New Books
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The Instrumentalist
A stunning debut novel of music, intoxication, and betrayal inspired by the true story of Anna Maria della Pietà, a Venetian orphan and violin prodigy who studied under Antonio Vivaldi and ultimately became his star musician—and his biggest muse.
“THE INSTRUMENTALIST is more than a history lesson—with this novel, Constable has crafted an engrossing tale about an unexpected coup de musique.” —THE NEW YORK TIMES
Anna Maria della Pietà was destined to drown in one of Venice’s canals. Instead, she became the greatest violinist of the 18th century.
Anna Maria has only known life inside the Pietà, an orphanage for children born of prostitutes. But the girls of the Pietà are lucky in a sense: most babies born of their station were drowned in the city’s canals. And despite the strict rules, the girls are given singing and music lessons from an early age. The most promising musicians have the chance to escape the fate of the rest: forced marriage to anyone who will have them.
Anna Maria is determined to be the best violinist there is—and whatever Anna Maria sets out to do, she achieves. After all, the stakes for Anna could not be higher. But it is 1704 and she is a girl. The pursuit of her ambition will test everything she holds dear, especially when it becomes clear that her instructor, Antonio Vivaldi, will teach Anna everything he knows—but not without taking something in return.
From the opulent palaces of Venice to its mud-licked canals, The Instrumentalist is a portrait of opportunities dangled only to be snatched away. It is the story of one woman’s irrepressible ambition and rise to the top. And it is the story of the orphans of Venice who overcame destitution and abuse to make music, and whose contributions to some of the most important works of classical music, including “The Four Seasons,” have been overlooked for too long.
For fans of The Queen’s Gambit and Fingersmith, The Instrumentalist is a searing exploration of art and ambition, genius and exploitation, and loss and triumph. -
The Life Impossible
The New York Times Bestseller
“An odyssey of action and awe.” —The New York Times
“A wry and tender love-letter to the best of being human.” —Benedict Cumberbatch
The remarkable next novel from Matt Haig, the author of #1 New York Times bestseller The Midnight Library, with more than nine million copies sold worldwide
“What looks like magic is simply a part of life we don’t understand yet…”
When retired math teacher Grace Winters is left a run-down house on a Mediterranean island by a long-lost friend, curiosity gets the better of her. She arrives in Ibiza with a one-way ticket, no guidebook and no plan.
Among the rugged hills and golden beaches of the island, Grace searches for answers about her friend’s life, and how it ended. What she uncovers is stranger than she could have dreamed. But to dive into this impossible truth, Grace must first come to terms with her past.
Filled with wonder and wild adventure, this is a story of hope and the life-changing power of a new beginning. -
Tell Me Everything: Oprah's Book Club
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • OPRAH’S BOOK CLUB PICK • From Pulitzer Prize–winning author Elizabeth Strout comes a “stunner” (People) of a novel about new friendships, old loves, and the very human desire to leave a mark on the world.
“Tell Me Everything hits like a bucolic fable. . . . A novel of moods, how they govern our personal lives and public spaces, reflected in Strout’s shimmering technique.”—The Washington Post
With her remarkable insight into the human condition and silences that contain multitudes, Elizabeth Strout returns to the town of Crosby, Maine, and to her beloved cast of characters—Lucy Barton, Olive Kitteridge, Bob Burgess, and more—as they deal with a shocking crime in their midst, fall in love and yet choose to be apart, and grapple with the question, as Lucy Barton puts it, “What does anyone’s life mean?”
It’s autumn in Maine, and the town lawyer Bob Burgess has become enmeshed in an unfolding murder investigation, defending a lonely, isolated man accused of killing his mother. He has also fallen into a deep and abiding friendship with the acclaimed writer Lucy Barton, who lives down the road in a house by the sea with her ex-husband, William. Together, Lucy and Bob go on walks and talk about their lives, their fears and regrets, and what might have been. Lucy, meanwhile, is finally introduced to the iconic Olive Kitteridge, now living in a retirement community on the edge of town. They spend afternoons together in Olive’s apartment, telling each other stories. Stories about people they have known—“unrecorded lives,” Olive calls them—reanimating them, and, in the process, imbuing their lives with meaning.
Brimming with empathy and pathos, Tell Me Everything is Elizabeth Strout operating at the height of her powers, illuminating the ways in which our relationships keep us afloat. As Lucy says, “Love comes in so many different forms, but it is always love.” -
Witty in Pink
Keep your friends close. Keep your nemesis closer.
After nearly five years of avoiding him, Briggs Goswick may have appeared at my feet on horseback like a handsome white knight but, in fact, he is a certified man-child.
Briggs may be many things—a society darling (annoying), attractive (so unfair), and heir to an elite family (helpful)—but after humiliating me at a ball several years ago, he is primarily my archnemesis.
