April 2021 Adult Top 10 Picks

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  1. The Bookseller of Florence
    by Ross King Canada
    Bond Street Books
    Apr 13, 2021
    BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Literary Figures
    Hardback
    The Bookseller of Florence
    by Ross King Canada
    Bond Street Books
    Apr 13, 2021
    BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Literary Figures
    Hardback
    The bestselling author of Brunelleschi's Dome and Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling captures the excitement and spirit of the Renaissance in this chronicle of the life and work of "the king of the world's booksellers" and the technological disruption that forever changed the ways knowledge spread.

    The Renaissance in Florence conjures images of beautiful frescoes and elegant buildings—the dazzling handiwork of the city's skilled artists and architects. But equally important for the centuries to follow were geniuses of a different sort: Florence's manuscript hunters, scribes, scholars, and booksellers, who blew the dust off a thousand years of history and, through the discovery and diffusion of ancient knowledge, imagined a new and enlightened world.

    At the heart of this activity was a remarkable man: Vespasiano da Bisticci. Born in 1422, he became what a friend called "the king of the world's booksellers." At a time when all books were made by hand, over four decades Vespasiano produced and sold many hundreds of volumes from his bookshop, which also became a gathering spot for discussion and debate. Besides repositories of ancient wisdom by the likes of Plato, Aristotle, and Cicero, his books were works of art in their own right, copied by talented scribes and illuminated by the finest miniaturists. His clients included a roll-call of popes, kings, and princes across Europe who wished to burnish their reputations by founding magnificent libraries.

    Vespasiano reached the summit of his powers as Europe's most prolific merchant of knowledge when a new invention appeared: the printed book. By 1480, the king of the world's booksellers was swept away by this epic technological disruption, whereby cheaply produced books reached readers who never could have afforded one of Vespasiano’s elegant manuscripts.

    A thrilling chronicle of intellectual ferment set against the dramatic political and religious turmoil of the era, including the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks, Ross King's The Bookseller of Florence is also an ode to books and bookmaking that charts the world-changing shift from script to print through the life of an extraordinary man long lost to history—one of the true titans of the Renaissance.
    View this title on BNC CataList
  2. Broken (in the best possible way)
    by Jenny Lawson
    Henry Holt and Co.
    Apr 06, 2021
    BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Memoirs
    Hardback
    Broken (in the best possible way)
    by Jenny Lawson
    Henry Holt and Co.
    Apr 06, 2021
    BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Memoirs
    Hardback

    An Instant New York Times Bestseller

    From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Furiously Happy and Let’s Pretend This Never Happened comes a deeply relatable book filled with humor and honesty about depression and anxiety.


    As Jenny Lawson’s hundreds of thousands of fans know, she suffers from depression. In Broken, Jenny brings readers along on her mental and physical health journey, offering heartbreaking and hilarious anecdotes along the way.

    With people experiencing anxiety and depression now more than ever, Jenny humanizes what we all face in an all-too-real way, reassuring us that we’re not alone and making us laugh while doing it. From the business ideas that she wants to pitch to Shark Tank to the reason why Jenny can never go back to the post office, Broken leaves nothing to the imagination in the most satisfying way. And of course, Jenny’s long-suffering husband Victor—the Ricky to Jenny’s Lucille Ball—is present throughout.

    A treat for Jenny Lawson’s already existing fans, and destined to convert new ones, Broken is a beacon of hope and a wellspring of laughter when we all need it most.

    Includes Photographs and Illustrations

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  3. When the Stars Go Dark
    by Paula McLain
    Bond Street Books
    Apr 13, 2021
    FICTION / Mystery & Detective / Women Sleuths
    Paperback / softback
    When the Stars Go Dark
    by Paula McLain
    Bond Street Books
    Apr 13, 2021
    FICTION / Mystery & Detective / Women Sleuths
    Paperback / softback
    NATIONAL BESTSELLER
    NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER


    From the New York Times bestselling author of The Paris Wife comes an atmospheric novel of intertwined fate and heart-wrenching suspense: A detective hiding away from the world. A series of disappearances that reach into her past. Can solving them help her heal?

