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Emma's Picks

An Upper Valley native, Emma moved back to the area after 5 years working in sunny Los Angeles. After nearly a decade at Hanover-based INGO Grassroot Soccer she joined the Norwich Bookstore in late fall, 2020. Dedicated to all things garden- and tennis-related…with a fondness for Ottolenghi and appealing book covers.

 

 

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Leaving: A Novel By Roxana Robinson Cover Image
$28.99
ISBN: 9781324065388
Availability: On Our Shelves Now (call to confirm availability)
Published: W. W. Norton & Company - February 13th, 2024

Forty years after they dated in college, Sarah and Warren run into each other during intermission at the opera. They catch each other up on their lives and their families. They wish they never broke up…. 
Leaving is incredibly intimate. It’s an examination of relationships (between spouses, but especially between parents and children) and the lives we choose to build. Though filled with inner thoughts and contemplation, it’s a page-turner that’s completely absorbing.  -Emma C.


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The Last Tree: A seed of hope By Luke Adam Hawker Cover Image
$19.99
ISBN: 9781781578704
Availability: On Our Shelves Now (call to confirm availability)
Published: Ilex Press - July 25th, 2023

Reminiscent of The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse....images and phrases to get lost in. Lovely. -Emma C.


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The Feast By Margaret Kennedy Cover Image
$18.00
ISBN: 9781946022509
Availability: Backordered (email to check availability)
Published: McNally Editions - June 6th, 2023

From the first few pages you know a small handful of characters are going to die by the end of the book... and thus begins the clever morality play set during the sunny summer holidays on the coast of England just after WWII. It's not a whodunit, but a brilliant who's-gonna-make-it....and who's not...  Delightfully transporting - like diving into a Merchant Ivory film.  -Emma C.


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What the Dead Know: Learning About Life as a New York City Death Investigator By Barbara Butcher Cover Image
$28.99
ISBN: 9781982179380
Availability: Usually Available in 2-10 Business Days
Published: Simon & Schuster - June 20th, 2023

How does someone endure decades of showing up at every death in NYC (including 9/11)? Bravely and barely…  A must-read for any true crime fan, but also a poignant memoir from a professional that picks herself up again and again when being human betrays her.  -Emma C


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Peek-a-Who Too? By Elsa Mroziewicz, Elsa Mroziewicz (Illustrator) Cover Image
By Elsa Mroziewicz, Elsa Mroziewicz (Illustrator)
$11.99
ISBN: 9789888341818
Availability: On Our Shelves Now (call to confirm availability)
Published: minedition - September 1st, 2019

I was utterly charmed by this board book and its 'prequel'. Joyful colorful images make the most of the book's unique shape. It's just different enough to provide surprise and reward with each turn of the page.  -Emma C.


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The Swifts: A Dictionary of Scoundrels By Beth Lincoln, Claire Powell (Illustrator) Cover Image
By Beth Lincoln, Claire Powell (Illustrator)
$17.99
ISBN: 9780593533239
Availability: Usually Available in 2-10 Business Days
Published: Dutton Books for Young Readers - February 7th, 2023

The setting: a house with secret rooms, booby-traps, and a hidden treasure up for grabs. The story: a clever whodunit written with interesting and engaging vocabulary. The characters: eccentric, loveable, and relatable. The book…. a new favorite of mine that I highly recommend! I can’t wait to read what this author writes next.  -Emma C.


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Brotherless Night: A Novel By V. V. Ganeshananthan Cover Image
$28.00
ISBN: 9780812997156
Availability: Hard to Find (may be out of print - email to check availability)
Published: Random House - January 3rd, 2023

Delivering a beautiful and wrenching story set during the Sri Lankan Civil War, the author highlights the importance of documenting individual experiences during conflicts so that history isn't a concoction created by the powerful. I was enthralled by the determination of the characters--especially the women-- in this novel. It lived up to the rave reviews (from the NYTimes, among others). -Emma C.


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The Land Gardeners: Cut Flowers By Bridget Elworthy, Henrietta Courtauld, Miranda Brooks (Foreword by) Cover Image
$34.95
ISBN: 9781760762889
Availability: On Our Shelves Now (call to confirm availability)
Published: Thames & Hudson - February 7th, 2023

The two women behind The Land Gardeners are humble powerhouses in the world of gardening. They bring their exquisite garden flowers into Central London every week of the year. They are at the forefront of the sustainable agriculture push in Britain; participating in practical and scientific studies on green waste and compost. 
This gorgeous book is filled with luscious images, the gardeners' tips, their story, and endless inspiration.  -Emma C.  


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We All Want Impossible Things: A Novel By Catherine Newman Cover Image
$25.99
ISBN: 9780063230897
Availability: Usually Available in 2-10 Business Days
Published: Harper - November 8th, 2022

The characters, the relationships… it’s all worth the tears that are guaranteed. Funny and devastating throughout.  -Emma C.


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Death Drives an Audi By Kristian Bang Foss Cover Image
$14.99
ISBN: 9781912681327
Availability: Special Order (email to check availability)
Published: Parthian Books - November 1st, 2021

Hilarious and tragic; just how I like 'em. Winner of the 2013 EU Prize for Literature. A terrifically bizarre road trip from Denmark to...well, let's just see how far this pair can get!  -Emma C.


