Book Tasting Menu
Check out these tasty books we enjoyed in this winter’s online Book Tasting event!
February 6, 2021
Check out these tasty books we enjoyed in this winter’s online Book Tasting event!
In this list…
- Appetizers: Hidden gems and debut novels that you may not have heard of but are worth sampling.
- Main Courses: Page turners you will devour.
- Desserts: Light, fun reads.
Appetizers
Hidden gems and debut novels that you may not have heard of but are worth sampling.
The Liar’s Dictionary
Eley Williams
Historical Fiction Romance Fiction Literary Fiction
An exhilarating and laugh-out-loud debut novel from a prize-winning new talent which chronicles the misadventures of a lovelorn Victorian lexicographer and the young woman put on his trail a century later to root out his misdeeds while confronting questions of her own sexuality and place in the world.
The Charmed Wife
Olga Grushin
Fantasy Romance
From the award-winning author comes a sophisticated literary fairy tale for the twenty-first century, in which Cinderella, thirteen years after her marriage, is on the brink of leaving her supposedly perfect life behind.
Waiting For The Night Song
Julie Carrick
Contemporary Fiction
Forestry researcher Cadie returns home when her former best friend urgently needs help, bringing to light a secret from their childhood.
The Inland Sea
Madeleine Watts
Realistic Fiction Literary Fiction
In this eloquent debut, a young Australian woman unable to find her footing in the world begins to break down when the emergencies she hears working as a 911 operator and the troubles within her own life gradually blur together, forcing her to grapple with how the past has shaped her present.
The Children’s Train
Viola Ardone
Historical Fiction
A tale based on true events follows the experiences of a boy in post-World War II Italy, who joins thousands of other children from the south to live with adoptive families in the less-desperate north.
Shiver
Allie Reynolds
Suspense
In this propulsive locked-room thriller debut, a reunion weekend in the French Alps turns deadly when five friends discover that someone has deliberately stranded them at their remote mountaintop resort during a snowstorm.
How The One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House
Cherie Jones
Realistic Fiction Literary Fiction
Lala must deal with a chain of events that have terrible consequences when her petty criminal husband is interrupted in his attempt to rob one of the mansions in their “paradise” home of Baxter Beach, Barbados. How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House is an intimate and visceral portrayal of interconnected lives, across race and class, in a rapidly changing resort town, told by an astonishing new author of literary fiction.
The Kindest Lie
Nancy Johnson
Realistic Fiction Literary Fiction
Needing to reconnect with the baby she gave up for adoption years earlier, an Ivy League-educated black engineer uncovers devastating family secrets before her bond with a young white misfit scandalizes her racially torn community.
The Smash-Up
Ali Benjamin
Realistic Fiction Literary Fiction
Upended by his wife’s newfound activism, a once-successful businessman begins questioning everything in the face of scandalous allegations and a naive houseguest.
When I Ran Away
Ilona Bannister
Realistic Fiction
Escaping the September 11 attacks aboard the Staten Island Ferry, Gigi marries a fellow survivor and moves to London, where she confronts the anguish of her trauma, her brother’s death and the unspoken pain of motherhood.
Main Courses
Page turners you will devour.
The Children’s Blizzard
Melanie Benjamin
Historical Fiction
The best-selling author of The Aviator’s Wife draws on oral histories of the Great Plains blizzard of 1888 to depict the experiences of two teachers, a servant and a reporter who risk everything to protect the children of immigrant homesteaders.
The Mystery Of Mrs. Christie
Marie Benedict
Historical Fiction
A novel based on the true story of mystery novelist Agatha’s Christie mysterious disappearance, vanishing for 11 days before returning with amnesia.
The Survivors
Jane Harper
Mystery/Suspense
Haunted by guilt for a reckless and consequential mistake in his youth, Kieran returns to his coastal hometown and his struggling fishing-industry parents, before the discovery of a body on the beach reveals long-held secrets.
Girl A
Abigail Dean
Realistic Fiction Thriller
A propulsive and psychologically immersive novel about a young girl who escapes captivity—but not the secrets that shadow the rest of her life.
The Echo Wife
Sarah Gailey
Science Fiction Thriller
Evelyn Caldwell’s husband Nathan has been having an affair—with Evelyn Caldwell. Or, to be exact, with a genetically cloned replica. After a morning that begins with a confrontation and ends with Nathan’s body bleeding out on the kitchen floor, the two Caldwell wives will have to think fast-before sharing everything includes sharing a jail cell.
The Kitchen Front
Jennifer Ryan
Historical Fiction
From the best selling author of the The Chilbury Ladies’ Choir comes an unforgettable novel of a BBC-sponsored wartime cookery competition and the four women who enter for a chance to better their lives.
The Rose Code
Kate Quinn
Historical Fiction
1940. As England prepares to fight the Nazis, three very different women answer the call to mysterious country estate Bletchley Park, where the best minds in Britain train to break German military codes. Another heart-stopping World War II story of three female code breakers, and the spy they must root out after the war is over. Quinn’s meticulous research and impeccable characterization shine through this gripping and beautifully executed novel.
