New Audiobook Arrivals

Here’s a sampling of what’s new today in audiobooks. Click an image for availability.

	The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova The many ardent admirers of The Historian, Kostova’s  first novel, will be happy to learn that her second book offers plenty of the same pleasures. Like The Historian, the new novel ranges across a variety of richly described international locales, both antique and modern. There is once again an assortment of narratives, all of which converge to solve a central mystery.
	Fantasy in Death by J.D. Robb Bart Minnock, founder of the computer-gaming giant U-Play, enters his private playroom, and eagerly can’t wait to lose himself in an imaginary world, to play the role of a sword-wielding warrior king, in his company’s latest top-secret project, Fantastical. The next morning, he is found in the same locked room, in a pool of blood, his head separated from his body. It is the most puzzling case Eve Dallas has ever faced, and it is not a game. . . .
	The Postmistress by Sarah Blake In London covering the Blitz, Frankie Bard meets a Cape Cod doctor in a shelter and promises that she’ll deliver a letter for him when she finally returns to the United States. Filled with stunning parallels to today’s world, The Postmistress is a sweeping novel about the loss of innocence of two extraordinary women – and of two countries torn apart by war.
	Oprah by Kitty Kelley Based on three years of research and reporting as well as 850 interviews with sources, many of whom have never before spoken for publication, Oprah is the first comprehensive biography of one of the most influential, powerful, and admired public figures of our time, by the most widely read biographer of our era.

Plot synopses from Amazon.

New Playaways

Here’s a sampling of our newest playaway titles. Click an image for availability.

	2666 by Robert Bolano 2666 takes place in a fictional town on the U.S.-Mexico border, where hundreds of young factory workers, in the novel as in life, have disappeared. There, among the urban sprawl, a diverse throng of unforgettable characters find their lives intersecting.
	Bobby and Jackie by David C. Heymann From the New York Times bestselling author of American Legacy, RFK, and A Woman Named Jackie comes an in-depth look at the much talked-about—but never fully revealed—relationship between Jackie Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy.
	The Death of Conservatism by Sam Tanenhaus Sam Tanenhaus’s essay “Conservatism Is Dead” prompted intense discussion and debate when it was published in the New Republic in the first days of Barack Obama’s presidency. Now Tanenhaus, a leading authority on modern politics, has expanded his argument into a sweeping history of the American conservative movement.
	In the President’s Secret Service by Ronald Kessler Secret Service agents, acting as human surveillance cameras, observe everything that goes on behind the scenes in the president’s inner circle. Ronald Kessler reveals what they have seen, providing startling, previously untold stories about the presidents, from John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson to George W. Bush and Barack Obama, as well as about their families, Cabinet officers, and White House aides.
	Shop Class As Soul Craft by Matthew B. Crawford Shop Class as Soulcraft brings alive an experience that was once quite common but now seems to be receding from society – the experience of making and fixing things with our hands. Those of us who sit in an office often feel a lack of connection to the material world, a sense of loss, and find it difficult to say exactly what we do all day. For those who felt hustled off to college, then to the cubicle, against their own inclinations and natural bents, Shop Class as Soulcraft seeks to restore the honor of the manual trades as a life worth choosing.

Plot synopses from Amazon.

New Music Arrivals

Here’s a sampling of our new arrivals in music. Click an image for availability or to place a hold request.

Hollywood Undead – Desperate Measures

The Doors – Live in New York

Vampire Weekend – Contra

Katharine McPhee – Unbroken

Lady Antebellum – Need You Now

Spoon – Transference

New Fiction Arrivals

Here’s a sampling of what’s new today in fiction. Click an image for availability.