His presence has made this summer go from bad to...complicated. I have the weight of saving my family’s name and finances solely on my shoulders, while I endure an endless parade of dreary balls and insufferable suitors to make a favorable match. But I have another idea—a business venture—to save my family. All I need are investors.
And as for Briggs? He’s hiding a secret as well: he’s flat broke.
Now the person I loathe the most in this world is just as trapped as I am—both penniless and our households depending on us to save them. And I think I know how. All I have to do is play nice with the very devil I’ve sworn to hate...
His society connections can boost me from near obscurity to help me win over investors for my business. And perhaps I can help him woo an aloof heiress with deep pockets. It’s a long shot. It might even work...but do I want it to? -
The Book Swap
"A love letter to books and reading. This debut is catnip for any book geek. I just loved it." --Cesca Major, author of Maybe Next Time, a Reese's Book Club Pick
A story of second chances and new beginnings, this is a love letter to books--and a love letter to life
Still reeling from a recent tragedy, Erin Connolly knows she needs to start living, but has no idea how. When she accidentally donates her favorite book--a heavily annotated copy of To Kill a Mockingbird containing a memento she can't be without--to a local little community library, she's devastated. But then the book turns up a week later, back in the library with fresh notes in the margins, along with an invitation in a copy of Great Expectations to meet her newfound pen pal.
A life-changing conversation, written only in the margins of beloved classic books, begins between Erin and her Mystery Man. Following each other through the pages of their favorite novels as the book exchange continues, they both begin to open up, falling into a friendship...and maybe something more.
But Erin and her pen pal have a shared history that neither of them has guessed. Faced with painful reminders of the past--and the one person she swore never to forgive--Erin finds herself at a crossroads. One that could change her life forever.
A book-lovers dream! References to the following classics can be found in The Book Swap.- TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD
- GREAT EXPECTATIONS
- WUTHERING HEIGHTS
- MANSFIELD PARK
- THE GREAT GATSBY
- MIDDLEMARCH
- BELOVED
- ON THE ROAD
- THE BELL JAR
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Someone Like Us
THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW EDITORS' CHOICE • The son of Ethiopian immigrants seeks to understand a hidden family history and uncovers a past colored by unexpected loss, addiction, and the enduring emotional pull toward home.
After abandoning his once-promising career as a journalist in search of a new life in Paris, Mamush meets Hannah—a photographer whose way of seeing the world shows him the possibility of finding not only love but family. Now, five years later, with his marriage to Hannah on the verge of collapse, he returns to the close-knit immigrant Ethiopian community of Washington, DC, that defined his childhood. At its center is Mamush’s stoic, implacable mother, and Samuel, the larger-than-life father figure whose ceaseless charm and humor have always served as a cover for a harder, more troubling truth. But on the same day that Mamush arrives home in Washington, Samuel is found dead in his garage.
With Hannah and their two-year-old son back in Paris, Mamush sets out on an unexpected journey across America in search of answers to questions he'd been told never to ask. As he does so, he begins to understand that perhaps the only chance he has of saving his family and making it back home is to confront not only the unresolved mystery around Samuel’s life and death, but his own troubled memories, and the years spent masking them. Breathtaking, commanding, unforgettable work from one of America’s most prodigiously gifted novelists. -
Joy
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • In this deeply moving novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Danielle Steel, a determined young woman must survive a series of abandonments to find a love that is worthy of her.
When she is only six years old, Allegra Dixon’s party-loving mother leaves without so much as a goodbye. Her father, an emotionally distant military officer, is also unable—or unwilling—to care for her. Sent to live like a ghost in her grandparents’ joyless home, Allegra finds her only solace through an escape into books.
Attending boarding school, life finally takes a turn when she meets a dashing young West Point cadet named Shep Williams. Soon their friendship blossoms into something more, and they fall deeply in love.
After college, Allegra has established herself as a book editor and Shep is rising through the ranks of the military. But then Shep suddenly receives a posting to Afghanistan, and they decide to marry before he goes. Between his deployments, they cling to their brief and fraught stolen moments together. Each time he leaves, Shep promises the separations will soon come to an end.
But soon Allegra realizes that the horrors of war have begun to change her husband into a man she no longer recognizes. The trauma he has experienced proves to be too harrowing, and Allegra will find herself feeling utterly alone again just when she thought she’d finally found happiness.
In her new novel, Danielle Steel tells the unforgettable story of a woman who refuses to give up until she finds the joy she deserves. -
Something Borrowed
One perfect dress--three different love stories
In this brand-new novella collection, three renowned Christian historical fiction authors trace generations of wartime romances through a special wedding dress with love sewn into its seams.
"A Heart in Disguise" by Rachel Scott McDaniel
Clara Westlake loves her job as a seamstress in the US "Camouflage Corps," sewing suits for snipers and contributing to the war effort. But when she overhears a threat against her beloved New York City, the Great War comes too close to home--except no one believes her forewarning. She must recruit Marcus Reeves, a childhood friend searching for his purpose after suffering a devastating war injury. As they search for answers together, they may also uncover a love that lasts.
