Fiction
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski
This riveting, Hamlet-like saga is a nationwide pick of independent bookstores this month. Edgar Sawtelle is the story of an American family which captures the deep and ancient alliance between humans and dogs and follows the coming-of-age of speech-disabled Wisconsin youth Edgar, who bonds with three yearling canines and struggles to prove that his sinister uncle is responsible for his father’s death.
Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Lahiri (The Namesake, Interpreter of Maladies) delivers eight dazzling stories that take readers from Cambridge and Seattle to India and Thailand, as they explore the secrets at the heart of family life.
The Garden of Last Days by Andre Dubus III
Reluctantly bringing her daughter to her men’s club office when her babysitter falls ill, stripper April endeavors to keep her child safe while servicing a wealthy foreign client, while a drunken regular angrily retaliates for being thrown out of the club.
Dear American Airlines by Jonathan Miles
From New York Times columnist Miles comes the scathingly funny, deeply moving story of Bennie Ford, a fifty-three-year-old failed poet and translator who, when his flight is canceled, begins writing a letter of complaint to the airline that evolves into a painful lament for a life that has gone badly awry.
A Summer Affair by Elin Hilderbrand
Reluctantly agreeing to organize a children’s benefit at which a rock-star ex-lover is performing, renowned glassblower Sheila Crispin finds her efforts complicated by her clashes with a fellow organizer, her best friend’s catering mishaps, and a new relationship.
Non-fiction
When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris
In his latest collection of scathingly funny, darkly comic essays, Sedaris goes from the bizarre conundrums of daily life to the most deeply resonant human truths. In Flames, he attempts to make coffee with water in a flower vase, purchases drugs in a North Carolina mobile home, and ventures to Tokyo in order to quit smoking, amongst other misadventures.
The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch
Based on the extraordinary final lecture by Carnegie Mellon University professor Pausch, given after he discovered he had pancreatic cancer, this moving book goes beyond the now-famous lecture to inspire readers to live each day with purpose and joy.
Fleeced by Dick Morris & Eileen McGann
The co-authors of NYT bestseller Outrage present a critical analysis of additional power abuses by the American government, wealthy corporations, and high-profile celebrities, in an account that addresses topics ranging from sub-prime mortgages and the secret purchases of Dubai to corporate salaries and the 2008 election.
The Last Fish Tale by Mark Kurlansky
The bestselling author of Cod and Salt journeys to Gloucester, America’s oldest fishing port, to provide a close-up look at the history of the town, how fishing and the culture of fishing have defined the coastal region, and how the disappearance of this ancient way of life has transformed our neighboring town.
The Downhill Lie by Carl Hiaasen
Hiaasen’s chronicle of his shaky return to the bedeviling pastime of golf — culminating with the savage 45-hole tournament — will have readers rolling with laughter in this extraordinary book for the ordinary hacker.