	Secrets of Eden by Chris Bohjallian After the murder of Alice Hayward and the suicide of her husband, Reverend Stephen Drew flees the pulpit and is saved from despair only by a meeting with Heather Laurent, the author of wildly successful, inspirational books about angels. Heather, identifying deeply with Alice’s daughter, Katie, mentors the young girl but soon suspects that Alice’s husband may not have killed himself…and that Alice had secrets only her minister knew.
	Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese Marion and Shiva Stone are twin brothers born of a secret union between an Indian nun and a British surgeon at a mission hospital in Addis Ababa. Orphaned by their mother’s death in childbirth and their father’s disappearance, they are bound together by a preternatural connection and a shared fascination with medicine. Marion flees his homeland fresh out of medical school when he and his brother fall in love with the same woman. He goes to work in an under funded New York hospital until his past catches up with him, nearly destroying him, and he must trust his life to his father and brother.
	The Bricklayer by Noah Boyd The Bricklayer is the pulse-pounding novel introducing Steve Vail, one of the most charismatic new heroes to come along in thriller fiction in many years. He’s an ex–FBI agent who’s been fired for insubordination but is lured back to the Bureau to work a case that has become more unsolvable—and more deadly—by the hour.
	Bloodroot by Amy Greene In this epic family drama set in Appalachia, unfolds the story of young, blue-eyed wild child Myra Lamb, who lives with her grandmother, Byrdie Lamb, on the isolated Bloodroot Mountain. The fiercely protective Byrdie passes down to Myra her ability to bewitch people and animals through touch. As Myra grows into adulthood, she rejects the affections of the neighbor boy, bears children, and encounters John Odom, a young man angling to tame the charming reckless woman.

Plot synopses from Amazon.

New nonfiction arrivals

Here’s a sampling of what’s new today in nonfiction. Click an image for availability.

	On the Brink by Henry M. Paulson Jr. Fast-paced and dramatic re-telling of the financial crisis that nearly bought the developed world to its knees. Hank Paulson was without doubt at the absolute epicentre of the recent economic storm, and his account of how he dealt with the greatest financial crisis since the Great Depression will make for absolutely fascinating reading.
	Willie Mays by James S. Hirsch “Willie Mays is one of the most captivating figures in baseball history. Play after play, year after year, he thrilled us with his unmatched combination of speed and power, skill and daring. Hirsch tells us Willie’s compelling story, from his humblest of upbringings in Alabama to his rise, in the face of immense prejudice, to become one of Major League Baseball’s early African American players to his becoming an enduring American icon as the ‘Say Hey Kid.’ I love Willie Mays because he played his game and lives his life with more than talent — he has the mind and heart of a champion.” — President BILL CLINTON
	The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot Henrietta Lacks was a 31-year-old black mother of five in Baltimore when she died of cervical cancer in 1951. Without her knowledge, doctors treating her at Johns Hopkins took tissue samples from her cervix for research. They spawned the first viable, indeed miraculously productive, cell line—known as HeLa. These cells have aided in medical discoveries from the polio vaccine to AIDS treatments. What Skloot so poignantly portrays is the devastating impact Henrietta’s death and the eventual importance of her cells had on her husband and children
	I Am Ozzy by Ozzy Osbourne Ozzy Osbourne was born in Aston, Birmingham, in 1948. He has sold over a hundred million records both with Black Sabbath and as an award-winning solo artist. He has five children and lives with his wife, Sharon, in California and Buckinghamshire.

Plot synopses from Amazon.

New Audiobook Arrivals

Here’s a sampling of what’s new today in audiobooks. Click an image for availability.