"A Letter to Eli" by Allison Pittman
Bette and Alice are lifelong friends, trying to make a good life for themselves in New York City while World War II rages. It's never far away from their thoughts--not with Alice's fiancé serving at sea, in danger every minute. That's a worry Bette doesn't envy. Then a secret letter reunites her with her soldier ex-boyfriend, now wounded and back in the States. But can the innocent love these two had before the war be rekindled in the face of tragedy?
"A Daffodil in the Dress" by Susie Finkbeiner
Kate Becker and Ike Finch have worked together at his family's bookstore since Kate's husband died in the early days of the Vietnam War. She has her daughter, Eloise, to take care of and bills to pay, and this job was a godsend. A second love is not in the cards, especially not with the world still teetering on the edge of insanity. But when Ike brings little Eloise special flowers one spring day, Kate begins to look at him as more than an employer. Is falling in love again worth the risk? -
The Dark Wives
As New York Times bestseller Ann Cleeves's beloved Vera series explodes in popularity in print and on TV, this stunning eleventh book explores the web of secrets surrounding a young man's death.
The man’s body is found in the early morning light by a local dog walker in the park outside Rosebank, a home for troubled teens in the coastal village of Longwater. The victim is Josh, a staff member, who was due to work the previous night but never showed up.
DI Vera Stanhope is called out to investigate the death, with her only clue being the disappearance of one of the home’s residents, fourteen-year-old Chloe Spence. Vera can’t bring herself to believe that a teenager is responsible for the murder, but even she can’t dismiss the possibility.
Vera, Joe and new team member Rosie Bell, are soon embroiled in the case, and when a second connected body is found near the Three Dark Wives monument in the wilds of the Northumberland countryside, superstition and folklore begin to collide with fact. Vera knows she has to find Chloe to get to the truth, and the dark secrets in their community that may be far more dangerous than she could have ever believed possible. -
Fatal Intrusion
As a wave of murders grips Southern California, an unlikely pair must untangle the mysterious patterns of an elusive killer. A propulsive new series by New York Times bestselling author Jeffery Deaver and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Isabella Maldonado.
Carmen Sanchez is a tough Homeland Security agent who plays by the rules. But when her sister is attacked, revealing a connection to a series of murders across Southern California, she realizes a conventional investigation will not be enough to stop the ruthless perpetrator.
With nowhere else to turn, Sanchez enlists the aid of Professor Jake Heron, a brilliant and quirky private security expert who, unlike Sanchez, believes rules are merely suggestions. The two have a troubled past, but he owes her a favor and she's cashing in. They team up to catch the assailant, who, mystifyingly, has no discernible motive and fits no classic criminal profile. All they have to go on is a distinctive tattoo and a singular obsession that gives this chillingly efficient tactician his nickname: Spider.
Over the next seventy-two hours, Sanchez and Heron find themselves in the midst of a lethal chess match with the killer as they race to stop the carnage. As the victims mount, so do the risks. Because this spider's web of intrigue is more sinister--and goes far deeper--than anyone could possibly anticipate.
New DVDs
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Inside out 2
"Disney and Pixar’s “Inside Out 2” returns to the mind of newly minted teenager Riley just as headquarters is disrupted by something entirely unexpected: new Emotions! Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear and Disgust aren’t sure how to feel when Anxiety and friends show up."
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The Garfield Movie
"Garfield (voiced by Chris Pratt), the world-famous, Monday-hating, lasagna-loving indoor cat, is about to have a wild outdoor adventure! After an unexpected reunion with his long-lost father – scruffy street cat Vic (voiced by Samuel L. Jackson) – Garfield and his canine friend Odie are forced from their perfectly pampered life into joining Vic in a hilarious, high-stakes heist."
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If
"From writer and director John Krasinski, IF is about a girl who discovers that she can see everyone’s imaginary friends — and what she does with that unique gift — as she embarks on a magical adventure to reconnect forgotten IFs with their kids. IF stars Cailey Fleming, Ryan Reynolds, John Krasinski, Fiona Shaw, and the voices of Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Louis Gossett Jr. and Steve Carell alongside many more as the wonderfully unique characters that reflect the incredible power of a child’s imagination."
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The fall guy
"He's a stuntman, and like everyone in the stunt community, he gets blown up, shot, crashed, thrown through windows and dropped from the highest of heights, all for our entertainment. And now, fresh off an almost career-ending accident, this working-class hero has to track down a missing movie star, solve a conspiracy and try to win back the love of his life while still doing his day job."
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Kung fu panda 4
"Po is gearing up to become the spiritual leader of his Valley of Peace, but also needs someone to take his place as Dragon Warrior. As such, he will train a new kung fu practitioner for the spot and will encounter a villain called the Chameleon who conjures villains from the past."