FICTION
American dirt by Jeanine Cummins. Intensely suspenseful and deeply humane, this novel makes migrants seeking to cross the southern US border indelibly individual.
The bells of hell by Michael Kurland. A counter-intelligence agent recruits a number of civilians to help foil a suspected terrorist attack by German spies in New York in 1938.
The better liar by Tanen Jones. When a woman conceals her sister’s death to claim their joint inheritance, her deception exposes a web of dangerous secrets.
The blaze by Chad Dundas. One man knows the connection between two extraordinary acts of arson, fifteen years apart, in his Montana hometown – if only he could remember it.
Hindsight by Iris Johansen. Investigator Kendra Michaels whose former blindness has left her with uniquely insightful observation skills – must put her life on the line to catch a murderer setting his sights on some of society’s most vulnerable.
House on fire by Joseph Finder. Private investigator Nick Heller infiltrates a powerful and wealthy pharmaceutical family hiding something sinister.
The long petal of the sea by Isabel Allende. This epic spans decades and crosses continents following two young people as they flee the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War in search of a place to call home.
The poison garden by Alex Marwood. Insidious secrets and chilling revelations surround a mysterious cult.
Recipe for a perfect wife by Karma Brown. A modern-day woman finds inspiration in hidden notes left by her home’s previous owner, a quintessential 1950s housewife.
Such a fun age by Kiley Reid. A story of race and privilege, this is set around a young black babysitter, her well-intentioned employer, and a surprising connection that threatens to undo them both.
To the edge of sorrow by Aharon Appelfeld. A haunting novel about an unforgettable group of Jewish partisans fighting the Nazis during World War II.
Trouble in mind by Michael Wiley. As a result of being shot in the head while working undercover, Sam Kelson suffers from two unusual brain conditions: disinhibition, causing him to speak only the truth, and autopagnosia which makes him unable to recognize himself in a mirror.
The vanishing by Jayne Ann Krentz. Decades ago in the small town of Fogg Lake, The Incident occurred: an explosion in the cave system that released unknown gasses. The residents slept for 2 days. When they woke up they discovered that things had changed – they had changed.
Westering women by Sandra Dallas. This focuses on a motley group of women who form a bond traveling to California on the Overland Trail. Readers will enjoy this modern take on the journey West that’s rife with girl power.
The wife and the widow by Christian White. Set against the backdrop of an eerie island town in the dead of winter, this takes you to a cliff edge and asks the question: how well do we really know the people we love?
MUSIC CDs
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road by Elton John
DVDs
Downton Abbey (2019) starring Hugh Bonneville, Maggie Smith, and Jim Carter
Judy (2019) starring Renee Zellweger
The Rainmaker (1956) starring Burt Lancaster and Katharine Hepburn
The Ring (2002) starring Naomi Watts
The talk of the town (1942) starring Cary Grant, Jean Arthur, and Ronald Coleman
Tales from the Crypt / Vault of Horror (1972) starring Ralph Richardson and Joan Collins
NONFICTION
The baby decision by Merle Bombardieri. This is a clear, compassionate guide to making a parenting or childfree decision with confidence.
Boys and sex by Peggy Orenstein. The author interviews young men on hookups, love, porn, consent, and navigating the new masculinity, offering both an examination of sexual culture and a guide on how to improve it.
Falling into joy by Conni Ponturo. This is a book about joy and how to get it and keep it in our lives. It is all simpler than we are making it out to be. We just need to take the small steps towards it.
The in-betweens by Mira Ptacin. A young writer travels to Etna, Maine to tell the unusual story of America’s longest running camp devoted to mysticism and the world beyond.
Lands of lost borders by Kate Harris. She and a friend covered 10 countries during a 10 month bike journey from Istanbul to India. While retracing the path of the ancient Silk Road trade route, they contend with Himalayan-sized hill climbs, unforgiving landscapes, and surly officials.
Life in medieval Europe by Daniele Cybulskie. Fact and fiction: what did people actually eat? Were they really filthy? And did they ever get to marry for love? All this and more.
Llewellyn’s complete book of lucid dreaming by Clare Johnson. A comprehensive guide to promote creativity, overcome sleep disturbances & enhance health and wellness.
