New Releases: July 2023 Edition

Check out these highly anticipated July releases featuring fiction and nonfiction titles. Click on the title to request a copy or get your name on the waitlist. Don’t forget to watch for more featured releases next month!  

FICTION

Carnivale of Curiosities by Aimee Gibbs In Victorian London tickets to a traveling sideshow, the Carnivale of Curiosities, are a hot commodity. Throngs gather nightly to gaze in wonder at an astounding assemblage of marvels. For those few in the know, however, the real magic happens behind the curtain, where for the right price, the show’s proprietor, Aurelius Ashe, can make any wish come true. This unique and dazzling gothic tale is set in a spectacular circus where star-crossed lovers’ destinies are forged at an unexpected price. Intrigued? Author Colson Whitehead calls Carnivale of Curiosities, “wonderfully imagined” and “fiendishly clever.”

 

Small Worlds by Caleb Azumah Nelson This classic coming of age tale set in the West African neighborhoods of South London, tells the story of aspiring trumpet player, Stephen, whose overriding passion for music and dance puts him at odds with his father an ambitious Ghanaian immigrant, who harbors more conventional dreams for his offspring. Nelson’s lovely prose and quietly meditative tone perfectly capture the heat of a city summer, the pulsing beat of a smoky dance club, the intensity of youth, the intimacy of family life, the trauma of intergenerational conflict, and the yearning for freedom from the expectations of others. 

 

The Librarianist by Patrick DeWitt Bob Comet is a retired librarian living a contented life surrounded by books and small comforts, when an unexpected encounter in a grocery store motivates him to volunteer at the local senior center where he is soon surrounded by a host of quirky characters. Gradually the complexities of Comet’s inner life and past adventures are revealed. This poignant and often very funny book celebrates the extraordinary depths hidden in even the most ordinary of lives.

 

NONFICTION

The Country of the Blind: A Memoir at the End of Sight by Andrew Leland Diagnosed with a condition called retinitis pigmentosa as a child, Andrew Leland has long known that he will eventually become totally blind. Leland has used his considerable emotional and intellectual resources to explore the social, cultural, political and, most importantly personal aspects of what it means to become a citizen of “the country of the blind.” He shares his story with abundant wit, warmth and no sentimentality, determined to gain whatever insight he can, into what he maintains is one of the generative experiences of his life. 

 

Bogie and Bacall: The Surprising True Story of Hollywood’s Greatest Love Affair by William J. Mann Actor Humphrey Bogart was forty-five years old, an established star and unhappily married when he met 19-year-old Lauren Bacall on the set of the film To Have or Have Not. Romance ensued; scandal followed and Hollywood pundits predicted that, of course, the couple would not last. They were wrong. Following his divorce, Bogie and Bacall married and they remained together-by all accounts happily-until his death in 1957. In this book, author William Mann offers a comprehensive look at this remarkable love story, capturing all of its complications, contradictions and challenges with sympathy and in great depth.

Random Acts of Medicine: The Hidden Forces that Sway Doctors Impact Patients, and Shape our Health by Dr Anupam P. Jena and Dr Christopher Worsham Why are children more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD at certain times of year than others? Why were Republicans far more likely to die of COVID than Democrats? Are marathons bad for your health even if you do not run?  Is it better to choose an experienced physician or a rookie? These are just a few of the questions addressed by authors Jena and Worsham as they delve into the social, political, economic and cultural factors that help define the landscape of  American healthcare. This is an entertaining and thought-provoking exploration of one of the most critical issues of our time.