FICTION
Agent running in the field by John Le Carre. A seasoned solitary figure, in a desperate attempt to resist the new political turbulence swirling around him, makes connections that will take him down a very dangerous path.
All this could be yours by Jami Attenberg. A timely exploration of what it means to be caught in the web of a toxic man who abused his power. It shows how those webs can tangle a family for generations and what it takes to – maybe, hopefully – break free.
Blue moon by Lee Child. Jack Reacher comes to the aid of an elderly couple and confronts his most dangerous opponents yet.
The bromance book club by Lyssa Adams. A baseball player attempts to heal his marriage with the help of his team’s romance-novel book club.
The deserter by Nelson DeMille. This features a brilliant and unorthodox Army investigator, his troubling new partner, and their hunt for the Army’s most notorious – and dangerous – deserter.
Find me by Andre Aciman. In this exploration of the varieties of love, the author of Call Me By Your Name revisits its complex and beguiling characters decades after their first meeting.
Ghoster by Jason Arnopp. A razor-sharp thriller for a social-media obsessed world. Prepare to never look at your phone the same way again….
Holding on to nothing by Elizabeth Shelburne. Brings us a present-day Appalachian story cast without sentiment or cliché, but with a genuine and profound understanding of the place and its people.
I lost my girlish laughter by Jane Allen. This delicious satire of old Hollywood, originally published in 1938 and largely unknown even by cinephiles, gets a welcome reissue.
Kiss the girls and make them cry by Mary Higgins Clark. A journalist sets out to share a #METoo story from her past and discovers that her abuser has become a powerful businessman who will do anything to keep her quiet.
The night fire by Michael Connelly. Harry Bosch and Renee Ballard return to take up a case that held the attention of Bosch’s mentor.
Ninth house by Leigh Bardugo. After mysteriously surviving a multiple homicide, Galaxy Stern comes face to face with dark magic, murder, and more at Yale University.
Nothing to see here by Kevin Wilson. A moving and uproarious novel about a woman who finds meaning in her life when she begins caring for two children with remarkable and disturbing abilities.
Olive, again by Elizabeth Strout. The author continues the life of her beloved Olive Kitteridge, a character who has captured the imaginations of millions of readers.
The revisioners by Margaret Sexton. Here is a bracing window into Southern life and tensions, alternating between two women’s stories set nearly 100 years ago.
Secret Service by Tom Bradby. What if the next British Prime Minister was really a Russian agent?
When she returned by Lucinda Berry. Kate vanished from a parking lot 11 years ago, leaving behind her husband and young daughter. When she shows up at a Montana gas station, clutching an infant and screaming for help, investigators believe she may have been abducted by a cult.
NEW DVDs
The haunting of Hill House (2019) starring Carla Gugino and Elizabeth Reaser
Nevada Smith (1966) starring Steve McQueen and Karl Malden
Discovery of witches (2019) starring Matthew Goode and Teresa Palmer
Ellen – the complete season one (1994) starring Ellen DeGeneres
NEW CDs
Country Music – a film by Ken Burns: the soundtrack
Lover by Taylor Swift
Cuz I love you by Lizzo
NONFICTION
All blood runs red by Phil Keith. The incredible story of the first African American military pilot, who went on to become a Paris nightclub impresario, a spy in the French Resistance, and an American civil rights pioneer.
Blood by Allison Moorer. The singer/songwriter’s memoir may serve as solace for those who’ve faced abuse, a signal for those in it to get out, and an eye-opener for others.
Catch and kill by Ronan Farrow. In a dramatic account of violence and espionage, investigative reporter Farrow exposes serial abuse and a cabal of powerful interests hell-bent on covering up the truth, at any cost.
Good husbandry by Kristin Kimball. Kimball describes the delicious highs and sometimes excruciating lows of life on Essex Farm – a 500 acre farm that produces a full diet for a community of 250 people.
Home now by Cynthia Anderson. In this detailed, sensitive portrait of Lewiston’s revitalization by African immigrants, Anderson expertly captures the multi-layered dynamics between Lewiston natives and African immigrants. The result is a vivid and finely tuned portrait of immigration in America.
If you lived here you’d be home by now by Christopher Ingraham. The hilarious, charming, and candid story of a writer’s decision to uproot his life and move his family to Red Lake Falls, Minnesota, population 1400 – the community he made famous as “the worst place to live in America” in a story he wrote.
In the dream house by Carmen Machado. A revolutionary memoir about domestic abuse. Tracing the full arc of a harrowing relationship with a charismatic but volatile partner, Machado struggles to make sense of how what happened to her shaped the person she was becoming. A revolutionary memoir about domestic abuse.
Janis: her life and music by Holly George-Warren. This blazingly intimate bio establishes the Queen of Rock & Roll as the rule-breaking musical trailblazer and complicated, gender-bending rebel she was.
The less people know about us by Axton Betz-Hamilton. In this true crime memoir, an identity theft expert tells the story of the duplicity and betrayal that inspired her career and nearly destroyed her family after their identities were stolen.
Lonely Planet’s best in travel 2020. It really is a big deal. International Travel publisher, Lonely Planet, has featured Maine as one of this years “Best in Travel” places. Bring on the international tourists !
The movie musical ! by Jeanine Basinger. An in-depth look at the singing, dancing, happy-making world of Hollywood musicals, beautifully illustrated – an essential text for anyone who’s ever laughed, cried, or sung along at the movies.
Running to glory by Sam McManis. A moving account of a champion cross-country team made up primarily of teenager from migrant-worker families.
Scream by Margee Kerr. Kerr takes readers on a journey on which they will experience the world’s most frightening and terrifying places firsthand. As she explores places that make people tremble, she shares her personal dread on each of these destinations, which makes the book ever more captivating.
Sitcommentary by Mark Robinson. From I Love Lucy to Black-ish, sitcoms have often paved the way for social change. It has challenged the public to revisit social mores and reshape how we think about the world we live in.
Touched by the sun by Carly Simon. A chance encounter at a summer party on Martha’s Vineyard blossomed into an improbable but enduring friendship between Simon and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.
The vagina bible by Jen Gunter. OB/GYN, writer for the New York Times and Self magazine, Dr. Jen now delivers the definitive book of vagina health, answering questions you couldn’t find the right answers to.
Vanity Fair’s women on women. These essays about women by women pack a feminist wallop, underscoring the combative resilience of notable women who never gave in to what was expected of them.
Notes from Booklist, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, Library Journal, and New York Times Book Review.