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Week of August 19, 2019

New in Paperback

Week of August 19, 2019

Paperback releases for the week of August 19th include BLOOD COMMUNION, a continuation of Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles, in which Prince Lestat tells the tale of his coming to rule the vampire world and the eternal struggle to find belonging, a place in the universe for the undead, and how he must battle the seemingly unstoppable force determined to thwart his vision and destroy the entire vampire netherworld; VIRGIL WANDER, the first novel in 10 years from award-winning, million-copy bestselling author Leif Enger, an enchanting and timeless all-American story that follows the inhabitants of a small Midwestern town in their quest to revive its flagging heart; and SMALL ANIMALS by Kim Brooks, a riveting examination of the ways our culture of competitive, anxious and judgmental parenting has profoundly altered the experiences of parents and children.

Arthur Ashe: A Life by Raymond Arsenault - Biography

August 20, 2019

Raymond Arsenault chronicles tennis superstar Arthur Ashe’s rise to stardom on the court. But much of the book explores his off-court career as a human rights activist, philanthropist, broadcaster, writer, businessman and celebrity. In the 1970s and ’80s, Ashe gained renown as an advocate for sportsmanship, education, racial equality and the elimination of apartheid in South Africa. But from 1979 on, he was forced to deal with a serious heart condition that led to multiple surgeries and blood transfusions, one of which left him HIV-positive. Five years after being diagnosed with AIDS, Ashe passed away at the age of 49, leaving an inspiring legacy of dignity, integrity and active citizenship.

Blood Communion: A Tale of Prince Lestat by Anne Rice - Paranormal Thriller/Fantasy

August 20, 2019

Lestat, rebel outlaw, addresses the tribe of vampires, telling the mesmerizing story of the formation of the Blood Communion and how he became Prince of the vampire world, the true ruler of this vast realm, and how his vision for all the Children of the Universe to thrive as one came to be. The tale spills from Lestat's heart, as he speaks first of his new existence as reigning monarch --- and then of his fierce battle of wits and words with the mysterious Rhoshamandes, a demon spirit who refuses to live in harmony at the Court of Prince Lestat and threatens all that Lestat has dreamt of.

The Chocolate Maker's Wife by Karen Brooks - Historical Fiction

August 20, 2019

Sir Everard Blithman, a canny merchant, offers Rosamund Tomkins --- the illegitimate daughter of a nobleman --- an “opportunity like no other,” becoming the linchpin that will drive the success of his fledgling business: a luxurious London chocolate house where wealthy and well-connected men come to see and be seen. Rosamund adapts and thrives in her new surroundings, quickly becoming the most talked-about woman in society. But she knows nothing of the mortal peril that comes with her new title, nor of the forces spinning a web of conspiracy buried in the past, until she meets a man whose return tightens their grip upon her, threatening to destroy everything she loves and damn her to a dire fate.

House of Gold by Natasha Solomons - Historical Fiction

August 20, 2019

It's 1911, and Greta Goldbaum is forced to move from glittering Vienna to damp England to wed Albert, a distant cousin. The Goldbaum family is one of the wealthiest in the world, with palaces across Europe, but as Jews and perpetual outsiders they know that strength lies in family. At first defiant and lonely, slowly Greta softens toward Albert, and as the wild paths and untamed beauty of Greta's new English garden begin to take shape, so too does their love begin to blossom. But World War I looms, and even the influential Goldbaums cannot alter its course. For the first time in 200 years, the family will find itself on opposing sides, and Greta will have to choose: the family she's created, or the one she left behind.

How Are You Going to Save Yourself by JM Holmes - Fiction/Short Stories

August 20, 2019

Bound together by shared experience but pulled apart by their changing fortunes, four young friends coming of age in the postindustrial enclave of Pawtucket, Rhode Island, struggle to liberate themselves from the legacies left to them as black men in America. JM Holmes’ debut follows a decade in the lives of Dub, Rolls, Rye and Gio as they each grapple with the complexity of their family histories, the newfound power of sex and drugs, and the ferocity of their desires.

Insurrecto by Gina Apostol - Fiction

August 20, 2019

Two women, a Filipino translator and an American filmmaker, go on a road trip in Duterte’s Philippines, collaborating and clashing in the writing of a film script about a massacre during the Philippine-American War. Chiara is working on a film about an incident in Balangiga, Samar, in 1901, when Filipino revolutionaries attacked an American garrison, and in retaliation American soldiers created “a howling wilderness” of the surrounding countryside. Magsalin reads Chiara’s film script and writes her own version. INSURRECTO contains within its dramatic action two rival scripts from the filmmaker and the translator --- one about a white photographer, the other about a Filipino schoolteacher.

No Good Deed by James Swain - Thriller

August 20, 2019

A disturbing missing-person case reunites ex-Navy SEAL Jon Lancaster and FBI Agent Beth Daniels. Skye is just one of a dozen young women who have disappeared from Florida without a trace. Beth can do more than just imagine their fear. She was a victim herself --- a trauma that’s strengthened her fight for justice. Then Lancaster uncovers a scrap of evidence, and the mystery begins to unravel. But the lead comes with a personal sting: the involvement of his estranged brother, Logan, an ex-con recruited into the shepherding of human trade. The only way for Logan to shed his demons is to come clean. For Lancaster and Daniels, that means being drawn, secret by secret, into a dangerous underground world.

Our Homesick Songs by Emma Hooper - Fiction

August 20, 2019

The Connor family is one of the few that is still left in their idyllic fishing village, Big Running. After the fish mysteriously disappeared, most families had no choice but to relocate and find work elsewhere. Aidan and Martha Connor now spend alternate months of the year working at an energy site up north to support their children, Cora and Finn. But soon the family fears they’ll have to leave Big Running for good. And as the months go on, plagued by romantic temptations new and old, the emotional distance between the once blissful Aidan and Martha only widens. Between his accordion lessons and reading up on Big Running’s local flora and fauna, 11-year-old Finn Connor develops an obsession with solving the mystery of the missing fish.

Small Animals: Parenthood in the Age of Fear by Kim Brooks - Memoir/Sociology

August 20, 2019

One morning, Kim Brooks made a split-second decision to leave her four-year-old son in the car while she ran into a store. What happened would consume the next several years of her life and spur her to investigate the broader role America’s culture of fear plays in parenthood. In SMALL ANIMALS, Brooks asks: Of all the emotions inherent in parenting, is there any more universal or profound than fear? Why have our notions of what it means to be a good parent changed so radically? In what ways do these changes impact the lives of parents, children and the structure of society at large? And what, in the end, does the rise of fearful parenting tell us about ourselves?

Virgil Wander by Leif Enger - Fiction

August 20, 2019

Midwestern movie house owner Virgil Wander is “cruising along at medium altitude” when his car flies off the road into icy Lake Superior. Virgil survives, but his language and memory are altered. Awakening in this new life, he begins to piece together his personal history and the lore of his broken town, with the help of a cast of affable and curious locals --- from Rune, a twinkling, pipe-smoking, kite-flying stranger investigating the mystery of his disappeared son; to Nadine, the reserved, enchanting wife of the vanished man, to Tom, a journalist and Virgil’s oldest friend; and various members of the Pea family who must confront tragedies of their own. Into this community returns a shimmering prodigal son who may hold the key to reviving their town.