New Books & Materials at the Library

This new Companion provides a broad and perceptive overview of the most important vernacular literary genre of the Middle Ages. Freshly commissioned, original chapters from seventeen leading scholars introduce students and general readers to the form's poetics, narrative voice and manuscript contexts, as well as its relationship to the Mediterranean world, race, gender and the emotions, among many other topics. Providing fresh perspectives on the first pan-European literary movement, essays range across a broad geographical area, including England, France, Italy, Germany and the Iberian Peninsula, as well as a varied linguistic spectrum, including Arabic, Hebrew and Yiddish. Exploring the celebration of chivalric ideals and courtly refinements, the volume excavates the tensions and traumas lying beneath decorous surface appearances. An introduction, bibliography of texts and translations as well as chapter-by-chapter reading lists complete this essential guide.

 

 

A mail order bride from Taiwan is packed up in a cardboard box and sent via express shipping to California, where her much older husband awaits her. Two teenage girls meticulously plan how to kill and cook their downstairs neighbor. An American au pair moves to Paris to find herself, only to find her actual French doppelgänger. A father reunites with his estranged daughter in unusual circumstances: as a background actor on the set of her film. A writer's affair with a married artist tests the line between fact and fiction, self-victimization and the victimization of others. Six singular stories and a novella that pivot from the terrible to the beautiful to the surreal.

 

Fortune always left whatever room I walked into, which is why I don't leave my place much these days... Veteran and private eye Boubacar doesn't need much--least of all trouble--but trouble always seems to find him. Work has dried up, and he'd rather be left alone to deal with his bills as the Harmattan rolls in to coat the city in dust. But Bouba is a down on his luck deux-fois, suspended between two cultures and two worlds. When a bleeding woman stumbles onto his doorway, only to vanish just as quickly, Bouba reluctantly finds himself enmeshed in the secrets of a city boiling on the brink of violence. The French occupiers are keen to keep the peace at any cost, and the indigenous dugulen have long been shattered into restless factions vying for a chance to reclaim their lost heritage and abilities. As each hard-won clue reveals horrifying new truths, Bouba may have to carve out parts of himself he's long kept hidden, and decide what he's willing to offer next.

 

 

 

LibraryReads Pick They can't even agree on what to read, so how are they going to solve a murder? Having recently moved from London to a small Cornish seaside village, Nova Davies started a book club at the local community center, but so far it's a disaster. The five members disagree on everything, and to make matters worse, a significant sum of money is stolen during one of the meetings, putting the much-loved community center at risk. Suspicion for the theft falls on book club member Michael, especially when he disappears and a dead body turns up at his house. But the book club has their own theories. Agatha Christie superfan Phyllis is determined to prove Michael's been framed, while romance reader Arthur believes there's a mystery woman involved, and teenage sci-fi fan Ash thinks dark forces are at play.  While trying to locate Michael, solve the murder and recover the stolen money, each of them has their own secrets to protect. But despite the danger closing in, they won't rest until they've cracked the case and gotten everyone safe at home with a book, where they belong.

 

It's spelling test day and Katie feels anxious...
Cheerful fun-loving Katie sometimes gets anxious before tests, even when she knows the answers. One day Katie's feelings were so enormous, she panics and can't seem to do the test at all. She even disrupts the entire class. Luckily, with the guidance of her teacher, Katie discovers calming tools to soothe her nerves. Pretty soon the whole class is joining Katie to beat that test stress! A beautifully illustrated relatable story with teaching points and practical advice for anxious kids.

"Alice Austen uses her considerable gifts to remind us that the past and the present are more connected than we wish to believe, and that vigilance, loyalty and art hold the key to survival. This is a beautiful and deeply engaging novel." -- Ann Patchett, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Tom Lake An outstanding debut novel--a love story, mystery, and philosophical puzzle, told in the singular voices of the residents of a Beaux Arts apartment house in Belgium during World War II. On the eve of the Nazi occupation, in the heart of Brussels, life for the residents of 33 Place Brugmann is about to change forever. 

 

 

Green Mountain Coffee founder Bob Stiller delivers the timeless leadership approach he pioneered in the 1990s to help you increase engagement, retention, and revenue Decades before the business world discovered the power of authentic staff engagement, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters cofounder Bob Stiller was busy creating a company with a mission to build an engaged workforce focused on innovation. In the end, Green Mountain became a place where people realized they could make a difference, where their input mattered, where they were rewarded fairly, and where they can gro. It became a place workers feel good about.  A community.  A happy place that got better and better.   And business results followed. Green Mountain Coffee Roasters went public, moved to selling wholesale exclusively, invested in Keurig, and became one of the few coffee companies to ever reach $1 billion in sales. It became one of the top-performing stocks of the 1990s on the Nasdaq exchange, and from 1995 to 2015, its stock had a 70 percent compounded annual rate of growth.  In Better and Better, Stiller explains how he did it, from donating five percent pretax net income to environmental and social causes, with employees collectively deciding how donations would be used; to paying employees to volunteer in their own communities; to providing much-needed loans to small farms.  With Better and Better, you'll learn how to use optimism, self-awareness, and kindness to build an inclusive and cherished workplace culture.

 

"Like a donut in a break room: unexpected, surprisingly sweet, and totally made my day. Which is to say: I devoured it! . . . Fans of The Office will delight." -- SHELBY VAN PELT, New York Times bestselling author of Remarkably Bright Creatures "This book is snarky and funny, and then it sneaks up on you by being way deeper and more emotional than you'd guess . . . I could not put it down." -- JULIA QUINN, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Bridgerton series In this wildly funny and heartwarming office comedy, an admin worker accidentally gains access to her colleagues' private emails and DMs and decides to use this intel to save her job--a laugh-till-you-cry debut novel you'll be eager to share with your entire list of contacts, perfect for fans of Anxious People and Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine. As far as Jolene is concerned, her interactions with her colleagues should start and end with her official duties as an admin for Supershops, Inc. Unfortunately, her irritating, incompetent coworkers don't seem to understand the importance of boundaries. Her secret to survival? She vents her grievances in petty email postscripts, then changes the text color to white so no one can see. That is until one of her secret messages is exposed. Her punishment: sensitivity training (led by the suspiciously friendly HR guy, Cliff) and rigorous email restrictions. When an IT mix-up grants her access to her entire department's private emails and DMs, Jolene knows she should report it, but who could resist reading what their coworkers are really saying? And when she discovers layoffs are coming, she realizes this might just be the key to saving her job. The plan is simple: gain her boss's favor, convince HR she's Supershops material, and beat out the competition. But as Jolene is drawn further into her coworkers' private worlds and realizes they are each keeping secrets, her carefully constructed walls begin to crumble--especially around Cliff, who she definitely cannot have feelings for. Eventually she will need to decide if she's ready to leave the comfort of her cubicle, even if that means coming clean to her colleagues. Crackling with laugh-out-loud dialogue and relatable observations, I Hope This Finds You Well is a fresh and surprisingly tender comedy about loneliness and love beyond our computer screens. This sparkling debut novel will open your heart to the everyday eccentricities of work culture and the undeniable human connection that comes along with it. "This sparkling debut will have you snickering in the break room." -- PEOPLE "Snarky, romantic, and wickedly heartfelt . . . If you're looking for your next favorite read, this book has everything--vengeful coworkers, fake engagements, and a hero with a heart of gold. Natalie Sue's debut is an absolute stunner!" -- ASHLEY POSTON, New York Times bestselling author of The Dead Romantics