libraries

280d

📚 Otherworldly by: Dwain Worrell

Cleo Xavier is a renowned astronaut and explorer, not an addict. At least, that's what she tells herself. She's always been able to navigate the isolation and loneliness that come with space exploration, which makes her a perfect candidate to join four other astronauts on a mission to Orbis Alius, the farthest planet in the ...

https://bookblabla.com/book/otherworldly

#books #reading #libraries #sciencefiction #aliencontact

Cleo Xavier is a renowned astronaut and explorer, not an addict. At least, that's what she tells herself. She's always been able to navigate the isolation and loneliness that come with space exploration, which makes her a perfect candidate to join four other astronauts on a mission to Orbis Alius, the farthest planet in the solar system, to test its terraforming viability.

But when Cleo and her crew arrive on Orbis Alius, its surrounding wasteland reveals mysteries and horrors that none of them could...

Source: Publisher

From award-winning writer, producer, and filmmaker Dwain Worrell comes a poignant and thrilling science fiction adventure about a young astronaut navigating addiction and loss who finds herself stranded on a mysterious planet where members of her crew go missing one by one.

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286d

📚 The Faith of Beasts by: James S. A. Corey

Release date April 14, 2026.

The monstrous Carryx empire was built by subjugation and war. Thousands of species are bound to their Sovran's command in an endless, blood-soaked test: be useful in the eternal conflict or be slaughtered.

Dafyd Alkhor, highest among their human captives, is feare...

https://bookblabla.com/book/the-faith-of-beasts

#books #reading #libraries #fiction #sciencefiction #aliencontact

Release date April 14, 2026.

The monstrous Carryx empire was built by subjugation and war. Thousands of species are bound to their Sovran's command in an endless, blood-soaked test: be useful in the eternal conflict or be slaughtered.

Dafyd Alkhor, highest among their human captives, is feared and despised by the very people he champions. Ruthless in carving out his niche in the eternal war machine of the empire, he will reshape human nature itself as a tool for their alien masters use. But Dafyd’s loyalty is not what it seems.

The Swarm, an agent of the Carryx's deathless enemy, has been smuggled into the Carryx world-palace along with the human slaves. Its mission: discover a way to bring down the empire's eternal reign. But the longer it lives among and within humanity, the more it forgets that it is a weapon.

As the human captives spread through the battlefronts of empire, the awesome power of the Carryx becomes clear. And with it, a desperate plan for their destruction.

But empires hide secrets, and even the deathless enemy may not be what it appears.

Masterful ... This is space opera at its best. Publishers Weekly (starred review) on The Mercy of Gods

The start of something truly epic. Fonda Lee on The Mercy of Gods.

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279d

📚 Keeper of Lost Children by: Sadeqa Johnson

Ethel Gathers, the proud wife of an American Officer, is living in Occupied Germany in the 1950s. After discovering a local orphanage filled with the abandoned mixed-race children of German women and Black American GI’s, Ethel feels compelled to help find these children homes.

P...

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#books #reading #libraries #fiction #historical #generalfiction #womenfiction

Ethel Gathers, the proud wife of an American Officer, is living in Occupied Germany in the 1950s. After discovering a local orphanage filled with the abandoned mixed-race children of German women and Black American GI’s, Ethel feels compelled to help find these children homes.

Philadelphia born Ozzie Phillips volunteers for the recently desegregated army in 1948, eager to make his mark in the world. While serving in Manheim, Germany, he meets a local woman, Jelka, and the two embark on a relationship that will impact their lives forever.

In 1965 Maryland, Sophia Clark is given an opportunity to attend a prestigious all white boarding school and escape her heartless parents. While at the school, she discovers a secret that upends her world and sends her on a quest to unravel her own identity.

Toggling between the lives of these three individuals, Keeper of Lost Children explores how one woman’s vision will change the course of countless lives, and demonstrates that love in its myriad of forms familial, parental, and forbidden, even love of self can be transcendent.

In this new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The House of Eve, one American woman’s vision in post WWII Germany will tie together three people in an unexpected way.

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205d

📚 No Fixed Address by: Susin Nielsen

Twelve-and-three-quarter-year-old Felix Knutsson has a knack for trivia. His favorite game show is Who What Where When; he even named his gerbil after the host. Felix's mom, Astrid, is loving but can't seem to hold on to a job. So when they get evicted from their latest shabby apartment, they hav...

