books

FICTION

Almost midnight by Paul Doiron.  A deadly attack on one of Maine’s last wild wolves leads Game Warden Mike Bowditch to an even bigger criminal conspiracy.

Ask again, yes by Mary Beth Keane.  A family saga about 2 Irish American families in a New York suburb, the love between 2 of their children, and the tragedies to tear them apart and destroy the future.

Backlash by Brad Thor.  Cut off from any support, Scot Harvath fights to get his revenge.

Big Sky by Kate Atkinson.  Detective Jackson Brodie uncovers a sinister network in a sleepy seaside town.

The chain by Adrian McKinty.  At once a commentary on social media, greed, revenge, love, and true evil, this will have readers searching for more titles by this author.

The eagle flies at night by Jan Anderson.  What does an ordinary community do when the state settles refugees in their city?  How does the arrival of refugees challenge the hearts and minds of residents?  These are the questions Rev. Giles asks himself and his congregation as they wrestle with an influx to the city of Portland, Maine.

Into the jungle by Erica Ferencik.  A young woman leaves behind everything she knows to take on the Bolivian jungle, but her excursion abroad quickly turns into a fight for her life.

The last house guest by Megan Miranda.  A suspenseful novel about an idyllic town in Maine dealing with the suspicious death of one of their own.

Lock every door by Riley Sager.  A woman whose new job apartment sitting in one of NY’s oldest and most glamorous buildings may cost more than it pays

The long flight home by Alan Hlad.  A fresh angle (which begins in Maine) on the blitz of World War II and focuses on the homing pigeons used by the British, and the people who trained and cared for them.

Lost and found by Danielle Steel.  A photographer embarks on a road trip to reconnect with three men she might have married.

More news tomorrow by Susan Shreve.  Family drama about a daughter’s quest to understand her mother’s mysterious death.

Mrs. Everything by Jennifer Weiner.  A timely exploration of 2 sisters’ lives from the 1950s to the present as they struggle to find their places – and be true to themselves – in a rapidly evolving world.

The new girl by Daniel Silva.  Gabriel Allon, the chief of Israeli intelligence, partners with the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, whose daughter has been kidnapped.

On earth we’re briefly gorgeous by Ocean Vuong.  Little Dog writes a letter to a mother who cannot read, revealing a family history.

The paper wasp by Lauren Acampora.  A woman with big but unfocused ambitions moves to LA to become the personal assistant to her childhood best friend, a rising Hollywood starlet.

Paris, 7 a.m. by Liza Wieland.  A novel of what happened to the poet Elizabeth Bishop during 3 life-changing weeks she spent in Paris amidst the imminent threat of World War II.

The perfect child by Lucinda Berry.  A novel of suspense about a young couple desperate to have a child of their own – and the unsettling consequences of getting what they always wanted.

Queen Bee by Dorothea Benton Frank.  A beekeeper’s quiet life is unsettled by her demanding mother, outgoing sister, and neighboring widower.

Roughhouse Friday by Jaed Coffin.  A meditation on violence and abandonment, masculinity, and our inescapable longing for love.  The author lives in Brunswick, Maine.

Salvation Day by Kali Wallace.  A lethal virus is awoken on an abandoned spaceship in this incredibly fast-paced, claustrophobic thriller.

The Saturday Night Ghost Club by Craig Davidson.  A bittersweet coming of age story in the vein of Stand By Me about a group of misfit kids who spend an unforgettable summer investigating local ghost stories and urban legends.

Summer of ‘69 by Elin Hilderbrand.  Four siblings experience the drama, intrigue, and upheaval of a summer when everything changed – 1969.

Surfside sisters by Nancy Thayer.  A Nantucket woman returns home to find that reunions aren’t always simple.

Under currents by Nora Roberts.  A novel about the power of family to harm – and to heal.

We went to the woods by Caite Dolan-Leach.  They went off the grid.  Their secrets didn’t.  A novel about the allure – and dangers – of disconnecting.

Window on the bay by Debbie Macomber.  When a single mom becomes an empty nester, she spreads her wings to rediscover herself – and her passions.

