The future Queen Elizabeth was not yet three when her mother, Anne Boleyn, was beheaded on May 19, 1536, on Henry’s order, incensed that she had not given him a son and tired of her contentious nature. Elizabeth had been raised away from court, rarely even seeing Anne. After her death, Henry tried in every way to erase Anne’s presence and memory. At that moment in history, few could have predicted that mother and daughter would each leave enduring, and interlocked, legacies. Yet as Tracy Borman reveals in this first-ever joint portrait, both women broke the mold for British queens and for women in general at the time.

In this dual collection of short stories, Alexander McCall Smith brings his trademark humor and warmth to inventive tales of spying and vengeance. In one story, a spy dropped deep into enemy territory manages to disguise himself --- quite convincingly --- as a nun. In another, an invitation to join the Vatican Secret Service sends a prospective operative down a rabbit hole of controversy and confusion. A third story finds an author, on the brink of public ruin, seeing the error of his ways after an act of kindness saves the day. A keen observer of humanity imbued with a sparkling imagination, Smith illustrates throughout that transparency is paramount and forgiveness is restorative.

Karen Fine always knew that she wanted to be a vet and wasn't going to let anything stop her: not her allergy to cats, and not the fact that in the '80s veterinary medicine was still a mostly male profession. Inspired by her grandfather, a compassionate doctor who paid house calls to all his (human) patients, Dr. Fine persevered and brought her Oupa's principles into her own practice, which emphasizes the need to understand her patients’ stories to provide the best possible care. And in THE OTHER FAMILY DOCTOR, Dr. Fine shares all these touching, joyful, heartbreaking and life-affirming tales that make up her career as a vet.

When Joseph Lezza caught himself wishing necrotizing skin infections upon unhurried retirees in the self-checkout lane, and fantasized about loud-talking commuters making quick friends with the underside of a steamroller, he began to wonder if he was fine. Of all the things Joseph could have been, he certainly wasn't fine. The "fine" he'd adopted watching his father succumb to cancer was beginning to wane. It could no longer be used as a shield to melt the face off of anyone who dared to inquire. All the "fines" prophesized in every article, every book and every inspirational meme had lost their value. When Joseph realized he was facing a future that would find him standing over the carcass of an overzealous Costco greeter, one thing became clear: moving on required looking back.

In 1999, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology admitted to discriminating against women on its faculty, forcing institutions across the country to confront a problem they had long ignored: the need for more women at the top levels of science. Written by the journalist who broke the story for The Boston Globe, THE EXCEPTIONS is the untold story of how 16 highly accomplished women on the MIT faculty came together to do the work that triggered the historic admission. It centers on the life of Nancy Hopkins, a reluctant feminist who became the leader of the 16 and a hero to two generations of women in science.

The COVID pandemic propelled many people to change their lives in ways large and small. Some adopted puppies. Others stress-baked. Peggy Orenstein, a lifelong knitter, went just a little further. To keep herself engaged and cope with a series of seismic shifts in family life, she set out to make a garment from the ground up: learning to shear sheep, spin and dye yarn, then knitting herself a sweater. Orenstein hoped the project would help her process not just wool but her grief over the recent death of her mother and the decline of her dad, the impending departure of her college-bound daughter, and other thorny issues of aging as a woman in a culture that by turns ignores and disdains them. What she didn’t expect was a journey into some of the major issues of our time.

The Age of Chivalry describes a period of medieval history dominated by the social, religious and moral code of knighthood that prized noble deeds, military greatness, and the game of courtly love between aristocratic men and women. It also was a period of high drama in English history, which included the toppling of two kings, the Hundred Years' War, the Black Death and the Peasants’ Revolt. Feudalism was breaking down, resulting in social and political turmoil. Against this dramatic milieu, Alison Weir describes the lives and reigns of five queen consorts: Marguerite of France, Isabella of France, Philippa of Hainault, Anne of Bohemia and Isabella of Valois.

Painfully shy, Elizabeth Windsor’s personality was well suited to her youthful ambition of living quietly in the country, raising a family, and caring for her dogs and horses. But when her uncle, King Edward VIII, abdicated, she became heir to the throne --- embarking on a journey that would test her as a woman and queen. In THE QUEEN, renowned biographer Andrew Morton takes an in-depth look at Britain’s longest reigning monarch, exploring the influence that Queen Elizabeth had on both Britain and the rest of the world for much of the last century. From leading a nation struggling to restore itself after the devastation of the second World War to navigating the divisive political landscape of the present day, Queen Elizabeth was a reluctant but resolute queen.

In the late 1600s, a distinguished English polymath, Robert Hooke, and an eccentric Dutch cloth-merchant, Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, looked down their handmade microscopes. What they saw introduced a radical concept that swept through biology and medicine, touching virtually every aspect of the two sciences and altering both forever. It was the fact that complex living organisms are assemblages of tiny, self-contained, self-regulating units. Our organs, our physiology, our selves --- hearts, blood, brains --- are built from these compartments. Hooke christened them “cells.” In THE SONG OF THE CELL, Siddhartha Mukherjee tells the story of how scientists discovered cells, began to understand them, and are now using that knowledge to create new humans.

Grace Makutsi’s husband, Phuti, is in a bind. An international firm is attempting to undercut his prices in the office furniture market. Phuti has always been concerned with quality and comfort, but this new firm seems interested only in profits. To make matters worse, they have a slick new advertising campaign that seems hard to beat. Nonetheless, with Mma Ramotswe’s help, Phtui comes up with a campaign that may just do the trick. Meanwhile, Mma Makutsi is approached by an old friend who has a troubled son. Grace and Phuti agree to lend a hand, but the boy proves difficult to reach. It will require not only all of their patience and dedication, but also the help of Mma Ramotswe and the formidable Mma Potokwani in order to help the child.