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#books #reading #libraries #juvenilefiction #family #socialthemes #friendship

Twelve-and-three-quarter-year-old Felix Knutsson has a knack for trivia. His favorite game show is Who What Where When; he even named his gerbil after the host. Felix's mom, Astrid, is loving but can't seem to hold on to a job. So when they get evicted from their latest shabby apartment, they have to move into a van. Astrid swears him to secrecy; he can't tell anyone about their living arrangement, not even Dylan and Winnie, his best friends at his new school. If he does, she warns him, he'll be taken away from her and put in foster care.

As their circumstances go from bad to worse, Felix gets a chance to audition for a junior edition of Who What Where When, and he's determined to earn a spot on the show. Winning the cash prize could make everything okay again. But things don't turn out the way he expects...

Susin Nielsen deftly combines humor, heartbreak, and hope in this moving story about people who slip through the cracks in society, and about the power of friendship and community to make all the difference.

For fans of Wendelin van Draanen and Cynthia Lord, a touching and funny middle-grade story about family, friendship, and growing up when you're one step away from homelessness.

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278d

📚 Is This a Cry for Help? by: Emily Austin

Darcy's life turned out better than she could have ever imagined. She is a librarian at the local branch, while her wife Joy runs a book binding service. Between the two of them, there is no more room on their shelves with their ample book collections, various knickknacks and bobbles...

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#books #reading #libraries #fiction #lgbtq #lesbianfiction #humorous #literary

Darcy's life turned out better than she could have ever imagined. She is a librarian at the local branch, while her wife Joy runs a book binding service. Between the two of them, there is no more room on their shelves with their ample book collections, various knickknacks and bobbles, and dried bouquets. Rounding out their ideal life is two cats and a sun-soaked house by the lake.

But when Darcy receives the news that her ex-boyfriend, Ben, has passed away, she spirals into a pit of guilt and regret, resulting in a mental breakdown and medical leave from the library. When she returns to work, she is met by unrest in her community and protests surrounding intellectual freedom, resulting in a call for book bans and a second look at the branch’s upcoming DEI programs.

Through the support of her community, colleagues, and the personal growth that results from examining her previous relationships, Darcy comes into her own agency and the truest version of herself. Is This a Cry for Help? not only offers a moving portrait of queer life after coming of age but also powerfully explores questions about sexuality, community, and the importance of libraries.

Emily Austin, the bestselling queen of darkly quirky, endearingly flawed heroines (Sarah Haywood, author of The Cactus), returns with a luminous new novel following a librarian who comes back to work after a mental breakdown only to confront book-banning crusaders in an empowering story of grief, love, and the power of lib

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258d

I've just finished Michiko Aoyama's "What You Are Looking for Is in the Library" and quite enjoyed its series of vignettes about various people's insights following their fateful visits to the local library. Definitely a cozy read. Though now that I've seen the title of the French translation (La bibliothèque des rêves secrets) I cannot help but wonder what the original Japanese title was.

#cozyreads #libraries #books @bookstodon

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278d

📚 This House Will Feed by: Maria Tureaud

County Clare, 1848: In the scant few years since the potato blight first cast its foul shadow over Ireland, Maggie O'Shaughnessy has lost everything—her entire family and the man she trusted with her heart. Toiling in the Ennis Workhouse for paltry rations, she can see no futur...

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#books #reading #libraries #fiction #gothicfiction #historical #generalfiction #horror

County Clare, 1848: In the scant few years since the potato blight first cast its foul shadow over Ireland, Maggie O'Shaughnessy has lost everything—her entire family and the man she trusted with her heart. Toiling in the Ennis Workhouse for paltry rations, she can see no future either within or outside its walls—until the mysterious Lady Catherine arrives to whisk her away to an old mansion in the stark limestone landscape of the Burren.

Lady Catherine wants Maggie to impersonate her late daughter, Wilhelmina, and hoodwink solicitors into releasing Wilhelmina’s widow pension so that Lady Catherine can continue to provide for the villagers in her care. In exchange, Maggie will receive freedom from the workhouse, land of her own, and the one thing she wants more than either: a chance to fulfill the promise she made to her brother on his deathbed—to live to spite them all.

Launching herself into the daunting task, Maggie plays the role of Wilhelmina as best she can while ignoring the villagers tales of ghostly figures and curses. But more worrying are the whispers that come from within. Something in Lady Catherine's house is reawakening long-buried memories in Maggie of a foe more terrifying than hunger or greed, of a power that calls for blood and vengeance, and of her own role in a nightmare that demands the darkest sacrifice.

