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Jurassic Park theme song.

The acclaimed author of Red Clocks returns with a biting, lyrical novel about an intergenerational group home run by an ex-musician determined to make a place for those without one

On a bluff above a river rises The House, where elderly and disabled residents live alongside young people who help out in exchange for free rent. The community is led by a former punk singer who never wanted to be responsible for anyone yet now finds herself the caretaker of this precarious collection of lives. It’s not a family, exactly, but it’s got the complicated, sometimes painful, sometimes hilarious, dynamics of kinship.

When two kids—Nola and her little cousin James—show up on The House’s back porch in need of refuge, the whole experiment is thrown into question. All are welcome here, or that was the idea. But the authorities are looking for these children, and The House’s finances are teetering on the edge. 

Zumas’s long-anticipated third novel wrestles with America’s crisis of care in a taut, aching, polyphonic tale that moves as fast as the crackling comebacks that fly between The House’s residents over breakfast. As the rules of the outside world start to press in on this safe haven, readers will find themselves asking, what would the world look like if everyone had a place to belong?

Wolf Bells By Leni Zumas, Read By Jenn Lee

“Heart-pounding, illuminating, and ominously timeless” (Gina Frangello), this honest and poignant memoir reflects on a woman’s escape from a violent marriage and what it cost to protect her and her family’s safety. 

“Once upon a time, I disappeared.” So begins Karen Palmer’s harrowing and redemptive memoir, She’s Under Here.
 
In 1989, shortly after her second marriage, Palmer and her new husband quit their jobs without notice. They pulled her two young daughters out of school and buckled them into the rear seat of a used car purchased with cash. The trunk was packed with clothing and toys, pillows and blankets, four place settings, one pot, one pan, and a sack that contained every penny they had. Living with the fear of Palmer’s dangerous ex-husband had become untenable: This was DIY witness protection.
 
In this searingly honest and heartwrenching account, Palmer examines why she ended up trapped, how she escaped, and the ongoing perils of life constructed around a false identity. She ruthlessly explores the lines between desire and fear, victim and perpetrator, captivity and freedom, and exposes myriad aspects of what it means to make difficult choices as a woman, when none of the options are good. She’s Under Here is a haunting meditation on themes of disappearance, betrayal, and private violence, and it is utterly unforgettable.

She’s Under Here By Karen Palmer

Take a deep dive into the shadows and light of one of the most subversive, corrosively funny, and beloved suspense thriller masterworks as author Stephen Rebello unravels for the very first time the tense and drama-filled story of the making Alfred Hitchcock's Strangers on a Train.

As  entertaining as it is to watch Strangers on a Train, so too is the previously untold backstory that packs all the suspense, drama, and twists of a thriller. After all, what are the hallmarks of a great Hitchcock movie? A larger-than-life, complex cast of characters, each with something to prove, lose, or hide. Check. Tremendous risk, outsized conflict, and emotion as those men and women confront challenges off the set. Check. Feuds, deceptions, unlikely alliances, and double-crosses. Check. Coming off a 5-year-string of flops, Alfred Hitchcock gambled big on adapting Patricia Highsmith's debut novel, which critics called  “preposterous” and “unconvincing," in addition to “unsavory,” and “sick” (1950s code words for “gay” and “perverted”). Each step of the production was fraught with battles, but Hitchcock masterfully stayed two steps ahead of his opponents as he fought to bring his vision to life. Strangers on a Train became not only a creative high-water mark and box-office smash for Hitchcock, but also kicked off his unmatched decade of classics including Dial M for Murder, Rear Window, Vertigo, North by Northwest, and Psycho.  

Richly documented, meticulously researched, and stylishly written, Criss-Cross is more than an authoritative film book. It is a portrait of an especially politically paranoid, misogynistic, and homophobic era in America, a time of dramatic transition in the entertainment industry, and a day of reckoning for Alfred Hitchcock and a few other talents with whom he made a dark, resonant, and prescient work of art.