How Beautiful We Were
Imbolo Mbue
Realistic Fiction
From the celebrated author of the New York Times bestseller Behold the Dreamers comes a sweeping, wrenching story about the collision of a small African village and an American oil company. In Kosawa, a small African village, an American oil company has ruined the farmland and polluted the drinking water. Now, the people of Kosawa are determined to fight back.
Klara And The Sun
Kazuo Ishiguro
Science Fiction
The story of Klara, an Artificial Friend with outstanding observational qualities, who, from her place in the store, watches carefully the behavior of those who come in to browse, and of those who pass on the street outside. She remains hopeful that a customer will soon choose her. Klara and the Sun is a thrilling book that offers a look at our changing world through the eyes of an unforgettable narrator, and one that explores the fundamental question: what does it mean to love?
A Million Reasons Why
Jessica Strawser
Realistic Fiction
Sela is in desperate need of a kidney transplant. She’s possibly found the perfect match; but how do you turn someone else’s life upside down by revealing that you are her previously unknown half-sister?
Malibu Rising
Taylor Jenkins Reid
Realistic Fiction
Four famous siblings throw an epic party to celebrate the end of the summer. But over the course of twenty-four hours, their lives will change forever. Malibu Rising is a story about one unforgettable night in the life of a family: the night they each have to choose what they will keep from the people who made them… and what they will leave behind.
Desserts
Light, fun reads.
The Particulars Of Peter
Dance Lessons, DNA Tests, And Other Excuses To Hang Out With My Perfect Dog
Kelly Conaboy
Non-Fiction
From one of the Internet’s most original voices, a hilarious journey through the odd corners of obsessive dog ownership and the author’s own infatuation with her perfect dog Peter. This is a smart, entertaining respite from the harsh world of humans into the funny little world of dogs.
Beginners
The Joy And Transformative Power Of Lifelong Learning
Tom Vanderbilt
Non-Fiction
A thought-provoking, playful investigation into the transformative joys that come with starting something new, no matter your age. Inspired by his young daughter’s insatiable need to know how to do almost everything, and stymied by his own rut of mid-career competence, Tom Vanderbilt begins a year of learning purely for the sake of learning. He tackles five main skills. What he doesn’t expect is that the paths he takes while learning these skills will prove even more satisfying than any knowledge he gains.
The Bad Muslim Discount
Syed M. Masood
Contemporary Fiction
Following two families from Pakistan and Iraq in the 1990s to San Francisco in 2016, The Bad Muslim Discount is an inclusive, comic novel about Muslims immigrants finding their way in modern America.
Finlay Donovan Is Killing It
Elle Cosimano
Mystery
When struggling suspense novelist and single mom Finlay Donovan is mistaken for a contract killer, she inadvertently accepts the offer to dispose of a problem husband in order to make ends meet, discovering that crime in real life is a lot harder than fiction.
A Game Of Cones
Abby Collette
Cozy Mystery
Cozy mystery readers are in for a sweet treat with the second installment of the Ice Cream Parlor Mystery series. Bronwyn Crewse needs to step in to save the day when a close friend is labeled the prime suspect in a murder.
Everything After
Jill Santopolo
Contemporary Romance
The Light We Lost mixes with a touch of Daisy Jones and the Six in this novel of first love, passion, and the power of choice—and how we cannot escape the people we are meant to be. Helping troubled students navigate personal losses, a university psychologist is forced to reckon with her own painful past when a tragic event compels her to reevaluate her goals, passions and sense of identity.
Are We There Yet?
Kathleen West
Contemporary Fiction
Alice has always strived for the perfect life, but as everything starts falling apart she realizes no one’s life is perfect and it’s okay to not have it all. She had used social media to pass judgment on others faces her own reckoning when her children are accused of poor school performance and bullying, causing her to become targeted online in friendship-polarizing ways.
Zoë Bakes Cakes
Everything You Need to Know to Make Your Favorite Layers, Bundts, Loaves, and More a Cookbook
Zoë François
Non-Fiction
The expert baker and bestselling author behind Zoë Bakes explores her favorite dessert—cakes!—with more than 100 recipes to create flavorful and beautiful layers, loafs, bundts, and more. With Zoë’s encouragement, as well as her lighthearted approach, delicious homemade cake is within reach for any celebration imaginable.
World Travel
An Irreverent Guide
Anthony Bourdain
Non-Fiction
A guide to some of the world’s most fascinating places, as seen and experienced by writer, television host, and relentlessly curious traveler Anthony Bourdain.
People We Meet On Vacation
Emily Henry
Romantic Comedy
From the New York Times bestselling author of Beach Read, a sparkling new novel that will leave you with the warm, hazy afterglow usually reserved for the best vacations. With one week to win back the best friend she might just be in love with, a travel writer plans the trip of a lifetime.