Amidst the devastation of Ireland's Great Famine, a young woman is salvaged from certain death when offered a mysterious position at a

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276d

📚 Twelve Months by: Jim Butcher

Harry Dresden has been through a lot, and so has his city. After Harry and his allies narrowly managed to save Chicago from being razed to the ground, everything is different—and it's not just the current lack of electricity.

In the battle, Harry lost people he cared about. And th...

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#books #reading #libraries #fiction #fantasy #urbanfiction #mysterydetective #privateinvestigators

Harry Dresden has been through a lot, and so has his city. After Harry and his allies narrowly managed to save Chicago from being razed to the ground, everything is different—and it's not just the current lack of electricity.

In the battle, Harry lost people he cared about. And that's the kind of loss that takes a toll. Harry being Harry, he's doing his level best to help the city and his friends recover and rebuild. But it's a heavy load, and he needs time.

But time is one thing Harry doesn't have. Ghouls are prowling Chicago and taking out innocent civilians. Harry’s brother is dying, and Harry doesn't know how to help him. And last but certainly not least, the Winter Queen of the Fae has allied with the White Court of vampires—and Harry's been betrothed to the seductive, deadly vampire Lara Raith to seal the deal.

It's been a tough year. More than ever, the city needs Harry Dresden the wizard—but after loss and grief, is there enough left of Harry Dresden the man to rise to the challenge?

AN INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
AN INSTANT USA TODAY AND INDIE BESTSELLER

Harry Dresden, Chicago's only professional wizard, has always managed to save the day but, in this powerful entry in the #1 New York Times bestselling Dresden Files, can he save himself?

One year. 365 days. Twelve months.

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277d

📚 Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption by: Stephen King

Red's a guy who can get you whatever you want here in Maine's corrupt and hard-edged Shawshank State Penitentiary (for a price, of course), but the one thing he doesn't count on is an unexpected friendship forged with fellow inmate Andy Dufr...

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#books #reading #libraries #fiction #horrorfiction #thrillers #suspensefiction #mediatiein

Red's a guy who can get you whatever you want here in Maine's corrupt and hard-edged Shawshank State Penitentiary (for a price, of course), but the one thing he doesn't count on is an unexpected friendship forged with fellow inmate Andy Dufresne—an inscrutable one-time banker perhaps falsely convicted of brutal, calculated murder who will go on to transform everyone’s lives within these prison walls.

Originally published in the 1982 collection Different Seasons, it was adapted into the 1994 film The Shawshank Redemption starring Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman. Nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, this modern classic has become one of the most beloved films of all time. A mesmerizing work of unjust imprisonment and strangely satisfying revenge, Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption remains one of Stephen King’s most beloved and iconic stories.

#1 New York Times bestselling author Stephen King's beloved novella, Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption—the basis for the Best Picture Academy Award–nominee The Shawshank Redemption—about an unjustly imprisoned convict who seeks a strangely satisfying revenge, is available as a standalone book.

Suspenseful, mysterious, and heart-wrenching, Stephen King's extraordinary novella, populated by a cast of unforgettable characters, tells a powerful tale of crushing despair and liberating hope through the eyes of Ellis Red Redding.

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276d

📚 The City and Its Uncertain Walls by: Haruki Murakami

Truth is not found in fixed stillness, but in ceaseless change/movement. Isn't this the quintessential core of what stories are all about? Haruki Murakami, from the afterword to The City and Its Uncertain Walls

The long-awaited new novel from Haruki Murakami, his ...

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#books #reading #libraries #fiction #literaryfiction #fantasy #contemporary

Truth is not found in fixed stillness, but in ceaseless change/movement. Isn't this the quintessential core of what stories are all about? Haruki Murakami, from the afterword to The City and Its Uncertain Walls

The long-awaited new novel from Haruki Murakami, his first in six years, revisits a Town his readers will remember, a place where a Dream Reader reviews dreams and where our shadows become untethered from our selves. A love story, a quest, an ode to books and to the libraries that house them, and a parable for these strange post-pandemic times, The City and Its Uncertain Walls is a singular and towering achievement by one of modern literature’s most important writers.