Criss-Cross By Stephen Rebello, Read By Jefferson Mays

Ready Player One meets Heartstopper in this “fun, fast, and fabulous read” (M. K. England) as a myth-loving video game player competing in a tournament with his gamer friends and handsome crush discovers there isn't a cheat code to life—or love. 

In the real world, Keegan Thomas is a gay, eighteen-year-old mythology nerd with undiagnosed chronic pain. But in the myth-inspired, online video game world of Pantheonic, he is the glorious and powerful K.Odyssia, slaying legions of enemies and completing quests for honor and glory along with his team, the Epic Hearts. Despite his closeness to his gamer friends--and the secret crush he has on his teammate, Alix--no one knows that he is struggling with the sudden onset of chronic pain in his lower back and fears it will hinder his ability to move to NYU in the fall. 

When a quest in Pantheonic turns out to be a secret invitation to an in-person tournament in New York City, Keegan has to battle his fears of concealing and managing his pain so that his team can attend this once-in-a-lifetime event. Competing against six other teams, members of the Epic Hearts must work together to outwit and outplay the others to win the tournament and the hefty cash prize. But can Keegan as K.Odyssia be one of the heroes that Pantheonic needs while he's laser-focused on his own epic battle? Will he be able to level up his relationship with Alix and lead his team to victory? It's time for the games to begin!

Love and Video Games By Zachary Sergi, Read By Jason June

In this officially licensed collection, Marvel Comics heroes Thor and Loki regale us with engaging and fantastical retellings of the classic tales of Norse mythology.

It’s a beautiful day in New York City and the Avengers have arranged a surprise birthday picnic for Peter Parker in Central Park—but the celebration is violently interrupted when a menacing rainbow suddenly crystalizes in the sky, dumping a shellshocked Thor and Loki into the middle of the party with a loud crash. The Avengers swiftly decamp to Stark Tower, where Doctor Strange freezes time to give the heroes a chance to regroup and formulate a plan. Thor and Loki warn the group that Ragnorok, the end of the world, has come, but before they can take action against it, they must understand how the world began.

Thus, the brothers begin the age-old Norse tradition of storytelling. As they verbally joust, spar, and one-up each other over who can spin the most outlandish yarn, Thor and Loki weave the sagas of their people including: The Creation of Man, How Odin Lost His Eye, The Theft of Thor's Hammer, Freyja's Beautiful Necklace, Thor and Geirrod the Giant, Sif's Golden Hair, and many more. They recount the ancient stories of the Nine Realms, the first humans Ask and Embla, and the sacred tree, Yggdrasil. In recounting each tale, the brothers aim to bring the cosmos closer to salvation.

A brilliant melding of the Marvel Comic universe with traditional Norse Mythology, illustrated throughout with full-color plates and black-and-white art, Thor & Loki is a must-read for Marvel fans and mythology lovers alike.

Thor & Loki By Delilah S. Dawson, Read By Cliff Miller

Two of America’s most revered ancient nutrition experts combine forces to give you a holistic plan for creating lasting health and well-being.
 
In this breakthrough book, New York Times bestselling authors and nutrition experts Jordan Rubin and Dr. Josh Axe offer a simple and holistic plan for building strength, health, and longevity. Based on the ancient wisdom of the Bible and confirmed by modern science, The Biblio Diet’s intuitive and easy-to-follow plan invites you to experience a breakthrough in the health of your entire family by learning to eat and live God’s way.
 
In this book, you’ll receive powerful insight on:
 
-  Intermittent fasting for any experience level
-  A daily eating plan that will fuel your body and expand your dietary horizons
-  Meats, veggies, fruits, dairy, spices, salts, and oils that are vital for a truly healthy lifestyle
-  Cancer-fighting nutrition and wellness secrets
-  The best tactics to beat depression and anxiety and improve mental health
-  Common foods in your fridge or pantry that can reduce pain and boost your immune system
-  An easy-to-follow 7-day meal plan (with shopping list)
-  12 new biblically inspired recipes

Experience health and freedom like you never have before when you learn to live the Bibliotarian way.

