to tell a story that matters.

Promo

London, 1893: High up in a house on a dark, snowy night, a lone seamstress stands by a window. So begins the swirling, serpentine world of Paraic O’Donnell’s Victorian-inspired mystery, the story of a city cloaked in shadow, but burning with questions: Why does the seamstress jump from the window? Why is a cryptic message stitched into her skin? And how is she connected to a rash of missing girls, all of whom seem to have disappeared under similar circumstances? On the case is Inspector Cutter, a detective as sharp and committed to his work as he is wryly hilarious. Gideon Bliss, a Cambridge dropout in love with one of the missing girls, stumbles into a role as Cutter’s sidekick. And clever young journalist Octavia Hillingdon sees the case as a chance to tell a story that matters.

About the Book

London, 1893: High up in a house on a dark, snowy night, a lone seamstress stands by a window. So begins the swirling, serpentine world of Paraic O’Donnell’s Victorian-inspired mystery, the story of a city cloaked in shadow, but burning with questions: Why does the seamstress jump from the window? Why is a cryptic message stitched into her skin? And how is she connected to a rash of missing girls, all of whom seem to have disappeared under similar circumstances?

On the case is Inspector Cutter, a detective as sharp and committed to his work as he is wryly hilarious. Gideon Bliss, a Cambridge dropout in love with one of the missing girls, stumbles into a role as Cutter’s sidekick. And clever young journalist Octavia Hillingdon sees the case as a chance to tell a story that matters --- despite her employer’s preference that she stick to a women’s society column. As Inspector Cutter peels back the mystery layer by layer, he leads them all, at last, to the secrets that lie hidden at the house on Vesper Sands.

By turns smart, surprising and impossible to put down, THE HOUSE ON VESPER SANDS offers a glimpse into the strange undertow of late-19th-century London and the secrets we all hold inside us.

Audiobook available, read by Charles Armstrong

Editorial Content for Summerwater

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Sarah Rachel Egelman

There is not much action but a building sense of menace that is hard to pinpoint in Sarah Moss’ new novel, SUMMERWATER. At first blush, this slim book is a series of character studies, and it is successful just as that. However, Moss drops hints here and there that something will go awry at the Scottish holiday park where her characters are vacationing. Read More

Teaser

They rarely speak to each other, but they take notice --- watching from the safety of their cabins, making judgments from what little they know of their temporary neighbors. At daylight, a mother races up the mountain, fleeing into her precious dose of solitude. A retired man studies her return as he reminisces about the park’s better days. A young woman wonders about his politics as she sees him head for a drive with his wife. A teenage boy escapes the scrutiny of his family, braving the dark waters of the loch in a kayak. This cascade of perspective shows each wrapped up in personal concerns as they begin to notice one particular family that doesn’t seem to belong. Tensions rise, until nightfall brings an irrevocable turn.

Promo

They rarely speak to each other, but they take notice --- watching from the safety of their cabins, making judgments from what little they know of their temporary neighbors. At daylight, a mother races up the mountain, fleeing into her precious dose of solitude. A retired man studies her return as he reminisces about the park’s better days. A young woman wonders about his politics as she sees him head for a drive with his wife. A teenage boy escapes the scrutiny of his family, braving the dark waters of the loch in a kayak. This cascade of perspective shows each wrapped up in personal concerns as they begin to notice one particular family that doesn’t seem to belong. Tensions rise, until nightfall brings an irrevocable turn.

About the Book

The acclaimed author of GHOST WALL offers a new, devastating, masterful novel of subtle menace.

They rarely speak to each other, but they take notice --- watching from the safety of their cabins, peering into the half-lit drizzle of a Scottish summer day, making judgments from what little they know of their temporary neighbors. On the longest day of the year, the hours pass nearly imperceptibly as 12 people go from being strangers to bystanders to allies, their attention forced into action as tragedy sneaks into their lives.

At daylight, a mother races up the mountain, fleeing into her precious dose of solitude. A retired man studies her return as he reminisces about the park’s better days. A young woman wonders about his politics as she sees him head for a drive with his wife, and tries to find a moment away from her attentive boyfriend. A teenage boy escapes the scrutiny of his family, braving the dark waters of the loch in a kayak. This cascade of perspective shows each wrapped up in personal concerns, unknown to each other, as they begin to notice one particular family that doesn’t seem to belong. Tensions rise, until nightfall brings an irrevocable turn.