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277d

📚 The Green Mile by: Stephen King

Welcome to Cold Mountain Penitentiary, home to the Depression-worn men of E Block. Convicted killers all, each awaits his turn to walk 'the Green Mile', the lime-colored linoleum corridor leading to a final meeting with Old Sparky, Cold Mountain's electric chair. Prison guard Paul Edgecombe ...

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#books #reading #libraries #fiction #fantasy #historicalfiction #horror #generalfiction

Welcome to Cold Mountain Penitentiary, home to the Depression-worn men of E Block. Convicted killers all, each awaits his turn to walk 'the Green Mile', the lime-colored linoleum corridor leading to a final meeting with Old Sparky, Cold Mountain's electric chair. Prison guard Paul Edgecombe has seen his share of oddities over the years working the Mile, but he's never seen anything like John Coffey a man with the body of a giant and the mind of a child, condemned for a crime terrifying in its violence and shocking in its depravity. And in this place of ultimate retribution, Edgecombe is about to discover the terrible, wondrous truth about John Coffey—a truth that will challenge his most cherished beliefs...

Masterfully told and as suspenseful as it is haunting, The Green Mile is Stephen King's classic #1 New York Times bestselling dramatic serial novel and inspiration for the Oscar-nominated film starring Tom Hanks.

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1y

“We tend to take them for granted, but there’s something quietly radical about even the idea of a library and the intellectual freedom these local institutions inspire.”

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/librarians-trump-administration-cuts_l_67e59789e4b0455df70b3aa2

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205d

📚 Boost student engagement & get hesitant readers excited about reading with film-book pairings for National Library Month! Check out our suggestions for films to pair with Elie Wiesel's memoir Night, John Steinbeck's novel Of Mice and Men, Charlotte Perkins Gilman's short story The Yellow Wallpaper and more!

https://journeysinfilm.org/boost-student-engagement-with-film-book-pairings/?utm_source=LinkedIn&utm_medium=Social+Media&utm_id=National+Library+Week&utm_content=link

#NationalLibraryMonth #NationalLibraryWeek #Bookstodon #Books #Reading #Libraries #Librarians #Education #Homeschooling #Parenting #Families

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275d

📚 Black AF History by: Michael Harriot

From acclaimed columnist and political commentator Michael Harriot, a searingly smart and bitingly hilarious retelling of untold American history that corrects the record and showcases the perspectives and experiences of Black Americans.

America’s backstory is a whitewashed mythology im...

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#books #reading #libraries #history #american #discriminationhistory #unitedstates

From acclaimed columnist and political commentator Michael Harriot, a searingly smart and bitingly hilarious retelling of untold American history that corrects the record and showcases the perspectives and experiences of Black Americans.

America’s backstory is a whitewashed mythology implanted in our collective memory. It is the story of the pilgrims on the Mayflower building a new nation. It is George Washington’s cherry tree and Abraham Lincoln's log cabin. It is the fantastic tale of slaves that spontaneously teleported themselves here with nothing but strong backs and negro spirituals. It is a sugarcoated legend based on an almost true story.

It should come as no surprise that the dominant narrative of American history is blighted with errors and oversights—after all, history books were written by white men with their perspectives at the forefront. It could even be said that the devaluation and erasure of the Black experience is as American as apple pie.

In Black AF History, Michael Harriot presents a more accurate version of American history. Combining unapologetically provocative storytelling with meticulous research based on primary sources as well as the work of pioneering Black historians, scholars, and journalists, Harriot removes the white sugarcoating from the American story, placing Black people squarely at the center. With incisive wit, Harriot speaks hilarious truth to oppressive power, subverting conventional historical narratives with the hid

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275d

📚 Dawn by: Octavia E. Butler

When Lilith lyapo wakes from a centuries-long sleep, she finds herself aboard the vast spaceship of the Oankali. She discovers that the Oankali a seemingly benevolent alien race intervened in the fate of the humanity hundreds of years ago, saving everyone who survived a nuclear war from a dying, ruined Earth and then...

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#books #reading #libraries #fiction #sciencefiction #womenfiction #dystopian

When Lilith lyapo wakes from a centuries-long sleep, she finds herself aboard the vast spaceship of the Oankali. She discovers that the Oankali a seemingly benevolent alien race intervened in the fate of the humanity hundreds of years ago, saving everyone who survived a nuclear war from a dying, ruined Earth and then putting them into a deep sleep. After learning all they could about Earth and its beings, the Oankali healed the planet, cured cancer, increased human strength, and they now want Lilith to lead her people back to Earth--but salvation comes at a price.