The Biblio Diet By Jordan Rubin & Joshua Axe, Read By Jordan Rubin

A radical new approach to education for learners of any age

How much information is forgotten almost immediately after it is taught? How many students graduate from high school unprepared for careers where lifelong learning is essential to succeed? These problems stem from an educational system that uses time spent in a classroom and the results of standardized, multiple-choice tests as proxies for actual understanding. Educators Tony Wagner and Ulrik Juul Christensen call for a radical new system of learning, where students progress individually when they demonstrate that they can use what they have learned—no matter how long it takes to get there. This is called mastery learning, and it is the future of education.

This book shows how mastery learning is already being put to use in the United States and around the world, from kindergarten to college and in the workplace. Through conversations with teachers, students, parents, policymakers, and employers, Wagner and Christensen show how mastery improves motivation and prepares students for productive work, an engaged civic life, and personal growth and well-being. They also outline the challenges of adopting mastery learning and how to overcome them. Mastery is an urgent call to action to transform education for all.

Mastery By Tony Wagner & Ulrik Juul Christensen, Read By Graham Winton

A “creativity whisperer to the C-Suite” keynote speaker teaches how to harness the power of everyday activities to stress less and be more productive.

Natalie Nixon helps corporate leaders achieve transformative business results by applying wonder and rigor to their work. In Move. Think. Rest. she reveals how the best organizations allow the personal and the professional to converge at strategic moments, which often come when we step away from our desks and phones.  According to Nixon, it is this MTR (Movement, Thought, and Rest)  framework—which allows for simple activities like going for a walk, daydreaming, engaging in more casual yet meaningful conversations, pondering questions about a challenge post-meeting—that is the best way to collectively revise, re-organize and re-energize our daily lives.    

Nixon’s MTR framework will change the way you work, and it will do so without demanding that you overhaul your personality, adhere to a rigid protocol, or life-hack the liveliness out of your working hours.  When you allow yourself to pause, unabashedly pay attention to your emotions and allow your intuition to guide you, then you achieve fluency, ease, and even greater productivity.  

Move. Think. Rest. brings a unique perspective from a thought leader who’s optimized her creative background.

Move. Think. Rest. By Dr. Natalie Nixon

From a Newbery Medal-winning author comes a contemporary classic that's perfect for new parents as well as families with new siblings on the way.
You were the first to smile. You were the first to cry. You were the first to lift your head, to look at the trees and flowers and sky.

There is nothing like the first experience of having a child, a life-changing experience that completely transforms the meaning of love. While all babies in the family are special, a new sibling can be an especially challenging emotional transition for the firstborn, and this unique story addresses those insecurities head-on in a most gentle and lyrical way. You Were the First is also a touching tribute to any baby's early milestones--those unforgettable moments that will always be cherished. From first smiles to first cuddles and even to that first kiss, here's a loving ode to every child's--and parent's--momentous "firsts."

You Were the First By Patricia MacLachlan, Read By Christina Moore

Gorgeous in its sincerity and its precision—in its raw, honest depiction of what it feels like to be a gay teen in a world that says that you don’t deserve a home.

Gloria Forman and Xia Harper go to the same high school in a small South Carolina town, but they couldn’t be more different. While Gloria is part of the popular, Christian crowd, Xia sleeps through class, antagonizes anyone who dares talk to her, and buries herself in books that help her pretend she’s somewhere else—anywhere that being lesbian wouldn’t be a waking nightmare.

When the two form an accidental friendship, they begin noticing each other in ways they promised themselves they'd avoid. After all, Xia’s isolation is self-imposed for a reason, and the last thing Gloria needs is more upheaval, especially after her parents kicked her out of the house for being gay. Ever since, she has spent her nights under the stage in the school auditorium and her days terrified of being discovered.

Xia just wants to keep her head down until the end of senior year. Gloria just wants to keep her living situation quiet until her parents come around. But as their feelings for each other intensify and the truths they've hidden work their way to the surface, what they truly want will change forever.

Ken Le Survivant (Atatata)

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