Forever Young (05/11/2020): Dark Energy
Book Clubs

Forever Young (05/11/2020): Dark Energy

We are not alone. They are here. And there’s no going back. Perfect for fans of The Fifth Wave and the I Am Number Four series, Dark Energy is a thrilling stand-alone science fiction adventure from Robison Wells, critically acclaimed author of Variant and Blackout. Five days ago, a massive UFO crashed in the Midwest. Since then, nothing-or no one-has come out. If it were up to Alice, she’d be watching the fallout on the news. But her dad is director of special projects at NASA, so she’s been forced to enroll in a boarding school not far from the crash site. Alice is right in the middle of the action, but even she isn’t sure what to expect when the aliens finally emerge. Only one thing is clear: everything has changed. […]

Spinecrackers (08/02/2019): Ready Player One
Book Clubs

Spinecrackers (08/02/2019): Ready Player One

In the year 2045, reality is an ugly place. The only time teenage Wade Watts really feels alive is when he’s jacked into the virtual utopia known as the OASIS. Wade’s devoted his life to studying the puzzles hidden within this world’s digital confines, puzzles that are based on their creator’s obsession with the pop culture of decades past and that promise massive power and fortune to whoever can unlock them. When Wade stumbles upon the first clue, he finds himself beset by players willing to kill to take this ultimate prize. The race is on, and if Wade’s going to survive, he’ll have to win—and confront the real world he’s always been so desperate to escape. […]

Stranger than Fiction (08/06/2019): Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?
Book Clubs

Stranger than Fiction (08/06/2019): Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?

What separates your mind from an animal’s? Maybe you think it’s your ability to design tools, your sense of self, or your grasp of past and future—all traits that have helped us define ourselves as the planet’s preeminent species. But in recent decades, these claims have eroded, or even been disproven outright, by a revolution in the study of animal cognition. Take the way octopuses use coconut shells as tools; elephants that classify humans by age, gender, and language; or Ayumu, the young male chimpanzee at Kyoto University whose flash memory puts that of humans to shame. Based on research involving crows, dolphins, parrots, sheep, wasps, bats, whales, and of course chimpanzees and bonobos, Frans de Waal explores both the scope and the depth of animal intelligence. He offers a firsthand account of how science has stood traditional behaviorism on its head by revealing how smart animals really are, and how we’ve underestimated their abilities for too long. […]

Stranger than Fiction (07/02/2019): The Residence: Inside the Private World of the White House
Book Clubs

Stranger than Fiction (07/02/2019): The Residence: Inside the Private World of the White House

America’s First Families are unknowable in many ways. No one has insight into their true character like the people who serve their meals and make their beds every day. Full of stories and details by turns dramatic, humorous, and heartwarming, The Residence reveals daily life in the White House as it is really lived through the voices of the maids, butlers, cooks, florists, doormen, engineers, and others who tend to the needs of the President and First Family.

These dedicated professionals maintain the six-floor mansion’s 132 rooms, 35 bathrooms, 28 fireplaces, three elevators, and eight staircases, and prepare everything from hors d’oeuvres for intimate gatherings to meals served at elaborate state dinners. Over the course of the day, they gather in the lower level’s basement kitchen to share stories, trade secrets, forge lifelong friendships, and sometimes even fall in love. […]

Cozy Corner (07/03/2019): By Book or By Crook
Cozy Corner

Cozy Corner (07/03/2019): By Book or By Crook

For ten years Lucy has enjoyed her job poring over rare tomes of literature for the Harvard Library, but she has not enjoyed the demands of her family’s social whorl or her sort-of-engagement to the staid son of her father’s law partner. But when her ten-year relationship implodes, Lucy realizes that the plot of her life is in need of a serious rewrite.

Calling on her aunt Ellen, Lucy hopes that a little fun in the Outer Banks sun—and some confections from her cousin Josie’s bakery—will help clear her head. But her retreat quickly turns into an unexpected opportunity when Aunt Ellen gets her involved in the lighthouse library tucked away on Bodie Island.

Lucy is thrilled to land a librarian job in her favorite place in the world. But when a priceless first edition Jane Austen novel is stolen and the chair of the library board is murdered, Lucy suddenly finds herself ensnared in a real-life mystery—and she’s not so sure there’s going to be a happy ending…. […]

Nite Readers: King Zeno
Nite Readers

Nite Readers: King Zeno

King Zeno By: Nathaniel Rich Date: Thursday, June 20th, 2019 @Harnish Time: 7:00pm AVAILABLE FOR IMMEDIATE CHECKOUT IN AUDIO FORMAT ON HOOPLA! New Orleans, a century ago: a city determined to reshape its destiny and, with it, the nation’s. Downtown, a new American music is born. In Storyville, prostitution is outlawed and the police retake the streets with maximum violence. In the […]

Book Clubbers: An American Marriage
Book Clubbers

Book Clubbers: An American Marriage

An American Marriage By: Tayari Jones Date: Thursday, June 6th, 2019 @Harnish Time: 7:00pm AVAILABLE FOR IMMEDIATE CHECKOUT IN EBOOK AND AUDIO FORMATS ON HOOPLA! Newlyweds Celestial and Roy are the embodiment of both the American Dream and the New South. He is a young executive, and she is an artist on the brink of an exciting career. But as […]

Nite Readers: Island of Sweet Pies and Soldiers
Nite Readers

Nite Readers: Island of Sweet Pies and Soldiers

Island of Sweet Pies and Soldiers By: Sara Ackerman Date: Thursday, April 18th, 2019 @Harnish Time: 7:00pm AVAILABLE FOR IMMEDIATE CHECKOUT IN AUDIO FORMAT ON HOOPLA! Hawaii, 1944. The Pacific battles of World War II continue to threaten American soil, and on the home front, the bonds of friendship and the strength of love are tested. Violet Iverson and her young […]

Great Books: The Good Earth
Book Clubs

Great Books: The Good Earth

The Good Earth By: Pearl Buck Date: Wednesday, April 17th, 2019 @Harnish Time: 7:00pm AVAILABLE FOR IMMEDIATE CHECKOUT IN EBOOK AND AUDIO FORMATS ON HOOPLA! This tells the poignant tale of a Chinese farmer and his family in old agrarian China. The humble Wang Lung glories in the soil he works, nurturing the land as it nurtures him and his […]

Forever Young: My Lady Jane
Book Clubs

Forever Young: My Lady Jane

My Lady Jane By: Cynthia Hand Date: Monday, April 8th, 2019 @Eastgate Time: 7:00pm AVAILABLE FOR IMMEDIATE CHECKOUT IN AUDIO FORMAT ON HOOPLA! Edward (long live the king) is the King of England. He’s also dying, which is inconvenient, as he’s only sixteen and he’d much rather be planning for his first kiss than considering who will inherit his crown… […]