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Ruth Ozeki, author of The Book of Form and Emptiness

One year after the death of his beloved musician father, 13-year-old Benny Oh begins to hear voices that belong to the things in his house. When his mother, Annabelle, develops a hoarding problem, the voices grow more clamorous. Benny tries to ignore them, but the voices follow him outside the house, driving him at last to seek refuge in the silence of a large public library. There, Benny discovers a strange new world. He falls in love with a mesmerizing street artist with a smug pet ferret. He meets a homeless philosopher-poet, who encourages him to ask important questions and find his own voice amongst the many. And he meets his very own Book --- a talking thing --- who narrates Benny’s life and teaches him to listen to the things that truly matter.

Week of June 13, 2022

Paperback releases for the week of June 13th include WISH YOU WERE HERE by Jodi Picoult, a deeply moving novel about the resilience of the human spirit in a moment of crisis; SUCH A QUIET PLACE, a riveting thriller from Megan Miranda about a mysterious murder in an idyllic and close-knit neighborhood; TALK TO ME, a lively, thought-provoking novel that asks us what it would be like if we could really talk to the animals; THE WOMEN'S MARCH, Jennifer Chiaverini's enthralling historical novel of the woman’s suffrage movement inspired by three courageous women who bravely risked their lives and liberty in the fight to win the vote; and THE BOOK OF FORM AND EMPTINESS, a brilliantly inventive work of fiction from Booker Prize finalist Ruth Ozeki about a boy who hears the voices of objects all around him; a mother drowning in her possessions; and a Book that might hold the secret to saving them both.