NEW DVDs

Captain Marvel (2019) starring Brie Larson and Samuel L. Jackson

The public (2019) starring Alec Baldwin, Emilio Estevez, and Gabrielle Union

Mountains of the moon (1989) starring Patrick Bergin and Iain Glen

What they had (2018) starring Hilary Swank, Michael Shannon, and Blythe Danner

A room with a view (1986) starring Helena Bonham Carter, Maggie Smith, and Daniel Day-Lewis

Dancing on the edge (2013) starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, Matthew Goode, Jacqueline Bisset

It follows (2014)  starring Maika Monroe and Keir Gilchrist

NONFICTION

Burn the place by Iliana Regan.  A singular expressive debut memoir that traces one chef’s struggle find her place and what happens when she does.

Dutch girl by Robert Matzen.  Near the end of 1939, 10 year old Audrey Hepburn flew from boarding school in England into the Netherlands, which would soon become a war zone.  What she experienced in 5 years of Nazi occupation has never been explored until now.

The honey bus by Meredith May.  An extraordinary story of a girl, her grandfather, and one of nature’s most mysterious and beguiling creatures: the honeybee.

I know what I saw by Linda Godfrey.  Modern-day encounters with monsters of new urban legend and ancient lore.

Invisible heroes of World War II by Jerry Borrowman.  Extraordinary wartime stories of ordinary people.

Love thy neighbor by Ayaz Virji.  A true story about a Muslim doctor’s service to small-town America and the hope of overcoming our country’s climate of hostility and fear.

Mary’s household tips and tricks by Mary Berry.  The Queen of Baking now shares her expertise in home maintenance and care.

Slime by Ruth Kassinger.  How algae created us, plague us, and just might save us.

Songs of America by Jon Meacham.  The author joins Tim McGraw to explore how American was shaped by music.

The Stonewall Reader.  A generous and eclectic assortment of writings about the historical Stonewall Riots.  It is divided into 3 sections:  Before, During, and After Stonewall.

Supernavigators by David Barrie.  A globetrotting voyage of discovery celebrating the navigational gifts of animals; from whales and lobsters to birds and beetles – and many more.

This is really war by Emilie Lucchesi.  The incredible true story of a navy nurse POW in the occupied Philippines.

Wild and crazy guys by Nick Semlyen.  How the comedy mavericks of the ‘80s changed Hollywood forever.

New Children’s Books

PICTURE BOOKS

Another by Christian Robinson

Bear came along by Richard T. Morris

Field trip to the moon by John Hare

How do you care for a very sick bear? by Vanessa Bayer

Hum and swish by Matt Myers

Kindness makes the world go round by Craig Manning

My little chick, from egg to chick– by Geraldine Elschner

A normal pig by K-Fai Steele

Paw Patrol 5-minute stories collection  

Rainbow : a first book of pride by Michael Genhart

Rocket says look up! by Nathan Bryon

This beach is loud! by Samantha Cotterill

Vamos! Let’s go to the market by Raul Gonzalez

CHAPTER BOOKS

Owl diaries # 5 : Warm hearts day by Rebecca Elliott

Owl diaries # 6 : Baxter is missing by Rebecca Elliott

Owl diaries # 7 : The Wildwood Bakery by Rebecca Elliott

NON-FICTION

Crossing on time : steam engines, fast ships, and a journey to the new world by David Macaulay

DK findout! Birds by Ben Hoare

DK findout! Castles by Philip Steele

The girl who named Pluto : the story of Venetia Burney by Alice B McGinty

Just right : searching for the Goldilocks planet  by Curtis Manley

Military dogs on the job by Roxanne Troup

Night sky : explore nature with fun facts and activities by Carole Scott

Planetarium by Raman Prinja

Super summer : all kinds of summer facts and fun by Bruce Goldstone

They, she, he, me : free to be! by Maya and Matthew Smith-Gonzalez

GRAPHIC NOVELS

Camp by Kayla Miller

Dinosaur explorers #1 Prehistoric pioneers by Redcode & Albbie

The Giver by P. Craig Russell

Olympians #11 Hephaistos: god of fire by George O’Connor

Putuguq & Kublu and the qalupalik by Roselynn Akulukjuk

The underfoot : the mighty deep by Ben Fisher

Wolfie Monster and the big bad pizza battle by Joey Ellis

MOVIES

Open season with Martin Lawrence

Race to Witch Mountain by Walt Disney with Dwayne Johnson

Ruby’s studio. The friendship show with Dr. Robyn Silverman

The three musketeers by Walt Disney

Wonder Park with Jennifer Garner

Notes from Booklist, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, Library Journal, and New York Times Book Review.

