Adult

Once upon a time, in a world just like ours, there came “the time of the strangenesses.” A simple gardener began to levitate, and a powerful djinn raised an army composed entirely of her semi-magical great-great-great-grandchildren. A baby was born with the ability to see corruption in the faces of others. The ghosts of two philosophers, long dead, began arguing once more. And a battle for the kingdom of Fairyland was waged throughout our world for 1,001 nights --- or, to be more precise, for two years, eight months and 28 nights.

Seventy-eight-year-old Harriet Chance impulsively sets sail on an ill-conceived Alaskan cruise that her late husband, Bernard, had planned. There, between the imagined appearances of Bernard and the very real arrival of her estranged daughter midway through the cruise, Harriet is forced to take a long look back, confronting the truth about pivotal events that changed the course of her life. In the process, she discovers that she’s been living the better part of that life under entirely false assumptions.

More than 20 years ago, Claire and Lydia’s teenaged sister, Julia, vanished without a trace. The two women have not spoken since, and now their lives could not be more different. But neither has recovered from the horror and heartbreak of their shared loss --- a devastating wound that's cruelly ripped open when Claire's husband is killed. The surviving sisters look to the past to find the truth, unearthing the secrets that destroyed their family all those years ago…and uncovering the possibility of redemption, and revenge, where they least expect it.

In a little-known chapter of early American history, a fearless Kentucky lawyer rids Congress of corruption and violence in an era when congressmen debated with bullets as well as ballots. Harlow Giles Unger reveals how Henry Clay, the youngest congressman ever elected Speaker of the House, rewrote congressional rules and established the Speaker as the most powerful elected official after the president.

Every story has two sides. Every relationship has two perspectives. And sometimes, it turns out, the key to a great marriage is not its truths but its secrets. At the core of FATES AND FURIES, Lauren Groff presents the story of one such marriage over the course of 24 years. At age 22, Lotto and Mathilde are tall, glamorous, madly in love and destined for greatness. A decade later, their marriage is still the envy of their friends, but with an electric thrill we understand that things are even more complicated and remarkable than they have seemed.

Readers of all ages and walks of life have drawn inspiration and empowerment from Elizabeth Gilbert’s books for years. Now this beloved author digs deep into her own generative process to share her wisdom and unique perspective about creativity. With profound empathy and radiant generosity, she offers potent insights into the mysterious nature of inspiration. Balancing between soulful spirituality and cheerful pragmatism, Gilbert encourages us to uncover the “strange jewels” that are hidden within each of us.

Mary Karr’s THE LIARS’ CLUB was credited with sparking the current memoir explosion. For 30 years, Karr has also taught the form, winning graduate teaching prizes for her highly selective seminar at Syracuse, where she mentored such future hit authors as Cheryl Strayed, Keith Gessen and Koren Zailckas. In THE ART OF MEMOIR, she synthesizes her expertise as professor and therapy patient, writer and spiritual seeker, recovered alcoholic and “black belt sinner,” providing a unique window into the mechanics and art of the form.

The Hawthorne family has it all: great jobs, a beautiful house in one of the most affluent areas of northern California, and three charming kids. Then comes eldest daughter Angela’s senior year of high school. Suddenly, everyone is floundering. As Angela writes and rewrites her application for Harvard and struggles to maintain her position as valedictorian, Nora Hawthorne’s career hits a rough patch. As the secrets everyone has been keeping will come to light, it sets the family on a final collision course that will force them to reevaluate the value of achievement.

Timothy Warner, a PhD student who goes by the nickname “Moth,” discovers his uncle lying in a pool of blood. The police pronounce the death a suicide, but Moth refuses to believe that his uncle would take his own life. Devastated and confused, he calls on the only person he thinks he can trust: his ex-girlfriend, Andrea Martine. Each battling their inner demons, Moth and Andy travel into dark, unfamiliar territory, intent on finding out the truth about Ed’s death and circling ever closer to a devious mind that will flinch at nothing to achieve his own goal of revenge.

Is it violence if it’s virtual? The outspoken women targeted by the increasingly cruel internet trolls and bullies would probably say so. For some of them, the torrents of bile and vicious threats prove too much. They begin to silence themselves in a series of high-profile suicides. Or do they? Tony Hill isn’t convinced. But he’s the only one. Former cop Carol Jordan is too busy messing up her life to care. Until she gets an unexpected second chance. Now it’s game on, and the stakes have never been higher.