To find these selections and many other new titles, see the NMC library catalog.
Non-Fiction
The King of Confidence: A Tale of Utopian Dreamers, Frontier Schemers, True Believers, False Prophets, and the Murder of an American Monarch by Miles Harvey
In 1843, James Strang, a charismatic lawyer and avowed atheist, vanished from a rural town in New York. Months later he reappeared on the Midwestern frontier and converted to a burgeoning religious movement known as Mormonism. Strang persuaded hundreds of converts to follow him to an island in Lake Michigan, where he declared himself a divine king. The King of Confidence tells this fascinating but largely forgotten story of the charlatan’s turbulent twelve years in power.
The Cougar Conundrum: Sharing the World with a Successful Predator by Mark Elbroch
Mountain lions, once on the edge of extinction, have made a remarkable comeback. But this has led to an unexpected modern conundrum: Do more mountain lions mean they’re a threat to humans and domestic animals? Or do they need our help to survive? Mountain lion biologist and expert Mark Elbroch dismisses old myths, arguing that ecosystems depend on keystone predators to keep them in healthy balance. Humans and mountain lions can coexist, he explains, if we arm ourselves with knowledge and common sense.
George Washington’s Final Battle: The Epic Struggle to Build a Capital City and a Nation by Robert P. Watson
At the end of America’s Revolutionary War, the new nation’s government was weak and almost fatally divided by bitter disputes. Inherent in the divides was disagreement about where to place the nation’s seat of government. It is little remembered that George Washington took the lead on settling this question that moved the capital from New York, to Philadelphia, and finally to the city that bears his name. He oversaw surveying, negotiated land deals, raised funds, selected the architect, chose the plan, and changed the designs. He died less than a year before President Adams moved into the White House in 1800.
Somebody’s Daughter: a Memoir by Ashley C. Ford
For as long as she could remember, Ashley has put her father on a pedestal. Despite having only vague memories of seeing him face-to-face, she believes he’s the only person in the entire world who understands her. There are just a few problems: he’s in prison, and she doesn’t know what he did to end up there. Somebody’s Daughter steps into the world of growing up a poor Black girl. As Ashley battles her body and her environment, she provides a poignant coming-of-age recollection that speaks to finding the threads between who you are and what you were born into, and the complicated familial love that often binds them
The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray
The remarkable, little-known story of Belle da Costa Greene, J.P. Morgan’s personal librarian-who became one of the most powerful women in New York despite the dangerous secret she kept in order to make her dreams come true.The Personal Librarian tells the story of an extraordinary woman, famous for her intellect, style, and wit, and shares the lengths she must go-for the protection of her family and her legacy-to preserve her carefully crafted white identity in the racist world in which she lives
Fiction
Hour of the Witch: a novel by Chris Bohjalian
Boston, 1662. Mary Deerfield is twenty-four-years-old and the second wife of Thomas Deerfield, a man as cruel as he is powerful. When Thomas, prone to drunken rage, drives a three-tined fork into the back of Mary’s hand, she resolves that she must divorce him to save her life. But in a world where every neighbor is watching for signs of the devil, a woman like Mary soon becomes the object of suspicion and rumor. When tainted objects are discovered buried in Mary’s garden, when a boy she has treated with herbs and simples dies, and when their servant girl runs screaming in fright from her home, Mary must fight to not only escape her marriage, but also the gallows.
Olympus, Texas by Stacey Swann
The Briscoe family is once again the talk of their small town when March returns to East Texas two years after he was caught having an affair with his brother’s wife. Within days of March’s arrival, someone is dead, marriages are upended, and even the strongest of allies are divided. The Briscoes must reckon with their choices, their capacity for forgiveness, and the confines of family. Olympus, TX combines the archetypes of Greek and Roman mythology with the psychological complexity of a messy family.
Fifteen Hundred Miles From the Sun: a Novel by Jonny Garza Villa
Jules Luna has a plan for his life: Graduate. Get into UCLA. And move away from Corpus Christi, Texas, and the suffocating expectations of others that have forced Jules into an inauthentic life. Then in one reckless moment, with one impulsive tweet, his plans for a low-key nine months are thrown out of the closet. The downside: the whole world knows. The upside: Jules now has the opportunity to be his real self. Jules accidentally propelled himself into the life he’s always dreamed of. And now that he’s in control of it, what he does next is up to him.
Don’t Hate the Player by Alexis Nedd
Emilia Romero is living a double life. By day, she’s a field hockey star with a flawless report card. But by night, she’s kicking virtual ass as the only female member of a highly competitive eSports team. Emilia has mastered the art of keeping her two worlds thriving, which hinges on them staying completely separate. When a major eSports tournament comes to her city, Emilia is determined to prove herself to her team and the male-dominated gaming community. Debut author Alexis Nedd has crafted a YA combo-punch of charming romance and virtual adventure that will win the hearts of gamers and non-gamers alike.
The Madness of Crowds by Louise Penny
Louise Penny delivers with a perplexing murder mystery set in Three Pines that is also a nuanced look at conviction, delusion, and the tipping point between the two. It’s almost New Year’s in Québec when a request is made of Chief Inspector Gamache to provide security at a public event that brings a divisive figure into the orbit of Three Pines. Professor Abigail Robinson’s notoriety rests on weaponizing pandemic data in a bid to convince the public that it will become necessary to conserve resources by prioritizing some lives over others. Thoughtful, philosophical and suspenseful, The Madness of Crowds proves Penny just gets better with each novel.
Summaries adapted from publishers.