	Secrets of Eden by Chris Bohjalian After the murder of Alice Hayward and the suicide of her husband, Reverend Stephen Drew flees the pulpit and is saved from despair only by a meeting with Heather Laurent, the author of wildly successful, inspirational books about angels. Heather, identifying deeply with Alice’s daughter, Katie, mentors the young girl but soon suspects that Alice’s husband may not have killed himself…and that Alice had secrets only her minister knew.
	Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese Marion and Shiva Stone are twin brothers born of a secret union between an Indian nun and a British surgeon at a mission hospital in Addis Ababa. Orphaned by their mother’s death in childbirth and their father’s disappearance, they are bound together by a preternatural connection and a shared fascination with medicine. Marion flees his homeland fresh out of medical school when he and his brother fall in love with the same woman. He goes to work in an under funded New York hospital until his past catches up with him, nearly destroying him, and he must trust his life to his father and brother.
	The First Rule by Robert Crais When garment importer Frank Meyer and his family are executed in their Los Angeles home, LAPD detectives soon connect Meyer to Pike, who knew each other from their days as military contractors. Pike is convinced that Meyer, who left soldiering to start a family, wasn’t dirty. Determined to clear his friend’s name, Pike discovers that Frank’s nanny and her family have ties to Eastern European organized crime. With the help of PI partner Elvis Cole, Pike engages in a dangerous—and not always legal—game of cat and mouse with some of the city’s most dangerous crooks.
	Bloodroot by Amy Greene In this epic family drama set in Appalachia, unfolds the story of young, blue-eyed wild child Myra Lamb, who lives with her grandmother, Byrdie Lamb, on the isolated Bloodroot Mountain. The fiercely protective Byrdie passes down to Myra her ability to bewitch people and animals through touch. As Myra grows into adulthood, she rejects the affections of the neighbor boy, bears children, and encounters John Odom, a young man angling to tame the charming reckless woman.

Plot synopses from Amazon.

New DVD Arrivals

Here’s a sampling of recent arrivals in DVD. Click an image for availability.

	Gamer (Rated R) Gerard Butler stars as Kable, condemned criminal and globally famous super-soldier in the ultimate multiplayer game, “Slayers.” Human controllers direct each thought and move of real-life prison inmates battling in hyper-intense environments – where the goal is freedom and the penalty is death. But when Kable suddenly decides he wants out, his rebellion threatens the twisted plans of game creator Ken Castle (Michael C. Hall), who will stop at nothing to crush the renegade commando in this taut, adrenaline-packed action-thriller.
	The Invention of Lying (Rated PG-13) The Invention of Lying imagines a world in which everyone unfailingly tells the truth; they don’t even know what fiction is. Every thought, however humiliating or harsh, tumbles out unvarnished. Then one day, a desperate unemployed writer named Mark (Ricky Gervais) concocts a lie–and in a world where everyone is unfailingly honest, a lie is believed with total and absolute gullibility. Mark can get anything he wants…but the one thing he truly wants is the love of a girl named Anna (Jennifer Garner), and she’s the one person he can’t bring himself to lie to.
	Michael Jackson’s This Is It (Rated PG) Michael Jackson’s This Is It will offer Jackson fans and music lovers worldwide a rare, behind-the-scenes look at the performer as he developed, created and rehearsed for his sold-out concerts that would have taken place beginning this summer in London’s O2 Arena. Chronicling the months from April through June 2009, the film is produced with the full support of the Estate of Michael Jackson and drawn from more than one hundred hours of behind-the-scenes footage, featuring Jackson rehearsing a number of his songs for the show. Audiences will be given a privileged and private look at Jackson as he has never been seen before
	Surrogates (Rated PG-13) In the not-so-distant future, where people experience life through perfect surrogates controlled from the safety of their own homes, murder is a thing of the past. But when a college student linked to the creator of these replicants is killed, one FBI agent must re-enter reality and risk his life to unravel the mystery. In the battle of technology versus humanity, who can you trust
	White Out (Rated R) On the verge of shipping out before the really bad weather hits, Carrie is confronted with a mysterious murder that sounds like a riddle: how’d a lone corpse find its way to the middle of an ice field, as though dropped from a great height? And what’s this have to do with the prologue about a Soviet fighter jet crashing some decades earlier? Whiteout is based on the graphic novel by Greg Rucka.

Plot synopses from Amazon.

New Fiction Arrivals

Here’s a sampling of what’s new today in fiction. Click an image for availability.