    Anna Hart is a seasoned missing persons detective in San Francisco with far too much knowledge of the darkest side of human nature. When tragedy strikes her personal life, Anna, desperate and numb, flees to the Northern California village of Mendocino to grieve. She lived there as a child with her beloved foster parents, and now she believes it might be the only place left for her. Yet the day she arrives, she learns that a local teenage girl has gone missing.

    The crime feels frighteningly reminiscent of the most crucial time in Anna's childhood, when the unsolved murder of a young girl touched Mendocino and changed the community forever. As past and present collide, Anna realizes that she has been led to this moment. The most difficult lessons of her life have given her insight into how victims come into contact with violent predators. As Anna becomes obsessed with saving the missing girl, she must accept that true courage means getting out of her own way and learning to let others in.

    Weaving together actual cases of missing persons, trauma theory, and a hint of the metaphysical, this propulsive and deeply affecting novel tells a story of fate, necessary redemption, and what it takes, when the worst happens, to reclaim our lives--and our faith in one another.
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  4. Dial A for Aunties
    by Jesse Q. Sutanto
    Berkley
    Apr 27, 2021
    FICTION / Mystery & Detective / General
    Paperback / softback
    Dial A for Aunties
    by Jesse Q. Sutanto
    Berkley
    Apr 27, 2021
    FICTION / Mystery & Detective / General
    Paperback / softback
    "Sutanto brilliantly infuses comedy and culture into the unpredictable rom-com/murder mystery mashup as Meddy navigates familial duty, possible arrest and a groomzilla. I laughed out loud and you will too.”—USA Today (four-star review)

    “A hilarious, heartfelt romp of a novel about—what else?—accidental murder and the bond of family. This book had me laughing aloud within its first five pages… Utterly clever, deeply funny, and altogether charming, this book is sure to be one of the best of the year!”—Emily Henry, New York Times bestselling author of Beach Read

    One of NPR's Best Books of 2021!

    One of PopSugar’s "42 Books Everyone Will Be Talking About in 2021"!


    What happens when you mix 1 (accidental) murder with 2 thousand wedding guests, and then toss in a possible curse on 3 generations of an immigrant Chinese-Indonesian family?


    You get 4 meddling Asian aunties coming to the rescue!


    When Meddelin Chan ends up accidentally killing her blind date, her meddlesome mother calls for her even more meddlesome aunties to help get rid of the body. Unfortunately, a dead body proves to be a lot more challenging to dispose of than one might anticipate, especially when it is inadvertently shipped in a cake cooler to the over-the-top billionaire wedding Meddy, her Ma, and aunties are working at an island resort on the California coastline. It's the biggest job yet for the family wedding business—"Don't leave your big day to chance, leave it to the Chans!"—and nothing, not even an unsavory corpse, will get in the way of her auntie's perfect buttercream flowers.

    But things go from inconvenient to downright torturous when Meddy's great college love—and biggest heartbreak—makes a surprise appearance amid the wedding chaos. Is it possible to escape murder charges, charm her ex back into her life, and pull off a stunning wedding all in one weekend?
    View this title on BNC CataList
  5. The Haunting of Alma Fielding
    by Kate Summerscale
    Penguin Press
    Apr 27, 2021
    TRUE CRIME / General
    Hardback
    The Haunting of Alma Fielding
    by Kate Summerscale
    Penguin Press
    Apr 27, 2021
    TRUE CRIME / General
    Hardback
    Named a Best Book of the Year by NPR The Sunday Times The New Statesman The Times The Spectator The Telegraph

    Shortlisted for the 2020 Baillie Gifford Prize * A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice * A New York Times Book Review Paperback Row Selection


    “Prepare not to see much broad daylight, literal or metaphorical, for days if you read this.... The atmosphere evoked is something I will never forget.”—The Times (London)

    London, 1938. In the suburbs of the city, a young housewife has become the eye in a storm of chaos. In Alma Fielding’s modest home, china flies off the shelves and eggs fly through the air; stolen jewelry appears on her fingers, white mice crawl out of her handbag, beetles appear from under her gloves; in the middle of a car journey, a turtle materializes on her lap. The culprit is incorporeal. As Alma cannot call the police, she calls the papers instead.