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The Unseen Body: A Doctor's Journey Through the Hidden Wonders of Human Anatomy By Jonathan Reisman Cover Image
$27.99
ISBN: 9781250246622
Availability: Usually Available in 2-10 Business Days
Published: Flatiron Books - November 9th, 2021

A fascinating and informative behind-the-scenes tour of the human body. Dr. Reisman is an engaging guide to how our organs function and what he sees when they don't work well. His well-traveled and open-minded perspective on treatment and care makes for an enjoyable read. I learned quite a lot and I'd recommend The Unseen Body to anyone who wants to bone up on their anatomy...pun intended.  -Emma C.


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The Colony: A Novel By Audrey Magee Cover Image
$19.00
ISBN: 9781250867216
Availability: On Our Shelves Now (call to confirm availability)
Published: Picador - June 13th, 2023

The Colony exposes complex topics (colonialism, authenticity, even Art) and manages to be --as John Self of Air Mail put it-- "provocative but not shouty." Beautifully written and often funny. Longlisted for the 2022 Booker Prize and thoroughly deserving. -Emma C.


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Love Marriage: A Novel By Monica Ali Cover Image
$18.00
ISBN: 9781982181482
Availability: On Our Shelves Now (call to confirm availability)
Published: Scribner - April 4th, 2023

Two families meet for the first time to toast the newly engaged couple. What could go wrong? Nothing really, at first, but as the bride's mother says, 'life is not simple'... Against the backdrop of modern London, Ali weaves together the family members' stories, their personal histories, and their future hopes and ambitions. I loved it. -Emma C.


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Orwell's Roses By Rebecca Solnit Cover Image
$18.00
ISBN: 9780593083376
Availability: On Our Shelves Now (call to confirm availability)
Published: Penguin Books - October 18th, 2022

George Orwell grew roses - he grew plenty of veggies as well. Orwell's Roses could really be called 'Orwell and Roses: Annotated'. From Stalin's obsession with growing lemon trees in an outrageously inhospitable climate, the labor movement's 'Bread & Roses' song, and Columbia's greenhouses filled with scentless roses; Solnit links Orwell's life and political beliefs with roses; their history, beauty, and symbolism in society. In short, completely brilliant.  -Emma C.


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Mayflies: A Novel By Andrew O'Hagan Cover Image
$14.95
ISBN: 9780771068119
Availability: On Our Shelves Now (call to confirm availability)
Published: McClelland & Stewart - May 17th, 2022

My favorite kind of book - utterly hilarious then surprisingly moving. Mayflies is about the friendship of two Scottish men during different points in their lives. They're rough and tumble kids, passionate and thrill-seeking young men, then in their 50's confronting mortality. After I finished the book, I realized I missed the characters - it was that good.


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Zorrie By Laird Hunt Cover Image
$16.00
ISBN: 9781635578430
Availability: On Our Shelves Now (call to confirm availability)
Published: Bloomsbury Publishing - November 1st, 2022

Reading Zorrie is a bit like turning the pages of a generations-old family photo album with an ancient relative telling you about the places and people in the pictures. At first, Zorrie the character and Zorrie the novel appear simple, but I found that weighty topics abound - sometimes just outside the frame of view. Zorrie is a quick read, but it sinks in slowly and powerfully.


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Having and Being Had By Eula Biss Cover Image
$17.00
ISBN: 9780525537465
Availability: On Our Shelves Now (call to confirm availability)
Published: Riverhead Books - August 31st, 2021

Even the cover art, which drew me to the hardcover book in the first place, plays a part in Eula Biss’s examination of our economic system at a personal level. (The cover contains details from a conceptual art project by Danica Phelps: in brief, every green line represents a dollar of income, a red line represents a dollar spent…) 
Though relevant to any readers, this book is likely to resonate with the author’s (and my own) demographic [College-educated liberal American woman under 45-ish, especially with family and friends in academia...too specific?] as we confront societal, familial, and personal expectations in our career paths and life choices. Eula Biss grounds her shrewd observations in research, studies, and history. 
Frankly, it’s quite satisfying to have someone articulate and reflect on one's own ruminations in a published book ...especially with an appealing and clever cover. 


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Burnt Sugar: A Novel By Avni Doshi Cover Image
$16.00
ISBN: 9781419752933
Availability: On Our Shelves Now (call to confirm availability)
Published: The Overlook Press - March 1st, 2022

A novel shortlisted for the Booker Prize is always worth a try, but Burnt Sugar is not to be missed. Avni Doshi’s depiction of the relationship between a mother and daughter is filled with raw honesty and brutal humor — not unlike the 2020 Booker winner, Shuggie Bain (which I thoroughly enjoyed as well.)


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Milk Blood Heat By Dantiel W. Moniz Cover Image
$17.00
ISBN: 9780802159441
Availability: Usually Available in 2-10 Business Days
Published: Grove Press - February 8th, 2022

A collection of intense short stories that capture pivotal moments in ordinary lives. Moniz's intimate stories are quick, tight, and often jarring. They will haunt you and you’ll want to read them again.


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