From Sarah Moss, the acclaimed author of GHOST WALL --- a “riveting” (Alison Hagy, The New York Times Book Review) “sharp tale of suspense” (Margaret Tablot, The New Yorker), SUMMERWATER is a searing exploration of our capacity for kinship and cruelty, and a gorgeous evocation of the natural world that bears eternal witness.

Audiobook available, read by Morven Christie

Editorial Content for Bryant & May: Oranges and Lemons

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Joe Hartlaub

Anyone who enjoys reading should have the complete set of Bryant & May books within arm’s reach at all times. There is literally something for everyone in each volume of this clever, informative and entertaining series. Christopher Fowler was already a veteran craftsman when he created this wondrous British sub-universe a couple of decades ago, and somehow he meets and exceeds expectations with each new installment. It doesn’t get any better than this. Read More

Teaser

On a spring morning in London’s Strand, the Speaker of the House of Commons is nearly killed by a van. It’s an absurd near-death experience, but the government is more interested in investigating the Speaker’s state of mind just prior to his accident. The task is given to the Peculiar Crimes Unit --- the only problem being that the unit no longer exists. Against impossible odds, the team is reassembled, and once again what should be a simple case becomes a lunatic farrago involving arson, suicide, magicians, academics, and a race to catch a killer with a master plan involving London churches. Joining their team this time is Sidney, a young woman with no previous experience, plenty of attitude --- and a surprising secret.

Promo

On a spring morning in London’s Strand, the Speaker of the House of Commons is nearly killed by a van. It’s an absurd near-death experience, but the government is more interested in investigating the Speaker’s state of mind just prior to his accident. The task is given to the Peculiar Crimes Unit --- the only problem being that the unit no longer exists. Against impossible odds, the team is reassembled, and once again what should be a simple case becomes a lunatic farrago involving arson, suicide, magicians, academics, and a race to catch a killer with a master plan involving London churches. Joining their team this time is Sidney, a young woman with no previous experience, plenty of attitude --- and a surprising secret.

About the Book

When a prominent politician is crushed by a fruit van making a delivery, the singular team of Arthur Bryant and John May overcome insurmountable odds to reunite the PCU and solve the case in this brainy new mystery from acclaimed author Christopher Fowler.

On a spring morning in London’s Strand, the Speaker of the House of Commons is nearly killed by a van unloading oranges and lemons for the annual St. Clement Danes celebration. It’s an absurd near-death experience, but the government is more interested in investigating the Speaker’s state of mind just prior to his accident.

The task is given to the Peculiar Crimes Unit --- the only problem being that the unit no longer exists. Its chief, Raymond Land, is tending his daffodils on the Isle of Wight and senior detectives Arthur Bryant and John May are out of commission --- May has just undergone surgery for a bullet wound and Bryant has been missing for a month. What's more, their old office in King’s Cross is being turned into a vegetarian tapas bar.

Against impossible odds, the team is reassembled, and once again what should be a simple case becomes a lunatic farrago involving arson, suicide, magicians, academics, and a race to catch a killer with a master plan involving London churches. Joining their team this time is Sidney, a young woman with no previous experience, plenty of attitude --- and a surprising secret.

Editorial Content for A Stranger at the Door

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Ray Palen

“Had Linklater known the date and manner of his death, he would have tried to squeeze as much happiness into his relatively short life as possible before it was taken from him with an unimaginable amount of pain and terror.” Read More

Teaser

When Rachel Marin discovers an ominous email that her teenaged son’s teacher sent to her just before he was killed, she knows she must help bring the perpetrator to justice. But soon a figure from her past reappears, threatening to expose Rachel’s darkest secrets if she doesn’t tread lightly. And when her son is recruited by a shadowy businessman who may be connected to the murder, Rachel knows this has just gotten very, very personal. Someone out there is dead set on keeping this grisly cover-up good and buried, which means if Rachel isn’t careful, it’s only a matter of time before her dream life becomes her worst nightmare.

