Summer Reads for 2024!
Beverly Hills spy : the double-agent war hero who helped Japan attack Pearl Harbor
Drabkin, Ronald.
2024
"In the spirit of Ben Macintyre's greatest spy nonfiction, the truly unbelievable and untold story of Frederick Rutland-a debonair British WWI hero, flying ace, fixture of Los Angeles society, and friend of Golden Age Hollywood stars-who flipped to become a spy for Japan in the lead-up to the attack on Pearl Harbor"-- Provided by publisher.
Blue ruin
Kunzru, Hari, 1969- author.
2024
Jay was tipped for greatness, a promising career already taking shape before him. Now, undocumented in the United States, he lives out of his car and makes a living as an essential worker. When Jay arrives at a house set in an enormous acreage of woodland, he finds the last person he ever expected to see again: Alice, a former lover from his art school days. In the twenty years since, their fortunes could not be more different. Ashamed, Jay hopes Alice won't recognize him - but she does and invites him to recover from COVID - setting a reckoning decades in the making into motion.
The Bright Sword A Novel of King Arthur.
Grossman, Lev.
A gifted young knight named Collum arrives at Camelot to compete for a spot on the Round Table, only to find that he's too late. The king died two weeks ago at the Battle of Camlann, leaving no heir, and only a handful of the knights of the Round Table survive. It is up to Collum and his companions to reclaim Excalibur, solve the mysteries of this ruined world and make it whole again. But before they can restore Camelot they'll have to learn the truth of why the lonely, brilliant King Arthur fell, and lay to rest the ghosts of his troubled family and of Britain's dark past. Print run 150,000.
Hip-Hop Is History
Questlove.
Over the last year, hip-hop has been celebrating its monumental half-century anniversary. Initially written off as a fad by the mainstream, hip-hop has proven to have staying power and lasting influence, redefining nearly every cultural sector. Grammy and Oscar winner Questlove skillfully traces the convergence of creative and cultural forces that shaped hip-hop since its inception, and how the genre has evolved up to the present moment. Print run 200,000.
I will show you how it was : the story of wartime Kyiv
Ponomarenko, Illia, author
2024
In late February 2022, a series of missiles and rocket strikes began falling upon Ukraine, as the Russian military barreled over the border and fanned out across the country. Meanwhile, on the front lines in the capital city, Kyiv Independent reporter Illia Ponomarenko was seeing a different story unfold: after months - years - of waiting for this long-feared attack, Ukraine was fed up and ready to fight back. This is Ponomarenko's heart-wrenching memoir of the war on his homeland, offering a fiery diatribe against Russian hypocrisy and a moving look at what is being lost.
Margo's Got Money Troubles A Novel.
Thorpe, Rufi.
Margo Millet's always known she'd have to make it on her own. She's still figuring things out and never planned to have an affair with her English professor - and while the affair is brief, it isn't brief enough to keep her from getting pregnant. Now, at twenty, Margo is alone with an infant, unemployed, and on the verge of eviction. She needs a cash infusion - fast. As an experiment, Margo starts an OnlyFans account. Before she knows it, she's turned it into a runaway success. Could this be the answer to all of Margo's problems, or does internet fame come with too high a price? Author of "The Knockout Queen." Print run 100,000.
The Memo A Novel.
Dodes, Rachel.
Once top of her class, the thirty-five-year-old finds herself stuck in a life that isn't the one she expected. All her friends seem to have it all figured it out. Did she just not get the memo they all did? When she arrives at her alma mater, she receives a text from an unlisted number. Somewhere on campus, a discreet female-led organization provides comprehensive memos to select students, a set of instructions that are a blueprint for success. Now, she's being given the second chance to relive her life and make all the right decisions this time around. But at what price? Lauren Mechling is author of "How Could She." Print run 75,000.
The ministry of time : a novel
Bradley, Kaliane, author
2024
A recently established government ministry is gathering "expats" from across history to establish whether time travel is feasible. A civil servant is tasked with working as a "bridge:" living with, assisting, and monitoring the expat known as "1847" or Commander Graham Gore. By the time the true shape of the Ministry's project comes to light, the bridge has fallen haphazardly, fervently in love, with consequences she never could have imagined. Forced to confront the choices that brought them together, the bridge must finally reckon with how - and whether she believes - what she does next can change the future.
One of Our Kind A Novel.
Yoon, Nicola.
Jasmyn and King Williams move their family to the planned Black utopia of Liberty, California hoping to find a community of like-minded people. King settles in at once, embracing the Liberty ethos. But Jasmyn struggles to find her place. Then Jasmyn discovers a terrible secret about Liberty and its founders. Frustration turns to dread as their loved ones start embracing the Liberty way of life. Will the truth destroy her world in ways she never could have imagined? Author of YA "Everything, Everything." Print run 350,000.
Origin Story The Trials of Charles Darwin.
Markel, Howard.
By early morning, June 30, 1860, a large crowd began to congregate in front of Oxford University's brand-new Museum of Natural History. The occasion was the annual meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, and the subject of discussion was Charles Darwin's new treatise: fact or fiction? At stake was the very foundation of modern biology, not to mention the future of the church. Medical historian Howard Markel recounts the two-year period (1858-1860) of Darwin's writing of "On the Origin of Species" through its spectacular success and controversy. Print run 25,000.
The Stardust Grail A Novel.
Kitasei, Yume.
Maya Hoshimoto was once the best art thief in the galaxy. Now she just wants to enjoy a quiet life as a graduate student of anthropology. Then an old friend comes to her with a job she can't refuse: find a powerful object that could save an alien species from extinction. Except no one has seen it in living memory, and they aren't the only ones hunting for it. Maya sets out on a breakneck quest through a universe teeming with strange life and ancient ruins. Someone will betray her along the way. Worse yet, in choosing to save one species, she may condemn humanity and Earth itself. Author of "The Deep Sky." Print run 75,000.
Throne of Grace : A Mountain Man, an Epic Adventure, and the Bloody Conquest of the American West.
Clavin, Tom
2024
A walk in the park : the true story of a spectacular misadventure in the Grand Canyon
Fedarko, Kevin author
2024
Kevin Fedarko was approached by National Geographic photographer Pete McBride about embarking on an end-to-end traverse of the Grand Canyon. Against his better judgment, Fedarko agreed to the scheme, unaware that the small cluster of experts who had completed the crossing billed it as "the toughest hike in the world." The ensuing ordeal, which lasted more than a year, revealed a place that was deeper, richer, and far more complex than anything the two men had imagined. This is a singular portrait of a sublime place, and a deeply moving plea for the preservation of North America's greatest natural treasure.
You like it darker : stories
King, Stephen, 1947-, author
2024
Stephen King's magnificent new collection of twelve stories that delve into the darker part of life - both metaphorical and literal. "Two Talented Bastids" explores the long-hidden secret of how the eponymous gentlemen got their skills. In "Danny Coughlin's Bad Dream," a brief and unprecedented psychic flash upends dozens of lives, Danny's most catastrophically. In "Rattlesnakes," a sequel to "Cujo," a grieving widower travels to Florida for respite and instead receives an unexpected inheritance - with major strings attached. Each of these stories holds its own thrills, joys, and mysteries.