	Fallen by Lauren Kate Mysterious and aloof, Daniel Grigori captures Luce Price’s attention from the moment she sees him on her first day at the Sword & Cross boarding school in sultry Savannah, Georgia. He’s the one bright spot in a place where cell phones are forbidden, the other students are all screw-ups, and security cameras watch every move.
	Not My Daughter by Barbara Delinsky A pregnancy pact between three teenaged girls puts their mothers’ love to the ultimate test in this emotionally wrenching story of love and forgiveness.
	The Unnamed by Joshua Ferris Tim Farnsworth is a handsome, healthy man, aging with the grace of a matinee idol. His wife Jane still loves him, and for all its quiet trials, their marriage is still stronger than most. Then one day he stands up and walks out, and keeps walking.
	Split Image by Robert B. Parker Bestseller Parker’s enjoyable ninth novel featuring Paradise, Mass. police chief Jesse Stone focuses on Stone’s deepening connection with PI Sunny Randall. Both Jesse and Sunny are still recovering from failed relationships, and Parker does a nice job of integrating their separate therapy sessions with two criminal investigations.

Plot synopses from Amazon.

New Nonfiction Arrivals

Here’s a sampling of what’s new today in nonfiction. Click an image for availability.

	Going Rouge by Richard Kim According to The Nation magazine editors Kim and Reed, their title, a riff on Sarah Palin’s memoir Going Rogue, references the transparent decision by Palin and the Republican Party to “use gender and sex appeal to advance their campaign to capture the White House.” This collection of 50 articles-from sources including the L.A. Times, the New Yorker and the Guardian-is dominated by work from the heat of the 2008 campaign, and reads like it
	Just Kids by Patti Smith In this memoir, singer-songwriter Patti Smith shares tales of New York City: the denizens of Max’s Kansas City, the Hotel Chelsea, Scribner’s, Brentano’s and Strand bookstores and her new life in Brooklyn with a young man named Robert Mapplethorpe – the man who changed her life with his love, friendship, and genius.
	The Lady in the Tower by Alison Weir The tempestuous love affair between Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn scandalized Christendom and altered forever the religious landscape of England. Acclaimed historian and bestselling author Alison Weir draws on myriad sources from the Tudor era to examine, in unprecedented depth, the gripping, dark, and chilling story of Anne Boleyn’s final days.
	Comeback America by David M. Walker He’s one of America’s most capable, canny, candid, and independent financial experts. Now David M. Walker sounds a call to action. Comeback America is a tough-minded, innovative, inspiring guide to help us avoid the approaching economic abyss and put the country back on track again.

Plot synopses from Amazon.

New Audiobook Arrivals

Here’s a sampling of what’s new today in audiobooks. Click an image for availability.

	Marriage and Other Acts of Charity by Kate Braestrup In this breezy, soft-pedaling exercise in spiritual empowerment, Braestrup shares some of her hard-won marital wisdom. As an ordained minister, Braestrup counsels couples to love and cherish one another, even in the face of a 50% divorce rate, and asserts that of the three kinds of love known in ancient biblical Greek—eros, philos, and agape—the greatest is the last.
	Worst Case by James Patterson The son of one of New York’s wealthiest families is snatched off the street and held hostage. His parents can’t save him, because this kidnapper isn’t demanding money. Instead, he quizzes his prisoner on the price others pay for his life of luxury. In this exam, wrong answers are fatal.
	Going Rogue by Sarah Palin In this eagerly anticipated memoir, Palin paints an intimate portrait of growing up in the wilds of Alaska; meeting her lifelong love; her decision to enter politics; the importance of faith and family; and the unique joys and trials of life as a high-profile working mother.
	Noah’s Compass by Anne Tyler From the incomparable Anne Tyler, a wise, gently humorous, and deeply compassionate novel about a schoolteacher, who has been forced to retire at sixty-one, coming to terms with the final phase of his life.

Plot synopses from Amazon.