Hopeful and thought-provoking, this post-apocalyptic narrative deftly explores gender and race through the eyes of characters struggling to adapt during a pivotal time of crisis and change.

One woman is called upon to rebuild the future of humankind after a nuclear war, in this revelatory post-apocalyptic tale from the award-winning author of Parable of the Sower.

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274d

📚 I Will Kill Your Imaginary Friend for $200 by: Robert Brockway

To bright and anxious eight-year-old Kay Washington, the worst thing in the world is being alone with the quiet. That's why Eddie Video makes the perfect imaginary friend: He's smart, he's loud, he loves pulling pranks, and he's always there...

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#books #reading #libraries #fiction #horror #generalfiction #humorous #darkhumor

To bright and anxious eight-year-old Kay Washington, the worst thing in the world is being alone with the quiet. That's why Eddie Video makes the perfect imaginary friend: He's smart, he's loud, he loves pulling pranks, and he's always there to chase away the silence.

To mid-forties, down-on-his-luck Ivan, the worst thing in the world happened when he lost his imaginary friend. Now cursed with the ability to see everyone else's, Ivan makes a living by killing the imaginary friends of adults who couldn't let go. But when one of Eddie Video's 'pranks' goes too far, Ivan agrees to make an exception and help Kay.

Only Ivan will soon learn that Eddie Video is nothing like the talking ostriches, star bears, and goblin princesses he's encountered in the past, and it’s going to take a lot more than clumsy haymakers and steak knives to bring him down. A balance of comedy and catharsis, this dual-narrative tackles both the fear of growing up and the scars our childhood leaves behind.

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274d

📚 Women of a Promiscuous Nature by: Donna Everhart

On a brisk February morning while walking to the diner where she works, 24 year-old Ruth Foster is stopped by the local sheriff. He insists she accompany him to a health clinic, threatening to arrest her if she doesn't undergo testing in order to preserv...

https://bookblabla.com/book/women-of-a-promiscuous-nature

#books #reading #libraries #fiction #historical #20thcentury #generalfiction #southernfiction

On a brisk February morning while walking to the diner where she works, 24 year-old Ruth Foster is stopped by the local sheriff. He insists she accompany him to a health clinic, threatening to arrest her if she doesn't undergo testing in order to preserve decency and prevent the spread of sexual disease.

Though Ruth has never shared more than a chaste kiss with a man, by day's end she is one of dozens of women held at the State Industrial Farm Colony for Women. Some are there because they were reported for promiscuity by neighbors, husbands, strangers. Some were accused of prostitution. Others were just pretty and unmarried. Or poor and suspicious. One was eating dinner alone in a restaurant. Another spoke to a soldier.

Josephine's sin was running a business as a single woman. Maude's was trying to drown her sorrows. Frances had lost her mind. Opal married a man with a mean streak. Some, like 15-year-old Stella, are brought in because they're victims of assault. She's too naive and broken to understand how unjust this imprisonment is.

Superintendent Dorothy Baker, convinced that she's transforming degenerate souls into upstanding members of society, oversees the women's medical treatment and “training" until they're deemed ready for parole. Sooner or later, everyone at the Colony learns to abide by Mrs. Baker's rule book or face the consequences—solitary confinement, grueling work assignments, and worse.

But some refuse to be cowed. Some find ways to fight

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246d

📚 When the Cranes Fly South by: Lisa Ridzén

Bo is running out of time. Yet time is one of the few things he’s got left. These days, his quiet existence is broken up only by daily visits from his home care team. Fortunately, he still has his beloved elkhound Sixten to keep him company, though now his son, wi...

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#books #reading #libraries #fiction #familylife #generalfiction #friendshipfiction #animals

Bo is running out of time. Yet time is one of the few things he’s got left. These days, his quiet existence is broken up only by daily visits from his home care team. Fortunately, he still has his beloved elkhound Sixten to keep him company, though now his son, with whom Bo has had a rocky relationship, insists upon taking the dog away, claiming that Bo has grown too old to properly care for him. The threat of losing Sixten stirs up a whirlwind of emotion, leading Bo to take stock of his life, his relationships, and the imperfect way he's expressed his love over the years.

INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER • WINNER OF THE SWEDISH BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD • A profoundly moving debut novel that follows an elderly man’s attempts to mend his relationship with his son before it’s too late: an emotional story of love, friendship, fatherhood, dogs, and atonement that is already an international sensation.