Modern flexitarian. Plant-inspired recipes you can flex to add fish, meat, or dairy.
Never get angry again by David Lieberman. A comprehensive and holistic look at the underlying emotional, physical, and spiritual causes of anger, and what the reader can do to gain perspective, allowing them to never get angry again.
Nothing fancy by Alison Roman. This helps you nail dinner with unfussy food, unstuffy vibes, and the permission to be imperfect.
Quit like a woman by Holly Whitaker. The radical choice to not drink in a culture obsessed with alcohol.
The third rainbow girl by Emma Eisenberg. An investigation of the murder of two young women – showing how a violent crime casts a shadow over an entire community. It follows this crime through the complex history of Appalachia, forming a searing portrait of America – its divisions of gender and class, and of its violence.
Tightrope: Americans reaching for hope by Nicholas Kristof. This issues a plea – deeply personal and told through the lives of real Americans – to address the crisis in working class America, while focusing on solutions to mend a half century of governmental failure.
Tiny habits by B.J. Fogg. The expert on habit formations show how you can have a happier, healthier life – by starting small.
Travels with myself and another by Martha Gellhorn. Dry wit and plenty of whiskey buoyed Gellhorn during terrifying flights, insect-infested hotel rooms, and tropical disease as she chased stories across the globe.
The unique states of America. This takes us on a journey across the states to discover the country’s most iconic – and unique – destinations and experiences.
The valleys of the assassins by Freya Stark. She blazed across the Middle East in the 1920s and 1930s searching for the legendary mountain home of the Assassins, a warrior sect that defied both crusaders and caliphs.
Welcome to the goddamn ice cube by Blair Braverman. Chasing adventure, the author left her California hometown at 19 for dogsledding school in the Norwegian Arctic. Her vivid account offers plenty of thrills and high-flying danger from Norwegian snowdrifts to Alaskan glaciers.
The yellow house by Sarah Broom. An unforgettable memoir about the inexorable pull of home and family, set in a shotgun house in New Orleans East.
New Children’s Books
PICTURE BOOKS
Between us and Abuela: a family story from the border by Mitali Perkins
Frida Kahlo and her animalitos by Monica Brown
I’m not Millie! by Mark Pett
Ida and the whale by Rebecca Gugger
The Invisible Leash by Patrice Karst
Moth by Isabel Thomas
Skulls! by Blair Thornburgh
The way I act by Steve Metzger
CHAPTER BOOKS
Spies: James Armistead Lafayette by Kyandreia Jones
Spies: Mata Hari by Katherine Factor
Talking leaves by Joseph Bruchac
Terror on the Titanic by Jim Wallace
GRAPHIC NOVELS
The brain: the ultimate thinking machine by Tory Woollcott
Cats: nature and nurture by Andy Hirsch
Flying machines: how the Wright brothers soared by Alison Wilgus
Polar bears: survival on the ice by Jason Viola
Rockets: defying gravity by Anne Drozd
Skyscrapers: the heights of engineering by John Kerschbaum
Wild weather: storms, meteorology, and climate by M.K. Reed
Wings of fire: the hidden kingdom by Tui Sutherland
NONFICTION
2020 Maine summer camps: real kids – real camps – real Maine! by Maine Youth Camping Foundation
Animal by Smithsonian
Animals up close by DK
Are you what you eat? by DK
The Bermuda Triangle by Elizabeth Noll
Bigfoot by Elizabeth Noll
Cells : an owner’s handbook by Carolyn Fisher
Cooking class global feast!: 44 recipes that celebrate the world’s cultures by Deanna Cook
Do all Indians live in tipis? by Smithsonian Books
ESP by Elizabeth Noll
Ghosts by Elizabeth Noll
Haunted places by Elizabeth Noll
How did I get here? by Philip Bunting
Human body by Smithsonian
Human body: [a book with guts!] by Dan Green
Science by Smithsonian
The science of poop and farts by Alex Woolf
The science of scabs and pus by Ian Graham
The science of snot and phlegm by Fiona Macdonald
UFOs by Elizabeth Noll
Wait, rest, pause: dormancy in nature by Marcie Atkins
Notes from Booklist, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, Library Journal, and New York Times Book Review.