    After the sensational story headlines the news, Nandor Fodor, a Hungarian ghost hunter for the International Institute for Psychical Research, arrives to investigate the poltergeist. But when he embarks on his scrupulous investigation, he discovers that the case is even stranger than it seems.

    By unravelling Alma’s peculiar history, Fodor finds a different and darker type of haunting, a tale of trauma, alienation, loss and revenge. He comes to believe that Alma’s past has bled into her present, her mind into her body. There are no words for processing her experience, so it comes to possess her. As the threat of a world war looms, and as Fodor’s obsession with the case deepens, Alma becomes ever more disturbed.

    With characteristic rigor and insight, Kate Summerscale brilliantly captures the rich atmosphere of a haunting that transforms into a very modern battle between the supernatural and the subconscious.
    View this title on BNC CataList
  6. Rogue Wave, The
    by Paul Mason Canada
    Now Or Never Publishing Co
    Apr 15, 2021
    FICTION / Literary
    Paperback / softback
    Rogue Wave, The
    by Paul Mason Canada
    Now Or Never Publishing Co
    Apr 15, 2021
    FICTION / Literary
    Paperback / softback

    Andrew and his fiancée, Hannah, are on board a whale-watching boat in the Bay of Fundy when the vessel is hit by a rogue wave. Thirty-eight people are rescued by the coast guard, but Hannah is not one of them, and she is subsequently presumed to have drowned. Some weeks later, however, a friend sends Andrew a link to a wedding video shot in southern Mexico, and who is there but Hannah, sitting next to a man her friends do not recognize. Desperate to get to the truth and find his fiancée, Andrew hires a detective, Matthew Harding, whose search takes him from New Brunswick to Mexico to the United Kingdom and finally to the caves under Peterborough, Ontario. A fast-paced thriller full of colourful characters and supernatural elements, The Rogue Wave hits the reader broadside.

    View this title on BNC CataList
  7. Women of the Pandemic
    by Lauren McKeon Canada
    McClelland & Stewart
    Apr 27, 2021
    BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Medical
    Paperback / softback
    Women of the Pandemic
    by Lauren McKeon Canada
    McClelland & Stewart
    Apr 27, 2021
    BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Medical
    Paperback / softback
    The story of the pandemic is the story of women. This riveting narrative offers an account of COVID-19, reminding us of women's leadership and resilience, reflecting back hope and humanity as we all figure out a new normal, together.

    Throughout history, men have fought, lost, and led us through the world's defining crises. That all changed with COVID-19. In Canada, women's presence in the response to the pandemic has been notable. Women are our nurses, doctors, PSWs. Our cashiers, long-haulers, cooks. In Canada, women are leading the fast-paced search for a vaccine. They are leading our provinces and territories. At home, they are leading families through self-isolation, often bearing the responsibility for their physical and emotional health. They are figuring out what working from home looks like, and many of them are doing it while homeschooling their kids. Women crafted the blueprint for kindness during the pandemic, from sewing masks to kicking off international mutual-aid networks. And, perhaps not surprisingly, women have also suffered some of the biggest losses, bearing the brunt of our economic skydive.
    Through intimate portraits of Canadian women in diverse situations and fields, Women of the Pandemic is a gripping narrative record of the early months of COVID-19, a clear-eyed look at women's struggles, which highlights their creativity, perseverance, and resilience as they charted a new path forward during impossible times.
    View this title on BNC CataList
  8. Fugitive Telemetry
    by Martha Wells
    Tordotcom
    Apr 27, 2021
    FICTION / Science Fiction / Action & Adventure
    Hardback
    Fugitive Telemetry
    by Martha Wells
    Tordotcom
    Apr 27, 2021
    FICTION / Science Fiction / Action & Adventure
    Hardback

    The New York Times bestselling security droid with a heart (though it wouldn't admit it!) is back in Fugitive Telemetry!

    Having captured the hearts of readers across the globe (Annalee Newitz says it's "one of the most humane portraits of a nonhuman I've ever read") Murderbot has also established Martha Wells as one of the great SF writers of today.