One of those you'll laugh, you'll cry, you’ll want to buy twenty copies and give them to everyone you love books. Fredrik Backman, bestselling author of A Man Called Ove, in The New Yorker

A powerful, sneakily emotional meditation on life and death, and the foundational relationships in our lives. This is a book that will echo in your soul. Garth Stein, New York Times bestselling author of The Art of Racing in the Rain

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273d

📚 I Who Have Never Known Men (B&N Exclusive Edition) by: Jacqueline Harpman

As the burn of electric light merges day into night and numberless years pass, a young girl--the fortieth prisoner--sits alone and outcast in the corner. Soon she will show herself to be the key to the others...

https://bookblabla.com/book/i-who-have-never-known-men-bn-exclusive-edition

#books #reading #libraries #fiction #generalfiction #literaryfiction #dystopianfiction #feminist

As the burn of electric light merges day into night and numberless years pass, a young girl--the fortieth prisoner--sits alone and outcast in the corner. Soon she will show herself to be the key to the others' escape and survival in the strange world that awaits them above ground.

Jacqueline Harpman was born in Etterbeek, Belgium, in 1929, and fled to Casablanca with her family during WWII. Informed by her background as a psychoanalyst and her youth in exile, I Who Have Never Known Men is a haunting, heartbreaking post-apocalyptic novel of female friendship and intimacy, and the lengths people will go to maintain their humanity in the face of devastation.

Now available in a collectible hardcover edition, featuring an introduction by Carmen Maria Machado, Harpman's modern classic is an essential addition to the growing canon of feminist speculative literature.

THE RUNAWAY BESTSELLER, NOW AVAILABLE IN A SPECIAL COLLECTOR'S EDITION.
Deep underground, thirty-nine women live imprisoned in a cage. Watched over by guards, the women have no memory of how they got there, no notion of time, and only a vague recollection of their lives before.

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272d

📚 Behind These Four Walls by: Yasmin Angoe

Isla Thorne had a rough start in life. Orphaned young, she spent her formative years in a group home where she met her best friend, Eden Galloway. At sixteen, they decide to run away to LA...but Eden never makes it.

It's been ten years since Eden vanished. And Isla...

https://bookblabla.com/book/behind-these-four-walls

#books #reading #libraries #fiction #thrillers #suspensefiction #psychologicalfiction #domestic

Isla Thorne had a rough start in life. Orphaned young, she spent her formative years in a group home where she met her best friend, Eden Galloway. At sixteen, they decide to run away to LA...but Eden never makes it.

It's been ten years since Eden vanished. And Isla's determined to find her.

She begins at the last place Eden visited: the Corrigan mansion in Virginia. Eden claimed to have unfinished business there. Posing as an aspiring journalist, Isla insinuates herself into the wealthy family's home and begins searching for the truth.

The more she digs, the more Isla discovers Eden isn't who she thought she was. Was she even a victim, or did Eden plan this all along? Desperate for answers and to keep her identity hidden, Isla finds an ally in one of the Corrigan sons. But as she wades deeper into this power-hungry family's secrets and lies, she finds herself in the crosshairs of a bloodline that's more lethal than loyal.

From the author of Not What She Seems, Yasmin Angoe's thriller explores revenge, morality, corruption, and wealth as a woman sets out to uncover the truth behind her friend's disappearance and expose the powerful family behind it.

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273d

📚 The Flightless Birds of New Hope by: Farah Naz Rishi

Upon the sudden deaths of their bird-obsessed parents, the three Shah siblings reunite.

Aliza has spent years holding their crumbling family together, caring for their younger brother, Sammy. And Aden, named executor of the estate, finds himself resentfully fa...

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#books #reading #libraries #fiction #familylife #siblingsfiction #muslimfiction

Upon the sudden deaths of their bird-obsessed parents, the three Shah siblings reunite.

Aliza has spent years holding their crumbling family together, caring for their younger brother, Sammy. And Aden, named executor of the estate, finds himself resentfully facing the one member of the family who always got their parents' undivided love: their famous Bollywood-bopping cockatoo, Coco.

One reckless night, Aden opens Coco's cage, letting her do what he did a decade ago--fly away from home.
In a panic, the siblings set off to recover her, armed with only Coco's tracking chip and the fragile hope they might set things right. What they think will be a quick search and rescue becomes a two-week cross-country road trip, where old grudges resurface, relationships are tested, and long-buried dreams stir awake.

