Spring is here, which, of course, means beautiful sunny afternoons, as well as soothing rainy days. And what better way to pass the time outside or inside than with a good book!
Here are some new additions to our Popular Reading section. Come check one out today!
Lebron by Jeff Benedict: LeBron James is the greatest basketball player
of the twenty-first century, and he’s in the conversation with Michael
Jordan as the greatest of all time. The reigning king of the game and
the first active NBA player to become a billionaire, LeBron wears the
crown like he was born with it. Yet his ascent has been anything but
effortless and predetermined— the truth is vastly more interesting than
that.
What makes LeBron’s story so compelling is how he won his
destiny despite overwhelmingly long odds, in a drama worthy of a Dickens
novel. As a child, he was a scared and lonely little boy living a
nomadic existence in Akron, Ohio. His mother, who had LeBron when she
was sixteen, would sometimes leave him on his own. Destitute and
fatherless, he missed close to one hundred days of school in the fourth
grade. Desperate, his mother placed him with a family that gave him
stability and put a basketball in his hands.
LeBron tells
the full, riveting saga of how a child adrift found the will to become a
titan. Jeff Benedict, the most celebrated sports biographer of our
time, paints a vivid picture of LeBron’s epic origin story, showing the
gradual rise of a star who, surrounded by a tight-knit group of teenage
friends and adult mentors, accelerated into a speeding comet during high
school. Today LeBron produces Hollywood films and television shows, has
a social media presence that includes more than one hundred million
followers, engages in political activism, takes outspoken stances on
racism and social injustice, and transforms lives through his visionary
philanthropy. He went from a lost boy in Akron to a beloved hero who
uses his fortune to educate underprivileged children and lift up needy
families—and brought home Cleveland’s first NBA championship.
But LeBron is
more than just the origin story of a GOAT or a recap of his
multi-championship, multi-MVP, gold medal–decorated career on the court.
Benedict delves into LeBron’s relationship with fame and power: how he
has cultivated it, harnessed it, suffered from it, and leveraged it. In
these pages, we go behind the scenes of LeBron’s grappling with his
seismic celebrity, from appearing on the cover of Sports Illustrated as a high school junior to The Decision,
which briefly turned the nation against him. We also watch his
evolution from a player who avoided politics and was widely criticized
for not joining his teammates in protesting China’s role in the Darfur
genocide to becoming an athlete who partnered with President Obama;
campaigned for Hillary Clinton; became an advocate against gun violence,
racism, and voter suppression; and openly clashed with President Trump,
empowering other athletes to speak out against social injustice.
To
capture LeBron’s extraordinary life, Benedict conducted hundreds of
interviews with the people who were involved with LeBron at different
stages of his life. He also obtained thousands of pages of primary
source documents and mined hundreds of hours of video footage. Destined
to be the authoritative account of LeBron’s life, LeBron is a gripping, inspiring, and unprecedented portrait of one of the world’s most captivating figures.
The Haunting of Alejandra by V. Castro: Alejandra no longer knows who she is. To her
husband, she is a wife, and to her children, a mother. To her own
adoptive mother, she is a daughter. But they cannot see who Alejandra
has become: a woman struggling with a darkness that threatens to consume
her.
Nor can they see what Alejandra sees. In times of despair,
a ghostly vision appears to her, the apparition of a crying woman in a
ragged white gown.
When Alejandra visits a therapist, she begins
exploring her family’s history, starting with the biological mother she
never knew. As she goes deeper into the lives of the women in her
family, she learns that heartbreak and tragedy are not the only things
she has in common with her ancestors.
Because the crying woman
was with them, too. She is La Llorona, the vengeful and murderous mother
of Mexican legend. And she will not leave until Alejandra follows her
mother, her grandmother, and all the women who came before her into the
darkness.
But Alejandra has inherited more than just pain. She
has inherited the strength and the courage of her foremothers—and she
will have to summon everything they have given her to banish La Llorona
forever.
Win Every Argument: The Art of Debating, Persuading, and Public Speaking by Mehdi Hasan: Win Every Argument shows how anyone can
communicate with confidence, rise above the tit for tats on social
media, and triumph in a successful and productive debate in the real
world.
MSNBC’s Mehdi Hasan isn’t one to avoid arguments. He
relishes them as the lifeblood of democracy and the only surefire way to
establish the truth. Arguments help us solve problems, uncover new
ideas we might not have considered, and nudge our disagreements toward
mutual understanding. A good argument, made in good faith, has intrinsic
value―and can also simply be fun.
Arguments are everywhere―and
especially given the fierce debates we’re all embroiled in today,
everyone wants to win. In this riveting guide to the art of argument and
rhetoric, Hasan shows you how. As a journalist, anchor, and interviewer
who has clashed with politicians, generals, spy chiefs, and celebrities
from across the world, Hasan reveals his tricks of the trade for the
first time.
Whether you are making a presentation at work or
debating current political issues with a friend, Mehdi Hasan will teach
you how to sharpen your speaking skills to make the winning case.
Happy Place by Emily Henry: Harriet and Wyn have been the perfect couple
since they met in college—they go together like salt and pepper, honey
and tea, lobster and rolls. Except, now—for reasons they’re still not
discussing—they don’t.
They broke up six months ago. And still haven’t told their best friends.
Which
is how they find themselves sharing the largest bedroom at the Maine
cottage that has been their friend group’s yearly getaway for the last
decade. Their annual respite from the world, where for one vibrant, blue
week they leave behind their daily lives; have copious amounts of
cheese, wine, and seafood; and soak up the salty coastal air with the
people who understand them most.