    No, I didn't kill the dead human. If I had, I wouldn't dump the body in the station mall.

    When Murderbot discovers a dead body on Preservation Station, it knows it is going to have to assist station security to determine who the body is (was), how they were killed (that should be relatively straightforward, at least), and why (because apparently that matters to a lot of people—who knew?)

    Yes, the unthinkable is about to happen: Murderbot must voluntarily speak to humans!

    Again!

    A standalone adventure in the New York Times and USA Today-bestselling, Hugo and Nebula Award-winning series!

    The Murderbot Diaries
    All Systems Red
    Artificial Condition
    Rogue Protocol
    Exit Strategy
    Network Effect
    Fugitive Telemetry
    System Collapse

    View this title on BNC CataList
  9. You Love Me
    by Caroline Kepnes
    Random House
    Apr 06, 2021
    FICTION / Thrillers / Suspense
    Hardback
    You Love Me
    by Caroline Kepnes
    Random House
    Apr 06, 2021
    FICTION / Thrillers / Suspense
    Hardback
    NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Can’t get enough of Joe Goldberg? Don’t miss the latest thriller in Caroline Kepnes’s compulsively readable You series, with an all-new plot not seen in the blockbuster Netflix show.

    “Fiendish, fast-paced, and very funny.”—Paula Hawkins, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Girl on the Train

    NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY MARIE CLAIRE


    Joe Goldberg is done with the cities. He’s done with the muck and the posers, done with Love. Now he’s saying hello to nature, to simple pleasures on a cozy island in the Pacific Northwest. For the first time in a long time, he can just breathe.

    He gets a job at the local library—he does know a thing or two about books—and that’s where he meets her: Mary Kay DiMarco. Librarian. Joe won’t meddle, he will not obsess. He’ll win her the old-fashioned way . . . by providing a shoulder to cry on, a helping hand. Over time, they’ll both heal their wounds and begin their happily ever after in this sleepy town.

    The trouble is . . . Mary Kay already has a life. She’s a mother. She’s a friend. She’s . . . busy.

    True love can only triumph if both people are willing to make room for the real thing. Joe cleared his decks. He’s ready. And hopefully, with his encouragement and undying support, Mary Kay will do the right thing and make room for him.
    View this title on BNC CataList
  10. Mirrorland
    by Carole Johnstone
    Scribner
    Apr 20, 2021
    FICTION / Thrillers / Psychological
    Hardback
    Mirrorland
    by Carole Johnstone
    Scribner
    Apr 20, 2021
    FICTION / Thrillers / Psychological
    Hardback
    “Unnerving.” —People
    “Unsettling...unlocks its mysteries slowly.” —The New York Times Book Review
    “A dark, twisty, and richly atmospheric exploration of the power of imagination” —Ruth Ware, author of The Woman in Cabin 10

    “Beautifully written and told with a watchmaker’s precision” (Stephen King), Mirrorland is a thrilling psychological suspense novel about twin sisters, the man they both love, the house that has always haunted them, and the childhood stories they can’t leave behind.

    Cat lives in Los Angeles, far from 36 Westeryk Road, the imposing gothic house in Edinburgh where she and her estranged twin sister, El, grew up. As kids, they invented Mirrorland, a dark, imaginary place under the pantry stairs, full of pirates, witches, and clowns. These days, Cat rarely thinks about their childhood home, or the fact that El now lives there with her husband, Ross.

    But when El mysteriously disappears after going out on her sailboat, Cat is forced to return to 36 Westeryk Road, which hasn’t changed in twenty years. The grand old house is still full of shadowy corners, and at every turn Cat finds herself stumbling on long-held secrets and terrifying ghosts from the past. Because someone—El?—has left Cat clues: a treasure hunt that leads them back to Mirrorland, where the truth lies waiting...

    A brilliantly crafted story that “feels like the love child of Gillian Flynn and Stephen King” (Greer Hendricks, #1 New York Times bestselling author), Mirrorland is a propulsive, page-turning debut about love, betrayal, revenge—and the price of freedom.
    View this title on BNC CataList

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