New Books! 3/15/16

A Man Lies Dreaming by Lavie Tidhar

“When a coworker passed along an advanced review copy of Lavie Tidhar’s latest genre bending novel, A Man Lies Dreaming, a few months ago, I immediately took it home and devoured it. I then ordered in his previous mixture of scifi and noir, Osama, set in an alternative reality where 9/11 never happened and Osama bin Laden is a fictional character. In A Man Lies Dreaming, as in his previous novel Osama, Tidhar combines science fiction, alternative history, and the private eye novel; Tidhar brings together so many of my preferred genres, I feel amazed such a thing exists.” -Molly

Listen, Liberal: Or, What Ever Happened to the Party of the People? By Thomas Frank

An interesting argument from the author of What’s the Matter with Kansas?, the book posits that “it is a widespread belief among liberals that if only Democrats can continue to dominate national elections, if only those awful Republicans are beaten into submission, the country will be on the right course. But this is to fundamentally misunderstand the modern Democratic Party.“

The Making of the American Essay (Edited by John D’Agata)

“John D’Agata is America’s most intellectually eloquent reader of the essay. His passion for the form has led him to search for and discover a treasure trove of what the genre is capable of. With this third and final volume of his long labor of love he gives us a defining work of reference that will serve generations to come of essay readers the world over.”—Vivian Gornick

Stork Mountain by Miroslav Penkov

Stork Mountain tells the story of a young Bulgarian immigrant who, in an attempt to escape his mediocre life in America, returns to the country of his birth. The boy finds himself high up in the Strandja Mountains, a place of pagan mysteries and black storks nesting in giant oaks; a place where every spring, possessed by Christian saints, men and women dance barefoot across live coals in search of rebirth. Here in the mountains, the boy reunites with his grandfather. Here in the mountain, he falls in love with an unobtainable Muslim girl. Old ghosts come back to life and forgotten conflicts, in the name of faith and doctrine, blaze anew.

William Wegman: Paintings

William Wegman’s postcard paintings reflect a lifetime of engagement with narrative, perspective, art history, architecture, popular culture, humor, and philosophy in art. Starting with one or more vintage postcards, Wegman constructs scenes that range from intimate interiors to cosmic vistas, filling audaciously complex spaces with intriguing incident. Collected together, the paintings possess the universal, encyclopedic, and mysterious qualities of their source materials.

Shelter by Jung Yun

“Shelter is the ultimate f***ed up family drama. Shelter, in any form, is conspicuously absent from this story. Forgiveness is shallow and impermanent, and though scars have faded over time, the emotional wounds are still very much open. That physical, acute pain you feel in your gut when reading this book? That’s real. Jung Yun has written the quintessential Korean-American novel, deftly describing how Korean attitudes of obligation, fairness, and resentment clash and (possibly) overlap American attitudes towards these same ideals. I’m certain that it remains a “discovery” of literature: one of those slow burns that will eventually explode into the landscape of literature over time.” -Jan

Rightful Heritage: Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Land of America by Douglas Brinkley

Historian Douglas Brinkley turns his attention to an indefatigable environmental leader, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, chronicling his essential yet undersung legacy as the founder of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and the premier protector of America’s public lands. FDR built state park systems and scenic roadways from scratch. Through his leadership, pristine landscapes such as the Great Smokies, the Everglades, Joshua Tree, the Olympics, Big Bend, and the Channel Islands were forever saved.

Douglas Brinkley will speak & sign at BookPeople Saturday, 3/26 at 3PM.

Splitopia: Dispatches from Today’s Good Divorce and How to Part Well by Wendy Paris

When Wendy Paris announced that she and her husband were separating, friends forecast a tsunami of devastation for both of them and their child. But as Paris would discover, divorce has improved dramatically in recent decades, due to changes in laws and family structures, advances in psychology and child development, and a new understanding of the importance of the father. Yet disapprobation and fear persist. Splitopia chronicles Paris s own divorce in real time; shares insights from happily divorced couples, international experts, and the latest research; and follows her own divorced parents possible reunion. Splitopia calls for a more flexible view of how we wed and how we part, and offers support for creating loving families, whatever the legal relationship status.
Wendy Paris will speak & sign at BookPeople Wednesday, 4/6 at 7PM.

The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins (now in paperback!)

Carolyn’s not so different from the other people. She likes guacamole and cigarettes. She can use a phone. After all, she was a normal American herself once. That was a long time ago, Before she and the others were taken in by the man they called Father (and who may, secretly, be God.) Now, he is missing perhaps even dead and the Library that holds his secrets stands unguarded. And with it, control over all of creation.