Only this year, Harriet and Wyn
are lying through their teeth while trying not to notice how desperately
they still want each other. Because the cottage is for sale and this is
the last week they’ll all have together in this place. They can’t stand
to break their friends’ hearts, and so they’ll play their parts.
Harriet will be the driven surgical resident who never starts a fight,
and Wyn will be the laid-back charmer who never lets the cracks show.
It’s a flawless plan (if you look at it from a great distance and
through a pair of sunscreen-smeared sunglasses). After years of being in
love, how hard can it be to fake it for one week… in front of those who
know you best?
It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover: Sometimes it is the one who loves you who hurts you the most.
Lily
hasn’t always had it easy, but that’s never stopped her from working
hard for the life she wants. She’s come a long way from the small town
in Maine where she grew up — she graduated from college, moved to
Boston, and started her own business. So when she feels a spark with a
gorgeous neurosurgeon named Ryle Kincaid, everything in Lily’s life
suddenly seems almost too good to be true.
Ryle is assertive,
stubborn, maybe even a little arrogant. He’s also sensitive, brilliant,
and has a total soft spot for Lily. And the way he looks in scrubs
certainly doesn’t hurt. Lily can’t get him out of her head. But Ryle’s
complete aversion to relationships is disturbing. Even as Lily finds
herself becoming the exception to his “no dating” rule, she can’t help
but wonder what made him that way in the first place.
As
questions about her new relationship overwhelm her, so do thoughts of
Atlas Corrigan — her first love and a link to the past she left behind.
He was her kindred spirit, her protector. When Atlas suddenly reappears,
everything Lily has built with Ryle is threatened.
Real Friends Talk About Race: Bridging the Gaps Through Uncomfortable Conversations by Yseult P. Mukantabana & Hannah Summerhill: Real Friends Talk About Race is an essential
guide for those who want to have stronger interracial relationships
—whether it’s with friends, colleagues, or loved ones.
Having
conversations about race is uncomfortable. But for progress between
individuals (and our communities) to happen, we need to be able to speak
openly and honestly. Podcast hosts of The Kinswomen Yseult and Hannah
use their own friendship and experiences from different racial
backgrounds to offer guidance on navigating these layered conversations.
In
Real Friends Talk About Race , the duo share their two perspectives on
the ways in which culture, history, and white supremacy have prevented
us from having the skills to build trust and healthy relationships
across race. Yseult and Hannah approach these topics with love and
candor—calling readers in (not out ) to confront hard realities and
their own internalized biases, while also sharing prescriptive advice,
encouragement, and a sense of community.
Real Friends Talk About
Race is a must-read for anyone looking to listen, learn, and feel
empowered to have meaningful conversations about race.
The Angel Maker by Alex North: Growing up in a beautiful house in the English
countryside, Katie Shaw lived a charmed life. At the cusp of graduation,
she had big dreams, a devoted boyfriend, and a little brother she
protected fiercely. Until the day a violent stranger changed the fate of
her family forever.
Years later, still unable to live down the
guilt surrounding what happened to her brother, Chris, and now with a
child of her own to protect, Katie struggles to separate the real
threats from the imagined. Then she gets the phone call: Chris has gone
missing and needs his big sister once more.
Meanwhile, Detective
Laurence Page is facing a particularly gruesome crime. A distinguished
professor of fate and free will has been brutally murdered just hours
after firing his staff. All the leads point back to two old cases: the
gruesome attack on teenager Christopher Shaw, and the despicable crimes
of a notorious serial killer who, legend had it, could see the future.
Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson: The only life Tress has known on her island home in an emerald-green ocean has been a simple one, with the simple pleasures of collecting cups brought by sailors from faraway lands and listening to stories told by her friend Charlie. But when his father takes him on a voyage to find a bride and disaster strikes, Tress must stow away on a ship and seek the Sorceress of the deadly Midnight Sea. Amid the spore oceans where pirates abound, can Tress leave her simple life behind and make her own place sailing a sea where a single drop of water can mean instant death?
The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff: Geeta's no-good husband disappeared five years
ago. She didn't kill him, but everyone thinks she did--no matter how
much she protests.
But she soon discovers that being known as a
"self-made" widow has some surprising perks. No one messes with her, no
one threatens her, and no one tries to control (ahem, marry) her. It's even been good for her business; no one wants to risk getting on her bad side by not buying her jewelry.
Freedom
must look good on Geeta, because other women in the village have
started asking for her help to get rid of their own no-good
husbands...but not all of them are asking nicely.
Now that
Geeta's fearsome reputation has become a double-edged sword, she must
decide how far to go to protect it, along with the life she's built.
Because even the best-laid plans of would-be widows tend to go awry.
Adelaide by Genevieve Wheeler: For twenty-six-year-old Adelaide Williams, an
American living in dreamy London, meeting Rory Hughes was like a
lightning bolt out of the blue: this charming Englishman was The One she
wasn’t even looking for.
Is it enough?
Does he
respond to texts? Honor his commitments? Make advance plans? Sometimes,
rarely, and no, not at all. But when he shines his light on her, the
world makes sense, and Adelaide is convinced that, in his heart, he’s
fallen just as deeply as she has. Then, when Rory is rocked by an
unexpected tragedy, Adelaide does everything in her power to hold him
together—even if it means losing herself in the process.
When love asks too much of us, how do we find the strength to put ourselves first?
With
unflinching honesty and heart, this relatable debut from a fresh new
voice explores grief and mental health while capturing the timeless
nature of what it’s like to be young and in love—with your friends, with
your city, and with a person who cannot, will not, love you back.
All book images and descriptions from Goodreads.com.