Promo

When Rachel Marin discovers an ominous email that her teenaged son’s teacher sent to her just before he was killed, she knows she must help bring the perpetrator to justice. But soon a figure from her past reappears, threatening to expose Rachel’s darkest secrets if she doesn’t tread lightly. And when her son is recruited by a shadowy businessman who may be connected to the murder, Rachel knows this has just gotten very, very personal. Someone out there is dead set on keeping this grisly cover-up good and buried, which means if Rachel isn’t careful, it’s only a matter of time before her dream life becomes her worst nightmare.

About the Book

From the Amazon bestselling author of HIDE AWAY comes the gripping second installment of the Rachel Marin thriller series.

Rachel Marin is in a good place. After years of struggle, the single mother has found both a stable, loving relationship and a new purpose: putting her investigative skills to work solving crimes for the local PD. But just as the pieces of her life are finally starting to fall into place, her teenaged son’s teacher is gruesomely murdered, starting a domino effect that shatters her peaceful existence.

When Rachel discovers an ominous email the teacher sent to her just before his death, she knows she must help bring his killer to justice. But soon a figure from her past reappears, threatening to expose Rachel’s darkest secrets if she doesn’t tread lightly. And when her son is recruited by a shadowy businessman who may be connected to the murder, Rachel knows this has just gotten very, very personal.

Someone out there is dead set on keeping this grisly cover-up good and buried, which means if Rachel’s not careful, it’s only a matter of time before her dream life becomes her worst nightmare.

Audiobook available, read by Angela Dawe

Editorial Content for Dear Miss Kopp: A Kopp Sisters Novel

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Norah Piehl

Amy Stewart is as well-known for her nonfiction writing as she is for her historical fiction. Her Kopp Sisters series, in fact, started with a tantalizing anecdote from a historical newspaper. As she points out in the lengthy and intriguing author’s notes that accompany each volume, she has endeavored to stick to the facts (as much as those facts are known) of her characters’ fascinating true biographies. Read More

Teaser

The U.S. has finally entered World War I. Constance is chasing down suspected German saboteurs and spies for the Bureau of Investigation, while Fleurette is traveling across the country entertaining troops with song and dance. Meanwhile, at an undisclosed location in France, Norma is overseeing her thwarted pigeon project for the Army Signal Corps. When Aggie, a nurse at the American field hospital, is accused of stealing essential medical supplies, the intrepid Norma is on the case to find the true culprit. The far-flung sisters --- separated for the first time in their lives --- correspond with news of their days. The world has irrevocably changed. Will they be content to return to the New Jersey farm when the war is over?

Promo

The U.S. has finally entered World War I. Constance is chasing down suspected German saboteurs and spies for the Bureau of Investigation, while Fleurette is traveling across the country entertaining troops with song and dance. Meanwhile, at an undisclosed location in France, Norma is overseeing her thwarted pigeon project for the Army Signal Corps. When Aggie, a nurse at the American field hospital, is accused of stealing essential medical supplies, the intrepid Norma is on the case to find the true culprit. The far-flung sisters --- separated for the first time in their lives --- correspond with news of their days. The world has irrevocably changed. Will they be content to return to the New Jersey farm when the war is over?

About the Book

The indomitable Kopp sisters are tested at home and abroad in this warm and witty tale of wartime courage and camaraderie.

The U.S. has finally entered World War I. Constance is chasing down suspected German saboteurs and spies for the Bureau of Investigation, while Fleurette is traveling across the country entertaining troops with song and dance. Meanwhile, at an undisclosed location in France, Norma is overseeing her thwarted pigeon project for the Army Signal Corps. When Aggie, a nurse at the American field hospital, is accused of stealing essential medical supplies, the intrepid Norma is on the case to find the true culprit.

The far-flung sisters --- separated for the first time in their lives --- correspond with news of their days. The world has irrevocably changed. Will the sisters be content to return to the New Jersey farm when the war is over?

Told through letters, DEAR MISS KOPP weaves the stories of real life women into a rich fiction brimming with the historical detail and humor that are hallmarks of the series, proving once again that “any novel that features the Kopp Sisters is going to be a riotous, unforgettable adventure” (Bustle).

Audiobook available, read by Christina Moore