 

 

 

 

FICTION

America was hard to find by Kathleen Alcott.  Three indelible characters embody the truths about this country in transition during America’s most iconic moments in the later part of the last century: the race to space, the race against the Vietnam War, and the ravages of the AIDS epidemic.

The body in the wake by Katherine Hall Page.  Amateur detective and caterer Faith Fairchild is at her Penobscot Bay, Maine cottage preparing for a summer wedding, when she stumbles across….a body.

Bunny by Mona Awad.  A darkly funny, strange novel about a lonely graduate student drawn into a clique of rich girls who seem to move and speak as one.

Cape May by Chip Cheek.  This explores the social and sexual mores of 1950s America through the eyes of a newly married couple from the genteel south corrupted by sophisticated New England urbanites.

City of girls by Elizabeth Gilbert.  Someone told Vivian Morris in her youth that she would never be an interesting person.  Good thing they didn’t put money on it.

The confessions of Frannie Langton by Sara Collins.  A servant and former slave is accused of murdering her employer and his wife in this thriller that moves from a Jamaican sugar plantation to the fetid streets of Georgian London.

Dark site by Patrick Lee.  Sam Dryden comes under attack from unknown forces as an unremembered episode from his past threatens more than just his life.

Deception Cove by Owen Laukkanen.  An ex-convict, an ex-Marine, and a rescue dog are caught in the cross-hairs of a ruthless gang in remote Washington State.

Disappearing earth by Julia Phillips.  A year in the lives of women and girls on an isolated peninsula in northeastern Russia opens with a chilling crime.

The flight portfolio by Julie Orringer.  Based on the true story of Varian Fry’s extraordinary attempt to save the work, and the lives, of Jewish artists fleeing the Holocaust.

The guest book by Sarah Blake.  This sets out to be more than a juicy family saga – it aims to depict the moral evolution of a part of American society.  Its convincing characters and muscular narrative succeed on both accounts.

Have you seen Luis Velez?  by Catherine Hyde.  A novel about two strangers who find that kindness is a powerful antidote to fear.

The heads of Cerberus by Francis Stevens.  A rediscovered sci-fi classic written in 1919 set in a dystopian 22^nd century society where the winner takes all, a precursor to “The Hunger Games”….and to Hitler’s Germany.

How we disappeared by Jing-Jing Lee.  A novel set in World War II Singapore about a woman who survived the Japanese occupation and a man who thought he had lost everything.

The invited by Jennifer McMahon.  A chilling ghost story with a twist – in the woods of Vermont a husband and wife don’t simply move into a haunted house, they build one.

Little darlings by Melanie Golding.   “Mother knows best” takes on a sinister new meaning in this unsettling thriller.

Mistress of the Ritz by Melanie Benjamin.  Novel based on the story of the extraordinary real-life American woman who secretly worked for the French Resistance during World War II – while playing hostess to the invading Germans at the iconic Hotel Ritz in Paris.

Necessary people by Anna Pitoniak.  Set against the fast-paced backdrop of TV news, this is a propulsive work of psychological suspense about ambition and privilege, about the thin line between friendship and rivalry, about the people we need in our lives, and the people we don’t.

On a summer tide by Suzanne Fisher.  When her father buys an island off the coast of Maine with the hope of breathing new life into it, his daughter thinks he’s lost his mind.  She soon discovers the island has its own way of living…and loving.

The oracle by Clive Cussler.  A husband and wife treasure hunting team search for an ancient scroll which carries a deadly curse.

The policewomen’s bureau by Edward Conlon.  The NYPD’s “No Girls Allowed” sign fades in this fictional account of a real woman’s struggle for respect and success in a profession that men wanted all to themselves.

Redemption by David Baldacci.  Amos Decker learns that he may have made a mistake on a case he worked as a rookie detective – one with heartbreaking consequences, and he may be the only person who can put it right.

Resistance women by Jennifer Chiaverini.  Historical saga that recreates the danger, romance, and sacrifices of an era and brings to life one courageous American and her circle of women friends who waged a clandestine battle against Hitler in Nazi Berlin.