As Coco, meanwhile, forges her own path to the past, Aden, Aliza, and Sammy follow--not just the bird, but the possibility of something more: a way back to each other.

Three estranged siblings--and a high-maintenance cockatoo--reunite in a luminous novel about forgiveness, connection, and the complexities of family by the author of Sorry for the Inconvenience.

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204d

April is School Library Month and this week is National Library Week! Librarians are some of our favorite people. Thank you for the incredible contributions you make to our schools and communities. 💝

It's a great time to watch The Neighborhood Storyteller. This short documentary follows Asmaa Rashed, a young Syrian mother and refugee, as she establishes vibrant reading circles, transforming a humble act into a powerful tool for social change. The film celebrates the importance of reading and sharing stories to find one’s voice.

Our Discussion Guide for this film also connects with "Muzoon: A Syrian Refugee Speaks Out" by Muzoon Al-Mellehanan with Wendy Pearlman, for an exciting film-book teaching combination.

Learn more!

https://journeysinfilm.org/film/the-neighborhood-storyteller/?utm_source=LinkedIn&utm_medium=Social+Media&utm_id=National+Library+Week&utm_content=link

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272d

📚 The Heart of Everything by: Marc Levy

There's nothing too unusual about a father asking his son for a favor unless, of course, the father in question has been dead for five years.

Thomas, a young virtuoso pianist living a quiet, carefully structured life in France, is stunned when his late father, Raymond, s...

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There's nothing too unusual about a father asking his son for a favor unless, of course, the father in question has been dead for five years.

Thomas, a young virtuoso pianist living a quiet, carefully structured life in France, is stunned when his late father, Raymond, suddenly appears in his home. He's not a ghost in the traditional sense--he's real enough to ask for help. His request? That Thomas travel with him to San Francisco to find Camille, the long-lost love of his life.

For Thomas, it's as surreal as it sounds. And yet... it might be his last-in-a-lifetime chance to know his father as a man and to square the regrets of the past. Together they embark on a five-thousand-mile journey that questions the very nature of existence, proves that love never fades, and rekindles the curious, heart-tugging bond between a parent and child that somehow endures beyond death.

Even death can't break the bond between father and son in an uncannily funny and poignant novel about love, loss, memory, and family by Marc Levy, the bestselling author of P.S. from Paris.

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271d

📚 Twist by: Colum McCann

Anthony Fennell, an Irish journalist and playwright, is assigned to cover the underwater cables that carry the world’s information. The sum of human existence words, images, transactions, memes, voices, viruses—travels through the tiny fiber-optic tubes. But sometimes the tubes break, at an unfath...

https://bookblabla.com/book/twist

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$Anthony Fennell, an Irish journalist and playwright, is assigned to cover the underwater cables that carry the world’s information. The sum of human existence words, images, transactions, memes, voices, viruses—travels through the tiny fiber-optic tubes. But sometimes the tubes break, at an unfathomable depth. Fennell's journey brings him to the west coast of Africa, where he uncovers a story about the raw human labor behind the dazzling veneer of the technological world. He meets a fellow Irishman, John Conway, the chief of mission on a cable repair ship. The mysterious Conway is a skilled engineer and a freediver capable of reaching extraordinary depths. He is also in love with a South African actress, Zanele, who must leave to go on her own literary adventure to London. When the ship is sent up the coast to repair a series of major underwater breaks, both men learn that the very cables they seek to fix carry the news that may cause their lives to unravel. At sea, they are forced to confront the most elemental questions of life, love, absence, belonging, and the perils of our severed connections. Can we, in our fractured world, reweave ourselves out of the thin, broken threads of our pasts? Can the ruptured things awaken us from our despair? Resoundingly simple and turbulent at the same time, Twist is a meditation on the nature of narrative and truth from one of the great storytellers of our times. INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER. An urgent and ingenious (The New Y$

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334d

In September, I put in a purchase request for Enshittification at the library. In October, I was notified that Aarhus library now has it in stock. I reserved the audiobook. I just got a notification that it's ready for me to borrow. In one click, I have borrowed it. The library's simple, free, reader-oriented process is like the opposite of enshittification.

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Screenshot from Libby library app showing October 2025 (Danish-language) notification that I had requested eReolen (Danish library) stock Cory Doctorow's book Enshittification and now they have the ebook and audiobook. Audiobook cover: black with Poop emoji. Ebook cover: white with big text.

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