This storm by James Ellroy.  A massive novel of World War II Los Angeles.

Vessel by Lisa Nichols.  An astronaut returns to Earth after losing her entire crew to an inexplicable disaster, but is her version of what happened in space the truth?  Or is there more to the story?

Waisted by Randy Susan Meyers.  Seven women enrolled in an extreme weight loss documentary discover self-love and sisterhood as they enact a daring revenge against the exploitative filmmakers.

A woman is no man by Etaf Rum.  A Palestinian-American teenager, much like her mother before her, faces the prospect of an arranged marriage.

NONFICTION

The art of inventing hope by Howard Reich.  This offers an unprecedented in-depth conversation between the world’s most revered Holocaust survivor, Elie Wiesel, and the son of survivors, Howard Reich.

The book of pride by Mason Funk.  This captures the true story of the gay rights movement from the 1960s to the present, through richly detailed, studding interviews with the leaders, activists, and ordinary people who witnessed the movement and made it happen.

The cost of these dreams by Wright Thompson.  A collection of true stories about the dream of greatness and its cost in the world of sports.

A fiery gospel by Richard Gamble.  The Battle Hymn of the Republic and the road to righteous war.  Readers with an interest in 19^th century American religious and political popular culture will enjoy this bio of the hymn by Gardiner’s own Julia Ward Howe.

Furious hours by Casey Cep.  Harper Lee worked on the true-crime story about a rural preacher accused of murdering five of his family members in the 1970s.  Cep unravels the mystery surrounding Harper Lee’s first and only work of nonfiction, and the shocking true crimes at the center of it.

How to forget by Kate Mulgrew.  In this very honest and examined memoir about returning to Iowa to care for her ailing parents, Mulgrew takes us on an unexpected journey of loss, betrayal, and the transcendent nature of a daughter’s love for her parents.

Questions I am asked about the Holocaust by Hedi Fried.  Now 94, Fried has spent her life educating about the Holocaust as a survivor and answering questions about one of the darkest periods in human history.

Save me the plums by Ruth Reichl.  Gourmet magazine readers will relish the behind-the-scenes peek at the workings of the magazine.  Reichl’s revealing memoir is a deeply personal look at a food world on the brink of change.

A season on the wind by Kenn Kaufman.  A close look at one season in one key site that reveals the amazing science and magic of spring bird migration and the perils of human encroachment.

They were all her property by Stephanie Jones-Rogers.  Bridging women’s history, the history of the South, and African American history, this book makes a bold argument about the role of white women in American slavery.

Woodstock by Dale Bell.  In celebration of the 50^th anniversary, this new photo book goes behind the scenes of the hit documentary film, Woodstock.

New Children’s Books for July 2019

PICTURE BOOKS

Bruno, the standing cat by Nadine Robert

Cece loves science and adventure by Kimberly Derting

Count on me by Miguel Tanco

Dear boy, a celebration of cool, clever, compassionate you! by Paris Rosenthal

Ghost cat by Kevan Atteberry

How to read a book by Kwame Alexander

Sea glass summer by Michelle Houts

Tilly & Tank by Jay Fleck

BEGINNER READERS

Fancy Nancy Toodle-oo Miss Moo by Victoria Saxon

First little readers book level B by Liza Charlesworth

Leaf it to Dot by Andrea Cascardi

Rocket out of the park by Andrea Cascardi

CHAPTER BOOKS

The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge by M.T. Anderson

The haunted house by R. A. Montgomery

Princess Island by Shannon Gilligan

Space pup by R. A. Montgomery

Your grandparents are spies by Anson Montomery

Your grandparents are zombies by Anson Montomery

NON-FICTION

Encyclopedia of Strangely Named Animals by Fredrik Colting

How to be a scientist by Steve Mould

The science of flight by Ian Graham

The science of spacecraft by Alex Woolf

The science of vehicles by Roger Canavan

What a waste: trash, recycling, and protecting our planet by Jess French

MOVIES

Bernie the dolphin with Lola Sultan

The cheetah children by PBS with Robyn Keene-Young

Daniel Tiger’s neighborhood: won’t you be our neighbor? Animated

How to train your dragon: the hidden world with Jay Baruchel

Telling time by Rock ‘n learn with Richard Caudie

Notes from Booklist, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, Library Journal, and New York Times Book Review.